ISU Extension to Host Planning and Zoning Workshop in Henry County

By Shelbi Swinscoe · Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 at 6:50 am CDT

Local officials and community leaders in Henry County will have an opportunity to strengthen their understanding of land use and development later this spring, as Iowa State University Extension and Outreach brings its Introduction to Planning and Zoning workshop to Mount Pleasant.

The workshop is scheduled for Thursday, April 23, at the ISU Extension and Outreach Henry County office in Mount Pleasant. It is part of a statewide series designed to help local decision makers better understand planning, zoning, and development issues that shape their communities.

The interactive session is geared toward planning and zoning commissioners, boards of adjustment members, city council members, county supervisors, and staff involved in land use processes. Participants will learn about their roles and responsibilities, legal considerations, public hearing procedures, and the elements of comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances.

According to ISU Extension, the workshop uses real-world case studies to help officials navigate common issues such as variances, nonconforming uses, spot zoning, and conflicts of interest. The goal is to provide practical tools that help leaders make informed decisions that influence housing, business development, farmland use, and public spaces.

The training lasts approximately two and a half to three hours and includes materials and resources participants can use in their local roles.

Registration is required, for more information visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/ , you can also find the link in this news article, by visiting KILJ.com and clicking the news tab

Sports, March 3rd

By Slaten Swords · Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 at 6:38 am CDT

Girls’ State Basketball

Day one of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s State Tournament is in the books and there was only one upset on the day. 

Class 5A tipped off the day with two-time defending champion #1 Johnston handling #8 Ankeny Centennial, 54-30. Kelli Kalb tabbed a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. 

A barrage of three-pointers lifted #5 Ankeny past #4 Cedar Rapids Washington 57-44. Reagan Baldwin knocked in five three pointers for the Hawks.

Johnston and Ankeny will square off in the semifinals on Thursday, March 5th, at 10 am.

In the bottom half of the bracket, #2 Dowling Catholic handled #7 Valley, 55-48. Ellie Muller was a force, cashing in for 16 points while grabbing 15 rebounds. The Maroons will take on #3 Waukee Northwest on Thursday at 11:45 am after the Wolves throttled #6 Iowa City West, 80-49. 

For the Class 3A state tournament, #1 Mt. Vernon started their path to another state title with a 55-44 victory over #8 Cherokee Washington, as Quinn Pershing tabbed 21 points. 

#5 Williamsburg gave #4 Wahlert Catholic all they could handle, but the Golden Eagles were able to soar past the Raiders, 56-47, behind Emily Tanny’s 30 points. Mt. Vernon and Wahlert Catholic will square off on Thursday at 1:30 pm.

Lastly, #7 Mediapolis was unable to buy a basket against a ruthless #2 Maquoketa defense, losing 57-23. Amelia Grier led the team with seven points. Bullette head coach Todd Borrison knew this was not the intended outcome but he was happy to have the extra time with his squad,

“Yeah, that’s what we talked about in the locker room. I mean, not the outcome we wanted today. But yeah, 24-1, and we accomplished a lot. We have a lot on our resume from this year, and something that these kids can be really proud of. And we’ve been close a lot of times in the last eight, nine years. And this group busted through, and they set the tone for the teams to come. And that’s something we’re really proud of. And they’re the nicest kids, and they work really hard. And like I told them in the locker room, when we qualified, the first thing that came to my mind was like, all right, I got another week or week and a half, two weeks to practice with them. Because it makes coaching fun when you’re around a bunch of kids that are doing it for the right reasons. And they work their tail off, and they wanna be coached, and it makes it fun.”

Maquoketa will await their semifinal opponent with a matchup scheduled for Thursday at 3:15 pm.

Class 3A’s #3 Des Moines Christian and #6 Forest City will lead off today’s slate of contests with Class 4A’s quarterfinals following. 

Boys’ Postseason Basketball

In Class 3A, #3 Keokuk fell to #1 Pella last night, 60-47, in the Substate 5 championship. Griffin Simpson led the Dutch with 20 points. The Chiefs finished the season with a 19-5 record. 

For the Class 1A State Tournament, #4 Burlington Notre Dame will face off against #5 Bellevue on Tuesday, March 10th, with tip-off at 3:45 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 3:30 pm.

Southeastern Community College

The men’s basketball team will take on Marshalltown Community College in the first round of the Region 11 tournament tomorrow, March 4th, at home at 7 pm.

