December 11, 2023 – December 17, 2023

By Allison Jacobs · Sunday, December 10th, 2023 at 4:43 pm CDT
12/11/23
Olivia Elmore
12/11/23
Roy Ross
12/11/23
Stan Young
12/12/23
Pepper Prottsman-Beasley
12/13/23
Marjorie McDowell
12/13/23
Heidi Snodgrass
12/13/23
Gale Thompson
12/13/23
Angel and Tim Jacobs - anniversary
12/14/23
Natalie West
12/14/23
Justin Oldt
12/14/23
Bob Davis
12/14/23
Carol Smith
12/14/23
Larry Messer
12/15/23
Courtney Bowman
12/15/23
Tim Liechty
12/15/23
Natalie Duffy
12/15/23
Dr. Jim Widmer
12/15/23
Kevin Wagler
12/16/23
Barb Snodgrass
12/16/23
Terry Wasson
12/16/23
Dr. Kevin Hart
12/16/23
Travis Gill
12/16/23
Aiden Blint
12/16/23
Allison Buckert
12/16/23
Kassie Smithburg
12/16/23
James L Sefton
12/16/23
Steven Kindig
12/17/23
Sally Johnson
12/17/23
Nikole Howell
12/17/23
Joshua Stortz
12/17/23
Jim Kinney
12/17/23
Douglas Marley
12/17/23
Jean Reschly
12/17/23
Krystal Zeleny
12/17/23
Nicole Rose

Sports, December 9th

By Slaten Swords · Saturday, December 9th, 2023 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Basketball

Mt. Pleasant hosted Fort Madison last night in a conference doubleheader with the Panthers finishing 1-1 on the night. In the girls’ game, the shots simply were not falling for the Panthers as they were defeated by the Bloodhounds 38-12. Abby Carthey scored 8 points as she went 6 for 8 from the free throw line. 

In the boys’ game, the Panthers scored the first 12 points of the contest before Fort Madison responded by putting seven points on the board in the last minute of the first quarter. Mt. Pleasant pulled away in the second quarter to take a 12-point lead that persisted into the fourth quarter with a 47-35 lead. However, the Bloodhounds would not go away easily as Nolan Guzman scored a game high 18 points in the contest to help erase the lead down to three, 50-47 with less than a minute to go. Payton Hagans then drove the lane and put the dagger in the game by making a highly contested lay-up. A last second three by Fort Madison gave us the 52-50 final in favor of the Panthers. 

Head Coach Eric Rawson talked about how big the win was for his squad. Nate Stroud had an excellent game, putting up 15 points, collecting a couple of offensive rebounds and steals while going a perfect 5 for 5 from the charity stripe. Coach Rawson talked about how well Stroud played after the contest. Mt. Pleasant will travel to Benton Community on Monday, December 11th, with the girls’ game starting at 5:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will have the call with the pregame show at 5:15 pm. 

The Columbus girls’ team defeated WACO last night 61-43. Lily Coil scored 19 points for the Wildcats. The WACO boys’ team will host Highland on Tuesday, December 12th, at 7:30 pm. 

The Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team fell to Wapello last night 53-38. Tatum Wolford dropped 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the winning effort for the Arrows. Carter Loyd’s 16 points off four three pointers helped the boys’ team defeat Wapello 53-31. The Wolves will take on Hillcrest Academy today with the girls game starting at 4 pm. 

The Central Lee boys’ team were led by Brayden Wyrick’s double-double as he scored 22 points and gathered 12 rebounds in their 82-55 win over Van Buren County last night. Central Lee will face off against West Burlington on December 12th with the girls starting the night at 6 pm. Van Buren County will take on Danville on December 12th with the girls going at 6 pm. 

Holy Trinity Catholic swept New London last night as the girls team defeated the Tigers 67-24, while the boys team breezed past New London 74-44. Conner Gehling led the Crusaders with 29 points with Luke Hellige cashing in for 22 points. The Crusaders will take on Burlington Notre Dame on Tuesday, December 12th, with the girls playing at 6 pm. 

The Danville boys’ team lost to Burlington Notre Dame 49-47 last night. The boys’ team will compete against Cedar Valley Christian today at 3:30 pm, while the girls’ team will face off against WACO today at 4:30 pm. 

