Mapleleaf Athletic Complex Receives Generous Gift of New Spectator Pavilion

By Slaten Swords · Tuesday, June 16th, 2026 at 10:31 am CDT

Mt. Pleasant, IA- The baseball field replaced the field lights, renovated the stairs to the press box, and added a shady spot for spectators to cheer the Panthers on from on hot summer evenings. The following is a press release discussing the newest of the improvements to the complex.

On behalf of our student athletes, coaches, families, and the entire school community, We are honored to express our sincere gratitude to Mike and Lyndel Barton for their generosity in donating a new spectator pavilion at the Mapleleaf Athletic Complex baseball field.

This remarkable gift will provide a welcoming, comfortable space for fans, families, alumni, and community members to gather and support our student athletes for years to come. The pavilion will enhance the game-day experience while serving as a lasting symbol of community pride and commitment to our athletic programs.

Mike and Lyndel Barton have demonstrated a deep belief in the value of education, athletics, and community involvement. Their investment in our facilities reflects their dedication to creating opportunities for students and strengthening the connections that make our school special.

“Our athletic programs are successful because of the support we receive from individuals who care deeply about our students,” said Scot Lamm, Activities Director. “The Barton family’s generous donation of this spectator pavilion will positively impact countless athletes, families, and visitors. We are incredibly grateful for their vision, generosity, and commitment to our school community.”

As future generations of athletes take the field at Mapleleaf Athletic Complex, they will do so knowing that community members like Mike and Lyndel Barton helped make their experience even more memorable.

Please join us in thanking Mike and Lyndel Barton for their generosity and lasting contribution to Mt. Pleasant Athletics.

Pictures courtesy of MPTV Close-Up, Ronnie Waggoner

Sports, June 16th

By Slaten Swords · Tuesday, June 16th, 2026 at 6:42 am CDT

High School Softball

In their first bit of action in nine days, Mt. Pleasant experienced the full gambit of emotions, losing in extra innings in game one, 5-3, before rallying for eight runs in the sixth inning of game two to come out on top, 14-6. Paityn Ensminger ripped a two-RBI double in game one during a late surge by the Panther bats. Nevertheless, game two saw Mt. Pleasant club six extra base hits, including a grand slam by Chaley Cook, two triples from Lila Cook, and an RBI double by Kya Heaton. Panther head coach Curtis Bjork was proud of the effort displayed by his team,

“Yeah, I mean, there’s a lot to be said there as far as our mentality’s always been competing every pitch. We really showed that tonight against a tough pitcher. That first pitcher was really tough. The second time we had seen her, she shut us down twice. But the resiliency of the girls coming back and winning a game after losing a heartbreaker in extra innings when you’re down 5-1, showed a lot of resilience. Just the toughness that our girls have shown and the growth they’ve shown this year.”

The week is just getting started for Mt. Pleasant with a rescheduled makeup doubleheader tonight against Keokuk with game one at 5:30 pm. Coach Bjork knows this will be a tough slew of games,

“Yeah, before this week we had played nine games. We got seven games this week, so almost doubling our games. So it’s just one game at a time. We just can’t get ahead of ourselves. Tell the girls every night, I feel like we can compete against whoever steps on the field with us, but you can’t overlook anybody. That goes for tomorrow night, too. So it’s just one game at a time for us.”

In a battle for conference supremacy, Fairfield and Burlington split their doubleheader matchup last night with the Grayhounds shutting out the Trojans 4-0 in game one and Fairfield notching an 8-3 victory in game two. Leah Helmick clobbered two home runs for five RBIs in the winning effort for the Trojans.

Fairfield will make the trip to Pekin tomorrow, June 17th, at 7 pm.  

Mediapolis suffered a pair of losses last night to Bettendorf, falling 12-1 in game one and 8-5 in game two. Payton Harris smacked two solo home runs between the two games. 

Holy Trinity Catholic knocked off #8 Highland last night, 7-0. The Crusaders will welcome Mediapolis to town at 7 pm tonight. 

Van Buren County outlasted Wapello last night, winning 6-4. Quinn Zweibohmer did everything she could for the Arrows, slashing a triple, a home run, and notching 13 strikeouts in the circle. 

