Sports, May 3rd

High School Track and Field

The Southeast Conference meet ran yesterday and the Washington boys’ team continued their dominance and won with 143 points, while the Washington girls’ team usurped Mt. Pleasant to take the title with 173 points. 

On the boys’ side, Fort Madison took second with 138 points followed by Burlington with 96 points. The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team finished with 42 points as Franklin Tousignant’s second place finish in the discus with a heave of 128 feet and 3 inches led the Panthers. 

On the girls’ side, Mt. Pleasant finished in second with 125 points and five conference champions. Alex Scott won the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.79 seconds. The 4×100, 4×200, and 800 medley relay teams grabbed the gold and Bailey Jalas took the long jump with a leap of 16 feet and 2.75 inches. 

Mt. Pleasant will host the state qualifying meet on Thursday, May 9th, with Washington, Keokuk, Fort Madison, and Fairfield making the trip.

The Southeast Iowa Super Conference meet had a couple repeat champions and a school sweep as the girls champion of the North Division was Pekin was 165 points and the champion of the south division was Mediapolis with 148 points, just four more than West Burlington.

Focusing on the girls’ North division, WACO collected 58 points as the 4×100 meter shuttle hurdle relay team of Ally Rinner, Brenna Graber, Madelyn Farmer, and Zoey Dennler finished as conference champions with a time of 1 minute and 15 seconds. 

Winfield-Mt. Union finished with 51 points and two conference champion hurdlers as Josie Nelson won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.2 seconds and Tessa Huston took the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1 minute and 12 seconds. Quin Smith won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet and 2 inches. 

On the South side, Mediapolis’ Bryn Wright ran the 1500-meter in 5 minutes and 21 seconds to win the event. Kendall VanWinkle won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1 minute and 14 seconds. The Bulldogs rattled off wins in the 4×100, 4×200, and 4×400 meter relays. Avery Crear leapt to first place finish in the high jump with a height of 4 feet and 8 inches. 

West Burlington’s Ady Lamm grabbed first place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.57 seconds. Kaitlyn Kipp paced herself to a win in the 3000-meter run with a time of 11 minutes and 37 seconds. The 4×800 meter relay team grabbed the victory and Nadiya Jones won gold in the shot put with a heave of 32 feet and 1.5 inches. 

Danville took third place with 110 points and four conference champions. Jaeda Molle won the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.17 seconds. Miya Orbiana raced to a time of 1 minute and 4 seconds in the 400-meter dash. The 800 sprint medley team won by seven seconds and Kenna Furnald took the long jump with a leap of 15 feet and 9 inches. 

Van Buren County finished with 94.5 points, Central Lee 63.5 points, and New London grabbed 12 points. For the Warriors, Kayley Snowgren won the 800-meter run. Marlee Mertens took the 100-meter hurdles. The distance medley and 4×100 meter shuttle hurdle team each took home first place. The Hawks had a conference champion in Aubrey Weber in the discus with a throw of 93 feet. 

On the boys side we had two repeat champions, Columbus won the North division with 186 points and Mediapolis nearly won by 100 points in the South division with 190 points. 

Winfield-Mt. Union finished in third place in the North division with 120 points. Ty Scorpil won the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.76 seconds and 400-meter hurdles with a time of 58.11 seconds. Kolby Newsom grabbed the gold in the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes. The 800 sprint medley and distance medley teams finished with the win. Jake Edward leapt 6 feet to take the high jump and Cam Buffington won the long jump with a distance of 20 feet and 11 inches. 

WACO earned 67.5 points to finish in fifth place. Chase Waterhouse in the discus and Louden Huisenga in the high jump each grabbed second place.

For the South division, Mediapolis won 11 events. Solomon Zaugg won two events with first place finishes in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs. Nathan Schmidgall claimed the gold in the 400-meter dash and Logan Rosas won the 800-meter run. Grady Gunn hopped his way to a first place finish in the 110-meter hurdles. The Bulldogs won the 4×200, 4×400, 4×800, 4×110 meter shuttle hurdle, and distance medley relays. Lastly, Gavin Hallgren heaved the shot 42 feet and 4.5 inches to finish as the conference champion in the shot put.

