Darlene Nuss Stevens Spencer

By Allison Jacobs · Friday, October 25th, 2024 at 4:27 pm CDT

Darlene Nuss Stevens Spencer, 89, of Burlington, formerly of Danville, died Thursday, October 24, 2024 at her home.  She was born November 2, 1934 in Burlington to Kendal Victor and Marjorie Nellie Nuss Stevens.  On July 6, 1963, she married Edwin Carl Spencer in Burlington; he died May 10, 2003.

She was a 1952 graduate of Burlington High School and attended Harmony Bible Church.  Darlene worked for Mason & Hanger-Silas Mason; as a secretary at Danville Community Schools; and later volunteered at Great River Medical Center.  She loved to cook and bake, enjoyed sewing, reading, spending time with family, and traveling.

Survivors include her sons, Steve (Trina) Spencer of Danville and Mark (Lana) Spencer of Burlington; eight grandchildren, Kirstie, Erik, Taylor, Travis, Maria, Nathan, Ethan, and Tobey; seven great-grandchildren; her sister Sandra Kay Avritt of Las Vegas; one niece and one nephew.  She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; son Tom Spencer; and sister Molly Lou Dockendorff.

According to her wishes, her body has been cremated and a memorial service will be held Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 11:00 am, at Elliott Chapel, New London with Mr. Dan Dingus officiating.  Visitation will begin at 9:00 am, with the family receiving friends from 10:00 until the time of the service.  Inurnment will follow the service at Jaggar Cemetery, rural Danville.  A memorial has been established for Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice.  Online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com.

Barbara S. Crear

By Allison Jacobs · Friday, October 25th, 2024 at 4:26 pm CDT

Barbara Sue Crear, 87, of Danville, died Friday, October 25, 2024 at Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice, West Burlington.  She was born in Augusta, Iowa September 25, 1937 to James Edward and Inez Q Askew Atkinson.  She was a graduate of Burlington High School and a member of West Burlington United Methodist Church.  She married Mark Crear in Oquawka, Illinois; he preceded her in death.

Barbara worked in the Administration Building for the Burlington School District, then retired after many years as a seamstress at Levi Jeans in Lebanon, Missouri.  She loved sewing, was an avid quilter, and enjoyed baking.  She was a Super Race Car Fan, watching three generations of her family and almost never missed a race.

Survivors include her children Don (Linda) Crear of Oquawka and Kathy Hall of West Burlington; four grandchildren, Dustin and Leah Crear, Eric and Cory Hall; ten great-grandchildren; brother Gary “Butch” Atkinson of New London and sister Connie (Dale) Glasgow of Danville.  Besides her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her son Lonn Crear; sister Mary Lou Overton; and brother Rick Atkinson.

According to her wishes, her body has been cremated and there will be no services.  Memorials have been established for Danville Fire Department and Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice House and may be directed to Kathy Hall; 509 West Agency Rd., Lot 62, West Burlington, Iowa, 52655.  Elliott Chapel, New London, is assisting the family and online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com.

High Speed Chase Ends in Wreck in Mount Pleasant, IA

By Allison Jacobs · Friday, October 25th, 2024 at 8:58 am CDT

On 10/24/24, at 12:53am, the Mount Pleasant Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop for a speed violation on a Red Nissan Pathfinder on Winfield Avenue. The vehicle briefly stopped then fled at a high rate of speed reaching 85MPH-110MPH East on 220th Street failing to stop with visual lights and audible sirens. The vehicle went into a ditch then turned South onto Marsh Avenue.

The vehicle continued to flee then exited the roadway into a corn field at high rates of speed, hit an embankment causing the vehicle to go airborne and land in the field wrecking the vehicle. The driver, who was identified as 18 year old Demetrius Hendricksen, of Blairstown IA was taken into custody.

HCHC EMS was requested to the scene where Demetrius was transported by ambulance. Due to medical circumstances Demetrius was released pending charges being filed.

It was later discovered that the vehicle had been stolen.

Demetrius is being charged with several traffic violation citations, Eluding 25MPH over speed limit-D Felony, and potentially more charges to come.

An investigation is ongoing in regard to the vehicle.

The Henry County Sheriffs Office investigated the accident scene.

The Mount Pleasant Police Department was assisted by the Henry County Sheriffs Office, Breuers Towing Service, and Henry County Health Center Emergency Medical Services.

 

A criminal charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Anyone who sees suspicious activity is encouraged to contact the Mt Pleasant PD at 319 385-1450.

