Arrest Made After Hammer Assault

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, October 16th, 2024 at 8:06 am CDT

The Keokuk Police Department conducted a traffic stop on October 14th which saw one man arrested.

Dylan James Clark, 24 of Keokuk, was pulled over in the 600 block of Main Street, and charged with Eluding – 2nd or Subsequent Offense, Possession of Marijuana 2nd Offense and Driving while License Suspended.

Clark was also arrested on a warrant for Willful Injury. The warrant stems from an assault on 9/9/24 in the 10 block of N 12th Street in which a hammer was allegedly thrown at another individual, striking them in the head. Clark is now being held in jail.

Sports, October 16th

By Slaten Swords · Wednesday, October 16th, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Football

Mt. Pleasant will travel to Fort Madison on Friday, 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 on Friday at 7 pm.

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

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

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

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

Fairfield will travel to Solon on Friday at 7 pm. 

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

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

High School Volleyball

In the second round of the Southeast Conference tournament, the top two teams met up with the conference championship on the line and Washington claimed their first conference title in school history after besting Burlington last night. 

Fairfield split their matches last night, falling to Burlington (12-25, 18-25) in straight sets and defeating Mt. Pleasant in three sets (25-23, 20-25, and 15-3). Faith Jones tabbed 37 assists between the two matches with four aces against the Panthers. The Trojans will square off against Albia tomorrow, October 17th, at 7:30 pm on the road. 

In a preview of regional volleyball, Winfield-Mt. Union took on Lone Tree last night and the Wolves exited with a sweep (25-17, 25-17, 25-17). Kynlee Buffington led the team with 11 kills as Kaelyn Townsley was unstoppable from the service line with five aces. The Wolves end the regular season with a 12-10 record. 

WACO was on the ropes last night against Pekin after dropping the first two sets 20-25 and 15-25; nevertheless, the Warriors closed out the match winning the final three sets 26-24, 25-20, and 15-8. Ally Rinner tallied nine kills as Kinsey Hildbrand led the team with 19 assists and four aces in the winning effort. WACO finished the regular season with an 8-18 record. 

#14 West Burlington handled business last night against Danville, winning in straight sets 25-12, 25-9, and 25-17. The Falcons finished the regular season with a 35-6 record.

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

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

Columbus will host Washington tomorrow 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

The Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) held their conference meet last night and the Pekin girls’ team and the Danville boys’ team raced to team titles and the individual championships.

Looking at the girls’ race, Chloe Glosser of Pekin raced to a 1st place time of 19 minutes and 14 seconds followed by Hillcrest Academy’s Marie Yoder in 2nd place and Alaina Gourley of Danville with the bronze. The Bears also took 3rd place as a team with 100 points as Abby Arnett grabbed 13th place.

Mediapolis finished in 4th place as Amelia Grier led the pack with a 14th place time of 22 minutes and 36 seconds. Central Lee took 5th place as a team as Macy Anderson finished in 15th place. Josie Dykstra of WACO raced to a 6th place time of 21 minutes and Iris Garza of Columbus took 7th place with a time of 21 minutes and 10 seconds. 

For runners without team scores, Kaitlyn Kipp of West Burlington led the charge with a 5th place finish. Van Buren County’s Rylee Phillips and Kayley Snowgren finished in 9th and 10th place, respectively. Kenna Small of Wapello grabbed 12th place and New London’s Irelynn Kelly finished in 55th place. 

On the boys’ side, Danville’s Jackson Shacklett narrowly exited with the gold with a time of 16 minutes and 49 seconds, as Will Schmidgall of Mediapolis finished three seconds later for the silver. WACO’s Jude Dykstra snuck past Van Buren County’s Lincoln Bainbridge for 3rd place with a time of 17 minutes and 3 seconds. Ty Muniz of Columbus rounded out the top five with a time of 17 minutes and 10 seconds. 

For team scores, Danville won by 20 points over Mediapolis with Columbus taking 3rd place with 92 points. Van Buren County finished in 4th place, while WACO grabbed 7th place. 

Central Lee was led by Austin Fogarty’s 41st place finish as the Hawks took 9th as a team. Liam Haeger raced to a 26th place finish for West Burlington/Notre Dame as the squad took 10th place. Holy Trinity Catholic grabbed 11th place with Layne Rung racing to a 12th place time of 17 minutes and 59 seconds. Lastly, Kohlby Newsom finished in 7th place as Winfield-Mt. Union took 12th place as a team. 

Wapello’s Will Parsons grabbed 59th place and New London’s Natan Bergman finished in 64th place. 

The Class 1A and 2A state qualifier meet is scheduled for next Thursday, October 24th. 

Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield will compete in their conference meet tomorrow, October 17th, at Keokuk. 

Southeast Iowa Playbook

Tune in to KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, tonight at 6 pm for a new episode of the Southeast Iowa Playbook with New London being our school of focus. Senior Morgan Jones and junior Nicholas Loyd will be our special guests. 

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team fell to Iowa Central Community College last night in straight sets 19-25, 22-25, and 13-25. The Blackhawks will face off against Marshalltown Community College at 7 pm tomorrow, October 17th, 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

1921 – Jim Conzelman takes over as coach of the Rock Island Independents from Frank Coughlin. The only mid-game coaching change in NFL history.

1949 – Red Byron wins the first NASCAR Strictly Stock championship.

1968 – Americans Tommie Smith (gold 19.83 WR) and John Carlos (bronze) famously give the Black Power salute on the 200-meter medal podium during the Mexico City Olympics to protest racism and injustice against African Americans in the United States.

20 Days Until General Election

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, October 16th, 2024 at 6:12 am CDT

We are now less than three short weeks away from the general election, set for Tuesday, November 5th.

No matter what candidates you support, voting is important, and there are multiple ways to make sure your vote is counted. The polls will be open on election day from 7:00am-8:00pm. There is a list of polling places on KILJ for those in Henry County.

Absentee ballots will be sent out TODAY, so if you have requested one, you can expect to find one in your mailbox shortly.

This is also the same day that early voting will begin at the Henry County Courthouse on the second floor in the conference room.  Please bring your ID with you. Early voting is open Monday through Friday 8am – 4:30 pm and also on Saturday, November 2nd the Courthouse will be open from 9 am to 5 pm. If anyone has any questions, please call the Henry County Auditor’s Office at (319) 385-0756

Prep Cross Country: Week 8 of IATC’s Team Rankings

By Slaten Swords · Tuesday, October 15th, 2024 at 4:39 pm CDT

Prep Cross Country- The Iowa Track Coaches Association (IATC) released the latest team rankings and all eight of our local teams that were ranked last week remained in the top 20 with five teams climbing up the rankings.

Class 3A

The Southeast Conference (SEC) meet looms just two days away and for the boys’ race, two squads enter the day ranked with Washington at #13 and Fort Madison at #18. Both teams fell in the rankings, the Demons from #8 and the Bloodhounds from #17.

Washington’s last race was a winning effort at the Bob Mudd Lynx Invitational over the weekend, defeating Class 2A’s #12 Tipton by 12 points. #27 Tyler Alderton and Andrew Rees are the two heavy hitters for the Demons as they finished side-by-side at their last meet.

Fort Madison traveled to Centerville for their last meet on October 8th as the Bloodhounds finished in 3rd place with 84 points, 37 points behind Chariton who won the invitational. Fort Madison touts their own duo in Jacob Shottenkirk and Peyton Lambert as they grabbed 9th and 11th place, respectively.

The Fort Madison girls’ team climbed one rung up the ladder to #4 in the state after a dominating 1st place finish at the Centerville Invitational. All five of the Bloodhounds finished within the top 12 with Avery Rump grabbing the bronze and Ellie Hellman taking 5th place at the meet.

Class 2A

The Mediapolis boys’ team, fresh off a 3rd place performance at the Mike Jay Invitational, moved up from #20 to #18 in the rankings. Will Schmidgall is the pack leader for the Bulldogs with Simon Wendel proving to be a top 10 runner for the squad.