Van Buren County finished in second place with 94 points followed by Danville (79 points), West Burlington (76 points), Central Lee (70 points), and New London (55 points). 

For the Warriors, Tyler Stoltz won the high jump and Cameron Stoltz took the discus. Danville’s Ayden Doyle grabbed gold in the 200-meter dash and the 4×100 meter relay team won with a time of 44.52 seconds. The Falcons had Landry Haberichter win the 100-meter dash, Logan Hamma took the 400-meter hurdles, and the 800 sprint medley team won with a time of 1 minute and 40 seconds. For the Tigers, London Franklin was the conference champ for the long jump with a leap of 21 feet and 6 inches. 

Danville, New London, WACO, Columbus, and Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to Sigourney for their state qualifying meet, while Mediapolis, West Burlington, Van Buren County, and Central Lee will head west to Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont for their meet on May 9th.

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 will host Danville tonight at 5 pm.

The Central Lee girls’ team had their game against Mid-Prairie canceled last night due to weather. The boys’ team will host Keokuk tonight at 7 pm and the girls’ team will take on Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union on Tuesday, May 7th, at home.

The Mediapolis girls’ team will take on Canton on May 6th. The boys’ team will wait for the Southeast Iowa Super Conference tournament on Tuesday. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team fell to Burlington last night 4-2. Axel Noriega Ruiz scored both goals for the Panthers with Dylan White assisting on both plays. The girls’ team also lost to the Grayhounds last night 4-2. The Panthers will face off against Fort Madison on Monday with the boys’ team celebrating senior night at home and the girls’ team hitting the road. 

High School Tennis

Mt. Pleasant will compete on Monday, May 6th, in Fairfield with the girls’ team participating in the regionals and the boys’ playing in their district matches.

High School Golf

New London will host Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, Winfield-Mt. Union, and WACO for their district meet. Central Lee, Van Buren County, and Mediapolis will take a trip to Mid-Prairie for districts on Tuesday, May 7th. 

The SEISC girls’ teams will participate in their conference meet on Monday, May 6th. 

The SEC boys’ teams will meet up on May 8th at Mt. Pleasant for sectionals with Albia, West Burlington/Notre Dame, and Mt. Vernon also competing.

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

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

WACO will host Hillcrest Academy today.

Southeastern Community College

SCC baseball will travel to Indian Hills Community College today in a doubleheader.

SCC softball will host Indian Hills today in the semifinals of the ICCAC tournament. The winner will advance to the championship game to face off against #1 Iowa Western. 

This Day in Sports History

1910 – Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States is renamed the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

1936 – New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio makes his major-league debut, gets 3 hits.

2023 – MLB Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani joins New York Yankee legend Babe Ruth as only pitcher to strike out 500 batters and hit over 100 career home runs in 6-4 win over the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Monthly Department Head Meeting

The monthly department head meeting at the Henry County Courthouse was held on Thursday morning. If you owe property taxes still, be expecting a letter from the Treasurer, and if you’re looking for a COVID shot, Henry County Public Health is out for now, so they are directing people to HyVee.

Emergency Management Director, Walt Jackson, spoke about the tornado that ripped through Southeast Iowa and thanked the Sheriff and road departments. He mentioned that we suffered heavy structural damage from the storm. A Henry County Sheriff car ran into a deer that same night, and the car was determined to be totaled. However, the same squad car was on its way to decommission anyway, so the storm and deer just combined to make it happen a little easier.

Early voting will begin on May 15th for the upcoming primaries on June 4th, according to the Henry County Auditor. That will take place in the conference room at the courthouse.

Just before adjournment, concerned citizens asked the Henry County Supervisors about a noticeable absentee from the department head meeting. Joe Buffington, Planning and Zoning Director, was missing from the meeting, although it was explained that he was at an appointment. Citizens pressed on, urging the Supervisors to meet with Buffington once a month from now on. The supervisors seemed to agree that this was a fair request. Joe Buffington is on the agenda for next Thursday, May 9th, to give a monthly update.

Another citizen in the crowd brought up employee timesheets in the county. Recently, a Human Resources Representative was asked to investigate allegations of the falsification of time records. After doing a thorough investigation, it was determined that out of 9 employees across two departments who were meant to work 7.5 hours on a day in question, 2 of those clocked less than 5 hours, one use accrued leave, three worked between 7.12 hours and 7.33, and two employees did not report to work at all. One employee worked 8.38 hours on that day. It seems further investigation is in the works.

