William “Bill” Boley

By Yorke Prough · Monday, September 30th, 2024 at 9:41 am CDT

William “Bill” Hill Boley, 87, of Birmingham, IA passed away on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at the University of Iowa Hospital. As were his wishes, cremation has taken place. A memorial service in Bill’s honor will begin at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 5, 2024, at the Cranston Family Funeral Home in Keosauqua, IA with Pastor Mary Kathryn Hart and Diane Bales officiating. Burial will be held at a later date. Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 5, 2024, at the funeral home and will last until the time of service. Memorial contributions in Bill’s honor may be directed to the Birmingham Fire Department, the Stockport United Methodist Church or to the Birmingham Lions and may be mailed c/o Cranston Family Funeral Home, P.O. Box 189, Fairfield, IA 52556. Friends may leave online condolences at www.cranstonfamilyfuneralhome.com.

Bill was born on July 20, 1937, to James Nicholas and Hazel Hill Boley.  He graduated from Birmingham High School in 1955 and soon after married his sweetheart, Beverly Reneker, in a ceremony at the Little Brown Church in Nashua in 1957. Their devoted partnership was blessed with two daughters and spanned over six decades.

After beginning his married life in Illinois as a farmhand, Bill moved to Van Buren County. He worked at Louden’s before venturing into the construction industry. Eventually, he established his own company, Boley Construction, where he was known for his skill and the ability to take on any project with confidence. Bill’s pride and joy was the home he built for his family—a testament to his craftsmanship and dedication.

Bill enjoyed coon hunting and cherished any time he was around family. Bill was instrumental in founding the Senior Citizens Housing in Birmingham serving on the board since it’s inception in 1988 and served on the Birmingham Volunteer Fire Department for many years. As a dedicated public servant, he also sat on the Birmingham City Council and was a member of the Birmingham Lions Club. His faith played a significant role in his life; he remained a member of the Birmingham Methodist Church for most of his journey, serving in many capacities.  He later transferred his devotion to the Stockport United Methodist Church.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, James Nicholas and Hazel Hill Boley, and his five siblings, Ralph, Wayne, Vaunceil, Darlene, and Carl. He leaves behind a loving family: his wife of 67 years, Beverly Boley of Birmingham, IA; daughters Debra Boley of California, MO, and Patty (Andy) Adam of Richland, IA. He was a proud grandfather to Bryan, Melissa (Wesley), Austin (Paige), Emily, and Eric, and his great-grandchildren, Hazel, Meredith, Nora, Jameson, and Everett. Bill is also survived by three siblings, Don (Ann), Nick (Kathy), and Roberta.

Bill Boley’s memory will live on through his family, the structures he built, and the community he helped strengthen.

3 Men on the Wanted List in Burlington Area

By Yorke Prough · Monday, September 30th, 2024 at 6:41 am CDT

The Burlington Area Crime Stoppers have listed three subjects on social media that are currently wanted by authorities on different warrants.

58 year-old, Kurt A. Downs, is wanted for two counts of Sex Offender Registration violation.

Alexander Ray Guzman, 28, is wanted for Parole Violation.

Kahari Paron Hopkins Jr, 21, is waned for Harassment in the 1st Degree and two Probation Violation warrants.

If you know the whereabouts of either of these three men, please call Crime Stoppers at 319-753-6835. If your tip leads to an arrest, you will receive a cash reward

Downs
Guzman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hopkins Jr

Sports, September 30th

By Slaten Swords · Monday, September 30th, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Football

Mt. Pleasant will celebrate their Homecoming on Friday, October 4th, against Washington at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.

Danville will travel to Van Buren County on Friday at 7 pm.

WACO will celebrate their senior night on Friday at 7 pm against New London. 

Mediapolis will host Mid-Prairie on Friday at 7:30 pm. 

Columbus will hit the road to compete against Louisa-Muscatine at 7 pm on Friday. 

Central Lee will celebrate their homecoming on Friday at 7:30 pm against West Burlington/Notre Dame.

Fairfield will take on Williamsburg on Friday at 7:30 pm on the road. 

Wapello will host Lisbon at 7 pm on Friday.

Winfield-Mt. Union will face off against Iowa Valley on Friday at 7 pm at home. 

High School Volleyball

The Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) held their finals over the weekend and in a rematch of last year’s championship, Class 1A’s #4 Holy Trinity Catholic took on Class 2A’s #10 West Burlington, but the Crusaders flipped the script and exited with their 9th conference title in three sets: 25-14, 22-25, and 17-15. 

To get to the championship match, the Crusaders started off the night with a decisive sweep of Central Lee (25-12, 25-14). Kenna Sandoval tallied 12 assists, two kills, and a block for the Hawks.

