The New London Community School District released a letter to parents regarding a new event for high school students.
On March, 27, 2024, New London High School is hosting “Operation Prom,” for all 9th-12th grade students. This will be an immersive event that brings the realities of prom season to life. Students will have the opportunity to see the realities of what takes place at an accident scene.
Students will be part of a simulated accident and emergency response, providing a hands-on experience of the potential consequences of risky behaviors. As well as students and law enforcement, medical personnel, firefighters, life flight crews, and funeral home representatives will be on-site to interact with students.
The training will focus on smart decision-making, safety, and understanding the consequences of choices made during celebratory events.
Operation Prom is designed to create awareness and foster responsible decision-making among our teens during prom season. A way for parents to get involved is by supporting your teen’s participation and discussing the importance of responsible choices.
If you have any questions, need more information, or you would like to opt your student out of the learning opportunity please feel free to contact Mr. Kracht or Mrs. Wagner at 319-367-0500.
Some of the material may be graphic in nature since it will be a simulated accident scene.
On February 21st, 2024, at approximately 11:14 PM, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a domestic disturbance at 1801-43 Green Valley Drive, Mount Pleasant. An investigation into the incident determined Emanuel Nunez-Villarreal, 19, of Mount Pleasant and Tessany Jackson, 18, of Mount Pleasant, got into a physical altercation causing personal injury to one another. During the investigation, Law Enforcement was able to determine Tessany was eight weeks pregnant.
Emanuel was arrested and charged with Domestic Abuse Assault of Pregnant Person w/Intent to Inflict Serious Injury. Tessany was arrested and charged with Domestic Abuse Assault – Injury or Mental Illness.
A defensive battle was expected between two of the top defenses in Class 1A, but no one expected #4 Winfield-Mt. Union to quite manhandle #5 Lynnville-Sully the way they did in the first and fourth quarters to win 54-37. The Wolves jumped out to a 7 to 2 lead at the end of the first yet the Hawks stuck around, trailing 32 to 26 heading into the fourth quarter. Winfield-Mt. Union, helped along by Carter Loyd’s 12 second half points, exploded on offense with a 17 to 0 run to seal the win. Head coach Klay Edwards did not have any grand speech for his team entering the final quarter.
Cam Buffington shot 9 of 16 from the field to finish with a game high 21 points as he also grabbed nine rebounds in the win. Buffington talked about how important this win was for the community. Coach Edwards echoed a similar sentiment as the team will compete against North Linn tomorrow, March 6th, at 5:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:15 pm.
In other Class 1A Quarterfinal contests, #8 Woodbine hung around with #1 North Linn for three quarters but the Lynx were too strong as they buried seven threes as a team and shot 53.1% for the game to win 75-59. Mason Bechen led the way with 25 points in the game. Landon Blum was the leading scorer for Woodbine with 23 points as he made seven threes by himself.
On the bottom half of the bracket, #2 Marquette Catholic was on upset alert against #7 Gladbrook-Reinbeck, but Marquette Catholic pulled out the win 45-36 in a defensive battle. Eli Scott led the Defenders with 14 points.
In the final Class 1A game of the day, #3 Lake Mills defeated #6 North Union 58-50. Four starters for the Bulldogs finished in double figures as Aiden Stensrud collected a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds in the win.
#2 Marquette Catholic will face off against #3 Lake Mills tomorrow at 7:15 pm.
Class 2A had the top half of the bracket compete against one another last night and #1 Western Christian ran past #8 Regina Catholic 56-34. Kaden VanRegenmorter finished with a double-double as he cashed in for 19 points and grabbed 10 boards in the win.
To round out the night, #4 West Burlington and #5 Treynor had the most competitive game with both teams going on streaks throughout the game.
The Cardinals held the lead for most of the game until the Falcons outscored Treynor 25 to 18 in the third quarter to lead 53 to 50 entering the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, Treynor would have the final run to win 73-63 as the Cardinals put up 23 points, which included going 12 of 13 from the free throw line, while limiting West Burlington to just 10 points. Mason Watkins scored 22 points in the loss as Quincy Collins had a nice game with 14 points. The Falcons finished the season with a 22-1 record.
#1 Western Christian will take on #5 Treynor on Thursday, March 7th, at 10:30 am.
Class 2A will finish their quarterfinal matchups and Class 3A will complete their quarterfinal matchups today as well.
College Basketball
The #3 Iowa women’s team heads into the Big Ten Tournament on Friday, March 8th, with a 26-4 record.
The Iowa State women’s team heads into the Big 12 Tournament on March 7th with an 18-10 record.
The #6 Iowa State men’s team will suit up for a home matchup against BYU on Wednesday, March 6th, at 8 pm.
The Iowa men’s team will celebrate senior night on March 10th against Illinois at 6 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1955 – Second ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament: North Carolina State beats Duke, 87-77.
1973 – Yankees pitchers Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson became the centerpiece of media attention after the two decided to swap wives. The bizarre trade took place in the summer of 1972 before it was made public ahead of the 1973 season.
1985 – NHL New York Islanders Mike Bossy is 1st to score 50 goals in 8 straight seasons.
The Henry County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrests of three people over the weekend.
On Friday at approximately 10:50 PM, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office observed a vehicle travel 65 M.P.H. in a 55 M.P.H. posted speed zone within the 2200-grid of Racine Avenue, in rural Mount Union, Iowa. A traffic stop was initiated on the vehicle, identifying the driver as Barbara Damerval, 62, of Winfield, Iowa.
Barbara was arrested and charged with Operating While Under the Influence. She was also given a written warning for speed.
Two nights later, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office initiated a traffic stop on a car which was being operated by Ryan Lilly, 24, of Keokuk, Iowa.