Arts IMPACT Welcomes the Work of Arrin Kartel for May and June

Mount Pleasant Arts IMPACT is featuring the work of Arrin Kartel for the months of May and June at their mini art gallery located in the Mount Pleasant Public Library.

Kartel is a painter and illustrator based out of Southeast Iowa. She has been creating art since childhood. Alongside her practice as an artist, Arrin has studied and worked as a graphic designer for over 10 years.

The inspiration for Arrin’s art comes from plants and nature, patterns and color, and warm nostalgic feelings. She specializes in painting colorful, loosely painted landscapes and painterly still life scenes. As an illustrator, she produces imaginative images that are fun and lighthearted.

Arrin has worked with a wide variety of artistic mediums including acrylic paint, oil paint, wax pastels, oil pastels, printmaking, ceramics, and digital illustration.

Samplings of Kartel’s work are being exhibited through the end of June in the Mini Art Gallery located in the Mount Pleasant Public Library and viewable free of charge during regular library hours.

Mount Pleasant Arts IMPACT sponsors the Mini Gallery as an outreach to the residents of Henry County, introducing the public to the many talented artists in the Southeast Iowa area. Individuals interested in purchasing work from our local artists may contact the artists directly to discuss availability of their work.

 

Randy Dodds

Randy Dodds, 73, of Ankeny, formerly of Mount Pleasant, died Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at his home.

Randy was born January 13, 1951, the son of Morton and Barbara (Hill) Dodds. He graduated from Mount Pleasant High School and continued his education at Northeast Missouri State University in Kirksville, Missouri. On January 26, 1990, Randy was united in marriage to Peggy Gray. The couple enjoyed 33 wonderful years of marriage. Randy’s father started Dodds Insurance Agency, where Randy sold health and life insurance. He attended the Trenton Missionary Church and The Ridge Church in Ankeny. Randy was an avid Dallas Cowboy and Iowa Hawkeye fan. He enjoyed cooking, fishing, and especially spending time with his family and friends.

Randy is survived by two sons Terry (Wyndie) Gholson of Ankeny, Travis Gholson of Mount Pleasant; daughter Belinda (Chuck) Allen of Mount Pleasant; six grandchildren Brady, Morgan, Madisyn Gholson, Lydia (Keegan) Pullis of Des Moines, Leah Allen of Mount Pleasant, Ethan Bever of Dubuque; a great grandson Noah Pullis; and a nephew Brandon Ha. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Peggy, and a brother Kent Dodds.

Memorial service will be held 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at the Olson-Powell Chapel and Crematory. Visitation will be from 2:00 p.m. until the time of service. A memorial fund has been established for Trenton Missionary Church. The Olson-Powell Chapel and Crematory is caring for Randy and his family. www.powellfuneralhomes.com

Anna Underwood

Anna Mae Underwood, 92, of Mt. Pleasant, and formerly of New London and Carlisle, IA, died Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at Savannah Heights in Mt. Pleasant.

Anna Mae Conant was born December 2, 1931 in Carlisle. She was the daughter of Harry and Edith (Schooler) Conant. She graduated from Carlisle High School in 1949. In 1950, Anna was united in marriage to Tom J. Underwood. Mr. Underwood preceded Anna in death on November 4, 1999.

While her daughter was young, Anna was a stay at home mom. She then became a cook at the Carlise Care Center. She accepted the position as the Activities Director for the care center. While in that position, she acquired a van for the center and was instrumental in taking the residents to various activities. She retired from the care center. In retirement, however, she took on the responsibility of the Activities Director for the Independent Living section of the care facility.

Anna was a member of the Carlisle United Methodist Church. She belong with a group of ladies called T.G.G. (The Go-Getters) and also to a group called the Lunch Bunch. In 1985, Anna was named the Parade Marshall for the Carlisle Fourth of July Parade. When not participating in the activities of the center of her friends, Anna loved gardening and doting on her grandchildren, following them in all their activities.

Those thankful for sharing in Anna’s life include a daughter and her husband, Marcy & Steve Davis of Salem, IA; a brother and his wife, Charles “Chuck” & Karen Conant of Carlisle; 4 grandchildren – Chase, Casey, Justin & Sydney and 2 great grandchildren.

