Sports, December 31st

By Slaten Swords · Tuesday, December 31st, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Basketball

Mt. Pleasant will square off against Keokuk on Friday, January 3rd, at home with the girls’ tipping off the night at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm.

Fairfield will take on Burlington at home on Friday with game one at 6 pm.

Burlington Notre Dame will travel to Danville on Friday with the boys’ leading off the night at 6 pm.

Mediapolis will host Central Lee on Friday with the girls’ teams playing at 6 pm.

West Burlington will square off against Van Buren County on Friday in a road matchup with the boys following the girls’ game at 7:30 pm. 

New London will take on Holy Trinity Catholic at home on Friday with game one at 6 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union is in the middle of a three-game homestand with a game against Wapello slated to start at 6 pm on Friday.

Columbus will face off against Pekin on the road with the night starting at 6 pm on Thursday, January 2nd. 

WACO will compete on Friday with the girls’ tipping off the night at 6 pm at home against Columbus. 

High School Wrestling

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union and Mediapolis boys’ teams will participate in the Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont tournament on Saturday, January 4th.  

The Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team will host an invitational on Thursday, January 2nd, with New London in attendance. 

The Van Buren County boys’ team will compete at the Ottumwa Invitational on January 11th. 

WACO will compete in a dual tournament on Saturday at BGM. 

Fairfield will host a quad on January 7th with Wapello making the trip. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will travel to Highland for the Gary Curtis Invitational on January 11th. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team will compete in the Megan Black Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Invitational on Friday, January 3rd. 

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant will host Washington on January 9th. 

Southeastern Community College

The #20 men’s basketball team will take on Western Iowa Tech at home on January 8th with tip-off scheduled for 7 pm. 

College Football

Iowa’s second half offense disappeared as the Hawkeyes fell to #19 Missouri 27-24 in the Music City Bowl. Kamari Moulton led the rushing attack with 96 yards and a touchdown in the losing effort as Kaden Wetjen returned a kick 100-yards for a score. The Hawkeyes finished the season with an 8-5 record. 

College Basketball

The #3 Iowa State men’s team kept Colorado at arms length to escape with a 79-69 win to open Big 12 play. Curtis Jones nabbed 20 points from off the bench, while Joshua Jefferson snatched eight steals to go along with 13 points. The Cyclones will face off against #25 Baylor in a home matchup on Saturday, January 4th. 

The Iowa men’s team demolished New Hampshire 112-70 in their final non-conference game of the regular season. Payton Sandfort cashed in for a team-high 15 points. The Hawkeyes will compete against Wisconsin on Friday, January 3rd, at 6 pm on the road. 

The #23 Iowa women’s team will travel to Penn State tomorrow, January 1st, at noon.

The Iowa State women’s team will face off against Kansas tomorrow at home at 2 pm.  

This Day in Sports History

1961 – National Football League Championship, City Stadium, Green Bay: Green Bay Packers shutout NY Giants 37-0; first of 5 NFL titles won in 7-season span by Packers head coach, Vince Lombardi.

1967 – NFL Championship, Lambeau Field, Green Bay: Green Bay Packers beat Dallas Cowboys, 21-17 in “The Ice Bowl” as temperatures rest at -13 degrees Fahrenheit. 

1988 – A heavy, dense fog rolls over Soldier Field in Chicago during the second quarter of the Bears vs. Eagles NFC Divisional Playoff Game, cutting visibility to 15-20 yards in a game known as “The Fog Bowl” (Bears win 20-12).

Hoang Thanh Nguyen

By Hayden Douglas · Monday, December 30th, 2024 at 2:34 pm CDT

Hoang (Juan) Thanh Nguyen, 57, of Mt. Pleasant, died Saturday, December 28, 2024 at Henry County Health Center Emergency Department.  He was born in Saigon on July 3, 1967 to Huong V. and Chan Nguyen.  In 1993 he married Yen Gia Tang in New London.

He was a graduate of New London High School; earned his AA degree in Robotics at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa; then a Bachelor’s Degree at Buena Vista College in Storm Lake. Hoang worked as a mechanical engineer at Motorola/Celestica and most recently at Federal Mogul/Tenneco in Burlington.  He enjoyed hiking, cars, motorcycles, and playing cards with friends.

He is survived by his wife Yen of Mt. Pleasant; his parents of Avon, Indiana; sons Kevin (Leslie) of Chicago, Illinois and Brandon (Tram-Anh Doan) of Dallas, Texas; brother Hung Nguyen; and five sisters, Huong Le, Hong Nguyen, Hien Nguyen, Ha Nguyen and Hanh Nguyen.  Also surviving are his bonus family; parents Jr. and Anna Williams of New London, and sisters Teresa (Delbert) Lemley, Sheri (Tony) Millard and Karla (Syd) Millard; and his mother-in-law Mrs. Han To of New London.

Visitation for Hoang will be from noon until 3:00 pm, Wednesday, January 1, 2025 at Elliott Chapel, New London with the family present.  According to his wishes, his body will be cremated following visitation and inurnment will be held at a later date. Memorials may be directed to the American Red Cross or Henry County Health Center Emergency Medical Services.  Online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com.

Henry County Deputy Makes Late Night OWI Arrest on December 28th

By Hayden Douglas · Monday, December 30th, 2024 at 2:07 pm CDT

On December 28th, 2024, at approximately 2:00AM a Henry County Deputy was patrolling in the 1100-grid of Highway 218 and observed a vehicle traveling northbound with an improper registration lamp, the vehicle was also traveling at 74 MPH in a 65 MPH zone.

A traffic stop was attempted on the vehicle in the 1100-grid of Highway 218.

