From Walmart Bench to Jail Bench: Man Arrested With Meth in Grocery Store

Just before 7:00pm on November 21st, Officers of the West Burlington Police Department responded to Wal-Mart, 324 W Agency Rd, to attempt to locate a wanted subject.

Officers soon found who they were looking for, as Matthew A. Marshall was sitting on a bench inside the store. They confirmed Marshall had warrants for his arrest through Des Moines County for a suspected burglary and Mercer County, IL for a felony weapons offense.

After placing Marshall under arrest, Officers located approximately 22 grams of suspected Methamphetamine and 27 pills determined to be controlled substances. Marshall was transported to the Des Moines County Correction Facility. Charges were filed for Matthew A. Marshall for Possession with Intent to Deliver Over 5 grams of Methamphetamine (B Felony), two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd Offense (D Felony), and two counts of Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp (D Felony).

Officers of the West Burlington Police Department were assisted by the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office and the Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force.

Patsy Schmeiser

Patsy Lee Schmeiser, 91, of Mt. Pleasant, passed through the pearly gates to Heaven peacefully on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, at SE Iowa Regional Hospice in West Burlington, surrounded by her family.  Visitation will be held on Saturday, December 9, 2023, from 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the Snyder & Hollenbaugh Funeral & Cremation Services of Winfield.  Burial will be held at a later date in the Winfield Scott Township Cemetery.  Online condolences may be left to the family at www.sandhfuneralservices.com.

Patsy Lee Thompson was born on December 14, 1931, in Burlington, Iowa, the 11th child of 14 to Grover C. and Catherine B. (Burrows) Thompson.  She was a graduate of Burlington High School.  On August 1, 1948, Patsy was united in marriage to Myron R. Schmeiser at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Burlington.  While living in Burlington, she worked at JC Penney’s until 1950, then moved to the farm she and her husband purchased south of Winfield where she helped farm and raise 5 children.  Patsy worked in Mt. Pleasant at Emerson Electric, Purchasing Department at Henry County Hospital for 27 years, Henry County Health Center Gift Shop volunteer and Lori’s Loft.  She also was a B.P.W. volunteer at Old Threshers Reunion.  Patsy was a member of the Winfield United Methodist Church, where she dearly loved teaching Sunday School.  She enjoyed sewing, cooking for others, reading, and crafting, but most of all, she loved to spend time with her family creating memories.  In 2016, Patsy moved to Van Vorhies where she received loving and special care.

 

Patsy will be deeply missed by her children, Mike (Shirley) Schmeiser of Atkins, Nancy Schmeiser of Mt. Pleasant, David Schmeiser of Kearns, Utah, Linda Schmeiser of Salt Lake City, Utah and Kim (David) Schmeiser-Akers of Belgrade/Yellowstone, Montana; seven grandchildren; five great grandchildren; three sisters-in-law, Mary Jo Snowden, Patty Curtis and Helen Schmeiser all of Burlington and many nieces and nephews throughout the United States.

 

Patsy was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Myron in 2014 and 13 siblings, Richard, Virginia, Mary, Thomas, Betty, Jack, Dale, Doris, Dorothy, Helen, Kenneth, Harry and James.

Enjoying the Grass? More Snow Projected for Thursday Night

Southeast Iowa looks to be the spot for some adverse weather conditions at the end of the week. Just as we start to see green grass again, the US National Weather Service is projecting two rounds of winter weather on Thursday and Friday.

The first of these will arrive on Thursday night and last into Friday morning, with freezing rain and snow possible. Ice and snow on the roads may impact your morning routine on Friday, as they are expecting slick driving conditions.

Later on Friday, ice and rain will make way for snow as the primary precipitation. Two inches in the current prediction, and slick conditions are expected.

As always, drive safe and focus on the road. Give yourself a few extra minutes on Friday morning to scrape ice and snow from your windshield, and expect to drive slower than usual.

Marc Moeller

Marc Charles Moeller, age 69, of Mt. Pleasant, IA passed away on Nov. 30 in Mt. Pleasant.

Marc was born on January 4, 1954 in Denison, Iowa, the son of George Arnold and Elvera Marie (Schultz) Moeller, both of whom were born in Iowa. He was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Schleswig, Iowa and later confirmed there on April 7, 1968. Marc graduated from Schleswig Community High School in 1972, and from the University of Iowa in 1976. He admitted he was drawn to the University of Iowa because he played football for the Schleswig Hawks and their school colors were black and gold.

Marc grew up on a farm northwest of Schleswig, and liked being outdoors. He enjoyed hunting and fishing at a local pond and at Spirit Lake. He was proud of being in 4-H, showing club calves and pigs at the Crawford County Fair in Denison, Iowa. Along with his brother, they broke and rode sorrel ponies for a neighbor. Dad was not happy with this venture. Later, Marc and his siblings became attached to and rode a full-size Buckskin horse named “Buck” which was used for cattle chores. During their high school years, they fed out a pen of five head of Hereford cattle for the Schleswig Calf Show Days held in September of each year. The family also raised hogs and fed them out; and they purchased feeder calves in the fall and fed them out as well. He picked up several key German phrases during his childhood years. Both of his parents spoke German, using it when they did not want their children to understand the conversation.

Marc was united in marriage to Sharon Mae (Shari) Thompson on June 26, 1982 at St. John Lutheran Church in Newhall, Iowa.

