Carol Yvonne King

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, January 6th, 2024 at 6:38 am CDT

Carol Yvonne King, 84, of Mt. Pleasant, died Thursday, January 3, 2024 at New London Specialty Care in New London.

Carol was born September 3, 1939 in Jefferson, Iowa. She was the daughter of Arthur Reuben and Goldie Leona (Orion) Crouch. She grew up in the Squirrel Hollow area near Jefferson (now a state park). On August 4, 1956 in Churdan, IA, Carol married Hubert Lyle Blackburn. The couple later divorced. She then married William Eli King. The couple later divorced.

Carol was a longtime homemaker raising her 6 children. With Bill, they ran the Starlight Motel in Mt. Pleasant.

Carol was a faithful member of the Church of the Open Bible in Mt. Pleasant. She enjoyed watching Christian TV, gardening and hiking in the woods.

Those thankful for sharing in Carol’s life include her children: Kenneth (Faith) Blackburn and Neil Blackburn, both of Mt. Pleasant, Marsha (Vince) Himes and Tamara Blackburn, both of Cedar Rapids, IA, Linda (Bill Briscoe) Campbell of Dixie, Mississippi and Anite (Brian) Pesch of Rome, GA; 9 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren, 2 great great grandchildren and a niece, Shirley Moran.

Her parents, brother John Benjamin Crouch and former husbands precede Carol in death.

A funeral service for Carol will be held 1:30 PM on Tuesday, January 9th at the Kimzey Funeral Home, 213 North Main Street, Mount Pleasant. The Reverend Michael Johnson, Pastor, Mt. Pleasant Church of the Open Bible, will officiate. Burial will be in the Oakland Mills Cemetery, rural Mt. Pleasant. The family will be present to greet friends 1 hour prior to her funeral on Tuesday. There will also be a time of open visitation from 3-8 PM on Monday at the funeral Home..

            Those considering an expression of sympathy may direct memorials to the Church of the Open Bible. Online condolences may be directed to www.kimzeyfh.com

Wendell Whaley

By Allison Jacobs · Saturday, January 6th, 2024 at 6:33 am CDT

Wendell Whaley, 66, of Mount Pleasant, died Thursday, January 4, 2024, at the Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice House in West Burlington.

Wendell was born February 28, 1957, in Mount Pleasant, the son of Ernest and Alice M. (Edwards) Whaley. He graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1975, and continued his education at Southeastern Community College where he earned his Associate’s degree in business. On May 8, 1982, Wendell was united in marriage to Christine Snyder in Mount Pleasant. Wendell sold propane for 20 years, as well as operated a lawn care and dust control business. He was a man of many talents and extremely dedicated to his work. Wendell loved spending time with family.

Wendell is survived by his wife Chris; son Nick (Anne) Whaley of St. Paul, MN; daughter Kyla (Mark) Schafer of Ottumwa; 5 grandchildren Ember and Rupsha Whaley, Shaley, Bria and Avery Schafer; two sisters Wanda (Bill) Pate of Saucier, MS, and Marlene (Ron) Medin of Jefferson City, MO. He was preceded in death by his parents, and brother Roger Whaley.

Funeral service will be held 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, January 9, 2024, at Olson-Powell Chapel. Burial will follow in the Forest Home Cemetery. Visitation will be 2:00-7:00 p.m. on Monday, January 8, at Olson-Powell Chapel. The family will be present to greet friends beginning at 5:00 p.m. Memorial funds have been established for the Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice House and the American Cancer Society. The Olson-Powell Chapel & Crematory is caring for Wendell and his family. www.powellfuneralhomes.com

 

Sports, January 6th

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

High School Basketball

Mt. Pleasant got to enjoy two types of basketball games against Fairfield last night: an overtime buzzer beater and a clobbering of a conference opponent, both wins for the Panthers. The girls’ game started slow with the Trojans holding on to an 18 to 12 lead at halftime, but the Panthers battled back in the second half and at one point led late; however, Fairfield captured the lead 36 to 34 with time running down. Paityn Ensminger ripped away a loose ball and found an open Kynlee White who knocked a mid-range bucket to force the game into overtime. 

Again, Fairfield grabbed on to a four-point lead; yet, Mt. Pleasant battled back again with two clutch Kynlee White free throws, a steal from Alexa Fuller, and an Abby Carthy lay-up and free throw to cut the deficit down to 50 to 49. The Panthers were left with one last shot and it was Carthey, who finished the game with 13 points, that called game with a lay-up that just crawled over the front of the rim and in to seal the 51-50 final. Head coach Curt Watson was beyond proud of his team’s effort after the game. Savannah Hollander led the Trojans with 20 points. White and Juliana Burns contributed 10 points each in the win and coach Watson believes this confidence will carry his team forward. The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will face off against Burlington at home on Friday, January 12th, at 6 pm. 

