Public Wants Recorded Meetings, More Transparency from Henry County Supervisors

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 17th, 2024 at 1:03 pm CDT

The Henry County Supervisors meeting on Thursday saw multiple citizens voice their continued concerns over transparency in the county, specifically related to the alternative energy overlay ordinance.

During the public comment section, Melanie Patton once again urged the board to record the meetings, even mentioning that she would hold a bake sale to raise funds in order to get the technology required. She also asked if the meeting agendas for all the boards and commissions in the county could be better publicized. Supervisor White seemingly agreed, stating that he would like to see any public information in one central location on the county website.

Zach Griebahn was on the agenda today to discuss the ordinance process. Board chair Moeller informed him that the best time for the public’s questions to get answered is on an individual basis, while supervisor Lindeen said that the meetings are for the board. He took it a step further, informing the public that the board does not need to answer questions brought up at the time of the public comment section.

Griehbahn asked about the board work session on October 1st over the alternative energy ordinance. According to Lindeen, the board does not have to come up with meeting dates and agendas during public meetings. Moeller added that he informed a supervisor of the work session via text.

Supervisor Lindeen admitted that this discussion of a wind farm is one of the top two largest projects proposed in his time on the board. The board is not rushing this process, but rather ensuring that they have the information needed to make a decision eventually. He is certain that the board is doing their due diligence over this matter.

Another point of discussion was the current unknowns. All three supervisors agreed that there are a lot of estimated projections regarding the revenue brought in through this project, but no hard figure. Lindeen believes that is what makes this difficult.

The Planning and Zoning Commission met one month ago for a public hearing over the ordinance. The public can get ahold of the members of the commission by asking the Planning and Zoning administrator, according to the board.

Board chair Greg Moeller reminded the public that there have been multiple public meetings, townhalls, and public hearings over this matter.

Henry County Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Report

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 17th, 2024 at 1:02 pm CDT

The Henry County Historic Preservation Commission met Wednesday October 16 at the Henry County Heritage Center.

Topics for discussion included the community’s effort to save the 1876 Oakland Mills bridge and an upcoming fundraising meeting on October 26 at the Heritage Center.  Ideas, concepts, and formatting for a Henry County Historic Adventure Guide were discussed.

The Commission signed a memo of understanding that will require the BNSF RR to write a history of railroads in Henry County to offset the future loss of the bridge over the Skunk River at Rome which is expected to be replaced in the near future.  The existing railroad bridge is eligible for placement on the Nation Register of Historic Places but is impractical to preserve it. The railroad history document will be complete with historical photographs and made available to the public.

The meeting was adjourned with the next meeting set for November 20 at the Henry County Courthouse.

Do Not Burn Today! Red Flag Warning Across Eastern Iowa

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 17th, 2024 at 8:42 am CDT

Very high to extreme fire danger conditions are expected today. The previous Fire Weather Watch has been UPGRADED to a Red Flag Warning for portions of eastern Iowa from 11 AM to 7 PM today. Southerly winds gusting between 25 to 35 mph with very low relative humidity levels will combine with cured crops and drying vegetation to make for hazardous fire conditions

Any fires that start in these conditions will spread quickly. Avoid outdoor burning, do not carelessly discard cigarettes, be cautious with farm and outdoor equipment, and if a fire gets out of control, call for help immediately!

Fully Engulfed Barn on Fire in Wayland

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 17th, 2024 at 8:02 am CDT

According to dispatch, there is a barn fully engulfed in Wayland at 1370 Ash Avenue as of 8:00am on Thursday, October 17th. Mt. Pleasant Fire and Olds Fire have been requested for mutual aid. Prelimanary reports suggest that a tractor caught fire inside of the barn, which is next to a home. There is a large amount of black smoke and a tanker truck is on the way. KILJ will update this situation as details are made known.

Please stay clear of the area and allow emergency crews to do their work.

Sports, October 17th

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, October 17th, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Football

Mt. Pleasant will travel to Fort Madison tomorrow, October 18th, at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm. 

Van Buren County will host #4 Lisbon tomorrow at 7 pm.

Winfield-Mt. Union will face off against HLV tomorrow at 7 pm on the road. 

New London will take on English Valleys tomorrow at 7 pm at home. 

Danville will host Columbus to end the season at 7 pm tomorrow. 

Wapello will square off against Highland tomorrow at 7 pm at home to end the season. 

Fairfield will travel to Solon tomorrow at 7 pm. 

West Burlington/Notre Dame will compete against Davis County tomorrow at 7:30 pm in a road matchup. 

Central Lee will face off against Mediapolis tomorrow at 7:30 pm for their regular season finale. 

High School Volleyball

Fairfield will square off against Albia tonight at 7:30 pm on the road. 

Danville will host a tournament tonight with Burlington Notre Dame and Mt. Pleasant also participating. 

#2 Holy Trinity Catholic will compete in a quad at Mediapolis tonight at 5 pm. 

Columbus will host Washington tonight at 7:30 pm. 

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released the postseason brackets and for a breakdown of our local matchups, follow this link: IGHSAU Postseason Brackets

High School Cross Country

Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield will compete in their conference meet tonight at Keokuk. 

The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released the team assignments for the upcoming state qualifying meets with Classes 1A and 2A scheduled to run at 4 pm on Thursday, October 24th.

For Class 1A at Regina Catholic, Danville will run against Van Buren County as the two boys’ teams will enter the race ranked. Joining them will be Wapello, New London, and the Holy Trinity Catholic boys’ team.

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. 

Southeast Iowa Playbook

New London was our school of focus for last night’s episode of the Southeast Iowa Playbook with special guests, senior Morgan Jones and junior Nicholas Loyd. Jones discussed how her leadership style is not only leading by example but providing encouragement,

“I honestly feel like I’m kind of a mix of both, like I definitely try to stay hype and cheer on my team, which that’s just a big thing in volleyball anyway. But on top of that, I also just make sure that I’m never slacking because I know that especially being a senior this year it feels different than last year. There are so many underclassmen and just people younger than me that I know are looking up to me and my other senior teammates, so just making sure that we’re not getting down on ourselves and playing to our best ability at all times and never breaking.”

For the football team, Loyd knows it will take a full 48-minutes of effort to exit with the win,

“We gotta play the whole game because last year we I think we actually were doing really good in the first half and then the second half, we kind of just fell apart. So I feel like if we just, like, play it together. We actually could have won.”

If you missed last night’s episode, then follow this link: New London Episode

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team will face off against Marshalltown Community College at 7 pm tonight on the road. 

College Football

#9 Iowa State will host UCF on Saturday, October 19th, at 6:30 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will have the broadcast. 

Iowa will square off against Michigan State on the road on Saturday at 6:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM will be on the call. 

This Day in Sports History

1976 – Then coldest World Series game; Reds beat NY Yankees, 4-3 in Game 2 at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati; 39 degrees Fahrenheit (until 1997).

1991 – Pittsburgh Penguin Paul Coffey sets the then-NHL defenseman scoring record with 1,053 career points (309 goals and 744 assists).

2015 – Star forward Cristiano Ronaldo becomes Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer across all competitions, overtaking club legend Raul with his 324th goal in a 3-0 win over Levante.

Peter Jones – Pending

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 17th, 2024 at 6:11 am CDT

Peter D. Jones, 76, of Mt. Pleasant passed away on Monday, October 14, 2024, at the Good Samaritan Society of Ottumwa.

Funeral arrangements are pending at the Murphy Funeral Home of Mt. Pleasant.

Prep Cross Country: State Qualifying Meet Sites and Team Assignments for Our Local Programs

By Slaten Swords · Wednesday, October 16th, 2024 at 2:20 pm CDT

Prep Cross Country- The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released the team assignments for the upcoming state qualifying meets scheduled to start next Wednesday, October 23rd.

Class 1A

The state qualifying meet for Class 1A is set to start at 4 pm on Thursday, October 24th, and Regina Catholic, Pleasantville, and North Linn will host our local teams.

At Regina Catholic, Danville will run against Van Buren County as the two boys’ teams will enter the race ranked. Joining the race will be Wapello, New London, and the Holy Trinity Catholic boys’ team.

WACO and Winfield-Mt. Union will make the trip west to Pleasantville to compete.

Columbus will be on its own at North Linn

Class 2A

Central Lee and Notre Dame/West Burlington will make the trip to Monticello, while Mediapolis will follow the highly ranked Mid-Prairie team to Pella Christian with both races to start at 4 pm on Thursday.

Class 3A

The Southeast Conference is ready to run wild at Pella on Wednesday, October 23rd, at 4 pm as Keokuk, Fort Madison, Fairfield, Washington, and Mt. Pleasant will all be participating.

Class 4A

Burlington, our final local team, will compete at Pleasant Valley on Wednesday at 4 pm.

More Information

For a full list of teams, follow the links below:

Class 1A: Team Assignments for Class 1A

Class 2A: Team Assignments for Class 2A

Class 3A: Team Assignments for Class 3A

Class 4A: Team Assignments for Class 4A

Teenager Charged with Arson in Burlington Fire

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, October 16th, 2024 at 8:32 am CDT

The Burlington Fire Department was dispatched at 1:10pm for a report of a fire at 1405 Division St in Burlington on October 15th. Firefighters arrived just two minutes later to the site of heavy fire showing from the second story.

The property is owned by Tarshika Sweezer and it was vacant at the time of the fire, with no utilities servicing the property.

The Burlington Fire Department was assisted by Alliant Energy and Gas, Mediapolis Fire, West Burlington Fire, Burlington Police, Burlington CID, and the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant Fire Department. All units cleared the scene at 4:16pm.

A joint investigation was conducted by the Burlington Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Burlington Fire Marshal. A search warrant was conducted at the residence and evidence was collected. After multiple interviews, a person of interest was located. At approximately 5:49 P.M., a 17 year old juvenile female was placed under arrest for 2nd Degree Arson (Class C Felony). The juvenile female was transported to the Lee County Juvenile Detention Center.