Charles William Sibley

By Lisa Grilliot · Saturday, March 14th, 2026 at 4:52 am CDT

Charles William Sibley, a veteran, devoted family man, and longtime resident of Iowa, passed away March 12, 2026 at the age of 78.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. Memorials may be made to the Lord’s Cupboard of Jefferson County. Behner Funeral Home in Fairfield is assisting the family.

Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Chuck/Bill developed an early foundation of discipline and leadership at St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy. Shortly after graduation, he answered the call to serve his country, enlisting in the U.S. Army and completing a tour of duty in Vietnam.

Upon returning home, he built a life centered on family. He and his beloved wife, Cheryl, settled in Luna Pier, Michigan, where they raised their four children.

A dedicated provider, he spent many years working for Champion Spark Plug, where he retired after many years of service. He brought the same commitment to his career that he gave to his country.

For the past 37 years, he called Iowa home, enjoying a slower pace of life and the company of his growing family.

He was a man of quiet strength and enduring loyalty. He is preceded in death by his wife, Cheryl, and his eldest son, Matthew.

His legacy lives on through his two daughters, Patricia and Maggie, and his son, David. He was the proud “Poppie” to seven grandchildren and “Great-Poppie” to three great-grandchildren, all of whom will miss his stories and his presence.

Douglas Allen Grimm

By Lisa Grilliot · Friday, March 13th, 2026 at 6:42 pm CDT

Douglas Allen Grimm, 82, of Columbia, Missouri, passed away on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at his home.  He was born at home in New London, Iowa on January 19, 1944 to Bernard William and Arbutus Louise (Kalmus) Grimm.  Dr. Frank Mehler assisted by midwife Violet Brown delivered Douglas at 4:00 am.

Douglas attended New London High School in New London, IA.  He was a plumber by trade and since 1995, owned and operated A1 Columbia Plumbing, Heating and AC company in Columbia, MO.

Douglas leaves behind brothers James (Debby) Grimm and Frank L. (Laurie) Goody; sister Betty (Dallas) Piper; niece Danielle Grimm; nephews Michael (Paula) Piper, Thomas (Jamie) Piper, Jason (Lisa) Goody, and Frank J. (Yuki) Goody; and extended family and friends.  Douglas was preceded in death by his father in 1950 and his mother in 2006; his brother William (Bill) Grimm in 2024 and his sister-in-law Carolyn Grimm in 2022, both of the Jefferson City, MO area.

According to his wishes, his body will be cremated and inurnment will be at a later date at Burge Cemetery, rural New London.  Elliott Chapel, New London, is assisting the family and online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com.

 

Ted L. Klopfenstein – Pending

By Lisa Grilliot · Friday, March 13th, 2026 at 6:38 pm CDT

Ted L. Klopfenstein, 62, of Mt. Pleasant, died Thursday, March 12, 2026 at his residence.

Funeral arrangements are pending at the Kimzey Funeral Home, 213 N. Main St., Mt. Pleasant.

Online condolences may be directed to www.kimzeyfh.com.

Marilyn Fenton

By Lisa Grilliot · Friday, March 13th, 2026 at 2:34 pm CDT

Marilyn Fenton, 94, of Fairfield, IA passed away peacefully at her home on Thursday, March 12, 2026. A funeral service honoring her life will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, March 20, 2026, at the Bladensburg Christian Church with Pastor Larry Smith officiating. Burial will be in the Batavia Cemetery immediately following the service. Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 19, 2026 at the Cranston Family Funeral Home in Fairfield beginning at 2:00 p.m. with the family present to greet friend from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Memorial contributions in Marilyn’s honor may be directed to the Bladensburg Christian Church and may be mailed to 9691 Competine Rd., Batavia, IA 52533. Friends may leave online condolences at www.cranstonfamilyfuneralhome.com.

Henry County Receives Ballots for County Attorney Special Election

By Allison Jacobs · Friday, March 13th, 2026 at 12:16 pm CDT

The Henry County Auditor’s Office has received the ballots for the upcoming special election to fill the position of Henry County Attorney.

Early voting will begin Monday at the Henry County Courthouse in Mount Pleasant. Voters who wish to cast their ballot early can do so during regular courthouse hours leading up to Election Day.

The special election will be held on Tuesday, March 31st. On that day, voters will cast their ballots at their regular polling locations across Henry County.

Residents looking for information about their polling place or voting details can find a full list of polling locations HERE.

