8-Player
(8-0) #4 Iowa Valley 60, (3-5) WACO 20
(4-4) Belle Plaine 56, (3-5) Winfield-Mt. Union 42
Class A
(6-2) Danville 33, (5-3) Wapello 31
(8-0) Pekin 43, (3-5) Columbus 14
Class 2A
(4-4) Mediapolis 35, (2-6) Central Lee 0
(7-1) #6 Mid-Prairie 59, (3-5) West Burlington/Notre Dame 0
Class 3A
(8-0) #3 Solon 35, (6-2) #8 Mt. Pleasant 0
(3-5) Fairfield 38, (3-5) Keokuk 30
(4-4) Washington 42, (0-8) Fort Madison 15
Class 4A
(5-3) North Scott 51, (5-3) Burlington 7
On October 15, 2025, at approximately 1:05 p.m., officers with the Fort Madison Police Department arrested 74-year-old Rebecca Patino of Fort Madison on multiple charges stemming from a reported assault earlier this month.
Patino was charged with Willful Injury Causing Serious Injury, a Class C Felony, and Aggravated Domestic Abuse Assault with a Weapon, an Aggravated Misdemeanor. She was taken into custody at the Fort Madison Police Department and transported to the Lee County Jail, where she awaits her initial court appearance.
The charges follow an investigation into an alleged assault that occurred on October 6, 2025, at a residence located at 3612 Avenue L in Fort Madison.
The Fort Madison Police Department was assisted in the case by the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the Fort Madison Fire Department (FMFD), and LeeComm
Cooler fall temperatures are slowly improving fishing conditions across southeast Iowa, though some lakes are still adjusting after seasonal turnover. Water clarity remains strong in most areas, and fish activity is gradually increasing as species prepare for winter.
At Big Hollow Lake, water clarity is high with plenty of duckweed on the surface. Anglers are reporting better crappie action in deeper water, around 10 to 12 feet.
The Iowa River continues to drop, exposing many sandbars and making boating more difficult. Shoreline anglers are finding good success with channel catfish along rocky banks, while a few white bass are being caught below Wapello.
Lake Belva Deer recently turned over, improving water quality despite a lingering green tint. Crappie activity is slowly picking up in 10 to 12 feet of water around submerged trees.
At Lake Darling, turnover has brought oxygen levels up throughout the lake. Crappie and bass bites are fair, with fish holding in deeper water around habitat structures. Bluegill activity remains slow.
Lake Geode also experienced turnover this week, mixing the water and dispersing algae. Fish are still adjusting to fluctuating temperatures, with crappies staying tight to habitat areas in 8 to 10 feet.
For detailed conditions and weekly updates, visit the Iowa DNR’s interactive fishing report page.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has launched an enhanced version of its popular online fishing report, now featuring new search and filter tools to make planning your next fishing trip easier than ever.
Anglers can now sort reports by location, fish species, and available amenities to find the perfect spot. The weekly report covers five fisheries regions across the state — the Mississippi River, northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest — with updates on lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams.
Each listing shows what species are biting, how active the fishing has been (rated from slow to excellent), and offers simple tips for success. A timestamp on each section shows when the report was last updated, helping you know how current the information is.
For those looking for only the newest information, a “Recent Reports Only” filter highlights updates from the past week.
Start planning your fall fishing adventure at programs.iowadnr.gov/lakemanagement/FishingReport
Mt. Pleasant, IA- The 2025 Southeast Conference championship meet ran last night and there were several ranked teams and individuals competing against one another and each one of them showed why they belonged in the rankings.
Starting with the girls’ race, Mt. Pleasant’s Avery Fedler turned in her season best time of 18 minutes and 42 seconds for the conference individual title, which was 24 seconds faster than Avery Rump of Fort Madison. The freshman has already made her mark in a competitive conference,
“It feels awesome. So much respect to them. There are so many great athletes in our conference and it’s so fun to be able to get to race against all of them. And it’s a lot of pride knowing that I get to win this conference and represent this amazing conference well.”
