Gabrielle Mary “Gabby” Hill

By Hayden Douglas · Friday, January 10th, 2025 at 5:43 am CDT

Gabrielle Mary “Gabby” Hill, 30, of rural New London passed away on Saturday, January 4, 2025, at her home.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, January 13, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Mt. Pleasant with Father Nick Adam celebrating the mass. Burial will follow in the St. Alphonsus Catholic Cemetery.  The family will receive friends at the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church on Monday from 9:30 until 10:30 a.m. A memorial has been established for her children’s education.

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

Murphy Funeral Home of Mt. Pleasant, is caring for her arrangements.

 

Prep Basketball: IGHSAU’s First Rankings of 2025

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, January 9th, 2025 at 4:36 pm CDT

Prep Basketball- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released their first basketball rankings of 2025 and their fifth overall for the season. Only one #1 team lost their spot atop the rankings as southeast Iowa goes unrepresented.

Class 5A

Johnston held onto their top spot with the only undefeated record standing in Class 5A. In fact, the first eight spots remained unchanged with Dowling Catholic and Waukee Northwest rounded out the top three.

Only one team fell from their spot in the rankings, but no teams were ejected from the top 15. Iowa City High was ranked 9th but a loss to #5 Prairie by nine points bumped them to #13 in this week’s edition. Iowa City Liberty jumped up to #10 from #13.

Class 4A

North Polk and Maquoketa are still undefeated on the year, but both, respectively, sit behind the #1 team Bishop Heelan. Their resume shows a 59-54 loss to Class 5A’s #5 Prairie and a 61-56 victory over #6 Dallas Center Grimes.

The Mustangs just picked up a key win over the formerly ranked #3 Norwalk Warriors with a final score 53-48. Due to the loss, Norwalk fell four spots to #7 in this week’s rankings. Storm Lake was knocked out of the top 15 with ADM claiming the open #13 spot.

Last year’s champion Clear Creek-Amana is just 4-4 on the season and tumbled two spots in the rankings to #14.

Class 3A

The top four was kept the same with Mt. Vernon leading the charge followed by Estherville Lincoln Central, Dubuque Wahlert, and Forest City, respectively. Roland Story tumbled down the rankings from 5th to 9th with a loss to formerly unranked East Marshall, who is now ranked 8th.

Center Point-Urbana and Mid-Prairie were dropped from the top 15 as Des Monies Christian claimed the #15 slot. The Golden Hawks suffered their first loss of the season to Solon after going 7-0 to start the year.

Class 2A

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont still rests atop the mountaintop with an 11-0 record. Norh Mahaska and Regina Catholic make up the top three with undefeated Hinton in 4th. West Lyon fell to #11 in the rankings after a loss to #5 Rock Valley exposed the Wildcats to a 28-point shellacking.

Hudson and AC/GC were both knocked out of the top 15 and replaced by Pocahontas Area (8-1) and Shenandoah (8-2) in the #14 and #15 spots, respectively.

Class 1A

North Linn has only one loss and it was a 51-47 final to Class 2A’s #9 Maquoketa Valley back in late December. Still, the Lynx were dethroned by St. Albert, whose wins over Shenandoah and #3 Newell-Fonda, who was ranked 2nd when they place, supplied the power needed for the jump up five spots.

Kee was the highest profile team to lose a spot in the top 15, falling from the #8 slot after two close losses to two unranked clubs. The Cinderella story of #14 Highland seems to have cooled down after losing three of their last four games, including a 67-24 laugher against Lone Tree, who they defeated earlier this year to knock the Lions out of the rankings.

Coon Rapids-Bayard entered the rankings at #12 and Martensdale-St. Marys rounds out the list with an 8-2 record.

Iowa state Representative For District 95, Taylor Collins Has Big Plans For The Iowa Legislative Session That Begins In Des Moines Next Week

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, January 9th, 2025 at 4:16 pm CDT

Iowa State Representative for District 95, Taylor Collins will be in Des Moines on Monday to kick off the Iowa legislative session. Collins will be advocating on the state level for many important topics for Southeast Iowa residents. Topics that representative Collins will be advocating for are property taxes, workforce and higher education, housing, healthcare, public safety, & energy resources in the state of Iowa.

Iowa State Representative Taylor Collins phoned into KILJ to talk some of the key points he is taking to the legislative session on Monday.

 

Collins was recently named the Chairman of the Higher Education Committee for the 91st General Assembly. Iowa House Representative Taylor Collins finds the efforts of education in the state of Iowa very important to him and he has big topics of conversation for Des Moines over the next 15 weeks.

 

Taylor also has plans to get our states community colleges more involved in the higher education process.

 

Collins, a Republican from Mediapolis, represents Iowa House District 95, encompassing all of Louisa, and large parts of Des Moines, Henry, and Muscatine Counties. Once sworn in again on Monday when the legislative session begins, Collins will begin his second term in the Iowa House.

Henry County Habitat For Humanity Is Looking For Their Next Family For House #32

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, January 9th, 2025 at 7:54 am CDT

Henry county habitat for humanity is gearing up for their 32nd home build for a low-income family in Mount Pleasant. Henry county habitat for humanity has a goal to build safe, decent, affordable homes for low-income families that otherwise would not have the opportunity to own a home. Lisa Diener With the Henry County habitat for humanity says they are looking for their next family for House thirty two.

 

The application process for the home has several elements. The potential partner needs to be able to show that they are in need of better housing, they will be asked to show their housing is inadequate. Current housing conditions can be unstable conditions, unhealthy or inaccessible to their needs. The applicant needs to make between 30% and 50% of Henry counties medium income, anywhere from $12,500 per year up to $31,000 per year. The chosen partner that will move into the home is required to put in 300 sweat equity hours when building the home. Lisa talks about what that consists of.

 

The average monthly payment ranges between $600 and $700 which does include the property taxes and insurance. The homeowner will need to be able to pay a 2% down payment pay the first year’s house insurance premium, and they must also participate in our financial course. Lisa explains the Application process

 

If you would like an application mailed or emailed to you, please email us at hchhinia@yahoo.com. Please include your name, address and phone number. Applications are due by March 1st.

Sports, January 9th

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, January 9th, 2025 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Basketball

The WACO girls’ team will compete against Iowa Valley at home at 6:45 pm, while the boys’ team will face off against North Linn on the road at 7 pm with both games taking place tonight.

Burlington Notre Dame will play West Branch tonight at home with the girls’ scheduled to start at 6 pm. 

New London will face off against West Burlington at home tomorrow, January 10th, with the girls’ team playing at 6 pm.

Danville will compete against Mediapolis on the road tomorrow with tip-off scheduled for 6 pm. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will travel to Central Lee tomorrow with the girls tipping off the night at 6 pm. 

Van Buren County will face off against Burlington Notre Dame tomorrow with game time at 6 pm.

Wapello will square off against Pekin tomorrow with game one at 6 pm at home. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will host Louisa-Muscatine tomorrow with the night scheduled to start at 6 pm. 

Columbus will take on Lone Tree at home tomorrow with the boys’ team scheduled to play at 7:30 pm following the girls game. 

Fairfield will host Mt. Pleasant tomorrow with game one at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm. Boys’ head coach Eric Rawson understands no conference game on the road will be easy,

“Yeah, Riley Perkins is having a really nice year this year. He put a lot of work in over the summer and it’s paying off for him and they’re going to be really tough at home. We’ll be ready to go and looking forward to its big rivalry game. So, we’ll have a good week of practice and bring on the Trojans.”

High School Wrestling

The Wapello girls’ team will participate in the Lancer Invitational at North Scott tomorrow, January 10th, while the boys’ team will compete on Saturday, January 11th, at BGM for an invitational. 

The New London boys’ team will travel to Durant tonight to compete in a meet.

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union and Fairfield boys’ teams will compete at the Ottumwa Invitational tomorrow.

The Mt. Pleasant, Mediapolis, Van Buren County, Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union and WACO girls’ teams will compete at the Highland tournament tomorrow.

The Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team will travel to Maquoketa for a tournament on Saturday.

The Mt. Pleasant and WACO boys’ teams will travel to Highland for the Gary Curtis Invitational on Saturday.

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant will host Washington tonight. 

Southeastern Community College

The #20 men’s basketball team started the new year with a dominant victory over Western Iowa Tech last night 79-57. The Blackhawks will stay at home for a matchup against Triton College on Saturday, January 11th, with tip-off at 7 pm. 

College Basketball

The #3 Iowa State men’s team will compete against Texas Tech on Saturday, January 11th, on the road at 1 pm. 

