Beethoven’s 5th Symphony to be Performed This Sunday!

By Yorke Prough · Friday, October 11th, 2024 at 8:33 am CDT

The Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra (SEISO) will perform their first Masterworks Series concert set on October 13th at 6:30 PM at the MTPCSD (formerly IW) Chapel Auditorium in Mt. Pleasant.

They are beginning our 74th season: Welcome to the Symphony with a bang by opening the concert with Iowa composer Linda Robbins Coleman’s In Good King Charles’s Golden Days Overture, followed by Claude Debussy’s La Mer and An Afternoon of a Faun before ending with the masterwork of all masterworks: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.

Music Director, Robert McConnell says, “I am amazed at how much excitement performing Beethoven’s 5th Symphony generates. Some of our musicians have performed this work over 30 times and for others it’s a first.  It is gripping each and every time it is performed.”

For tickets and information, head to their website at www.seiso.us

Tickets may also be purchased at the door. or may be purchased at the door.  Single-concert tickets are $20.  Children/student tickets (aged 0-22) are free.  There is no reserved seating.

Make the most of your concert experience by attending the ‘Prelude.’  Music Director Robert McConnell will be on hand 45 minutes prior to each performance to talk about the programmed music in depth.  ‘Prelude’ is supported in part by the Charles W. Rand Memorial Lecture Fund in Burlington and is offered free of charge to all audience members.

If you have questions, please contact the SEISO Office at seiso@seiso.us.  More information is available on the SEISO web site at www.seiso.us.

School Resource Officer Approved as 28E Agreement Signed at Henry County Supervisors Meeting

By Yorke Prough · Friday, October 11th, 2024 at 7:05 am CDT

An officer will once again roam the halls of the New London Community School District after a 28E agreement was signed at Thursday’s Henry County Supervisors meeting. A deputy from the Sheriff’s Office will soon be installed as the school resource officer, with the school district reimbursing the deputies package when on location.

Supervisor Lindeen, and acting chairman due to Greg Moeller’s absence, told the Henry County Sheriff that he does not want to get comfortable with this in the future. He believes that, due to the limited budget, it would be very difficult to approve an SRO in other school’s in the district in the future. McNamee fired back, reminding that the deputy is reimbursed by the school entirely, and that he or she will serve the citizens of the county. The 28E agreement was approved unanimously.

Conservation Director, Caleb Waters, shared his frustrations over the dump station with the 2-man board. His main concerns come from the time it has taken, 2 years, and the $30,000 or so that they have spent on this project. At the conservation board meeting on Wednesday, it was brought to Water’s attention that the department can hire Bruce Wilson with RUSS (Regional Utility Service Systems) to come up with a plan for $100 an hour. He also mentioned that the majority of the campground will be closed on October 21st as they begin to winterize the cabins. This allows more time to be spent on mowing and cleanup of the outlying parks.

The public comments section saw multiple voices from residents within the county. One woman directed a question to supervisor White. At a past meeting, White had asked for clarification from the assistant county attorney, Steve Giebelhausen, over which parts of the Henry County Watchmen proposed ordinance would be non-defensible. White did meet with Giebelhausen and while they disagreed on some parts, the supervisor mentioned that he is not a lawyer himself.

Another citizen asked the board if they are still researching wind turbines, in which supervisor Lindeen responded that he is going on a roadtrip soon, presumably to a wind farm. Supervisor White has spoken with Emergency Management director, Walt Jackson, who has agreed to ask colleagues from counties with wind turbines for more information.

The Planning and Zoning Director and the County Engineer also gave reports at Thursday’s meeting. The Henry County Board of Supervisors will meet again next Thursday, October 17th in regular session.

Sports, October 11th

By Slaten Swords · Friday, October 11th, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Football

Mt. Pleasant will stay at home to take on Keokuk tonight at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm. 

Columbus will face off against Van Buren County tonight at 7 pm. 

Central Lee will square off against Mid-Prairie on the road tonight at 7:30 pm. 

Mediapolis will compete against Davis County tonight at 7:30 pm on the road. 

WACO will hit the road to take on English Valleys tonight at 7 pm. 

Danville will be tested on the road against #4 Lisbon at 7 pm tonight.  

West Burlington/Notre Dame will host Albia tonight at 7:30 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will host Mormon Trail tonight at 7 pm.

Wapello will travel to Pekin tonight at 7 pm.

Fairfield will take on South Tama tonight at 7 pm at home. 

New London will travel to Moravia tomorrow, October 12th, at 2 pm.

