Janice Crabill

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 2:43 pm CDT

Janice (Jan) Elaine Oberman Crabill, 87, of Scottsdale, AZ and formerly of Mt. Union, New London, and Mt. Pleasant died on May 22, 2024 at Hospice of the Valley – Eckstein Center.

Jan was born on November 5, 1936 in Burlington, IA, the daughter of Howard and Edith (Spencer) Oberman.  She graduated from Mount Union High School and attended the University of Iowa for three years majoring in Business.

On June 1, 1957, she married James (Jim) Edward Crabill in Mt. Union; he died November 4, 2008. While Jim was in the Navy, she worked as a secretary in various Civil Service jobs.  After moving back to Iowa, she was an assistant to James D. Marshall who taught Dale Carnegie Courses; a bookkeeper for Hodson-McKim Motors; a teller at Iowa State Bank; and finally worked for Van Syoc Auction and Realty.

Jan was a member of the Mt. Union Booster Club, Henry County A.R.C., and Chapter U of T.T.T. of Mt. Union.  She looked forward to volunteering every year at Midwest Old Threshers.  She enjoyed reading and attending Bible classes.  While Jim was stationed in Naples, Italy, their love for travel began when they took trips throughout Europe.  Later in life, they traveled much of the U.S. in their motorhome and spent many winters in Arizona where they enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

Jan is survived by her daughters, Joyce Niemiec of Scottsdale, AZ and Joni (Brad) Fulton of Fort Madison, IA; three grandchildren, Michael (Ashley) Niemiec, Katelyn (Adam) Hofmann and Sara (Marshall) Niemiec; four great-grandchildren, Cruz and Holland Niemiec and Owen and Calvin Hofmann. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, infant son Jeffrey, and brothers Royce and Eldon.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may go to Hope Haven Area Development Center in Burlington, IA.

A celebration of life for Jan will be held at a later date.  Elliott Chapel, New London, is assisting the family with arrangements and online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com

Georgia Mathews

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 2:41 pm CDT

Georgia Ann Mathews, 83, of Danville, died Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice House, West Burlington.  She was born September 14, 1940 in Mt. Pleasant to Daniel Joseph, Sr and Mary “Mary Jo”  Schroeder Cash.  On December 27, 1958 she married Dwayne C. Mathews at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Mt. Pleasant; he died November 11, 2023.

She was a 1958 graduate of Mt. Pleasant High School.  She grew up attending St. Alphonsus Catholic Church and later served on the Parish Council for Saints Mary and Patrick Catholic Church in West Burlington.

Georgia was a rural mail carrier for New London and Danville for many years.  She was a member of the Danville Athletic Boosters and filled several roles for Danville Schools including working in the kitchen, eighteen years driving a school bus along with the pep bus and team bus, announcing softball games, and keeping score books for baseball and softball games.  She enjoyed attending her children’s and grandchildren’s sporting events.

She assisted alongside her husband as owners of Mathews Angus Farm and was a member of the Des Moines County Cattle Women’s Association and American Angus Auxiliary.  Her favorite pastimes included ceramics, macrame, jewelry making, and shopping every Saturday. She and Dwayne enjoyed taking country dance lessons and riding motorcycles with friends.

Survivors include her children, Debbie Mathews of Danville, Steve (Sandra) Mathews of Charles Town, West Virginia, and Monica Myers of Burlington; eight grandchildren; ten great-grandchildren; two brothers, Daniel J. (Marge) Cash, Jr of Bernalillo, New Mexico and Bill (Judy) Cash of Mt. Pleasant; brother-in-law Dave Carrick of Mt. Pleasant; and numerous nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, sister Margaret Carrick, brother John Cash and son-in-law Jim Myers.

A funeral mass for Mrs. Mathews will be held at 11:00 am, June 24, 2024 at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Mt. Pleasant, with Father Jacob Greiner officiating.  Inurnment of her cremains will follow at Jaggar Cemetery, rural Danville.  The family will greet friends at the church beginning at 10:00 until the time of the service.  A memorial has been established for Danville Athletic Booster Club.  Elliott Chapel, New London is assisting the family and online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com.

