Calling All Volunteers to the Mount Pleasant Booth at the Iowa State Fair – Sign Up Today!

By Yorke Prough · Friday, May 31st, 2024 at 8:40 am CDT

The Iowa State Fair is just over two months away and you can support Mount Pleasant by volunteering at the Mount Pleasant Booth!

Whether you can spare a few hours or a whole day, your time and enthusiasm will make a difference!

Volunteering is a fantastic way to support our community, meet new people, and enjoy the vibrant atmosphere of the fair. Plus, you’ll get a chance to be part of one of Iowa’s most beloved events!

Ready to sign up? Head over to www.oldthreshers.org/fairsignup and secure your spot today!

Mount Pleasant Municipal Utilities Public Collective Bargaining Meeting Agenda 06/03

By Yorke Prough · Friday, May 31st, 2024 at 8:38 am CDT

Notice of Public Collective Bargaining Meeting

Pursuant to Iowa Code §§20.17(3), 21.4

 

MEETING:     Mount Pleasant Municipal Utilities and IBEW Local 55

 

WHEN:           Monday, June 3, 2024, 11:00 AM

 

AGENDA:      IBEW Local 55’s submission of its initial collective bargaining proposal to Mount Pleasant Municipal Utilities (MPMU) in accordance with Iowa Code §20.17(3), immediately followed by MPMU’s submission of its initial collective bargaining proposal to IBEW Local 55 in accordance with Iowa Code §20.17(3)

 

WHERE:        509 N Adams St, Mt Pleasant IA

Open House for Ecosystem Restoration Project in Lee County

By Yorke Prough · Friday, May 31st, 2024 at 7:01 am CDT

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, in collaboration with the Lee County Conservation Board, invites the public to attend an open house June 3 to learn more about an ecosystem restoration project planned in Lee County on the Mississippi River. The event will take place from 5:15-7:00 p.m. at the Lee County Conservation Center located at 2652 US-61 in Montrose, Iowa.

Pool 19 in Lee County, Iowa, has seen significant habitat degradation over time, resulting in diminished aquatic diversity. The ecosystem restoration project aims to restore island habitat and increase aquatic plant diversity.

Doors will open at 5:15 p.m. A team of subject matter experts will provide an overview of the plan proposed for the project at 6 p.m. and representatives will be on hand afterwards to answer questions and gather feedback from the community.

For more information visit: www.mvr.usace.army.mil, contact the USACE Rock Island District at (309) 794-5729 or email cemvr-cc@usace.army.mil.

Sports, May 31st

By Slaten Swords · Friday, May 31st, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Baseball

Mt. Pleasant traveled to Washington last night and with the help of some wild pitches and a stellar performance on the mound from Payton Hagans; the Panthers swept the Demons for the first time since 2017 with an 8-1 victory. The offense struggled last night for the Panthers as J.C. Sitar and Ben Newton, who led the team with two RBIs, were the only ones to tab more than one base hit on the night. Head coach Brent Broeker discussed the offense after the game. 

Payton Hagans turned in a quality start, going six innings allowing only five hits and one run, while striking out 12 and he provided a bit of help at the plate with an RBI and two runs scored. Payton Walker finished up the job with three strikeouts in the seventh inning. Mt. Pleasant will travel to Keokuk for a doubleheader on Monday, June 3rd, with first pitch scheduled for 5:30 pm. 

Burlington Notre Dame clobbered Central Lee last night 15-2. The Nikes will face off against Mediapolis tonight at home with first pitch at 5:30 pm. 

West Burlington picked up their first win of the season last night against Danville 18-4. Conner Bush totaled a team leading three RBIs for the Falcons, while the team stole 24 bases. Henry Bellrichard and Alex Holtkamp each had an RBI for the Bears.

West Burlington will take on New London tonight at home at 5:30 pm. 

