Paralympic Class Expanding for Iowa High School Track and Field

By Slaten Swords · Friday, January 26th, 2024 at 2:24 pm CDT

IHSAA- The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) conducted their Board of Control meeting yesterday and changes have been made to Track and Field, Soccer, and Football.

The IHSAA and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union have added an Ambulatory Division to the Paralympic Class to go along with the Wheelchair Division. The Ambulatory Division will give student-athletes with at least one of eight impairments—limb deficiency, leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, visual impairment, and intellectual impairment—an opportunity to compete.

Event points will be added alongside the Wheelchair Division, which was added to the State Track and Field Championships in 1990. Team points will now be distributed from both divisions’ events.

Soccer will now see their state semifinals and championship games played in Des Moines starting this spring. The semifinal games will be played at both Drake Stadium and Mediacom Stadium with Mediacom Stadium hosting the finals.

The Quarterfinals will still be held at the Cownie Soccer Complex. The quarterfinals are scheduled to start on May 29th with the semifinals running on May 31st and the finals going on June 1st.

Football will feature some changes heading into the 2024 season with the first line of order having to do with postseason site assignments. For the Round of 16, hosting priorities will be relegated in this order: district finish, head-to-head results, IHSAA rankings, fewest district losses, and alphabet draw.

That same order will be used for the Quarterfinals sans district finish.

Teams that forfeit a regular-season contest due to a lack of available players will be ruled ineligible for the postseason, which includes week 9 non-district games allowed in Classes 2A, 1A, A, and 8-Player.

Rules regarding preseason have been laxed. Teams are allowed to schedule weight room sessions outside the preseason allotted four-hour practice window. Teams will also be permitted to practice on Saturday or Sunday following the first allowable scrimmage date; additionally, teams can determine how many teams attend a scrimmage with four being the maximum at the same site.

Lastly, state semifinals and finals will now feature seven-person officiating crews instead of the typical five-person crews for all classifications.

Community 1st Credit Union Honored as One of the Best

By Yorke Prough · Friday, January 26th, 2024 at 2:09 pm CDT

Community 1st Credit Union, a local business, has been recognized as one of America’s Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions for 2024, receiving a prestigious five-star rating on a five-star scale. This accolade is based on a comprehensive analysis of 9,440 financial institutions across the United States, highlighting the top 250 regional banks and 250 credit unions.

In a statement from Greg Hanshaw, President and CEO, he revealed how he feels. “We are deeply honored to receive this recognition,” expressed Hanshaw “especially as one of only three credit unions in Iowa to achieve a five-star rating.”

LCSO Warns Individuals to Beware of Scam Calls

By Yorke Prough · Friday, January 26th, 2024 at 2:02 pm CDT

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office had a report recently where an individual received a call from someone posing as a Dish Network representative. The scammer was asking for the ID number for their receiver for update purposes. The scammer then asked for credit card information to process payment for the update.

Never provide account or credit card numbers to unverified individuals over the phone. If you receive any suspicious calls, contact your service providers directly through established and verified channels of communication.

Mt. Pleasant InMotion Show Choir Performs in Davenport This Saturday

By Yorke Prough · Friday, January 26th, 2024 at 1:37 pm CDT

The Mount Pleasant High School InMotion Show Choir performs on Saturday in Davenport at the “Big Dance.”

This is choir director Makenzie Kauffman-Ho first competition at the helm.

A reminder that the 30th Annual Music InMotion Show Choir Invitational in Mount Pleasant will be held on Saturday, February 3rd. Currently, volunteers are still needed, mainly in the kitchen and concession area. These two areas are crucial in running the invitational smoothly. If you are able to volunteer for a few hours, please sign up using the links provided below.

Results from this week’s Invitational, as well as other competitions throughout the season, will be posted on KILJ.com. Good luck to InMotion!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084EA8AF2DA5F5C43-46446921-music?useFullSite=true#/

These are basic food prep and serving areas. Putting together sandwiches, tacos, restocking goodies, etc. and then handing to people. Most are shorter shifts of only 2-2.5 hours.