Staying in the top half of the bracket, Wapello completed their own sweep over Highland (25-16, 25-11) as Mila Jordan smacked 10 kills in the winning effort. 

In the bottom half of the bracket, West Burlington flew past Hillcrest Academy in straight sets (25-7, 25-7) and Burlington Notre Dame would knock out Mediapolis in a sweep (25-15, 25-19).

Holy Trinity Catholic advanced to the championship match for the 15th consecutive season after deflecting the Arrows away in straight sets (25-20, 25-16) and the Falcons defeated the Nikes 25-12 and 25-21.

In the 3rd place match, Notre Dame avenged their loss to Wapello during pool play last Thursday with a dominating sweep (25-18, 25-14). Annaka Greiner finished the tournament with 36 assists, while Jordan tabbed 26 kills.

In the championship match, West Burlington had match point in the final set 14 to 13 before the front row play of the Crusaders kicked it up a notch with a kill by Olivia Bendlage extending the match, two blocks by Presley Myers, and an Adalyn Kruse kill ending the game in their favor. Kruse led the team with 31 kills, followed by Presley Myers with 24 kills for the tournament. The Falcons had Taryn Snodgrass finish with 72 assists, while Brenna Beggs grabbed 26 kills. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will take on Burlington Notre Dame on Thursday, October 3rd, at 7:30 pm at home. 

West Burlington will compete against Central Lee on Thursday at 7:30 pm on the road. 

Mediapolis will face off against New London on Thursday at home at 7:30 pm.

Van Buren County will travel to Danville on Thursday at 7:30 pm.

Wapello will tango with Highland at home on Thursday at 7:30 pm.  

Winfield-Mt. Union will host Columbus at 7:30 pm tomorrow, October 1st. 

WACO will participate in a quad tomorrow at Lone Tree starting at 5:30 pm.

Mt. Pleasant will celebrate their senior night at 7:15 pm tomorrow against Fairfield.

High School Cross Country

Winfield-Mt. Union, Columbus, and New London will run at Iowa City today.

Van Buren County will host Holy Trinity Catholic, Central Lee, and New London tomorrow, October 1st. 

Mt. Pleasant, WACO, and Fairfield will travel to Washington tomorrow.

Danville will travel to Williamsburg tomorrow.

Mediapolis will participate in a meet hosted by Winfield-Mt. Union on Thursday, October 3rd.

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team will stay at home to compete against North Iowa Area Community College on Wednesday, October 2nd, at 7 pm. 

College Football

#16 Iowa State shutout Houston over the weekend 20-0 to help head coach Matt Campbell write his name in the history books as the all-time wins leader at Iowa State with his 57th career victory. Rocco Becht played a clean game with 153 yards passing and a touchdown to Jayden Higgins, but the Cyclones leaned on their rushing attack of Abu Sama (101 yards and one touchdown) and Jaylon Jackson as they combined for 197 of the team’s 240 yards on the ground. Iowa State is back at home on Saturday, October 5th, at 6:30 pm, taking on Baylor. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will have the broadcast. 

Iowa will square off against #3 Ohio State on the road at 2:30 on Saturday. KILJ 105.5 FM will have the call. 

This Day in Sports History

1927 – Yankees slugger Babe Ruth smacks his MLB record 60th home run off Tom Zachary in the 8th inning of New York’s 4-2 win over the Washington Senators at Yankee Stadium.

1939 – In the first televised college football game, Fordham beats Waynesburg, 34-7 at Randalls Island, New York.

1997 – New York Yankees Tim Raines, Derek Jeter, and Paul O’Neill are the first to hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the postseason as the Yankees beat Cleveland 8-6.

September 30, 2024 – October 6, 2024

By Allison Jacobs · Sunday, September 29th, 2024 at 2:37 pm CDT
10/01/24
Greg "Sprout" Stauffer
10/01/24
Lea Bradley
10/01/24
Waunita Gibbons
10/01/24
Tiffany Hauptman
10/01/24
Mark and Linda Kimzey
10/01/24
Kevin and JoAnn Wagler
10/01/24
Michael & Leslie Evans *Anniversary
10/02/24
Rosie Rogers
10/02/24
Joe & Nicole Syfert *Anniversary
10/04/24
Richard Kinney
10/04/24
Bitrus Gwamna
10/04/24
Darrel & Martha Ridenour *Anniversary
10/05/24
Tyler & Jordie Dingman
10/05/24
Whit & Kelly Mabeus * Anniversary
10/06/24
Chad Zeleny
10/06/24
Owen Wibstad (6)
10/06/24
Kenny & Sandy Garrels *Anniversary (45th)
10/06/24
Diana & Doug Smith *Anniversary

Prep Volleyball: #4 Holy Trinity Catholic Prevails over #10 West Burlington in an SEISC Championship Rematch

By Slaten Swords · Sunday, September 29th, 2024 at 9:59 am CDT

West Burlington, IA- The Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) tournament started with 17 teams for pool play on Thursday before that was whittled down to eight for championship Saturday. The result? A three-set classic for the gold between Class 1A’s #4 Holy Trinity Catholic and Class 2A’s #10 West Burlington in a rematch of last year’s championship match.

