Sports, May 7th

By Slaten Swords · Tuesday, May 7th, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Track and Field

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

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 Thursday.

High School Soccer

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team dominated Wapello last night 8-0. 

The Central Lee girls’ team will take on Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union tonight at home.

The Mediapolis girls’ team fell to Canton last night 3-1. The Bulldogs will face off against Keokuk on Thursday, May 9th, at 4:30 pm.

The boys’ Southeast Iowa Super Conference tournament will begin today with Mediapolis taking on Central Lee, Danville facing off against Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, and WACO competing against Burlington Notre Dame.

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team had their senior night spoiled by Fort Madison last night 5-1. Jackson Newman had the lone goal for the Panthers. Mt. Pleasant will travel to Burlington Notre Dame on Thursday with the boys’ team on the road and the girls’ team at home. 

The Burlington Notre Dame girls’ team will face off against Wapello tonight.

High School Tennis

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will have Jana Isanta attending the singles state tournament in Iowa City after dispatching her four opponents in dominating fashion, only dropping a set in three of her matches. Ellie Situmeang won her first match against Paige Kramer of Burlington Notre Dame in a 10-6 tiebreaker before falling to the eventual third-place finisher. The team of Bethany Drury and Audrey Richmond also finished 1-1 before losing to the eventual doubles champions. Isanta will participate in the two-day state tournament on May 24th and 25th. The girls’ team will travel to Central DeWitt for team regionals on Friday, May 10th.

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will be playing in their district matches tomorrow, May 8th, at Fairfield.

High School Golf. 

The New London boys’ team will host Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, Winfield-Mt. Union, and WACO for their district meet tomorrow, May 8th. The boys’ teams of Central Lee, Van Buren County, and Mediapolis will take a trip to Mid-Prairie for districts today. 

The SEISC girls’ teams clashed at Wapello yesterday for a chance to claim the conference crown and it was Highland who was able to edge past New London to win with a team score of 380 followed by the Tigers’ 382. 

New London was led by a gold medal finish by Taylor Phillips who shot a 76 (+3) for the 18-hole course. Sophie Malott turned in a top-four finish, carding a 91 for the Tigers. 

Van Buren County finished in fourth as a team with a 455. Sophia Jirak was their top golfer with an 18-hole score of 100, which earned her 11th place. Tessa Sayer grabbed 18th. 

Holy Trinity Catholic was anchored by Emma Mohrfeld’s 21st place finish with a score of 109, which placed the Crusaders in sixth as a team with a score of 474. 

Mediapolis finished in eighth as a team, but Olivia Hines turned in a runner-up finish with a score of 83 (+10) for the course. 

Winfield-Mt. Union and Central Lee finished with team scores of 535 as the Wolves got a 23rd place finish out of Lily Freeman with a score of 110 and the Hawks had Marie Young take 32nd place. 

Morgan Meyer led WACO with a score of 121 for the course, which placed her in 33rd, as the Warriors shot a 593. Burlington Notre Dame did not have a team score but Emersyn Hopkins finished in 7th place for the Nikes as she carded a 95. 

The girls first round of regionals will take place on Friday, May 10th, with Columbus, Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, WACO, and Winfield-Mt. Union traveling to New London at Deerwood Golf Course. Van Buren County, West Burlington/Notre Dame, Central Lee, and Mediapolis will make the trip to Kalona Golf Course hosted by Mid-Prairie. 

The SEC boys’ teams will meet up tomorrow 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 tomorrow.

Southeastern Community College

SCC baseball won both of their games against Carl Sandburg College yesterday with a heavy display of offense. Game one was a continuation of their suspended matchup back on April 11th with the Blackhawks down 8 to 7 in the fifth inning. That’s when SCC scored 10 of the next 11 runs to win 17-9.

Game two saw the Blackhawks slip past the Chargers to win 6-4. SCC grabbed the #2 seed in the ICCAC Division II tournament, which gave them a bye. The Blackhawks will face off against the winner of Iowa Central versus NIACC on Friday, May 10th.

This Day in Sports History

1877 – Cincinnati Enquirer first uses the term “bullpen” to indicate a baseball field’s foul territory where late-coming spectators were herded like cattle.

1982 – Californian federal jury rules NFL violates antitrust laws in preventing the Oakland Raiders from moving to Los Angeles Coliseum.

1994 – The Denver Nuggets become NBA’s 1st #8 seed to beat a #1 seed, the Seattle SuperSonics.

Can’t Find Any Mushrooms? Here’s Some Tips!