The Mediapolis girls team clobbered West Burlington last night 80-30. Hanna Wagenbach led the Bulldogs with 19 points. On the boys side, the Falcons took down the Bulldogs 73-58. Mediapolis will host Louisa-Muscatine on Monday, December 11th, with the girls game scheduled to start at 6 pm with the boys’ game to follow. 

High School Wrestling

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team will compete today at Keokuk for an Invitational. 

The WACO girls’ team will compete today at Vinton-Shellsburg for a tournament. 

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will travel to Fort Madison on December 14th to compete in a dual. 

The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will compete today at a tournament hosted by Grinnell. 

The New London boys’ team will travel to North Cedar today for a tournament. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will travel to Colfax-Mingo today for a tournament.

The WACO boys’ will compete in a tournament today at Tri-County. 

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant will take on Fairfield on Monday, December 11th. 

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 travel to Wisconsin tomorrow, December 10th, at 1:30 pm. 

The Iowa State women’s team will host North Dakota State tomorrow at 6 pm. 

The Iowa State men’s team will host Prairie View A&M tomorrow at 12 pm. 

The Iowa men’s team will host Michigan tomorrow at 3:30 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1935 – The first Heisman Trophy Award: Jay Berwanger, University of Chicago (HB). 

1984 – Los Angeles Ram Eric Dickerson rushes for 215 yards for the season record 2,105 yards. 

2021 – Chicago Blackhawks Marc-Andre Fleury becomes the third NHL goaltender to reach 500 career wins in 2-0 shut-out over the Canadiens at Montreal.

Three Iowa State Defenders Earn All-Big 12 Honors

By Slaten Swords · Friday, December 8th, 2023 at 4:05 pm CDT

Ames, IA- The Iowa State defense is a top-40 crew in the FBS that ranks 22nd in yards per play. The defense allowed for an inexperienced offense to get some confidence to their game and guide them to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl a year after the Cyclones finished 4-8. Three players helped lead that charge.

T.J. Tampa was named to the AP All-Big 12 First Team at the cornerback position. Tampa collected two interceptions on the season to go along with seven pass breakups and allowed only one touchdown in 414 coverage snaps.

Also garnering All-Big 12 First Team status was safety Jeremiah Cooper. His five interceptions rank fifth in the nation as he also tallied 41 tackles on the season, allowing just one touchdown.

Lastly, Beau Freyler was named All-Big 12 Second Team at the safety position. Freyler made 96 tackles, which ranked seventh in the conference, and nabbed three interceptions.

The defense will look to shut down Memphis on December 29th at 2:30 pm in Memphis.

Choose Iowa Grant Application

By Yorke Prough · Friday, December 8th, 2023 at 1:16 pm CDT

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig reminded Iowans to apply for Choose Iowa value-added grants ahead of the December 15 deadline. Choose Iowa grants can be used to expand the availability of Iowa grown, Iowa raised and Iowa made foods, beverages, and other agricultural products.

These cost-share grants match up to $25,000 per project to help farmers, businesses, and non-profits increase or diversify their agricultural product offerings, which provide more local food choices to consumers.

Applicants can use Choose Iowa grant funding to add new processing, packaging or sales techniques that add value to the crops, livestock, and other products that they produce.

In its first two years, the Choose Iowa grant program received hundreds of applications totaling nearly $3.3 million in requests. Twenty-eight recipients were awarded in 2023 for projects ranging from increasing cold storage, to expanding processing proficiency and distribution capabilities, to improving production capacity and efficiency.

Individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations that are currently living or operating in Iowa may apply for Choose Iowa value-added grants. Preference will be given to small to medium-sized businesses. Details about the grant program, including financial matching requirements, application, and eligibility, are available on the Choose Iowa website.

Applications should be submitted through the online portal on the Choose Iowa website and are due by 12:00 p.m. on December 15, 2023. Grant recipients will be announced in March 2024. Questions about Choose Iowa value-added grants can be directed to chooseiowagrant@iowaagriculture.gov.

Harold Rebling

By Yorke Prough · Friday, December 8th, 2023 at 1:09 pm CDT

Harold (George) Edmond Rebling, age 87, went to be with the Lord Thursday, December 7, 2023, at Parkview Care Center in Fairfield, IA. He was born June 11, 1936 in rural Jefferson County, IA to Harold A. Rebling and Mildred (Sinn) Rebling.

