Iowa’s Unemployment Rate Rises in August

By Yorke Prough · Friday, September 15th, 2023 at 9:19 am CDT

Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose from 2.7 percent to 2.9 percent in August, tying the year-ago rate, while the U.S. unemployment rate increased from 3.5 percent to 3.8 percent in August.

Iowa gained 2,400 jobs and Iowa’s workforce grew by 500 people in August, despite the rise in unemployment.

“Iowa employers appear to have acted cautiously last month amid ongoing worry about the national economy and rising inflation,” said Beth Townsend, Executive Director of Iowa Workforce Development. “However, we saw Iowa’s pool of available workers increase, meaning that more and more Iowans continue to show a strong desire to find new careers across the state.”

The number of unemployed Iowans saw an increase of 2500 from July to August. The state’s labor force participation decease one tenth of a percent.

The total number of working Iowans decreased by 2000 in August but is nearly 25,000 higher than one year ago.

Anna Workman

By Yorke Prough · Friday, September 15th, 2023 at 7:01 am CDT

Anna Margaret Workman, 95, a resident of Fairfield, died Saturday, September 9, 2023 at Jefferson County Health Center surrounded by her family.

Anna was born April 23, 1928, in Iowa, the daughter of Ray and Linnet (Slutts) Barnett. She married Charles Workman, and they later divorced.

Anna enjoyed playing Bingo, listening to country music, having a good cold cherry Coke with her good friend Marjorie Royer, and spending time with her grandchildren.

Those left to honor her memory include her children, Richard (June) Workman of Fairfield, and Kelly Williams of Ottumwa; two sisters, Mary Faught and Charlotte Wallerick; many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; one daughter, Sue Lowe; two sons, Bill Workman and Chuck Workman; and siblings, Lex Barnett, Marie Ellis, Beulah Schilling, Robert Barnett, James Barnett, Rex Barnett, Georgia Ellis, and Leona Sanderson.

A visitation for friends and family will be 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Thursday, September 14, 2023 at Behner Funeral Home in Fairfield. Graveside services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, September 15th at Hillsboro Cemetery in Hillsboro. Memorials may be made to the family.

Online condolences may be made to Anna’s family by viewing her obituary at www.behnerfh.com.

Sports, September 15th

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

High School Football

Mt. Pleasant will be back at Evans Field tonight for a matchup against Burlington 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 Grinnell, Keokuk will travel to Fairfield, and Fort Madison and Williamsburg will clash in a battle of the unbeatens. 

Mediapolis will take on Albia tonight.

Columbus will take on Pekin at home today at 7 pm. 

Central Lee will look to stay undefeated tonight against Davis County.

Danville will host Louisa-Muscatine today at 7 pm. 

New London has decided to forfeit this week’s contest against Central City due to injuries sustained last week resulting in a lack of depth. The Tigers plan on playing next week against HLV but the IHSAA requires that the school meet with their staff to show how and why they should be allowed to continue play. This meeting will occur next Monday at 10 am. 

WACO will look to get back in the win column tonight against HLV. 

#2 Winfield-Mt. Union will look to make it a four game winning streak tomorrow, September 16th, against Montezuma. 

High School Volleyball

Mt. Pleasant will be competing in the Ottumwa Invitational tomorrow, September 16th. 

Winfield-Mt. Union swept Lone Tree last night by scores of 25-13, 25-15, and 25-16. Quin Smith led the Wolves in kills with 9; Aurey Meeker dished out 18 assists in the winning effort. The Wolves head into the Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) Tournament next Thursday with a 4-0 conference record. 

Holy Trinity Catholic and West Burlington clashed in a battle of the ranked opponents. West Burlington appeared poised to win in straight sets after taking the first two: 25-18 and 26-24. Nevertheless, the Crusaders battled back and won the last three sets: 25-22, 25-21, and 18-16. Holy Trinity Catholic has now won 8 straight games. West Burlington falls to 18-3 on the season.

Danville and Keokuk had a thriller last night with the Bears taking the match three sets to two. 

Central Lee and Danville will compete at the Holy Trinity Catholic Classic on September 18th.

WACO and Pekin took the game to five sets with the Warriors rattling off their 9th straight win after winning set number five 15-8. The Warriors will enter the SEISC tournament with a 4-0 conference record. 