Columbus will face off against Wapello on the road tonight at 5 pm on the road. 

West Burlington/Notre Dame lost to Louisa-Muscatine last night, 6-0. The Falcons will take on Van Buren County tonight at 7 pm on the road. 

Washington swept Keokuk last night for their first and second conference victories of the season with finals of 17-0 and 16-3. The Demons will take on Burlington at home on Thursday, June 18th, at 7 pm. 

Danville fell to Lone Tree last night, 6-5. The Bears will host Central Lee tonight at 7 pm.

WACO will tangle with Highland tonight at 7 pm at home.

New London will travel to Van Buren County tomorrow at 7 pm. 

High School Baseball

Burlington Notre Dame shutout Highland last night, 14-0. The Nikes will tangle with Mediapolis tonight at 7 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union was handled by Mediapolis last night, 15-2. Trevor Phillips had the lone RBI for the Wolves. 

New London scored 11 runs in the final two innings to claim a 14-7 victory over Hillcrest Academy last night. Riley Rains and Branz Manning each tabbed three RBIs in the win. The Tigers will host Winfield-Mt. Union tonight at 7 pm.

Battling for the top spot in the conference standings, Fairfield took game one over Burlington, 7-1, but the Grayhounds responded with an extra innings 4-3 victory in game two. Aiden Westercamp tabbed a double and four RBIs in game one, while Dain Burkhart collected the win on the mound. The Trojans will make the trip to Mt. Pleasant on Thursday, June 18th, at 5:30 pm. 

Washington outscored Keokuk 25 to 1 between the two games, winning 8-1 in game one and 17-0 in game two. The Demons will face off against Oskaloosa tonight at 7:30 pm on the road. 

Mt. Pleasant swept Fort Madison last night with Grayson Lowery throwing 5.2 innings of one-hit ball, notching seven strikeouts in a 9-0 win for game one, while game two saw the Bloodhounds nearly stage an eight-run comeback but coming up short in a 12-10 final. Ethan Peck and Kaden Schadt each slugged a triple with Peck collecting four RBIs in the game two victory. The Panthers will travel to Davis County tonight at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. 

Danville is still searching for their first win of the season after being walked-off by Lone Tree last night, 12-11. 

Central Lee lost a close one to Pekin last night, 3-1. Carter Ellingboe had an RBI double in the loss. The Hawks will fly to Danville tonight at 6 pm. 

Van Buren County smacked Wapello last night, 12-1. West Burlington will take on Van Buren County on the road tonight at 7 pm.

Wapello will take on Hillcrest Academy on the road at 7 pm on Thursday.

High School Girls’ Soccer

The Iowa Girls Coaches Association released the All-District teams from the spring 2026 season and southeast Iowa had six make the list. 

In Class 2A, Burlington’s Daphne Brown and Fort Madison’s SEC Player of the Year, Hadley Wolfe, each found a spot on the East team.

Class 1A was a bit more populated with Washington’s Isobel Murphy, Burlington Notre Dame’s pair of Avery Jeffries and Daisy Hazell, and Mediapolis put Camryn Bailey on the list. 

Mt. Pleasant Cross Country

Summer runs are underway for the Mt. Pleasant Cross Country team. These runs are optional but a great way to run with others and get in shape for the fall season. The runs are available to anyone entering 7th through 12th grades. Coaches may not be present at every run, as they are often led by upperclassmen.

On Mondays, the runs will take place at 6:30 am at the Old Threshers Museum Theatre. Wednesdays will be high school speed day at 7 am at Mapleleaf and Tuesdays and Thursdays will take place at Saunders Park by the swimming pool at 7 pm. 

The runs will continue through the middle of August until the Mt. Pleasant Cross County camp. If you have any questions, you can contact Coach Lyle Murray at 319-850-0867. 

Local Summer Athletic Camps

Mt. Pleasant girls’ basketball is offering up a camp for any girls’ basketball players entering 3rd through 12th grades from June 23rd through the 25th located at the Mt. Pleasant High School Gym. The camp will focus on the fundamentals and introduce team concepts employed by the high school’s system.

If you would like to sign-up, then follow this link and fill out the form: https://kilj.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/mp-girls-bball-camp.pdf  

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees will head over to play the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp tonight at 6:35 pm. 

