Henry County Soil and Water Conservation District 83rd Annual Conservation Week

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, April 30th, 2024 at 8:23 am CDT

The Henry County Soil and Water Conservation District is excited to celebrate the 83rd Annual Soil and Water Conservation Week April 28 – May 5, 2024! This year, the theme “May the Forest Be with You Always” takes center stage. This theme underscores the critical interplay between soil and water conservation and the resilience of our forests.

The Iowa Soil and Water Conservation Week is celebrated in conjunction with Stewardship Week, sponsored by the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD). Every year, SWCDs across the country celebrate Stewardship Week as a way to promote natural resource conservation. The Henry County joins Iowa’s 100 Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and others who provide leadership in soil health, soil conservation, water quality and the protection and enhancement of Iowa’s natural resources.

“The week is an opportunity to recognize conservation practices underway, helping sustain and restore Iowa’s rich soil and water resources,” states Jeri Thornsberry, President of Conservation Districts of Iowa, the statewide organization that supports Iowa’s elected Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioners who work within our local communities to provide resources that assist landowners in caring for the land. “The week focuses attention on the progress and commitment by farmers, landowners and urban residents to protect those resources.”

To learn more about these opportunities through your local Soil and Water Conservation District, contact Henry SWCD @ 709 S Iris Street, Mt Pleasant Iowa  or one of the Henry County

Soil & Water Conservation Commissioners:  Allan Barnes, Rick Mallams, Harlan Miller, Chuck Allen, Jeff Olson and Steve Detrick.

Sports, April 30th

By Slaten Swords · Tuesday, April 30th, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Track and Field

Fairfield hosted the Coed Brookhart-Crew Relays last night with Mt. Pleasant and West Burlington making the trip and the Mt. Pleasant girls’ team grabbed another first place finish with 156 points.

The Panthers finished in first place in eight events, including four relays: the 4×100, 4×200, which ranked 2nd all-time in school history with a time of 1 minute and 46 seconds, 800-medley, and the 4×100 meter shuttle hurdle relay. Alex Scott grabbed gold in two events with a first place time of 12.63 seconds in the 100-meter dash and a top time of 26.29 seconds in the 200-meter dash, which ranked 4th all-time in school history. Bailey Jalas won the long jump with a leap of 16 feet and 7 inches. Ella Ensminger’s toss of 38 feet and 9 inches in the shot put grabbed her second place and 5th all-time in school history. Lastly, Savannah Slobodnik heaved the discus 113 feet and 5 inches to win the event. 

West Burlington finished with 36 points as their 1600-medley relay team finished in first place with a time of 4 minutes and 32 seconds. 

On the boys’ side Fort Madison won the meet with 148 points as Mt. Pleasant, 62 points, and West Burlington, 55 points, took fifth and sixth place, respectively.

Mt. Pleasant’s top finisher was Franklin Tousignant in the shot put with a second-place throw of 46 feet and 9 inches. 

West Burlington got first place finishes out of Logan Hamma in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 58 seconds and Layton Diewold in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet and 9.5 inches.

Mt. Pleasant will travel to Fort Madison on Thursday, May 2nd, for their conference meet.

Highland hosted a meet last night with Mid-Prairie sweeping the night. On the boys’ side, Danville finished in fourth place with 96 points and WACO took sixth place with 37 points. 

Danville won the 4×100 and 4×400 meter relays. Additionally, Ayden Doyle took the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.71 seconds, while Jaden Bauer won the long jump with a leap of 20 feet and 6.75 inches.

WACO was led by Chase Waterhouse’s throw of 151 feet and 10 inches in the discus, which won the event by nearly 20 feet. 

On the girls’ side, Danville also took fourth place with 75 points and WACO finished with 34 points, which rounded out the field. 

Danville handled the relays with ease picking up victories in the 4×100, 4×200, and 800 medley relays. Kenna Furnald won the long jump by nearly a foot with a leap of 17 feet and 0.5 inches.

WACO’s top finish was a second place time of 1 minute and 12 seconds in the 4×100 meter shuttle hurdle relay.

The girls’ and boys’ teams of Winfield-Mt. Union, New London, Central Lee, Van Buren County, Mediapolis, and West Burlington will travel to WACO for the Southeast Iowa Super Conference meet on Thursday.

High School Soccer

Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to Wapello next Monday, May 6th, with the girls playing first at 5 pm.

The WACO boys’ team fell to Central Lee last night 3-1. Landan Lowenberg, Landon Crank, and Ayden Krehbiel each scored a goal for the Hawks. The Warriors will host Danville on Thursday, May 3rd, at 5 pm.

The Central Lee girls’ team picked up a 2-0 win last night against Canton. The Hawks will host Notre Dame today with the girls’ team playing first at 5 pm.