Harold graduated from Fairfield HS, class of 1954. He made the best decision of his life in marrying Beverly Jane Miller on October 9, 1955, at the Methodist Church in Brighton. They made their home and raised their family on their farm near Fairfield. Harold enjoyed many years of farming and carpentry work, and was also an avid hunter, never missing a season. He was always proud to share that he shot the first deer in Jefferson County in 1951. Harold was a natural-born storyteller who could get a whole room laughing in no time with his stories of growing up and getting into (mostly) harmless mischief. Some of his most legendary stories have been memorialized in a book compiled by his granddaughter.

Harold loved restoring old cars and displaying them every year at the Old Thresher’s Reunion. The kids in his life shared many special moments with him riding in the rumble seat of his Model A. Twice his cars received the “Featured Auto Award” at Old Threshers, presented by the Southeast Iowa Antique Car Club, of which he was a long-time member and past president.

Harold will be deeply missed by his sons Bruce (Renee) Rebling, Alan (Vicki) Rebling, and daughter Kristine (Philip) Barker, grandchildren Aaron (Danielle), Rachel (Howard), Jenna (Shane), Nathan (Sidney), Allison, and five great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife Beverly, parents Harold and Mildred, brother Donald, and sister Evelyn.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, December 16, 2023, 10:00 a.m. at Word of Life Lutheran Church in Fairfield. A time of fellowship will be held at Word of Life Church immediately following the service. A private burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to Word of Life Lutheran Church.

Woman Killed in Burlington Now Identified

By Yorke Prough · Friday, December 8th, 2023 at 11:41 am CDT

KILJ now has additional information regarding the death of a woman in Burlington on December 5th. An autopsy was completed on the victim of a gunshot incident, and the victim has been identified as 35-year-old Krystal Hope Lopez of Burlington. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.

 

Original Post:

On December 5, 2023, at approximately 9:59 p.m., Burlington Police Officers were dispatched to a residence in the 1000 Blk of Elm St., in Burlington, for an unresponsive female. Upon arrival Officers located a deceased female victim who appeared to have suffered a single gun shot wound.

 

The facts and circumstances surrounding this case are still under investigation. An autopsy is scheduled for December 7, 2023 and no further details will be released at this time.

 

The Burlington Police Department believes there is no immediate threat to the community in regards to this incident.

 

The Burlington Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division is being assisted in the investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Budget Cuts Coming to Henry County

By Yorke Prough · Friday, December 8th, 2023 at 8:50 am CDT

The Henry County Supervisors have been in discussion with department heads over a possible budget cut. At this moment, due to House File 718, funding over the next four years will need to decrease 1.3 million dollars. The general basis levy, which is currently set at $4.83 in Henry County, will need to be $3.50.

Henry won’t be the only county affected by this file, with 39 others’ needing to cut their budget in the same time frame.

Over the past few months, the department heads have been closely scrutinizing their budgets, finding potential avenues to help the county in the long run. Currently, one option that is being weighed is an early retirement severance package. It is no secret that a 20 year old is going to be paid less than someone who has been working in public service for 40 years. This is just one route that the supervisors might choose. After today’s Henry County Supervisors meeting, it sounds as if personnel might be let go if they can’t find a way to decrease the budget drastically.

While this has all been speculated, a senator from Mahaska County told the supervisors that this benchmark of $3.50 is going to stay.

Cereal Box Drive Organized by Mt. Pleasant Highschoolers

By Yorke Prough · Friday, December 8th, 2023 at 8:49 am CDT

The Mt. Pleasant Community High School Student Council deserves a round of applause, after they organized a Cereal Box Drive for the Fellowship Cup. This was the first of its kind, but if the success of the event is anything to go on, will not be the last. This was in conjunction with “Kindness Week” and Thanksgiving, which encouraged students to show an attitude of gratitude.

Advisory classes brought in donations of cereal boxes, and the Advisory class with the most donations were even rewarded with an ice cream treat.

239 boxes of cereal were donated by advisory students across the Mt. Pleasant High School. This will impact many lives across Southeast Iowa.