A Mt. Pleasant man was arrested in Washington, Iowa, at 7:35pm Friday night. Donald Williams, 27, was stopped with possession of a stolen bike and charged with theft in the 5th degree. Washington Communications reports that officers also found Williams in possession of a controlled substance: marijuana and methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Williams was transported to Washington County jail.
Sports, April 18th
High School Track and Field
Central Lee will head to Burlington for the Grayhound Invite today.
Mt. Pleasant will get another chance to host on Tuesday, April 21st, with Central Lee, Danville, Mediapolis, Washington, and the Central Lee, New London, WACO, Wapello, West Burlington/Notre Dame, and Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ teams competing.
Fairfield will travel to the Ottumwa Don Newell Classic on Tuesday.
The Drake Relays are set to run from Wednesday, April 22nd, through Saturday, April 25th, with the high school competition starting on Thursday, April 23rd. The final start lists will be released by noon today.
High School Soccer
The Burlington Notre Dame girls’ team will head to Assumption for a doubleheader against the hosts and Central DeWitt today.
The Mediapolis boys’ team will compete in the Fort Madison Invite today.
The WACO boys’ team will travel to Sigourney-Keota on Monday, April 20th, at 5 pm.
Mt. Pleasant will face off against Fort Madison on Monday with the boys at home starting at 4:30 pm and the girls on the road at 6:30 pm.
Washington will square off against Fairfield on Monday with the boys’ team on the road and the girls’ team at home with both games starting at 5 pm.
Central Lee will hit the road to play Mediapolis on Tuesday, April 21st, with the girls’ teams leading off the night at 5 pm.
The Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team will host Hillcrest Academy on Tuesday at 5 pm.
The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will square off against Highland on Tuesday on the road at 5:30 pm.
The Danville boys’ team will take on Wapello at home on Tuesday at 6 pm.
High School Golf
The Southeast Conference will have their fifth conference meet of the season on Monday, April 20th, with the girls’ teams going to Mt. Pleasant and the boys’ teams heading to Keokuk.
Mediapolis will square off against Holy Trinity Catholic on Monday on the road.
New London will travel to Central Lee on Monday.
Winfield-Mt. Union will take on Louisa-Muscatine on Monday at home.
Burlington Notre Dame will host a triangular on Monday with Danville and Van Buren County making the trip.
WACO will face off against Columbus on the road on Monday.
High School Boys’ Tennis
Mt. Pleasant will face off against Keokuk on Thursday, April 23rd, on the road.
Fairfield will compete in the Pella Dutch Invite today.
Southeastern Community College
The baseball team will host a doubleheader against Des Moines Area Community College today.
The softball team will hit the road to play Iowa Western Community College today.
College Baseball and Softball
The Iowa baseball team had their game against Maryland suspended due to weather holding on to a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the 6th inning. The Hawkeyes will continue the game at 1 pm today.
The Iowa State softball team fell to BYU last night, 6-5. McKenna Andrews swatted a home run in the loss. The Cyclones will look to win the rubber match today at 1 pm.
The Iowa softball team will host a doubleheader against Indiana today with game one at 1 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1964 – LA Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax strikes out the side on 9 pitches, for a major league best third time in his career. One of three to have ever pitched an Immaculate Inning three times.
1966 – Bill Russell becomes the first African American coach in NBA history (Boston Celtics).
1987 – Gregory Robertson does a 200-mph free fall to save an unconscious skydiver near Coolidge, Arizona.
Access Energy Cooperative Announced 2026 Scholarship Winners
Access Energy Cooperative awards twelve $1500 scholarships each year, four in each of its three districts. The parents or guardians of the applicant must be a member of Access Energy Cooperative. Winners are chosen based on their academics, achievements, community involvement, and a submitted application with a few electric industry-related questions. Congratulations to the following area high school students who received the scholarships: Addison Clark, Myah Starr and Rylie Copeman of Mt. Pleasant; Morgan Meyer of Wayland, Bailey Headley and Breanna Walton of Birmingham; Clae Cass and Dain Burkhart of Fairfield; Bailey Headley and Breanna Walton of Birmingham; Addison Dravis of Burlington; Audrey Sturdivant of Farmington; and Kamryn Walkenhauer and Zoe Long of Danville.
