Chamber of Commerce to Host Legislative Roundtable Revised

By Theresa Rose · Wednesday, March 29th, 2023 at 9:38 am CDT

MOUNT PLEASANT— The Government Affairs Committee, Mount Pleasant Chamber Alliance, will be hosting a Legislative Roundtable with Iowa State Representatives Taylor Collins and  Jeff Shipley on Friday, March 31st at 8 AM.   Chamber of Commerce members and the public are invited to join the conversation in the City Hall Council Chambers.

The Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance exists to improve the quality of life for Henry County residents through economic growth. The Chamber consists of 370 businesses, organizations and individual members. For more information about the roundtable, please call Rachel Lindeen at 385-3101 or email rachel@mpiowa.org.

 

Sports, March 29th

By Slaten Swords · Wednesday, March 29th, 2023 at 6:08 am CDT

High School Track and Field

The boys and girls teams of WACO, Winfield-Mt. Union, New London, and Danville will compete at the Danville Relays tomorrow.

Mt. Pleasant will have its CO-ED meet tomorrow at 4:30 pm.

The Central Lee girls track and field team will be competing at the Mepo meet tomorrow.

High School Soccer

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ soccer team came out with the win in their first game of the season in comeback fashion as they took down Mediapolis 3-2. The Panthers will face off against Central Lee on March 31st.

WACO’s boy soccer team will start their season at home against Fairfield tomorrow.

The Central Lee boys’ soccer team will take on Sigourney tomorrow.

High School Football

The Mt. Pleasant football team filled the head coaching vacancy with a Mt. Pleasant graduate, John Bowlin. Bowlin was at Iowa Valley High School for the past 15 years. Bowlin talked about his coaching philosophy heading into the fall season. You can listen to the full interview on KILJ’s SoundCloud.

Amateur Boxing

This weekend, over 60 Iowa amateur boxers will be competing in the first Golden Gloves Tournament since 2019. The event will take place in Iowa City with the first match scheduled for 6 pm.

Iowa Wesleyan Athletics

The Tiger softball team had their doubleheader against the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis canceled yesterday. They will take on Hannibal-LaGrange University today at 2 pm on the road.

The Tiger baseball team split their home doubleheader against William Woods University yesterday. Game one was a 10 inning 3-hour marathon between the Tigers and the Owls. William Woods struck for the first two runs of the game in the top of the second inning but Phillip Guerrero would single home Sage Bonner and Grant Yates would score on a wild pitch to tie the game. Froymer Ortega would give the Tigers the lead after a 2-run single in the 3rd inning and then score himself on an error. Phillip Guerrero would add another run when he singled home Holvin Catala, giving the Tigers a 6 to 2 lead. The Owls would then strike for four runs to force extra innings and it looked like the Tigers had won it in the bottom of the 8th inning when David Amaya hit a fly ball to right field that appeared to score Carlos Vicente, but the umpires ruled he had left the bag early ending the inning. William Woods would score 3 runs in the 10th inning to win the game 9-6. Game two was a different story as Cauy Massner tossed a complete game, striking out 10 batters while allowing only 2 runs. Vicente, Amaya, and Gabriel Hernandez each tallied an RBI as the Tigers took it 3-2. The Tigers will take on Hannibal-LaGrange University tomorrow at 3 pm.

The Tiger golf teams competed at the IW Tiger Classic and the men’s team finished tied for 4th place at 22 over with Waldorf University winning the event shooting 10 over par. Tate Nelson was the top finisher for the Tigers as he went 3 over par, which tied him for 6th place. Trace White finished tied for 12th with Brevin Wilson tying for 16th. The women grabbed 2nd place with Aubrey Duncan finishing in 1st place shooting 3 over on the day. Natalie Ames and Michal Wohlleber both tied for 11th. The Tigers will be competing at the Wildcat Classic on April 2nd at 9 am.

The outdoor track and field teams will compete at the Mustang Open on April 1st at 11:30 am.

