Voters Asked to Renew PPEL for Columbus CSD on March 5th

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, February 6th, 2024 at 9:04 am CDT

To continue ongoing maintenance and renovation at Columbus Community School District, the board will ask voters on March 5th to continue the $0.67 physical plant and equipment levy (PPEL). The funds have allowed the district to update softball and baseball lighting, basketball shot clocks, track resurfacing, the football scoreboard, musical instruments, roof repairs, and much more. This levy will not increase your PPEL property tax rates, but will keep it the same.

The vote will take place on Tuesday, March 5th. The polls will be open from 7:00am through 8:00pm.

 

Re-Election Bid for Representative Hora from Washington

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, February 6th, 2024 at 8:30 am CDT

Today, Representative Heather Hora (R-Washington) announced her re-election bid for Iowa House District 92.

“I have enjoyed my first term in the Statehouse,” said Hora. “I am proud of the work I have been part of during my time here. It is an honor to get to represent House District 92 and the State as a whole. Getting to work on legislation my constituents care most about has been very fulfilling. I look forward to continuing this work in the Iowa House.”

Hora is co-owner and vice President of HK Farms inc., a family farming corporation specializing in corn, soybeans, and hogs. In the House, Hora currently serves on the Agriculture, Education, Natural Resources, and Veterans Affairs committees. As well as the Vice Chair on the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee.

Speaker of the Iowa House Pat Grassley (R-New Hartford) said he enjoys working with Representative Hora in the Iowa House.

“Representative Hora is a committed member of the Iowa legislature.” Said Grassley. “She is a strong member to have in the House and represents her district very well. I look forward to continuing to work with her to move Iowa forward.”

Hora is seeking her second term in the Iowa House. She lives in Washington with her husband Kurt and three children Presley, Elizabeth, and John. Iowa House District 92 includes all of Washington County and most of southern Johnson County.

Let’s Talk Trash: Louisa County Sheriff’s Office Looking for Culprit

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, February 6th, 2024 at 8:28 am CDT

The Louisa County Sheriff’s Office, EMA, County Roads and Iowa Department of Natural Resources have been dealing with the dumping of large amounts of specific small bags of trash for nearly two years.

Recently it has been found on State Street in Wapello and on K Avenue, in the past it had been dumped on the 5 mile lane. (it has been looked through for identifiers and nothing has been located, typically filled up with feminine products and cat litter).

If anyone has information on person(s) doing this, please contact our office. We believe they live in the northeast section of Wapello.

Sports, February 6th

By Slaten Swords · Tuesday, February 6th, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Basketball

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team hung in with Class 4A’s #15 ranked Ottumwa Bulldogs for a quarter, but could not sustain it as the Panthers fell 50-17 at home last night. The girls’ team will host Burlington on Thursday, February 8th, at 7:30 pm.

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team got back in the win column last night against Ottumwa in a 53-43 road win. Nate Stroud had a phenomenal game in the post, leading the effort with 18 points. The Panthers travel to Fairfield on Friday, February 9th, at 7:30 pm.

The Danville boys’ team was able to fend off Holy Trinity Catholic last night 57-51 in one last regular season conference showdown. Luke Hellige scored 21 points for the Crusaders with five three-pointers. The Crusaders will take on Highland tonight at 7:30 pm on the road. 

The Holy Trinity Catholic girls’ team won a defensive battle against Mediapolis last night 48-35. Grace Holsteen was the main source of offense for the Bulldogs with 19 points on the night. Mediapolis will face off against Central Lee tonight with the girls’ game scheduled to start at 6 pm.

The Central Lee boys’ team clobbered Cardinal last night 86-35. 

The WACO boys’ team will travel to Pekin tonight at 7:30 pm.

Van Buren County will take on Cardinal tonight with the girls’ team playing at 6 pm at home.

The #5 Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will travel to Lone Tree tonight at 7:30 pm. 

Girls’ Basketball Regional Pairings

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union has released the regional pairings for classes 1A, 2A, and 3A and here’s some of our local matchups. In Class 1A Region 7, Lone Tree will host Winfield-Mt. Union. Danville will take on Burlington Notre Dame with the Bears acting as host. The winner of the two games will compete against one another. 

