MP Music Department Alumni Invited to Special Performance

By Yorke Prough · Friday, December 15th, 2023 at 8:33 am CDT

The Mt. Pleasant Community High School Alumni and Friends Pep Band and Choir is inviting anyone who has ever played for the Mt. Pleasant Music Department to a special performance next Tuesday. That’s right, the band and choir will perform the Star Spangled Banner and other tunes at the Panther girls and boys basketball games on the 19th of December.

You have the chance to dust off your old instrument and sing to your heart’s delight once again, with panthers of all ages. Come and enjoy the basketball game, meet new friends, and reconnect with old ones.

If you plan to attend, please reach out to Mr. Creager at the Middle School if you need supplies or an instrument. Alumni will gather at the Mt. Pleasant High School at 5:45pm on Tuesday, December 19th, to “practice.” Come cheer on the panthers!

Thelma Kruse

By Yorke Prough · Friday, December 15th, 2023 at 8:11 am CDT

Thelma J. Kruse, 92, of Hillsboro, Iowa, passed away at 11:59 a.m. Wednesday, December 13, 2023, at her home.

She was born on October 13, 1931, in Salem, Iowa, the daughter of Bernard and Cecilia (Moeller) Stukerjurgen. On October 2, 1954, she married Sylvester Kruse at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Houghton.

Survivors include her husband: Sylvester; four children: Edward (Patty) Kruse of Hillsboro, LeAnn (Ben) Lund of Johnston, LouAnn (Gary) Nichting of Mt. Pleasant, and JoAnn (Joe) Adam of Fairfield; eleven grandchildren; twenty eight great grandchildren; three great-great grandchildren; two brothers: Ron (Carol) Stukerjurgen of Houghton and Leroy (Carrol) Stukerjurgen of Sun City, Arizona; three sisters: Justine (Ray) Conrad of Tempe, Arizona, Agatha Rudy of Solon, and Lucille Damhorst of Carbon Cliff, Illinois. Also surviving are several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents and brothers: Omer and Don Stukerjurgen.

Thelma was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, the American Legion Auxiliary, Circle Eight Square Dance Club, and a euchre card club. She tended to the flower gardens at St. John’s Catholic Church for thirty-five years, she enjoyed her flowers, gardening, canning, square dancing, and playing cards.

A visitation will be held from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m. Monday, December 18, 2023, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Houghton, where the family will receive friends from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. A parish rosary will be recited at 3:30 p.m. and a Christian wake service will be held at 5:30 p.m.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, December 19, 2023, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Houghton with Father Dan Dorau as celebrant.

A memorial has been established in her memory for St. John’s Catholic Church or St. John’s Cemetery.

Schmitz Funeral Home of West Point is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com.

Ron Kaska

By Yorke Prough · Friday, December 15th, 2023 at 8:10 am CDT

Ron Kaska, age 87, of Mount Pleasant, died Thursday, December 14, 2023, at Addington Place.

He was a beloved husband, “Dad”, father-in-law, “Grandpa”, brother, and friend.   He was a man of great faith, who will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

Ron was born September 11, 1936, in East Pleasant Plain, Iowa, the son of Frank and Helen (Zaharris) Kaska, the 10th of 13 siblings. He graduated high school from West Chester High School in 1955. Ron proudly served our country in the United States Air Force from 1955-1956. On August 27, 1960, Ron was united in marriage to Linda Shaw at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. Ron was a well-respected tile and marble setter for over 50 years. He was devoted to his work and wanted every job completed to the very best of his ability.

Additionally, he was a member of the Brick Layers and Allied Craft Workers Association, Local 10. Ron was known as a kind, honest and hard-working man.  He was dedicated to his family and his community.  In his free time Ron enjoyed golf, the Iowa Hawkeyes, St. Louis Cardinals baseball, yard work, and time with his grandchildren.  He was a committed member of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church where he served on the Building and Grounds Committee, was a member of the Knights of Columbus and was responsible for completing the beautiful Baptismal Font in the sanctuary.

Ron is survived by his wife Linda; three children, Dana (Rick) Lamm Richter of St. Louis, MO, Todd Kaska of Dallas, TX, Tony (Kris) Kaska of West Des Moines; eight grandchildren Abbey (Elijah) House, Haley Lamm, Sox Lamm, Molly (Tim) Anderson, Tyler (Megan) Kaska, Jacob Kaska, Adam Kaska, Madison Kaska; and five great grandchildren, Noah, Judah, and Finley House, Macy and Tinsley Anderson; brother Walter Kaska of Morrison, CO; and sister Connie Staebell of Denver, CO.

He was preceded in death by his parents; six brothers Ardell, Lawrence, Ernest, Cletus, Galen, and Merle; four sisters Marion Pohlit, Marcella Greiner, Kay Swain, and Clarabelle Durian.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, December 16, 2023, at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Father Paul Connolly as celebrant. Burial will be in the St. Alphonsus Cemetery. Service will be livestreamed on Powell Funeral Homes Facebook page and at www.powellfuneralhomes.com. The visitation will be held 1:00 – 7:00 p.m. Friday, December 15, at Olson-Powell Chapel & Crematory. The family will be present to greet friends beginning at 4:00 p.m. Memorial funds have been established for EveryStep Hospice, St. Alphonsus Catholic Church and Care Giver Relief Fund. The Olson-Powell Chapel & Crematory is caring for Ron and his family.

