Jack Thornton (final arrangements)

By Theresa Rose · Tuesday, March 28th, 2023 at 11:08 am CDT

Jack Thornton, 65, of Salem passed away on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at the Henry County Health Center in Mt. Pleasant.

Friends may call from 1 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, 2023, at the Murphy Funeral Home in Mt. Pleasant.  The family will not be present.  A memorial has been established to the Salem Fire and Rescue Association in his memory.   According to his wishes cremation will be accorded after the calling hours on Thursday.

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

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

 

Iowa Wesleyan University Announces Closure

By Theresa Rose · Tuesday, March 28th, 2023 at 10:57 am CDT

Increased operating costs and lack of state funding lead to painful decision Mount Pleasant, IA – March 28, 2023 — Iowa Wesleyan University’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted today to close the university at the end of this academic year. The decision is based on a combination of financial challenges – increased operating costs due to inflationary pressures, changing enrollment trends, a significant drop in philanthropic giving, and the rejection of a proposal for federal Covid funding by Governor Reynolds. This decision follows an intensive analysis of Iowa Wesleyan’s financial operations and considerable exploration of all feasible strategic alternatives. The vote to close comes as the
university has been experiencing unprecedented enrollment growth, improvements in student retention, and success with efforts to address economic and workforce development challenges throughout Southeast Iowa, including the formation of a unique partnership with Southeastern Community College. While the university’s overall enrollment has increased post-pandemic, it is
still not yet at a threshold needed for financial stability. “It is with deep sadness that we announce the Board of Trustees has made the heartbreaking decision to close our beloved Iowa Wesleyan after 181 years as an educational pillar in this community,” said Christine Plunkett, president of Iowa Wesleyan University. “Our focus is now on assuring our over 850 students have a smooth transition to another educational opportunity.” Iowa Wesleyan has secured four teach-out agreements with William Penn University, Upper Iowa University, University of Dubuque, and Culver-Stockton College so students can complete their degrees. The teach-out plans ensure the students can complete their program on time and for a comparable cost to Iowa Wesleyan. Additional teach-out agreements may be added. “We know our action will be felt deeply by all Iowa Wesleyan University faculty, staff, students, families, alumni, donors, Mount Pleasant, and the entire region of Southeast Iowa,” said Robert Miller, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “Like many colleges and universities nationally that
have recently announced closure, IW has been confronted with many headwinds including increasing operating costs, declining numbers of high school graduates nationally and insurmountable inflationary pressures. We have worked tirelessly to find solutions at all levels
but to no avail.” Iowa Wesleyan submitted a proposal for money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that were provided to the state of Iowa. As a primary employer in Southeast Iowa that provided a wide range of educational, economic, workforce, social, and cultural opportunities, Iowa Wesleyan requested $12 million from Governor Kim Reynolds aligned with
her Empower Rural Iowa Initiative. “As a higher education institution that serves rural Iowa, we are disappointed in the lack of state support for this effort. All our indicators have been trending in a positive direction, but we needed funding to buy some additional time,” says Miller. “We are just heartbroken.”When the university closes on May 31, the physical campus will become the responsibility of the
United States Department of Agriculture.

Sports, March 28th

By Slaten Swords · Tuesday, March 28th, 2023 at 6:49 am CDT

High School Track and Field

Van Buren County won the Ruritan Relays with 135 points and WACO grabbed 6th place with 48 points.

Winfield-Mt. Union, Mt. Pleasant, New London, Central Lee, and Danville all competed at the Falcon Relays yesterday and here are the top performers for each team.

Mt. Pleasant had four 1st place finishes at the meet as Will Davidson collected two of those wins with the first coming in the 110 meter hurdles and the second in the long jump. Ben Carthey finished in 1st place in the 3200 meter run and the 4×400 meter relay team of Gabe Feldmann, Jacob Richtman, Isaac Rynders, and Mason Sloat notched the last 1st place win for the Panthers. Avin Troung grabbed 2nd place in the long jump and the 100 meter dash. Carthey took 2nd in the 800 meter run. Lastly, Isaac Jerel took 2nd in both the shot put and discus with a throw of 133 feet 0.5 inches in the disc and a heave of 52 feet 1 inch in the shot.

