Lori Lynn Roth-Yousey

By Theresa Rose · Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 at 3:29 pm CDT

Lori Lynn Roth-Yousey age 61, died Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at the Klein Center in West Burlington.

Celebration of Life Service will be 10:30 am on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, at Wayland Mennonite Church, in Wayland.  Visitation will be Monday from 4:00 to 7:00 pm at the church.  Burial will be at the Eicher Cemetery.  A memorial fund has been established for Friedenswald Camp or Southeast Iowa Hospice.  Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel in Mount Pleasant is caring for Lori and her family.  Messages and tributes may be directed to www.powellfuneralhomes.com.

Auto Body Shop Fire(update)

By Theresa Rose · Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 at 3:12 pm CDT

Wednesday afternoon Mount Pleasant Fire Department, with assistance from New London, responded to a report of a structure fire at 304 S. Haynes. Crews arrived at the location of G&R Auto Body to find smoke coming from the building owned by Alan Coop.  According to Mount Pleasant Fire Chief Drew Schumacher, grass and debris caught fire outside the building where steel was being cut. The fire spread to the building. Two engines, two support trucks and 12 firefighters were on the scene for about two hours along with an engine and firefighters from New London.   Henry County EMS also responded to the scene but the Chief said there were no injuries and only minor fire damage.

The State Qualifying Meet Sites are Now Available

By Slaten Swords · Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 at 12:11 pm CDT

Prep Track and Field- The sites have been released for the 2023 State Qualifying Meets for Track and Field. The boys’ and girls’ meets are scheduled to run on May 11th for all classes. Additionally, there will be no more than 24 qualifiers for any event in any classification.

For Class 1A, WACO will be the local State Qualifying meet site and for Class 3A it will be Mt. Pleasant hosting the State Qualifying meet. For a full list of the qualifying meet locations, you can follow this link: https://www.iahsaa.org/track-field-2023-state-qualifying-sites/.

The 2023 Track and Field Championships are currently set to start on May 18th and run through the 20th at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

Gary Dean Billings

By Theresa Rose · Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 at 11:13 am CDT

Gary Dean Billings, 85, of Donnellson, Iowa, passed away at 5:20 p.m. Monday, April 10, 2023, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa.

He was born on November 28, 1937, in Keokuk, Iowa, the son of Francis Emmett and Thelma Lee (Cox) Billings. On June 8, 1963, he married Barbara Ann Rempe in Nauvoo, Illinois.

Survivors include his wife: Barabara; two sons: Rickey Dean (Rachelle) Billings of Iowa City, Iowa, Rodney Eugene (Wanda) Billings of Donnellson, Iowa; one daughter: Fleeta LeAnn Billings of Donnellson, Iowa; grandchildren: Donnie (Laura) McDowell, Brooke (Jerry) Etter, Erica (Stephen) Silvers, Drew Billings, Zachary Billings, Marshall Billings, Colton Morill and Talon Morill.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers: Gene Elliott Billings and Lee Francis Billings.

Gary was a graduate of Argyle High School. He served in the United States Army Reserves and retired from Armour Dial. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, serving missions for the church from 1960 to 1962 in northern California. Later, he and his family served a mission for the Keosauqua branch for fifteen years. Gary owned and operated Chula Vista Coach and Carriage, giving horse and carriage rides at Hotel Nauvoo. He also gave horse and pony carriage rides throughout the Midwest. One of the things Gary enjoyed doing most was making walking canes.

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

A visitation will begin at 12:00 noon, Friday, April 14, 2023, at Schmitz Funeral Home in Donnellson, where the family will receive friends from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. that evening.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 15, 2023, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Fort Madison with Bishop Jonathan Robbins officiating.

Burial will be at a later date.

A memorial has been established in his memory for the Donnellson Genealogy Department.

Schmitz Funeral Home of Donnellson is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com.

James Steven Beger

By Theresa Rose · Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 at 11:13 am CDT

James Steven Beger, 72, of rural Franklin, Iowa, passed away at 7:44 a.m. Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at his home.

A celebration of life will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday, April 15, 2023, at the Tri State Gun Club in rural Montrose, Iowa.

A memorial has been established in his memory for the Job’s Closet Food Pantry of Bonaparte.

Schmitz Funeral Home of Donnellson is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com.

Ruth E. Buckert

By Theresa Rose · Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 at 11:03 am CDT

Ruth E. Buckert, 90, of Hamilton, passed away at 10:27 AM Sunday morning, April 9, 2023, at River Hills Village in Keokuk, Iowa.

Ruth was born December 1, 1932, the daughter of Joseph and Mildred (Byers) McBride in Burnside, Illinois. She attended Carthage High School graduating in 1950. On October 1, 1955, she was united in marriage to Fred Buckert in Carthage, Illinois. He preceded her in death in 2016. Ruth was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Hamilton. She was very active in the Western Illinois Threshers and enjoyed quilt making.