The Mediapolis girls’ team let two unanswered goals sneak past them in the second half to lose 3-1 to Notre Dame last night. Julianna Hill netted two for the Nikes as Hadley Augustine snatched the final goal. The girls’ team will face off against Keokuk at home today, while the boys’ team will square off against Hillcrest Academy on the road. 

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team smacked Keokuk last night 10-0. Tori Wilson led the scoring with five goals, while Charice Auwerda tabbed a hat trick and two assists. Aurora Hummell tallied the final two goals for the Panthers. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team also scored the win against Keokuk last night, but in comeback fashion 3-2, after scoring all three of their goals in the second half. Dylan White, Aiden Humble, and Axel Noriega Ruiz each scored a goal for the Panthers. Mt. Pleasant will take on Fort Madison tonight with the girls at home and the boys on the road. 

The Danville boys’ team will face off against Highland tonight at 5 pm at home.

High School Tennis

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team hosted Burlington for their senior night but the Grayhounds spoiled the celebration, winning 7-2. Jana Isanta defeated Emily Mosley 8-1 in her singles match and Bethany Drury took down her opponent 8-6. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team dominated their doubles competition to help defeat Burlington 6-3 last night. Sawyer Fulton, Lou Schimmelpfennig, and Zach Johnson won their singles match. The team of Ross and Johnson narrowly won their doubles competition 9-7, while Fulton and Cook won their match 8-5. The Panthers will face off against Keokuk with the girls at home and the boys on the road.

High School Golf

Winfield-Mt. Union competed against Louisa-Muscatine yesterday at home with the boys’ team winning 172-242, while the girls’ team did not post a score. Carter Loyd led the Wolves with a 9-hole score of 40 (+4) followed by Konner Kinneberg as he carded a 43. Lily Freeman shot a 49 for the girls’ team. 

The Southeast Iowa Super Conference boys’ teams will compete in their conference meet tomorrow, May 1st, while the girls’ team will participate in their conference meet on Monday, May 6th. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team traveled to Fairfield and finished in third place with a team score of 334, while Albia led the field with a score of 319 and Fairfield took second. The Panthers were led by Reece Coffman as his 18-hole score of 80 tied for fourth best on the course. Van Buren County shot a 352, which placed the Warriors in sixth, as T.J. Jirak also finished with the fourth best card score of 80. The Panthers will compete in their SEC meet tomorrow. 

The Central Lee, Mt. Pleasant, New London, Keokuk, and Fort Madison girls’ teams participated in a tournament yesterday and New London cruised to a first place finish with a team score of 354, which was 59 strokes better than Keokuk’s second-place finish. Mt. Pleasant took third with a score of 430 and Central Lee shot a 506 as a team. 

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will compete in their SEC meet next Wednesday, May 8th. 

The New London girls’ team will compete in a tournament today at Flint Hills Golf Course. 

The Central Lee girls’ team will participate in a triangular on Thursday, May 2nd, at Sheaffer Memorial Golf Park.

The New London and Mediapolis boys’ teams traveled to Blue Top Ridge Golf Course yesterday to face off against nine other teams with Waverly-Shell Rock winning with a team score of 307. The Bulldogs shot a 342, which placed them in 8th, while New London rounded out the pack with a team score of 434. 

The Mediapolis girls’ team traveled to Washington last night and finished in sixth place with a team score of 529. The Demons took fourth place as a team with Maci Williams leading the squad with an 18-hole score of 99. 

The Bulldogs will travel to face off against Holy Trinity Catholic today. 

The Central Lee boys’ team will host a meet on Saturday, May 4th, with Van Buren County, Holy Trinity Catholic, and Burlington Notre Dame also making the trip. 

WACO will host Hillcrest Academy on Friday, May 3rd. 

Southeastern Community College

SCC baseball got squashed by Iowa Central Community College yesterday 17-4. The Blackhawks will look to get back in the win column tomorrow, May 1st, against Ellsworth Community College.

This Day in Sports History

1922 – Chicago pitcher Charlie Robertson throws at the time the fifth perfect game in MLB history as the White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-0 at Navin Field.

1939 – Lou Gehrig sets a then-MLB record playing his 2,130th consecutive and final game for the New York Yankees.

2022 – Brock Purdy is selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, becoming Mr. Irrelevant.

Move Over Sun! The Rain is on its Way

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, April 30th, 2024 at 6:17 am CDT

After a seemingly short period of respite, storms are back in the forecast and the National Weather Service is saying they could arrive as soon as tonight. Currently, a line of strong to severe storms is predicted to make it’s way to Southeast Iowa anywhere between 7:00pm and 1:00am, with damaging winds and hail set to be the main threats once again. Storms will move from the east to the southeast around 40mph.

