Wilma J. Wellman

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, May 11th, 2023 at 4:52 pm CDT

 

Wilma J. Wellman, 78, of West Point, Iowa, passed away at 4:45 a.m. Thursday, May 11, 2023, at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa.

Born February 28, 1945, in Fort Madison, Iowa, the daughter of Philip and Helen (Greiner) Schwartz. On June 25, 1966, at Saint Mary of the Assumption in West Point, Iowa, she married Marvin B. Wellman.

She is survived by her husband: Marvin; three children: Kerry (husband Kenny) Cooper of Fort Madison, Chris (wife Cory) Wellman of Springfield, Illinois and Kim (husband Mike) Fullenkamp of Donnellson; grandchildren: Kole and Kameron (MaKenzie) Cooper, Caleb, Kendall and Cade Wellman and Gage and Shaylin Fullenkamp; great grandchild: Layne Cooper and sister: Judy (Glenn) Neuweg of Kirksville, Missouri. Also surviving are several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; sister: Mary Ellen Williams and brother: Nick Schwartz.

Wilma was a member of the St. Mary and Joseph Catholic Church, Holy Family Parish in Fort Madison, where she taught CCD. She graduated from Saint Mary’s High School. Wilma retired as the executive secretary for Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Mount Pleasant. She enjoyed sewing, working in her flower gardens and her cats. She especially enjoyed spending time with her family.

Her body has been entrusted to the crematory of Schmitz Funeral Home for cremation.

Family will will meet with friends from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m Monday, May 15, 2023, at Saint Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in West Point.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 15,  2023, at Saint Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in West Point, with Father Dan Dorau as celebrant.

Burial will be at a later date in Calvary Cemetery. A memorial has been established in her memory for P.A.W. Animal Shelter or West Point Fire and Rescue. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com. Schmitz Funeral Home of West Point is assisting the family with arrangements.

High School Girls Soccer: Rankings Remain Calm as Postseason Draws Near

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, May 11th, 2023 at 1:40 pm CDT

Prep Girls Soccer- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released their 7th rankings of the year the week before postseason soccer is set to begin for Class 1A. Despite how chaotic the rankings have been, this week experienced very little movement.

Des Moines Christian, Nevada, and Davenport Assumption hold on to the top three spots, respectively, for Class 1A. All of the movement was in the bottom half of the top 15 with Denver and Center Point-Urbana moving up one spot each to be the new #8 and #9 teams, respectively. Hudson tumbled from #8 to #10 after losing to Denver on penalty kicks. Panorama almost tumbled out of the top 15 after losing to Des Moines Christian in penalty kicks and falling to Tri-Center 3-2. The Panthers are now ranked 15th. Anamosa is the only team to fall out of the top 15 after losing to West Liberty 3-2. Pella Christian jumped into the #13 spot with a 10-4 record.

Class 2A saw the 6th through 11th spots scrambled, but no movements otherwise. Waverly-Shell Rock is the top team with an undefeated 13-0 record. Dallas Center-Grimes and North Scott slide into the #2 and #3 spots, respectively. Spencer fell from 6th to 8th after losing 2-1 to then ranked 11th now ranked 9th Bondurant-Farrar. North Polk and ADM moved up one spot each to cover the 6th and 7th spots in the rankings. Marion and Lewis Central fell back one spot each to cover for Bondurant-Farrar’s two spot upward movement. Burlington clung on to the #15 spot to round out the list.

In Class 3A, there was only one change in the rankings. Iowa City High was ranked 14th a week ago, but now find themselves unranked after losing 7-0 to Linn-Mar last week. Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln reclaimed their spot in the top 15 by taking the Little Hawks #14 ranking. Waukee Northwest still holds the top spot with a 12-1 record.

May 15th marks the first round for Class 1A regional play. The first round of regional play for Class 2A and 3A will be on May 19th.

Mediapolis will Send 3 Bulldogs to District Golf

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, May 11th, 2023 at 11:12 am CDT

Boys Sectional Golf- The Sectional round of high school boys golf is in the books, and these are our local teams and individual qualifiers for Districts.

In Class 2A, Mediapolis had three individual qualifiers from their meet hosted by Mid-Prairie. Grant Hinton, Jacob Grier, and Jonathan Ford each shot an 83 for the Bulldogs with Hilton nabbing 4th place.

The Bulldogs will host their District meet at Heritage Oaks Golf Course on May 15th at 10 am.

