Jefferson County Crash Leads to One Death; Adds to Rising Iowa Traffic Fatalities

By Kadie Johannson · Monday, January 26th, 2026 at 10:59 am CDT

Fairfield Police and the Iowa State Patrol are investigating a fatal crash that happened late Saturday night in Jefferson County.

Authorities say Emmelia Miller, 17, of Fairfield was driving north on Hemlock Avenue around 10:15 p.m. when she lost control of her 2009 Lexus E350 in the 2100 Block of Hemlock Avenue and Cedar Creek. Her car was struck by a 2025 Dodge Truck driven by Morgan Anderson, 20, of Fairfield. Officials say weather conditions were a factor in the crash.

Miller was not wearing a seatbelt and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two other people were injured. James Lyman, 25, was treated at the scene and did not require transport. And Ashlyn Hotchkiss, 24, of Urbana, Iowa was taken by ambulance to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics; Hotchkiss was also not wearing her seatbelt.

The crash remains under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol. Iowa State Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Ambulance, Fairfield Fire Department and the Libertyville Fire Department.

According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, 17 people have died on Iowa roadways so far in 2026. That number is eight more than at this time last year and is the highest traffic fatality count for this point in the year in the last five years.

Week Two Legislative Updates From Your Iowa State Senators

By Kadie Johannson · Monday, January 26th, 2026 at 10:50 am CDT

As the Iowa state legislature wrapped up Week Two on the Hill, your local state senators sent out their legislative updates late Friday. It is clear property taxes is a big priority for everyone at the Capitol this session with the governor, Senate and House of Representatives all proposing their own plans.

To view Iowa State Senator Mark Lofgren’s update for Senate District 48, click here. For questions or concerns, Senator Lofgren can be reached by phone 563-272-8683 or email to mark.lofgren@legis.iowa.gov

To view Iowa State Senator Adrian Dickey’s update for Senate District 44, click here. For questions or concerns, Senator Dickey can be reached at adrian.dickey@legis.iowa.gov

 

City of Mount Pleasant Personnel & Finance Committee Agenda – Tuesday, 1/27/26

By Kadie Johannson · Monday, January 26th, 2026 at 10:31 am CDT

The Mount Pleasant Personnel & Finance Committee will meet on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 9:00 AM at City Hall in the City Administrators’ Conference Room.

There are many items on the agenda including approval of Hawkeye Environmental to conduct asbestos inspection for the building purchased from the Mount Pleasant Community School District located at 405 East Monroe Street and approval of a contract with Community Day Care Center for temporary use of City buildings.

Here is the agenda.

Henry County Board of Supervisors Meeting Agenda and Budget Work Session – Tuesday, 01/27/29

By Kadie Johannson · Monday, January 26th, 2026 at 10:18 am CDT

The Henry County Board of Supervisors will meet Tuesday January 27, 2026. This meeting time is different than their regular Thursday meeting time due to the Iowa State Association of Counties Conference taking place on Thursday, January 29, 2026.

Along with approval of previous meeting minutes and financial claims for payment, items on the agenda include updates from committees and department heads. Under new business, the board of supervisors will also discuss a resolution to set a speed limit on South Walnut Street and hear updates from the Henry County Fair, Area Economic Development, and All American Sanitation.

There will be a time for public comments at the end of the meeting.

Following the board meeting, there will be a work session to continue discussions on the fiscal year 2027 budget. Henry County Sheriff Rich McNamee will discuss the Sheriff Office’s budget, Henry County Attorney Darin Stater will present his FY2027 budget for the County Attorney’s Office and the Henry County Courthouse Ground Maintenance budget will also be examined.

Sports, January 26th

By Slaten Swords · Monday, January 26th, 2026 at 6:38 am CDT

High School Basketball

Danville swept West Central over the weekend with the girls’ smacking the Heat 54-10 and the boys winning handily 52-31. Alaina Gourley finished with a double-double, notching 16 points and 14 rebounds to improve their win streak to six games, while Alex Holtkamp knocked down 14 points in the winning effort. 

Burlington Notre Dame will make the trip to Danville tomorrow, January 27th, for the Bears’ Senior night with game one at 6 pm.

Mt. Pleasant will be back at home tonight for a showdown with Mid-Prairie at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm.

The Central Lee boys’ team will take on West Hancock on the road with tip-off at 7:30 pm tonight.

WACO will look to bounce back tomorrow at home against Highland at 6 pm.

Holy Trinity Catholic will compete against New London on the road tomorrow with the night starting at 6 pm.

Columbus will square off against Wapello tomorrow with gametime at 6 pm at home.

The Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will face off against West Burlington at home tomorrow with gametime at 7:30 pm.

Fairfield will clash with Washington on Thursday, January 29th, with the girls’ playing at 6 pm.

High School Wrestling

The Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield boys’ teams participated in the Raider Invitational over the weekend and the Trojans finished above the Panthers with 96 points for 6th place. 

Dain Burkhart led the charge for Fairfield as he rattled off five victories on his way to a 1st place finish in the 175-pound weight class. Mt. Pleasant’s Levi Evans and Lane Beckler each grabbed 2nd place in their respective weight classes. 

The Fairfield boys’ team will travel to Washington tomorrow, January 27th, for a meet.

Mt. Pleasant will duel Burlington on Thursday, January 29th, on the road.

The WACO, Fairfield, Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, Van Buren County, Wapello, and Mediapolis girls’ teams competed at the Louisa-Muscatine tournament over the weekend and Burlington walked away with the team title by over 40 points, while the Trojans led our local teams with 77 points for 8th place. 

Fairfield was led by Samantha Lyons, who pinned a pair of Grayhounds within the first round for the 1st place finish in the 170-pound weight class. 

Wapello’s Kenadee Helscher continued her undefeated season as she punctuated the tournament run with a win by fall over Brystol Wiley of Van Buren County. Clara Ball helped the Arrows by snatching 1st place in the 115-pound weight class. 

Mediapolis had Annabelle Hedges and Kaiya Swafford each place in 3rd. WACO’s Makayla Morrison followed the trend with a 3rd place finish. Jada Moats of Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union finished in 4th place as the lone Wildcat at the meet.

The Southeast Iowa Super Conference girls’ teams will meet up at Wapello tonight for the conference tournament. 

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team hosted their duals over the weekend and finished the night 1-2, defeating North Linn, 48-36, and falling to Southeast Polk, 38-26, and West Liberty, 48-28. Trevor Phillips, Kason Dopler, and Ronaldo Villegas finished the weekend undefeated. The Wildcats will host a triangular on Thursday with Mediapolis making the trip. 

The Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team competed in the Alburnett Duals over the weekend and collected a 3-1 record, beating Fennimore 56-15, Dike-New Hartford 55-24, and Iowa Valley 54-30. Kohen Dietzenbach, Colt Boyles, Tate Sherwood, Kael Cook, and Joey Glendening finished the meet unscathed. 

The Burlington Notre Dame, Van Buren County, and New London boys’ teams will travel to Louisa-Muscatine for a quad on Thursday.

The Wapello boys’ team finished in 7th place at the John Byers Invitational, gathering 102 points. Cohen Wolford generated four wins and a gold medal in the 157-pound weight class. Wapello will host WACO in a quad on Thursday.

The WACO boys’ team claimed 8th place with 89.5 points at the Kurt Hinschberger Invitational. Ian Maize finished with the gold medal to lead the Warriors in the 113-pound weight class. 

The New London, Van Buren County, and Mediapolis boys’ teams competed in the Louisa-Muscatine tournament over the weekend and the Warriors led the pack with 79.5 points for 8th place followed by Mediapolis. 

Van Buren County had a trio of wrestlers take the silver medal in Leo Jirak, Carver Goehring, and Alex Scott for their respective weight classes. Kyler Crow led the Bulldogs with a 1st place finish, notching a 4-0 record. Lastly, New London’s Killian Kelly paced the team with a 2nd place finish in the 157-pound weight class. 

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will wait for their Class 2A Region 5 state qualifying meet on Friday, January 30th, in Ottumwa.

The Fairfield, Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union, Mediapolis, Van Buren County, and WACO girls’ teams will make the trip to Wapello for the Class 1A Region 6 state qualifying meet on Friday.

High School Bowling

The Southeast Conference tournament will take place tomorrow, January 27th, at Arrowhead Bowl.

Southeastern Community College

The women’s basketball team fell to Iowa Central Community College 78-62. The Blackhawks will compete against North Iowa Area Community College on Wednesday, January 28th, at 5:30 pm.

The men’s basketball team handled Marshalltown Community College over the weekend, 71-54. Aric Hines finished the game with 20 points. The Blackhawks will host Kennedy-King College on Thursday, January 29th, at 7 pm. 

College Basketball

The Iowa State women’s team eclipsed Arizona over the weekend, 90-65, as Jada Williams poured in 19 points. The Cyclones will hit the road to face off against Texas Tech on Wednesday, January 28th, at 6 pm.

The #10 Iowa women’s team has knocked off their fifth ranked team this season, dominating #12 Ohio State to a 91-70 final. Addison Deal led the scoring with 20 points, while Hannah Stuelke notched an 18 point/15 rebound double-double. The Hawkeyes will travel to USC on Thursday, January 29th, at 8 pm. 

The Iowa men’s team will take on USC on Wednesday at 6 pm at home.

The #9 Iowa State men’s team fended off Oklahoma State in a weekend showcase, 84-71. Milan Momcilovic cashed in for 29 points. The Cyclones will host Colorado on Thursday at 6 pm.

This Day in Sports History

1960 – High-school basketball sensation Danny Heater scores 135 points. Still a national record. 

1991 – Jan Stenerud becomes the first pure placekicker to make the NFL Hall of Fame. 

1995 – With a record 6,254,427 ballots cast by fans in the NBA All-Star Voting, Detroit’s Grant Hill becomes the first rookie to lead all NBA players in All-Star votes received, earning #1 on 1,289,585 ballots. 

January 26, 2025 – February 1, 2026

By Shelbi Swinscoe · Sunday, January 25th, 2026 at 9:59 am CDT
01/26/26
Mary Beth Young (90)
01/26/26
Jon Rubey
01/26/26
Jenny Mertens
01/26/26
Jenna Short
01/26/26
Richard Garrels
01/27/26
Vada Graber
01/27/26
Janet Lee
01/27/26
Lukus Sanderson
01/28/26
Kathy Hites
01/28/26
Derek Hudson
01/28/26
Karen Stevens
01/28/26
Randy Hites
01/28/26
Lisa Perrenoud
01/28/26
Malcolm Alvine
01/28/26
Paul & Joyce Elaine Dennison *Anniversary
01/29/26
Jarol Waters
01/29/26
Deb Sammons (70)
01/30/26
Florence Thompson
01/30/26
Sally Kinney
01/30/26
Konnor Peterson
01/30/26
Wanda Thomas
01/30/26
Kathy Wilkins
01/30/26
Dan Hellweg
01/30/26
Maxie Bagels
01/30/26
Frances Bagels
01/30/26
Madison Bass
01/30/26
Saige Barron
01/30/26
Jody McLeland
01/30/26
Cherie Brown
01/31/26
Kurt Freesmeier
02/01/26
Keegan Gilrist

MPCSD Work Session: 01/26/26

By Slaten Swords · Saturday, January 24th, 2026 at 7:55 am CDT

The MPCSD School Board of Directors will meet in a work session on Monday, January 26th in the high school media center at 6pm.  Items on the agenda include local student enrollment information, a final report presentation from the Facilities Ad Hoc Committee, and a district communication plan discussion.  This meeting is open to the public.

Agenda can be found here.

Sports, January 24th

By Slaten Swords · Saturday, January 24th, 2026 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Basketball

Mt. Pleasant split their night against Fort Madison last night as the girls’ team was unable to spoil the Bloodhounds’ senior night despite 15 points from Abigail Shelangoski in a 53-35 final, while the boys’ team rallied back from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win in overtime, 63-61. Isaiah Lange hit the game winner as he finished with 12 points, while Noah Lange led the team with 20 points. Boys’ head coach Eric Rawson feels his team is playing their best brand of basketball,

 “Yeah, we’re pretty connected right now. So it’s fun to coach when you’re connected like we are right now. And you can look at the guys, and they look back at you, and they’re in it. So yeah, the Guzman kid, I mean, he had a phenomenal game. He finished with 30, and we had a hard time solving that puzzle. The guys stayed in it, and again, we focused on getting the ball on the block. And again, that opens up the perimeter game, too, a little bit. And I thought our bigs did a nice job. Once again, Noah Lang finished with 20, and Isaiah, who didn’t play much the first half, certainly was a force there late in the game. And he finished with 10, I believe, and Ryan Helling had 12. And Keegan Heaton comes off the bench for us, and his last two games have been phenomenal. He finished with nine, and some big rebounds, and big plays around the basket. And [I’m] just really happy for this group right now.”