In Class 1A Region 8, WACO will face off against Hillcrest Academy at home and New London will travel to Holy Trinity Catholic. All Class 1A games are scheduled to take place on February 8th at 7 pm.

For Class 2A Region 6, Van Buren County hits the road to face off against Pleasantville on February 10th at 7 pm. Columbus will host West Burlington on February 13th at 7 pm.

In Class 3A Region 1, Mediapolis will host Central Lee on February 10th at 7 pm.

In Class 3A Region 5, Fairfield will take on the top seed Solon on the road and Washington will host Davis County. Both games will take place on February 10th at 7 pm.

Boys’ Basketball District Matchups

The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) has released the brackets for District play set to begin on Friday, February 9th, for the Class 1A preliminary round. All games will start at 7 pm. Here’s our local matchups.

In Class 1A Substate 5: District 9, New London and Columbus are set to rumble on Friday at New London in the preliminary round with the winner moving on to play the top seed, #5 Winfield-Mt. Union. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call.

The first-round games will be played on Monday, February 12th and Danville will take on Sigourney at home. Burlington Notre Dame will host Wapello and WACO will face off against Pekin at home.

In District 10, Holy Trinity Catholic holds the top spot and will compete against either Seymour or Tri-County on Monday at home.

Class 2A, Substate 4 District 7 will be headlined by the undefeated #8 West Burlington Falcons. Central Lee and Louisa-Muscatine will compete on Monday with the winner moving on to face off against the Falcons.

On the bottom half of the bracket, Mediapolis will host Van Buren County on Monday with the winner to move on and travel to West Branch on Thursday, February 15th, for the second-round matchup.

The brackets for classes 3A and 4A will be released on Monday with their first-round matchups taking place on February 19th.

High School Wrestling

New London and WACO will travel to Wilton to compete in districts. Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union will wrestle at Solon, while Mt. Pleasant will travel to Fairfield with Burlington Notre Dame, Keokuk, and Mediapolis also in attendance. Districts will take place on Saturday, February 10th, at 10 am.

High School Bowling

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will be heading to Oskaloosa on Monday, February 12th and the boys’ team on Tuesday, February 13th, to compete in the state qualifying meet. Burlington and Keokuk will also be making the trip.

College Basketball

The #3 Iowa women’s team will host Penn State on Thursday, February 8th, at 8 pm.

The Iowa State women’s team will compete against Oklahoma on Saturday, February 10th, at 6 pm at home.

The #14 Iowa State men’s team will travel to take on Texas tonight at 7 pm. Listen to the game on KILJ AM 1130 or 98.5 FM.

The Iowa men’s team will face off against Penn State on the road on Thursday at 6 pm.

This Day in Sports History

1932 – First Olympic dog sled race at Lake Placid, New York. It is run as a demonstration sport.

1971 – American astronaut Alan Shepard is 1st to hit a golf ball on the moon. 

1990 – Brett Hull becomes the first son of an NHL 50 goal scorer (Bobby Hull) to also score 50 goals.

Man Arrested Following Fleeing From Officers

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, February 6th, 2024 at 6:10 am CDT

A Keokuk man was arrested on felony and misdemeanor drug charges following a traffic stop. The Keokuk Police Department conducted a stop in the 1400 block of Bank St. where the driver then fled on foot. Shortly after, he was apprehended and identified as Rick Keegan Tinder. He was found to be in possession of controlled substances as well as a firearm at the time of his arrest.

Rick Keegan Tinder, age 29, of Keokuk is charged with: Possession of more than 5 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver while in possession of a firearm, a class B felony, Iowa drug tax stamp violation, a class D felony, and Possession of a controlled substance, a serious misdemeanor.

The Keokuk Police Department assisted in this investigation utilizing grant funding from the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau to conduct a joint law enforcement saturation project along with the Lee County Narcotics Task Force. Also assisting the investigation is the Lee County Attorney’s Office.

The defendant in this case is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The Lee County Narcotics Task Force is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Justice and the funds administered by the Iowa Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy.