Sports, December 15th

By Slaten Swords · Friday, December 15th, 2023 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Basketball

Mt. Pleasant will travel to Washington for a conference matchup tonight with the girls’ game scheduled to start at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will have the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm. 

The Central Lee boys’ team got off to a rocky start last night against Danville but a big third quarter glided the Hawks past the Bears 58-54. The Hawks will travel to Columbus on December 18th at 7:30 pm, while Danville will host Louisa-Muscatine tomorrow, December 16th, at 2:30 pm. The Central Lee girls’ team will take on Danville in a road matchup at 6 pm tonight. 

Mediapolis will face off against Burlington Notre Dame tonight with the girls playing at 6 pm. 

New London will host West Burlington tonight with the girls going at 6 pm followed by the boys game. 

WACO will travel to take on Hillcrest Academy tonight with the girls’ game scheduled for 6 pm. 

Van Buren County will compete against Holy Trinity Catholic in a road matchup tonight with game one at 6 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will take on Columbus tonight with the girls playing at 6 pm. 

Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s Basketball Rankings

Burlington Notre Dame’s 61-57 overtime win against Holy Trinity Catholic casted the Crusaders out of the top 15 in Class 1A and gave the Nikes the #15 spot. Lauren Krieger leads the squad, averaging 18.2 points and 3.8 steals per game. 

High School Wrestling

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team will compete tomorrow, December 16th, at Cedar Rapids-Prairie. 

The WACO girls will compete tomorrow at Chariton. 

Fort Madison got the better of Mt. Pleasant last night in their dual by a score of 66-18. For the Panthers, Landon Beckler in the 106-pound weight class, Lane Beckler in the 126-pound weight class, and Ramzy Davis in the 150-pound weight class all won by fall. The Panthers will compete in a tournament tomorrow at Regina Catholic. The girls’ team will wait until after Christmas break to compete at a tournament at Highland on January 5th. 

The New London boys’ team will travel to Fort Madison tonight for an Invitational.

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team swept Van Buren County and Wapello last night by scores of 75-6 and 72-9, respectively. Against the Warriors, Tyler Stoltz was the lone win for Van Buren County as he defeated Cael Phillips by fall. Trevor Phillips, Sheaden Adams, Ian Estudillo, Ty Scorpil, and Kohlby Newsom all won by fall, while Bowen Thomson defeated Korbin Camp by a 7-6 decision. Wapello saw wins from Codder Malcom, by fall, and Cohen Wolford, by a 10-6 decision. Scorpil, Adams, Cole Storm, Riley Kaalberg, Cooper Buffington, and Russel Coil all defeated their opponents by fall. The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will compete next Saturday, December 23rd, at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont. 

The boys’ teams of Burlington Notre Dame, Mediapolis, and WACO competed in a triangular yesterday with the Nikes defeating Mediapolis 66-15 and WACO 76-6. Mediapolis picked up a win over the Warriors 60-23. Picking up wins for WACO were John Mcluaghlin, Louden Huisenga, and John Stauffer by fall against the Bulldogs with Gage Samo winning by technical fall. Huisenga tallied the lone win by fall against Burlington Notre Dame. Mediapolis had Taylan Miller win by a 10-9 decision against the Nikes with Kyler Crow and Parker Lange also picking up wins by fall. Colt Boyles, Carter West, C.J. Davis, Tate Sherwood, Cole Mincer, Kael Cook, Blake Wilson, Dirk Boyles, and Isaac Davis all picked up wins in their matches against WACO and Mediapolis. The WACO boys’ team will compete at Regina Catholic tomorrow. 

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant will take on Burlington today.

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 compete against Cleveland State tomorrow, December 16th, at 6 pm. 

The Iowa State women’s team will host Troy on Sunday, December 17th, at 12 pm. 

The Iowa State men’s team will take on Florida A&M on Sunday at 5 pm. 

The Iowa men’s team will look to get back in the win column tomorrow at 3:30 pm against Florida A&M. 

This Day in Sports History

1973 – Sandy Hawley becomes the first jockey to win 500 races in one year. 

1973 – Tennessee beats Temple 11-6 in the lowest scoring NCAA basketball game. 

2019 – The Raiders play their final NFL game in Oakland conceding 17 unanswered 2nd half points to go down 20-16 to the Jacksonville Jaguars; the team moves to Las Vegas in 2020.

New London’s Wrestling Meet Tonight to be Rescheduled

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, December 14th, 2023 at 1:43 pm CDT

New London, IA- The boys’ varsity wrestling dual against Pekin tonight has been canceled. The meet will be rescheduled for a later date that has yet to be determined.

The Tigers will travel to Fort Madison tomorrow for an Invitational scheduled to start at 5 pm.

