Henry County Conservation Invites You On A Constellation Walk

By Hayden Douglas · Monday, December 9th, 2024 at 7:46 am CDT

Henry County Conservation department stopped by the KILJ studios to talk about a few events coming up

Kendall is a Naturalist instructor at the Oakland mills conservation center, and tells us about a trivia night held this Friday the 13th.

If being out in nature is more your speed, you can join Kendall outside for a constellation walk on December 19th.

The Oakland Mills Conservation Center will be making an announcement soon about their New Years Walk on December 31st.

Visit MyCountyParks.com for more information about the classes, or stop by the conservation center.

“Walk With Ease” With Healthy Henry County

By Hayden Douglas · Monday, December 9th, 2024 at 7:33 am CDT

Healthy Henry County has started a free program to start the new year off with a healthy walking routine. Walk With Ease will get Henry County residents a chance to stay active this winter and have a space inside to exercise and walk.

Amy Martin, a Henry County Public Health Nurse talks about Walk With Ease

Walking can help strengthen the muscles around your joints, which can reduce pain and shift pressure away from your joints. Walking also increases blood circulation, which helps deliver oxygen and nutrients to your joints and decreases arthritis.

Amy talks about how you can participate in walk with ease.

Walk with Ease will meet weekly at Calvary Baptist church from 10am to 11am on Monday, Wednesday, & Friday’s.

You can call Henry County Public Health at 319.385.0779 for more information on Walk With Ease.

Sports, December 9th

By Slaten Swords · Monday, December 9th, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Basketball

Central Lee hosted a shootout over the weekend as Winfield-Mt. Union and West Burlington both made the trip and here’s how our local teams fared. The Hawks’ boys’ team played Mendon close but suffered a 53-51 loss. Owen Swan led the effort with 23 points. Columbus will hit the road to take on Central Lee tonight with the girls’ tipping off the night at 6 pm. 

The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team, missing three of their five starters, struggled against Mendon over the weekend, losing 52-21. Kynlee Buffington put together a double-double performance with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while denying seven shots. The boys’ team followed suit against Centerville, falling 58-42, despite a 24 point effort by Jake Edwards. The Wolves will start a three-game homestand tomorrow, December 10th, against Hillcrest Academy with game one at 6 pm. 

The West Burlington boys’ team’s offense continued to fire on all cylinders, shooting over 50% from the field in a 76-59 win over Canton. The offensive production was headlined by Mason Watkins with 37 points. The girls’ team completed the sweep with a 41-25 victory over West Prairie. Van Buren County will travel to West Burlington tomorrow with game one at 6 pm.

The Danville boys’ team picked up their first win of the season over the weekend in a dominating 67-35 performance against Wapello. The Bears will compete against Louisa-Muscatine tonight on the road at 7:30 pm. 

The Danville girls’ team will travel to Fort Madison tonight at 7 pm. 

The Wapello boys’ team will take on Lone Tree tomorrow at home, while the girls’ team will face off against Prince of Peace tonight at 6:30 pm on the road.

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will host Burlington Notre Dame tonight at 7:30 pm. Head coach Eric Rawson knows this will be a tough matchup against the Nikes,

“Yeah, they got two really good guards about 6’4. Can shoot. They can score at all three levels. They pressure in the full court. They’re a good team, well coached. It’ll be a fun one.”

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will head south to compete against Holy Trinity Catholic tonight with game time at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.

Mediapolis will host Wilton tonight with the girls starting off the night at 6 pm. 

Fairfield will face off against Ottumwa tomorrow on the road with the girls’ tipping off at 6:15 pm.

WACO will stay at home to play Louisa-Muscatine tomorrow with the boys’ following the girls game at 7:30. 

The Holy Trinity Catholic boys’ team will take on West Burlington on Friday, December 13th, at 7:30 pm on the road. 

New London will take on Burlington Notre Dame at home on Friday with the girls playing first at 6 pm. 

High School Wrestling

The Fairfield boys’ team competed in the Bob Murphy Invitational over the weekend and Cael McCabe was the lone champion for the Trojans, winning the 113-pound weight class in a 1-0 decision over Cale Johnson of Central DeWitt. Dain Burkhart lost by major decision in the 175-pound championship match to finish as the runner-up. The Trojans will face off against Washington on Thursday, December 12th, at home. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team traveled up to Williamsburg to compete in the Raidel duals, defeating Pella 44-32, but falling to the hosts 55-18 and Center Point-Urbana 39-38. Dakota Aney and Alex Venzor went undefeated for the weekend. The Wildcats will compete in a double dual on Thursday at home with Burlington Notre Dame in attendance. 

