Randy Dodds

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, May 2nd, 2024 at 10:57 am CDT

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

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, May 2nd, 2024 at 10:56 am CDT

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

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, May 2nd, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

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

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, May 2nd, 2024 at 6:13 am CDT

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

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, May 2nd, 2024 at 6:12 am CDT

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.

William Woods Basketball Adds Mt. Pleasant Star Payton Hagans

By Slaten Swords · Wednesday, May 1st, 2024 at 4:33 pm CDT

Mt. Pleasant, IA- Mount Pleasant is becoming a factory for collegiate basketball talent as Payton Hagans signed on to join the Owls of William Woods University in the fall. Hagans is currently undecided when it comes to his major but is leaning towards business.

It has been an incredible career for Hagans, who has been seeing time on the court since his freshman season. 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.

Nevertheless, 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.

He and head coach Eric Rawson helped navigate the Panthers to back-to-back winning seasons and conference titles. Hagans talked about how influential Rawson has been to his development,

“[Rawson]Has definitely helped a lot. I respect coach Rawson a lot because he’s taught me a lot. He came my freshman year, so having the same coach all four years, being able to build a relationship that helps a lot and it helps develop a player a lot.”

Fulton, Missouri is certainly getting its fair share of Mt. Pleasant influence as Hagans joins former Iowa Wesleyan head coach and current Owls’ head coach Jordan Ashton and his former guard mate in Aaiden Ashton.

Hagans also worked out often with former Tigers that transferred to William Woods, 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.

Prep Boys’ Golf: The Roths Lead Washington to the SEC Crown

By Slaten Swords · Wednesday, May 1st, 2024 at 2:37 pm CDT

Mt. Pleasant, IA- The boys’ Southeast Conference (SEC) golf meet is in the books and the 2024 boys’ conference champion is 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. Rajan Roth also finished under par with a 71 (-1). Drew Conrad carded a 75, Luke Beenblossom shot a 76, and Carson Brown finished with a 79.

Archer Kreuter of Fairfield had the sixth best score with an 82 followed by Landon Nodruft, who finished with the same score. Sam Weaton was right behind for the Trojans with an 18-hole score of 83.

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.

Fort Madison finished in fourth with a team score of 376 as Brady Wade finished 12-over par (84) for the course, the tenth best score of the day. Cole Quitten had a fine day for the Bloodhounds with an 18-hole score of 88.

Lastly, Keokuk rounded out the field with a team score of 405. Jayden Thomas led the Chiefs with a score of 86. Collin Campbell snuck under 100 for the course with a back-nine card of 48.

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.

CPR Saves Lives: A “How To” Guide

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, May 1st, 2024 at 12:20 pm CDT

Although it’s May and American Heart Month is in February, it’s never a bad time to refresh on the steps of CPR.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, CPR, is important for several reasons. According to the American Heart Association, immediate CPR can double or triple chances of survival after cardiac arrest. 350,000 people in the United States die each year due to cardiac arrest.

One common misconception is that a heart attack is the same thing as cardiac arrest. These are not the same thing. A heart attack is a blood circulation issue, while cardiac arrest is an electrical issue. If you suspect somebody is having a heart attack, they should be taken to the hospital. For a person in cardiac arrest, 911 needs to be called immediately and high-quality CPR should be administered.

For the typical adult, 30 chest compressions should be followed by two “rescue breaths” for a ration of 30:2, and 100-120 per minute. If you’ve ever taken a class, or went to any parties in the late 70s, you may be familiar with the catchy tune that is often associated with this, Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees.

The depth of compression should be around 2 inches and an AED should be used if available. These are very simple to use as they give directions to the user as to what to do.

Of course, different people require different treatment, so be sure to look on the American Heart Association or the Red Cross website for a full list of duties.

Knowing and remembering how to deliver high-quality CPR can save lives.

 

Below is a list of seven steps to perform high-quality CPR for an adult, found and provided by the Red Cross.

1 CHECK the scene for safety, form an initial impression and use personal protective equipment (PPE)

2 If the person appears unresponsive, CHECK for responsiveness, breathing, life-threatening bleeding or other life-threatening conditions using shout-tap-shout

3 If the person does not respond and is not breathing or only gasping, CALL 9-1-1 and get equipment, or tell someone to do so

4 Kneel beside the person. Place the person on their back on a firm, flat surface

5 Give 30 chest compressions

  • Hand position: Two hands centered on the chest
  • Body position: Shoulders directly over hands; elbows locked
  • Depth: At least 2 inches
  • Rate: 100 to 120 per minute
  • Allow chest to return to normal position after each compression

6 Give 2 breaths

  • Open the airway to a past-neutral position using the head-tilt/chin-lift technique
  • Pinch the nose shut, take a normal breath, and make complete seal over the person’s mouth with your mouth.
  • Ensure each breath lasts about 1 second and makes the chest rise; allow air to exit before giving the next breath

Note: If the 1st breath does not cause the chest to rise, retilt the head and ensure a proper seal before giving the 2nd breath If the 2nd breath does not make the chest rise, an object may be blocking the airway

7 Continue giving sets of 30 chest compressions and 2 breaths. Use an AED as soon as one is available! Minimize interruptions to chest compressions to less than 10 seconds.