This Day in Sports History

1976 – 38th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Indiana beats Michigan, 86-68; first time 2 teams from same conference (Big Ten) play in title game.

1987 – PGA Tournament Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Sandy Lyle of Scotland defeats Jeff Sluman on the 3rd hole of a sudden-death playoff to become the first international player to win the title.

1996 – Cleveland Browns choose new name for their relocated team – Baltimore Ravens.

 

Iowa Wesleyan Committed to Finishing the Semester

By Theresa Rose · Tuesday, March 28th, 2023 at 3:21 pm CDT

During a Tuesday afternoon press briefing Iowa Wesleyan University President Christine Plunkett said the Administration is committed to seeing the year thru.  The Mount Pleasant university’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday morning to close the 181 institution at the end of May. Plunkett said the students will finish classes, spring sports schedules will be played out and commencement will be held as it always has in the past.

She said the United States Department of Agriculture will become responsible for the campus May 31 and she anticipates a trustee will be appointed to oversee all the operating and business decisions related to the closing. In 2016 IW entered into a USDA consolidation loan in the amount of $26 million making the USDA the primary lender.

In a communication with alumni it was stated that there will be a website to provide initial Q&A information and resources for students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners to outline the path going forward.

Governor’s Response to IW Closure

By Theresa Rose · Tuesday, March 28th, 2023 at 3:08 pm CDT

The press release announcing the closure of Iowa Wesleyan University stated the rejection of a proposal for federal covid funding by Governor Kim Reynolds was one of the factors considered in the decision to close.  The University requested 12 million dollars.  The Governor explains in her response to the closure why these funds were not forth coming.  And in a press briefing Tuesday afternoon IW President Christine Plunkett said the University’s financial information stated by the Governor was accurate…..

DES MOINES – Gov. Reynolds released the following statement in response to the announced closure of Iowa Wesleyan University:

“Today, my thoughts are with the students, faculty, and staff who are stunned by this announcement, and the people of Mount Pleasant who have long revered the university as a pillar of their community. The state is committed to supporting them during this time of transition. I have directed the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa Workforce Development to reach out to community and business leaders, and work together to keep the local economy strong.

“It wasn’t until February 3, 2023, that my office received a request from the university for $12 million for ongoing operating costs. As I’ve said many times, we endeavor not to spend one-time federal dollars on ongoing expenses. To better understand their request and the financial health of the university, my office engaged an independent, third-party accounting firm to conduct due diligence. The firm reported that Iowa Wesleyan had a $26.1 million loan from the USDA, using their campus as collateral, that could be recalled in full as early as November 2023. Additionally, Iowa Wesleyan’s auditor cited ongoing concerns about the university’s fiscal health, stating “significant operating losses and reduced liquidity raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.” The firm also highlighted that that while enrollment at Iowa Wesleyan has grown over the past three years, their financial health has continued to deteriorate over the same period.

“Based on this and other factors, the independent accounting firm determined that providing one-time, federal funds would not solve the systemic financial issues plaguing the university. If the state would have provided the federal funding as requested and it was used to finance debt or other impermissible uses according to US Treasury guidelines, the state and taxpayers could have been liable for potential repayment to the federal government. Moreover, the state has separately received $122 million in requests from other universities and community colleges across the state.

“With this information, I made the difficult decision to not pursue the university’s funding request.”

 

 
Manage Subscriptions  |   Help
This email was sent to using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: State of Iowa · 1007 E Grand Ave · Des Moines, IA 50319

Richard Bruce Koffend

By Theresa Rose · Tuesday, March 28th, 2023 at 2:39 pm CDT

Richard Bruce Koffend, 65, of Morning Sun, passed away on Monday, March 27, 2023 at Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice House in West Burlington.  Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, 2023 at Snyder & Hollenbaugh Funeral & Cremation Service in Mediapolis.  Celebration of Life Services will be 10:30 a.m. on Friday, March 31, 2023 at the funeral home.  Richard’s wishes are to be cremated following the Celebration of Life Services.  A memorial has been established for the Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice House.    Online condolences can by left for the family at www.sandhfuneralservice.com.

