Mount Pleasant High School is proud to announce the November/December 2023 Students of Character, Tucker French, Alexandra Murphy and Jayden Ullrich. These students have demonstrated Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship. Students are nominated by the MPCHS faculty each month. If you see these students at school or in the community, please tell them to keep up the good work! We are Panther Proud of you all!
Thomas Allen “Tom” Holtkamp 85, of West Point, Iowa, passed away at 12:36 p.m. Monday, December 18, 2023, at Blessing Hospital in Quincy, Illinois. 
He was a lifelong resident of the St. Paul area. He was born on September 30, 1938, the son of Ben and Louise (Krieger) Holtkamp. On July 28, 1962, he married Dianne Walljasper. They were married for sixty-two years and raised three sons: Leslie (Tina), Loren (Ann) and Wade (Kari) on their farm near St. Paul.
Tom enjoyed his career as a farmer and also enjoyed his pastimes of hunting, fishing, boating and RVing. He was a member of St. James the Less Catholic Church and served on St. James Parish Council and the God’s Acre Sale Committee. As a township trustee of Marion Township, he served on the St. Paul – West Point Fire and Rescue Department Board of Directors. Tom also was a veteran and a member of the West Point American Legion.
Tom had a unique ability of dowsing for water and had helped many people in the area by locating good well water for their families. His affirmation of success was his statement: “I never hit a bad well.”
Tom had a special devotion to St. Joseph, the Worker, who helped him in many ways. St. Joseph helped him find things, including his wallet in in a forty-five acre field.
Besides his wife and sons, Tom is survived by five grandchildren: Riley Holtkamp, Brianne Holtkamp Dunkelberger, Brent Holtkamp, Everly Holtkamp and Olive Holtkamp; great-grandchild: Blaine Dunkelberger; two sisters: Anita (Edward) Holtkamp Freesmeier Blindt and Geri (Donald) Holtkamp Conrad; sister-in-law: Carleen Walljasper Kurimski and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; sister: Marian Holtkamp Linnenbrink; two brothers: Edward and Arthur Holtkamp; sisters-in-law: Clementine Rauenbuehler Holtkamp, Mary Linnenbrink Holtkamp, Darlene Weir Holtkamp; brothers-in-law: Albert Linnenbrink and John Kurimski.
Tom loved his family. He coached his sons’ baseball teams, built them a go-cart racing track and helped them enjoy snowmobiling and motorcycling. He will be deeply missed by his family.
A visitation will begin at 12:00 noon, Friday, December 22, 2023, at Schmitz Funeral Home in West Point, where the family will receive friends from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. A Christian Wake Service will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the funeral home.
A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, December 23, 2023, at St. James Catholic Church in St. Paul with Father Dan Dorau as celebrant.
Burial will be at St. James Cemetery in St. Paul with full military rites presented by the West Point American Legion Holtz – Geers Post #668.
A memorial has been established in his memory for St. Paul – West Point Fire and Rescue.
Schmitz Funeral Home of West Point is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com.
Great River Health has entered into a partnership with Aramark to provide nutrition services at Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center, West Burlington and Fort Madison, Henry County Health Center, and the Klein Center. All nutrition services employees at the West Burlington and Fort Madison locations along with the Klein Center nutrition services employees will transition to Aramark employees. Henry County Health Center nutrition services employees will maintain their current employment status.
“We made the decision to outsource our nutrition services to maximize efficiency while offering the best services possible across all our campuses for our patients, guests, and employees. This will also allow us to focus on our core business of providing high quality healthcare,” explained Tomi Hagan, Executive Vice President, Great River Health.
It should be made clear that Great River Health is not laying off any employees. Their nutrition service employees in Fort Madison and West Burlington will be transitioning to become Aramark employees, who they are partnering with.
This change will become effective February 23, 2024.
The Burlington Police Department began an investigation into a shots fired incident reported in the South Hill neighborhood.
Just after 10pm on Saturday, the 16th of December, DESCOM received a call about the sound of gunfire between the 500-block of South 8th and South 9th Streets. Officers converged on the area and located a witness who said the gunfire came from the rear of 411 South 8th Street. New information as released to officers when a witness told them that they had heard two male subjects arguing prior to the gunshots.
Officers contacted the occupants of 411 South 8th Street and questioned them about the incident. While speaking with the occupants, officers observed four shell casings on the ground very close to the residence.
One of the male occupants said he had fired a handgun into the air during an argument with another male. The occupants were cooperative with the officers and allowed officers to enter the residence to secure the handgun. Two handguns were located in a backpack within the residence, and they were placed into evidence along with the shell casings.
Subsequently, Andrew James Keever, 30, has been charged with Discharging A Firearm In City Limits, a simple misdemeanor, for the incident.
Southeast Iowa is not a popular destination this close to Christmas for most people, however, presidential candidates are flocking to the small towns to drum up support. Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis will be in Burlington and Washington respectively this week, with a third candidate coming to Mt. Pleasant, Fairfield, and Columbus Junction.
Vivek Ramaswamy will be in Fairfield on Thursday, December 21st, to host a town hall at the Pizza Ranch at 2:15pm. Afterwards, he will take a quick drive to Mt. Pleasant for a town hall. He must love Pizza Ranch, as he will be at the Mt. Pleasant location beginning at 3:45pm. Then, at 5pm, those in Columbus Junction can find the presidential candidate at the Columbus Junction Public Library.