Ruth is survived by her children, Kenny Buckert of Hamilton, Danny (Karen) Buckert of Warsaw, Alan (Lauri) Buckert of Mount Pleasant, Iowa and Richard Buckert of Hamilton; grandchildren, Kyle (Alyssa) Buckert, Kevin (Jenifer) Buckert, Kristin (Gary) Ortmann, Jared (Tori) Buckert, Jeremy (Kaley) Buckert, Amy (Cody Smith) Buckert, Allison Buckert and Austin Buckert; great grandchildren, Luke, Mary and Paul Buckert, Blair and Rylee Buckert, Kennedy and Abel Ortmann and Harrison and Miles Buckert.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Fred; a son, David; daughter, Debbie; and siblings, Vince McBride, Ann Wilkens, Theresa Dye and Mary Piette.

A funeral mass will be held at 10:00 AM Friday, April 14, 2023, at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Hamilton with burial to follow in Oakwood Cemetery in Hamilton. Visitation will be held from 4:00 – 7:00 PM Thursday evening at Printy Funeral Home in Hamilton with a Rosary following at 7:00 PM at the funeral home. Memorials may be directed to Western Illinois Threshers.

Sports, April 12th

By Slaten Swords · Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 at 6:33 am CDT

High School Track and Field

The boys teams of Danville and Winfield-Mt Union competed in a meet hosted by Wapello last night and the Bears claimed 3rd place with the Wolves taking 5th place. Mediapolis was the top team. The top finisher for Danville was AJ Bonnesen taking 2nd in the 800 meter run and 1st in the 3200 meter run. Spencer Nelson finished in 2nd place for the 400 meter hurdles. The Bears claimed the 4×200 meter relay and the 800 medley relay. For Winfield-Mt. Union, Gabriel Hemsworth won the 400 meter hurdles. With a leap of 21 feet and 3 inches, Cam Buffington claimed the long jump. Lastly, the Wolves claimed the 1600 medley relay with a time of 3 minutes and 51 seconds.

The Timm Lamb Pen City Relays ran yesterday and Mt. Pleasant won the meet for Class A with 159 points. Andi Scott took 2nd place in the 100 meter dash with a time of 13.02 seconds and 2nd place in the 200 meter dash with a time of 27.07 seconds. Elise Lange captured 1st in the 400 meter dash with a time of 1 minute and 6 seconds. Abby Carthey took 2nd in the 800 meter run. Rellana Van Deuren finished in 1st with a time of 1 minute and 13 seconds in the 400 meter hurdles. The team of Courtney Raub, Bailey Jalas, Tristian Shull, and Andi Scott captured 1st place in the 4×100 meter relay with a time of 52.53 seconds. Alex Scott would replace Andi Scott in the 4×200 meter relay team that took 1st place. Alexis Wagner, Carthey, Jayden Housh, and Emma Welcher finished in 1st place in the 4×800 meter relay by almost 8 seconds. Alex and Andi Scott would pair with Shull and Raub in the 800 sprint medley to take 1st place. Lange took 2nd in the long jump with a leap of 14 feet and 5 inches. Ella Ensminger captured the shot put gold with a heave of 34 feet and 4.75 inches. Savannah Slobodnik took 2nd place in the discus with a toss of 95 feet and 8 inches.

Danville claimed 1st place in Class B with 164 points. Winfield-Mt. Union took 5th and New London and Central Lee tied for 6th. For the Bears, Alaina Gourley finished in 1st place in the 400 meter dash with a time of 1 minute and 2 seconds. Kamrya Sherwood and Abby Arnett finished in 1st and 2nd place, respectively in the 800 meter run. Chloe Horn took 2nd place in the 100 meter hurdles and Alexis Dietsch claimed 1st in the 400 meter hurdles. With a leap of 16 feet and 5.25 inches, Kenna Furnald took 1st in the long jump.

For Winfield-Mt. Union, Keetyn Townsley raced to a 1st place finish in the 100 meter hurdles. Keely Malone took 3rd in the shot put and Bradie Buffington took 3rd in the discus. The top finisher for New London was Kaitlyn Lee in the discus with a toss of 76 feet and 5 inches, she finished in 2nd place. Central Lee had two 2nd place finishers in Kylie Fortune in the high jump with a jump of 4 feet and 6 inches and Karlie Pohren in the 200 meter dash with a time of 28.53 seconds.

The girls teams of WACO and Danville will compete at the Winfield Girls Invite tomorrow.

The New London girls team will compete in the Horton Relays tomorrow.

The boys and girls teams of Mt. Pleasant, and Central Lee, while the boys teams of WACO, Danville, New London and Winfield-Mt. Union will be competing in the Denny White Relays tomorrow, April 13th.

High School Soccer

The Mt. Pleasant girls team will travel to take on Burlington tomorrow, April 13th.

The Mt. Pleasant boys team will face off against Burlington at home tomorrow.

The WACO boys team will host Mediapolis tomorrow.

The Central Lee girls team fell to Mediapolis 4-2 last night. The Hawks will look to get back in the win column on April 14th against West Branch.

The Central Lee boys team lost to Mediapolis last night 6-1. The Hawks will look for their first win of the season against Highland tomorrow at home.