Sports, October 25th

By Slaten Swords · Friday, October 25th, 2024 at 6:45 am CDT

Postseason Volleyball

In Class 4A Region 4, Mt. Pleasant was unable to keep up with the offensive prowess of Clear Creek Amana as the Panthers were swept 25-14, 25-11, and 25-14. Head coach Logan Wall talked about her team’s performance after the game,

“You know, I think my girls really showed a lot of guts out there. You know, I think some of the nerves got to them, but they really tried hard, and they were working hard. Just didn’t go our way. You know, the Clippers have a very fast-paced offense and down our way, we don’t see that very often. So that kind of caught us off guard. But we’ll know that for next time.”

Juniors Addison Clark and Alex Scott and senior Savannah Slobodnik each tabbed four kills as the senior also nabbed a block. Coach Wall discussed the importance of the senior class after the contest,

“Yeah, that’s a good senior class. They really stepped up. I would say, you know, Zoe and Peck out there on the floor stepping up, but we had we had that loud bench and the leadership on the bench really helped bring the bring the team together. So we would like to thank those seniors. We’re really going to miss them.”

The Panthers finished the season with a 12-26 record. 

For Class 3A Region 5, Washington was swept by Assumption (20-25, 12-25, 15-25) to end the season with an 18-16 record. 

In Class 4A Region 6, Burlington was defeated by Pella in straight sets (10-25, 20-25, 14-25). The Grayhounds finished the season with a 31-12 record.

In Class 1A Region 2, Holy Trinity Catholic will host Wapello on Monday, October 28th, at 7 pm for the Regional Semifinal. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. 

In Class 2A Region 2, Van Buren County will travel to face off against #2 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont at 7 pm on Monday. 

In Region 3, #14 West Burlington will compete against Lisbon at home on Monday at 7 pm. 

Postseason Football

WACO will travel to Central City tonight with kickoff scheduled for 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.

Winfield-Mt. Union will get a rematch with Montezuma tonight at 7 pm on the road. 

Danville will compete against Bellevue on the road at 7 pm tonight.

Columbus will take on Maquoketa Valley tonight at 7 pm in a road matchup.

#10 West Burlington/Notre Dame will host Centerville tonight at 7 pm. 

Mediapolis will hit the road tonight at 7 pm to face off against Northeast.

High School Football

Mt. Pleasant will end the regular season tonight at 7:30 pm at home against Assumption. 

Fairfield will close out the season at home tonight at 7:30 pm against Grinnell. 

High School Cross Country

The state qualifying meets for Classes 1A and 2A commenced yesterday despite the weather delaying the start of some of the meets. Here’s a look at how our local teams performed. 

Starting in Class 1A at Regina Catholic, the boys’ teams of Danville and Van Buren County both punched their tickets to the state meet after finishing in 1st and 2nd place, respectively, as a team.

Danville eked out a one-point advantage over the Warriors as Jackson Shacklett tabbed a silver medal with a time of 16 minutes and 58 seconds for the Bears. Noah Horn helped out the cause with a 5th place finish. Lincoln Bainbridge was the first Warrior to cross the finish line as he took 3rd place with a time of 17 minutes and 26 seconds; Landry Loeffler also finished in the top 10 in 7th place. 

Holy Trinity Catholic grabbed 13th place as a team with Jay Ellison leading the Crusaders with a 48th place finish. New London’s Natan Bergman took 60th place and Will Parsons of Wapello claimed 70th place.

For the girls’ race, Danville, anchored by Alaina Gourley’s 3rd place time of 20 minutes and 56 seconds, qualified for state, turning in a 2nd place resume. Delaney Newberry and Addy Henklevig claimed 15th and 16th place, respectively, for the Bears. 

Van Buren County will also have two individual qualifiers competing at state as the duo of Kayley Snowgren and Rylee Phillips finished in 6th and 7th place, respectively, as they clocked almost individual times of 21 minutes and 40 to 41 seconds. 

Wapello’s Kenna Small turned in a 17th place time of 22 minutes and 55 seconds and Irelynn Kelly of New London finished in 54th place. 

In Pleasantville for the boys’ race, WACO’s Jude Dykstra will be heading to state as he finished with the top time of 16 minutes and 40 seconds. Following him to state and in the leaderboard was Winfield-Mt. Union’s Kohlby Newsom, as he took 2nd place with a time of 16 minutes and 49 seconds. WACO claimed 4th place as a team with Gavin Slagel finishing in 14th place. 

