Muscatine Man Sentenced to 136 Months

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, June 29th, 2023 at 6:57 am CDT

A Muscatine man was sentenced on June 23, 2023 to 136 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

According to court documents, Mackenzie Jacob Belnap, 31, was identified by law enforcement as a distributor of “ice” methamphetamine in eastern Iowa. In May 2022, a package linked to Belnap was intercepted by federal authorities. The package contained nearly a pound of methamphetamine and was shipped to Iowa from California. In all, Belnap was responsible for more than 4,500 grams of ice methamphetamine.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Belnap will be required to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

 

Sports, June 29th

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, June 29th, 2023 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Baseball

Mt. Pleasant will face off against Fort Madison tonight. KILJ will be on the call with pregame at 6:45 pm.

Mediapolis will face off against Clear Lake today at the Mt. Mercy Alumni Coaches Classic.

In Southeast conference (SEC) play, Fairfield will compete against Keokuk and Washington will square off against Burlington tonight.

High School Postseason Baseball

The postseason brackets have been released for all of the classifications and here’s a look at our local matchups.

In Class 1A Substate 5: District 9, New London will face off against Highland in the opening round with the first pitch taking place at 7 pm at Highland. KILJ will be on the call with pregame at 6:45 pm. Burlington Notre Dame enters as the #1 seed and will take on the winner of New London and Highland on July 5th. 

In District 10 for Class 1A, Danville will face off against Sigourney on July 1st on the road. 

Shifting our attention to Class 2A, our local teams will be beating up one another to see who makes it out of Substate 5: District 10. Winfield-Mt. Union will take on Louisa-Muscatine at 5 pm and Central Lee will face off against West Burlington at 7 pm. 

Van Buren County garnered the top seed and a first round bye. The Warriors will compete against the winner of Winfield-Mt. Union and Louisa-Muscatine. Mediapolis also earned a bye and will take on either the Hawks or the Falcons. The second round will be played on July 5th.

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 substate final. Burlington will take on North Scott in Substate 6 as the #4 seed.

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

High School Softball

Mt. Pleasant will host Fort Madison tonight.

In SEC games, Burlington will take on Washington and Fairfield will square off against Keokuk today. 

High School Postseason Softball

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released the postseason brackets for all the classifications and here’s the matchups for our local teams.

In Class 1A Region 8, New London will travel to face off against Holy Trinity Catholic and Wapello will host Winfield-Mt. Union with both games taking place tomorrow, June 30th, at 7 pm. KILJ will be on the call for the Crusaders and the Tigers with pregame at 6:45 pm.

In Class 2A Region 7, Van Buren County earned a first-round bye. The Warriors will take on the winner between Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont and Pella Christian on July 5th at 7 pm at home.

In Class 2A Region 8, Danville will travel to take on Durant at 7 pm tomorrow. Mediapolis will face off against Louisa-Muscatine on the road on July 5th at 7 pm.

Central Lee and Washington will square off on July 6th at Washington and West Burlington will host Fairfield on July 6th 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 on July 6th at 7 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 ran up the score against the Jackson Rockabillys going on to win 17-4. Keanu Spenser was slugging last night as he smacked a grand slam and doubled home a run to tally 5 RBIs in the winning effort. The Bees will take on the Lucky Horseshoes tonight in a doubleheader.

The Clinton LumberKings will take on the Jackson Rockabillys today with first pitch at 6:30 pm at home.

This Day in Sports History

1897 – Chicago Colts establish an MLB record for most runs scored in a game by one team as they maul Louisville Colonels, 36-7 at the West Side Grounds, Chicago.

1983 – 40 year old Puerto Rican jockey Ángel Cordero Jr. wins his 5,000th race with a victory in the last race at Belmont; fourth jockey to achieve this milestone.

1986 – Sparky Anderson is first to win 600 games as a manager in both leagues.

Henry County Public Health Survey

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, June 29th, 2023 at 6:22 am CDT

The Henry County Public Health Center is looking for people to fill out surveys that will help to enhance the quality of care provided at health centers in Henry County. This assessment is required every 3-5 years from the state, and the results help the individual communities tremendously. By taking the survey, the health centers hear directly from you, anonymously, so that they can better tailor to your needs.

