Henry County Board of Supervisors Urge Residents of the County to Contact Legislators Over Drastic Budget Cuts

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 5th, 2023 at 12:06 pm CDT

The Henry County Board of Supervisors met on Thursday, October 5th, for their monthly department head meeting. The main discussion point came with the possibility of needing to decrease funding by 1.3 million dollars in the next four years. By 2028, the general basis levy, which is currently set at $4.83, will need to be at an even $3.50.

Henry County is one of 36 counties across Iowa that has their levy set higher than the newly proposed $3.50. Interestingly, most of these counties are in the southern portion of the state and happen to be mainly rural areas.

The Supervisors urged the department heads to closely monitor their budget for the upcoming four years and discern how best to make cuts.

This would demand a very steep cut in Henry County’s funding. In the past 11 years, the funding has increased 15%. Now, they are required to decrease 27.5% in just four years.

So, what does this mean for the citizens of Henry County? Many current services offered to us might be cut due to this House File 718. While it may just seem like a number on paper, the Supervisors believe that the community will really begin to feel it once those services cannot be given. For example, Henry County boasts of a driver’s license office where people living in town can take a quick drive to renew their license. Thanks to these cuts, if the driver’s license service was taken away, that commute time increases greatly as they would need to drive to Burlington for the closest office.

Sheriff McNamee spoke up, mentioning how “these legislators need to hear from us.” The Supervisors believe it is very important for the citizens of Henry County to use their voices and speak up.

Reach out to your Representatives and Senators to voice any concern you have over these potential cuts. The Henry County Board of Supervisors has already met with Representative Collins, Representative Shipley, and Senator Dickey, to discuss HF718.

Representative Taylor Collins Contact Information

Email: taylor.collins@legis.iowa.gov

Phone: 515.281.3221

Representative Jeff Shipley Contact Information

Email: jeff.shipley@legis.iowa.gov

Phone: 515.281.3221

Senator Adrian Dickey Contact Information

Email: adrian.dickey@legis.iowa.gov

Phone: 515.281.3371

Prep Volleyball: Local Postseason Matchups

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, October 5th, 2023 at 11:44 am CDT

Prep Volleyball- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released the regional pairings for the upcoming postseason for volleyball and here’s a look at our local matchups.

In Class 1A Region 7, WACO will be at home for their first-round matchup against Iowa Valley at 7 pm. The Warriors will be led by seniors Meredith Roth and Emma Wagler. Roth has dished out 319 assists, while Wagler leads the team in kills (118) and ranks second in blocks (26) and aces (30). The winner of this game will travel to take on either Central City or Springville.

The top team in this region is #6 North Tama, who touts an 18-13 record. #12 Don Bosco is the top team on the bottom half of the bracket.

It will be a battle for Southeast Iowa in Class 1A Region 8. #3 Holy Trinity Catholic will attempt to return to the State Tournament as the top team in the region. The Crusaders are led by the front line of Mary Kate Bendlage and Presley Myers who have each notched 171 kills on the year. Natalie Randolph has had quite a comeback year, leading the team in assists and ranking second in kills. The Crusaders will face off against Moulton-Udell.

Winfield-Mt. Union and Danville will meet in Winfield for the first round. The Wolves won the matchup from earlier this season 2-0. Kellee Milks and Audrie Gipple led the pack with a total of 13 kills. The Bears were led by Jaeda Molle’s 16 assists and Kenna Furnald’s 7 kills. The winner of this game will take on the winner between Holy Trinity Catholic and Moulton-Udell.

Burlington Notre Dame will host New London as they look to improve their win streak to eight games over the Tigers. Lauren Krieger (488 assists) has set up Aviana West (152 kills) up nicely this season for the Nikes. Tysann Gipple (180 kills) and Sophie Malott (161 kills) have supplied the senior leadership needed for this young squad.

On the bottom half of the bracket #14 Edgewood-Colesburg is the team to look out for.

All of these games listed above will be played on October 16th at 7 pm.