Here’s how we got there.

The Crusaders started off the night with a decisive sweep of Central Lee 25-12 and 25-14. Kenna Sandoval led the Hawks with 12 assists, two kills, and one block, while Halle Lampe tabbed four kills in the loss.

At the same time, the Falcons dispatched Hillcrest Academy without much of a sweat, winning 25-7 in both sets. Cross-town rivals would meet in the semifinals after Burlington Notre Dame defeated Mediapolis in straight sets.

In the final quarterfinal matchup, Wapello punched their ticket to the next semifinals with a sweep of the Arrows 25-16 and 25-11. Annaka Greiner grabbed 17 assists as Mila Jordan led the winning effort with 10 kills.

Wapello was awarded a chance to upset the Crusaders, who were looking to advance to championship match for the 15th straight season. However, upsets are hard to come by as Holy Trinity Catholic deflected the Arrows away to the third-place match 25-20 and 25-16.

Notre Dame was the last roadblock for a rematch of last year’s championship match. The Falcons flew right over, sweeping the Nikes 25-12 and 25-21.

The finals were set with Notre Dame looking to avenge a three-set loss to Wapello in pool play and the Falcons attempting to go back-to-back in a heavily competitive conference that does not offer up many opportunities to do so.

The Nikes succeeded in grabbing 3rd place with a 25-18 and 25-14 win in straight sets over Wapello. Greiner finished the tournament with 36 assists, while Jordan’s play culminated in 26 kills.

At this point in the tournament, the winning teams had yet to drop a set. That changed in the championship match, but it did not start that way.

In a battle of the big dogs of the SEISC, the Crusaders breezed to a 25-14 victory in the first set and appeared ready to sweep the Falcons. Nevertheless, West Burlington battled back to win a gritty second set 25-22.

The intensity was turned up a notch in the championship deciding match with the two teams trading points until the Falcons had a 14 to 13 match point opportunity to make it back-to-back years of taking home the banner.

Olivia Bendlage, a freshman for the Crusaders, denied that opportunity with one of her 13 tournament kills, tying the game at 14. The two again traded points, but the front row play of Holy Trinity Catholic was suffocating with two late blocks by Presley Myers and an Adalyn Kruse kill ending the match, 17-15 for the Crusaders.

Kruse led the Crusaders with 31 kills, followed by Myers with 24 kills and nine blocks. Anna Bendlage tabbed 42 assists and nine kills. This was Holy Trinity Catholic’s 9th SEISC championship.

Accident in New London on Friday Evening

By Yorke Prough · Saturday, September 28th, 2024 at 10:54 am CDT

*An updated version of this story has been posted on 09/30.*

There was a motor vehicle accident in New London on Friday evening. Reports show that the New London Police Department, Henry County Sheriff’s Office, HCHC, MEI, New London Fire, and Iowa State Patrol, all responded. Reports say that this occurred just after 11:30pm on Friday evening around E Adams St and E Cleveland St. Limited details are confirmed of this accident at the moment. KILJ will update this as details are made official.

Sports: September 28th

By Slaten Swords · Saturday, September 28th, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Football

A depleted Mt. Pleasant squad ventured up to Mt. Vernon looking for an upset, but for the second consecutive week, splash plays put the game out of reach early as the Mustangs came out on top 59-0. Jase Jaspers was superman for the Mustangs as he returned the first punt of the night down to the one, setting up a Kellen Haverback quarterback plunge for the first score of the night. A two-point conversion and a bad snap on the next punt awarded Mt. Vernon two more points to take a 10 to 0 lead.

Jaspers consistently put the Mustangs in Panther territory on his returns and took two screens for scores of 43 and 21 yards. He also got it done on defense with two interceptions, including a 43-yard pick-six in the third quarter for his third and final touchdown. Head coach John Bowlin knew his team could not make mistakes coming into last night’s matchup,

“Yeah, a tough night. They came in and dominated from the first quarter to finish. You know we were, you know, down a couple bodies tonight. So, I had to have some guys step up, still had a few guys that did some decent things running the ball. I thought that. You know, between Davis and Sloat, they had a couple of nice runs, and we had some holes there. We couldn’t capitalize on 3rd and short, you know, just kind of jumped offsides few times, so could never really sustain anything. And you know, they’re a good team. So we knew that coming in and we just got to get better. We got to compete harder and, you know, get ready to go next week.”