Also turning in one of her best times of the season was Quintrie Lee for the Panthers. Lee finished with the bronze medal with a time of 20 minutes and 15 seconds. Panther girls’ head coach Lyle Murray talked about his team’s performance after the meet,
“Yeah, I thought they ran well. Avery Fedler ran a great race. She really poured it on that. That final lap. I thought Quintrie Lee had the race of the night. She set a big, attainable goal and she knocked it out of the park. I mean she was just rolling. One of the smartest races I’ve seen out of our kids this year, Nelle Peterson, senior, gave all she had. Summer had a great race. I think another season best. It would have been nice to have a team score. We had a kid come up sick at the end of the day and that’s just life unfortunately. So, but, no, overall, I’m happy.”
Fedler also talked about getting to learn from the sophomore as she hopes to make it back-to-back trips to the state meet in less than a week,
“Yeah, it’s awesome getting to work alongside her and have conversations with her that I don’t get to have with everybody is really special and getting to just encourage one another to do our best every single time and push each other to do better.”
Alex Jo Steward finished in 12th place for Fairfield with a time of 22 minutes and 43 seconds. The Trojans claimed 5th place with 77 points.
Fort Madison claimed the team championship for the second consecutive season with just 29 total points, a 21-point buffer against Washington.
On the boys’ side, Washington’s Andrew Rees defended his individual title by turning in one of his best performances of the season with a mark of 16 minutes and 39 seconds.
However, the single effort was not enough as Fort Madison usurped the title away from the Demons as Riley Tripp, Hunter Wiegand, Nolan Guzman, and Mason Mcley finished 2nd through 5th place, respectively, to finish the night with 27 points.
Grabbing 9th place and a medal was Mt. Pleasant’s Silas Hulett with a time of 17 minutes and 42 seconds. Additionally, Ben Leishman finished just outside the top 10 with a 12th place time of 18 minutes and 41 seconds. The Panthers took 3rd place with 103 points.
Brice Boatright anchored Fairfield with a time of 18 minutes and 47 seconds, which was good enough for 15th place. The Trojans took 5th place as a team with 116 points.
The Class 3A boys’ and girls’ state qualifying meets are set to run on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mt. Pleasant, Burlington, Fort Madison, Keokuk, and Washington will travel to Williamsburg, while Fairfield will head to Pella.
High School Cross Country
Mt. Pleasant held the Southeast Conference championship meet last night and the Panther girls’ team put two runners in the top three, while the boys’ team finished in 3rd place overall.
Starting with the girls’ race, Mt. Pleasant’s Avery Fedler turned in her season best time of 18 minutes and 42 seconds for the conference individual title, which was 24 seconds faster than Avery Rump of Fort Madison. The freshman has fit right in to this conference filled with ranked runners,
“It feels awesome. So much respect to them. There are so many great athletes in our conference and it’s so fun to be able to get to race against all of them. And it’s a lot of pride knowing that I get to win this conference and represent this amazing conference well.”
Also turning in one of her best times of the season was Quintrie Lee for the Panthers. Lee finished with the bronze medal with a time of 20 minutes and 15 seconds. Panther girls’ head coach Lyle Murray talked about his team’s performance after the meet,
“Yeah, I thought they ran well. Avery Fedler ran a great race. She really poured it on that final lap. I thought Quintrie Lee had the race of the night. She set a big, attainable goal and she knocked it out of the park. I mean she was just rolling. One of the smartest races I’ve seen out of our kids this year, Nelle Peterson, senior, gave all she had. Summer had a great race. I think another season best. It would have been nice to have a team score. We had a kid come up sick at the end of the day and that’s just life unfortunately. So, but, no, overall, I’m happy.”
Alex Jo Steward finished in 12th place for Fairfield with a time of 22 minutes and 43 seconds. The Trojans claimed 5th place with 77 points.
