Prep Softball: Final Rankings for the Season

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, July 6th, 2023 at 4:52 pm CDT

Prep Softball- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released their final rankings for Class 3A through Class 5A as the playoffs get underway tonight.

Williamsburg has been the team to beat in Class 3A as they finished as the top team with Davenport Assumption being ranked 2nd. However, Mt. Vernon tripped during the last week of the season as they were swept by Benton, 8-6 and 10-2, along with a loss to North Scott and Fort Dodge the Mustangs went from 3rd to 7th. Wahlert Catholic’s win over the #7 ranked team in Class 4A, Xavier, resulted in them vaulting into the #3 slot. Due to Benton’s strong end to the season, they jumped up the rankings from 11th to 6th. Grinnell and West Liberty fell out of the top 15. Washington took the #14 spot with Sumer-Fredericksburg rounding out the top 15. The Demons are led by the power bat of Ella Greiner who has 5 home runs on the season along with 39 RBIs.

In Class 4A, Carlisle’s 5-4 record in their last 9 games resulted in the Wildcats losing their crown as North Polk is atop the list with a 28-4 record. Beyond some teams swapping positions, the rankings were constant from last week. Burlington locked in at the #12 spot. Gilbert was replaced by Clear Creek-Amana in the #14 spot.

Ankeny Centennial’s 31-5 record on the season cemented the Jaguars as the top team in Class 5A. Ankeny hopped over Waukee Northwest after the Wolves were swept by the #4 team in Class 4A Norwalk to end the season. #9 Pleasant Valley and #4 Muscatine faced off last week, which resulted in the Muskies being swept and being dropped to #7 and Pleasant Valley up to #6. Dubuque Senior replaced Des Moines Lincoln in the #13 slot. Waukee ranks 14th despite their 16-22 record.

Melvin George

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, July 6th, 2023 at 4:19 pm CDT

Melvin (Mel) Eugene George, 83, of Lockridge, IA formerly of Hamilton, Illinois, received his Crown of Life Friday, May 5, 2023 at Jefferson County Hospital in Fairfield, Iowa surrounded by his family.  Melvin was born at home in Belknap, Iowa on February 7, 1940 to John (Tiny) and Edith Mae Johnson George.  Melvin was later raised on a farm in Lockridge, Iowa.  He went to school in Lockridge and graduated in 1959 from Fairfield High School in Fairfield, Iowa.  Melvin then graduated from DeVry Institute in Chicago with a degree in electronics.  On August 18, 1962, he married Judy Maxine Prickett at First Baptist Church in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.  They later moved to Hamilton, Illinois.  Melvin started working for Deb Daugherty for seven years, then in 1969 he bought Daugherty’s TV from Deb.  He later built his home in rural Hamilton where he and his lovely wife raised their three kids.

Melvin was a member of First Lutheran Church in Keokuk, Iowa where he served as elder, church council president and a trustee.  He also enjoyed singing in the church choir.  Being an expert in electronic, Melvin also served his congregation by keeping the sound system up to date.  Later in life they moved to Lockridge, Iowa and became members of Word of Life Lutheran Church in Fairfield.  He was a lifetime member of Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International and the NRA.  In 1977 he and Pastor Harold Meyers started Christ Vision, a low power Christian television station in Keokuk where he served as an electronic engineer.  Melvin was a member of the Hamilton Jaycees and became a member of the Deer Run Golf Course in Hamilton in 1972.  In 1994 Melvin and Judy took a short-term mission trip to Jamaica.  His hobbies included fishing, hunting, gardening (canning), bird watching, country line dancing with his wife, and tinkering with things.  He especially enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren.

Survivors include his sons; Mark (Armilda) of Hamilton and Marty (Sue) of Fremont, Iowa; daughter Joni (Mike) Wikman of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada; and an adopted daughter Cathy Giberson of Fairfield, Iowa; eight grandchildren, Josiah, Geoffery, Noah, Hannah, Caleb, Lauren, Joshua and Paige; sister-in-law Karen George Herzog of Northfield, MN; sisters-in-law Shirley Giberson of Hillsboro and Barb Prickett of Salem; brothers-in-law Gary Prickett of Burlington and Randy Prickett of Salem; and several nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his wife Judy; his parents; brother John; brothers-in-law James Prickett, Ronald Prickett, and Dewight Giberson; and sisters-in-law Rose Prickett, Deborah Prickett, and Brenda Prickett.

A Celebration of Life for Mr. George will be held at 10:30 am, July 15, 2023 at Word of Life Church, Fairfield, with Pastor Jason Christensen officiating.

Memorials to assist with funeral expenses may be directed to:  Martin George, 260 S. Miles, Fremont, Iowa 52561.  Elliott Chapel, New London, is assisting the family with arrangements and online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com.

Bryce Sena

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, July 6th, 2023 at 4:18 pm CDT

Bryce William Sena, 30, of Danville, formerly of Burlington, died Thursday, July 6, 2023 at his home in Danville.  He was born March 10, 1993 in Mt. Pleasant to Marcus Darrell Sena and Angela Joan Mullin.  He was a 2011 graduate of Burlington High School and was of the Christian faith.