New London and Mediapolis traded sets to begin the match, but the Bulldogs would win the battle three sets to one, taking the final two sets: 25-19 and 25-18. Jaydon Wirt tallied 26 assists and Haley Steffener notched 14 kills in the winning effort. The Tigers will be back in action next Thursday for the SEISC tournament. The Bulldogs will compete in the Lisbon Invitational tomorrow.

Van Buren County fell to Burlington Notre Dame last night three sets to one. The Warriors enter the SEISC tournament with a 3-1 conference record. 

Cross Country

The Timm Lamb Cross Country Invitational ran yesterday and in the Varsity Girls A race Washington won as a team with Avery Rump of Fort Madison finishing with the best time of 19 minutes and 48 seconds. Mt. Pleasant finished in 6th place as a team with Nelle Peterson taking 32nd place with a time of 24 minutes and 1 second and finishing right behind her was Monroe James with a time of 24 minutes and 7 seconds. 

In the Varsity Girls B race, Danville-New London took first place as a team led by Alaina Gourley’s 21 minute and 27 second finish, which was good enough for second overall. Abby Arnett and Ava Ourth also finished inside the top ten. Kaitlyn Kipp of Notre Dame/West Burlington had the best time overall at 20 minutes and 57 seconds. Columbus finished in second as a team followed by Mediapolis. Tris Garza took third place for the Wildcats and Shelby Schultz finished in 8th place for the Bulldogs. Kayley Snowgren and Rylee Phillips finished in 4th and 5th place, respectively, for Van Buren County. 

In the Varsity Boys A meet, Washington completed the sweep with a first place team finish as Micah Rees led the way. Mt. Pleasant took 4th place as a team. Ben Carthey finished with a time of 16 minutes and 58 seconds, grabbing him third place and Jude Dykstra finished in 9th place with a time of 17 minutes and 31 seconds. 

Mediapolis took the gold in the Varsity Boys B race with Owen Schmidgall leading the pack with a time of 16 minutes and 33 seconds. Van Buren County and Columbus tied for second place as a team. Lincoln Bainbridge was the top runner for the Warriors, taking second place. Kohlby Newsom of Winfield-Mt. Union was right behind him, grabbing third place by a little more than a second. The Wolves finished in 4th as a team. Jackson Shacklett finished with a time of 17 minutes and 24 seconds, which gave him 5th place, the same as the team. Central Lee finished in 8th place and Holy Trinity Catholic took 9th place. 

Mt. Pleasant will hold their Invitational next Tuesday with Central Lee, Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, Mediapolis, WACO, and Winfield-Mt. Union all in attendance. 

College Football

The University of Iowa will face off against Western Michigan tomorrow, September 16th.

Iowa State University will attempt to get back in the win column this Saturday against Ohio at 11 am. 

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

1946 – The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 in five innings when the game was called because of gnats.

1975 – First College Football Holy War: Notre Dame beats Boston College 17-3 in Foxborough.

2004 – NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announces a lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office.

Representatives and a Senator Speak at Americans for Prosperity Townhall in Mt. Pleasant

By Yorke Prough · Friday, September 15th, 2023 at 6:24 am CDT

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) hosted a Townhall in Mt. Pleasant on Thursday, September 14th. Among the crowd were prominent figures in the Iowa House and Senate, namely Senator Adrian Dickey who covers district 44, Representative Jeff Shipley (district 87), and Representative Taylor Collins (district 95).

The Deputy State Director for AFP, Tyler Raygor, spoke on many of the group’s goals throughout the night. One main thing they want to do is to “reignite the American Dream” and they believe one way to help that is by getting rid of income tax in Iowa. Currently, income tax is 2.9% in Iowa, which has been steadily decreasing for some time. He mentioned how states with high income tax have citizens flocking to the states with little or no income tax.

Both Representatives and the Senator want to push school choice forward. Representative Shipley mentioned how there are communities in Southeast Iowa with teacher workforce shortages and believes the process to become a teacher should be “streamlined.” With a clear path, he wants people to finish the rest of their education during their first few years as a licensed teacher.