The Mediapolis boys’ team finished 2-2 at the Dick Mellinger Invitational over the weekend, defeating Keokuk 50-24 and Burlington 45-29. Lane Rigdon, Peyton Johnson, and Kyler Crow each finished 4-0 for the Bulldogs. Mediapolis will compete at the Tiger Duals on Saturday, December 14th, at Grinnell.

The Wapello boys’ team hosted the 60th annual Willard Howell Invitational over the weekend with Mt. Pleasant and WACO both making the trip. For the Panthers, Levi Evans and Ramzy Davis each grabbed 2nd place for their respective weight classes to lead the team. Wapello’s Cohen Wolford grabbed the silver in the 144-pound weight class. Lastly, Ian Maize, Gage Samo, and Louden Huisenga each finished with the gold for WACO. 

Mt. Pleasant will travel to Keokuk on Thursday. 

WACO will head to Tri-County for their invitational on Saturday.

The New London boys’ team saw their first action of the season in their Jeremy Fulk Classic over the weekend and had five wrestlers grab first place in their weight class. Kane Forseen won the 126-pound weight class by technical fall, while Gage Burden and Gavin Menke-Bailey each won their championship match by fall. Corbin Jacobs-Jewell won the 144-pound weight class in a thrilling 16-15 decision and Killian Kelly won by major decision in the 157-pound weight class. Liam Garvey grabbed 2nd place in the 190-pound weight class. The Tigers will host a quad with Wapello attending on Thursday.

The Wapello girls’ team hosted their 3rd Willard Howell Invite and had Kenadee Helscher grab the gold in the 100-pound weight class and Clara Ball finish as the runner-up in the 110-pound weight class. 

Mt. Pleasant’s Zenlynn Lee continued her dominant start to the season with a 3-0 performance and a win by fall in the 145-pound championship match. Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union had Jada Moats take 3rd place. Lastly, Elyssa Graber of WACO grabbed 3rd place in the 105-pound weight class. 

The Panthers, Warriors, and Arrows will compete in the Raider Girls Invitational tonight at Williamsburg. 

The Wildcats will travel to Pekin for the Bill Rex Invite tonight with Fairfield also making the trip. 

High School Bowling

Fairfield will hit the road to duel Davis County today.

Mt. Pleasant will take on Keokuk on Thursday, December 12th, at home.

Southeastern Community College

The #11 men’s basketball team crushed Kennedy-King College over the weekend 83-62. The Blackhawks will participate in the Highland tournament on Friday, December 13th. 

College Football

Turnovers spelled the end of #18 Iowa State’s playoff hopes as Arizona State ran away with the Big 12 championship in a 45-19 final. Rocco Becht tossed for two touchdowns in the loss. The Cyclones will face off against #16 Miami in the Pop Tarts Bowl on December 28th at 2:30 pm in Orlando. 

Iowa will take on #19 Missouri for the Music City Bowl on December 30th in Nashville at 1:30 pm. The Hawkeyes defeated Kentucky 21-0 in the 2022 Music City Bowl. 

College Basketball

The #6 Iowa State men’s team hammered Jackson State yesterday 100-58. Curtis Jones led the scoring with 19 points, while Joshua Jefferson grabbed 13 boards to go along with 10 points for a double-double. 

The Iowa men’s team got a taste of their own medicine, finishing on the wrong side of a last second shot in an 85-83 loss to Michigan on Saturday. Payton Sandfort cashed in for 19 points in the losing effort. The Hawkeyes will host the Cy-Hawk Series on Thursday, December 12th, at 6:30 pm. 

The #20 Iowa State women’s team never had to sweat Central Michigan over the weekend in an 82-56 win. Audi Crooks tallied a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. 

The #17 Iowa women’s team was handed their first loss of the season against Tennessee over the weekend in a 78-68 final. Lucy Olsen collected 23 points in the game. The Hawkeyes will take on Iowa State at home for the Cy-Hawk Series on Wednesday, December 11th, at 8 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1935 – The first Heisman Trophy Award: Jay Berwanger, University of Chicago (HB). 

1984 – Los Angeles Ram Eric Dickerson rushes for 215 yards for the season record 2,105 yards. 

2021 – Chicago Blackhawks Marc-Andre Fleury becomes the third NHL goaltender to reach 500 career wins in 2-0 shut-out over the Canadiens at Montreal.

Delores Ann Olson

By Hayden Douglas · Monday, December 9th, 2024 at 6:07 am CDT

Delores Ann Olson, 93, of Winfield, passed away on Saturday, December 7, 2024 at the Sunrise Terrace Care Center. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 at the Swedesburg Evangelical Lutheran Church. Burial will immediately follow the service at the Swedesburg Church Cemetery. A visitation will be held on Tuesday, December 10, 2024 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Snyder & Hollenbaugh Funeral & Cremation Services of Winfield. Memorials have been established for the Swedesburg Evangelical Lutheran Church or for Chapter U TTT.Online condolences can be left for the family at www.sandhfuneralservice.com.