There is a slight chance for tornadoes, and damaging winds up to 70mph are possible. Ping pong size hail may make an appearance as well.

This is a good reminder to make sure that you have multiple ways to receive alerts about storms, and keep your radio tuned to KILJ all day long for weather updates.

Wayland City Council Meeting Agenda 05/01

By Yorke Prough · Monday, April 29th, 2024 at 3:53 pm CDT
  1. Roll Call

 

  1. Appointment & Oath of Office – Travis Shelman to Fill Mayor Vacancy (Chet Fort moving)

 

  1. Appointment & Oath of Office – Mike Miller to Fill Council Vacancy (Travis Shelman appointed Mayor)

 

  1. Public Hearing – 7:30 pm – FY23/24 Budget Amendment #2

 

  1. Steve Detrick – Candidate for Henry County Board of Supervisors – (Info Only)

 

6. Consent Agenda

Note:  These are routine items and will be enacted by one motion without separate discussion unless a Council member requests an item be removed for separate consideration.

  1. Minutes of April 17, 2024
  2. Bills for Payment
  3. Report
  4. Clerks Budgetary Report
  5. Utility Dept. Report
  6. Police Dept. Report
  7. Firefighter Dept. Report
  8. Building Permits

 

  1. Citizen Forum – The Mayor and City Council welcome comments from the public for items not listed on the agenda. You are asked to state your name and address for the record and to limit your remarks in order that others may be given the opportunity to speak.  The Order of Business is at the discretion of the Chair.  No action will be taken.

 

  1. Unfinished Business

 

9. New Business

  1. 2024-12 “City Budget FY23/24 Amendment #2 & Certification Resolution
  2. 2024-13 Resolution Approving Contract and Bond for North Plains Estates Subdivision

– Phase 2024

  1. Fireworks Display Permit Application – WACO Graduation
  2. 2024-14 Establish City Directory with White State Bank

The Mt. Pleasant Trap Shooting Team Takes Home Some Weekend Hardware

By Slaten Swords · Monday, April 29th, 2024 at 3:15 pm CDT

Mount Pleasant- The Mt. Pleasant trap shooting team excelled last weekend in their two meets with a couple perfect scores acting as the exclamation to a successful weekend.

Down in Fort Madison for their first meet, Addison McGehearty led the charge on the girls’ side by finishing second overall and second on the Varsity level. For the IA squad, Elly Bunnell finished in first place, while Zenlynn Lee and Shyann Smith took second and third, respectively at the Junior Varsity level.

On the boys’ side, Izaac Zihlman and Mason Yocum both finished with perfect scores of 50, leading to shoot off that Zihlman took by one bird to claim the gold. Landon Yocum took second for the IA squad.

(Picture courtesy of Alicia Yocum)

The Panthers then made their way back north to compete in the New London shoot. Landon Yocum scored the final 50 of the day to finish first in the IA squad. Zihlman tacked on another first-place finish at the Varsity level. Jaxton Kremer finished second for the IE squad, while Wade Roberts grabbed second for the Junior Varsity.

(Picture courtesy of Alicia Yocum)

McGehearty claimed first place for the Varsity girls, while Bunnell (IA) and Smith (JV) also took first at their respective levels. Lee grabbed second place for the Junior Varsity and at the IE level Natalie Osterhaus took second and Kara Campbell finished in third.

Man Charged After Striking Two Unoccupied Vehicles in Mount Pleasant

By Yorke Prough · Monday, April 29th, 2024 at 1:56 pm CDT

On April 26th at approx. 1:14pm, The Mount Pleasant Police Department were dispatched to the 200 blk. Of W Madison Street for a three-vehicle collision. It was reported to officers that the driver of a 2013 dodge sedan had struck two parked motor vehicles. The driver of the dodge then fled the scene on foot, running east on Madison St. The driver was soon located and admitted to operating the dodge avenger at the time of the collisions.

Upon investigation, it was determined Charles carpenter, of Mt. Pleasant was operating the dodge avenger, owned by Raymond Parkhurst of Winfield. Charles exited the city parking lot in the 200 blk. of w. Madison St. and proceeded west on Madison St. Charles lost control of the vehicle, striking a Nissan which was unoccupied at the time of the collision.

Carpenter continued west, crossed over the center line of the roadway, striking a GMC which was also unoccupied.

Charles Carpenter was soon located. No injuries were reported at the scene.

The estimated damage between all three vehicles is approximately $11,000.

Charles Carpenter has been charged with Operating while under the influence, 1st offense, no valid driver’s license and striking an unattended vehicle. The Mt. Pleasant police department were assisted by Breuer’s towing.

