November 25, 2024 – December 1, 2024

By Allison Jacobs · Sunday, November 24th, 2024 at 9:48 am CDT
11/25/24
Paula Wiley
11/25/24
Kathy Moothart
11/25/24
Marilyn Scott
11/25/24
Kirsten Johnson
11/25/24
Oden Rose
11/25/24
Steve Murphy
11/26/24
Kenzie Wellington
11/26/24
Cherie Litwiller
11/26/24
Larry Crills
11/27/24
Rylee Wibstad
11/28/24
Josie Gilmore
11/28/24
Viggo Rose
11/28/24
Cameron Vorhies
11/28/24
Laura Westfall
11/28/24
Pam Vantiger
11/28/24
Joan Wolfe
11/28/24
Allie & Justin Hultman *Anniversary
11/28/24
Doyle Dunn & Donna O'Neill-Dunn *Anniversary
11/28/24
Leonard & Irene Hesseltine (49th) *Anniversary
11/29/24
Kyndall Syfert
11/29/24
Robert Luth
11/30/24
Bill Griest
11/30/24
Hallie Carlson Runyon
11/30/24
Cleo McKim (99th!)
11/30/24
Kacie Morin
11/30/24
Lorna Hood
11/30/24
Randy & Eileen Ensminger *Anniversary

David L. Snodgrass

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, November 23rd, 2024 at 3:06 pm CDT

David L. Snodgrass, 66, of Mount Pleasant, died Thursday, November 21, 2024, in Mound City, Missouri, as a result of a UTV accident.

Dave was born December 23, 1957, in Knoxville, the son of James B. and Helen L. (White) Snodgrass. He graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1976 and continued his education at Northeast Missouri State University. On September 3, 1983, Dave was united in marriage to Barbara Behrens in Tipton. The couple made their home in Tipton prior to moving to the Mount Pleasant community in 1987. Dave worked sales at Alaniz and Sons, and Legacy Mail, before retiring in 2022. He was a member of First United Methodist Church, Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity, and Squaw Creek Hunt Club and Guide Service. He was an avid Iowa Hawkeye sports fan. He also enjoyed hunting, fishing and being outdoors and he wanted to share his passion with anyone that would join him. Above all else, Dave loved to spend time with family, especially his grandkids and attending all their activities.

Dave had an outgoing personality and made friends easily. He had the unique ability to strike up conversations with anyone and make real connections.  Dave always had a positive outlook and was the friendly face everyone was happy to see. He cherished his trips travelling to the beaches in Florida and the Lake of the Ozarks.

Dave is survived by his wife Barbara; two daughters Kelli (Ty) Welu of Peosta, Heidi Wheeler of Washington; three grandchildren Carson, Kennedy, Parker; mother Helen Snodgrass of Mount Pleasant; brother Mike (Sue) Snodgrass of Naples, Florida; sister-in-law Sandy (Dan Wagner) Ohrt of Tipton; and brother-in-law Wayne (Nanette) Behrens of Atalissa. He was also survived by many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father Jim; in-laws Gilbert and Phyllis Behrens; brother-in-law Gary Ohrt; sister-in-law Nikki Phelps; and niece Jodi Phelps.

Funeral service will be held 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, November 27, 2024, at the First United Methodist Church with Rev. Court Fischer officiating. Burial will follow in the Tipton Masonic Cemetery. Visitation will be held 1:00-7:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 26, at Olson-Powell Chapel & Crematory. The family will be present to greet friends beginning at 4:00 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to wear Hawkeye or hunting attire to the Visitation. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established for the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. The Olson-Powell Chapel & Crematory is caring for Dave and his family.  www.powellfuneralhomes.com

Safe Holiday Travel Tips

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, November 23rd, 2024 at 7:41 am CDT

The Department of Public Safety reminds motorists to plan for safe holiday travel.  Law enforcement officials suggest you monitor weather and road conditions, drive defensively (as holiday travel can present challenges), and eliminate distractions while driving including the use of mobile devices.  Keep a flashlight, extra clothing, and blankets in your vehicle.

