Five weeks of high school football are in the books and we are starting to learn who the contenders are in every district in the state.
For our listening area, there are several teams who seem to be look to push towards the playoffs.
Oskaloosa (3-2) made the playoffs in 2016 after a great 7-2 regular season after a couple of down years. They are looking to repeat the dose here in 2017, and their road map is identical. Wins in their last four games will clinch the #2 spot in Class 3A District 5 and send Osky to the postseason. Their biggest challenge will be in Week 8 against Washington, who sits at 4-1 on the year.
Pella (4-1) also sits pretty as one of the top teams in Class 3A District 6 along with Norwalk (4-1). Those teams will battle for what will likely be the District 6 Championship in Week 7.
In Class 2A, PCM (4-1) should run away with the District 6 Title once again, following up a dominant run in 2016. District 6 is fairly weak after the Mustangs which has to door wide open for someone to grab that second spot. After EBF’s (3-3) tough loss to Albia last Friday, Central Lee seems to be in the best shape to snag that #2 slot and an automatic playoff berth. Do not rule out a wild card team either, as Centerville (2-3) snuck into the playoffs last year after having a high district point differential.
In Class 1A District 4, Sigourney/Keota (2-3) is looking to bounce back after a couple of tough weeks to start the year. Their playoff aspirations likely rest on their Week 9 matchup on the road at Wilton (5-0) as Iowa City Regina (3-2) will run away with the district. Don’t sleep on Louisa-Muscatine (2-3), as they still have a road to the playoffs they can follow as well.
Class 1A District 5 seems to be locked up for Pella Christian (5-0) and Pleasantville (5-0) to make it back to the playoffs. They will meet in Pleasantville in Week 7 to likely determine the district champion and who will get home field in the first round.
Chaos is the name of the game in Class A District 6, as Lynnville-Sully (5-0), Pekin (6-0), and New London (4-0) are all rolling so far this year. A huge matchup will be featured in our Game of the Week on 104.9 FM KBOE and kboeradio.com this Friday, as Lynnville-Sully hosts Pekin. Winner of that matchup sets themselves up nicely to get into the playoffs and potentially win the district while the loser will need to win out. New London gets their crack at the top when they host Lynnville-Sully in Week 7 and travel to face Pekin in Week 8.
In 8-Player District 5, Moravia (5-1) seemed to have the best chance to make the playoffs, but a slip up last week at HLV (4-2) has the Mohawks desperate. A Week 8 duel at Colo-Nesco (4-1) will in all likelihood decide who gets the only other playoff berth at stake barring any upsets to HLV. Melcher-Dallas (4-1) has played well this season and have a route to the playoffs, but will be a solid underdog in their matchups with HLV and Moravia in Weeks 8 and 9.
Newton (5-0) has looked great in Class 4A so far this year, but the Cardinals have benefitted from the weakest schedule in the state’s largest class. They have two top teams in Southeast Polk and West Des Moines Valley in as opponents in District 4 and will need to beat at least one of them to have a chance at the postseason. That doesn’t include tough matchups against Indianola and Fort Dodge that the Cardinals will be also find themselves as underdogs.
The playoffs begin October 27th, but we will be able to track every single movement of our area teams between now and then. Check kboeradio.com or radiokmzn.com for weekly looks at the area playoff picture.
The Mahaska Health Partnership Board of Trustees announced that CEO Jay Christensen has taken an extended leave of absence effective Tuesday, September 19th.
Board President David Langkamp stated it’s business as usual at the hospital. “We have tremendous people working at MHP. The Executive Team will continue to oversee day-to-day operations with consultation from the Board of Trustees.
“Mahaska Health Partnership providers and staff remain committed to our community’s health and well-being and will continue to focus on maintaining a strong health center in Oskaloosa,” Langkamp stressed.
Mahaska Health Partnership, located in Oskaloosa, is accredited by the Joint Commission. It is guided by its mission to provide exceptional customer service and health improvement, linking the science of medicine with the humanity of compassionate care. For more information about how Mahaska Health Partnership is making healthcare personal, visit mahaskahealth.org.
Information provided by Mahaska Health Partnership press release.
Amber Kelsey was taken into custody on Monday, September 18th shortly after 1 PM.
Kelsey, 35, was arrested and charged with Burglary – Third Degree (Class D Felony). Kelsey is currently incarcerated in the Wapello County Jail on a $5,000.00 bond.
Additional charges are pending.
** ORIGINAL
In the early morning hours of July 30th, and then again on August 31st, the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office investigated two separate burglary reports from the C-Store located in Blakesburg.