In Class 2A Region 8, #14 West Burlington will face off against the winner between Cardinal and Central Decatur. The Falcons will be anchored by a strong front row in Taryn Havener and Mady Hamelton, who each have 250-plus kills on the season.

Van Buren County will travel to take on Wilton. Ivy Davison leads the Warriors with 204 kills this season.

Both of these games will be played on October 18th at 7 pm.

#3 Grundy Center is the top team in the region.

Class 3A Region 8 will see Washington travel to take on #4 Assumption and Fairfield will host Davis County for the upper half of the bracket.

#11 Solon will host Central Lee and Mediapolis will hit the road to face off against Tipton for the lower half of the bracket. Taylor Jones has put together a nice season for the Hawks with 286 kills and 58 blocks to anchor the front line. Jaydon Wirt’s 429 assists and 31 aces leads the Bulldogs.

The Southeast Conference will have a showdown in Class 4A Region 8. Mt. Pleasant will be on the road to take on Keokuk for the opening round. Makenna Altgilbers’ 220 kills for the Chiefs will be pitted against the Panthers’ leading scorer in Emma Starr as she has totaled 103 kills for the season.

The winner will have the tough task of taking on #1 Clear Creek-Amana, who touts an undefeated record at 35-0 at the time of writing.

On the bottom half of the bracket, Fort Madison will host Burlington. The Bloodhounds won their first matchup of the season 3-2. Taylor Johnson, Dayonna Davis, and Sydney McEntee each finished with double-digit kills for Fort Madison. Annalise Buxton led the Grayhounds with 21 kills.

The winner will travel to face off against Oskaloosa.

First round games for Class 3A and Class 4A will take place on October 17th at 7 pm.

Stay tuned to KILJ to see which games we will be broadcasting and on what station!

Doug Lee

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 5th, 2023 at 11:43 am CDT

Doug Lee, 70, of Morning Sun passed away on Sunday, October 1, 2023 at his home due to injuries sustained in a mowing accident.  Visitation for Doug will be from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, October 13, 2023 at Centenary Morning Sun United Methodist Church.  Funeral Service will be 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 14, 2023 at the church.  Following the funeral service, a time of food and fellowship will be held at the Morning Sun Community Center.  Burial will be held at a later date in Elmwood Cemetery.  A memorial has been established for Centenary Morning Sun United Methodist Church in Doug’s name.   Online condolences may be left for the family at www.sandhfuneralservice.com.

Douglas Dean Lee was born on August 5, 1953 in Burlington, Iowa, the son of Lester Howard and Pauline (Housman) Lee.  Doug was a graduate of Morning Sun High School in the Class of 1971.  He was united in marriage to Sue Ann Harbison on December 14, 1974 in Morning Sun.  Doug cherished his hometown roots in Morning Sun and was a lifelong farmer in the area.  He was a member of Centenary United Methodist Church, Des Moines County Fair Board, Morning Sun Lions Club and served many years as a 4-H leader.  Doug enjoyed fishing, gardening, restoring old family tractors and attending local wrestling meets.  His greatest love was watching his kids and grandkids grow, attending their many sporting events and always spending time with his family and friends.

Doug will be deeply missed by his wife, Ann Lee of Morning Sun; sons, Eric (Lora) Lee of Muscatine and Nick Lee of Morning Sun; two grandchildren, Gavyn (Abby) and Zayda; one brother, Tom (Georgeann) Lee of Polk City, Iowa; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Tom and Sherry Harbison of Morning Sun and nieces and nephews.

Doug was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Randall Lee and sister, Linda Tank.

Mary Jo Newton

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 5th, 2023 at 11:41 am CDT

Mary Johanna “Jo” Newton, 79, passed away peacefully Monday, September 25, 2023, with her family at her side after fighting a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s.

She was the daughter of William and Charlotte Boeding of Houghton, Iowa. She was married to Thomas Michael Newton for fifty-eight years.