In the boys’ game, Mt. Pleasant extended their win streak to six games after their 64-43 victory over Fairfield. The Panthers saw Nate Stroud and Noah Lange dominate the lane as they both finished with 14 points. Payton Hagans led the team with 25 points, while Eli Zillman collected 17 points for Fairfield. Head coach Eric Rawson talked about the atmosphere after the win. The Panthers will host Wilton on Monday, January 8th, at 7:15 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will have the call with the pregame show at 7 pm. 

The New London girls’ team fell to Burlington Notre Dame last night 84-21. The boys’ team lost to the Nikes 83-51. 

WACO swept Pekin last night with the girls winning 41-35 and the boys team taking their matchup 53-31. Emma Wagler went off for 19 points in the girls’ game, while the boys were led by Hunter Hughes’ 18 points. The Warriors will travel to New London on Monday, January 8th, with the girls’ scheduled to play at 6 pm. 

The Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team rushed out to a 68-31 victory over Lone Tree last night. Abram Edwards collected a double-double with 13 points and 18 rebounds, while Cam Buffington led the Wolves with 20 points. The Wolves girls’ team was unable to keep up with the Lions as they fell 64-46. Winfield-Mt. Union will host Mediapolis on Monday with the girls’ leading off the night at 6 pm. 

The Mediapolis girls’ team utilized a 20-0 run to start the game to take down Van Buren County last night 57-33. The Van Buren County girls’ team will compete against Burlington Notre Dame on January 12th at 6 pm, while the boys’ team will face off against New London on Tuesday at 7:30 pm. 

The Holy Trinity Catholic girls’ team defeated Central Lee last night 56-37. The boys’ team for the Crusaders also picked up a win in dominating fashion 59-22. Luke Hellige led the way with 25 points on the night. Central Lee will face off against Fort Madison today at 11:30 am at home. 

The Danville girls’ team cruised past West Burlington last night 72-20. The West Burlington boys’ team remained undefeated after taking down Danville 70-57. The Bears girls’ team will face off against Holy Trinity Catholic on Monday at 6 pm, while the boys’ team will host the Crusaders on Tuesday, January 9th, at 7:30 pm.

High School Wrestling

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team competed at the Highland tournament yesterday and had two wrestlers compete. Paris Phosy finished 1-2 in the 115-pound weight class, while Katana Phangchanthong finished 2-2 in the 120-pound weight class. The Panthers will travel to Washington to compete in a dual on January 11th. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union and WACO girls’ teams will participate in the scramble on Monday, January 8th, at Burlington Notre Dame. 

The boys’ teams of Mt. Pleasant, New London, WACO and Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union will participate in a tournament today at Highland. 

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant will bowl in the Louisa-Muscatine tournament today.

College Basketball

The #4 Iowa women’s team is off to their best start since the 1995-96 season after taking down Rutgers last night 103-69. Caitlin Clark finished with a triple-double with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Hawkeyes will travel to take on Purdue on January 10th at 7 pm. 

The Iowa State women’s team will face off against BYU tonight at 5 pm in a road matchup. 

The Iowa State men’s team will travel to Oklahoma tonight at 5 pm. Catch the game on KILJ AM 1130 or kilj.com.

The Iowa men’s team will compete against Rutgers at home today at 11 am. 

This Day in Sports History

1681 – First recorded boxing match is engineered by Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle; his butler takes on his butcher and the butcher wins. 

1980 – The Philadelphia Flyers set the longest unbeaten streak in North American sports history with 35 consecutive games without a loss.

1995 – Atlanta Hawks’ coach Lenny Wilkens passes the legendary Red Auerbach to become the NBA’s all-time winningest coach, with 939 career victories.

Fan Vote is Open for the 2024 Dan Gable Mr. and Ms. Wrestler of the Year Award with Kaiden Dietzenbach of Burlington Notre Dame Named One of the Finalists

By Slaten Swords · Friday, January 5th, 2024 at 3:59 pm CDT

Prep Wrestling- IAwrestle announced their top 15 for the Mr. and Ms. Wrestler of the Year Awards in coordination with Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association (IWCOA).