Throughout the course of the separate investigations, Law Enforcement personnel had reason to believe the same individual had committed both burglaries at the C-Store. During the burglaries the main items stole were a large quantity of cigarettes.
On September 1st, the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office conducted a search warrant at a residence in Blakesburg. During the search warrant Deputies seized numerous items believed to be of value in the criminal prosecutions of the burglaries. Also seized during the search warrant was a large quantity of cigarettes.
During the investigation the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office has sent several seized/collected items to the Iowa DCI Laboratory.
This criminal charge is an accusation and the Defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Driving through Oskaloosa Downtown square, you are immediately take back by the beautiful brick buildings and intricate detailing on the facades.
The first resident of Oskaloosa was William Canfield in 1844. From there, a trading post was erected and by 1853 the small town of 13 cabins grew to over 1,000 residents. Oskaloosa transformed into a mining mecca within a span of two decades.
By 1873 Penn Academy – later named William Penn College- was built and later that same year the first band stand was constructed. Within five years, the first courthouse was built on what is now the east side of the square – which is still in use to this day! In 1903, the Carnegie Library was opened and the YMCA that was once in the square was dedicated by President Teddy Roosevelt.
Fast forward over a century later and you can see the history behind each stone and brick in downtown Oskaloosa. Recently, the city council and Oskaloosa Main Street approve the Facade Improvement Project. This project addresses the restoration of 18 downtown building on the north side of the square to preserve the non-historic and historically significant buildings.
One building in particular that is currently being restored is at 120 North Market Street. This building was once distinguished by having a front blue boarded facade with tan brick work on the second story.
Images from the architectural plans for the facade improvement project for 120 N. Market Street. (oskaloosaiowa.org)
After crews removed the lower blue tinged wood, a dated store front sign was revealed.
“Iowa Dress Club, Inc.”
After a little bit of digging, going through archived photos and requesting information from the Iowa Historic Preservation, the response was scarce. The Iowa Dress Club, Inc. building dates back to roughly the year 1900. Back when this building was first founded, the address was 303 A Avenue East. The store specialized in dry cleaning services as well as selling wedding dresses and other forms of attire.
As you glance through the downtown square of Oskaloosa, one cannot help but wonder all the memories and history each building holds under the surface.
Editor’s note: Hoping that with the updating and restoration of the facades, I can provide you with more information and background of the timeless treasures and hidden gems of Oskaloosa.
Featured image is provided by the Wilcox Library Digital Archives.
A day after Gram Parsons died, his body is stolen during transfer at the Los Angeles International Airport, then taken to Joshua Tree, where it is burned, in accordance with his request. Road manager Phil Kaufman is among two charged with the crime
Monarch butterflies are the staple of a beautiful creature. Spending an hour at the Logan Abandoned Mine Land (AML) south of Oskaloosa in Bussey, you are able to witness the pure grace of a Monarch Butterfly.
Monarch Butterflies — like many other pollinators — are crucial to ecosystems by the act of pollination. Monarch Butterflies are unique in the fact that they are semi-dormant butterflies. The east population of monarchs move south as the weather gets colder to Mexico City where they congregate in a forest, according to ISU Research Team Agronomist Seth Appelgate.
The Research Team from Iowa State University along with members of the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium, National Fish and Wildlife Foundaiton, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and Pathfinders RC&D were in attendance at a field day at AML for the public. The Iowa Learning Farms (ILF) had organized the event in its entirety; ILF was established in 2004 to build a partnership with various conservation organizations to create a Culture of Conservation. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources also had members in attendance. Members of the ILF “work together to identify and implement the best management practices that improve water quality and soil health.”
While the monarchs congregate in Mexico City, researchers are able to estimate the population of the nearly endangered species by measuring hectors. (1 hector = 2.5 acres) Appelgate says that 6 hectors are needed in Mexico for sustainability of the monarch. Sustainability and population growth is imperative due to the fact that the monarch butterfly population has been on a steady decline in the last 20 years of 80{99cd714f394079a7f0ed2eb1518dd31342ff3ceb5b6c267c3ad8acd5b5a7d66b}.
Monarch butterfly feeding on the favored milkweed plant.
Iowa plays an important role in the breeding ground for Monarch butterflies and other pollinators. The AML in Bussey is now a wonderful breeding ground location for monarch butterflies. The mine land had been reclaimed as a way to return land back to its pre-mining condition, the project was completed in the fall of 2016.
The location is Bussey is one of more than 300 abandoned mines in the state of Iowa spanning over 13,000 acres, and a majority of them are located in southeastern Iowa. The project was necessary due to the safety and public health hazards, plus improving. This reclaimed land provides opportunities to establish monarch habitats similar to roadsides, ditches and homes or gardens.