In memory of an applicant chosen as a 2026 scholarship winner, a $500 donation was made to the Emmelia Miller Memorial.
Access Energy Cooperative is a rural distribution electric cooperative, providing power to over 9000 homes, farms, businesses, and industries in 10 southeast Iowa counties.
In District 1:
Bailey Headley, daughter of Craig and Devon Headley, will be pursuing a career in education at Indian Hills Community College.
Breanna Walton, daughter of Justin and Tina Walton, plans to pursue a career as an Account Specialist
Clae Cass, son of Kirby and Hayley Cass, plans to attend Southeastern Community College to study business.
Dain Burkhart, son of Kelly and Amy Burkhart, will be attending the University to major in Electrical Engineering.
In District 2:
Addison Clark, daughter of John and Bree Clark, plans to major in Biology and Psychology at Simpson College followed by medical school to become a pediatric oncologist.
Morgan Meyer, daughter of Tim and Michelle Meyer, will be attending the University of Iowa on the pre-med track, majoring in Biology with a minor in Psychology and later applying to medical school to pursue a career as a family physician or a PA.
Myah Starr, daughter of Tony and Jennifer Starr, will be pursuing a career in radiation sciences at the University of Iowa.
Rylie Copeman, daughter of Jaime Yoder, will be attending the University of South Florida to pursue a career in nursing.
In District 3:
Addison Dravis, daughter of Randy and Sarah Dravis, plans to obtain a bachelor’s degree in pre-law at Western Illinois University followed by law school at the University of Iowa.
Audrey Sturdivant, daughter of Darren and Jaimie Sturdivant, will be attending Iowa State University to study at the College of Health and Human Sciences majoring in Elementary education, while working towards endorsements in mathematics and reading.
Kamryn Wolkenhauer, son of Jim Drain, plans to attend Georgia Institute of Technology to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.
Zoe Long, daughter of Luann Martin, will be attending Southeastern Community College to study secondary education to become a special education teacher.
Friday Storms!
Mt. Pleasant received over an inch of rain as recorded by the Raindrop App in the past 24 hours. Rain totals vary by area in the KILJ listening area, but most were close to an inch of rain or just over. Heavy rainfall in Mt. Pleasant on Friday night caused some streets to flood. The intersection of N. Main Street and W. Franklin North of Mt. Pleasant was impassable around 6pm last night, and there was flooding on Lincoln Street north of the railroad tracks. The National Weather Service issued multiple tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings and watches for portions of Henry County and the surrounding area with heavy rain and gusting winds making travel difficult. Southeast Iowa was in a tornado and/or severe thunderstorms warnings and watches starting at 12:40pm on Friday afternoon with the last of the storms moving out of the area in the late evening.
Jon Michael “Fu” Fullerton – Pending
Jon Michael “Fu” Fullerton, 54, of Des Moines, died Thursday, April 14, 2026 at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. He was born December 31, 1971 in Monticello, Iowa to Richard “Dick” and Anna Crockett Fullerton. Jon was of the Christian faith.
He worked at various positions in the food service business including cooking, waiting tables, singing, and locals may remember his smiling face at The Bistro in New London. He enjoyed music, photography and photo work, and skateboarding. Jon was very artistically talented in painting and pencil and ink drawings.
Jon is survived by his parents of Mt. Pleasant; two brothers, Daniel of Des Moines and James (Jenn) of Chicago; two nieces, Miranda and Ashley; many aunts, uncles and cousins; and a host of good friends. He was preceded in death by his grandparents.
According to his wishes, his body has been cremated and inurnment will be at a later date. A memorial has been established. Elliott Chapel, New London, is assisting the family and online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com.
Manufacturing Continues to Expand in Southeast Iowa
Manufacturing continues to grow in Southeast Iowa. Afinitas, formerly known as HawkeyePedershaab, has been part of the Mediapolis community for nearly 80 years. Jason Banwart, Director of technical Sales and Local Site Leader, was proud to share the details of the expansion.
“So at Afinitas, we produce the equipment that makes concrete precast products, such as pipe, manholes, box culverts. So as you’re driving along the road with all the construction going on right now, and you see like the concrete pipe and the box culverts sitting beside the road, we make the machinery and the molds and the tooling to produce those products. It’s a really technical type of solution that we provide, and it takes highly skilled people across all of our departments to pull that off.”