Representative Collins stated that education must be a priority in our state. “We don’t have to politicize these issues that are simple once we boil them down.” He is currently working on education reforms that he believes would benefit Iowans. Representative Collins wants the House to be focused on the things that prepare students for success later in life.

Senator Dickey spoke on the issue of youth labor laws. “It is absurd that we glorify sports over someone making a few bucks.” He went on to explain that students who are in a sports program sometimes do not get home until midnight. He thinks students of working age should be allowed to work until 9pm during the school year, and 11pm in the summer.

Darrel Becker

By Yorke Prough · Friday, September 15th, 2023 at 6:02 am CDT

Darrell Wayne Becker, 65, of West Point, Iowa, loving husband, father, and friend passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday September 13th surrounded by his family.

Darrell was born the son of Leo and Elizabeth “Betty” (Freesmeier) Becker on June 16th, 1958, in Fort Madison, Iowa. As a young boy he helped on the Freesmeier family dairy farm, spent time with his dad and brothers detailing and repairing cars in the auto body shop, and playing basketball with neighborhood friends. His first job was working at the gas station in West Point. He graduated from Fort Madison High School in 1976.

He met the love of his life, Karen at a wedding and asked her to dance. They married on May 5th 1984, at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in West Point, Iowa. They enjoyed traveling, music, and 41 years together. Family meant more to him than anything. He always looked forward to holidays and reunions with the Becker, Freesmeier, McKneeley, and Garrels families.

Little did he know, his career and skills would take him near and far. Over his life span Darrell worked at Exide, Case, Stuke Plastics, and he retired from Siemens-Gamesa. He was trained in Denmark and then went on to train others in Canada and China.

Darrell was an avid Iowa Hawkeye fan, St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan, and Buffalo Bills football fan. Darrell was a walking sports statistician and could give you stats on a team or any athlete. Darrell also gave back to the community. He was a Knights of Columbus member, St. Mary’s Fall Festival chairman, West Point Sweet Corn Festival chairman, and former West Point Community Club president. He also donated his time to Marquette and Holy Trinity Catholic Schools.

Above all, Darrell was an authentic, hard-working, and friendly person. No one was a stranger and he always had a smile on his face.

Darrell is survived by his wife: Karen (Garrels) Becker; two daughters: Aleena (Aaron) Garr and Mallory (Kevin Lopez) Becker; mother: Elizabeth “Betty” Becker; siblings: Roger (Rita) Becker, Ronnie (Deb) Becker, Sharon (Dale) Menke, Susan (Scott) Strothman, and Sandy (Stan) Seager. As well as his wife’s side of the family: Sherri (Jerri) Hite, Cindy Garrels, Kenny (Sandy) Garrels, John (Sue) Garrels, and many nieces and nephews.

Darrell was preceded in death by his father: Leo Becker; sister-in-law: Lori Becker; brother-in-law: Dave Garrels, and nephew: Travis Hite.

The family will receive friends from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. Sunday, September 17, 2023, at Schmitz Funeral Home in West Point, where a Knights of Columbus rosary will be recited at 1:30 p.m. and a Christian wake service will be held at 3:00 p.m.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, September 18, 2023, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in West Point with Father Dan Dorau as celebrant.

Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, West Point.

Memorials have been established in his memory for West Point Fire and Rescue, West Point Public Library Foundation or Holy Trinity Catholic School Foundation.

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

Flags to Fly at Half-Staff for Police Officer

By Yorke Prough · Friday, September 15th, 2023 at 5:58 am CDT

Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Friday, September 15, 2023, in honor and remembrance of Kevin Cram of the Algona Police Department who was shot and killed in the line of duty on September 13th. Cram was attempting to arrest a suspect when he was killed. Cram was a 10-year veteran of Iowa law enforcement, a husband, and a father. He was just 33 years old.

“Officer Kevin Cram died a hero, protecting his community and upholding the rule of law. Kevin and I are praying for his family, the Algona Police Department, and all the law enforcement officers in Kossuth County,” said Gov. Kim Reynolds. “As flags are lowered across the state, Iowans honor Officer Cram’s legacy and stand united with his brothers and sisters in uniform. We will never forget his service and sacrifice.”

Flags will be flown at half-staff on the State Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex. Flags will also be at half-staff on all public buildings, grounds, and facilities throughout the state.

Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties, and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

Prep Volleyball: #3 Holy Trinity Catholic Stays Put While West Burlington Moves Up to #10

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, September 14th, 2023 at 2:53 pm CDT

Prep Volleyball- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released their fourth edition of the volleyball rankings. All the classifications kept the same top three teams and only six total teams were dropped from the top 15.

Ankeny Christian is still on top in Class 1A followed by North Tama and Holy Trinity Catholic, respectively. The Crusaders are riding a seven-game winning streak as the Southeast Iowa Super Conference tournament will begin play next week. The first team to fall in the rankings was AGWSR as they went from 7th to 8th, but St. Albert had the furthest drop from 8th to 12th as they have lost three straight matches to Fremont-Mills, Red Oak, and Kuemper Catholic. Riverside has now loss to Griswold twice this season causing the Bulldogs to be knocked out of the top 15 with the Tigers vaulting into the top 15 at the #14 spot.

In Class 2A, the top five teams kept their spot and Ridge View’s tumble from 6th to 9th was the only move in the top 9. Dike-New Hartford and Hinton are the top two teams, respectively, and remain undefeated. Treynor is ranked 6th but also undefeated. Despite no teams falling out of the top 15, the #10 through #15 spots were scrambled about. West Burlington touts an 18-2 record and keep moving up the rankings as the Falcons soared from 13th to 10th. Regina Catholic, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, and Aplington-Parkersburg went from #10, #11, and #12, respectively, to #13, #14, and #15, respectively.

Western Christian is the top team in Class 3A with Mount Vernon and Des Moines Christian coming in at #2 and #3. Assumption jumped up two spots from #7 to #5 in the rankings. Center Point-Urbana loss to #8 Solon dropped the Stormin Pointers from 6th to 9th. The Linn-Mar Invitational was not kind to Anamosa as the Blue Riders finished the tournament 0-4 and dropped them out of the top 15 from the #9 spot. Mid-Prairie went from unranked to #10 after wins against ranked teams Regina Catholic and #3 in Class 5A Ankeny. #15 Roland-Story replaced Forest City in the top 15.

In Class 4A, the top eight teams remained the same with Clear Creek Amana the clear favorite touting a 21-0 record. Ballard and Dallas Center-Grimes flipped spots with the Bombers now ranked 9th and the Mustangs in 11th. Bishop Heelan jumped five spots from 15th to 10th, while Sioux Center fell from 10th to unranked. Charles City rounds out the list after being unranked last week.

Class 5A had no movement in the top 12 spots with Dowling Catholic sitting on top in the rankings followed by Ankeny Centennial and Ankeny, respectively. Muscatine moved up one spot from 14th to 13th. Iowa City High and Dubuque Hempstead were kicked out of the top 15. Taking their spots at the #14 and #15, respectively, was Council Bluffs Lincoln and Waukee.

Henry County Health Center Invests in Integrated Electronic Health Record

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, September 14th, 2023 at 1:09 pm CDT

Henry County Health Center (HCHC) will convert to the Cerner electronic health record system on October 1, 2023. This will align HCHC with Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in West Burlington and Fort Madison, enabling all three campuses and clinics to use one system to enhance patient safety and efficiency.

“This was an important investment as we continue to grow as a health system.  By integrating HCHC’s electronic health record system into Cerner, we will be able to provide better continuity of care leading to improved safety.  This will facilitate communication between the three campuses, clinics and the care teams,” commented Shane Tapper, Great River Health System Vice President for Informatics. “Patients will now have one record that includes all of their health information from care received across the health system.”

This project involved a significant commitment of resources. “We had a team of employees throughout the organization dedicated to working on this project.  The amount of effort and commitment they have put forward has been amazing,” explained HCHC CEO Teresa Colgan. “As we prepare to go live on October 1, we ask our patients to please allow for extra time when registering and recognize that our associates are becoming familiar with the new system. We want to make sure we capture your information accurately and provide you with the very best service and care possible. We thank you for understanding.”

The conversion to one electronic health record system means patients will have access to all of their health information for care received at all three hospital locations as well as the clinics.  Patients who had a patient portal account through HCHC will be notified on how to set up a new patient portal account. A patient portal account allows patients to view and monitor their health information and test results, contact their care team, manage their appointments and request prescription refills.