The vehicle initially ignored the patrol vehicle’s emergency lights and sirens and turned west on to 105th Street before coming to a stop at the intersection on 105th Street and James Avenue.

The driver, Anthony Campbell, 25 of Trenton, Iowa, showed signs of impairment from drugs or alcohol.  Anthony was tested for impairment and subsequently arrested for Operating While Under the Influence–3rd Offense and received written warnings for speed, open container, failure to yield to emergency vehicle and improper registration lamp.

Helen Vander Hamm

By Hayden Douglas · Monday, December 30th, 2024 at 11:07 am CDT

Helen Vander Hamm, 98, formerly of Fairfield, Iowa, passed away Monday,

December 23, 2024 at Lone Tree Health Care Center in Lone Tree, Iowa.

Helen was born October 22, 1926 in Burlington, Iowa, the daughter of Harry and Florence (Porter) Simon. She graduated from Burlington High School in 1943

where she was a member of the National Honor Society, Victory Corp and six

different choral groups. After busy and involved high school years, she graduated

from Burlington Junior College and then attended Antioch College, Yellow

Springs, Ohio where her studies focused on textile design and marketing. While at

Antioch, Helen completed an internship in downtown Chicago at Carson, Pirie,

Scott Department Store. She often commented that the smell of bus exhaust

brought back fond memories of Chicago. After one year at Antioch, Helen transferred to Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, where she graduated in the

spring of 1949 with a major in clothing and textiles. It was while attending Iowa

State that she met a fellow student and her future husband Lowell. They were

married September 24, 1949 in Burlington, Iowa and celebrated 65 years of

marriage together before Lowell passed November 6, 2014.

Helen was a homemaker, but for a period of years she also worked in the fabric department at the Ben Franklin store in Fairfield. She was a member of First

Lutheran Church in Fairfield where she sang in the choir and was active in various

church groups through the years. Her love for music and theater continued

throughout her life. She also loved to cook, bake and try new recipes. Her favorite

book to read was a cookbook, and she had many! Helen and Lowell raised a very

special and loving family together.

Those left to honor her memory include her children and their spouses, Susan (Richard deceased) Strobl of Hagerstown, Maryland, Sherry (Rick) Ogren of Lone Tree, Iowa and Scott Vander Hamm (Dr. Kren Shriver) of Poughkeepsie, New

York; two grandchildren, Ashlee (Brenton) Woods of Moline, Illinois, Alex

(Madeline) Ogren of Lone Tree, Iowa; four step-grandchildren, Scott (Krysti)

Strobl of Burbank, CA, Michele Strobl-Walker of Bakersfield, CA, Mike (Mei)

Strobl of Stevenson Ranch, CA. and Jeremy (Kori) Strobl of Oceanside, CA; four

great-grandchildren, eleven step-great-grandchildren and three step great-great-

grandchildren; nephews Dr. Dean (Coleen) Lyons and Dr. James Ruggles (niece

Dianne deceased).

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents; two sisters, Virginia Simon and Ruth Lyons; and two nieces, Debra Lyons and Dianne Ruggles.

A visitation for family and friends will be held 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Friday,

January 3, 2025 at Behner Funeral Home in Fairfield. A graveside service will

follow at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Evergreen Cemetery with Pastor Nathaniel Adkins,

First Lutheran Church, officiating. Memorials may be made to First Lutheran

Church, 201 W. Briggs Ave., Fairfield, Iowa 52556 or Lone Tree Health Care

Center, 501 E. Pioneer Rd., Lone Tree, IA, 52755

Online condolences may be made to Helen’s family by viewing her obituary at www.behnerfh.com.

Mt. Pleasant Park and Rec. 3rd and 4th Grade Youth Basketball’s Registration Closes December 31st

By Allison Jacobs · Monday, December 30th, 2024 at 10:41 am CDT

Mt. Pleasant, IA- 3rd and 4th grade youth basketball is getting ready to tip-off for the season, but there is still time to register both your boys and girls and pay your fees with tomorrow, December 31st, being the deadline.

You can stop in at the Mt. Pleasant Park and Recreation Department at 307 E. Monroe Street or contact them at mpparkandrec@gmail.com or call them at 319-385-1475. They also have a Dropbox located in their alleyway on the west side of their building.

The league will play in January and February of 2025. Volunteer coaches are still needed.

 

Package “Brushing” Scam

By Hayden Douglas · Monday, December 30th, 2024 at 9:40 am CDT

A recent scam has been showing up in many states, including Iowa. “brushing”, is a scam that happens when someone receives an unexpected gift or item not ordered in the mail from a place like Amazon or other company.

Examples of gifts include rings, bracelets, necklaces, Bluetooth speaker, & electronics. The gift will have the recipient’s address, but not include the sender’s information or be from a known retailer. When the recipient opens the package to see what it is and possibly who sent it, there is a QR code to scan to find out who sent the gift.

Once the code is scanned, there is potential for your information from that phone to be sent to scammers. They have a chance to receive all access to the phone. This puts all your personal and financial information in jeopordy of being stolenby the scammers and often the victim’s bank accounts are drained once accessed. The gift can be kept or thrown away, but the QR code should NOT be scanned for any reason.

QR code scams are nothing new. These scams show up in all places, including parking meters. Inform your family members about the scam and avoid scanning any unknown QR codes included in the package

Free Christmas Tree Pick-up For Mount Pleasant Residents

By Hayden Douglas · Monday, December 30th, 2024 at 9:35 am CDT

Free Christmas tree pick-up for Mount Pleasant residents has been scheduled for the week of January 6th – January 10th, 2024, weather permitting. The Public Works crew will utilize the whole week to pick up trees. Have your Christmas tree placed at the curb for a Monday – Friday morning pickup. Trees must not have plastic coverings, decorations, or tinsel on them.