On the girls’ side, Josie Dykstra of WACO grabbed 11th place with a time of 20 minutes and 8 seconds as the Warriors finished in 5th place as a team. 

For the girls’ race in North Linn, Iris Garza of Columbus will advance to state with a 5th place time of 20 minutes and 23 seconds as the Wildcats took 5th place. 

The boys’ team for Columbus qualified for state as the Wildcats finished in 2nd place with 81 team points. Ty Muniz was the top runner for the squad with a 4th place time of 17 minutes and 2 seconds. 

In Class 2A, Central Lee and Notre Dame/West Burlington made the trip to Monticello and on the boys’ side the Hawks were led by Leo Thomas’ 40th place finish as he was followed by Liam Haeger of Notre Dame/West Burlington. 

On the girls’ side, Central Lee claimed 9th place as a team with 217 points as Aubree Bunnell took 30th place with a time of 22 minutes and 12 seconds. Notre Dame/West Burlington’s Kaitlyn Kipp qualified for state as an individual with a time of 20 minutes and 29 seconds, which claimed her 11th place. 

Lastly, Mediapolis competed at Pella Christian yesterday and the girls’ team, who took 9th place, was led by Amelia Grier’s time of 22 minutes and 13 seconds, which was good enough for 26th place.

The Mediapolis boys’ team just missed the cut as the Bulldogs claimed 4th place with 153 points. Will Schmidgall with a 4th place time of 16 minutes and 55 seconds, Simon Wendel’s 10th place time of 17 minutes and 25 seconds, and Mason Lindeen with a 14th place time of 17 minutes and 51 seconds all qualified as individuals for state. 

The Class 3A state meet is scheduled for Friday, November 1st, in Fort Dodge with both Washington teams and Mt. Pleasant’s Quintrie Lee making the trip. 

The Class 1A and Class 2A state meet will run on Saturday, November 2nd. 

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team will host Spoon River College tonight at 7 pm for a triangular. 

College Football

Iowa will be searching for a win tomorrow, October 26th, at home against Northwestern at 2:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM will be on the call.

#10 Iowa State is on a bye week.

This Day in Sports History

1905 – First College Football Crab Bowl Classic: Navy beats Maryland 17-0 in Annapolis.

1964 – “The Wrong Way Run,” Viking Jim Marshall runs 66 yards in the wrong direction for a safety (NFL’s #1 blooper).

1981 – New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner scuffles with two fans in a hotel elevator.

Burlington Man Sentence to less than 13 Years for Receiving and Distributing Child Pornography

By Allison Jacobs · Friday, October 25th, 2024 at 6:41 am CDT

A Burlington man was sentenced yesterday, October 24th, to 151 months in federal prison for receiving and distributing child pornography.

According to public court documents, law enforcement received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Edward Allen Billheimer, 64, had uploaded files containing child sexual abuse material. Law enforcement located electronic devices at Billheimer’s Burlington residence and a search of those devices revealed approximately 100 videos and 400 images of child sexual abuse material, including content of toddlers and infants.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Billheimer will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Billheimer was also ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution. In addition, Billheimer will be required to register as a sex offender.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Burlington Police Department.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

Henry County Board of Supervisors Meeting Report 10/24/24

By Kadie Johannson · Thursday, October 24th, 2024 at 2:43 pm CDT

The Henry County Board of Supervisors held their regular weekly meeting this morning at the Henry County Courthouse. After reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, Chair Greg Moeller called the meeting to order at 9 o’clock. The agenda, minutes, and claims were approved unanimously, and Sarah Berndt’s General Assistance monthly update was moved to next Thursday.

Lynn Whaley discussed recyclables in Henry County with the Supervisors. The county averages about 6.08 tons per month at the Henry County Recycling Center. Currently, Whaley hauls the recyclables to Fort Madison where they get repackaged and hauled further to Pekin, Illinois. Whaley believes this process includes extra steps and extra hauling that could be eliminated. He suggested the county investigate the costs and potential savings associated with switching to hauling their recyclables to a recycling center in the Davenport area, eliminating the repackaging and extra mileage to Pekin, IL. Supervisor Marc Lindeen plans to look at this possibility and bring it back to the board later.

Henry County has also agreed to a contract with Ahlers & Cooney to represent Henry County, Iowa on the Henry County LMI Residential Urban Renewal Plan & Development as they work with the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission and other parties involved.