Afinitas has announced plans to expand and modernize its facility in Mediapolis, representing a roughly 12-million-dollar investment in advanced manufacturing.
The project will add about 30,000 square feet of new space and upgrade existing operations with modern technology and automation.
“Mediapolis has been really a core part of Afinitas for nearly 80 years. It’s our largest site, has a very skilled workforce, and it already supports a really wide range of what we produce. And so as our customer demand grows, it just made sense to expand right here. We have the people, we have the experience and the infrastructure to support our long-term growth and goals.”
While company officials say a firm number of new jobs has not yet been finalized, the expansion is expected to create opportunities across engineering, manufacturing, and administrative roles—while also helping retain and attract skilled workers to the region.
The company also expects the project to have a ripple effect on the local economy, with plans to use local contractors and suppliers during construction.
“This expansion is really, it’s going to result in a better and a safer and a more efficient workplace. And it’s going to provide new opportunities for training and career growth and long-term stability. So we’re excited about what it’s going to do for the city of Mediapolis, for our team members, and for the Southeast Iowa region.”
Taylor Collins, Executive Director of Economic Development for the Greater Burlington Partnership and House Representative shared the impact this expansion will have on Southeast Iowa.
“Well, the partnership was proud to partner with the Afinitas to help get this expansion of the finish line. You know, Afinitas has long been a staple employer for Des Moines County, and today’s announcement really further reinforces that. This is going to be a $12 million expansion that we were able to get done with the help of luckily the City of Mediapolis and the Iowa Economic Development Authority. But this investment is especially important for the Mediapolis families that rely on Afinitas and really is going to be a benefit for generations to come. It’s not Every day, you see a town of 1,700 people see an investment of this size, $12 million, 30,000 additional square feet added to the facility, at least 15 new jobs. I think that’s going to be on the low end. And so just really great news for Des Moines County, Minneapolis today.”
Construction is expected to begin in late summer of 2026 and wrap up by the end of 2027.
Prep Track and Field: Records Fall at Denny White as the Drake Relays Inch Closer
Prep Track and Field- Thursday evening proved to be perfect time for an almost complete rewrite of the Denny White Relays record book in Mt. Pleasant, while the Fairfield and part of the Washington girls’ team made the trip west to Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont for a meet and competed for team bragging rights.
Denny White Relays
It was quite the night in Mt. Pleasant as a total of 22 meet records fell—nine for the girls’ teams and 13 for the boys’ teams—and a couple of school records were toppled for the Mt. Pleasant girls’ team as they claimed the team title for the meet, their second of the week.
Here’s a look at all the meet records that fell during last night’s competition.
Elizabeth Timmerman of Clear Creek Amana claimed two meet records by the end of the night, winning the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.22 seconds and resetting her own meet record in the long jump with a mark of 17 feet and 8.25 inches on her final jump of the night.
Mt. Pleasant was responsible for three new meet records. The team of Delaney Anderson, Kynlee White, Alex Scott, and Avery Fedler claimed a meet record, school record, and a Blue Oval mark in the sprint medley relay with a time of 1 minute and 47 seconds.
Anderson and White joined Jayden Yoder, and Taylor Williamson to set a meet record in the shuttle hurdle relay. Fedler also took the meet and school record in the 1500-meter run, clocking a time of 4 minutes and 43 seconds.
It was a few years later but Fort Madison’s Avery Rump broke her own meet record in the 3000-meter run by over 30 seconds with a time of 10 minutes and 34 seconds.
Heading back to the relays, Meadow Bennett, Kaylee Webb, Olivia Ritter, and Hannah Ritter flew to the meet record for West Burlington/Notre Dame with a time of 4 minutes and 27 seconds in the distance medley relay.
Stoking the flames of the rivalry, Washington’s 4×200 meter relay team of Jaslyn Villa, Lauren Drahota, Leighton Messinger, and Jaedyn Moore, defeated Mt. Pleasant and broke their meet record with a time of 1 minute and 44 seconds. Lastly for the girls’ teams, Iris Dahl replace Villa in the lineup to claim the 4×400 meter relay with a mark of 4 minutes and 9 seconds, which was eight seconds faster than the record.