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, May 7th, 2024 at 6:19 am CDT

In Iowa, mushroom hunting is quite common. However, knowing the peak time to hunt for a particular mushroom can be challenging.

Chelsea Harbach, a plant disease diagnostician in the Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, shares helpful guidelines when hunting for common mushrooms.

Three common types of mushrooms are regularly sought out. While using the mushroom foraging calendar key, Iowans can find peak times to hunt for common, white, black or half-free morels in the Spring; Chicken of the Woods in late summer; and oysters May through September.

When hunting for mushrooms, you can determine whether the mushroom is edible or inedible by asking:

  • Does the mushroom have a stem or cap?
  • Does the mushroom have gills or pores?
  • Where is the mushroom growing?
  • How is the mushroom growing? Out of the soil or out of a tree?
  • What is the time of year?
  • Does the mushroom have spore prints?
  • How does the mushroom smell?

A dangerous mushroom found in Iowa belongs to the Verpa species. These mushrooms look like morel mushrooms. However, these mushrooms have a wrinkly cap and similar stem, but when viewed closer, differences appear. The Verpa species will have a cottony pith in the middle of their stem, whereas morel stems are always hollow.

“When in doubt, throw it out,” said Harbach. “If you have any doubt about the identification or safety of the mushroom that you pick for consumption, it is not worth it.”

Mushrooms in Iowa enjoy rain without excessive heat. When searching, also avoid aged mushrooms. If a mushroom is of an older age, then you are more likely to find insects and decay. If the fungal tissue is degrading, this can make you ill. A common mushroom in Iowa is the dryad saddle, which is best found in its younger stages when it has a more fleshy outside. As this mushroom grows and gets older, it becomes woodier.

Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, May 7th, 2024 at 6:15 am CDT

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provides a weather summary each week during this time.

“Farmers are feeling anxious as the multiple rounds of rain produced soggy conditions that have not been fit for planting progress,” said Secretary Naig. “We need a stretch of sunshine and dry weather so that farmers can get back in the field.” 

The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at nass.usda.gov.

Crop Report
Fieldwork activities were limited as rain across the State held Iowa farmers to just 1.4 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 5, 2024, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Rains the past two weeks have resulted in reports of some counties moving out of the extreme to severe drought stages.

Topsoil moisture condition rated 4 percent very short, 12 percent short, 65 percent adequate and 19 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 7 percent very short, 20 percent short, 64 percent adequate and 9 percent surplus.

Just 8 percent of Iowa’s expected corn crop was planted during the week ending May 5, 2024, for a total of 47 percent planted. This meant progress went from ahead of average to lagging 2 days behind both last year and the 5-year average. Seven percent of the corn crop has emerged, 3 days ahead of last year and 1 day ahead of the average. Soybean planting progress fell behind the previous year with 5 percent of Iowa’s expected soybean crop planted during the week ending May 5, 2024, for a total of 30 percent of the expected soybean crop planted, 2 days behind last year. Four percent of the soybean crop has emerged. Ninety-six percent of the expected oat crop has been planted, 2 days ahead of last year and 10 days ahead of normal. Oat emergence reached 68 percent, 5 days ahead of last year and 1 week ahead of the 5-year average. The first oat condition rating of the season was 1 percent very poor, 2 percent poor, 29 percent fair, 59 percent good and 9 percent excellent.

The first hay condition rating of the season was 1 percent very poor, 3 percent poor, 21 percent fair, 64 percent good and 11 percent excellent. Pasture condition rated 57 percent good to excellent. There were many reports of cattle being turned out to pasture. 

Weather Summary
Provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Unseasonably wet conditions continued through the reporting period with several disturbances crossing the state. Rain on already saturated ground produced flooding in pockets of northern and southeastern Iowa. Temperatures varied from cooler than average in northwestern Iowa to unseasonably warm southeast; the statewide average temperature was near normal at 55.0 degrees.