DMC Hwy 99 Hawkeye Creek Bridge Closure

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 2:39 pm CDT

The following is a message from the Des Moines County Engineer:

The following route will be closed starting Thursday, May 30th for bridge replacement. Weather permitting, we anticipate the project to last 4 months.

DMC Hwy 99
(immediately south of Hawkeye Road intersection.)
• 250th Street intersection will remain open.
• Huron Road intersection will remain open.

We are sorry for any inconvenience that this causes and we appreciate your patience while we improve our roads in Des Moines County.

Prep Softball: Three Local Teams Populate the IGHSAU’s Newest Rankings

By Slaten Swords · Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 1:59 pm CDT

Prep Softball- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released their second round of rankings for the softball season and the Southeast conference currently tabs two teams in the top 15 and a member of the Southeast Iowa Super Conference made the list.

Class 5A

Only two teams kept their same position from the previous week’s rankings: #4 Muscatine and #14 Sioux City East. The biggest fall was Ankeny Centennial struggling out of the gate and going from #1 to #6 after a 1-2 start. Pleasant Valley is the new top team, while Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Waukee, and Cedar Rapids Jefferson are now ranked 10th, 11th, and 12th, respectively, after previously being unranked.

Class 4A

North Polk continued the trend of the top team losing their spot as the Comets and Norwalk flip-flopped the #1 and #2 positions. Maquoketa was the only team to fall out of the top 15 as Bondurant-Farrar, touting a 6-0 record, jumped up to #13 after previously being unranked.

Burlington stayed put at the #11 slot with a 2-0 start to the season. The Greyhounds had their first four games canceled due to weather, so the conference wins over Keokuk last night by scores of 7-0 and 3-0 got the season rolling. Kylee Hill leads the team with three RBIs and two doubles, while Saydee Plummer dominated in the circle, notching 24 strikeouts in 8.2 innings of work.

Class 3A

Dubuque Wahlert leapfrogged Williamsburg to take the crown, while Assumption’s early slump position them back to #6 after being ranked 3rd last week. Solon jumped four spots to be ranked 7th.

Washington fell back two spots to enter this week ranked 9th with a 4-1 record. Their 7-4 loss to Cardinal is their lone blemish with their offense doing most of the heavy lifting, averaging 11 runs per game. The Demons have four batters hitting 0.500 or better as Rylee Libe has a slash line of 0.833/0.857/1.000. Their pitching staff has a team ERA of just 1.56.

Chariton and West Liberty were knocked out of the top 15, with PCM and West Burlington/Notre Dame filling out the #14 and #15 spots, respectively. The Falcons have relied on their bats to start the season with 33 runs through the first two games, while allowing 13. Logan Kelley is batting 0.750 and slugging 1.375 with a home run and nine RBIs to lead the Falcons.

Class 2A

Van Meter stopped the curse of the #1-seed, but similar to Class 3A Regina Catholic also fell from #3 to #6 in the rankings. Louisa-Muscatine dropped to #13 after being ranked #11 last week. East Marshall experienced one of the biggest falls in the rankings, going from #8 to unranked. Osage was also kicked out of the rankings with Lisbon entering the top 15 at the #12 slot and Durant rounding out the list.

Class 1A

The top six remained unchanged with Martensdale-St. Marys leading the charge with a 3-0 record. Newman Catholic improved to 9th in the rankings after winning their first seven games of the season. Falling out of the top 15 was St. Ansgar and Central City. Akron-Westfield and Calamus-Wheatland entered the top 15 and round out the list at #14 and #15, respectively.

One Subject Suffers Gunshot Wound in Washington County

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 11:25 am CDT

At approximately 12:45 AM on May 29th, the Washington County Communications Center received a report of a disturbance at 2705 Airport Rd., Washington.

It was determined that one subject had suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The subject was transported to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City by Washington County Ambulance personnel and is in stable condition.