Survivors include her husband: Thomas; two sons: Todd (Michele) Newton of Eugene, Oregon and Tony (Carolyn) Newton of Seattle, Washington; three grandchildren: Connor, Riley and Sydney; eight siblings: Marita (David) Meith, Neal (Gail) Boeding, Bryan (Barb) Boeding, Bonnie Boeding – Stewart, Bernadette Boeding – Johnson, Laura Boeding, Elaine Boeding – Thoman and Bill (Janet) Boeding. Also surviving are several nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, October 21, 2023, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Houghton, Iowa, with Father Dan Dorau as celebrant.

Burial will be at St. John’s Cemetery in Houghton.

A luncheon will follow at the Houghton Knights of Columbus.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established in her memory for the Arizona Humane Society.

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

Stop Light Change in Mt. Pleasant Update

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 5th, 2023 at 11:38 am CDT

If you’ve been driving through Mt. Pleasant recently, you will have noticed that one of the most used stop lights has not been its usual self for a while. The stop light located at Walnut and East Washington has been turned into a flashing light, and it will stay that way until a replacement light arrives. Unfortunately, due to supply and demand, this could be a while. 60-90 days is the current suggested period. Please use caution when using this intersection.

Sports, October 5th

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, October 5th, 2023 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Football

Mt. Pleasant will stay on the road to take on Keokuk tomorrow, October 6th, at 7:30 pm. KILJ will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm. 

In other Class 3A District 4 matchups, Washington will host Assumption and Fort Madison will wrestle with Mt. Vernon at home.

Fairfield will attempt to bounce back this Friday against South Tama in a road matchup.

#10 Mediapolis will host Davis County tomorrow.

Columbus will hit the road to take on Van Buren County this Friday. 

Central Lee will take on Mid-Prairie at 7:30 pm for their Homecoming game.

Danville will host Lisbon tomorrow in an attempt to extend their win streak to four games. 

#10 WACO will face off against English Valleys at 7 pm in a home game.

New London will compete against Moravia at 7 pm.

#1 Winfield-Mt. Union will be at home to face off against Mormon Trail tomorrow.

High School Volleyball

Mt. Pleasant will be competing in the Oskaloosa Invite on Saturday, October 7th. 

New London will host Fort Madison tonight.

Winfield-Mt. Union will hit the road to take on Pekin tonight. 

WACO will be at home to take on Columbus today.

#14 West Burlington will take on Van Buren County tonight on the road. 

Mediapolis will compete against West Burlington on October 10th. 

Central Lee will participate in the Davis County Invitational on October 7th.

Danville will take on the Crusaders for Holy Trinity Catholic’s senior night tonight.

Regional Volleyball

The pairings were released yesterday and here are some of our local matchups. Holy Trinity Catholic is the top seed in Class 1A Region 8 and they will take on Moulton-Udell in the first round. Winfield-Mt. Union will host Danville and New London will travel to face off against Burlington Notre Dame.

In Class 1A Region 7, WACO will face off against Iowa Valley. 

In Class 2A Region 8, West Burlington will take on either Cardinal or Central Decatur and Van Buren County will take on Wilton on the road. Both games will take place on October 18th. 

Mediapolis will compete against Tipton in the first round for Class 3A Region 8.

In Class 4A Region 8, Mt. Pleasant will travel to face off against Keokuk for the first round. 

All Class 1A and 2A first round games will be played on October 16th at 7 pm and the rest of the classes will be played on October 17th at 7 pm.

Cross Country

Mt. Pleasant will be competing in the Southeast Conference (SEC) meet on October 12th. 

The Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) meet will be run tonight. 

Southeast Iowa Playbook

Tysann Gipple and Gavin Menke-Bailey of New London joined us last night for the Southeast Iowa Playbook and Tysann talked about her goals this season as she eyes playing volleyball at the collegiate level. Gavin discussed why the Tigers have continued to fight this season on the football field. 

The entire episode can be found on kilj.com under the “Special Programming” tab. 

College Football

The University of Iowa will celebrate Homecoming this Saturday, October 7th, against Purdue. 

Iowa State University will take on TCU in a home game this Saturday.

For the Hawkeye broadcast, tune into KILJ 105.5 FM and the Cyclone broadcast will be on 98.5 FM and AM 1130. 