The last big item of discussion before public comments was the Alternative Energy Ordinance in response to the potential commercial wind turbine project in northern Henry County. The Henry County Planning & Zoning Commission had tabled the ordinance but had not set any dates to resume discussions on it. All three Supervisors agreed that the Henry County Planning & Zoning Commission should revisit the ordinance and go through the process again to get an ordinance back to the Supervisors for review with assistance from the Henry County Attorney’s Office.

Public comments were made by various citizens in attendance regarding the alternative energy ordinance, posted meeting dates and times, and the efficiency in different departments at the courthouse. The meeting adjourned just before 10 am. The next regular meeting of the Henry County Board of Supervisors will be on Thursday, October 31 at 9:00 am. These meetings are open to the public.

Sports, October 24th

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, October 24th, 2024 at 6:45 am CDT

Postseason Volleyball

In Class 1A Region 2, Winfield-Mt. Union attempted to pull off the upset but #3 Holy Trinity Catholic was firing on all cylinders last night and pulled off the sweep in dominant fashion (25-13, 25-10, and 25-9). Wolves head coach David Pieart gave credit to the Crusaders after the game,

“I thought we played really well. We had a slow start. The very first rotation serve received, but after that we played so well the second-half of that set and the first half of the second set. We struggled to put everything all together. But again, that’s what Trinity does to you. So, you know, we couldn’t get into system and that was because of them.”

Kynlee Buffington led the team with six kills, while Madisen Kellogg tabbed 19 assists and two aces. Presley Myers had a phenomenal game for the Crusaders with 20 kills and five blocks.

Coach Pieart discussed how important his two seniors were to the squad,

“Yeah, Josie and Pacey’s leadership there was outstanding. They’ve been leaders on the court, in practice, outside of practice and team bonding stuff and all that. I can’t say enough about what they’ve done, especially coming out of a challenging year last year. Yeah, they’re going to be greatly missed.”

In a competitive match where three of the four sets were decided by two points, Wapello stunned Burlington Notre Dame to win in four sets (25-23, 26-24, 15-25, 25-23). Annaka Greiner directed the offense to the tune of 39 assists and four aces, while Mila Jordan and Kate Lanz combined for 27 kills and five blocks. The Nike offense was led by Addi Brockway’s 17 kills as Madalynn Knapp (14 kills) and McKenna Kipp (10 kills) also tabbed double-digit kills. Burlington Notre Dame finished the season with a 24-14 record. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will host Wapello on Monday, October 28th, at 7 pm for the Regional Semifinal. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. 

In Class 2A Region 2, Van Buren County took down Cardinal in four sets (25-14, 25-19, 23-25, 25-14). The Warriors will travel to face off against #2 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont at 7 pm on Monday. 

In Region 3, #14 West Burlington drubbed Columbus last night in a sweep (25-9, 25-4, 25-14). Taryn Snodgrass claimed 29 assists and two aces in the win as Madelyn Hamelton led the team with nine kills. Jessica Del Rio grabbed five kills for the Wildcats. Columbus collected a record of 11-17. The Falcons will compete against Lisbon at home on Monday at 7 pm. 

In Class 4A Region 4, Mt. Pleasant will take on #4 Clear Creek-Amana tonight at 7 pm on the road. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. Panther head coach Logan Wall discussed what her team will need to focus on to exit with win,

“Yeah, I think our mental game, you know, we’ve got to rest our bodies. But just knowing that we have to be mentally prepared for what we’re up against and keep the momentum on our side. And just know we’ve got to play within our system. Play the way that we know how to play and, you know, they’re going to get their good kills, they’re going to get their points, but I think it’s going to come down to our mental game.”

For Class 3A Region 5, Washington will face off against Assumption tonight at 7 pm in the semifinal round. 

In Class 4A Region 6, Burlington will travel to Pella tonight at 7 pm. 

Postseason Football

WACO will travel to Central City tomorrow, October 25th, with kickoff scheduled for 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.

Winfield-Mt. Union will get a rematch with Montezuma tomorrow at 7 pm on the road. 

Danville will compete against Bellevue on the road at 7 pm tomorrow. 

Columbus will take on Maquoketa Valley tomorrow at 7 pm in a road matchup.

#10 West Burlington/Notre Dame will host Centerville tomorrow at 7 pm. 

Mediapolis will hit the road tomorrow at 7 pm to face off against Northeast.