He followed and watched Hawkeye football and basketball games. He loved to work in the steel building on their small hobby farm southwest of Mt. Pleasant. He liked playing Euchre and other games. He listened to music from the fifties to the seventies, classic rock, and many other groups. He also took pleasure in attending the various sporting events and activities of their three children including cross country, track, volleyball, soccer, and band. He enjoyed humorous stories told by others as well.

He was employed in various banking positions as an agricultural lender in several southeastern Iowa communities including Keystone, Newhall, and Washington. He and his family moved to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa in 2000. Marc concluded his career by working at Pilot Grove Savings Bank at both the Mt. Pleasant office and the Pilot Grove, Iowa office for the past 19 years and retired from there on December 31, 2018. He missed talking and working with fellow employees in addition to the personal contacts with his customers and friends at the bank.

Locally, Marc was a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Mt. Pleasant, and served there as president and elder. He loved watching their grandsons and he called them the “Moeller boys” since he grew up with two older brothers. He had regard for following and discussing politics, and also appreciated the conservative point of view. He encouraged his own children to be grateful for everything.

Marc was preceded in death by his parents and three older siblings, Larry (1944 – 1951), Connie (1947 in infancy) of Schleswig and Dennis Moeller (1948 – 2020) of Petersburg, Nebraska.

Survivors include his wife Shari; daughter Jill of Lander, Wyoming; son Tyler and his wife Josie and their three sons Leo, Hugo, and Otto (true joys) of Mt. Pleasant; and daughter Lisa Bycroft and her husband Colby of Ankeny; one older brother Louis Moeller of Atkins, Iowa; one younger sister Carla Schmidt and her husband Bob of Pierre, South Dakota. In addition, he is survived by many brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces, nephews, great friends and good helpful neighbors.

Honorary pallbearers are: Peter Moeller, Allison Williams, John Moeller, Annie Kvamme, Chris Thompson and Tim Thompson.

According to his wishes, cremation has been entrusted to the care of Olson-Powell Chapel & Crematory of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.

Visitation will be at Faith Lutheran Church on Friday, Dec. 8th from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at 910 E Mapleleaf Dr, Mt. Pleasant, IA. The funeral service will take place at 10:30 on Saturday, Dec. 9th at Faith Lutheran. His inurnment will be at St. John Lutheran Cemetery, Newhall, Iowa.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any memorial contributions may be made to Faith Lutheran Church for Son Shine Academy.

A special thank you to EveryStep Hospice. The family is grateful to them for helping achieve the goal to keep Marc at home. Memorials may also be directed to them at 118 N. Main Street, Mt. Pleasant, IA 52641-2052.

www.powellfuneralhomes.com

Possible Lane Closures for Franklin Avenue

Henry County Engineers Office announces a project on Franklin Avenue (W-55), that could affect traffic between 260th Street and 275th Street. The project will include culvert work and tree clearing along both sides of Franklin Avenue preparing for a future resurface project.

Tree clearing will start the week of December 4th and continue through the winter, weather permitting. Franklin Avenue will not be closed but could have lane closures with flaggers. Expect delays and use caution. Questions can be answered at 319 385-0762.

Overturned Semi in Lee County

There was a single vehicle accident in Lee County on Wednesday morning. A semitruck and trailer was traveling South Bound on Highway 218/27 in the 2800 block when the vehicle left the roadway into the West Bound ditch, causing the truck to overturn. This caused damage to a property fence line.

The semi-tractor and trailer sustained disabling damage and was subsequently towed from the scene. The driver, Charles Smith of Clinton, did not report any injuries at the time of the incident and this was the only vehicle involved in the accident. The estimated damage is $30,000.

Fire in Winfield This Morning

UPDATE 10:37am 12/01/23

There was a fire in Winfield on November 30th around 5:48am. At that time, Winfield Fire and Rescue was assisted by Olds Fire and Rescue.

We now have an update to the fire in Winfield on Thursday morning. The Fire Chief of Winfield has confirmed that poles caught fire. Internet cable lines were burned as a result.

Currently, the cause of the fire is undetermined, as an investigation is ongoing, and they are reviewing video footage. There were no injuries reported at the time.

*These reports are preliminary*

The Olds Fire Department was requested at 6:00am this morning, the 30th, for backup on fighting a fire. According to dispatch, a fire was  ongoing at that time on a detached garage at 401 N Olive St in Winfield.

Alliant Energy was on route at that time, as preliminary reports suggest that an electrical pole was  on fire around 6:20 this morning. An officer stated “looks like the wires are about to burn in two.”

KILJ will have more information on this as details are released.

 

 

Vehicle Collision in New London

On November 28th, 2023, at approximately 2:25 p.m., the Henry County Sheriff’s Office was called to the intersection of 260th Street and west Bound Highway 34 outside of New London for a two-vehicle collision.  An investigation into the collision determined a 2007 Western Star, driven by James Prottsman of Mount Pleasant, was travelling west on Highway 34 and approaching the intersection of 260th Street.  As the Western Star approached the intersection a 2019 Nissan Kick, driven by Robert Johnson of New London, entered Highway 34 and into the path of the Western Star.

A passenger in the Johnson vehicle reported being injured.  The Western Star sustained disabling damage and the Nissan was considered a total loss.  Both vehicles were towed from the scene.  Mr. Johnson received a citation for Fail to obey a stop sign and yield right of way.