The Clinton LumberKings will be back at home with a matchup against the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes slated to start at 6:30 pm tonight. 

This Day in Sports History

1909 – Jim Thorpe makes his pro baseball pitching debut for Rocky Mount (ECL) with 4-2 win, this will cause him to forfeit his Olympic gold medals.

1975 – NBA Milwaukee Bucks trade Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley to L.A. Lakers for 4 players.

1989 – In the 88 previous U.S. Opens, there had only been 17 holes-in-one, then Doug Weaver, Mark Wiebe, Jerry Pate, and Nick Price each got a hole-in-one on the par-three, 160-yard sixth hole.

Lee County Childcare Project Moves Forward with Design Phase

By Allison Jacobs · Tuesday, June 16th, 2026 at 6:26 am CDT

The Southeast Iowa Regional and Economic Port Authority, or SIREPA, is one step closer to helping bring a much-needed childcare center to Lee County.

During its meeting Monday, the board voted unanimously to move ahead with requests for qualifications for architectural and engineering design services for a proposed stand-alone childcare center near Montrose.

The project is backed by a one-million-dollar Community Facilities grant secured through a Congressional appropriation by Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Officials are also exploring additional funding, including up to $600,000 through a Community Development Block Grant, along with possible support from local foundations and financing.

Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission Administrator Mike Norris, who also serves as SIREPA’s administrator, outlined a two-and-a-half-year timeline for the project. He says the group expects to receive contracts for the federal funding by the end of July.

Originally, plans called for the childcare center to be built into the existing SIREPA building, but that changed after the federal grant came in at one million dollars instead of the two million requested. The board is now planning for a separate building on the property.

Norris says the next steps include hiring design professionals, completing an environmental review, and meeting federal Build America, Buy America requirements. Because the grant is reimbursement-based, SIREPA will likely need a line of credit to cover upfront costs.

The exact location on the property has not been finalized, but officials say the goal is to minimize concrete costs and avoid disrupting truck traffic for existing businesses on site.

SIREPA is also working with the Lee County Economic Development Group to eventually identify an operator for the childcare center. If all goes according to plan, construction could wrap up by the summer of 2029.

Stephen Kindig

By Allison Jacobs · Monday, June 15th, 2026 at 2:16 pm CDT

Stephen Kindig, 78, lifelong resident of Mount Pleasant, went to be with Jesus on Saturday, June 13, 2026.

Stephen was born on December 16, 1947, in Mount Pleasant, the son of Lloyd Taft and Ada Pearl (Rich) Kindig. He attended Mount Pleasant High School. Stephen was a hardworking man; he spent his career driving semi for Ideal Ready Mix and farmed with his close friends, Ralph Jennings and Jute Klindt. 

He enjoyed cheering on the Chicago Bears, watching Nascar, attending Sprint Car races, spending time outdoors, and especially enjoyed time spent with his brother Phillip.

Stephen is survived by his daughter Kaydee Shyanne (Lucas) Rappenecker, brother Phillip (Laurie) Kindig, sister Pam Kindig, sister-in-law Maycle Kindig all of Mount Pleasant. Also surviving are nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Larry Kindig, and two nephews.

According to his wishes, Stephen will be cremated and there will be no services. The Olson-Yoder Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for Stephen and his family. www.olsonyoderfh.com 

Edith Marie “Edie” (Breitenstein) Shaffer

By Allison Jacobs · Monday, June 15th, 2026 at 2:14 pm CDT

Edith Marie “Edie” (Breitenstein) Shaffer, 91, of Birkwood Village in Fort Madison, Iowa, formerly of Farmington, Iowa, passed away at 6:50 p.m. on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at Birkwood Village.

She was born on September 9, 1934, on the family farm three miles northeast of Farmington. Edith was the daughter of Walter and Sara (Miner) Breitenstein, one of nine children. She started school at Little Rock School house and later attended Farmington High School, where she graduated in 1952.

On October 17, 1952, she married Dwaine Forsythe. They later divorced. On June 30, 1963, she married Donald Shaffer. With this marriage came several children. Don brought with him two sons: Mark age seven and Mike age five. Edie had three children: Cathy age ten, David age nine and Jim age five. In 1964, Scott was born making their family eight in number. The family lived in Farmington. In 1993, Don and Edie moved to the house they built that sits on fifteen acres beside Shimek Forest.