End of the day concessions is also in need of more volunteers:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084EA8AF2DA5F5C43-46631909-music?useFullSite=true#/

Car Collides With Deer

By Yorke Prough · Friday, January 26th, 2024 at 12:17 pm CDT

On January 25th, 2024, at approximately 1:06 a.m., the Henry County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a single vehicle collision involving a deer in the 1100 grid of Oasis.

An investigation into the collision determined a 2014 Buick Regal, driven by Jason Hoaglin, 50, of Winfield, was travelling southbound on Oasis when a deer ran out into the middle of the roadway, striking the front passenger’s side of the vehicle.

No injuries were reported. Damage to the vehicle was estimated to be $3,500. Vehicle removed from the scene.

 

***A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendants are

presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.***

MPPD and HCSO Respond to DUI Offense

By Yorke Prough · Friday, January 26th, 2024 at 11:23 am CDT

The Mount Pleasant Police Department was assisted by the Henry County Sheriff’s Office in a traffic stop on January 26th. At 12:19am, a stop was performed in the intersection of 235th Street and Blackhawk Lane.

Prior to the stop, law enforcement noticed a small pick-up truck swerving, speeding, and failing to dim its lights. During the stop, the driver was identified as 42-year-old Susan Butts of Burlington. She received several traffic warnings and was charged with Operating While Under the Influence, first offense.

Sports, January 26th

By Slaten Swords · Friday, January 26th, 2024 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Basketball

Mt. Pleasant will host Washington tonight with the girls playing at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will have the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm.

Holy Trinity Catholic picked up decisive victories against Wapello in both the boys’ and girls’ games as the girls’ won 66-20 and the boys’ scored in a frenzy, taking the win 88-56. Connor Gehling put up 31 points for the Crusaders as Luke Hellige added 21 points to the winning effort. 

Van Buren County was swept by Burlington Notre Dame last night as the girls fell 69-37 and the boys lost 71-31. 

Van Buren County will host Holy Trinity Catholic tonight with the girls playing at 6 pm followed by the boys. 

Not even the Mediapolis girls’ team’s high scoring offense could stop the streaking Bears as Danville snuck out with the 66-64 road victory. Grace Holsteen led the Bulldogs with 20 points as Hanna Wagenbach tallied a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. The Danville boys’ team also managed to come out with the win over Mediapolis 56-45. The Bulldogs will travel to Burlington Notre Dame tonight with game one scheduled for 6 pm. 

Central Lee will take on Danville in a home matchup tonight with the girls playing at 6 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union and WACO met up last night for a Southeast Iowa Super Conference North showdown and the WACO girls’ team exited with a 58-37 victory after a strong first half performance. The WACO boys’ team appeared poised to comeback and steal the game away from #3 Winfield-Mt. Union after a 31-point fourth quarter, but the Wolves hung on to win 64-56 to stay undefeated in conference play. Cam Buffington scored 23 points in the win, while Hunter Hughes led the Warriors with 17 points. 

WACO will host Hillcrest Academy tonight with the girls scheduled to start the night at 6 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will face off against Columbus tonight with game one at 6 pm and the boys to follow at home. 

New London will face off against West Burlington on the road tonight with the first game scheduled to start at 6 pm. 

High School Wrestling

New London celebrated their senior night by hosting a quad last night but fell to Burlington Notre Dame, 69-5, Louisa-Muscatine, 42-21, and tied Van Buren County, 24-24. 

Michael Raines, the lone senior for New London, enjoyed the night as he won all of his matches, which included a technical fall over Burlington Notre Dame’s Bridge Anderson and a win by fall against Louisa-Muscatine. 

Burlington Notre Dame’s Carter West, Kaiden Dietzenbach, and Dirk Boyles won by fall, while Tate Sherwood picked up a win by a 9-4 decision against New London. 