New London grabbed two 1st place finishes with Kade Benjamin leaping 6 feet 3 inches in the high jump and the 800 meter sprint medley team of Borden Pickle, Brigham Porter, Reean Seberg, and Rylan Martin took it with a time of 1 minute 39 seconds. Cauy Garrett finished in 2nd place for the 3200 meter run.

The boys distance medley Class B team of Abram Edwards, Lane Genkinger, Gabriel Hemsworth, and Kohlby Newsom took 1st place and Gabriel Hemsworth grabbed 1st in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 56.31 seconds for the Wolves. Cam Buffington finished in 2nd place for the 100 meter dash. In Class B, Kai Malone grabbed 2nd place in the discus and Abram Edwards took 2nd in the high jump.

Aiden Doyle finished in 1st place in the 200 meter dash and Jackson Shacklett took 1st in the 3200 meter run for Class B for Danville. Cooper Kleinkopf finished in 2nd place for the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 17.15 seconds and Spencer Nelson took 2nd place in the 400 meter hurdles.

For Central Lee, Thomas Eschman was the lone winner for the Hawks as he took the long jump with a leap of 20 feet 5 inches. Eschman also took 2nd place in the 200 meter dash. Grant Myhre also finished in 2nd place in the 400 meter dash. Lastly, Brody Fuller heaved the shot 38 feet 1 inch to place in 2nd.

In Class A, Washington captured 150 points to win the meet as a team with Mt. Pleasant claiming 3rd place. In Class B, Mediapolis took 1st place with 189 points. Danville claimed 2nd place followed by Central Lee in 3rd, Winfield-Mt. Union in 4th, and New London in 5th.

The girls will be competing at Burlington Notre Dame tonight.

High School Soccer

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ soccer season will begin tonight against Mediapolis on the road.

WACO’s boy soccer team will start their season at home against Fairfield on March 30th.

The Central Lee boys’ soccer team fell to Keokuk last night 2-1. The Hawks will face off against Sigourney on March 30th.

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 and he talked about why he made the choice.

“You know, I think family brings me back. You know, my wife is from Cascade and really only one of two places we ever talked about possibly getting back to. So, just the timing we have three kids: 7, 5, and 2. This is kind of a now or never thing for us and obviously the opportunity to coach football at Mt. Pleasant and hopefully my wife and I in the school system can bring something positive to Mt. Pleasant and keep our careers going there.”

As a former offensive lineman, Bowlin will be looking to set up the run game in the upcoming fall football season.

College Signing

Bradie Buffington signed with Cornell College to continue her basketball career at the collegiate level. Buffington led the team averaging 14 points per game as the Wolves made it to the state tournament for the first time since 1998. Buffington knew her team was capable of making it to that level.

“Oh, my goodness, it was awesome. It was an experience that I always knew that we could make it to and have; but, it took a lot of hard work and looking back and seeing my whole team at the signing today was just really heartwarming. All the memories coming back of the great season we had and its just a lot of fun.”

The Rams finished this past season with a 10-14 record.

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 will take on the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis today in a road doubleheader with game one at 1 pm.

The Tiger baseball team will take on William Woods University today for a home doubleheader with game one at 3 pm. KILJ will be on the call with pregame at 2:45 pm.

The men and women’s golf team will compete today at the IW Tiger Classic.

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

This Day in Sports History

1933 – First SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament: Kentucky beats Mississippi State, 46-27.

1975 – NHL Washington Capitals win 1st game on road after 37 straight road losses.

1982 – First NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship: Louisiana Tech beats Cheney, 76-62; Lady Techsters’ forward Janice Lawrence is the tournament MOP.

Henry County Board of Supervisors meeting Agenda

By Theresa Rose · Monday, March 27th, 2023 at 4:39 pm CDT

AGENDA

March 28, 2023

Approve Agenda

Approve Minutes

9:00 Jake Hotchkiss, Engineer Weekly Update

Open Bids for IVRM Building

Approve Dust Control Company Permits

10:00 Public Hearing Henry County Budget FY24

Resolution Approving Henry County FY24 Budget

Resolution Approving Appropriation of Henry County FY24 Budget

Motion approving Henry County FY24 Employee Wage Increases

Other County Business as time allows

Supervisors Sub-Committee Updates

March 29, 2023

10:30 Nicole Uthoff with HHS Regarding Remodel

 

Bradie Buffington Signs With Cornell College to Play Basketball for the Rams

By Slaten Swords · Monday, March 27th, 2023 at 3:57 pm CDT

Winfield-Mt. Union- The Girls’ Basketball team had quite the season for the Wolves as they earned a trip to the State Tournament for the first time since 1998, collected 19 straight wins, and finished the season 22-2. A big reason for their success was Bradie Buffington, who decided to sign with Cornell College to continue her basketball career.