In 1952, Edie worked at the Sheaffer Pen Company for various departments. She retired in 1997. After her retirement, she worked ten years cooking meals for the Farmington Senior Center.

Edie enjoyed being outside working in her garden, hunting for morel mushrooms and having family get togethers at their pond “Lake-E-Don”. She enjoyed cooking, sewing, cross stitch and crocheting. She loved her family and “making memories” as she would say.

Survivors include her six children: Cathy (Bernie) McCauley, David (Diana) Forsythe, James (Tina) Forsythe, Mark (Lisa) Shaffer, Mike Shaffer and Scott (Julie) Shaffer; ten grandchildren: Courtney (Janice) McCauley, Stephanie Merrill, Amy (Aaron) Meyers, Blake (Amy) Forsythe, Ryan (Erin) Forsythe, Grant Shaffer, Elizabeth (Evan) Longanecker, Stacie Obil, Megan Huffman and Cory (Ana) Forsythe. Also surviving is sister: Sue Spanier, numerous great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband: Don; four brothers: Glenn, Jack, Harold, Charles and Larry; two sisters: Virgil Kerr and Betty Mead.

A visitation with family receiving friends will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Friday, June19, 2026, at Schmitz Funeral Home in Farmington.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, June 19, 2026, at Schmitz Funeral Home in Farmington with Pastor Jarid Myers officiating.

Burial will be in Greenglade Cemetery in Farmington.

A memorial has been established in her memory for Farmington EMT’s.

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

School for Spies Begins Monday!

By Allison Jacobs · Monday, June 15th, 2026 at 11:53 am CDT

Mount Pleasant Community Theatre is gearing up for a summer of creativity with its annual children’s workshop production. This year’s featured show is School for Spies, a week-long theatre experience designed for young performers ages 7 to 18.

The workshop will run next week, June 22nd through the 26th, with daily sessions from 9:30 in the morning until 1:30 in the afternoon. Participants will spend the week learning performance skills, teamwork, and storytelling from experienced theatre instructors.

The program wraps up with a public performance of School for Spies on Friday, June 26th at 6 p.m. Admission is free, and the community is invited to attend. Donations will be accepted at the door to help support future youth programs and community theatre productions.

The cost to participate is $50, and families can register online at our that’s O-U-R .show/spies. Registration closes June 19th, and organizers remind families that a contact form must also be submitted in order to participate.

For more details on the workshop or other upcoming productions, visit Mount Pleasant Community Theatre on Facebook.

Mount Pleasant Municipal Utilities Board to Consider Major Transmission Agreement

By Allison Jacobs · Monday, June 15th, 2026 at 11:48 am CDT

Mount Pleasant Municipal Utilities will hold its regular Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday, June 16th, beginning at 3:30 p.m. at the utility’s conference room on North Adams Street.

Several key items are on the agenda, including approval of financial warrants, the treasurer’s report, and a proposed agreement with Tyler Technologies for new ERP software.

General Manager Nate Lucas is also expected to provide updates on several major utility projects, including the Cedar Lane Well Number 7 and water distribution system project, advanced metering infrastructure replacement, water treatment maintenance, the Hoaglin Drive overhead-to-underground improvement project, and ongoing transmission system power supply work.

The board may enter closed session twice during the meeting to discuss ongoing litigation involving the Cedar Lane well project and wholesale power supply issues.

Following a recess at 5 p.m., trustees will reconvene for a public hearing on a proposed transmission facility joint ownership agreement between Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois and MPMU. The board is expected to consider final adoption of Resolution 2026-06 approving the agreement.

The next regular MPMU board meeting is scheduled for July 21st at 1 p.m.

Construction Beginning Today on Iowa Avenue

By Allison Jacobs · Monday, June 15th, 2026 at 10:37 am CDT
Starting today – Monday, June 15th, Henry County will be working on Iowa Avenue, south of Mt. Pleasant. There will be a one-lane closure with traffic lights utilized for traffic control. Please use caution. Work is anticipated to take 1 to 2 weeks, weather permitting. Construction updates and questions can be answered at 319 385-0762.