This Day in Sports History

1921 – Writer Grantland Rice does the announcing as the New York Giants-New York Yankees Baseball World Series is broadcast for the first time over radio (WJZ & WGY). He is not at the game, but in the studio reading updates received by telegraph.

1932 – With new ownership the Detroit Falcons officially change their name to the Detroit Red Wings, and the Winged Wheel is introduced; previous names includes Cougars (1926-30), and Falcons (1930-32).

2004 – 7-time All-Star and 6-time NBA Champion forward Scottie Pippen announces his retirement from the NBA and the Chicago Bulls.

Henry County Public Health Now Has Updated Vaccines

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 5th, 2023 at 6:24 am CDT

The FDA and CDC have authorized an updated COVID-19 vaccine formulated to more closely target currently circulating variants and to provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death. Individuals 5 years of age and older are eligible to receive a single dose of an updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at least 2 months after the last dose of any COVID-19 vaccine. Unvaccinated individuals are also eligible to receive a single dose of this updated vaccine. Children 6 months through 4 years of age are eligible to receive up to three doses of the children’s formula, based on current vaccination status.

Henry County Public Health has received the updated Moderna vaccine for ages 12 and older and will give these shots during immunization clinic hours ONLY. Immunization clinics are Tuesdays 9-11am, Wednesdays and Thursdays 1-4pm, and the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month 1-6pm. No appointment is necessary, but you will need your insurance card if you have one. Uninsured and underinsured individuals can still receive the vaccine through a government funded program. Public Health is still waiting to receive the updated vaccine for kids aged 6 months through 11 years.

Flu shots are also available during clinic times for $35 unless they can bill your insurance. High dose flu shots are available for $85 unless they can bill your insurance. Everyone 6 months and older is recommended to get a flu shot. You may receive the COVID-19 and flu vaccines at the same visit.

Public Health is now getting a limited supply of the new RSV vaccine for adults aged 60 and older. RSV is a common respiratory virus that can be dangerous for some high-risk adults. Talk to your healthcare provider to see if RSV vaccination is right for you.

Henry County Public Health is located at 106 N. Jackson Street in Mt. Pleasant. Language interpretation is available. If you need transportation, you can call SEIBUS at 866-753-5107 to schedule a ride for a low fee.

For the latest updates visit HealthyHenryCounty.org/covid, call 319-385-0779, or follow Facebook.com/HealthyHenryCounty.

Bob Moehle

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, October 5th, 2023 at 6:10 am CDT

Bob Moehle, 82, of Mediapolis, passed away on Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center.    Visitation will be from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 8, 2023 at Snyder & Hollenbaugh Funeral & Cremation Service in Mediapolis.  Funeral Service will be 10:30 a.m. on Monday, October 9, 2023 at Mediapolis Methodist Church.  Burial will be in Kossuth Cemetery.  A memorial has been established in Bob’s name.    Online condolences can by left for the family at www.sandhfuneralservice.com. 

Robert Henry Moehle was born on February 2, 1941 in Burlington, Iowa the son of Edward and Helen (Janssen) Moehle.  Bob was a 1959 graduate of Mediapolis High School.  On June 29, 1963, he was united in marriage to Ellen Miller in Mediapolis.  Bob was a lifelong farmer who enjoyed raising livestock, growing sweet corn and going to the Iowa State Fair.  He also was a rural mail carrier, past member of the Odd Fellows and Coonhunters Club.  He loved visiting with friends and family.  He especially loved spending time with his grandchildren.

Bob will be deeply missed by his wife, Ellen of Mediapolis; sons, Mike (Beth) Moehle, Bryan (Julie) Moehle and Jeff (Rachel) Moehle, all of Mediapolis; grandchildren, Matt, Russ, Brooklyn, Austin, Keshia, Lincoln, Zoe, Dezirae, Adam, Zachary and Olivia; great-grandchildren, Eisley, Rhett, Hinleigh, Hux, Shepherd and James and brothers, William “Bill” Moehle and Edward (Molly) Moehle, all of Mediapolis.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents; grandson, Ben Moehle; brother, Raymond Moehle and sister, Sue Siefken.