High School Volleyball

New London fell to Burlington Notre Dame in straight sets last night 25-12, 25-22, and 25-13. The Nikes will compete at a tournament hosted by Danville on Thursday, October 17th, starting at 5 pm.

Mediapolis swept Van Buren County last night 25-20, 25-17, and 25-19. Maddy Carter tabbed 13 kills and two blocks in the winning effort. The Bulldogs will square off against Fort Madison on Thursday at 5 pm to start off their quad. 

Central Lee gave #2 Holy Trinity Catholic a scare after tying the match at one set apiece but the Crusaders celebrated their senior night with a 3-1 win (25-18, 21-15, 25-21, and 25-13). The Hawks had Taylor Jones collect 14 kills; the Crusaders were led by Presley Myers’ 15 kills and Anna Bendlage’s 20 assists and four aces. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will participate in a tournament tomorrow at Pella. 

Central Lee, Van Buren County, and New London will compete in a tournament tomorrow at Davis County. 

Winfield-Mt. Union won their senior night against Hillcrest Academy last night 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 25-19, and 25-21). Kellee Milks led the team with 12 kills as Madisen Kellogg dished out 42 assists in the win. The Wolves will take on Lone Tree on the road on Tuesday, October 15th, at 7:30 pm.

Wapello dumped Lone Tree in straight sets (25-13, 25-4, and 25-16) last night. Mila Jordan walloped 17 kills, while Annaka Greiner collected 38 assists and four aces in the win. The Arrows will face off against Louisa-Muscatine on Tuesday at 5:30 pm on the road. 

WACO took down Louisa-Muscatine for a senior night victory last night. The Warriors will travel to Pekin on Tuesday at 7:30 pm. 

Columbus won a five-set nail-biter against Highland last night (25-11, 33-35, 21-25, 25-20, and 16-14) as Daniela Diaz filled the stat sheet with 36 assists, two blocks, and two aces in the win. The Wildcats will face off against Hillcrest Academy in a road matchup on Tuesday at 6:30 pm.

Danville battled against Keokuk last night with the match needing five sets to decide a winner after Danville took the first and third sets 26-24 and 25-22, while the Chiefs won the second and fourth sets 25-18. Despite Camryn Atterberg’s 11 kills and two aces, the Bears would exit with the win in the fifth set 15-9. 

#14 West Burlington will square off against Danville on Tuesday at 7:30 pm in a road matchup. 

Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield will travel to Oskaloosa tomorrow for a tournament. 

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

High School Cross Country

Mediapolis and Columbus co-hosted the Mike Jay Invitational last night and the Keokuk girls’ team won with 55 team points, while the Danville boys’ team took the gold with 58 points.

In the girls’ race, Alaina Gourley’s second place finish with a time of 20 minutes and 14 seconds led Danville to a 2nd place finish overall with 70 points as Abby Arnett was the next Bear to finish in 11th place. 

Central Lee took 4th place with Evelyn Adkins’ 12th place finish anchoring the Hawks with a time of 22 minutes and 8 seconds. Mediapolis finished right behind in 5th place as Mia Steniner grabbed 22nd place. 

Mt. Pleasant’s Quintrie Lee had her best finish of the year, collecting a time of 21 minutes and 2 seconds, which was good enough for fifth place. Overall, the Panthers finished in 6th as a team.

Iris Garza led Columbus with a fourth place time of 20 minutes and 56 seconds as the Wildcats finished in 7th place. 

For individual runners, Kaitlyn Kipp of West Burlington/Notre Dame took home the bronze with a time of 20 minutes and 42 seconds. WACO’s Josie Dykstra finished in sixth place. The duo of Kayley Snowgren and Rylee Phillips took ninth and tenth place, respectively, for Van Buren County. Kenna Small of Wapello finished in 16th place. Lastly, Irelynn Kelly of New London raced to a 52nd place finish. 

Moving over to the boys’ race, Danville’s Jackson Shacklett collected the gold with a time of 16 minutes and 33 seconds. Ty Muniz of Columbus was a mere ten seconds behind as he grabbed second place overall with the team finishing in 4th place. 

Will Schmidgall of Mediapolis was the final runner to finish with a sub-17 minute time as he took the bronze along with his squad with 78 points. Van Buren County finished above the Bulldogs with 76 points as Lincoln Bainbridge raced to a fourth place time of 17 minutes and 4.2 seconds.

Mt. Pleasant had Locken Henderson finish in 11th place with a time of 17 minutes and 39 seconds as the Panthers took 6th as a team. Central Lee was led by Leo Thomas’ 29th place finish with the team grabbing 7th place. West Burlington/Notre Dame’s Liam Haeger finished in 28th place, but the team finished behind the Hawks in 8th place. 