Small Business Week Celebrations in Mount Pleasant

By Yorke Prough · Monday, April 29th, 2024 at 10:08 am CDT

Small business week began yesterday and goes on through Saturday, and Mt. Pleasant is full of great ones. This year, five great businesses have been selected as finalists for the 2024 Small Business of the Year through the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce. Congratulations again to From the Heart Flowers and Gifts, Othodontic Associates of Iowa, Sa3m Sao Market, Southeast Iowa Realty, Inc. and Triple Seven Trucking.

KILJ Radio will bring continuing coverage of these businesses throughout the week, culminating with a report on the winner, which is announced on Friday.

These businesses will host open houses throughout the week to further the celebration. On Tuesday, Triple Seven Trucking will open their doors at 9:00am followed by From the Heart Flowers and Gifts at 2:00pm. Wednesday will see a 3:00pm open house for Sa3m Sao Market and a 4:30pm timeframe for Orthodontic Associates of Iowa. Southeast Iowa Realty will be the lone business open house on Thursday at 2:00pm.

The 2024 Henry County Small Business of the Year will be announced on May 3rd at the Small Business Breakfast.

Darrell Bryant

By Yorke Prough · Monday, April 29th, 2024 at 8:43 am CDT

Darrell Eugene Bryant, 83 passed away peacefully at the University of Iowa Hospitals on April 24th, 2024. We think he did this on purpose to avoid having to make a decision in the pending presidential election. 

He leaves behind five children, 9 grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren, and a well known fast food restaurant that serves a mean cheeseburger and senior coke at a reasonable price.

As a child he walked to the old Morning Sun school where he exercised his free spirit freely. With great surprise to most of his teachers he was offered a chance to move to Ellsworth, Iowa and live with his former teacher Lorainne Gorder. He credits her for seeing the potential he had to attend Ellsworth Community College where he became salutatorian of his class.  He was proud that he went on to attend Iowa State University where he earned a degree in Chemistry.

With his degree in Chemistry in hand he volunteered for the United States Air Force at the ripe old age of 23. As a Captain in the AirForce he was in charge of managing the logistics of nuclear weapons during the Vietnam War. He realized after extensive travel, marriage and 2 children that he didn’t much like being bossed around.

He returned to Morning Sun, Iowa where he believed it was the best place to raise children. He used his degree to work at the Ordinance Plant in Middletown, Iowa where he was a supervisor. At the same time he was fostering what would become Bryant’s Apple Orchard. With much strategy, hard work and teamwork from Barb he was able to become self employed at the apple business for over 50 years. After many years of self employment he went to manage the Laboratory and Waste Water at Tyson foods in Columbus Junction, Iowa.  His retirement from Tyson was a time that he and Barb were able to take many journeys in and out of the United States.

Darrell was well renowned for his lack of patience, and ability to educate his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren on his various views of their problem at hand. His tenacity was obviously taken from his mother, Eulalie.

With that being said he was genuine to a fault, those he loved he loved and cared for deeply. Being a continuous teacher, he taught his children and grandchildren his highly extensive vocabulary of curse words. He particularly liked four letter words as much as he liked looking at all things involving nature, like his dad Max, and continuously learning. He was an accomplished cook. He spent many hours studying his extensive cookbooks to improve his abilities. Unfortunately for us he had no taste or smell. Darrell specialized in dried beans with little taste and homemade bread.

He will be sorely missed by his children: Dale E. Bryant, Kimberly (Metzger) Wenger and son in law David, Kathy(Bryant) Holtkamp and son in law Walt, Amy (Metzger) Hamilton,and Cris(Metzger) Richardson and son in law Jeff. Grandchildren: Kenna(Springsteen) Freudiger, Kala Holtkamp, Andrea(Hamilton)Horton , Jena (Holtkamp) Meinderding, Tabitha(Bryant) Fisk, Darrell J. Bryant, Maci Richardson, Bryant Holtkamp, and Emma Richardson. Great Grandchildren: Kaden Fisk, Noah Fisk, Tucker Fisk, Natalie Fisk, Raelynn Fisk, Emerald Fisk, Justin Horton, Bradley Horton, Allison Springsteen Freudiger, Kaiden Holtkamp, Ophelia Meinderding,

He is preceded in death by his loving wife Barbara, parents Max and Eulalie Bryant, Brother Dwayne, and grandson Joshua. All who loved him dearly.

Following his wishes, there will be no service. If you would like to send a card or a quick note please send them to Bryant Memorial 1669 305th St. Salem Iowa 52649. Memorials will go to St. Judes Cancer Research for Children or Hospice House of Burlington, Iowa.