Sports, May 26th

By Slaten Swords · Friday, May 26th, 2023 at 6:08 am CDT

High School Golf

The first day of the girls’ state tournament is in the books and here are the highlights.

In Class 1A, New London finished day one in 2nd place after shooting 364, 13 strokes behind Grundy Center. Taylor Phillips leads the team and field after the first day shooting a 78 (+6).

Sophie Malott is tied for 12th place after finishing 19 over par. Emma Busby is tied for 21st and Emma Nye is tied for 25th.

Isabelle Nye shot 43 over par, which slotted her tied for 59th. Lastly, Stevey Wintermeyer finished in 66th place after shooting 123 for the course.

Olivia Hines of Mediapolis finds herself in 3rd place after shooting an 80 for round one. In 1st place is last year’s individual state champion Chloe Bolte of Sumner-Fredericksburg at 4 over par.

In Class 3A, Washington finished day one tied for 3rd place on the team leaderboard after shooting a 341 (+53). Gilbert is on top of the leaderboard with a team score of +44. Kaylin Long leads the way for the Demons after shooting a 78 on the day. Her 6 over par score leaves her tied for 3rd place.

Makenna Conrad is tied for 10th place with a score of 11 over par.

Mallary Johnson and Haley Mitchell shot a 90 on the day and finished in 24th place.

Adalyn Long shot a 96 on the day to finish tied for 47th and Maci Williams finished tied for 53rd after finishing with the score of +26.

Deerwood Golf Club will be sponsoring KILJ’s coverage of the girls’ state golf meet, which concludes today.

High School Soccer

Pella is the Class 2A Region 5 champion after taking down Fort Madison 5-0 last night.

High School Baseball

Mt. Pleasant’s next game will be tonight against Muscatine on the road.

Winfield-Mt. Union and West Burlington were tied at 2 heading into the 5th inning, but the Falcons would put on 5 runs to go and win 7-2. Hayden Vandenberg and Brady Diewold each tallied 2 RBIs for the Falcons. The Wolves will face off against Highland at home on June 1st.

New London and Louisa-Muscatine needed extra innings to decide the winner and the Tigers would come up short in the bottom of the 9th as they lost 10-9. The Tigers will look for their first win of the season against Danville tonight at home.

Central Lee will travel to face off against Burlington Notre Dame tonight.

High School Softball

Mt. Pleasant will host Mid-Prairie tonight.

Holy Trinity Catholic took down Pekin last night 10-0. The Crusaders will take on Central Lee tonight at 7 pm.

Winfield-Mt. Union fell to West Burlington last night 13-0. Elise Oleson smacked a home run and tallied 5 RBIs for the Falcons. The Wolves will travel to face off against Wapello tonight.

Danville will host Holy Trinity Catholic on May 30th at 7 pm.

High School Tennis

The girls’ state individual tournament will start today and continue tomorrow, May 27th.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The NAIA National Championship continues today and the Tigers all competed yesterday. Allison Morris finished in 12th place in the 5000 meter RaceWalk with Faith Younce taking 15th. In the shot put, Bri Hunter finished in 23rd place after her heave of 12.71 meters.

This Day in Sports History

1974 – Indianapolis 500: Johnny Rutherford claims first of his three Indy victories; first Sunday start of the event.

1983 – LA Lakers set NBA playoff game record of fewest free throws.

1993 – In Major League Baseball, Carlos Martinez famously hits a ball off Jose Canseco’s head for a home run.

Zone Change Debate Continues

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, May 25th, 2023 at 4:11 pm CDT

During the Thursday meeting the Henry County Board of Supervisors returned to a previous conversation regarding a request for a zone change. Chad Ebeling is requesting the change for about 8 acres to the west of Mount Pleasant where he would like to build a concrete plant. He would like the zoning changed from Agriculture to Industrial. The supervisors have said this would involve changing the county’s land use map to allow a type of spot zoning. The map is part of the county’s comprehensive plan. Neighbors are concerned it will de-value their properties. Ebeling claims it won’t. The county Planning and Zoning Commission has already considered the matter but during the Thursday meeting Supervisor Marc Lindeen requested the issue go back to P&Z and this time wants the commission to look at the all the county land surrounding Mount Pleasant within 2 miles of the city limits with an emphasis on the southwest quadrant where the plant is proposed to be built. And consider the impact on the entire area. The supervisors all said they understand the need to encourage business but they also understand the residential property owners built in the area because they thought it would continue as agricultural zoning not industrial. Ebeling has promised he will be very mindful and considerate of his neighbors concerns.  Supervisor Greg Moeller also shared concerns about being sued over future spot zoning.  The Board voted to send the issue back to P&Z. The soonest it could come before the Supervisors would be June 6.