Gavin-Menke-Bailey won his matches by fall against Louisa-Muscatine and T.J. Jirak of Van Buren County. Kane Forseen and Riley Raines both won their matches against Louisa-Muscatine and Van Buren County. For the Warriors, Maddix Kite and Ethan Lamma picked up wins by fall against New London. 

The WACO boys’ team competed in a quad last night, picking up wins against Pekin, 66-12, and Wapello, 48-18, but fell to Highland, 43-28. Against Pekin, John McLaughlin, Braxton Stauffer, and John Stauffer picked up wins by fall.

McLaughlin and John Stauffer both won by fall, while Gage Samo and Codder Malcom battled it out with Samo, winning by a 5-2 decision. Braxton Stauffer won by sudden victory in his 150-pound weight class matchup. 

Samo was the lone Warrior to win a match not by forfeit against Highland as he won by major decision. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, WACO, and New London boys’ teams will compete at the conference tournament tomorrow, January 27th, at Burlington Notre Dame. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team had Burlington on the ropes but fell just short, losing the dual 39-36. The Panthers found early success with Lane Beckler and Charlie Bohenkamp winning by fall; moreover, Keegan Birdsell picked up a win by 2-0 decision in the 144-pound weight class. Adrian Perez-Hall picked up three points, while Salomon Cordero won his match by fall to help the Grayhounds claim a 27 to 21 lead. William Birdsell responded with a 2-1 win by decision against Caden Huff in the closest match of the night. Juan Lopez won his match by fall along with Sawyer Fulton. However, Braxton Hutchinson’s win for Burlington provided the points necessary to take the dual. The Panthers will compete in a tournament hosted by Fairfield tomorrow. 

The Mt. Pleasant, Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, and WACO girls’ teams will compete at Alliant Energy Power House for Super Regionals today.

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant split their match against Burlington last night with the girls winning 2,452-1.970 and the boys losing by a slim margin, 2,743-2,578. The Panthers will travel to take on Keokuk on Tuesday, January 30th. 

College Wrestling

The William Penn women’s wrestling team, led by former Iowa Wesleyan head coach Jake Kadel, find themselves ranked 11th in the new Coaches’ Top 20 rankings. The Statesmen are led by two top-ranked individuals in the sensational Aduago Nwachukwu, a former Tiger, in the 136-pound weight class and Ashley Lekas in the 170-pound weight class. 

College Basketball

The #5 Iowa women’s team will look to get back in the win column tomorrow, January 27th, at 1 pm in a home matchup against Nebraska. 

The Iowa State women’s team will look to pull off another upset against #24 West Virginia tomorrow at 1 pm on the road. 

The #23 Iowa State men’s team’s will take on #7 Kansas at home tomorrow at 12:30 pm. 

The Iowa men’s team will face off against Michigan tomorrow at 4 pm in a road matchup. 

This Day in Sports History

1960 – High-school basketball sensation Danny Heater scores 135 points. Still a national record. 

1991 – Jan Stenerud becomes the first pure placekicker to make the NFL Hall of Fame. 

1995 – With a record 6,254,427 ballots cast by fans in the NBA All-Star Voting, Detroit’s Grant Hill becomes the first rookie to lead all NBA players in All-Star votes received, earning #1 on 1,289,585 ballots. 

Fairfield Man Arrested on a Warrant

By Yorke Prough · Friday, January 26th, 2024 at 6:26 am CDT

On January 25, 2024 at approximately 12:37am, officers were dispatched to the 800 Block of West Burlington Avenue for a report of a male subject causing a disturbance outside of a residence. It was reported that the subject was armed with a bat.

When officers arrived, a male subject fled the scene on foot but was quickly apprehended by responding officers. The subject failed to comply with the officers and was taken into custody.

During the course of the investigation, officers learned the identity of the subject and discovered the subject had an active warrant for his arrest. A quantity of various narcotics were located on the subject.

Joseph Michael Siemers was transported to the Jefferson County Correctional Facility and held pending an initial court appearance. This case is under active investigation and no other details are being released at this time.