Prep Girls’ Basketball: Burlington Notre Dame Kicks Holy Trinity Catholic Out of the Top 15

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, December 14th, 2023 at 1:38 pm CDT

Prep Girls’ Basketball- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released this week’s rankings for the basketball season and all of the top teams kept their crown position, but a southeast conference matchup saw a shakeup in the rankings.

In Class 1A, the top three remained the same with North Linn sitting atop of the rankings. Calamus-Wheatland and Bishop Garrigan switched spots with Calamus-Wheatland now being ranked 7th. Two teams were dropped from the rankings as East Buchanan was replaced by Edgewood-Colesburg at the #14 spot and Burlington Notre Dame took down Holy Trinity Catholic 61-57 in overtime earlier this week to take the #15 spot from the Crusaders to round out the list.

Dike-New Hartford, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, and Panorama make up the top three spots for Class 2A, respectively. Sioux Central jumped up to the #7 spot as North Mahaska took their spot at the #9 slot. Additionally, Central Lyon and Aplington-Parkersburg switched spots with Central Lyon moving up from #10 to #8 in the rankings. No teams were knocked out of the top 15.

Class 3A followed suit to Class 2A with no teams getting knocked out of the top 15 and Solon keeping the top spot. The biggest move was Benton Community losing to Class 4A’s #11 Marion, 71-69 after three overtimes, resulting in the Bobcats falling for the second week in a row to #8 in the rankings.

Class 4A saw a shakeup in the top three with #3 Norwalk falling to the #7 slot after falling to previously unranked Lewis Central 65-58 earlier this week. The Titans vaulted all the way to #10 in the rankings after the win. Xavier fell out of the top 15 after three straight losses to #6 Waverly-Shell Rock, #15 Western Dubuque, and Linn-Mar.

Lastly, other than minimal movement throughout the list, Class 5A remained calm with Johnston still on top of the rankings. Waterloo West’s three-game losing streak to #14 Prairie, #9 Cedar Falls, and most recently to unranked Cedar Rapids Jefferson saw the Wahawks dropped from the top 15. Iowa City High filled in the gap left behind at the #14 slot.

More Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Coming to Iowa

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, December 14th, 2023 at 1:00 pm CDT

If you own an electric vehicle in Iowa, finding a charging station for your vehicle should be a lot easier. The Iowa Department of Transportation has recently released a Notice of Funding Opportunity for electric vehicle charging infrastructure along interstate alternative fuel corridors.

The process will be used to disburse Iowa’s share of federal funding through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, supporting the roll-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure within Iowa.

This funding round is intended to fund reliable fast-charging infrastructure to enable long-distance travel. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program formula funds provide money to support the strategic deployment of electric charging infrastructure nationwide.

As of June, there are nearly 13,000 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles registered within Iowa, and every county is home to at least one.

More information about the notice of funding opportunity and charging of electric vehicles in Iowa can be found on Iowa DOT’s electric vehicle plan website: iowadot.gov/iowaevplan.

Sports, December 14th

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, December 14th, 2023 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Basketball

Mt. Pleasant will travel to Washington for a conference matchup tomorrow, December 15th, with the girls’ game scheduled to start at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will have the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm. Head Coach Eric Rawson knows it will be a tough challenge taking on the Demons in front of their home crowd. 

Mediapolis will face off against Burlington Notre Dame tomorrow with the girls playing at 6 pm. 

New London will host West Burlington tomorrow with the girls going at 6 pm followed by the boys game. 

WACO will travel to take on Hillcrest Academy tomorrow with the girls’ game scheduled for 6 pm. 

Van Buren County will compete against Holy Trinity Catholic in a road matchup tomorrow with game one at 6 pm. 

The Central Lee girls’ team will take on Danville in a road matchup at 6 pm tomorrow, while the boys’ team will play Danville tonight at 7:30 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will take on Columbus tomorrow with the girls playing at 6 pm. 

High School Wrestling

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team will compete on Saturday, December 16th, at Cedar Rapids-Prairie. 

The WACO girls will compete on Saturday at Chariton. 

Mt. Pleasant will travel to Fort Madison today to compete in a dual. 

The New London boys’ team’s meet against Pekin tonight has been canceled. It will be rescheduled for a later date. The Tigers will travel to Fort Madison tomorrow for an Invitational. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will travel to Van Buren County tonight for a triangular. 

The WACO boys’ team will head to Mediapolis tonight to compete in a triangular. 

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant will take on Burlington tomorrow, December 15th. 

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 compete against Cleveland State on Saturday, December 16th, at 6 pm. 

The Iowa State women’s team will host Troy on Sunday, December 17th, at 12 pm. 

The Iowa State men’s team will take on Florida A&M on Sunday at 5 pm. 

The Iowa men’s team will look to get back in the win column on Saturday at 3:30 pm against Florida A&M. 

This Day in Sports History

1901 – The first table tennis tournament is held at the London Royal Aquarium. 

1930 – The New York Giants defeat Notre Dame 22-0 in a charity game.

1947 – The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is founded in Daytona Beach, Florida.