Highlights from Day 1 of the Girls’ State Golf Tournament

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, May 25th, 2023 at 3:41 pm CDT

Girls’ State Golf- The Iowa Girls’ high school golf state tournament got underway today and here’s how our local teams are faring.

In Class 1A, New London has finished in 1st place in both regional assignments to qualify as a team. The Tigers finished day one in 2nd place after shooting 364, 13 strokes behind Grundy Center. Taylor Phillips leads the team and field after the first day shooting a 78 (+6).

Sophie Malott is tied for 12th place after finishing 19 over par.  Emma Busby is tied for 21st and Emma Nye is tied for 25th.

Isabelle Nye shot 43 over par, which slotted her tied for 59th. Lastly, Stevey Wintermeyer finished in 66th place after shooting 123 for the course.

Olivia Hines of Mediapolis finished as the top individual in the regional finals to qualify for the Class 2A state tournament. Hines took 3rd place in last year’s state tournament with a two-day score of 153 or 9 over par. Hines finds herself in a similar situation this year after shooting an 80 for round one placing her in 3rd place 9 over par. In 1st place is last year’s individual state champion Chloe Bolte of Sumner-Fredericksburg at 4 over par.

Washington finished day one tied for 3rd place on the team leaderboard after shooting a 341 (+53). Gilbert is on top of the leaderboard with a team score of +44. Kaylin Long leads the way for the Demons after shooting a 78 on the day. Her 6 over par score leaves her tied for 3rd place.

Makenna Conrad is tied for 10th place with a score of 11 over par.

Mallary Johnson and Haley Mitchell shot a 90 on the day and finished in 24th place.

Adalyn Long shot a 96 on the day to finish tied for 47th and Maci Williams finished tied for 53rd after finishing with the score of +26.

Champions will be decided tomorrow. Deerwood Golf Club is the exclusive sponsor for boys’ and girls’ state golf coverage here on KILJ.

Fairfield Man Charged With Sex Abuse

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, May 25th, 2023 at 3:40 pm CDT

On May 24, 2023, David Michael Phipps, a resident of Fairfield, Iowa, was arrested and criminally charged with sex abuse in the 3rd degree, a Class C felony in violation of Iowa Code section 709.4. It is alleged that Mr. Phipps, in the early morning hours of May 21, 2023, perpetrated a sex act against a person who was mentally incapacitated and incapable of providing consent. Mr. Phipps is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on a cash or surety bond in the amount of $10,000. A criminal charge is only an accusation based on probable cause, and Mr. Phipps is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. Sexual abuse in the Third Degree is a forcible felony under the laws of the State of Iowa, and carries a maximum term of incarceration of 10 years.

County Road Construction

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, May 25th, 2023 at 2:27 pm CDT

Henry County Engineers Office announces a culvert replacement project on Ash Avenue (W-46), south of Hillsboro. The road will be closed starting Wednesday, May 31st for approximately 2 months, weather permitting. There is a posted detour route, please drive with caution. Questions can be answered at 319 385-0762.

Mount Pleasant Henry Street Project Update

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, May 25th, 2023 at 11:34 am CDT

Kinney & Sons have stopped removing concrete on the East side of N. Van Buren St. and are now grading and preparing for engineering fabric and sub base placement. For the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend N. Van Buren St. & W. Henry St. Intersection will be closed to traffic. West Henry St. from just west of Marion St. to N. Van Buren will be opened to homeowners as the grading, fabric is placed, and sub base rock is finished. Kinney & Sons have some sewer repair work to do at the manhole in W. Henry St. at the alley between Marion & N. Van Buren. This could hold up getting all driveways open before the weekend.

Sports, May 25th

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, May 25th, 2023 at 9:30 am CDT

High School Soccer

Fort Madison will compete against Pella for the Regional Championship tonight.

High School Golf

The New London girls’ team and Olivia Hines of Mediapolis will be competing in the state tournament with day one of the two day tournament starting today.