Class 1A

A log jam of local talent has three teams ranked within the top 20 for the boys’ teams. Danville is in pole position for the Southeast Iowa Super Conference, who will have their conference showdown tonight, as the Bears are ranked #4.

Van Buren County vaulted five spots in the rankings to round out the top 10 and Columbus remained put at #12. The three teams met at the Mike Jay Invitational with the Bears winning the meet by nearly 20 points with the Warriors taking 2nd and the Wildcats placing in 4th.

Jackson Shacklett of Danville grabbed the gold as Nick Powel and Noah Horn each finished in the top 10. Lincoln Bainbridge, who has had his turn on top of the leaderboard, finished back in 4th place while Landry Loeffler was the next Warrior in 12th place. Ty Muniz is the leader of the Wildcats as he finished with the silver at the meet. Cade Storm was next in 15th place.

On the girls’ side, Danville moved up two spots in the rankings to #15. Alaina Gourley, who has been ranked individually for most of the season, matched the Bears’ team finish as her time of 20 minutes and 14 seconds took 2nd place. Abby Arnett, Delaney Newberry, Addy Henkelvig, and Ava Ourth provide an excellent supporting cast.

Henry County Supervisors Meeting Agenda 10/17

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, October 15th, 2024 at 4:11 pm CDT

Henry County Supervisors
100 E Washington St Ste 202
Mt Pleasant IA 52641
Fax: 319-385-3601

Chad White, Member Marc Lindeen, Vice-Chairman Greg Moeller, Chairman
319-385-0759 319-385-0760 319-385-0761

AGENDA

October 17, 2024

Approve Agenda

Approve Minutes

Jake Hotchkiss Engineer Weekly Update
Open quotes for rock crushing at Henry County quarry

Joe Buffington, P&Z- Public Hearing to Rezone the north 1100’ of the east half of the west 29 acres of the NW of NE 7-73-7 from A-1 Agricultural to C-1 Commercial to operate a sawmill and related activities.

Approve Conservation Agreement with ITC.

Approve ARPA resolution and MOU for AS400 and other Computer Equipment.

Zach Griebahn Supervisor Questions Regarding Ordinance Process.

Public Comments

Public audience comments are typically open to anything the

public wants to tell the board – Although there are rules about

confidential information, avoiding disparaging an employee, etc.

        Other County Business as time allows

        Supervisors Sub-Committee Updates

 

Richard Libby

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, October 15th, 2024 at 11:26 am CDT

Richard Roy Libby, 83, of Mount Pleasant, passed away unexpectedly on October 14, 2024, at home. He is now absent from the body and present with the Lord.

Born on September 25, 1941, in Bandon, Oregon, Roy was the son of Virgil Watson and Esther Joy Libby. He graduated from Pacific High School in 1960 and attended Multnomah School of the Bible. Roy married Karla Turner on June 1, 1963, in Portland. They traveled to Costa Rica to learn Spanish before serving as Missionary Pastors in Colombia for 25 years. After a miraculous release from Colombian guerillas, they returned to Oregon, where Roy and Karla continued his missionary work in Latino communities for another 25 years.

For the last eight years, they made their home in Mount Pleasant and were active members of Wellspring Evangelical Free Church. Roy had a passion for serving others, delivering meals for Milestone and helping with transportation through the Fellowship Cup. He also enjoyed long arm quilting and stamp collecting.

Roy is survived by his wife, Karla; four children, Charles (Cheryl) Libby, Bob (Denice) Libby, Rich (Elizabeth) Libby, and Ruth (Jerry) Disch; 15 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; siblings Glen (Cathy) Libby, Nanine Felton, and David Libby; and two “adopted” exchange students, Andrew Huhuyana and Pacharo Awuakye. He was preceded in death by his parents, stepmother Lucille Libby, and sister Joy Berg.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 26, 2024, at Wellspring Evangelical Free Church, officiated by Pastor Randy Keeley. The service will be livestreamed on the Wellspring E-Free Mount Pleasant YouTube channel. Burial will take place at a later date in Spring Creek Cemetery, Goldendale, Washington. Because of Roy’s passion for missions, in lieu of flowers or gifts, memorials may be directed to Wellspring Missions Fund. The Olson-Powell Chapel & Crematory is caring for Roy and his family. www.powellfuneralhomes.com

Paul Moeller

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, October 15th, 2024 at 10:37 am CDT

Paul R. “Rudy” Moeller, 69, of West Point, Iowa, passed away at 11:14 p.m. Sunday, October 13, 2024, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa.