He worked for seven years at Tenneco in Burlington.  Bryce enjoyed fishing, grilling, racing, four-wheeling, and watching NASCAR and sprint races at Knoxville.  He especially loved spending time with family, and his son Zeppelin.

Survivors include his son Zeppelin William Sena; his mother Angela Mullin of Burlington; father Marcus Sena of West Burlington; grandparents Carol and William Mullin of Sperry; great-grandmother Joyce Dickey of Donnellson; half-sister Kayla Stafford; half-brother Josh Cook; uncle Jesse (Mandi) Mullin of Mt. Union; many other aunts and uncles; and cousins Broc and Cody.  He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, and cousin Drew Mullin.

Visitation will begin at noon on July 21, 2023 at Elliott Chapel with the family receiving friends from 5:00 – 8:00 PM.  Funeral services for Bryce will be held at 11:00 am, July 22, 2023 at the Chapel with a luncheon immediately following at the Mt. Union United Methodist Church.  According to his wishes, his body will be cremated and inurnment will be held at Trinity Cemetery at a later date.

Memorials have been established for his son, Zeppelin; and for Mental Health Awareness.  Online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com.

RAISE Grant Award To Fund Bridge in Mt Pleasant

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, July 6th, 2023 at 4:05 pm CDT

The US Department of Transportation has announced a RAISE grant award of $24.76 million for the construction of nine County bridges in Iowa. The RAISE grant stands for “Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity”.

Henry County’s 235th Street Bridge over Big Creek located on Business 34, west of Mt, Pleasant is one of the nine bridges included in the grant. The estimated cost for replacement of the Henry County Bridge is $5,000,000. The grant will pay for 4 million, which is 80%. The remainder of the funds will be paid through the County’s Farm to Market fund.

The plan is to construct the Henry County bridge in FY 25 • as an approximate eight-month project,

Nine Iowa Counties worked together with HDR Consulting a three-month period collaborating information, graphs, letters of recommendation from local entities and man, zoom meetings to submit a large packet to the federal government. The other counties included in the award are Clay, Crawford, Lee, Lucas, Page, Pottawattamie, Mitchell, and Wright.

 

Iowans Selling Hay and Straw

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, July 6th, 2023 at 10:55 am CDT
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship offers a free, searchable online directory to connect Iowa farmers who have hay or straw to sell with buyers who are interested in purchasing it.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig is encouraging farmers or those with hay or straw to sell to update their listing at least once per year or as they have new inventories to offer. Organizations associated with promoting and marketing hay and straw can also access the free, online tool.

“Building markets for Iowa products is a priority for us, and the Hay and Straw Directory is a free, searchable online tool that connects Iowa sellers with both in-state and out-of-state buyers,” said Secretary Naig. “The Hay and Straw Directory is most effective and useful when it includes updated information, so I would encourage those with hay or straw to sell to make your updates now.”

To search by product and county, visit the online directory.

Anyone can view the hay and straw directory, but only Iowa sellers can be included on the list.

If you are an Iowan interested in selling hay or straw or need to update your information, you can do so by creating an account in the online system. You may also contact Judy Allison with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at 515-281-8604 or judy.allison@iowaagriculture.gov.

Rob Sand Townhall Tour

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, July 6th, 2023 at 9:37 am CDT

State Auditor Rob Sand will be visiting Southeast Iowa as part of his 100 Townhall Tour. This is his fifth time doing this since taking office in 2019 as he “wants to hear from Iowans” and believes this is a great opportunity.

He will be visiting Fairfield on the 25th of July from 4-5pm at the Central Park Gazebo, followed by a trip to Crane’s Pond in Mount Pleasant at 6pm. His travels will take him to Louisa County the next day as he speaks from 11:30am-12:30 in Wapello’s North Park. For those in Washington County, mark Thursday, September 7th on your calendars as Rob Sand will speak at the Central Park Fountain in Washington from 12:15pm-1:15pm.

For a full list of the remaining 73 counties on the State Auditors list, visit https://www.auditor.iowa.gov/townhall

Sand plans to discuss the new pro-corruption law that allows state agencies to hide records from the Auditor’s Office, the expansion of his Public Innovations and Efficiencies (PIE) program, which encourages government entities and school districs to come up with creative ways to save tax dollars, and the new school voucher system that shifts tax dollars from public schools into private schools without limitations or transparency on how the private school spends it.

These townhalls are open to the public and the media.

Sports, July 6th

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

High School Postseason Baseball

In Class 1A Substate 5: District 9, Burlington Notre Dame clobbered New London to punch their ticket to the district championship last night 12-0. It was an error-filled night for the Tigers defensively as Landry Haberichter reached on an error to start the game for the Nikes then scored later due to an error on a throw down to third base on his steal attempt. 

The second inning was when the game was broken open as a bases loaded triple by Caden Schwenker led to three runs being ushered across and the score being pushed to an eventual 8 to 0. Eli Olesen smashed a 2 RBI double in the 4th inning to complete their game of slugging. Hunter Shipley picked up the win on the mound going 4 innings allowing only 2 hits and striking out 4 batters. Memphis Watson and Cale Westerbeck tallied the two hits for the Tigers as New London ended the season with an 8-15 record. The Nikes will take on Moravia on July 8th at 7 pm.