Ryan was arrested and charged for Driving While License Denied or Revoked.
On March 3rd, 2024 at approximately 12:29PM, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a possible vehicle crash in the 3100 block of Benton Avenue. An investigation into this report determined Clayton Gerdin, 23, of Solon, had been driving northbound on Benton Avenue in a UTV when he lost control of the vehicle. Gerdin was subsequently arrested and charged with Operating While Intoxicated, 2nd Offense, an aggravated misdemeanor, and Failure to Maintain Control, a scheduled violation.
Des Moines, IA- The closest game of the quarterfinals tends to be the 4-seed versus 5-seed game and for three quarters the Winfield-Mt. Union and Lynnville-Sully contest was close. The Wolves went on to win 54-37 after a dominating fourth quarter.
Head coach Klay Edwards said the strength of his squad rested on their defense and the Wolves were tenacious to say the least, limiting the Hawks to just two points in the second quarter and 37 for the whole game against a team that usually puts up 64 points a game.
The first quarter was a slog for both offenses with Winfield-Mt. Union scoring only 7 points on 23.1% shooting from the field. Cam Buffington caught fire in the second quarter as he had 13 points at halftime, but the Hawks had battled back to make it a 21 to 18 lead at half for the Wolves.
Corder Noun Harder carried the Hawks in the first half, but much like the team in the second half went quiet with only 5 of his team leading 14 points coming in the second half.
Buffington continued his dominate performance in the second half as every one of his shots, no matter how acrobatic, fell as he finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. Buffington talked about amazing it feels to represent the community,
“Yeah, it means everything to me. One thing I told the whole team, you know what being at the Dome for football and you know, a lot of us are on the state track teams, you know, like we’ve performed, like at every major state event. So, I mean, we could come in here, you know, no nerves to just play, you know? And that’s what a lot of I mean Coach should just come in. Just play loose, just have fun.”
Yet, entering the fourth quarter the Wolves nursed only a 32 to 26 lead after Lynnville-Sully was able to hang around. That prompted a 17 to 0 run in the fourth quarter after Carter Loyd scored all 12 of his points in the second half and Jake Edwards went 3 for 4 from downtown to finish with 9 points in the game.
Abram Edwards helped lead the defensive charge with four of the team’s nine blocks as he also cashed in for 9 points. For coach Edwards it reminded him of Abram growing up and working on his post moves on the homemade court.
A feeling of family and community permeated throughout everyone’s talk after the game and for coach Edwards it was nice to bring home a win,
“You know it’s been a while since we’ve had somebody back up here and not just for Winfield, but I think for like Southeast Iowa, we’ve had. We’ve had teams get up here a decent amount here recently and nobody could just come away with a win. There’s been some good games, but just just the fact that we represent southeast Iowa, the Super Conference, the North Division and you know, bring back a win to Southeast Iowa. It feels really good.”
Winfield-Mt. Union will now take on #1 North Linn on Wednesday, March 6th, at 5:30 pm in the Class 1A semifinals. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will have the call with the pregame show at 5:15 pm.
Total Points
WMU: Buffington 21, Loyd 12, J. Edwards 9, A. Edwards 9, Hemsworth 3
L-S: Noun Harder 14, Miller 9, Sieck 6, Van Dyke 5, Maston 3
Kevin “Lefty” Nau, 63, of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, passed away Sunday, March 3, 2024, at Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in West Burlington, following complications from a surgical procedure.
Kevin was born September 4, 1960, the son of Albert “Doc” and Mary (McBeth) Nau. He graduated from Mount Pleasant High School. On October 4, 2000, Kevin was united in marriage to Michele Juhl in Mount Pleasant. He worked at Tyson Foods in Columbus Junction for several years.
Kevin is survived by his son Rick Nau of Warroad, MN, two grandchildren Carter and Anastasi Johnson of Warroad, MN, his siblings Chris Nau of Mount Pleasant, Kathy Nau of Las Cruces, NM, and Thomas Nau of Irving, TX. He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife. Kevin will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and caregivers at Mississippi Valley Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center where he was in residence for the last years of his life.
According to his wishes, Kevin will be cremated and a Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. Condolences may be sent to the family at 911 E Monroe St. Mount Pleasant, Iowa 52641. The Olson-Powell Chapel and Crematory is caring for Kevin and his family. www.powellfuneralhomes.com
William Franklin “Frank” Knowles, 93, of Farmington, Iowa, passed away at 8:25 a.m. Friday, March 1, 2024, at the Keosauqua Health Care Center.
He was born on January 29, 1931, in DeKalb, Illinois, the son of William Clyde and Anna Margaret (Goodridge) Knowles. On August 30, 1963, he married Carol E. Van Horn in Littleton, Illinois. She preceded him in death on December 11, 2016
He is survived by four children: Mark Franklin Knowles of Tennessee, Joyce LeeAnn Rummell of Oregon, Dawn Elin Long of Montana and William Glenn Knowles of Fort Madison; nine grandchildren; six great grandchildren; several great – great grandchildren and two brothers; Henry Knowles, Marion Knowles.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife; son: Kreig; one sister and one brother.
William served in the United States Army during the Korean War. He was a member of Bonaparte Baptist Church and the Farmington American Legion. He enjoyed woodworking, fixing things, riding around on his gator and spending time with his grandchildren.
His body has been entrusted to the crematory of Schmitz Funeral Home for cremation.
Per his wishes, no services are being held.
A memorial has been established in his memory and can be mailed to the family at: Schmitz Funeral Home, P.O. Box 56, Donnellson, Iowa 52625.
Schmitz Funeral Home of Farmington is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com.