Fairfield got back in the win column last night with a walkoff victory over Fort Madison 5-4. Luke Konczal nabbed two RBIs in the win. The Trojans will host Burlington on Monday at 5:30 pm in a doubleheader. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will look for their first win against Louisa-Muscatine tonight at 5:30 pm. 

Van Buren County will square off against Louisa-Muscatine on Monday at 5:30 pm at home. 

High School Softball

Winfield-Mt. Union dominated WACO last night 13-0. Quin Smith pitched a gem, allowing only one hit while striking out 10 and adding a triple at the plate. Josie Nelson scored four runs and tabbed six steals. The Wolves will face off against #11 Louisa-Muscatine tonight at 5:30 pm. 

WACO will travel to Hillcrest Academy tonight at 7 pm.

West Burlington broke the game open last night with a ten run second inning to win 15-1 against Danville after three innings. Paige Kramer grabbed a team leading three RBIs in the win. The Falcons will host New London tonight at 7 pm. 

New London scored first, but Holy Trinity Catholic exited with the road win last night 6-1. The Crusaders will face off against Van Buren County tonight at 5:30 pm. 

Mt. Pleasant fell to Washington last night 13-1. Halle Cuddeback led the Demons at the plate with three RBIs and in the circle as she tabbed four strikeouts and allowed only four hits. The Panthers will take on Keokuk on Monday, June 3rd, in a road doubleheader at 5:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:15 pm. 

Fairfield tied the game at eight in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Fort Madison proved to be too much as the Bloodhounds pushed across two more runs to win 10-8 last night. Laney Norris and Faith Jones each tabbed two RBIs for the Trojans as Norris walked four times. Fairfield will participate in the Iowa City West Softball Classic today with games against Prairie and Iowa City West. 

Central Lee will face off against Danville tonight at 7 pm at home. 

Mediapolis will square off against Wapello on Monday at 7:30 pm in a home game. 

High School Tennis

The boys’ state team tournament concludes today with the Class 1A championship match featuring the top seed Wahlert Catholic facing off against #2 Xavier. The third-place match will be against Pella and Waverly-Shell Rock. 

For Class 2A, Pleasant Valley and Waukee Northwest will duel for the championship, while Linn-Mar will face off against Iowa City West for third place. 

High School Soccer

The girls’ state tournament continued yesterday and another one-seed was knocked out of the tournament. In Class 1A, Nevada took down Dike-New Hartford 1-0, while Denver outlasted Treynor 1-0. The Cubs and Cyclones will play tomorrow, June 1st, at 11:30 am. 

Dallas Center-Grimes continued their path towards defending their championship after defeating North Scott yesterday 1-0. On top of the bracket, North Polk handled Pella 2-0. The Class 2A championship is scheduled for tomorrow at 5:30 pm. 

The Class 3A championship will feature two Cinderella stories. #7 Bettendorf defeated #3 Ankeny yesterday 2-1. #5 Valley completed one of the biggest upsets of the day as Elan Litt scored in overtime to defeated #1 Waukee Northwest 3-2. The Class 3A championship will be played tomorrow at 2:30 pm. 

The boys’ state tournament resumes today. 

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees fell to the O’Fallon Hoots last night 7-2. Scotty Savage hit a solo home run in the losing effort. The two will play tonight at O’Fallon. 

The Clinton LumberKings lost to the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes last night 9-2. The LumberKings will stay on the road to face off against the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp tonight. 

This Day in Sports History

1948 – Canadian-American League Schenectady Blue Jays pitcher Tommy Lasorda strikes out 25 Amsterdam Rugmakers (in 15 innings), and knocks in the winning run.

2002 – The New Jersey Nets defeat the Boston Celtics 96-88 in Game 6 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Championship, winning the series 4 games to 2 to advance to their first NBA Finals appearance. 

2008 – Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7m/s) 9.72 seconds.