Showers remained in eastern Iowa with additional redevelopment in western Iowa ahead of a low-pressure center through Sunday (28th) afternoon. Daytime temperatures reached into the upper 60s where cloud cover was sparse with light southerly winds. As the low propagated towards the Great Lakes, winds shifted westerly with Monday (29th) morning lows ranging from the low 40s northwest to upper 50s southeast. Widespread rain totals were reported at 7:00 am with the highest amounts in pockets of northwest and northeast Iowa; Dyersville (Dubuque County) measured 1.01 inches while Storm Lake (Buena Vista County) collected 1.21 inches with a statewide average of 0.35 inch. Overcast skies persisted north through the day with highs in the 50s, while southern Iowa was 10-15 degrees warmer under mostly sunny conditions. Winds became variable after midnight as starry skies reigned ahead of another approaching strong low-pressure system. Initial Tuesday (30th) morning showers fizzled in eastern Iowa as a warm front lifted across southern Iowa, pumping in moisture and increasing atmospheric instability. Discrete supercells fired rapidly along the cold front near the Iowa-Nebraska line around 3:00 pm; these storms tracked east-northeast and became severe-warned almost immediately. Reports of large hail and isolated straight-line winds followed the consolidating line east with 2.00-inch hail in Massena (Cass County) and a weak tornado near Millerton (Wayne County). The cold front exited eastern Iowa overnight into Wednesday (1st) as skies cleared ahead of another weather disturbance to the west. Event rain totals across western Iowa were in the 0.50-0.75-inch range at many stations with lesser amounts farther east. Showers with some rumbles of thunder increased through the late afternoon and evening hours with temperatures in the upper 50s northwest to upper 60s southeast.

Showers and thunderstorms overspread the state into Thursday (2nd) bringing widespread, moderate rainfall to much of Iowa. Rain continued across eastern Iowa through the afternoon hours with stubborn showers holding over the southeast corner where flood warnings were issued. Northwesterly winds ushered in cooler temperatures behind the system as dense fog developed from southwest to north-central Iowa. Rain totals reported on Friday (3rd) morning for the last 36 hours showed almost 200 stations receiving at least the weekly climatological average, which is just shy of an inch. Nearly 30 stations had 2.00 inches or more with 2.10 inches in Sigourney (Keokuk County) to 4.10 inches in Centerville (Appanoose County); the statewide average was 0.98 inch. Daytime conditions were pleasant with winds gradually shifting southerly and upper 60s and low 70s. Yet another low-pressure center entered western Iowa early Saturday (4th) morning with thunderstorms forming a narrow line along the attendant cold front. Rain totals were highest across west-central to north-central Iowa where amounts were in the 0.75-1.00 range; many of the state’s remaining stations collected 0.20-0.50 inch. Skies gradually cleared west to east through the afternoon and evening as highs held in the upper 50s. Variable winds developed into Sunday (5th) with lows generally in the upper 30s and low 40s.

Weekly precipitation totals ranged from 0.31 inch at Muscatine (Muscatine County) to 4.53 inches in Forest City (Winnebago County). The statewide weekly average precipitation was 2.23 inches, more than double the normal of 0.93 inch. Shenandoah (Page County) reported the week’s high temperature of 83 degrees on the 30th, 15 degrees above average. Forest City and Storm Lake reported the week’s low temperature of 32 degrees on the 5th, on average 12 degrees below normal. Four-inch soil temperatures ranged from the mid 50s northwest to low 60s southeast as of Sunday.

Prep Boys’ Soccer: IHSAA Releases Soccer Postseason Brackets

By Slaten Swords · Monday, May 6th, 2024 at 4:33 pm CDT

Prep Boys’ Soccer- The Iowa High School Athletic Association has released their postseason brackets for all four Classes with round one scheduled to start on Monday, May 13th, for Classes 2A and 1A and Tuesday, May 14th, for Classes 3A and 4A.

Class 1A

The Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) will be battling it out in Substate 6 with West Branch snagging the top seed. WACO will host Central Lee on Monday at 5 pm with the winner moving on to play West Branch.

The Hawks won the last matchup 3-1 as Colton Leichty scored the one goal for the Warriors. Landan Crank had one of the goals for Central Lee as he leads the team with seven on the season.

On the bottom half of the bracket, Danville will face off against Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union at home at 5 pm on Monday. Danville won that matchup 4-0 as Colin Pealer scored two goals and totaled two assists. The Wildcats will need Fernando Erazo and Sachiel Villagrana to bring it on offensively.

The winner of the matchup will take on Mediapolis in the second round.

Class 2A

Substate 5 will feature a Southeast Conference (SEC) rivalry to kickoff play with Mt. Pleasant taking on Keokuk at 7:30 pm on Monday. The Panthers won both matchups this season in tight games as Dylan White has tallied three goals in the two contests. The Chiefs will lean on Cooper Abfalter-Dial with three of the four goals in the contests.

The winner will compete against Williamsburg, who is ranked 5th in Class 2A.

The bottom half of the bracket will have Burlington Notre Dame compete against Wapello at 7:30 pm. The Nikes recently defeated Wapello 10-0. Both games will be held at Notre Dame.