High School Basketball
Mt. Pleasant hosted Keokuk last night in a conference doubleheader. For the girls’ game, Keokuk’s experience and tenacious defense led to a 74-14 final. The Panthers struggled to maintain any continuity on offense and the Chiefs were unstoppable from three-point land as Kendra Boatman nailed six threes on her way to a game-high 28 points. Paityn Ensminger, Kynlee White, and Abby Carthey each scored four points in the effort.
The boys’ game featured the two top teams in the Southeast Conference squaring off to see who would sit atop the rankings to enter the new year. In a back-and-forth affair that saw Keokuk’s last second three from Diego Garcia rim out, it was Mt. Pleasant that walked out with a hard fought 57-55 win. Payton Hagans had a monster game as he dropped 37 points, a career high. Head Coach Eric Rawson talked about Hagans’ performance after the game.
Christian Stacy also finished in double figures with 10 points on the night. The Panthers head into winter break with a 5-3 record and a 4-0 conference record. Coach Rawson talked about how big the win was heading into the break.
Holy Trinity Catholic swept Clark County last night with the girls’ team winning 54-24, while the boys’ team breezed past Clark County 61-34. Luke Hellige led the Crusaders with 24 points on the night. The girls’ team will travel to take on Mt. Pleasant tomorrow, December 21st, at 6:45 pm with KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, on the call with the pregame show at 6:30 pm. The boys’ team enters winter break with a 6-3 record.
The WACO girls’ team kept it close, but ultimately fell to Lone Tree last night 49-39. Emma Wagler led the Warriors with 15 points. The boys’ team clobbered Lone Tree 74-49. Hunter Hughes went off for 21 points in the win with Colton Leichty cashing in for 15 points. The girls’ team will head into winter break with a 4-5 record, while the boys’ team will host North Linn tomorrow at 7:30 pm as they recognize the contributions Bob Hilmer made to both communities.
The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team lost to Highland last night 49-34. The girls’ team is 3-8 heading into winter break. The boys’ team breezed past the Huskies 66-13. Abram Edwards tallied a double-double, scoring 10 points and gathering 11 rebounds. Cam Buffington led the Wolves with 18 points. The boys’ team heads into winter break with an 8-1 record.
The New London boys’ team will travel to Regina Catholic tomorrow at 7:30 pm, while the girls’ team will compete against Columbus tomorrow at 6 pm at home.
The Danville boys’ team will host BGM tomorrow at 7:30 pm. The girls’ team will head into winter break with a 5-4 record.
The Central Lee girls’ team heads into winter break with a 3-5 record. The Central Lee boys’ team is 2-6 entering winter break.
The Mediapolis girls’ team heads into winter break with an 8-1 record. The boys’ team touts a 5-3 record heading into winter break.
The Van Buren County boys’ team will face off against Columbus on January 4th at 7:30 pm and the girls’ team will travel to Fairfield on January 2nd at 7:30 pm.
High School Wrestling
The WACO boys competed in the BGM holiday duals last night and fell to South Tama, 66-17, Baxter, 37-36, and BGM, 42-36. Against South Tama, Louden Huisenga won by fall and Gage Samo took his match by technical fall. Samo picked up a win against Baxter by fall. Lastly, Gage Samo, John Mclaughlin, Deacon Bird, and Kale Warren all picked up wins by fall against BGM. The boys’ team will compete in a meet at Washington on January 4th.
The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, Mt. Pleasant, and WACO girls’ teams will compete at a tournament after winter break on January 5th at Highland.
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ teams will have to wait until after winter break with the Panthers competing on January 4th at Sigourney.
The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will compete Saturday, December 23rd, at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont.
New London will wait until after winter break to compete in a quad at Cascade on January 4th.
High School Bowling
Mt. Pleasant will take on Washington on January 4th.
College Football
Iowa State University will take on Memphis in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis on December 29th at 2:30 pm. The Cyclones defeated Memphis in the 2017 AutoZone Liberty Bowl 21-20.
#20 Iowa will face off against #25 Tennessee in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on January 1st at noon.
College Basketball
The #4 Iowa women’s team will face off against Loyola-Chicago tomorrow, December 21st, at 5 pm at home.
The Iowa State women’s team will compete against UNI tonight at 6:30 pm.
The Iowa State men’s team will host Eastern Illinois tomorrow at 7 pm.
The Iowa men’s team will host UMBC tonight at 7 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1921 – The American League votes to return to a best-of-7 World Series, while the National League votes for a best-of-9; Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis casts the deciding vote for a best-of-7.
1966 – The NBA awards the Seattle Supersonics a franchise for 1967-68 season.
1979 – Behn Wilson scores the game-tying power play goal with 4:08 remaining in regulation to keep the Philadelphia Flyers unbeaten streak alive at 28 — tying the NHL record for longest undefeated stretch — in a 1-1 draw with the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Spectrum.
After news came yesterday of two men wanted for multiple warrants in the Burlington area, another man has joined that wanted list. Brodi Sattler, 23, is wanted on warrants including Felon Escape from Custody. Again, if you know the whereabouts of Brodi Sattler, please call the Burlington Area Crime Stoppers at 319 753 6835. You will receive a cash reward if your tip leads to the arrest of Brodi Sattler.