Her parents, husband Tom, a brother and his wife – Marvin & Carol Conant and a sister and her husband – Harriett & Jake Ellison, precede Anna in death.

Anna has donated her body to the University of Iowa Department of Anatomy & Physiology. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Following the completion of her service to the University, her ashes will be interred at the Scotch Ridge Cemetery near Carlisle.

Those considering an expression of sympathy may direct memorials to the family for decisions to be made later. Online condolences may be directed to www.kimzeyfh.com.

Sports, May 2nd

High School Track and Field

Mt. Pleasant will travel to Fort Madison today for their conference meet.

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 today.

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 will host Danville tomorrow, May 3rd, at 5 pm.

The Central Lee girls’ team had their game against Mid-Prairie canceled tonight due to weather. The boys’ team will host Keokuk tomorrow at 7 pm.

The Mediapolis girls’ team will take on Canton on May 6th. The boys’ team will wait for the Southeast Iowa Super Conference tournament on Tuesday, May 7th. 

Mt. Pleasant will compete against Burlington tonight with the boys’ team on the road and the girls’ team celebrating senior night at home. 

High School Tennis

The Southeast Conference held the girls and boys conference meets last night and the Panthers finished with a conference champion.

On the girls’ side, Jana Isanta lost only two sets in her two matchups to take first place in the tournament for Mt. Pleasant. Ellie Situmeang fell in her first round matchup in a 10-point tiebreaker but rattled off 8-3 and 8-1 wins, respectively, to finish in 5th place. In doubles competition, Bethany Drury and Audrey Richmond teamed up to finish in 5th place after dropping their first round match in the 10-point tiebreak, 7 to 10. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team brought home some hardware as the team of Lou Schimmelpfennig and Phoenix Watson won their first match 6-2 and 6-1 and followed it up with a double 6-4 win against Fort Madison before Fairfield swept them in the championship match to take home the silver. The team of Sawyer Fulton and Dane Cook grabbed sixth place. 

In singles competition, Gavin Ross and Zach Johnson met up in the fifth-place match, which Ross won 8-2. Taking the crown was Fairfield’s Ruimin Luo as he defeated Burlington’s Carson Ziegler 6-3 and 6-2. 

The Panthers will compete on Monday, May 6th, in Fairfield with the girls’ team participating in the regionals and the boys’ playing in their district matches.

High School Golf

The boys’ teams of the Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) competed yesterday and Mediapolis shot a team score of 324 with Central Lee finishing with a 344 and Winfield-Mt. Union shooting a 348. For the Bulldogs, Jacob Grier led the charge with an 18-hole score of 80. Caleb Larson for Central Lee carded an 81, while the Wolves had Carter Loyd and Cody Milks shoot an 86. 

New London will host Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, Winfield-Mt. Union, and WACO for their district meet. Central Lee, Van Buren County, and Mediapolis will take a trip to Mid-Prairie for districts on Tuesday, May 7th. 

The SEISC girls’ teams will participate in their conference meet on Monday, May 6th. 

The boys’ Southeast Conference (SEC) golf meet is in the books and the 2024 boys’ conference champion was Washington with a team score of 288. Fairfield finished with a 334 to take second place followed by Mt. Pleasant with a team score of 350.

The Demons were unstoppable as five of their six golfers finished in the top five. Roman Roth finished with an impressive score of 5-under par (67) for the 18-hole course. 

Archer Kreuter of Fairfield had the sixth best score with an 82 followed by Landon Nodruft, who finished with the same score. 

Mt. Pleasant’s three best golfers finished under 90 for the course with Nate Dismang and Merrick Lamm each shooting an 86, while Reece Coffman carded an 88.

The SEC will meet back up on May 8th at Mt. Pleasant for sectionals with Albia, West Burlington/Notre Dame, and Mt. Vernon entering the fray.

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

The Central Lee girls’ team will participate in a triangular today at Sheaffer Memorial Golf Park.

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 tomorrow, May 3rd. 

College Signing

Payton Hagans signed yesterday to join the basketball team at William Woods University in the fall. Hagans is currently undecided when it comes to his major but is leaning towards business.