On the boys’ side, Washington’s Andrew Rees turned in a title winning performance with a mark of 16 minutes and 39 seconds. Grabbing 9th place and a medal was Mt. Pleasant’s Silas Hulett with a time of 17 minutes and 42 seconds. For the Panthers, Ben Leishman finished just outside the top 10 with a 12th place time of 18 minutes and 41 seconds.
Brice Boatright anchored Fairfield with a time of 18 minutes and 47 seconds, which was good enough for 15th place. The Trojans took 5th place. Fort Madison swept the team conference championships, collecting less than 30 points for both teams.
The Class 3A boys’ and girls’ state qualifying meets are set to run on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mt. Pleasant, Burlington, Fort Madison, Keokuk, and Washington will travel to Williamsburg, while Fairfield will head to Pella.
The Classes 1A and 2A boys’ and girls’ state qualifying meets are scheduled for Thursday, October 23rd. Pekin will be hosting Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, New London, WACO, Wapello, and Winfield-Mt. Union, while Van Buren County will travel to Central Decatur for Class 1A. Additionally, Columbus will journey to North Linn.
Mediapolis, Central Lee, and West Burlington/Notre Dame will make the trip to Regina Catholic for Class 2A.
High School Volleyball
Columbus fell to Washington in four sets (16-25, 18-25, 25-21, 22-25) last night to finish the regular season with a 10-15 record. Jessica Del Rio led the Wildcats with 15 kills.
Fairfield celebrated their senior night with a dominant sweep of Albia last night 25-15, 25-21, and 25-4. Faith Jones tabbed 26 assists and six aces for the Trojans.
Mediapolis held their tournament yesterday and collected two wins and nearly knocked off #2 Holy Trinity Catholic. The Bulldogs defeated Fort Madison in the tiebreaker set 15-12 before sweeping Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont. However, after taking set one against the Crusaders 25-21, the Bulldogs were unable to keep that momentum going losing the next two sets 25-8 and 15-7. Josie Hutcheson collected 25 kills through the three matches.
Postseason Volleyball
Regional Volleyball for Classes 1A and 2A starts on Monday, October 20th, at 7 pm, while Classes 3A, 4A, and 5A will begin on Tuesday, October 21st.
In Class 1A Region 2, #2 Holy Trinity Catholic has the top seed and a bye into the second round. The Crusaders will play the winner between Winfield-Mt. Union and Pekin with the Wolves acting as the host.
Burlington Notre Dame will take on WACO at home on Monday. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. The winner will play the winner between Wapello and New London on Wednesday, October 22nd.
In Class 2A Region 8, Danville will host Cardinal on Monday at 7 pm. The winner will advance to play Regina Catholic on Wednesday. Van Buren County will take on West Burlington at home on Wednesday to draw out the top half of the bracket.
Class 3A Region 2 will feature a Southeast Iowa Super Conference showdown between Mediapolis and Central Lee with the Bulldogs acting as the hosts.
Fairfield will travel to West Liberty in Class 3A’s Region 7 bracket.
Lastly, in Class 4A Region 1, Mt. Pleasant will host Keokuk at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
High School Football
#8 Mt. Pleasant returns home to square off against #3 Solon at 7:30 pm tonight with the winner claiming the District Championship. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.
Mediapolis will host Central Lee tonight at 7 pm.
WACO will take on #4 Iowa Valley tonight at 7 pm on the road.
Fairfield will compete against Keokuk at home tonight at 7:30 pm.
West Burlington/Notre Dame will tangle with #6 Mid-Prairie at 7 pm tonight.
Second place for Class A District 5 will be up for grabs when Danville travels to Wapello tonight at 7 pm.
Columbus will host Pekin at 7 pm tonight.
Winfield-Mt. Union will face off against Belle Plaine tonight at 7 pm.
Southeastern Community College
The men’s and women’s soccer teams will remain at home for a matchup against Western Iowa Tech tomorrow, October 18th, with the women playing first at 4 pm.
The volleyball team will host a triangular tomorrow.
College Football
Iowa will face off against Penn State tomorrow, October 18th, at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM will be on the call.
Iowa State is on a bye week.