High School Football

Mt. Pleasant will end the regular season tomorrow, October 25th, at 7:30 pm at home against Assumption. 

Fairfield will close out the season at home tomorrow at 7:30 pm against Grinnell. 

High School Cross Country

Class 3A and Class 4A held their state qualifying meets yesterday and both Washington teams punched their ticket to the state meet along with Mt. Pleasant’s Quintrie Lee. 

For the girls’ race at Pella, Washington’s Iris Dahl cruised into a 5th place finish with a time of 19 minutes and 14 seconds, which gave the Demons enough of a push to sneak into the last team qualifying spot–a one point difference against Fort Madison.

Mt. Pleasant took 9th place as a team with Lee’s 17th place time of 20 minutes and 18 seconds leading the team and qualifying her for the state meet. Keokuk’s Hannah Karre will also join as an individual qualifier as she took 16th place. 

Fairfield’s Caroline Van Pelt led the charge with a 35th place finish with the team grabbing 11th place.

On the boys’ side, Washington was anchored by the duo of Tyler Alderton and Andrew Rees as they finished in 3rd and 5th place, respectively, as Alderton claimed a time of 16 minutes and 29 seconds. 

 Fort Madison was led by their own duo of Riley Tripp and Jacob Shottenkirk as they took 13th and 14th place, respectively. The Bloodhounds finished in 5th place as a team with 121 points. 

Fairfield grabbed 9th place with Aaden Regur racing to a 45th place finish, while Mt. Pleasant’s Silas Hulett turned in a 34th place finish as the Panthers claimed 10th place. 

The Class 3A state meet is scheduled for Friday, November 1st, in Fort Dodge. 

The state qualifying meets for Classes 1A and 2A will commence at 4 pm today.

For Class 1A at Regina Catholic, Danville, Van Buren County, Wapello, New London, and the Holy Trinity Catholic boys’ team will all be running.

WACO and Winfield-Mt. Union will make the trip west to Pleasantville to compete, while Columbus will be on its own at North Linn.

In Class 2A, Central Lee and Notre Dame/West Burlington will make the trip to Monticello, while Mediapolis will follow the highly ranked Mid-Prairie teams to Pella Christian. 

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team battled and defeated Iowa Lakes Community College last night in five sets (25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 25-18, and 15-12). The Blackhawks will host Spoon River College tomorrow, October 25th, at 7 pm for a triangular. 

College Football

Iowa will be searching for a win on Saturday at home against Northwestern at 2:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM will be on the call.

#10 Iowa State is on a bye week.

This Day in Sports History

1979 – Billy Martin punches a marshmallow salesman, quickly fired as manager of the New York Yankees.

2021 – Michael Jordan’s 1984 Nike Air Ships sell for $1.472 million at Sotheby’s, a new record for sneakers at auction.

2021 – Tom Brady becomes first quarterback in NFL history to record 600 touchdown passes when he hits Mike Evans in 1st quarter of the Buccaneers 38-3 rout of the Chicago Bears in Tampa Bay.

Mount Pleasant City Council Report 10/23/24

By Kadie Johannson · Thursday, October 24th, 2024 at 4:54 am CDT

It was business as usual at the Mount Pleasant City Council meeting yesterday evening. All council members and department heads were present except Ward IV Councilman Kevin Glaha. Mayor Steve Brimhall called the meeting to order promptly at 5:30 and the council moved through the agenda items swiftly and unanimously.

There was a second reading to a city ordinance amending Chapter 12, Article II prohibiting stopping, standing, or parking on Eugene Way. Eugene Way is a street improvement project completed this year. This road connects to Roosevelt Street and heads west about 1200 feet, opening access to six more industrial lots.

Other items to note include approval of sidewalk replacement and curb construction bids to continue work on the 600 and 700 blocks of West Washington Street and the council is taking advantage of TIF districts (tax increment revenue fund) for various projects and properties throughout the city.

Lastly, congratulations to RaeAnn Burns as the council approved her to serve a second term on the Parks & Recreation Board. As the council and department heads each had an opportunity to comment, Councilman Matt Crull praised the Mount Pleasant Police Department for their help and partnership at the Midwest Haunted Rails this year, noting their professionalism and assistance has been top notch.

The next regular board meeting of the Mount Pleasant City Council will be Wednesday, November 13 at 5:30 p.m. Citizens of Mount Pleasant are welcome and encouraged to attend.