The baseball team will compete on Friday, March 6th, with another matchup against Southwest Mississippi Community College. 

The softball team will take on Black Hawk College on Friday in a doubleheader. 

College Basketball

The Iowa State women’s team nabbed a bye and will get back to action in the Big 12 tournament on Thursday, March 5th, at 5:30 pm. 

The #9 Iowa women’s team earned the double bye and will get ready for action in the Big Ten tournament on Friday, March 6th, at 5:30 pm.

The Iowa men’s team will square off against #3 Michigan on Thursday at 7 pm.

The #6 Iowa State men’s team fell to #2 Arizona last night, 73-57. Tamin Lipsey led the way with 17 points. The Cyclones will look to bounce back on Saturday, March 7th, at 1 pm at home.

This Day in Sports History

1920 – The Montreal Canadiens scored an NHL record 16 goals, beating the Quebec Bulldogs 16-3.

1983 – Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw is admitted to the hospital for surgery to repair his throwing arm under the alias ‘Tom Brady.’

2024 – Iowa’s Caitlin Clark became the NCAA Division I all-time career scoring leader, surpassing Pete Maravich’s career total of 3,667 points as she went on to finish the night with 35 points in a win over Ohio State.

Bird Flu confirmed in Keokuk County and Van Buren County Backyard Flocks

By Allison Jacobs · Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 at 6:30 am CDT

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has detected two cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza in flocks in Keokuk and Van Buren counties.

These flocks are categorized as multi-species backyard flocks. A spokesperson with IDALS said the Keokuk County flock had about 85 birds and the Van Buren County flock had about 45 birds.

These are the third and fourth HPAI outbreaks in Iowa in 2026. The previous two outbreaks were both in Kossuth County, one in a flock of chickens and game bird pheasants and the other at a mixed species game bird hatchery.

Iowa has not seen an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu in a commercial bird flock since the beginning of December 2025, when it was detected in a Hamilton County commercial turkey flock of nearly 18,000 birds.

According to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, the ongoing outbreak of the virus has impacted more than 195 million birds since the outbreak began in February 2022.

IDALS, in a news release about the recent detections, urged producers to continue practicing heightened biosecurity measures like reducing exposure to wild animals and limiting the number of people visiting a facility, to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Producers should also seek veterinarian care if they notice sudden bird deaths, lethargy, swollen heads, decreased or thin-shelled egg production or any other symptoms of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to rate the public health risk of HPAI as low as there is no known person-to-person spread.

Mount Pleasant Man Charged After Shooting in Marshalltown

By Allison Jacobs · Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 at 6:19 am CDT

Marshalltown police say they’ve made an arrest in connection to a deadly shooting over the weekend.

Allen Hart, 29, of Mount Pleasant, is charged with intimidation with a dangerous weapon, and two counts of reckless use of a firearm.

This comes after a shooting Sunday morning in the 100 block of North 11th Avenue in Marshalltown.

A criminal complaint says Hart shot several rounds into a home toward several victims.

One victim died and their identity has not been shared publicly.

Three others were taken to the hospital for injuries and have since been released.

Police said there is no indication that this was a random act.

New London Man Charged, Felon in Possession of a Firearm

By Allison Jacobs · Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 at 6:13 am CDT

February 27th at approximately 7:48 pm Des Moines County Sheriff’s Deputies stopped a vehicle at Osborn St. and Corse St. for expired registration. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Kendall Lee Watkins, age 29, of New London, IA. During the traffic stop a Deputy K-9 unit conducted an open-air sniff around the vehicle resulting in a positive alert to the odor of narcotics.

Deputies conducted a search of the vehicle where a loaded 9mm pistol was located after Watkins became agitated attempting to interfere with deputies. Watkins was placed under arrest for interference with official acts and felon in possession of a firearm.

A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Corey Walker Watsey

By Allison Jacobs · Monday, March 2nd, 2026 at 6:02 pm CDT

Corey Walker Watsey, 57, a resident of Fairfield, passed away Thursday, February 26, 2026 at his home.

A memorial gathering will be held from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, 2026 at Behner Funeral Home in Fairfield. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Tunnel to Towers Foundation or Noah’s Ark.

Corey was born February 21, 1969 in Livermore, California, the son of Norman and Sandra (Asklar) Watsey. He was married to Jenifer Halverson, the mother of his two adult children, whom he later divorced.