Kohlby Newsom tallied a fifth place time of 17 minutes and 4.3 seconds as the Winfield-Mt. Union finished in 9th place. Lastly, Tanner Williams of Holy Trinity Catholic grabbed 59th place with the Crusaders taking 11th place as a team. 

Wapello’s Will Parsons raced to a 51st place finish, while New London’s Nathan Bergman finished in 60th place. 

Danville, Central Lee, Columbus, Holy Trinity Catholic, WACO, Van Buren County, Mediapolis, Winfield-Mt. Union, Wapello, and West Burlington/Notre Dame will compete on Tuesday, October 15th, at Cedar Crest Country Club for their conference meet. 

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

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team will host a triangular today with Wilbur Wright College and Illinois Central College making the trip. 

College Football

#11 Iowa State will travel to West Virginia tomorrow, October 12th, at 7 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will have the call.

Iowa will host Washington tomorrow at 11 am. KILJ 105.5 FM will have the broadcast.

This Day in Sports History

1925 – The New York Giants lose their first NFL game, 14-0, to the Providence Steam Rollers at the Cycledrome.

1927 – New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig is named American League MVP; despite hitting an MLB record 60 home runs, Babe Ruth as a former winner is not eligible–a rule that was changed in 1931.

2020 – NBA Finals: the LA Lakers beat the Miami Heat 106-93 in Game 6 to win a record equaling 17th title; the MVP goes to LeBron James; first to win the award with three different teams.

Helen Garrels – Pending

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 10th, 2024 at 4:57 pm CDT

Helen Irene Hazen Garrels, 101, of Maryville, Tennessee, formerly of Danville, died Tuesday, October 8, 2024 in Tennessee.  Services are pending at Elliott Chapel, New London.

Prep Volleyball: IGHSAU Releases Postseason Brackets

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, October 10th, 2024 at 2:31 pm CDT

Prep Volleyball- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released the regional brackets for all five classes today as postseason volleyball sits less than two weeks away. Here’s a look at our local matchups.

Class 1A

Region 2 is the place to look as eight of the 17 Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) teams reside throughout the bracket. #2 Holy Trinity Catholic earned a bye into the second round, earning the top seed. The Crusaders won’t play until October 23rd at home.

The Crusaders will face off against the winner between Winfield-Mt. Union and Lone Tree as the Wolves are set to be the hosts. Winfield-Mt. Union has not dropped a set against the Lions since 2016 as they won 2-1 earlier this season.

Staying in the op half of the bracket, Burlington Notre Dame will be the home team when they take on WACO, which will their first pair-up since 2021. The winner will take on either Wapello or New London as the Arrows will host that matchup. Wapello’s won their past two matchups against the Tigers, but New London is 10-2 since 2008.

The final SEISC team in the region is Highland as they will face off against North Cedar at home. The big hitters in the bottom half of the bracket will be Springville and Calamus-Wheatland.

The first round will start on Monday, October 21st, at 7 pm.

Class 2A

Van Buren County will be the lone local team in Region 2 as the Warriors will host Cardinal on Wednesday, October 23rd, at 7 pm. The Warriors are on a 25-game winning streak against the Comets, including a 2-0 sweep earlier this season.

In Region 3, Columbus will tango with Danville in the first round at Columbus. The Beas won the last matchup in 2022 and hold the series advantage of 4-2 since 2012. The winner will then travel to compete against #14 West Burlington.

#3 Beckman Catholic is the top seed of the region.

The first-round matchups are scheduled for Monday, October 21st, at 7 pm.

Class 3A

In region 5, Washington will take on Mediapolis at home for their first-round contest. The Demons swept the Bulldogs in early September.

Region 8 is also a place to watch out for as Fairfield will travel to Wilton and Central Lee will tumble with West Liberty on the road. This will be the Trojans first time competing against Wilton, while the Hawks have yet to beat West Liberty in their last four attempts.

The first round will commence on Tuesday, October 22nd, at 7 pm.

Class 4A

The Southeast Conference (SEC) will get a first-round matchup in Region 4 with Mt. Pleasant set to host Fort Madison. The Panther’s lone conference win of the season occurred against the Bloodhounds at home in a 3-0 sweep. KILJ 105.5 FM will be on the call.

The winner will move on to face off against #4 Clear Creek-Amana in a road matchup on Thursday, October 24th.

Lastly, Region 6 will also feature an SEC matchup as Burlington will take on Keokuk to open play at home. The Grayhounds have not dropped a set to the Chiefs in their two matchups this season and have only lost five matchups against Keokuk since 2007.