He was born on October 20, 1954, in Fort Madison, Iowa, the son of Rudolph and Marcella (Klesner) Moeller. On November 5, 1977, he married Cathy S. Schneider at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Fort Madison, Iowa. She preceded him in death on November 22, 2001.

He is survived by his daughter: Pam (Mark) Hymes of St. Paul, Iowa; son: Scott (Karen) Moeller of Donnellson, Iowa;  grandchildren: Abigail, Natalie, Jonah, Brady, Claire; special friend: Jody Krebill; siblings: Sr. Joanne Moeller of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, Delbert (Barb) Moeller of West Point, Iowa, Ronnie (Sharon) Moeller of Fort Madison, Iowa, Vic (Maureen) Moeller of Port Aransas, Texas, Gary (Sandy) Moeller of Des Moines, Iowa, Roger (Joan) Moeller of West Point, Iowa, Nancy (Mike) Cutler of Marion, Iowa. Also surviving are several nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife: Cathy; infant son: Cole; brother: Richard.

Paul was a graduate of Marquette Catholic High School. He retired from J.I. Case and was a greenskeeper for Green Acres Country Club and courier for Menke and Company. He was a member of St. Mary’s of the Assumption Catholic Church in West Point and Green Acres Country Club. Paul enjoyed watching the Hawkeyes, golfing, riding his motorcycle and shooting pool. He was very social and enjoyed being around people.

A visitation will be held from 12:00 noon to 7:00 p.m. Thursday, October 17, 2024, at Schmitz Funeral Home in West Point, where the family will receive friends from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, October 18, 2024, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in West Point, with Father Dan Dorau as celebrant.

Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in West Point.

A memorial has been established in his memory.

Schmitz Funeral Home of West Point is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com.

School Board Discusses Truancy, Candidate Forum, Fundraisers, and Special Show-choir Performance

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, October 15th, 2024 at 10:05 am CDT

Members of the Mt. Pleasant school board were treated to a show on Monday evening, as the high school show choir performed one of their songs, “In My Life”. It will be a few more months until the show choir will trade the carpet of the library for the stage, as their competitive season waits until after Christmas.

Student and Family Advocate, Martha Peterson, presented on chronic absenteeism and truancy. According to her, the problem that students are not going to school isn’t just an issue here in Southeast Iowa, but rather nationwide. According to a new law passed by the state of Iowa through senate file 2435, students are considered “chronically absent” if they miss 10% of the school days in a grading period. For Mt. Pleasant, that is one semester. If a student misses that amount, a certified letter is sent to the family and to the county attorney. At 15%, the family will meet with the district to see what can be done to ensure the trend stops. 20% is when a student is considered “truant”, which means their name goes to the county attorney, who decides on if truancy proceedings are necessary, which may lead to fines or jailtime.

According to the data, just shy of 30% of students nationwide missed 10% of a grading period in the 2021/2022 school year, with that number slightly dropping the following year. Peterson said that she doesn’t want students coming to school if they are sick, but it is a different story if they have the sniffles or a stomach ache.

The school board has a work session scheduled for October 28th, in which they will host three candidates running for the Iowa house. Tom ODonnell, Jeff Shipley, and Jeff Poulter will be in attendance that evening.

All three fundraisers were approved on Monday’s meeting. There will be an iJAG fundraiser next Monday at Pizza Ranch, a Fun Run on November 2nd for the National Honor Society, and the FFA will be partnering with the Rotary clubs in Mt. Pleasant to sell Christmas Wreaths.