High school coaches nominated their best wrestler, and the IWCOA whittled the list down to the top 15 in each of the three classifications for the men and a combination of all the classifications for the women’s award.

The lone wrestler to make the list from southeast Iowa was Kaiden Dietzenbach of Burlington Notre Dame in Class 2A. Dietzenbach took 3rd place at the 2023 Iowa Wrestling State Tournament as the Nikes finished in second place as a team.

According to Trackwrestling, the junior is 14-1 on the season; moreover, FloWrestling has Dietzenbach ranked #5 in the 132-pound weight class with his only loss coming to #1 Kade Blume of Roland-Story.

The IWCOA has selected 12 coaches and officials to vote on the top 7, but there is a fan vote that counts as the 13th vote. Fans have the ability to vote once per day until January 19th at 12 pm central time when the list will be narrowed to seven.

There will be another fan vote that will run from January 22nd to February 5th to determine the final three wrestlers. One last round of voting will take place until the winner is announced at the luncheon awards banquet held on February 28th.

Dan Gable and Mark Ironside will be handing out the awards to the winner and the two runner-up student athletes from each classification.

For a full list of the finalists and where you can vote, follow the link: 2024 Dan Gable Mr. and Ms. Wrestler of the Year Award

Arrest Made After Meth Found in Vehicle

By Yorke Prough · Friday, January 5th, 2024 at 3:25 pm CDT
On January 5, 2024, a deputy with the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office stopped a vehicle for an equipment violation at Vineyard St. and Belmont Ct. During the traffic stop, deputies located methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia inside the vehicle. Deputies identified the driver as Rodney Lee Savage, age 51, of Ft. Madison, Iowa.
Rodney was placed under arrest for possession of a controlled substance 3rd offense, a D felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a simple misdemeanor. Rodney was transported to the Des Moines County Correctional Center.

Fort Madison Man Sentenced After FBI Investigate Daycare Threat

By Yorke Prough · Friday, January 5th, 2024 at 3:21 pm CDT

On Friday morning in North Lee County Court, Roy James Vowels, 34, of Fort Madison was sentenced to two years in prison on conviction of Harassment in the 1st degree. This comes after an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Fort Madison Police Department Detective Bureau.

On May 12th, 2023, the detectives with the Fort Madison Police Department Detective Bureau received information from the FBI indicating that Vowels had made an online threat to carry out a mass killing at an unspecified daycare facility. The threat was received by an individual located outside of the United States who, with the assistance of a US resident, reported the threat to the FBI.

Vowels was taken into custody by detectives hours later and charged with making a threat of terrorism.  Vowels later plead guilty to an amended charge of Harassment in the 1st degree on October 13th, 2023.

The Fort Madison Police Department was assisted in this investigation by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Lee County Attorney’s Office.

The Fort Madison Police Department reminds individuals, if they see something, say something. Acts of violence can be prevented if suspicious activity or behavior are reported.

This conviction underscores the importance of reporting suspicious behavior in preventing violence. Only by investigation can we determine just how credible these threats are, and if an arrest is appropriate.

MPCSD Confirms Purchase of Iowa Wesleyan “Central Campus” Properties

By Yorke Prough · Friday, January 5th, 2024 at 11:31 am CDT

As of January 5th, 2024, it has been confirmed by the superintendent of Mt. Pleasant Community School District, John Henriksen, that the property purchase of former Iowa Wesleyan buildings is complete. In a statement, he mentioned that all documents have been signed and the funds have been transferred to the proper parties.

This central campus includes the Howe Student Activity Center and Ruble Arena, Student Union, Old Main, Pioneer Hall, P.E.O Memorial Building, and the University Chapel.

This does not mean that the property will be used to house the proposed “Central Elementary.” As of this moment, it is unclear what the buildings will be used for, but the school board will discuss this question in future meetings.

KILJ will continue to update the public on this matter as more information is released.

Greater Iowa Swap Meet and Flea Market Ticket Information

By Yorke Prough · Friday, January 5th, 2024 at 10:28 am CDT

The Greater Iowa Swap Meet and Flea Market brings in visitors from all over for a weekend of trading. The Old Threshers Facebook Page has plenty of information regarding this event coming up on May 24th and 25th, but they want to make sure that the correct information is put out to the public. Facebook scammers are always a danger, and they can fool even the smartest of people. Old Threshers wants to be very clear that they do not sell outside spaces for this event in advance, and the inside spaces are sold over the phone with staff or in person at their office. If you are in the market to purchase a ticket, ensure that you are getting it from a staff member.