The special election comes after the previous county attorney left the position before the end of the term, prompting county supervisors to call for a special election to fill the office.

To listen to the Candidates forum with Abbie Liechty and Becky Wilson CLICK HERE, or tune in to 105.5 FM and KILJ.com Monday night at 6 for the rebroadcast.

 

Washington School Board Approves Sharing Agreements with WACO and Keota

By Allison Jacobs · Friday, March 13th, 2026 at 9:05 am CDT

Operational sharing is a function Iowa’s public schools can use to share the cost of administrative personnel and something many area schools use to save money.

The Washington School Board approved two operational sharing agreements Wednesday during their regular meeting.

For the 2026-2027 school year, Washington has entered into operational sharing agreements for business manager and maintenance director for Keota, and transportation director with WACO.

According to the Legislative Service Agency, operational function sharing is described as “an additional weighting in the school aid formula that districts receive to support the cost of sharing administrative personnel” and they must be shared for at least 20% of the normal, full-time contract hours.

Sports, March 13th

By Slaten Swords · Friday, March 13th, 2026 at 6:34 am CDT

Boys’ State Basketball

The Iowa High School Athletic Association’s (IHSAA) state tournament has completed all of its semifinal matchups and is now gearing up for all four championships today. Here’s how yesterday shook out. 

For Class 4A, #1 Cedar Falls sprinted past #4 Dowling Catholic, 59-46, to lead off the day. Will Gerdes put up another impressive state line, collecting 28 points in the winning effort. 

It might be the year of the #6-seed, as Johnston’s 10 three-pointers downed #2 Waukee, 57-49. Joshua Jones knocked down four threes, while Tino Daye led the scoring with 17 points. 

#1 Cedar Falls will duel #6 Johnston for the Class 4A championship today at 3 pm.

In Class 1A, #1 St. Edmond’s 14 to 2 run to start off the 3rd quarter buried #4 Burlington Notre Dame, 74-55. Shay Stephens led the Nikes with an 18 point and 10 rebound double-double. Notre Dame head coach Dan Kies knows this loss will sting for the senior class,

“So, it’s rough for him [Shay Stephens], and it’s very disappointing for these guys. But they still gotta be proud of what they’ve done this year…I mean, unfortunately, we didn’t come here to just participate. We came here to try and get to Friday and see what we could do after that. So obviously we did not overlook anything, and we prepared, we thought. We just didn’t execute very well, and they did, so.”

Notre Dame finished the season with a 25-3 record.

The slipper still fits for #6 Marquette Catholic as they pulled off the upset against #2 MMCRU last night, 65-56. Louis Gonner netted 17 points for the Defenders.

For the third straight season, #6 Marquette Catholic will be playing for the Class 1A title and this time it will be against #1 St. Edmond at 5 pm tonight.

In Class 2A, #4 Treynor had a shot to upset #1 Kuemper Catholic, but the Knights came away with a late steal to seal their 58-57 victory. Ryan Clair tabbed 27 points in the winning effort. 

Lastly, #2 Unity Christian pulverized #3 Regina Catholic in the nightcap, 72-46. Dylan Bosma claimed 27 points for the Knights. 

#1 Kuemper Catholic will face off against #2 Unity Christian for the Class 2A championship tonight at 7 pm.

The Class 3A championship between #1 Ballard and #2 ADM is scheduled for today at 1 pm.

Girls’ High School Basketball

A handful of local athletes will be participating in the Larry Niemeyer Senior Girls All-Star basketball tournament scheduled tomorrow, March 14th.

In Class 2A, Danville’s Alaina Gourley will play on the Gray Team with their game at 1 pm.

Over in Class 3A, Adalyn Long of Washington will join a trio from the Southeast Iowa Super Conference in Kenna Sandoval of Central Lee and Grace Holsteen and Ellah Wagenbach of Mediapolis on the White Team. They will play at 10:30 am. 

Lastly, Kendra Boatman of Keokuk and Burlington’s Mylee Stiefel will join sides for the Gray Team in a combination of Class 3A/4A/5A talent. They will square off at 9:15 am.

High School Track and Field

The IATC Indoor Track Championships commenced yesterday for Classes 3A and 4A and the Mt. Pleasant girls’ team earned some early hardware, finishing as the runner-up in Class 3A with 44 points.

In her Panther debut, Avery Fedler collected a pair of gold medals after winning the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes and 21 seconds and joining Kiyah Sanders, Kynlee White, and Alex Scott in the sprint medley to finish in 1st place with a time of 1 minute and 50 seconds. The freshman also grabbed 2nd place in the 400-meter dash. 