High School Golf

Winfield-Mt. Union competed in a duel against Mediapolis yesterday with the boys team falling to Bulldogs 189-175. Carter Loyd and Jake Edwards paced the Wolves as they both shot a 46 on the day. Jacob Grier was the top golfer overall as he finished 3 over par for the afternoon. The girls team for the Wolves were victorious with the final being 221-208. Ali Humphries and Afton Wilkerson were the top golfers for Winfield-Mt. Union as they both shot a 49 with the top golfer being Olivia Hines as she went 9 over for the day.

The New London boys and girls will compete in the English Valleys Invitational on April 14th.

The Mt. Pleasant boys team will host while the girls team will travel to compete at Keokuk tomorrow, April 13th.

The Central Lee boys team won the Van Buren County meet yesterday with Mylan Lowenberg pacing the way for the Hawks with a 43 for the day. The Hawks will compete in the Lee County Invite on April 14th.

High School Tennis

The Mt. Pleasant girls team will host Burlington tomorrow, April 13th.

The Mt. Pleasant boys team will take on Maharishi at home on April 18th.

Southeast Iowa Playbook

KILJ is happy to introduce a new sports show centered around high school athletics. Episodes will air until the end of the school year on Wednesdays at 6 pm. Our guests for the first episode airing tonight will be Blaise Porter and Kade Benjamin from New London.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The Tiger softball team split their road doubleheader yesterday with William Penn to move to 8-19 on the season. Game one was a tight battle that saw the Tigers improve their win streak to 3 games after winning 4-2. Alexis Davis started the 2nd inning rally after a first-pitch leadoff double. Karoline Stratton would single to set up an RBI sacrifice bunt by Kylie Topliff. Kara Krieger followed that up by slicing the ball down the right field line for an RBI triple. Julia Hill thought it was such a great play she smacked her own RBI triple to make it 3 to 0. Aspyn Harrison would help out her own cause by slapping an RBI single to make it 4 to 0. Harrison would complete the game allowing 9 hits, two earned runs, and striking out three in the winning effort. The Tigers would start game two with a run off a sacrifice fly by Jordan Lantz, but that would be the only run they could push across as the Statesmen would take the game 5-1. The Tigers will face off against Clarke University tomorrow in a make-up game with game one at 2 pm.

The Tiger baseball team fell to Graceland University in a score that resembled a low scoring football score, 15-14. The Tigers started the scoring and Grant Yates added a grand slam to make the lead 5 to 0. The teams were tied heading into the 6th inning at 6 after Froymer Ortega singled home Sage Bonner. The Tigers would collect 8 runs as Sucre Guzman, Ortega, and Holvin Catala each tallied an RBI with Bonner picking up two on a double. Nevertheless, Graceland would score 9 runs over the last four innings to steal the game. The Tigers will be back in action on April 18th against Culver-Stockton College with game one at 3 pm.

The Tiger golf teams will be competing at the Grand View Invitational today.

This Day in Sports History

1940 – NFL cuts clipping penalty from 25 yards to 15 yards.

1964 – 28th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Arnold Palmer wins by 6 shots from Dave Marr and Jack Nicklaus to become the first 4-time winner of the Masters; his 7th and final major victory.

1980 – Canadian one-legged distance runner Terry Fox begins his “Marathon of Hope” attempt to cross the country at St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Virginia Ardith Boyd,

By Theresa Rose · Tuesday, April 11th, 2023 at 4:37 pm CDT

Virginia Ardith Boyd, 92, of Mt. Pleasant, IA, died Monday, April 10, 2023, at New London Specialty Care.

Virginia was born October 7, 1930, in Crawfordsville, Iowa, the daughter of Arch and Effie (Smith) Ross and received her education in Crawfordsville schools.  On May 8, 1948, she married Jewell “J.C.” Boyd in Burlington, Iowa.  Virginia was a homemaker and Group Leader at Metro Mail.  She and J.C. also pastored a church in Kahoka, Missouri for a few years.  A very devout Christian, Virginia enjoyed spending time with her family, holidays, shopping, collecting Pillsbury Dough Boy memorabilia and participating in the activities at the nursing home.

Survivors include her son, Lynn (Martie) Boyd of Danville, Iowa; three grandchildren, Jason Kiesey, Josh Kiesey and Michelle Follas; five great-grandchildren and sister-in-law, Betty Ross. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, J.C. in 2009; son, Larry Boyd; daughter, Linda Jones; four brothers, Ray Ross, Hoyt Ross, Ted Ross and Emmett “Pee Wee” Ross and two sisters, Hope Hoyt and Lucille Farr.

 

Visitation will be held from 12:00-8:00 p.m. Thursday, April 13, 2023, at the Olson – Powell Memorial Chapel in Mt. Pleasant where the family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Funeral services will be held Friday, April 14, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at the Olson – Powell Memorial Chapel, with Lester Schlatter officiating. Burial will be in the Hillcrest Cemetery in Ft. Madison, Iowa.

A general memorial has been established.  Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel in Mount Pleasant is caring for Virginia and her family.  Tributes may be made at www.powellfuneralhomes.com.