His senior season was arguably his best season as he averaged a conference best 22.8 points per game—24th in the state of Iowa—and 2.3 steals per game, which culminated in him taking home SEC Player of the Year. Hagans was also a two-time All-Conference First Team member and two-time All-State selection to go along with an All-Conference Second Team honor for his sophomore season.

Hagans will join a couple familiar faces in Fulton with head coach Jordan Ashton leading the squad and former backcourt partner Aaiden Ashton along with some former Iowa Wesleyan Tigers. All factors which helped him make the decision,

“Obviously, the head coach and then I know people from down there, they brought a lot of Wesleyan kids down there, so I already got relationships with them. Relationship with Aaiden as you said and then the coach. So, it’s just good relationships and it was a good environment when I went down there on the visit. So, that went into the decision a lot.”

The Owls will attempt to improve upon their 12-16 overall record last season where they experienced a ton of conference success, winning over 70% of those contests.

Southeast Iowa Playbook

WACO seniors Colton Leichty and Zoey Dennler joined the Southeast Iowa Playbook last night to talk about their spring seasons. Leichty gave some advice for the upcoming seniors. Dennler says the team chemistry has resulted in a fun season. You can listen to last night’s episode by following this link: Southeast Iowa Playbook

Southeastern Community College

SCC baseball got back in the win column with two dominating wins against Ellsworth Community College 11-4 and 10-3. The Blackhawks will travel to Indian Hills Community College tomorrow, May 3rd, in a doubleheader.

SCC softball hosted Indian Hills yesterday in the semifinals of the ICCAC tournament. The Blackhawks and Warriors battled offensively in game one with SCC taking the game 15-12 after scoring seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. The bats went silent for game two with the Warriors claiming the matchup, 10-2, to force a game three. The winner will advance to the championship game to face off against #1 Iowa Western. 

This Day in Sports History

1970 – Diane Crump is the first woman jockey at the Kentucky Derby.

2012 – Barcelona football player Lionel Messi breaks the European goal-scoring record with 68 goals.

2015 – Floyd Mayweather Jr. beats Manny Pacquiao on points in 12 rounds in a world welterweight unification fight, shatters all financial records for a boxing match.

Unleaded Gas Prices Rise, Diesel Falls – Weekly Fuel Report

The price of regular unleaded gasoline rose 2 cents, averaging $3.30 across Iowa according to AAA.

Crude Oil Summary

  • The price of global crude oil fell this week on the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) by $1.14 per barrel and is currently priced at $81.39.
  • Brent crude oil fell by $1.98 and is currently priced at $85.71.
  • One year ago, WTI crude sold for $75.66 and Brent crude was at $76.71.

Motor Fuels

  • As of Wednesday, the price of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $3.30 across Iowa according to AAA.
    • Prices rose 2 cents from last week’s price and are down 10 cents from a year ago.
    • The national average on Wednesday was $3.66, unchanged from last week’s price.
  • Retail diesel prices in Iowa fell 3 cents this week with a statewide average of $3.72.
    • One year ago, diesel prices averaged $3.88 in Iowa.
    • The current Iowa diesel price is 29 cents lower than the national average of $4.01.
  • Wholesale ethanol held steady and is currently priced at $2.16.
  • The current Des Moines Terminal/Rack Prices are $2.40 for U87-E10, $2.71 for Unleaded 87 (clear), $2.58 for ULSD#2, $2.84 for ULSD#1, and $1.99 per gallon for E-70 prices.

Heating Fuels

  • Natural gas prices fell 4 cents at the Henry Hub reporting site and are currently prices at $1.92/MMbtu.
  • Continuing throughout the summer months, we will only report retail heating oil and propane prices in Iowa once a month.

Tips for saving energy on the road or at home are available at energy.gov and fueleconomy.gov.

Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness month, and many places are trying to spread the word. Henry County Health Center’s Senior Life Solutions is inviting you to learn where to start when it comes to taking care of your mental health. Learn more at mhanational.org/may

Iowa Healthiest State Initiative is encouraging you to make it OK when it comes to mental health this month. They have a variety of resources and events all month long to help start conversations and raise awareness in your school, workplace, and online. Visit https://www.iowahealthieststate.com for more information.