The winner of Notre Dame versus Wapello will take on Assumption.

Substate 6 will feature Fairfield traveling to Knoxville on Monday to battle with Chariton at 5:30 pm. The winner will get the dubious distinction of playing #1 Gilbert, who is undefeated.

Class 3A

The SEC will meet again with Washington and Fort Madison squaring off in the second round on May 20th. The Demons have the higher seed, but the Bloodhounds have the one win of the season back on April 15th, 4-3. Fort Madison won on penalty kicks after the Demons scored two goals in the second half.

The winner will take on either Xavier or North Scott/Clinton in the Substate 2 finals.

In Substate 3, Burlington will travel to face off against Clear Creek-Amana on May 20th. The winner will take on either Marion or Western Dubuque/Northeast Iowa United in the substate finals.

Prep Girls’ Soccer: IGHSAU Released the Class 1A Regional Pairings

By Slaten Swords · Monday, May 6th, 2024 at 3:35 pm CDT

Prep Girls’ Soccer- Playoff soccer is just around the corner with the first round of competition starting on Monday, May 13th, for Class 1A. The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released the regional pairings for Class 1A with the Class 2A and Class 3A pairings to be released on Thursday, May 9th.

Region 1

Wapello will have to face off against West Branch in a play-in game on Monday, May 13th, at 7 pm at West Branch. The Arrows won their last matchup in 2022, 3-2. Nevertheless, this year’s squad young squad struggled, scoring only two goals while allowing 61 goals. The winner will advance to face off against the #1-seed Assumption, who is 12-0.

On the top half of the bracket, two Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) foes will compete against one another as Mediapolis will host Central Lee on Thursday at 7 pm. In their matchup from earlier this season, Ella Russell and Savannah Kerr each netted a goal to push the Bulldogs past the Hawks.

Central Lee will look for Ellie Lake and Aubree Boyd, who combine for 20 of the team’s 24 goals, to step up for the Hawks. The winner will advance to the semifinals to take on the winner between Assumption and Wapello/West Branch.

Region 5

Fairfield, who is winless on the season, will hit the road to play Williamsburg for the play-in on Monday at 7 pm. The Trojans have been outscored by 58 goals this season, while Williamsburg has allowed 101 goals and scored just 13 of their own goals. The winner will take on #5 in the class, Nevada, who is 9-4.

Region 8

The Southeast Conference (SEC) and SEISC will link up on Monday at 5:30 pm with Washington hosting Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union. The two did not play this season, but the Demons have won the past three matchups by a combined score of 16 to 1.

Washington will lean on their senior leader Giselle Marcelino with six goals on the season. The senior to look out for on the Wildcats will be Lecet Quiroz with five goals and an assist on the year. The winner will face off against #9 Center Point-Urbana, who is unbeaten on the season.

On the bottom half of the bracket, Mid-Prairie will take on Anamosa at Anamosa on Thursday at 7 pm. The 7-4 Golden Hawks will need Niva Helmuth to have an impressive game between the pipes as she has saved 84.4% of shots taken against her. The winner will compete against either Hudson or Benton/Cedar Valley Christian.

Rozella “Lolly” Mae Bannister

By Yorke Prough · Monday, May 6th, 2024 at 2:58 pm CDT

Rozella “Lolly” Mae Bannister, 77, of Mt. Pleasant, went home to rest with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on May 5th, 2024 while at her home surrounded by family. She was born September 25, 1946 at Memorial Hospital, Mt. Pleasant, to Willie and Helen Roth Beachy of Olds. She was a 1964 graduate of WACO High School. After graduation she attended Heston College in Kansas for a year and then worked as a medical transcriber at University Hospitals in Iowa City. She moved back to Mt. Pleasant after her father passed away and worked as a waitress at the Starlight Cafe, while her mother was manager of the Starlight Motel. That is where she met her future husband, Edward Charles Bannister, as he stayed at the motel and ate at the Cafe every morning while working construction on a natural gas pipeline. He asked where a guy could get a good meal on a Sunday, and she told him that if he went to church, he could have dinner with them, so that is what happened. On October 9th, 1971 they were married in Mt. Pleasant. For a majority of Lolly’s career, she kept books and did other accounting work for various companies such as Millard/Shook Insurance, Motorola, and Innovaire to name a few. She lived in New London from the end of 1978 until 1995 before transferring to Rockford, IL when Motorola relocated. While in New London she raised her family and was an active member of the New London Christian Church (NLCC). In 2007 she moved back to Iowa in rural Mt. Pleasant, just south of Trenton, to be closer to family. She enjoyed cooking, playing various games and spending time with all of her family. Besides her husband Ed, she is survived by her daughter Jami Boles of Mt. Pleasant; son Robert (Amy) Bannister of Ames; step-daughter Tracy (Stephen) Hoffman of Marietta/Tybee Island, Georgia; nine grandchildren, Mitch (Kristen), Levi & Alisha Boles; Quentin & Jayden Bannister; Tristan (Summer) Miller, Connor, Brian and Morgan Hoffman; one great grandchild, Carson Boles; three brothers Gerri (Connie) Beachy of Middlebury, Indiana; Loren (Mary Ann) Beachy of Mt. Pleasant; and Roy (Janet) Beachy of Kalona; and many loving nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents.