Corey worked in telecommunications for LISCO in Fairfield for fifteen years and was a certified tower climber. He enjoyed music, singing, and dancing. He had a good sense of humor, and was very handy, creative, and artistic.

Those left to honor his memory include his children, Kelsey Watsey, Jadzia Watsey, and Isabel Everett; granddaughter, Leona Fern Watsey; his mother, Sandy Watsey; brother, Brad (Katherine) Watsey of Fairfield; niece and nephews, Erika, Joshua, and Roger Watsey; and great-nephews, Zaeden Watsey and Jackson Steinbeck.

He was preceded in death by his father.

Tina “Tinnie” Kay Nichols

By Allison Jacobs · Monday, March 2nd, 2026 at 5:44 pm CDT

Tina “Tinnie” Kay Nichols, age 58 of Winfield, died Monday, February 16, 2026, surrounded by family in her home after a 15-year battle with cancer. Visitation for Tina will be from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Monday, March 9, 2026 at Snyder & Hollenbaugh Funeral & Cremation Services of Winfield. Funeral Services will be 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at the funeral home. Burial will be in Crawfordsville Cemetery. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.sandhfuneralservice.com.

 

Tina the daughter of Virgil Leroy Jr. and Linda Kay (Flake) Nichols, was born December 28, 1967, in Iowa City. Though, Tina never married, she loved family and friends with her whole being, she graduated from Winfield Mt. Union High School. She loved her Iowa Hawkeyes football and Iowa Hawkeyes Women’s basketball. Tina enjoyed sewing, watching soaps and scary movies, spending time with her loved ones, making pictures and nightly videos for her favorite peeps, and collecting Chucky dolls. Though Tina lived a life full of love and laughter, her start to life was rough. Tinas was born at 2lbs with cerebral palsy and spent the first 4 months of her life in the hospital. Tina’s grandmothers gave her the nickname “Tinnie” because of her small size when she was born, a nickname that continued throughout her lifetime. Not only did Tina have multiple surgeries and go through several different treatments in her 15-year battle with cancer, but she was diagnosed with sleep apnea and diabetes as well. She truly was a fighter.

 

Survived by her mother, Linda Nichols of Winfield; one sister, LaWonna Nichols of Mt. Pleasant; three brothers, Virgil Leroy Nichols III and Kenneth Nichols, both of Winfield, and Gary (Hailey) Nichols of Olds. As well as a multitude of nieces and nephews.

 

Tina was preceded in death by her father; several aunts and uncles and both sets of grandparents.

Elaine DeFosse Enfield

By Allison Jacobs · Monday, March 2nd, 2026 at 5:37 pm CDT

Elaine DeFosse Enfield, a devoted educator and beloved friend, passed away peacefully surrounded by those who loved her.

Elaine was born on May 21, 1937, to Alice (Walberg) and Charles DeFosse. She graduated from Mediapolis Community High School in 1954. She continued her education at Cedar Falls Teachers College, where she earned her Bachelor of Mathematical Science degree.

Elaine dedicated 37 years to education, teaching junior high and high school in Marengo from 1956 until her retirement in 1993. Teaching was her calling, and she touched the lives of countless students. After retiring, she continued tutoring students in Mediapolis.

On September 15, 2005, she married Richard Enfield at Zion Lutheran Church in San Antonio. Through this marriage, Richard’s daughter, Tina Chapman, and his niece, Teresa Short, became a cherished part of Elaine’s life and remained faithful in visiting and supporting her over the years. Richard preceded her in death in 2010.

She was a faithful member of Immanuel Lutheran Church.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Donavon and James DeFosse; and her sister, Marlene Fleming.

She is survived by her sister, Jean (Dean) Kobus of San Antonio; her sisters-in-law, Barb DeFosse of Mediapolis and Nancy DeFosse; along with nieces, nephews, extended family members, and dear friends.

A memorial has been established for Immanuel Lutheran Church in Elaine’s name.  Memorials may be sent to Elaine’s family in care of the Snyder & Hollenbaugh Funeral Home, P.O. Box 475, Mediapolis, Iowa 52637.

There will be no services at this time. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Elaine is in the care of Snyder & Hollenbaugh Funeral & Cremation Services of Mediapolis, Iowa.

A life dedicated to teaching is a life that never truly ends.