Richard Bruce Koffend was born on October 27, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Paul and Marjorie Koffend.  Richard graduated from Lane Tech High School in the Chicago area and studied chemistry as an undergrad.  In 1981, he graduated from The University of Iowa PA Program with a score of 98% on the national board exam.    On December 31, 1987, Richard was united in marriage to Vicki Hahn in Burlington.   Richard practiced medicine in Louisa and Des Moines County for 37 years.  He taught continuing medical education for 25 years and was elected to the Morning Sun school board.  Richard was an ordained elder of the Presbyterian Church, an ordained Pastor doing Jail Ministry for Jesus, member of Calvary Baptist Church in Muscatine and was a volunteer for the hospice house in West Burlington.  He enjoyed practicing medicine, Notre Dame and Iowa football, Blackhawks hockey, reading history, Christmas time and his Christmas tree, playing cards with his family, Bible study and teaching, the Four Seasons, weight lifting and cycling, especially Ragbrai.  He especially loved spending time with his family and watching his kids play sports.

Richard will be deeply missed by his children Justin (Jaime) Yoder of Mount Pleasant, Stacy (Doran) Massner of Mediapolis, Nicholas (Lindsey) Yoder of Mt. Pleasant, Lindsey Koffend of Morning Sun and Kelsey Koffend of North Liberty; grandchildren, Dakota, Levi, Izabell, Layk, Rylie, Owen, Jayden, Kyler, Evee, Sofia, Nora, Easton and Lila and brother, Mick (Mary) Koffend of Austin, Texas.

Richard was preceded in death by his wife, Vicki on September 6, 2018; his parents and two brothers, Pat and Fred Koffend.

MID-AM BUILDING SUPPLY TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION ON NEW FACILITY IN MOUNT PLEASANT

By Theresa Rose · Tuesday, March 28th, 2023 at 2:35 pm CDT

Mid-Am Building Supply recently entered into a long-term lease agreement with Knaebel’s, Inc. to lease a warehouse distribution facility in Mt. Pleasant, IA that is to be newly constructed.  Woodruff Construction of Tiffin, IA is the general contractor that will build the 134,670 square foot facility.  Planning for this project has been ongoing since the site was acquired in October 2021. The expected completion date for this project is July 2024.

The new facility will be constructed in the Crossroads Industrial Park located along Iris Street in Mt. Pleasant and will consist of warehouse space and a door shop within as well as a 5,000 square foot office space. The new facility will include covered loading and unloading in a “drive through” loading/storage area with more than one acre of space designated for outside storage.

Operating in Mount Pleasant since 1984, Mid-Am Building Supply is a “two-step” building material distributor that sells building materials to lumber yards and big box stores. With five warehouses in four states, the company distributes products across the Midwest that include shingles, doors, insulation, siding, windows, decking, door locks, fasteners and other building products.

 

From Henry County Engineer’s office

By Theresa Rose · Tuesday, March 28th, 2023 at 1:38 pm CDT

Henry County Engineer’s Office will have a lane closure on 235th Street (Business 34) on Wednesday March 29th. Please use caution as the road will not be closed but expect delays with flaggers.  If you have questions or concerns you can contact the Engineer’s office at 319-385-0762.

Nam Khounnasenh (final arrangements)

By Theresa Rose · Tuesday, March 28th, 2023 at 11:09 am CDT

Nam Khounnasenh, 64, of Mt. Pleasant passed away on Friday, March 24, 2023, at the Henry County Health Center, emergency room in Mt. Pleasant.

According to his wishes cremation has been entrusted to the care of Murphy Funeral Home of Mt. Pleasant.  No services will be held.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.murphyfuneralandmonuments.com

Murphy Funeral Home of Mt. Pleasant, is caring for his arrangements.