In Class 3A, Mt. Pleasant traveled to Washington for their Sectional meet, but the meet marks the end of the Panthers season. Washington took 1st place with a 322-score followed by Oskaloosa and Pella. These three teams advanced since Washington was the host and finished 1st or 2nd.

Brennan Ulik of Fort Madison and Max Weaton of Fairfield were the individual qualifiers as they both shot an 81 for the course. The Roths of Washington grabbed 1st and 2nd place, respectively, as Roman finished in 1st place with a 76 and Rajan finished with an 80. Aj Hoekstra of Pella took 3rd with a round of 80. Ulik rounded out the podium.

Pella will host the District meet at Bos Landed on May 15th at 10 am.

New London and Winfield-Mt. Union Golf Advance to Districts

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, May 11th, 2023 at 10:52 am CDT

Boys Sectional Golf- The Sectional round of high school boys golf is in the books, and these are our local teams and individual qualifiers for Districts.

In Class 1A, Wapello hosted the Sectional Meet and dominated the competition finishing in 1st place by twenty strokes 345 to 365. New London grabbed the runner-up position and Winfield-Mt. Union claimed 3rd place with a score of 367. Danville and Holy Trinity Catholic rounded out the group of seven.

Since Wapello hosted and finished in either 1st or 2nd place, the third-place team also qualifies for Districts; so, the Wolves grabbed the last spot.

Casey Short of Wapello was the gold medalist after edging out Mason Shelledy of New London in a tie breaker as they both shot an 84. Wapello also had the 3rd and 4th best golfers on the course in Cooper Garrison and Codder Malcolm, respectively. New London had one more golfer in the top ten in Weston Miller as he grabbed 8th place with a score of 89.

Carter Loyd was the top golfer for Winfield-Mt. Union as he shot an 89 and took 6th place. Andrew Brown and Nicholas Sparrow rounded out the top ten for the Wolves as they both finished with a 91.

The two individual qualifiers from the meet were Grant Watson of Columbus Junction, 5th place with an 87, and Peyton Yeggy of Highland Riverside, 11th place with a 92.

The District meet will take place on May 16th at Brown Deer in Iowa City with tee off at 9 am.

Iowa Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program (ILFPA)

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, May 11th, 2023 at 8:31 am CDT
Iowa Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program

Receives Funding Boost, Duration Extension

Program strengthens supply chains and builds connections between Iowa farmers and consumers

DES MOINES, Iowa (May 10, 2023) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced today that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has received an additional $2.9 million for utilization in the Iowa Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program (ILFPA). The statewide program was announced in June of 2022 to facilitate the purchase and distribution of Iowa grown and produced food for use by underserved communities.

The program, which also received an extension through May of 2025, is funded through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) via the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act. Iowa originally received approximately $2.7 million, and the extension adds an additional $2.9 million, bringing the total to over $5.6 million in program funding. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has an operating agreement with Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development (Iowa Valley RC&D), which will continue to lead project management and ensure successful program implementation.

“Given the rising consumer interest in local foods, I love that we can build connections between Iowa farmers and Iowa consumers while also strengthening supply chains,” said Secretary Naig. “The Iowa Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program establishes the foundation for longer term partnerships that will create new markets for farmers, increase access to nutritious food and help our community members who are food insecure.” During the first phase of the program, $684,456 in food value was sourced from farmers and producers in the state, including nearly $393,193 from socially disadvantaged farmers.

ILFPA is expected to benefit at least 300 Iowa farmers. With a reach of 2,000 food distribution sites through partnerships with 16 distributors, including food hubs, food banks, and the Meskwaki Nation, the decentralized emphasis allows local specialists to meet the community’s needs through the implementation plans they design for their area.

To learn more about the program or how to participate, visit www.iowalfpa.org or https://iowaagriculture.gov/ILFPA.

MPPD Virtual Reality Training

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, May 11th, 2023 at 8:27 am CDT

On 5/10/23, the Mount Pleasant City Council approved the purchase of a virtual reality training system for the Mt Pleasant PD. This will be one of the first V/R training programs in the State of Iowa. It was funded by American Rescue Funds and donations to the department.

The program will have numerous realistic situations that will give officers the ability to better prepare for high pressure situations. It will be a safer training as it does not involve real weapons or physical contact.

It will have the standard shoot/no shoot simulations on it, but more importantly, will feature dangerous situations where communication skills are utilized.

De-Escalation training begins with effective communication skills. In today’s society we are seeing a change in people being able to communicate effectively so this will be vital to our future.

The Mt Pleasant PD will be able to host trainings which will enhance other law enforcement agencies to hopefully, make everyone better. This training can be done in a much shorter time constraint than “normal scenario based” training. This will cut down on costs and equipment.