Mt. Pleasant will be back at home on Monday, January 26th, for a showdown with Mid-Prairie at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm.

WACO was swept by Hillcrest Academy last night 52-50 in the girls’ game and 61-45 in the boys’ game. The Warriors will look to bounce back on Tuesday, January 27th, at home against Highland at 6 pm.

The Danville girls’ team extended their win streak to five games after defeating Van Buren County last night, 44-38, while the Danville boys’ team handled the Warriors, 55-37. Alivia Bauer scored 13 points in the win. 

Danville will travel to West Central today with game one at 4:30 pm.

The Holy Trinity Catholic boys’ team fell to #3 Burlington Notre Dame last night, 71-45. Jack Ragar led the Crusaders with 12 points. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will compete against New London on Tuesday with the night starting at 6 pm.

Burlington Notre Dame will make the trip to Danville on Tuesday for the Bears’ Senior night with game one at 6 pm.

The #9 Mediapolis girls’ team clobbered New London last night, 62-10. Grace Holsteen tabbed 15 points in the victory. The Mediapolis boys’ team will travel to Columbus Catholic today at 4:15 pm.

Wapello split their night against Highland last night with the girls’ team losing 52-35 and the boys’ team dominating the Huskies, 63-48. Emmalin Marshall led the girls’ team with 18 points. 

Columbus will square off against Wapello on Tuesday with gametime at 6 pm.

The Central Lee boys’ team will take on West Hancock on the road with tip-off at 7:30 pm on Monday.

Fairfield will clash with Washington on Thursday, January 29th, with the girls’ playing at 6 pm.

Winfield-Mt. Union will face off against West Burlington on Tuesday with the girls’ playing at 6 pm.

High School Wrestling

The Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield boys’ teams will travel to Williamsburg today for the Raider Round Robin Invitational.

The WACO, Fairfield, Wapello, and Mediapolis girls’ teams will compete at the Louisa-Muscatine Invite today.

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team will host a dual tournament today.

The Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team will travel to the Alburnett Duals today. 

The Wapello boys’ team will make the trip to Midland for the John Byers Invitational today. 

The WACO boys’ team will compete in the Kurt Hinschberger Invitational today.

The New London, Van Buren County, and Mediapolis boys’ teams will participate in the Louisa-Muscatine Invite today.  

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will wait for their Class 2A State Qualifying meet on January 30th in Ottumwa.

High School Bowling

The Southeast Conference tournament will take place on Tuesday, January 27th, at Arrowhead Bowl.

Southeastern Community College

The women’s basketball team will host Central Community College today at 1 pm.

The men’s basketball team will head back home tonight to take on Marshalltown Community College at 7 pm.

The women’s wrestling team will compete at the Warrior Open today.

The men’s wrestling team will participate in the Stormin’ Norman Tournament today.

College Basketball

The Iowa State women’s team will host Arizona today with tip-off at 3 pm.

The #10 Iowa women’s team will host another ranked matchup against #12 Ohio State tomorrow, January 25th, at 1 pm.

The Iowa men’s team will take on USC on Wednesday, January 28th, at 6 pm at home.

The #9 Iowa State men’s team will hit the road for a meetup today with Oklahoma State at 2 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call.

This Day in Sports History

1952 – The Dallas Texans become the first NFL team in Texas; formerly the New York Yanks, the Texans lose 11 of 12 games and fold after one season. 

1962 – Jackie Robinson is the first African American elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame; Bob Feller is also elected. 

1990 – Los Angeles’ Pat Riley becomes the 13th and fastest coach to reach the 500-victory plateau as the Lakers down the Indiana Pacers, 120-111; Riley completes the task in 133 less games.