Sports, October 10th

By Slaten Swords · Friday, October 10th, 2025 at 6:37 am CDT

High School Volleyball

Danville pushed West Burlington to five sets last night, but the Falcons were able to prevail, winning the tiebreaker 15-9. Kaylee Webb played out of her mind for the Falcons, collecting 31 kills, three blocks, and four aces in the winning effort. 

Danville will host an Invite on Thursday, October 16th, with Burlington Notre Dame and Mt. Pleasant making the trip. 

Burlington Notre Dame collected their sixth consecutive victory last night after sweeping New London (25-14, 25-14, 25-9). Ainsley Conrad dished out 29 assists and five aces, while Addi Brockway tabbed 15 kills in the victory. 

Wapello spoiled Lone Tree’s senior night, allowing just 24 points combined through the three sets. The Arrows tallied 18 aces as Mila Jordan amassed eight aces followed by Taeya Wagner with six aces. Wapello will make the trip to Jefferson High School for the Westside Invite tomorrow, October 11th.

#2 Holy Trinity Catholic swept Central Lee last night by scores of 25-17, 25-23, and 25-21. Taylor Jones nabbed eight kills and three blocks in the loss. The Crusaders will attend the Pella Invite tomorrow.

Van Buren County celebrated their senior night by defeating Mediapolis in straight sets (25-20, 25-13, 25-23). Ellah Wagenbach and Josie Hutcheson combined for 15 kills for the Bulldogs. 

Mediapolis will host a tournament on Thursday at 5 pm with Holy Trinity Catholic participating. 

Central Lee, West Burlington, and Van Buren County will compete in the Davis County Invitational tomorrow.

WACO kept it close but was unable to upset Louisa-Muscatine last night, losing in straight sets 25-17, 25-18, and 26-24. The Warriors will take on Pekin at home on Tuesday, October 14th, for their regular season finale. 

Columbus crushed Highland last night in a sweep (25-14, 25-13, 25-13), as Jessica Del Rio and Kennedy Woepking each swatted 11 kills in the victory. The Wildcats will celebrate their senior night on Tuesday against Hillcrest Academy at 7:30 pm. 

Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield will travel to Oskaloosa for a tournament tomorrow.

High School Cross Country

Columbus hosted the Mike Jay Invitational last night to go along with their senior night, but the WACO boys’ team usurped the Wildcats’ claim as the top team as the Warriors had four of their five runners finish in the top 10.

Starting on the girls’ side, the Columbus girls’ team finished in 2nd place as a team with Iris Garza and Gabi Duran taking 4th and 5th place, respectively. 

Individually, WACO’s Josie Dykstra clocked a silver medal time of 20 minutes and 51 seconds followed by Macie Carter for the bronze. Ashlyn Bender of Winfield-Mt. Union took 16th place and New London’s Irelynn Kelly finished in 21st place. 

On the boys’ side, WACO dominated as Jude Dykstra led the field with the only sub-17 minute time of 16 minutes and 52 seconds. Locken Henderson and Garrett Landau claimed 3rd and 4th place, respectively. Victor Tovar took 6th place for Columbus with a time of 18 minutes and 6 seconds. 

Winfield-Mt. Union and New London finished in 4th and 5th place, respectively, as a team. Bowen Thomson led the Wolves with an 18th place finish, while Natan Bergman crossed the finish line in 20th place. 

Mediapolis held their Invite last night as the boys’ team defended their turf with the individual and team gold, while the Central Lee girls’ team finished on top of the standings with 57 points. 

Starting on the boys’ side, the Bulldogs won with a 21-point buffer as Simon Wendel took the crown with a time of 16 minutes and 34 seconds, while Will Schmidgall finished right behind him with a silver medal time of 16 minutes and 38 seconds.

Cavin Denney’s 4th place time of 17 minutes and 30 seconds helped Notre Dame/West Burlington claim 2nd place as a team. Mt. Pleasant’s Silas Hulett collected the bronze with a time of 16 minutes and 49 seconds as the Panthers took 4th place as a team.

Central Lee finished in 3rd place as a team with Austin Fogarty anchoring the team with an 8th place time of 18 minutes and 25 seconds. Danville was led by Isaac Shinn’s time of 17 minutes and 40 seconds, which put the Bear in 5th place individually and 5th as a team.

On the girls’ side, Mt. Pleasant led the field with Avery Fedler taking the gold with a time of 20 minutes-flat and Quintrie Lee clocking a time of 20 minutes and 7 seconds for the silver; however, Aubree Bunnell and the Hawks had a better team showing, beating the Panthers by six points in the team standings.

Alaina Gourley took home 3rd place with a time of 20 minutes and 16 seconds as the Bears finished in 3rd as a team, one point behind the Panthers. Evie Schmidgall anchored Mediapolis with an 11th place time of 22 minutes and 48 seconds. Individually, Notre Dame/West Burlington’s Hannah Ritter claimed 4th place with a time of 20 minutes and 39 seconds. 

Mt. Pleasant will host the Southeast Conference meet on Thursday, October 16th.

The Southeast Iowa Super Conference will meet at Hillcrest Academy on Tuesday, October 14th.

High School Football

Mt. Pleasant will stay on the road to take on Keokuk tonight at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm. Panther head coach John Bowlin will be leaning on his offensive and defensive lines to lead his team to victory,

“They’re going to be tough and obviously got athletes all over the field. They throw the ball around as you see, that’s probably where we struggled the most tonight was defending the past, so we got to get a lot better at that. And you know, our guys know that every week is a big week. And this, you know, our goal is to focus 100% on the opponent of the week and come out 1-0 for that week. So, we got a lot of work to do. But like I said I think we’re growing every week. I think both lines are just getting better and better. So that’s going to be big next week if our line can take care of business, so they’ll, they’ll put us in a good spot to be there in the fourth quarter.”

Mediapolis will tangle with Mid-Prairie tonight at 7 pm on the road. 

Van Buren County will welcome Wapello to town tonight at 7 pm. 

WACO will host Springville tonight at 7 pm. 

Fairfield will travel to Fort Madison tonight at 7:30 pm. 

West Burlington/Notre Dame will look to regroup for their road showdown with West Liberty at 7 pm tonight. 

Central Lee will compete against Wilton at 7 pm tonight on the road. 

Danville will take on Pekin tonight at home to celebrate their senior night at 7 pm. 

Southeastern Community College

The men’s and women’s soccer teams will travel to Central Community College tomorrow, October 11th. 

The volleyball team will host a triangular on Sunday, October 12th. 

College Football

#22 Iowa State will stay on the road as they look to regroup against Colorado tomorrow, October 11th, at 2:30 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call. 

Iowa will travel to Wisconsin tomorrow for kickoff at 6:05 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM will be on the call. 

This Day in Sports History

1916 – In Game 3, Charlie Ebbets becomes the first owner to raise the price of World Series grandstand seats to $5-up from $3.

1960 – Ron Stewart of Ottawa rushes for a Canadian Football League-record 287 yards.

1979 – Nordiques’ Real Cloutier becomes the third player to score a hat trick in their first game.

Plans for Mt. Pleasant Historic Downtown District

By Patrick Fee · Friday, October 10th, 2025 at 6:04 am CDT

The Mt. Pleasant Historic Preservation Commission is holding a public meeting on Thursday, October 16th at the Union Block, 111 West Monroe Street.  The meeting begins at 6:30pm and the community is invited to hear more about the proposed Mt. Pleasant Downtown Historic District and the National Register of Historic Places.  The meeting features a presentation by project consultant Rebecca Lawin McCarley of SPARK Consulting.  She will share details about the proposed district, National Register, and available financial incentive programs that support the rehabilitation of historic buildings.

The proposed Mt. Pleasant Downtown Historic District includes historic buildings surrounding the square, and along Jefferson, Main, Monroe, and Washington Streets.  A total of about 130 properties represent the development of downtown Mt. Pleasant from 1837-1981.

The nomination process for downtown Mt. Pleasant is being led by the Mt. Pleasant Historic Preservation Commission with funding through a grant from the National Park Service.  A draft of the district nomination is expected to be completed in early 2026.

 

Mt. Pleasant School Board Candidate Forum: 10/15/25

By Patrick Fee · Friday, October 10th, 2025 at 6:02 am CDT

The Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance Government Relations Committee is holding a candidate forum on Wednesday, October 15th.  The candidates running for Mt. Pleasant Community School District School Board will answer questions.  The Forum will begin at 6:00pm at the Mt. Pleasant High School, 2104 S. Grand Avenue.  All Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce members are encouraged to submit questions in the link provided in “What’s Up Weekly.   The list of candidates includes:

  • Craig Hurd – District 1
  • Melinda Huisinga – District 1
  • Derek Mullin – District 2
  • Kevin Schrader – District 2
  • Josh Maher – At-Large

 

MP Chamber Alliance Mayoral Candidate Forum – 10/16/25

By Patrick Fee · Friday, October 10th, 2025 at 5:18 am CDT

The Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance Government Relations Committee is holding a candidate forum on Thursday, October 16th.  The two candidates running for Mt. Pleasant Mayor will be answering questions.  The Forum between incumbent Mayor Steve Brimhall and challenger Kasey Conrad will begin at 5:30pm in the Civic Center Meeting Room at 307 E. Monroe Street.  All Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce members are encouraged to submit questions in the link provided in “What’s Up Weekly.

Marissa Elizabeth Tanner

By Patrick Fee · Friday, October 10th, 2025 at 4:55 am CDT

Marissa Elizabeth Tanner, 38, of Mt. Pleasant passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, after a single vehicle car crash with her dog.

Marissa was born on February 6, 1987, in Westerville, Ohio, the daughter of Mark Tanner and Kelly Kyde. Marissa was known for her colorful style, artistic talent and boundless love for all of God’s animals. Marissa attended Columbus School for Girls and graduated from Watkins Memorial High School in Columbus, Ohio before relocating to Iowa.  She worked at All God’s Creatures and Big Dogs Tattoos, both of Mount Pleasant.

She is survived by her mother and stepfather, Kelly and Michael Kyde, her son, Phoenix Pettry and her daughters, Alicea Novak and Harley Venn. As well as countless others whose lives were touched by her kindness and generosity.

Marissa is preceded in death by her brother, Luke Kenneth Tanner, and her maternal grandparents, John Joseph Derfler and Delphia Conley Derfler, paternal grandparents, Kenneth Tanner and Martha Tomcho Tanner.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday October 14, 2025, at 10:30 am at the Saint Alphonsus Catholic Church, 607 S. Jackson Street Mount Pleasant, with Father Ross Epping celebrating the mass.

There will be a second service on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, 11:00 am at the First Pentecostal Assembly of God Church, 733 Church Street Ottumwa, Iowa.

Memorials may be directed to the Heartland Humane Society 314 Fox and Sauk Rd PO Box 1149 Ottumwa, Iowa, 52501 and to All God’s Creatures 2205 East Washington Street, Mount Pleasant, Iowa 52641.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.murphyfuneralandmonuments.com

The Murphy Funeral Home of Mount Pleasant is honored to serve the family with love, comfort and dignity as we celebrate the life of Marissa Tanner.

 

West Point’s Stonehenge Kennels Under New License – Past Violations Erased

By Patrick Fee · Friday, October 10th, 2025 at 4:51 am CDT

Stonehenge Kennels in West Point, Iowa, is now operating under a new license.  This change has erased all past violations and may dismiss a lawsuit over the government’s oversight of the business.  Stonehenge is one of Iowa’s largest and most troubled dog-breeding operations in the state.

Steve Kruse, longtime owner of Stonehenge Kennels in West Point, Iowa, has been repeatedly cited for failure to provide adequate veterinary care. For decades, Kruse has operated Stonehenge Kennels, a dog-breeding facility.  According to federal inspection records, the kennel has had as many as 700 dogs on site at times.

Federal records collected by the Iowa-based animal welfare group Bailing Out Benji show the animal dealer’s license for Stonehenge Kennels in West Point, is now in the name of  Christine A. Snakenberg and the kennel now has a clean record of compliance; however, Lee County Property Records indicate the land and buildings where the kennel is located are still owned entirely by Kruse.

Over the years, Kruse has been cited for numerous animal-welfare violations but has continued to operate and be relicensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Last year, the ASPCA sued the USDA, alleging the agency had failed to provide adequate oversight and enforcement of federal regulations related to Kruse’s operation. In November 2024, the USDA filed a motion with the court seeking dismissal of the case based on jurisdictional issues.

The court, however, never ruled on that motion and the case has been at a standstill for nine months. On Wednesday, with the motion to dismiss still pending, U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb issued an order noting that the matter might now be moot since Kruse’s three-year license, issued in August 2022, had recently lapsed.

 

Henry County Supervisors Approve Speed Change, Address IT Transition, and Award Sanitation Contract

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, October 9th, 2025 at 10:54 am CDT

The Henry County Board of Supervisors met Thursday, October 9, handling road updates, an IT transition, and a rural sanitation contract.

Speed Zone Adjustment:
Supervisors approved a resolution adjusting the speed limit on Quincy Avenue south of New London. The new limits set 25 mph for the first 530 feet south of Easy Street and 45 mph for the next 625 feet, improving safety near homes and a steep hill.

Road and Bridge Work:
Engineer Jake Hotchkiss reported crews are performing shoulder repairs, ditch cleaning, and bridge maintenance across the county, including along 220th Street, Franklin Avenue, and J20. Mowing and brush work continue before winter.

IT Department Changes:
Supervisors accepted the resignation of IT and Safety Director Derek Wellington and voted to move the IT department directly under the Board’s oversight. The change aims to improve accountability as the county prepares for a technology audit later this month.

Sanitation Contract:
The county awarded its rural sanitation contract to All American Sanitation, citing a projected $55,800 savings over three years compared to WEMIGA Waste Systems.

Behavioral Health Update:
The meeting also included a briefing on Iowa’s new Behavioral Health Administrative Service Organization, which now manages mental health and substance use services statewide.

The board will meet again next week at the Henry County Courthouse in Mount Pleasant.