Holiday Garbage Pick Up Schedule Change

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, November 23rd, 2024 at 7:33 am CDT

Wemiga Waste has posted their Thanksgiving trash pick up schedule for the KILJ listening area, as no routes will be run on Thursday, November 28th.  City of Mt. Pleasant, if your pickup day is Thanksgiving Thursday, it will be moved to Friday, November 29th.  Birmingham, Stockport, Hillsboro and Houghton residents, your garbage and recycling will run on Friday 11/29/24.  City of Oakville and South Wapello, your trash pickup will also be on Friday.

November – Lung Cancer Awareness Month

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, November 23rd, 2024 at 6:34 am CDT

Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States and the leading cause of death among cancer diagnosis. Every November doctors raise awareness about lung cancer and how to prevent it.

Doctors say the leading cause of cancer is smoking and secondhand smoke for cigarettes and the use of vape and THC products are just as likely to cause cancer and should be avoided.

Anything that you inhale and that can cause inflammation to the lungs will affect the lung tissue and increase your risk for lung disease and cancer.

Holiday Food Waste

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, November 23rd, 2024 at 6:32 am CDT

The United States Ecology Center estimates a 25 percent increase in waste delivered to landfills between Thanksgiving and New Year’s – including both food and non-food waste.  The Center estimates that uneaten food waste amounts to millions of dollars:  in 2023, an estimated 312 million pounds of food was wasted from Thanksgiving meals alone.  Not only is the food itself wasted, but the waste of the seed, land, labor, water, energy and transportation required to grow and produce the food.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in Henry County offers tips to prevent food waste.  Plan ahead, purchase only what is needed, store food properly, share and freeze leftovers, and compost food scraps.

Sports, November 23rd

By Slaten Swords · Saturday, November 23rd, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Basketball

The girls’ basketball season tipped off last night and Winfield-Mt. Union clobbered New London 65-28 to start the season off with a road victory. The Wolves won the game from the post as Kynlee Buffington secured her first career double-double with 23 points and 17 rebounds, while Josie Nelson put up 17 points and 11 rebounds for her own double-double. Winfield-Mt. Union head coach Mendy McCreight talked about her two post players after the game, 

“It’s great. Our two post players, Kynlee Buffington and Josie Nelson, really stepped up for us. Josie had a lot of great put backs on rebounds. She’s tough on the boards. She’s all over the floor as you saw tonight. Kynlee played an amazing game and she was so nervous stepping in, playing that starting role as a freshman. But she came in and did really well for us and led us to a victory.”

New London had Morgan Jones, Maison Nelson, and Megan Lee each score eight points in the loss. The Tigers will hit the road to face off against Davis County on Tuesday, November 26th, at 6 pm. 

The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team will host Pekin on Tuesday at 6 pm for their home opener. 

WACO took on Van Buren County in a scrimmage last night and swept the night with the girls’ winning 51-47 and the boys’ exiting with the victory 65-50. The WACO girls’ team will travel to Wapello on Tuesday for the first game of the season with tipoff at 6 pm. 

West Burlington will scrimmage Fort Madison at home tonight at 6 pm. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will compete against Keokuk today for a scrimmage on the road. 

High School Girls’ Basketball Rankings

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released the preseason rankings yesterday and Keokuk entered the Class 4A rankings at #13. The Chiefs will be looking for their fourth straight conference title as Southeast Conference Player of the Year for 2023 Kendra Boatman returns to the lineup for her junior season. Keokuk will start the season at home against Quincy Notre Dame at 7:30 pm on Tuesday as they look to build upon their 19 win season last year. 

Postseason Football

West Lyon’s defense shut down Spirit Lake on their way to the Class 2A state championship in a 42-7 thrashing. The Wildcat defense forced five turnovers and allowed only eight rushing yards in the win. Tate Hawf rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns as West Lyon claimed their sixth state title in program history. 

The Class 3A championship belongs to Wahlert Catholic after the Golden Eagles demolished Humboldt 49-14 yesterday. Tom Scherr had a complete game for Wahlert Catholic, collecting 177 all-purpose yards and three total touchdowns. This was the Golden Eagles’ first state championship in school history.

In the most improbable game of the night, Valley scored 28 unanswered points to take a 35 to 24 lead late in the Class 5A championship, but Southeast Polk is now a four-time defending state champion for a reason as the Rams scored two touchdowns in the final 90 seconds to win 38-35. Holden Hanson carved up the Tiger defense for 332 passing yards and five total touchdowns. 