The winner will tango with #6 Pella on Thursday, October 24th.

The first round is scheduled for Tuesday, October 22nd, at 7 pm.

Up Next

Keep on staying tuned to KILJ as we will be calling postseason volleyball. Broadcast information will be released closer to postseason play.

Francis Farmer

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 10th, 2024 at 11:04 am CDT

Francis “Frank” K. Farmer, 80, of Fort Dodge, passed away Sunday October 6, 2024, at Mayo Clinics in Rochester, MN.
Memorial services will be held at 10:30 AM on Saturday October 12, 2024, at Trinity United Methodist Church. There will be a visitation on Friday October 11, 2024, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at Laufersweiler Funeral Home. There will be a private burial in North Hill Cemetery in Wayland, IA at a later date. 

Frank is survived by his wife, Zelda; children, Bret (Kim) Farmer of Shoreview, MN, and Joely (Tom) Swenson of Ellsworth, IA; grandchildren, Matthew and Grace Farmer, Dugan, Gavin and Keagan Swenson; brothers, Keith Farmer of Iowa City, IA, Terry Farmer of Wayland, IA, Lynn Farmer of Cedar Rapids, IA, and William Farmer of Brighton, IA, sister, Bev Moore of Iowa City, IA, and 5 grand dogs.

Frank is preceded in death by his son, Todd Francis Farmer and parents, LaVerne and Dorothy (Kessel) Farmer.
Francis Kessel Farmer was born on September 26, 1944, in Wayland, IA. He was raised and educated in Wayland, graduating from Wayland High School in 1962. He attended Missouri State Teachers College and graduated from the University of Iowa.

On December 29, 1964, he was united in marriage to Zelda Graber and the couple established their home in Iowa City. Frank worked for the Iowa City Engineer Department until 1989. The couple then relocated to Fort Dodge, where he was the director of the Public Works and Engineering Department until his retirement in 2004. Frank was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church, serving as a Trustee for 10 years. He was also a member of the American Public Works Association and Fort Dodge Noon Sertoma. Frank enjoyed playing golf, fishing with grandchildren and friends, and beach time in Florida with family.

Memorials may be left to the discretion of the family.

Natural Gas Prices Drop Drastically – Weekly Fuel Report

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 10th, 2024 at 10:31 am CDT

Motor Fuels

  • As of Wednesday, the price of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $2.98 across Iowa according to AAA.
    • Prices fell 1 cent from last week’s price and are down 41 cents from a year ago.
    • The national average on Wednesday was $3.21, up 1 cent from last week’s price.
  • Retail diesel prices in Iowa rose 6 cents this week with a statewide average of $3.38.
    • One year ago, diesel prices averaged $4.27 in Iowa.
    • The current Iowa diesel price is 22 cents lower than the national average of $3.60.
  • Wholesale ethanol held steady and is currently priced at $2.16.
  • The current Des Moines Terminal/Rack Prices are $2.08 for U87-E10, $2.39 for Unleaded 87 (clear), $2.42 for ULSD#2, $2.71 for ULSD#1, and $1.87 per gallon for E-70 prices.

Heating Fuels

  • Natural gas prices fell 30 cents at the Henry Hub reporting site and are currently priced at $2.66/MMbtu.
  • Propane prices averaged $1.57 per gallon in Iowa.
  • Home heating oil prices had a statewide average of $2.91 per gallon.

Tips for saving energy on the road or at home are available at energy.gov and fueleconomy.gov.

Teenager Only Occupant in Tractor-Trailer Rollover

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 10th, 2024 at 7:06 am CDT

There was a tractor-trailer rollover at 12:30 am on October 9th that the Henry County Sheriff’s Office responded to. They were identified via 911 emergency call.

Logan Louderman 19, of Brighton, Iowa was traveling eastbound in the 1100-Grid of Highway 78 when his tractor-trailer hit the Crooked Creek bridge guardrail and left the roadway. The tractor-trailer came to rest on the passenger side, approximately 70 yards from where it left the roadway, parallel to the bridge. Alarmingly, the driver, who was the only occupant, was trapped inside.

Wayland Fire Department and Henry County Sheriff Deputies used mechanical means to extract the driver from the vehicle. The driver was transported to Iowa Hospitals for treatment of potential injuries. The tractor appeared to be totaled.

The Henry County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Wayland Fire Department, Henry County EMS, Washington County EMS, Iowa Air-Care and Breuer Towing and Recovery.

This accident is still under investigation.