The Mt Pleasant PD would like to thank the City Council, Wal Mart Store, Wal Mart Distribution, BNSF, Street Smarts Virtual Reality, and the private donors who asked not to be named.

Kevin Nims

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, May 11th, 2023 at 8:03 am CDT

On May 10, 2023 at approximately 11:41a.m. Des Moines County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the area of 16097 Iowa City Rd. for a female reporting that she was assaulted. Deputies spoke with the female and observed her to be bleeding from a laceration on her head. She stated she had been beaten by Kevin Nims at his residence of 16595 Iowa City Rd. She stated Kevin had punched her, hit her with an object, and hit her head into the concrete. The female was transported to the hospital for treatment of her head injury.

Deputies went to 16595 Iowa City Rd. and made contact with Kevin. Kevin admitted he had punched the victim. While at the residence, deputies learned that Kevin had been in possession of a firearm. Deputies seized a 12-gauge shotgun that Kevin had been in possession of. Kevin has a felony conviction and is not allowed to possess firearms. Kevin Eugene Nims, age 57, of Sperry, IA was then placed under arrest for Assault Causing Serious Injury (D Felony) and Dominion/Control of Firearm by Felon (D Felony). He was transported to the Des Moines County Correctional Center.

Sports, May 11th

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, May 11th, 2023 at 6:29 am CDT

High School Track and Field

Mt. Pleasant will be hosting the state qualifying meet tonight.

Central Lee will travel to Tipton to compete in their state qualifying meet today.

WACO will host the Class 1A District 10 state qualifying meet as Danville, New London, and Winfield-Mt. Union will also be competing at the meet this evening.

High School Soccer

The Mt. Pleasant girls team will travel to take on Burlington Notre Dame tonight.

The Mt. Pleasant boys team will take on Burlington Notre Dame today on the road.

The WACO boys team will travel to play Sigourney tonight.

The Central Lee boys team will face off against Hillcrest Academy on May 15th for the first round of the Class 1A substate.

The Central Lee girls team will compete in the Class 1A Region 3 contest against Mid-Prairie on May 17th.

High School Golf

The Mt. Pleasant boys team traveled to Washington for the 3A Sectional meet. Washington took first place, Oskaloosa finished in second place, and Pella grabbed third place. These three teams advance to the District meet. The Panthers claimed 7th place with a score of 387. The District meet will be on May 15th hosted by Pella.

The Mt. Pleasant girls team competed in their SEC conference meet yesterday and finished in 6th place with a team score of 515. Washington claimed the conference crown with a 341 score and Fairfield finished as the runner-up. The Panthers will compete in their Regional meet on May 17th at Xavier.

The boys teams of New London, Winfield-Mt. Union, Danville, and Holy Trinity Catholic traveled to Wapello to compete in their sectional meet yesterday and Wapello finished in first place with a score of 345, New London grabbed second with a 365 score, and Winfield-Mt. Union took third place with a score of 367. Since Wapello was the host, all three of these teams advanced to Districts. Mason Shelledy of New London was the runner-up with a round of 84. For the Wolves, Carter Loyd finished in 6th with a score of 89. Advancing individually will be Grant Watson of Columbus Junction with a 5th place finish and Peyton Yeggy of Highland Riverside. Danville claimed 6th place and Holy Trinity Catholic took 7th. Caiden Gourley was the top golfer for the Bears with a score of 99 and for the Crusaders it was Andy Mehmert with a 119. The District meet will take place on May 16th at Brown Deer in Iowa City.

For the girls teams, New London will host the Regional tomorrow, May 12th, with Winfield-Mt. Union also in competition.

High School Tennis

The Mt. Pleasant boys team will take on Marion in their Substate meet tomorrow, May 12th.

The Mt. Pleasant girls team will compete against Davis County in the Regional meet on May 13th.

Southeast Iowa Playbook

AJ Bonnesen of Danville was our guest for last night’s show and you can listen to the full interview by following this link: https://on.soundcloud.com/HaaHX

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The Tigers outdoor track and field teams will compete at the North Star Athletic Association Championships taking place today.

This Day in Sports History

1897 – Washington Senator catcher Charlie Farrell throws out a disputed 8 attempted stealers.

1977 – Owner, Ted Turner, manages an Atlanta Braves game.

2014 – PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Martin Kaymer leads after each round to win by 1 stroke ahead of Jim Furyk; first 8-figure purse in golf with winner’s share $1.8 million.