High School Wrestling

The Mt. Pleasant and Mediapolis girls’ teams will travel to Burlington for the Grayhound Invite today at 10 am. Mt. Pleasant head coach Anthony Blint is excited to see how his team performs today,

“Well just all of them to look out for you know it’s the first competition against other people so that’ll be the biggest thing to see where we’re at this early season and know what we need to build on for later in the year but of course Zenlynn Lee coming back off knee surgery from last year so we’ll see there and young freshmen there so we’ll just see what we have and see what we need to build on.”

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union and Fairfield girls’ teams will travel to Wilton for a tournament today.

The WACO girls’ team will participate in a tournament at BGM today.

Southeastern Community College

The men’s basketball team picked up another narrow victory last night against North Arkansas College 77-73. The Blackhawks will take on Missouri State University tonight to conclude the Grizzly Classic. 

College Football

#22 Iowa State will face off against Utah tonight at 6:30 pm on the road. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call.

Iowa will travel to Maryland today at 11 am. KILJ 105.5 FM will have the broadcast. 

College Basketball

The #5 Iowa State men’s team will play #4 Auburn in the first round of the Maui Invitational on Monday, November 25th, at 8 pm. 

The Iowa men’s team’s poor three-point shooting grounded the Hawkeyes last night as Utah State escaped with a 77-69 victory. Brock Harding led the scoring with 19 points, while Owen Freeman tabbed a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Iowa will compete against USC Upstate on Tuesday, November 26th, at 7 pm at home. 

The #8 Iowa State women’s team will head back home to take on Drake tomorrow, November 24th, at 2 pm. 

The Iowa women’s team will host Washington State tomorrow at 3 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1984 – Boston College Quarterback Doug Flutie passes for 472 yards, including the game ending 48 yard touchdown to beat Miami 47-45.

1991 – Brigham Young University quarterback Ty Detmer finishes with a then-NCAA career record of 15,031 passing yards.

1991 – The Sacramento Kings end the NBA’s longest road losing streak at 43 games.

James H. Bresnahan

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, November 23rd, 2024 at 5:10 am CDT

James Harry “Breezy” Bresnahan, 70, of Mt. Pleasant and formerly of Monmouth, IL, went home to the Lord on Thursday, November 21, 2024 at the Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in West Burlington, IA.

Jim was born June 19, 1954 in Monmouth, IL. He was the son of Henry and Kathleen (Daniels) Bresnahan. He was raised and attended school in Monmouth. He married Sheri Hamilton Thompson in 1982 in Monmouth. They renewed their vows on June 15, 1990.

Jim was a mechanic at farm implement dealerships. He also worked for the janitorial services of the Wal-Mart store in Mt. Pleasant.

Jim learned his abilities as a mechanic by watching his Dad in the garage. A man of many interests, Breezy enjoyed attending swap meets, flea markets and car shows. His love of cars was evident as he was a meticulous auto detailer, specializing in pin striping cars. He enjoyed attending drag races. In his earlier years, Jim was an avid Harley Davidson motorcycle rider. He enjoyed fishing. Breezy loved to mow his lawn, and was very particular in the way it had to be mowed. Beyond all of his interests, his favorite by far was being with his grandchildren. He loved his family very much, and will be dearly missed by them.

Those thankful for sharing in Jim’s life include his wife Sheri of Mt. Pleasant; 2 children – Nicole Bresnahan (Bobby Lewis) of Quincy, IL and Heidi Farrell (Anthony) of Missouri; his siblings – Vickie Hager of Monmouth, IL, Kyle Bresnahan (Opal) of Monmouth, Theresa Bresnahan of Monmouth and Joseph Bresnahan of Galesburg, IL; 4 grandchildren – Kenny Miller (Jasmine), Makenzie Johnson (Dylan), Michael Bresnahan-Lester (Jake) and Ashlyn Bresnahan; and 1 great granddaughter – Oakley Spiker.

Jim’s parents precede him in death.

A Celebration of Life for Jim will be held on Saturday, December 14th from 12 Noon to 4PM at the First Assembly of God, 109 West South Street, Mount Pleasant. Cremation rites have been entrusted to the Kimzey Funeral Home, 213 North Main Street, Mt. Pleasant.

Those considering an expression of sympathy may direct memorials to the family. Online condolences may be directed to www.kimzeyfh.com