On the boys’ side, it was an even race for the team title that Mediapolis was able to grab above Keokuk, despite the Chiefs outranking the Bulldogs when it came to setting meet records.
The first of which went to last year’s silver medalist in the 100-meter dash, Keokuk’s Ryan Bair. The Chief posted a time of 10.99 seconds, which was nearly four-tenths of a second faster than the record set in 2021. Additionally, Travarius Smith got into the fold with a victory in the 200-meter dash with a meet record time of 22.7 seconds.
The Chiefs claimed the 4×100 meter relay record with a mark of 42.77 seconds with the team of Kurt Joy, J Bair, Ryan Bair, and Antonio Crockett. Smith replace Crockett to help the team win the 4×200 meter relay with a time of 1 minute and 28 seconds and the sprint medley relay 1 minute and 32 seconds, both meet records.
Mediapolis’ claimed a pair of meet records. The first being the distance medley relay, as the team of Brock Spears, Kyler Crow, Henry Luttenegger, and Will Schmidgall had a pace two seconds faster than the record at 3 minutes and 35 seconds. The other was the 4×400 meter relay squad of Schmidgall, Will and Henry Luttenegger, and Crow clocking a time of 3 minutes and 25 seconds.
Washington’s Greyson Hartman was busy in the throwing rings, claiming the discus meet record with a toss of 182 feet and 11 inches and the shot put record with a heave of 64 feet and 1 inch. The Demons also broke the 4×800 meet record with a time of 8 minutes and 10 seconds utilizing the team of Andrew Rees, Ethan Hotchkiss, Sawyer Tschantz, and P Tschantz.
Fairfield displayed their athleticism as the Trojans swept the jumping events. Eli Zillman put on a show at the high jump mats, winning by six inches and beating the record by eight inches with a leap of 6 feet and 8 inches. Additionally, Spencer McCready glided 21 feet and 4 inches in the long jump to take the record and the gold.
Lastly, the 400-meter hurdles saw three runners break the meet record, but West Burlington/Notre Dame’s Logan Hamma was the fastest with a time of 56.64 seconds as he took the gold in the event.
Despite the copious amount of success, it can be assumed that the message from the coaches went something along the lines of, “it was a great day, there’s still work to be done.”
Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont Girls’ Meet
Despite not being at full strength, Washington managed to generate 80 points and finish in 5th place as a team; still, Fairfield snuck in front of them in the leaderboard with 82 team points.
Amazingly, the Trojans grabbed the silver medal in six events. Elyse Setterstrom’s throw of 104 feet and 1 inch in the discus was the only victory for the Trojans. Setterstrom also finished as the runner-up in the shot put.
Iris Lane took 2nd place in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Samantha Lyons was just a step behind in the 400-meter dash. Kensley Fligg leapt 15 feet and 3.5 inches in the long jump for 2nd place and the Trojans took the silver in the 4×100 meter relay.
Washington saw Emma Horak anchor the 1500-meter run with a time of 5 minutes and 24 seconds, which was the only victory for the Demons.
Up Next
Mt. Pleasant will host a Co-Ed meet on Tuesday, April 21st, with most of our local schools attending on the girls’ side but only the Danville, Mediapolis, and Washington boys’ teams heading to Mapleleaf.
Additionally, the 116th Drake Relays will start on Thursday, April 23rd, with the finalized start lists set to be released tomorrow, April 18th, by noon.
Henry County Fair Board Announces Band for 2026 Fair
The lineup for this year’s Henry County Fair continues to grow with the announcement of a high-energy tribute concert set for Friday night.
The HYPE! will take the stage Friday, July 17th, at 7:30 p.m., bringing a night of classic 1980s rock favorites to fairgoers.
The HYPE! is known for delivering performances that recreate the sound and spectacle of some of the biggest rock bands of the decade, including hits made famous by Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison, Bon Jovi, and Aerosmith.
The show features more than two hours of music, combining five tribute-style performances into one concert filled with high-energy stage production and fan-favorite songs from the glam rock era.
The concert is scheduled for Friday, July 17th, at 7:30 p.m. during the Henry County Fair. Additional details about admission and seating are expected to be announced at a later date.