In Class 2A Substate 5: District 10, the doubleheader at Van Buren County was canceled last night due to the rain. Mediapolis and Central Lee will face off at 5 pm and Van Buren County will square off against Winfield-Mt. Union at 7 pm with both games taking place tonight. 

The Bulldogs swept Central Lee in their two contests this season. The Warriors won their last matchup back on June 21st, 12-2.

In Class 3A Substate 4, Washington will take on the #2 seed Davenport Assumption at 5 pm.

In Class 3A Substate 5, we will see a Southeast Conference matchup to start off the playoffs with Mt. Pleasant hosting Fairfield at 7 pm. 

Fort Madison will travel to take on Benton and Keokuk is on the road to face off against Cedar Rapids Xavier with both games taking place at 7 pm.

Class 4A will have 8 substates and brackets of 6 teams. Each team will have an opponent for the first round with the highest winning seed getting a bye to the next round. Burlington will take on North Scott in Substate 6 as the #4 seed.

The first round for Class 3A and 4A will take place tomorrow, July 7th.

High School Postseason Softball

In Class 1A Region 8, Holy Trinity Catholic fell to Sigourney last night 9-0. The Crusaders end the season with an 11-12 record.

Wapello defeated Highland yesterday 3-2. Tatum Wolford tallied 2 RBIs for the Arrows. Sigourney and Wapello will face off tomorrow at 7 pm with the winner going to the regional championship. 

In Class 2A Region 7, Van Buren County was upset by Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont last night 4-1. Ivy Davison had the lone RBI for the Warriors. Van Buren County finished the season with a 19-8 record. 

In Class 2A Region 8, Mediapolis scored the first run but that would be their only run as they fell to Louisa-Muscatine 11-1 yesterday. Delaney Griffith collected the RBI. The Bulldogs finished the season with a 7-12 record. 

Central Lee and Washington will square off tonight at Washington and West Burlington will host Fairfield today with both games taking place at 7 pm for Class 3A Region 8.

In Class 4A Region 6, Mt. Pleasant and Keokuk will compete in a conference matchup at Joyce Park tonight at 7 pm. KILJ will be on the call with pregame at 6:45 pm.

Knoxville will host Fort Madison with the winner taking on Burlington at Burlington.

Mt. Pleasant Cross Country

On Mondays and Wednesdays, runs will begin at the Old Threshers Museum Theatre at 6:30 am.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, runs will start at 7 pm at Saunders Park by the swimming pool.

The runs will continue throughout the summer until the middle of August. If you have any questions, reach out to Coach Murray at 319-850-0867.

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees made it two in a row last night after defeating the Danville Dans 6-4. Jaden Hackbarth clobbered a bases loaded double resulting in a team leading 3 RBIs. The Bees will face off against the Quincy Gems tomorrow, July 7th.

The Clinton LumberKings will look to go against the Quincy Gems tonight at home.

This Day in Sports History

1956 – MLB Commissioner Ford Frick inaugurates the Cy Young Award, to honor baseball’s outstanding pitcher of the season.

1980 – MLB Philadelphia Phillies starter Steve Carlton fans 7 Cardinals to reach 2,836 strikeouts, the most by a left-handed pitcher in MLB history.

1989 – Ex-Phillies 3rd baseman Mike Schmidt becomes the first retired MLB player to be named to start the All Star game; he elects not to play.

Gary Lee Olson

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

Gary Lee “Coffee” Olson, 73, of Houghton,Iowa, passed away at 5:57 p.m. Tuesday, July 4, 2023 at the V.A. Medical Center in Iowa City.

 

Gary was born on November 2, 1949 in Fort Madison, Iowa, the son of Clarence and Mary (Chesnut) Olson. On September 29, 1979 he married Lucille Hellweg in Houghton, Iowa.

 

He is survived by his wife: Lucille, two children: Andy (Maria) Olson of Atkins, Iowa, and Lynn Olson of Newhall, Iowa, four grandchildren: Caleb, Ava, Bella, and Landon, one sister: Linda (Mike) Panther of Fort Madison, Iowa, one brother: Tom Olson of Texas, also surviving are several nieces and nephews.

 

He was preceded in death by his parents, one sister: Pat Bouressa, one sister-in-law: Christine, and one brother-in-law: Dan Bouressa.

 

Gary owned and operated Gary “Coffee” Olson Construction. He was a member of the Farmington American Legion, he served on the Houghton City Council and a United States Army Veteran serving during Vietnam. Coffee enjoyed his grandchildren and attending their events, he was an avid NASCAR fan, and enjoyed drinking coffee with his friends.

 

The Family will receive friends from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Saturday, July 8, 2023 at the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Houghton.

 

A funeral Service will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, July 8, 2023 at the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Houghton with Father Dan Dorau officiating.

 

Burial will be in St. Johns Cemetery with full military rites presented by the Farmington American Legion Richardson – Anthony Post #231.

 

A memorial has been established to Houghton Fire and Rescue or St. Johns Catholic Church.

 

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