Johnnie “Tubby” Hillyer

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, May 30th, 2024 at 3:34 pm CDT
Johnnie W. “Tubby” Hillyer, 70, of Mt. Pleasant passed away on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, at the Good Samaritan Society in Ottumwa.
Johnnie was born on September 29, 1953, in Cuero, Texas, the son of John A. and Mary (Millspaugh) Hillyer.
He proudly served his country in the United States Army. He enjoyed taking drives in the country to look at the crops and the countryside and watching action movies of all kinds. Johnnie was an excellent cook and enjoyed grilling. He had a love for animals and would take ones that needed a little extra help. Johnnie was united in marriage to Cindy Kendall on July 3, 2012.
He is survived by his wife, Cindy, his children, Nathan Hillyer, Dena Hillyer and Brent Hillyer, several grandchildren, great grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, two brothers, Michael Millspaugh and Kenneth (Hope) Hillyer. Johnnie was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, James Hillyer and one sister, Jeannie Gee Hillyer.
Graveside services will be held on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at the Grant Cemetery, rural Rome. A memorial has been established in his memory. According to his wishes cremation has been entrusted to the care of Murphy Funeral Home of Mt. Pleasant.

Prep Soccer: The SEC Announces All-Conference Honorees for Boys’ Soccer

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, May 30th, 2024 at 3:25 pm CDT

Mount Pleasant, IA- The Southeast Conference officially released their All-Conference list for boys’ soccer and Washington claims the most with five followed by Fort Madison and Burlington each earning four nominees.

Washington finished atop the conference standings with an 8-1 conference mark and an 11-4 overall record. Fort Madison was their lone conference loss as the Demons nabbed five one-goal wins.

Making the All-Conference list for the Demons was Randy Huertero, Brayan Arreola, Angel Mata, Isaac Gentry, and Lane Schrock. Arreola was tied for second on the team with eight goals as Mata led the squad with six assists.

Emanuel Raymundo and Bill De La Rosa were All-Conference honorable mentions.

Fort Madison finished 8-9 overall but dominated in conference play with a 7-3 record. The Bloodhounds kryptonite proved to be Burlington with two of their three losses coming against the Grayhounds.

Nathen Bowen, Henry Graham, Leif Boeding, and Jacob Shottenkirk each earned a spot on the All-Conference list. Graham was the go-to goal scorer for the team with 15 on the season as he nailed 16.7% of his shots. Boeding was second in goals with 12 and first in assists with 10. Shottenkirk, a junior, nabbed seven assists and nine goals on the season.

Jan De Garcia Hernanadez and Tate Green were All-Conference honorable mentions.

Burlington finished third in the conference with a 6-4 record and an 8-7 overall record. Defense was the key to their game, allowing only 23 goals on the season. Eddy Valez, Mateo Weir, Porter Humphery, and Matthew Mercer were tabbed All-Conference.

Valdez was the only source of offense for the Grayhounds with 14 goals and five assists, which equates to 36% of the offensive output. Mateo Weir had three goals and two assists, while Matthew Mercer finished the season with three assists and two goals.

Alex Schoeder and William Steemer were named All-Conference honorable mentions.

Fairfield was the spoiler with wins over Fort Madison and Burlington highlighting the Trojans season that saw them go 4-5 in conference play and 6-7 overall. Jaxen Allen, Binh Truong, and Carter Stark earned a spot on the All-Conference list.

Allen was proficient on offense with a team leading 14 goals on a 46.7% shooting percentage. Truong led the team in assists with four, while adding three goals as Stark also scored three goals and assisted on three other goals.

Cater Moore and Minh Truong, a freshman, were named All-Conference honorable mention.

Mt. Pleasant finished the year with a 3-11 overall record and 3-8 against conference opponents. The Panthers defeated Keokuk twice in the regular season and took down Fairfield in their highest offensive output 5-3.

Dylan White led the team in goals and assists with eight and four, respectively or 32% of the offense. Jackson Newman was a leader on defense for the Panthers, while adding a goal and assist to his season total. The sophomores will be players to look out for next season.