Personnel from Washington EMS, the Washington Police Department, Washington County Conservation, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation also assisted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at the scene.

The incident is under investigation and anyone with any information concerning the incident is urged to contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 319-653-2107.

Polishville Welcoming Consul General Dr. Pawel Zyzak on Sunday

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 8:46 am CDT

The Consul General of the Polish Consulate in Chicago, Dr. Pawel Zyzak, will visit Polishville on Sunday, June 2, from 3:00-4:30 pm. Please join us at the Polishville Community Center to celebrate this very special and unique visit. The center is 10 miles northeast of Fairfield and 5 miles south of Brighton on the graveled 136th Street. Look for signs on Pleasant Plain Road or Germanville Road.

The Consul General will be in southeastern Iowa as part of a tour of Polish heritage communities in Nebraska and Iowa, in order to meet descendants of Poles whose ancestors came to Iowa and Nebraska in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as more recent immigrants from Poland.

The Polish American descendants of the Poles who settled in the Polishville area and Jefferson County are honored that the Polish Consul General has chosen to visit Polishville.

The first Polish settlers in what would later become Polishville arrived in the mid-1850s. Other Poles followed and a Roman Catholic church, St. Mary’s, was built in 1882/83 to accommodate these Polish immigrants, with some Czechs joining them.

From the available data, Polishville was the sole Polish rural settlement in all of Iowa, though Sioux City saw an urban Polish community develop after 1905.

Please join us at the Polishville Community Center on June 2 at 3:00 pm to welcome the Polish Consul General in Chicago, as well as to honor Polishville’s past and to welcome Polishville into a new post-COVID era.

Light refreshments will be served.

Schedule of Events:

3:00-3:15 pm: Opening remarks.

3:15-3:35 pm: Guided tour of Polishville grounds.

3:35-4:15 pm: Comments from Consul Zyzak, questions, discussion/conversation.

4:15-4:30 pm: Photos.

There will be no cost for this event. For any additional information, please  reach out to Konrad Sadkowski, at 319-273-2765.

Sports, May 29th

By Slaten Swords · Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Baseball

Mt. Pleasant started conference play with a bang, sweeping Washington 4-1 in game one and 13-12 in a thrilling game two. Zach Newton collected four RBIs between the two games. The Panthers and Demons will face off against one another tomorrow, May 30th, with first pitch at 7:30 pm at Washington. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm. 

New London lost to Mediapolis last night 7-1. The Tigers will travel to Lone Tree tonight at 5:30 pm, while the Bulldogs will take on Burlington at 7 pm on the road. 

Van Buren County will travel to Pekin tonight at 5:30 pm. 

Central Lee will take on Burlington Notre Dame tomorrow at 5:30 pm at home. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will take on Burlington Notre Dame tonight at 5:30 pm at home. 

West Burlington will travel to Wapello tonight for first pitch at 5:30 pm. 

High School Softball

Winfield-Mt. Union put up ten runs in the first inning against Pekin last night to run away with the victory 16-0 after three innings. Makiah Lower struck out six, allowed only one hit, and notched two hits at the plate. Josie Nelson ripped a double and a single, while tallying three steals. The Wolves will travel to WACO tomorrow, May 30th, to play at 5:30 pm. 

Mt. Pleasant took on Washington in a doubleheader last night and was swept 13-0 in game one and 13-1 in game two. Colby Greiner tallied six RBIs between the two games as her and Isabella Salazar combined for 12 strikeouts between the two contests. The Panthers will look to enact revenge tomorrow at Washington with first pitch at 7:30 pm. 

Van Buren County will stay on the road to start the season to face off against Pekin tonight at 7 pm. 

Central Lee held a one-run lead in the fifth inning before West Burlington scored 12 runs to win 18-8. Logan Kelley swatted a home run and notched a team leading six RBIs in the win. The Falcons will face off against Wapello tonight at 5:30 pm on the road. 

Central Lee will take on Highland tonight at 7 pm on the road. 