The Panthers were down Zach Newton, Payton Walker, and Avin Truong, which limited the offense, but allowed Max Sloat and Ramzy Davis to combine for over 40 rushing yards.

Mt. Pleasant will celebrate their Homecoming on Friday, October 4th, against Washington at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.

Columbus roared to a 48-14 victory last night against Highland for their second win of the season. The Wildcats will hit the road to compete against Louisa-Muscatine at 7 pm on Friday. 

Fairfield dropped their third consecutive game last night to Benton 29-14. Fairfield’s Voss Richardson scampered in for two touchdowns. The Trojans will take on Williamsburg on Friday at 7:30 pm on the road. 

Danville trailed 13 to 7 after the first quarter to Wapello, but the Bears ran away with the contest, scoring 35 unanswered points to win 42-13. The Bears will travel to Van Buren County on Friday at 7 pm.

WACO handled Easton Valley last night 44-15. Louden Huisenga rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns, while Trey Edeker notched three sacks on defense. The Warriors will celebrate their senior night on Friday at 7 pm against New London. 

New London defeated HLV 54-38.

Winfield-Mt. Union drubbed English Valleys last night 60-18. The Wolves will face off against Iowa Valley on Friday at 7 pm at home. 

Mediapolis and West Burlington/Notre Dame were involved in a nail-biter last night that ended in favor of the Falcons, 21-19. The Bulldogs will host Mid-Prairie on Friday at 7:30 pm. 

Central Lee’s undefeated run came to an end last night as Albia exited with a 14-0 victory. Luke Wynn ran for 129 yards and both touchdowns in the winning effort. The Hawks will celebrate their homecoming on Friday at 7:30 pm against West Burlington/Notre Dame.

In other Class 3A district 4 matchups, Washington shut out Keokuk 35-0 and Assumption thumped Fort Madison 42-19. 

High School Volleyball

The SEISC tournament finals will start tonight at 5 pm at Southeastern Community College. Holy Trinity Catholic will face off against Central Lee and Hillcrest Academy will clash with the defending champs West Burlington to start off the night, followed by Highland versus Wapello and Mediapolis taking on Burlington Notre Dame.

Mt. Pleasant will host Fairfield on Tuesday, October 1st, at 7:15 pm for their senior night. 

High School Cross Country

Winfield-Mt. Union, Columbus, and New London will run at Iowa City on Monday, September 30th. 

Van Buren County will host Holy Trinity Catholic, Central Lee, and New London on Tuesday, October 1st. 

Mt. Pleasant, WACO, and Fairfield will travel to Washington on Tuesday.

Danville will travel to Williamsburg on Tuesday. 

Mediapolis will participate in a meet hosted by Winfield-Mt. Union on Thursday, October 3rd.

Southeastern Community College

The volleyball team will stay at home to compete against North Iowa Area Community College on Wednesday, October 2nd, at 7 pm. 

College Football

#18 Iowa State will start Big 12 play tonight at 6 pm against Houston. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will have the broadcast. 

Iowa is on their bye week. 

This Day in Sports History

1920 – Eight Chicago White Sox baseball players are indicted by a grand jury, charged with fixing the 1919 World Series; infamous “Black Sox scandal.”

1940 – Bud Brennan, a fan at Memorial Stadium, races out of the stands and attempts to tackle Tom Harmon at the 3-yard line, Harmon easily evades.

1951 – Norm Van Brocklin of the Los Angeles Rams passes for an NFL record 554 yards.

$157,184 Award for the Enhance Henry County Community Foundation

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, September 28th, 2024 at 6:06 am CDT

Henry County, Iowa – The Enhance Henry County Community Foundation has been notified it will soon be receiving a $157,184 state award to advance community based philanthropy throughout Henry County.

 The award comes by way of the County Endowment Fund which was established by HF 2302 in the 2004 Legislative Session.  The purpose of this legislation is to provide financial support to encourage the creation and development of community foundations and civic philanthropy throughout Iowa.

Under terms of the legislation the Enhance Henry County Community Foundation will direct 75 percent of the award to foundation grantmaking activities and 25 percent will be placed in the Foundation’s permanent endowment. This allocation ratio provides the opportunity to assist local projects immediately as well as help build an endowment for the future of the county.

Since its establishment in 2004, the Enhance Henry County Community Foundation has awarded over $1,914,000 in grants to over 65 county organizations and charities.  Together these awards have leveraged over $12,500,000 in new projects for Henry County.

 The permanent endowment of the Enhance Henry County Community Foundation is now $753,465.  We encourage local individuals and institutions to learn more about the benefits of working with our foundation.

 To request an application or any questions related to contributions, gifts and grantmaking can be directed to Lora Roth, Administrator for the Enhance Henry County Community Foundation at 319-385-8728 or lora@kilj.com.