Scott also had a trio of top 10 finishes with the senior grabbing 6th in the 60-meter dash, 9th in the 200-meter with a time of 27.04 seconds, and 4th in the 4×100 meter relay with Ellie Freeman, Sanders, and White. Lastly, the Panthers displayed their skill in the field events with Izzy Sloat leaping 16 feet and 1.25 inches for 7th place, followed closely by Delaney Anderson in 10th place n the long jump, while Ella Ensminger’s toss of 37 feet and 8.5 inches earned her the bronze medal with Paityn Ensminger snatching 10th place in the shot put.

On the boys’ side, Mt. Pleasant’s Kayle Brown finished in 19th place in the long jump with a distance of 19 feet and 0.25 inches. In the shot put, Jaymisen Rich launched it 43 feet and 10.75 inches for 20th place. Lastly, Griffen Jones sprinted to a time of 7.35 seconds in the 60-meter dash for 23rd place.

For the Fairfield boys’ team, Eli Zillman took 4th place in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet and 1 inch and the long jump with a distance of 20 feet and 7.25 inches. Ethan Bisgard sprinted to a 9th place time of 23.29 seconds in the 200-meter dash. Bisgard joined Spencer McCready, Eli Hoffman, and John Miller for the 1600-meter sprint medley, which took 7th place. 

Classes 1A and 2A will compete in the IATC Indoor Championships today.

College Signing

Southeastern Community College added another local talent to their Track and Field program as WACO’s Eli Cavin signed his letter of intent to become a member of the Blackhawks as a sprinter.

Cavin ran the 100 and 200-meter dashes last season and turned in season best times of 12.73 and 26.65 seconds, respectively. 

Southeastern Community College

The baseball team will travel to Delgado Community College tomorrow, March 14th. 

The softball team will take on St. Louis Community College on Monday, March 16th, for a road doubleheader.

College Basketball

The #7 Iowa and Iowa State women’s teams will see their postseason fate determined on the Selection Sunday Show on March 15th at 7 pm.

The Iowa men’s team’s run in the Big Ten tournament came to an end yesterday after losing to Ohio State, 72-69. Bennett Stirtz was the only Hawkeye to finish in double figures as he scored 17 points. Iowa will learn their postseason fate during the Selection Sunday show at 5 pm.

The #7 Iowa State men’s team shut down #16 Texas Tech in the second half, outscoring the Red Raiders 39 to 20 on their way to a 75-53 victory to advance to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals. Joshua Jefferson stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks. The Cyclones will take on #2 Arizona at 6 pm tonight with the winner advancing to the Big 12 championship game.

This Day in Sports History

1915 – Brooklyn Robins manager Wilbert Robinson tried to catch a baseball dropped from an airplane, but the pilot, Ruth Law, substituted a grapefruit, which exploded on impact and left Robinson temporarily believing that he was seriously wounded.

1954 – Braves’ Bobby Thomson breaks his ankle, he is replaced by Hank Aaron.

2022 – After a 40-day retirement, Tom Brady announces he will play at least one more season in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Strong Winds Today, Winter Storm Possible This Weekend

By Allison Jacobs · Friday, March 13th, 2026 at 6:14 am CDT

Strong winds are creating difficult travel conditions across the region today, particularly for high-profile vehicles traveling on north-south roads.

Forecasters say west to northwest winds are expected to gust between 45 and 60 miles per hour through the morning hours before gradually decreasing later this afternoon. The strongest winds are expected along and north of Interstate 80. The winds could also cause damage to trees and may lead to scattered power outages.

Looking ahead to the weekend, a winter storm is expected to impact the Upper Midwest beginning Saturday night and continuing into Monday morning.

Forecasters say the system will likely begin with rain before transitioning to accumulating snow Sunday night as temperatures fall rapidly from the 40s and 50s Sunday afternoon into the teens by Sunday night.

In terms of severity, our listening area is considered a 1 out of 5 Sunday night into Monday, but current forecasts show roughly a 76 to 81 percent chance of at least two inches of snow across the area.

In addition, there is a marginal risk for severe weather Sunday afternoon before the colder air moves in.

Residents are encouraged to monitor updated forecasts and prepare for potentially hazardous travel conditions as the storm approaches. Stay tuned to KILJ, your local National Weather Service Station.

03.13.2026 4.21 AM CDT - DssPacket