Flags at Half-Staff for Former Iowa Secretary of Agriculture

By Yorke Prough · Tuesday, February 6th, 2024 at 5:59 am CDT

Governor Kim Reynolds issued the following statement on the death of Bill Northey who served as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture from 2007 to 2018, and as Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation at U.S. Department of Agriculture from 2018 to 2021:

“Bill was a great leader whose work ethic and passion for Iowa agriculture was unmatched. Iowans and farmers around the country were fortunate to have such a rock-solid advocate and friend,” said Gov. Kim Reynolds. “Bill understood well our responsibility to be good stewards of the land and exemplified that calling throughout his career. But his life’s greatest role was as a loving husband, father, and grandfather. Bill will be missed. Kevin and I offer our deepest condolences and prayers to Cindy and their family.”

Gov. Reynolds has ordered all flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff immediately and remain at half-staff until sunset on the day of Northey’s funeral and internment.

Flags will be flown at half-staff on the State Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex. Flags will also be at half-staff on all public buildings, grounds and facilities throughout the state.

Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

Boys’ Basketball: District Brackets Released for Classes 1A and 2A

By Slaten Swords · Monday, February 5th, 2024 at 4:48 pm CDT

IHSAA- With the regular season ending for classes 1A and 2A, the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) has released the brackets for District play set to begin on Friday, February 9th, for the Class 1A preliminary round. All games will start at 7 pm. Here’s our local matchups.

The brackets to look out for are in Substate 5: District 9 will feature five of our local teams and District 10 will feature one, but they enter as the top seed.

New London and Columbus are set to rumble on Friday at New London in the preliminary round with the winner moving on to play the top seed, #5 Winfield-Mt. Union. The Tigers defeated Columbus last Friday in their Southeast Iowa Super Conference shootout game 57-46. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call.

The first-round games will be played on Monday, February 12th and Danville will take on Sigourney at home. Burlington Notre Dame will host Wapello and WACO will face off against Pekin at home.

The winners of Winfield-Mt. Union and New London/Columbus will take on the winner between Danville/Sigourney. The winners of Burlington Notre Dame/Wapello and WACO/Pekin will face off against one another with the Nikes holding the higher seed.

In District 10, Holy Trinity Catholic holds the top spot and will compete against either Seymour or Tri-County on Monday at home.

The district champions of District 9 and District 10 will face off in the substate game with the winner moving on to the state tournament.

Class 2A, Substate 4 District 7 will be headlined by the undefeated #8 West Burlington Falcons. Central Lee and Louisa-Muscatine will compete on Monday with the winner moving on to face off against the Falcons.

On the bottom half of the bracket, Mediapolis will host Van Buren County on Monday with the winner to move on and travel to West Branch on Thursday, February 15th, for the second-round matchup.

The teams in Substate 4 District 8 are (in order) Monticello, Cascade, Northeast, Anamosa, Beckman Catholic, and Camanche. One of the 12 teams will move on to the state tournament to represent Substate 4.

The brackets for classes 3A and 4A will be released on Monday with their first-round matchups taking place on February 19th.

You can find the rest of the brackets here: Basketball: 2024 Postseason Brackets (iahsaa.org)

Free FAFSA Help – February 27th

By Yorke Prough · Monday, February 5th, 2024 at 2:38 pm CDT

Free Help With Your FAFSA!

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Mount Pleasant High School

Tuesday February 27, 2024

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

High School Media Center

Students Bring your Laptop!

Parent and Student need to attend.

What to bring:

1) SSN’s for both student and both parents if married or remarried with names as shown on social security cards

2) dates of birth

3) emails addresses (both student and parents) that they can access on their cellphones (make sure to bring cellphones)

4) 2023 taxes (1040)

5) student should bring their driver’s license (if they have one).

Students and Parents MUST have a FSA ID before they can complete the FAFSA application.

Create FSA ID https://studentaid.gov/fsa-id/create-account/launch

If you have questions please contact our school counselor Mrs. Sasha Steele – sasha.steele@mtpcsd.org