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.
Two Mount Pleasant mayoral candidates — incumbent Steve Brimhall and challenger Kim (Kacey) Conrad — took the stage Thursday night for a public forum hosted by the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance: Government Relations Committee. The event gave residents a close look at each candidate’s priorities, experiences, and visions for the city’s future.
Conrad opened by thanking the Chamber and current Mayor Brimhall for his years of service. A small business owner of more than 40 years, Conrad said she and her husband moved to Mount Pleasant to be closer to family, and stayed because of the community. Since arriving, she’s co-founded a professional women’s group and helped raise over $8,000 for school libraries alongside the Kiwanis Club. “I’m not a cookie-cutter candidate,” she said. “I’m a builder.”
Mayor Brimhall, who is seeking reelection after decades in local government, highlighted his long record of civic service. Born and raised in Henry County, Brimhall served on the City Council for 19 years and is active in several local boards. “Our families deserve good jobs, safe neighborhoods, and responsive government,” he said.
Brimhall emphasized his background in finance and policy, noting that he helped develop the city’s personnel manual during his early years on the council. “I look at the budget monthly,” he said, adding that careful oversight has helped the city secure favorable loan rates and maintain financial stability.
Conrad drew from her international experience as a chief operating officer for an educational consulting firm, where she managed large-scale budgets, staffing, and facility projects. “I opened six private schools from start to finish,” she said. “I’ve built things from the ground up — that’s what I do.”
When asked about using local incentives such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts, both candidates voiced cautious support. Brimhall said such incentives are “almost a necessity” in today’s competitive environment but warned against overly generous terms. “Give what you have to give to a new business,” he said, “but don’t give away the store.”
Conrad agreed that incentives can help but focused on supporting small and locally owned businesses. She proposed a “concierge page” on the city’s website to streamline information for new entrepreneurs and highlight available properties and zoning details.
Both candidates acknowledged the economic power of Midwest Old Threshers but said tourism could be broadened. “Old Threshers is great,” Conrad said, “but it shouldn’t be the only game in town.” She suggested developing downtown events, promoting the city’s diversity, and partnering with Amtrak and local hotels to attract weekend visitors.
Brimhall credited Old Threshers and Main Street programs with generating vital revenue and volunteer engagement, noting that city hotel-motel taxes help fund both efforts.
On parks and trails, Brimhall discussed plans for new recreation areas, including a long-planned park in the Lee Town area and trail extensions on Winfield Avenue.
Kim Conrad praised existing trail plans but urged better year-round maintenance and creative use of outdoor spaces like Oakland Mills.
Steve Brimhall said housing development remains one of the biggest challenges to growth. “To increase population, you have to increase places for people to live,” he said, pointing to several new apartment projects underway since Iowa Wesleyan’s closure.
Conrad outlined three key strategies for growth: boosting tourism, recruiting remote workers, and attracting new small businesses through outreach and improved communication. “We can grow if we make Mount Pleasant more attractive for families and entrepreneurs,” she said.
When asked what she would add to the community “if money were no issue”, Conrad proposed public transportation and more benches downtown to make the area more accessible for seniors.
Brimhall said his dream project would be a long-discussed recreation center, though its cost has made it “a hard sell without a major bond issue.”
On utility rates, Brimhall said the city works to keep costs low but remains “at the mercy of the market.” Conrad suggested exploring renewable options like wind and solar power to stabilize long-term energy costs.
Both candidates agreed that partisanship should stay out of city government. Conrad proposed quarterly town halls to increase citizen input, while Brimhall said he appoints people to city committees based on ability, not political affiliation.
Looking ahead, Conrad said she envisions a Mount Pleasant that’s “one-third larger, thriving, and diverse,” with a lively downtown and stronger connections between residents. Brimhall said continued growth will depend on housing, infrastructure, and cooperation among local leaders.
The Mount Pleasant mayoral election will take place on Tuesday, November 4, with early voting now open at the Henry County Courthouse. Sample ballots are available online at the county website.