Deerwood Golf Club will be sponsoring KILJ’s coverage of the girls’ state golf meet.

High School Baseball

Mt. Pleasant and Clear Creek Amana were in a tight game throughout, but the Panthers would finish just short of the comeback in front of the opponent’s home crowd falling 3-2. Jake Ensminger had a solid outing on the mound for the Panthers as he tossed 5 innings with three runs coming across, but only two of the runs earned; additionally, he tallied five strikeouts while giving up only six hits.

Down 3 to 0 entering the 6th inning, the Panthers would utilize small ball and a controversial call to get Garrett Cook, who was running for Carson Andreasen who worked the walk, Payson Coleman, and Wyatt Woodsmall on base. Payton Hagans would pick up his first RBI of the season when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. A passed ball would score another run to make it 3 to 2. Unfortunately, the Clippers would shut out the Panthers the rest of the way to take the win as the Panthers left 11 runners on base in the contest. The Panther’s next game will be May 30th in a road doubleheader against Washington. KILJ will be on the call with pregame at 5:15 pm.

Winfield-Mt. Union will face off against West Burlington tonight.

New London will take on Louisa-Muscatine tonight at 7 pm at home.

Danville will face off against Hillcrest Academy tonight at home.

Central Lee will travel to face off against Burlington Notre Dame tomorrow.

High School Softball

Mt. Pleasant fell to Central Lee 15-7 last night. Jolynn Martin, Sage Burchett, and Jayden Housh all went 2 for 4 in the game. Martin and Burchett each tallied a double with Martin tallying 3 RBIs, Burchett grabbed 2 RBIs, and Housh got 1 RBI. The Panthers will host Mid-Prairie tomorrow, May 26th.

Holy Trinity Catholic will host Pekin tonight.

Winfield-Mt. Union will face off against West Burlington today at 7 pm.

Danville will host Hillcrest Academy tonight with first pitch at 7 pm.

Central Lee will travel to face off against Holy Trinity Catholic tomorrow.

High School Tennis

For boys’ tennis, the Class 1A doubles champion was Jack Briggs and Joshua Roozenboom of Pella. The singles champion was Caden Branum of Decorah.

The Class 2A individual champion was Waukee Northwest’s Kaden Taylor winning 6-3 in both sets. The doubles champion was Kellan Croatt and Jake Nelson of Waukee Northwest.

The girls’ state individual tournament will start tomorrow and continue May 27th.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The NAIA National Championship meet keeps going today and tomorrow for outdoor track and field. All Tiger competitors will begin competition today.

This Day in Sports History

1935 – Legendary American athlete Jesse Owens equals or breaks 6 world records in 45 minutes at a Big Ten meet at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan; remembered as “the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport.”

1986 – Kansas City Royal George Brett gets his 2,000th hit.

1997 – Todd and Mel Stottlemyre become first father and son to win 100 games in Major League Baseball.

 

 

 

 

From the Mount Pleasant City Council Meeting

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, May 25th, 2023 at 8:53 am CDT

The Mount Pleasant City Council met in regular session Wednesday night.  The Council approved salary increases of 4% for fiscal year 2024 for members of the Public Professional and Maintenance Employees Union, the city staff and the Fire Department.

The Council passed a motion approving a Midwest Old Threshers request for $20,000 in funding from hotel/motel/tax.  The funds will be use to purchase and expand the grounds around McMillan Park and Midwest Old Threshers.  Council members Matt Crull and Terry McWilliams abstained from voting. Crull is part of the Midwest Central Railroad and McWilliams is the Old Threshers CEO and Administrator.

A public hearing was set for June 14 at 5:30 pm to allow comment on a request to vacate a section of road right of way 1800 block of East Monroe. Derek Wellington who owns Wellington Electric at 1801 E. Monroe approached the City about possibly purchasing some unused road right of way allowing for a building expansion of his business.

Following a public hearing at the Wednesday night meeting the City Council approved the exchange of Industry Road right of way as part of MidAm Building Supplies.  The local company is building a new 130,000 square food manufacturing facility on the last three lots that were available for sale in Crossroads Industrial Park.  The MidAm building plan doesn’t require Industry Avenue as a through street.  The company has agreed to construct a turnaround  in exchange for City right of way.

City Administrator Brent Schleisman was given permission to sign a state grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation for funds to replace the oldest hangar roof at the Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport.