Iowa Dept. of Ag. Updates

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, January 11th, 2025 at 6:37 am CDT

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the 2024 Iowa Crop Production Annual Summary this week, saying:

“Iowa’s resilient farmers battled another year of rollercoaster weather conditions.” Spring started with the lingering historic drought and a record number of tornadoes, summer brought devastating floods and other severe weather, and dry conditions led to an uninterrupted fall harvest. Despite those challenges, Iowa’s farmers once again produced another robust corn and soybean crop,” said Secretary Naig. “Strong productivity must be met with strong market demand. Naig remains committed to building new and expand existing markets for Iowa products.

 

With the Iowa legislative session beginning on Monday, January 13th.  Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig named  a few other issues that the Department of Agriculture will be focused on including the environment: like soil conservation and water quality, promoting the Choose Iowa Program and animal diseases.

Area Meetings Scheduled for Monday, 01/13/25

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, January 11th, 2025 at 6:36 am CDT

The Mt. Pleasant School District School Board will meet in regular session Monday, January 13th at 6:00pm.  This meeting is being held in the media center at the MPHS, 2104 S. Grand Avenue and is open to the public.

 

The New London City Council will meet in regular session at 6pm on Monday, January 13, 2025.  The meeting is held in the city office, 112 W. Main Street.  This meeting is open to the public.

 

Sports, January 10th

By Slaten Swords · Friday, January 10th, 2025 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Basketball

The WACO girls’ team has now won their past six games after handling Iowa Valley last night 51-35. Brenna Graber led the scoring effort with 17 points. The WACO boys’ team traveled to play the defending champions, North Linn, last night and fell 60-40. 

WACO will host New London tomorrow, January 11th, with the girls’ tipping-off at 5 pm. 

Burlington Notre Dame split their night against West Branch with the girls losing 55-23 and the boys winning 72-57.

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

New London will face off against West Burlington at home tonight with the girls’ team playing at 6 pm.

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

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

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

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

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

Fairfield will host Mt. Pleasant tonight 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. 

High School Wrestling

The New London boys’ team traveled to Durant for a quad last night and defeated Cascade 27-24 but fell to Tipton 46-12 and the hosts 33-22. Kane Forseen, Gage Burden, and Corbin Jacobs-Jewell finished the night undefeated. 

The New London, Mt. Pleasant, and WACO boys’ teams will travel to Highland for the Gary Curtis Invitational tomorrow, January 11th.

The Mediapolis boys’ team competed in a triangular in Fort Madison last night and lost to the Bloodhounds 72-12 and to Washington 60-17. Taylan Miller won both of his matches, while Lane Rigdon won his match against Johnathan Macias of Washington by technical fall. 

Fairfield handled business last night, defeating Warsaw 60-20 and Keokuk 63-17. Aiden Westercamp, Calvin McClain, and Dain Burkhart competed in two matches last night and won both of them. 

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

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team participated in a triangular at North Mahaska last night and fell to both opponents: Iowa Valley 33-18 and the hosts 36-22. Zenlynn Lee won both of her matches, while Quintrie Lee and Paris Phosy picked up wins in their contest against North Mahaska. 

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

The Wapello girls’ team will participate in the Lancer Invitational at North Scott today while the boys’ team will compete tomorrow at BGM for an invitational. 

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

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant will travel to the Rose Bowl to compete in the Louisa-Muscatine Invite tomorrow, January 11th.

Southeastern Community College

The #20 men’s basketball team will stay at home for a matchup against Triton College tomorrow, January 11th, with tip-off at 7 pm. 

College Basketball

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

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

The #23 Iowa women’s team was unable to outlast Illinois last night, losing 62-57. Hannah Stuelke had a fine night, capturing a double-double with a team high 18 points and 13 rebounds. The Hawkeyes will take on Indiana on Sunday, January 12th, at home at 2 pm.

The Iowa State women’s team will travel to Arizona tomorrow with game time at 3 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1982 – NFC Championship, Candlestick Park, SF: the San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys, 28-27; “The Catch” an iconic moment in NFL history, Dwight Clark makes a fingertip catch for a touchdown from Joe Montana with 58 seconds remaining. San Francisco goes on to win the Super Bowl. 

1985 – Lenny Wilkens becomes the first to coach in 1,000 NBA games when his Seattle SuperSonics defeat the Golden State Warriors, 89-86. 

1986 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers scores his 34,000th career point during a 124-102 win over the Indiana Pacers; the only NBA player to reach the milestone at that time as he held the career record until 2023.

Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center Has Successfully Met The Requirements For Hospital Accreditation

By Hayden Douglas · Friday, January 10th, 2025 at 6:20 am CDT

Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center with campuses in West Burlington and Fort Madison have been surveyed by the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ) and has successfully met the requirements for Hospital Accreditation by demonstrating compliance with CIHQ Standards and the Conditions of Participation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center underwent a rigorous unannounced onsite assessment in November. The CIHQ team toured the hospital, reviewed medical records, observed care practices, and interviewed staff and patients.

Christin Pritchard, Vice President of Quality at Great River Health was quoted saying “We are dedicated to providing high-quality care in a safe environment throughout the health system.  The accreditation from CIHQ validates the outstanding effort our staff commits to this pursuit.  We are very proud of this accomplishment and all it means for our patients,”

This recognition reflects the hospital’s continuous commitment to safety and quality patient care.

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.