Delores was born August 6, 1931 in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, the daughter of Foster and Ethel (Baker) Brown. She graduated from Mt. Union High School. Delores was united in marriage to Kenneth Olson on February 25, 1951 in rural Mt. Union.

Delores worked as a CNA and was a devoted farm wife. She was a member of the Swedesburg Evangelical Lutheran Church, WELCH, Chapter U TTT and the American Legion Auxiliary. She enjoyed reading, knitting, boating, and spending time with her family and friends.

She will be deeply missed by her sons: Robert (Tina) Olson of Winfield and Steve Olson of Elmwood, Illinois; grandchildren: Nick Olson (Hannah Huffman) of Winfield; Logan (Nate) Schneider of Lone Tree; and Lexee Hartsock of Cedar Rapids; 3 great-grandsons; siblings: Glen Brown of Mt. Union; Janet (Max) Owens of Burlington; and Larry (Marty) Brown of Blue Grass; cousin, Betty Baker of Mt. Pleasant; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Kenneth Olson; sister-in-law, Pat Brown; and one great-grandson.

December 9, 2024 – December 15, 2024

By Allison Jacobs · Sunday, December 8th, 2024 at 1:47 pm CDT
12/09/24
Joe Goody
12/09/24
Bob Roth - 95
12/09/24
Stan Stigge
12/10/24
Karl Thomas - Mon & Jamie Thomas - Tues (husband & wife)
12/10/24
Avery Jacobs
12/12/24
Lexi & Riley Peterson
12/13/24
Piper Wiley
12/13/24
Susie Kuhens
12/13/24
Gale Thompson
12/13/24
Kiley Miller (50th)
12/13/24
Tony McDowell
12/13/24
Tim and Angel Jacobs 27th anniversary
12/15/24
Natalie Duffie

Area Meetings Next Week

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, December 7th, 2024 at 7:36 am CDT

The Mt. Pleasant Community School District School Board will meet in regular session at 6:00pm on Monday, December 9th.  The meeting will be held in the High School Media Center, 2104 S. Grand Avenue.  Following the regular session meeting, the MP school board will hold its organizational meeting including election of officers, assignments to committees and other items.  Both agendas can be found at MTPCSD.org and the meetings are open to the public.

 

The New London City Council will meet in regular session on Monday, December 9th at 6:00pm at the NL city office; 112 W. Main St.  This meeting is open to the public.

Space Heater Safety

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, December 7th, 2024 at 7:34 am CDT

Consumer Product Space heaters can provide extra, but they can also pose a safety risk. The Safety Commission reports that portable space heaters were involved in an average of 1,700 house fires a year from 2017-2019. These fires resulted in an average of 70 deaths annually.

If you rely on a portable heater for supplemental heat, it’s important to make space heater safety a priority including whether a model gets hot enough to ignite nearby materials, whether the surface gets so hot that it can cause a burn, and whether or not the model has a tip-over switch that turns the heater off when it’s knocked over.

Nearly half of all home heating fires happen during the months of December, January, and February—and they’re often caused when a heater (typically an electric one) is placed too close to curtains, bedding, or upholstered furniture. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers and the National Fire Protection Agency, offer the following safety tips:

  • Place the heater on a hard, level, and nonflammable surface. These appliances are intended to sit on the floor, not on a table.
  • Establish a 3-foot kid- and pet-free zone around the heater, and never put a space heater in a child’s room.
  • Keep the space heater at least 3 feet away from combustible materials, such as furniture, bedding, and curtains.
  • Don’t use a heater in a workshop or garage near flammable paints, gas cans, or matches.
  • Turn it off when you leave the room or go to bed.
  • Unplug the heater when it’s not in use by pulling the plug straight from the outlet. Check the cord for damage periodically, and don’t use the heater if the cord is frayed or worn.
  • Don’t plug another electrical device or an extension cord into the same outlet as a heater because that can cause overheating.
  • Install working smoke alarms on every level of your home and in every bedroom and test them monthly.

Opening Day in Iowa!

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, December 7th, 2024 at 7:04 am CDT

Shotgun season for deer in Iowa begins this morning through Wednesday and then 12/14/24 – 12/22/24.  The Iowa Department of Natural Resources predicts about 100,000 Iowans will hunt during the shotgun season.  With so many people in the field, safety is the primary concern for hunters.  Under Iowa law, hunters must wear blaze orange while in the field.  Deer harvesting plays a valuable role in Iowa’s ecosystem.  The approximately 60,000 deer killed annually help maintain the population, which helps protect crops and keep deer off of roads.