This survey is available until July 9th, and can be accessed at surveymonkey.com/r/HealthyHenry or a physical form can be picked up from the office and filled out that way.

Ice Hockey at Memorial Auditorium

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, June 29th, 2023 at 6:18 am CDT

Burlington Riverfront Entertainment (BRE) is known for bringing the fun to the riverfront with year-round events and this summer they’re breaking the ice with youth hockey at the historic Memorial Auditorium.

Simply called “The Rink” presented by the John H. Witte Jr Foundation is now open till July 22. In addition to regular ice skating, BRE has reserved Wednesday nights for Youth Hockey Stick & Puck Night. Kids ages 6+ can come learn the basic fundamentals like skating, stick and puck handling, shooting the puck, etc.

Former youth hockey coach, Jim Fitzgibbon from Mount Pleasant, Iowa will lead Stick & Puck Night. “I’ve always wanted to see more hockey in Southeast Iowa,” stated Mr. Fitzgibbon, “and this is a chance to get kids involved and excited about hockey!”

BRE assistant director, David Kroll added “The Rink is not real ice, it’s a synthetic material but you still wear real ice skates. It’s not quite as slick as real ice which makes it perfect for beginners to learn on.” Kroll also expressed his gratitude towards Fitzgibbon saying “Jim is volunteering his time to teach these kids hockey. That’s how passionate he is about this! We couldn’t be more grateful for him bringing something new like this to our town!”

Stick & Puck Night at the Memorial Auditorium will be held every Wednesday 6-8pm for kids ages 6+ now through July 19. The cost is $10, which includes skates and equipment use. Fitzgibbon encourages all kids who want to participate to bring some sort of helmet such as a bike helmet, gloves of any kind, and tall socks. If you have your own skates and sticks, bring them otherwise skates and sticks are provided.

In addition to youth hockey, The Rink is open for regular skating hours Thursdays and Fridays 5-9pm and Saturdays 1-9pm now through July 22. For more details visit www.skateburlington.com.

Burlington Man Sentenced to Thirty Years in Federal Prison

By Yorke Prough · Thursday, June 29th, 2023 at 6:04 am CDT

A Burlington man was sentenced on June 23, 2023 to thirty years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin.

According to court documents, and evidence presented at sentencing, Kourtney Melvin Connors, 35, was identified by law enforcement as a distributor of methamphetamine through an investigation that began in the spring of 2019. During the course of the investigation, numerous individuals identified Connors as a supplier of large quantities of methamphetamine and heroin in the Burlington and Quad Cities areas. In all Connors was held accountable for more than 4,500 grams of ice methamphetamine, nearly 500 grams of heroin, and 40 grams of fentanyl.

This sentence was ordered to be served consecutively with any sentence of imprisonment imposed in relation to a criminal case in Marathon County, Wisconsin. After completing his term of imprisonment, Connors will be required to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

Air Quality Advisory until 4:15pm on Thursday

By Yorke Prough · Wednesday, June 28th, 2023 at 4:34 pm CDT
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has issued an air quality advisory for all counties in the eastern half of Iowa, approximately from Interstate-35 to the east. Fine particulate levels near or above EPA health standards are expected to remain elevated today and persist in these areas through tomorrow. Elevated levels of fine particulates may be a concern over the next several days as the smoke moves through the state.

The DNR recommends people reduce long or intense outdoor activities, and take more breaks during outdoor activities until air quality conditions improve.

The national standard for fine particulate matter is 35 micrograms per cubic meter  (µg/m3) averaged over a 24-hour period, and this level is considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” Groups sensitive to particulate matter include people with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teenagers, and outdoor workers. Fine particulate levels could reach levels considered “unhealthy” where even healthy adults should consider limiting their activities.

Real-time air quality maps and information about the air quality index can be found on EPA’s airnow.gov site. A graphic approximation of the extent and trajectory of the smoke plume can be seen on the map at fire.airnow.gov/.