Mediapolis was led by Maddy Carter’s seven strikeout performance last night as the Bulldogs handled New London 13-1. Avery Crear, Delaney Griffith, Avalynn Prall, and Carter each tallied two RBIs in the win. 

Mediapolis will compete against Van Buren County tomorrow at 7 pm on the road. 

New London will take on Holy Trinity Catholic tomorrow at 7 pm at home. 

Holy Trinity Catholic dominated Danville last night, winning 12-0. The Bears will host West Burlington tomorrow at 7 pm. 

High School Soccer

The girls’ state tournament got underway yesterday and their were numerous upsets, including the elimination of a #1-seed.

Starting with Class 1A, the #8-seed Dike-New Hartford’s stingy defense executed the biggest upset of the day, knocking off #1 Assumption 1-0.

The Wolverines will take on Nevada tomorrow, May 30th, at 10 am after the Cubs defeated Hudson 2-1. Joslynn Farmer had seven saves for Nevada. 

In the bottom half of the bracket, Grace Mullihan’s two goals propelled Denver to a 3-1 victory over St. Albert and Zoey Zadalis’ 14 saves helped Treynor upset Bishop Heelan 3-1. The Cardinals and Cyclones will meet up tomorrow at 10:15 am.

Class 2A experienced just one upset with the #7-seed North Scott defeating #2 Waverly-Shell Rock 2-1 as Nora Barnett saved 15 shots. The Lancers will take on Dallas Center-Grimes in the semifinals after the Mustangs defeated Xavier 4-1. 

In the top half of the bracket, North Polk squeaked by Lewis Central 3-2 and Pella took down Iowa City Liberty 4-2 as Abby Warner tabbed a hat trick. The Comets and Dutch will meet up tomorrow at 12:30 pm.

In Class 3A, Waukee Northwest narrowly defeated Ankeny Centennial 3-2 and Valley shutout Linn-Mar 2-0. The Tigers and Wolves will meet up tomorrow at 3 pm.

In the bottom half of the bracket, Bettendorf ran away with the game, hammering Pleasant Valley 7-1 in an upset. Ankeny advanced to the semifinals after winning 3-0 over Waukee yesterday. The Bulldogs and Hawks will play tomorrow at 3:15 pm.

The boys’ state tournament will begin today with Class 3A starting off the day with Des Moines Hoover competing against Indianola.

Southeastern Community College

SCC baseball tried to rally late, but the Blackhawks were eliminated from the NJCAA tournament by East Central Community College yesterday, 2-1. SCC finished the season with a 43-19 record.  

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees and Clinton LumberKings squared off in an exhibition game last night and the LumberKings exited with the victory, 6-5. Jackson Reid and Cedric Dunnwald each tabbed two RBIs for the Bees, while Chase Womack led Clinton with three RBIs.

The Bees will host their opening night tonight against the Alton River Dragons, while the LumberKings will travel to face off against the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes. 

This Day in Sports History

1922 – The US Supreme Court rules organized baseball is a sport and not a business and thus not subject to antitrust laws.

1971 – Indianapolis 500: Defending champion Al Unser Sr. becomes the first and only driver to win the race on his birthday as he led for the final 83 laps.

1977 – Indianapolis 500: A. J. Foyt became the first driver to win the Indy 500 four times. Janet Guthrie also became the first female to qualify and compete in the race.

2nd DUI for 59-Year Old Man on Highway

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, May 29th, 2024 at 6:24 am CDT

Deputies with the Henry County Sheriff’s Office saw some excitement on Sunday, as multiple arrests were made in separate incidents.

The Sheriff’s Office received a driving complaint from the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office.  The vehicle described was a gray Jeep Wrangler driving all over the roadway towards Henry County.

At approximately 8:06 PM, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office intercepted the vehicle within the 1900-grid of Highway 218 and initiated a traffic stop.  An investigation into the stop identified the driver as, Miguel Jaimes, 59, of Mount Pleasant.

From this incident, Miguel was arrested and charged with Operating While Under the Influence – Second Offense. He also received citations for Open Container and No Valid Driver’s License.