One of two reservoir ponds at the AML location for the Turkey Run Creek.
Anna Bruin with Pathfinders RC&D – who partners with various environmental organizations in Iowa – says Pathfinders has helped to fund a grant to aid in monarch conservation.
Bruin’s advice for residents in Mahaska County “whether you have a large swath of land (20-40 acres) or a small part of land (1 to 5 acres) or even living in town, you can plant pollinator habitat.”
One of the reasons why the population of monarchs is decreasing so drastically is due to the fact that the insect is quite particular about where and which plants they lay their eggs on and feed off of.
Monarchs are milkweed obligates because females will only lay eggs on milkweed, and larvae will only feed on milkweed. By eating milkweed, caterpillars collect toxins from the plant called cardiac glycosides, which are isolated in the exoskeleton of the caterpillar and the wings of the adult. When ingested by vertebrate predators it will cause them to vomit or have a mild heart arrhythmia that promotes learned avoidance. Consuming milkweed as a larvae will allow the adult to create its own line of self-defense.
The common milkweed species that monarch eggs and larvae feed off.
The issue with the natural grown milkweed plant it is normally mowed over or destroyed because the average person sees it as a ditch weed. This plant, however, is vital for the regeneration of monarch butterflies. There are roughly 100 species of milkweed in the United States and out of those hundred, 17 of those are native to Iowa.
Milkweed species are normally found in grassland, damp soils or wetlands, but a few species occur in deciduous forest or in deserts particularly swamp milkweed and whorled milkweed, may be preferred by monarchs. Adult monarchs feed off of various wildflowers or flowering plants. Butterflies can be seen roaming wild prairie grass fields that have wildflowers.
Planting sap-producing plants, no matter where, is important to the livelihood of the monarch conservation. “The more patches Mahaska County has,” said Bruin, “the better continuity the monarchs will have during migration.”
The best time to organize and plant a monarch habitat is in the late fall, ideally November or December. If monarch habitat is planted in the spring it needs to be planted as early as possible. Soil temperatures for fall planting should be 40 degrees or colder to prevent fall germination. Grasses, sedges, and large-seeded forbs should be planted at depths of 1/4-inch to 1/8-inch, no deeper.
Residents of Iowa can enjoy the beauty of monarchs normally from the months of May to September.
The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors met in regular session in the morning of September 18.
Mahaska County Sheriff Russ Van Renterghem approached the board to request a change of payroll for Deputy Trevor Wells, who has decided to retire and be removed from the county payroll on September 22.
Wells began his double-decade long run in law enforcement following a few years spent in the United States Marine Corps.
Wells graduated from Oskaloosa High School in 1986, he was then a part of the Persian Gulf war during Operation Desert Storm with the Marine Corps.
Once Wells returned, he worked in the Mahaska County Jail in 1991 as a jailer for four years. From Mahaska County Jail, Wells moved to the position of police officer in Albia for a year and returned back to Mahaska County to be a sheriff deputy in 1996 where he has been since.
Wells ran for Mahaska County Sheriff in 2016 where we faced three other candidates for Mahaska County Sheriff. His opponents included Russ Van Rentergherm, who won the election and took seat as Mahaska County Sheriff.
Those of us from KBOE want to thank you, Trevor Wells, for your 26 years of service and dedication to Oskaloosa and Mahaska County.
A reception in Sheriff’s Wells’ honor will be held on Friday, October 6th in the Lower Level of the Mahaska County Law Enforcement Center from 1 to 4 PM. The public is invited and welcomed to attend.
Around 1 AM on the morning of September 14, the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call of a single motor vehicle accident on Hwy 63 northeast of Ottumwa.
Upon arrival Deputies located a 1997 Isuzu Trooper in the median on its top. Deputies also located a single occupant in the vehicle that was identified as Leslie Palmer Lane Age 59 of Fairfield, IA. Lane was deceased at the scene.
Deputies were assisted by the ORMICS, Ottumwa Police Dept, Wapello Co Rural Fire, and Iowa State Patrol.
The Oskaloosa Police Department is pleased to announce that Officer Brandon Blanchard has been selected as the Oskaloosa Police Department’s 2017 Officer of the Year.
Officer Blanchard began his career with the Oskaloosa Police Department on November 12, 2013 and has worked as a patrol officer since joining the Department. Officer Blanchard was selected because of his tremendous work ethic, professionalism and caring compassion for his job and community. Officer Blanchard has a passion to always give his very best no matter what the situation, and always strives to go above and beyond the duty requirements. Officer Blanchard represents the Oskaloosa Police Department and our community very well.
All of the Oskaloosa Police Department staff are very proud of Officer Blanchard and his accomplishments.