EPA’s specific guidelines on what precautions can be taken to minimize the impact of high ozone and fine particulate levels are available at airnow.gov/activity-guides.

Prep Baseball and Softball: SEC Standings Heading into the Final Conference Showdown of the Season

By Slaten Swords · Wednesday, June 28th, 2023 at 4:26 pm CDT

Southeast Conference- Heading into the final conference game of the season tomorrow, June 29th, and with the champions already set there’s still a couple spots up for grabs.

On the baseball side of things, Burlington enters with only 1 loss in conference play, which came at the hands of Mt. Pleasant, 9-7 back on June 15th. This is the Grayhounds third straight outright conference championship as they tied for first in the 2019-20 season with the Panthers.

There’s a fight for second place between Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant with the advantage leaning towards the Trojans after winning their series 2 games to 1 against the Panthers. The heat was even between the two; however, Fairfield’s sweep of Keokuk on Monday and the Panthers splitting their road doubleheader against Fort Madison, winning 19-11 and losing 8-5, put the Trojans ahead by a game with an 8-6 record versus Mt. Pleasant’s 7-7 record.

Fort Madison and Keokuk are locked with a 5-9 conference record with the Chiefs having the edge in the season series nearly sweeping the Bloodhounds back in mid-June.

Washington sits in last place in the conference standings with a 4-10 mark. The Demons do have a conference series win against the Panthers after sweeping their home doubleheader 4-1 and 9-8 back on May 30th.

Moving to softball but seeing a similar result with Burlington on top of the conference standings with only one loss to the record coming at the hands of Washington. A big reason for that has been the emergence of Kylee Hill, an 8th grader for the Grayhounds, as she has ripped 13 home runs on the season, 2nd in Class 4A, with 40 RBIs and a 0.459 batting average.

Washington sits in second place with an 11-3 record and will stay in the runner-up position with their losses coming against Burlington, Fairfield, and Fort Madison. Fairfield will finish in third place with an 8-6 record after sweeping Fort Madison and Mt. Pleasant this season.

Fort Madison will take fourth place in the conference with a sweep against Keokuk and an upset win over Washington highlighting their resume.

Keokuk has a two-game advantage over Mt. Pleasant in the conference standings with a 3-11 record versus the Panthers’ 1-13 record. The Panthers’ lone conference win came against Keokuk at home with a 12-6 final. Addison Clark went 3 for 4 with a double, a triple, and 5 RBIs in the contest.

Mt. Pleasant and Keokuk will meet again in the first round of the postseason.

Postseason Baseball: Class 3A and 4A Brackets are Here

By Slaten Swords · Wednesday, June 28th, 2023 at 2:59 pm CDT

Prep Baseball- The brackets for Class 3A and 4A have been released with the first round of the substate games beginning on July 7th. Here is a look at our local matchups.

In Class 3A Substate 4, Washington will take on the #2 seed Davenport Assumption at 5 pm. The Knights and Demons have squared off three times in the past with Assumption taking all of the games, including last year’s first round matchup 10-0.

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. The Trojans won 2 games of the 3-game series against the Panthers, outscoring the Panthers 22-3 in the games that they won.

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.

Benton enters as the #2 seed as this is the Bobcats first winning season since their 13-12 record in the Covid-shortened 2019-2020 season. Benton did make the state tournament that year. The last time Fort Madison made the state tournament was their state championship 2000 season when they beat Denison-Schleswig 3-2.

Xavier, at the time of article, is 15-16 and the #3 seed. The Saints have enjoyed a successful run the past couple of years including a state championship in 2019, but this could be their first losing season since the 2016-17 season, where they finished 18-21. Keokuk has not made the state tournament since 1948.

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

The Grayhounds split their doubleheader with the Lancers on May 26th. Burlington won game one 8-7 with Moise Cordero hitting a 2-RBI double to help the winning effort. The Lancers made quick work of the Grayhounds in game two, winning 17-0.

For a full look at the brackets follow this link: IHSAA Postseason Brackets