Buffington said she dreamed of playing basketball at the college level and Cornell College gave her the best opportunity,

“Coach Brase, he’s just the type of coach I wanted to play for and the school’s super nice. I got to see the team practice and just how they run things and I really liked it and think I’ll fit in best there.”

Buffington led the Wolves with 337 points on the season and second on the team in rebounds with 197, which averaged out to 14 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game. A true force in the lane defensively as she denied 54 shots on the season, which ranked her 38th in Class 1A. Buffington reminisced on the season,

“Oh, my goodness, it was awesome. It was an experience that I always knew that we could make it to and have; but, it took a lot of hard work and looking back and seeing my whole team at the signing today was just really heartwarming. All the memories coming back of the great season we had and its just a lot of fun.”

Buffington finished with 959 points in her high school career. She will be looking to study special education or behavior disorders at Cornell.

The Rams finished the season with a 10-14 overall record and a 9-7 conference record last season.

Pending Board Approval Two Mount Pleasant Grads Are Expected to be Hired For Football Coach and Vocal Music

By Theresa Rose · Monday, March 27th, 2023 at 3:17 pm CDT

The Mount Pleasant School Board meets in special session tonight (Monday). The Board is expected to approve hiring a new high school music director and a new football coach.  Both Mackenzie Kauffman and John Bowlin are Mount Pleasant High School graduates.  Kauffman will replace Marlene Depriest following Mrs. D’s retirement at the end of this school year.  The District will continue to conduct interviews this week for the high school instrumental director’s position.  Jim Depriest will retire from that position also at the end of the school year. Bowlin leaves a head coaching job at Iowa Valley to become head coach and at risk teacher at Mount Pleasant.

Wagner Selected for Washington D.C. Trip

By Theresa Rose · Monday, March 27th, 2023 at 3:06 pm CDT

Alexis Wagner, of Mount Pleasant, has been selected to attend the 2023 Youth Tour on June 18-23. The event is an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. sponsored by Access Energy Cooperative.

Alexis will join approximately 40 other Iowa students and nearly 1,000 students from across the country who have been selected by their electric cooperative to attend the annual Youth Tour.

Alexis is a sophomore at Mount Pleasant Community High School, and is the daughter of Alan and Julie Wagner. She is involved in a variety of school activities including cross country, wrestling, track, jazz band, musical, and show choir.

While on tour, Alexis will learn about American history and government. She will visit historical sights including monuments, museums, the U.S. Capitol, federal agencies and other points of interest. She will also have an opportunity to meet with their legislators in the House and Senate.

Access Energy Cooperative has been a part of the Youth Tour program since 1958 and currently selects up to two students each year to participate in the seven-day trip. The students are selected through an application and interview process.

 

 

Mt. Pleasant Has Found Their New Head Football Coach in John Bowlin

By Slaten Swords · Monday, March 27th, 2023 at 1:38 pm CDT

Mt. Pleasant, IA- The Mt. Pleasant Panthers will have a new head coach patrolling the sideline this upcoming fall season, pending board approval, in former Iowa Valley Head Coach John Bowlin.

Bowlin is a former student of Mt. Pleasant that continued playing football at the college level as an offensive tackle at Coe College. Bowlin has been teaching and coaching at Iowa Valley Community High School for the past 15 years. The best season for the Tigers was the 2018-2019 season where they finished 10-1 before falling in the second round of the playoffs. Last year, Iowa Valley finished the season with a 6-4 record as they competed in the same district as WACO, New London, and Winfield-Mt. Union.

Bowlin will have to make the leap from coaching 8-Man football to 11-man football as the Panthers also moved down a classification to 3A. They will be in the same district as Keokuk, Fort Madison, and Washington for this upcoming season.