The funeral service for Lolly will be held at 10:00 AM, Monday May 13th at NLCC with Pastors Rod and Nathan Cooper officiating.  Following the service, a traditional Mennonite fellowship meal will be held at NLCC.  Private family burial of her cremains will be held at Sugar Creek Cemetery, rural Wayland, at a later date.  The family will greet friends from 5:00 – 7:00 PM at Elliott Chapel, New London, on Sunday May 12th. We ask that memorial gifts be given to EveryStep hospice (everystep.org) in Lolly’s name to continue to aid the amazing and loving work they provide. Online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com.

Fred Rugg

By Yorke Prough · Monday, May 6th, 2024 at 11:10 am CDT

Fred Rugg, 77 of Wayland, died Saturday, May 4, 2024, at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics in Iowa City. A Celebration of Life will be 11:00AM, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at the Independent Bible Church in Wayland, with Pastor Ben Linville officiating. The service will be available via Livestream at the Beatty Peterseim Website, Facebook and YouTube pages. Visitation will be held prior to the service at the church from 9 – 10:45 AM. A graveside service will be held following the service at Cottonwood Cemetery west of Wayland, where full military rites will be afforded by American Legion Post #29 of Washington. A memorial fund has been established for the Cottonwood Cemetery. The Beatty Peterseim Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Fred was born October 12, 1946, the son of Walter “Doc” and L. Helen (Barger) Rugg. He was united in marriage to Elizabeth “Liz” Jane Messer December 24, 1965, at the Independent Bible Church in Wayland. He graduated from Clear Creek High School and was drafted into the United States Navy, where he was a member of the Seabees, serving until October of 1971. Fred worked at Leichty and Sons in Wayland, Bluebird in Mt. Pleasant and later at EBD in Washington. He attended Independent Bible Church and enjoyed camping, gardening, woodworking, square dancing, going to coffee, patrolling the streets of Wayland in his golf cart, and attending his grandkid’s events. Fred loved decorating for Christmas and was especially proud of his 12-foot Christmas tree.

Survivors include his children: Chad Rugg (Patricia Tinder) of Eagan, MN, Shannon Rugg (Erin) of Washington and Kristi Merida (Eric) of Wayland; grandchildren, Eric, Emma and Ethan Rugg,  Matthew Tinder (Christy), Alexa Tinder, Blayze Richardson and Easton Rugg; and eight siblings: Judy Carney of Williamsburg, IA, Laura (Gary) Hill of Washington, IA, Merle (Sherri)  Rugg of Wayland, IA, Beryl (Donna) Rugg of Wayland, IA, Mary (Donnie) Richardson of Omaha, NE, Sanford (Nancy) Rugg of Crawfordsville, IA, Robert Rugg of Omaha, NE, and Shelley (Kent) Herren of Viola, IA.

He was preceded in death by his parents and wife Elizabeth September 1, 2019, and one sister Linda Otis.

Marie Perrott

By Yorke Prough · Monday, May 6th, 2024 at 11:08 am CDT

Marie Louise Perrott, 96, of Birkwood Village, Fort Madison, Iowa, passed away at 9:20 a.m. Saturday, May 4, 2024 at the Birkwood Village, Fort Madison, Iowa.

Born  December 7, 1927, the daughter of Louis and Bertha (Schlicher) Wagner.

Survivors include a niece and nephews.

Marie was preceded in death by her parents; one brother; and three sisters.

She was a member of the United Church of Christ.

A private family graveside service will be held Tuesday, May 7, 2024 in Evangelical Cemetery in Donnellson, Iowa.

Schmitz Funeral Home of Donnellson is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com