The Iowa men’s team will host Indiana on Saturday at 7 pm. 

The #23 Iowa women’s team will take on Illinois tonight at 6 pm on the road.

The Iowa State women’s team outpaced Arizona State 90-83 last night to get back in the win column. Audi Crooks led the way with 20 points. The Cyclones will travel to Arizona on Saturday with game time at 3 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1958 – Oscar Robertson, in his varsity debut, scored 56 points against Seton Hall inside Madison Square Garden in a 118-54 win.

1972 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leads the Milwaukee Bucks past the Los Angeles Lakers, 120-104, ending LA’s consecutive win streak at 33, the longest winning streak in major league sports history. 

1991 – Dean Smith of North Carolina is the 6th coach to win 700 career basketball games.

Mount Pleasant City Council Approves Purchase of New Snowplow Truck & Several More Airport Improvement Projects

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, January 9th, 2025 at 6:05 am CDT

A Mount Pleasant city hall meeting was held on Wednesday Jan 9th. During the city hall meeting, a motion was approved unanimously to purchase a new work truck and snowplow for the public works department, the cost of the truck was $46,775.80 from Karl automotive group, the cost of the snowplow was $8,010.54 from Brozene Hydraulic Services.

A motion was approved to appoint Drew Schumacher, director of Public Works into an indefinite term at the TEA 21, the transportation equity Act of the 21st century. Drew is replacing Rick Mullin, former director of public works.

A few airport related resolutions were approved with McClure Engineering to provide engineering services to design and construct the extended taxi lane, box hanger rehabilitation project, manage the grant and design the storm water management per city code, the cost of these agreements were funded entirely by state DOT grants. Several other resolutions were approved in reference to the airport, the hangar roof rehabilitation project initially set for 24 gauge steel doors was lowered to a 26 gauge steel door, which had a reduction in price of $16,730, that amount will be separated and allocated into replacing roof nailers, installing new gutters, and upgrading outdoor lighting at the airport.

A motion was unanimously approved for the demolition bid for 207 South Marion St.

Lastly, Iowa Wine & Spirits at 109 S. Jefferson St. was approved for a new cigarette and tobacco permit.

The next city hall meeting is Wednesday, January 22 at 5:30.

The Great Rivers Conservation Alliance of Southeast Iowa is hosting a Landowner’s Prescribed Fire Workshop

By Hayden Douglas · Thursday, January 9th, 2025 at 5:31 am CDT

The Great Rivers Conservation Alliance of Southeast Iowa is hosting a Landowner’s Prescribed Fire Workshop on Thursday, February 13, 2025, from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm at the Lee County Conservation Center at Heron Bend Park in Montrose.

This workshop is geared toward landowners who are interested in using prescribed fire as a management tool for prairies and woodlands, although anyone 18 and older may attend. Volunteer fire fighters are also encouraged to attend and may find this class helpful in responding to wildfires.

The class will cover a brief history of fire in Iowa; the benefits of prescribed fire; how to set management goals and objectives; the use of burn plans; fire weather; equipment, techniques, and safety. The $25 fee includes class materials, coffee, rolls, and a catered lunch. Registration and morning refreshments will begin at 8:30 am with the workshop starting at 9:00 am.

Pre-registration is required, and space is limited. Participants can register and pay online at https://www.tri-rivers.org/new-events.

Contact Muscatine County Conservation at 563-264-5922 or conservation@muscatinecountyiowa.gov with questions.

 

MPCSD Site & Policy Meetings Jan 9th at 6pm

By Hayden Douglas · Wednesday, January 8th, 2025 at 4:12 pm CDT

SITE COMMITTEE

  1. Facilities Master Plan Update
  2. Facilities Master Plan Calendar
  3. Update on HVAC Rooftop Unit Replacement at Howe
  4. Chapel HVAC Controls Package
  5. Bus Garage/Maintenance/Central Receiving Facility Update

POLICY COMMITTEE

  1. Update from Activities Director, Scot Lamm:
    1. Middle School Scheduling
    2. Competition Cheer
  2. First Reading of Board Policy Series 800 Buildings and Sites
  3. First Reading of Board Policy 401.10 Licensed Employee Retirement (New Policy)
  4. First Reading of Board Policy 401.10A Classified Employee Retirement (New Policy)
  5. First Reading of Board Policy 401.10B Employee Early Retirement (New Policy)