Abraham Cass, a freshman, and Ramzy Davis, a sophomore, earned All-Conference honorable mentions.

Lastly, Keokuk finished with a 1-12 record, having beat Mt. Pleasant in the playoffs, while going 0-8 in regular season conference play. Cooper Abfalter-Dial was the lone All-Conference choice for the Chiefs.

Abfalter-Dial scored over half of Keokuk’s goals for the season with 10 of the team’s 17, while tying for second on the team with two assists. London Wray and Luke Meyers were All-Conference honorable mention nods.

The SEC Co-Players of the Year went to Fort Madison’s Leif Boeding and Washington’s Randy Huertero.

Academic All-Conference

Antony Garcia Burlington

Alex Schroeder Burlington

Adam Johnson Burlington

Mateo Weir Burlington

David King Burlington

Matthew Mercer Burlington

Binh Truong Fairfield

Jaxen Allen Fairfield

Antonio Manning Fairfield

Keshav Sinolia Fairfield

Eliot Gamble Fairfield

Carson Rashid Fort Madison

Jed Bruster Fort Madison

Emiliano Patino Fort Madison

Henry Graham Fort Madison

Noah Swigart Fort Madison

Xander Lumsden Fort Madison

Leif Boeding Fort Madison

Mario Gomez Gutierrez Fort Madison

Nathen Bowen Fort Madison

Jan De Gracia Hernandez Fort Madison

Harry Dalstra Fort Madison

Oliver Santiago Fort Madison

Jamrakus Kline Fort Madison

Connor Gehling Fort Madison

Maddox Rung Fort Madison

Chase Eckland Keokuk

Luke Meyers Keokuk

Erich Profeta Keokuk

London Wray Keokuk

Ben Carthey Mount Pleasant

Kohen Cass Mount Pleasant

Moroni Sanchez Mount Pleasant

Jonah Zimmer Mount Pleasant

Brendan Taylor Washington

Brayan Arreola Washington

Smoke Alarms Alert Tenant in Wednesday’s Structure Fire in Burlington

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, May 30th, 2024 at 3:01 pm CDT

The Burlington Fire Department was dispatched at 5:57pm for a report of a stove on fire at 920 Park Avenue, Burlington, on May 29th. Firefighters arrived at 6:02pm to find smoke coming from the structure.

The single-story residence is owned by Ry Lardi LLC and operates as a rental. The rental unit was occupied by Barb Cannaday who was alerted by multiple smoke alarms.

The home was insured at the time of the incident with damages to the structure and contents being assessed at this time.

The Burlington Fire Department was assisted by Alliant Energy and Gas. The scene was turned over to the tenant at 7:30pm.

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries reported during this incident, and the cause of the fire is considered accidental.

“Now the Work Begins” Henry County Supervisors Approve Final Reading for EMS Essential County Service

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, May 30th, 2024 at 3:00 pm CDT

The Henry County Supervisors met on Thursday morning for a packed schedule, which included an update from Sarah Berndt, the 3rd Reading of EMS Essential Service, a road department update, and others.

The 3rd and final reading for the consideration to approve the adoption of EMS as an essential county service was approved. David Muhs, CFO of Henry County Health Center, echoed a supervisor saying, “now the work begins.” Muhs ensured that once the final hurdle is cleared next week, he will be busy with meetings in attempts to inform the public about what they will be voting on come September. KILJ will be in attendance at these future meetings to inform the public.

During the update from Sarah Berndt, speaking about general assistance, an agreement was approved to continue their monthly support of the Fellowship Cup. This is a monthly sum of $500 which goes towards the Fellowship Cup for food.

Now that it’s summer, roads are more likely to close with the nice weather as construction can be completed. Jake Hotchkiss, county engineer, mentioned the closure of W55 from 282nd St south to 300th St as of yesterday. There is also a job opening for an office assistant, which you can find on their website. The deadline to apply is June 12th.