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City of Ottumwa 2023 City Council Election Results and Vacancies

Posted on by Sam Parsons

OTTUMWA — Ottumwa City Council elections were held November 7, 2023. The winners of this election were Bill Hoffman Jr. and Keith Caviness. With Council Member Russ Hull being an appointed position to finish out the vacancy created by the resignation of Bob Meyers, Bill Hoffman Jr. will be sworn in for City Council prior to the November 21, 2023, meeting to take over for Mr. Hull. This is due to Bill Hoffman Jr. receiving the most votes in the election. Mr. Caviness will be sworn in at the final City Council meeting of the year, with his term beginning January 1, 2024.

The election of Bill Hoffman Jr. and Keith Caviness will create two vacancies on the Waterworks Board of Trustees. Applications for Boards and Commissions can be picked up at City Hall, temporarily located at 210 W Main St., or found online at https://www.ottumwa.us/page/boards_commissions/.

Oskaloosa Main Street’s 36th Annual Lighted Christmas Parade is December 2nd

Posted on by Sam Parsons

OSKALOOSA – Oskaloosa Main Street’s 36th Annual Lighted Christmas Parade will take place on Saturday, December 2nd in downtown Oskaloosa at 7:00 p.m.  The Painting with Lights display will go on at 4:45 p.m. and remain on until 11:00 p.m. that night. Enjoy the Dancing Lights show, beginning at 6:00 p.m.  

Bring the whole family and enjoy opportunities for pictures and selfies in the bright lights of the city square. Take a ride on a horse drawn wagon ride for $5.00 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Want to ride with Skunk River Drafts in the parade? The highest bidder will get to receive this unique experience. Proceeds will go to maintenance and installation of Painting with Lights. Candy and other items may be handed out from each entry but cannot be thrown as ordered by the Oskaloosa Police Department. Oskaloosa Main Street and the Mahaska Chamber prioritize the safety of all parade-goers and participants.  

Please stay behind the cones and roped off areas along the route. To keep your vehicles safe, please do not park along the parade routes unless utilizing the designated handicap parking areas, located in TruBank parking lot and designated handicap spots on 1st Ave E. These spots are first come, first serve.  

Changes have been made to the parade route this year. The route will start on High Avenue and turn south down Market Street, turn East on 3rd Ave and conclude at South 3rd Street. Parade announcers will be located throughout the route. More parade details and updates will be shared to the Oskaloosa Main Street Facebook page and at mahaskachamber.org.  

To learn more, visit mahaskachamber.org/calendar. As you prepare for all things holiday shopping, check out the Mahaska Wish Book. This publication provides shoppers with gift ideas to shop and support the great local businesses in Mahaska County. Pick up your copy at any local retail or dining establishment. In addition, an online version can be accessed at mahaskachamber.org/wishbook/.  

Questions? Contact Oskaloosa Main Street or Mahaska Chamber by calling 641-672-2591 or visit www.mahaskachamber.org. 

‘The Legend of Zelda’ will be made into a live-action film

Posted on by Sam Parsons

TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo is developing a live-action film based on its hit video game “The Legend of Zelda,” the Japanese company behind the Super Mario franchise said Wednesday.

The film, with financing from Sony Pictures Entertainment as well as its own investment, will be directed by Wes Ball, the American director of the upcoming “Planet of the Apes” film. It’s being co-produced by Nintendo and Arad Productions Inc., which is behind the live-action Spider-Man films and headed by Avi Arad.

The move highlights Kyoto-based Nintendo’s strategy to leverage various aspects of its business, including theme parks, merchandising and movies, to boost machine and software sales, and vice versa.

That strategy has met success. Its animated film “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” released earlier this year, has raked in more than $1.3 billion and drew nearly 170 million people worldwide.

President Shuntaro Furukawa, briefing reporters online, said the company was pleased with the success of the Super Mario animation film, the first movie of which Nintendo was a direct producer.

The planned release date of the Zelda movie was not announced. Shigeru Miyamoto, the Nintendo executive who has spearheaded the creative innovations at the company for decades, said it will be released only when it’s ready, while stressing that work on the project has been going on for a decade.

“I realize there are so many Zelda fans, and we cannot betray their expectations. That is a big hurdle. But we are ready,” said Miyamoto.

Nintendo reported Tuesday an 18% rise in net profit for its first fiscal half, totaling nearly 271.3 billion yen ($1.8 billion), up from 230 billion yen a year earlier.

Nintendo officials said the success of the Super Mario film has translated into bigger sales for its Switch machines, as well as for game software with Super Mario themes.

The “Super Mario Bros. Wonder” game software, on sale since last month, has been selling at a record brisk pace, they said, totaling 4.3 million games sold in just two weeks.

The latest Zelda game called “Tears of the Kingdom,” has been selling well, and Nintendo is hoping the planned movie will benefit from the popularity of the game, which stars a hero and a princess fighting against evil.

The Switch machine, already in its seventh year after its debut, is still doing well in sales, according to Nintendo.

Nintendo is banking on having more people come in contact with its intellectual property through official stores, including pop-ups, theme parks and special events, and now movies.

In the U.S., Nintendo World has opened in Universal Studios in Hollywood, and the company is planning another in Orlando. The area for the park it already has in Japan will grow next year to include a section devoted to Donkey Kong, another Nintendo character, officials said.

Nintendo is also opening a museum devoted to its history and legacy in the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto in March next year.

State identifies six of the Iowa’s deadliest roads, posts warning signs

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Matt Kelley (Radio Iowa)

New yellow-and-white warning signs are now posted on six segments of roadways across Iowa, stretches that are among the most dangerous in the state. The Iowa Department of Transportation is launching a pilot program, naming those six segments “Safety Corridors,” where motorists need to be particularly careful, and where law enforcement will step up patrols.

DOT maintenance engineer Ben Hucker says they’ve done a careful study of thousands of miles of roads statewide using a specialized computer program. “It takes and analyzes each segment of roadway against other peer roadways around the state, so, say it’s a two-lane road with 3,000 vehicles per day, we look at other two-lane roads with 3,000 vehicles per day around the state, and we compare crash rates,” Hucker says, “and for these segments, the crash rates really stood out.”

Other states have seen success by marking accident-prone roads as Safety Corridors, and Iowa is giving it a try for the first time this fall. “If we see a decrease in crashes in the corridors, then we may consider expanding this,” Hucker says, “and if we don’t, then we may go back to the drawing board and figure out what’s next.”

Traffic fatalities in Iowa this year are more than 13-percent higher than the average number of fatalities over the last five years, and Hucker says one key to reducing deaths and major crashes is to bring awareness to the problem. He’s hoping drivers take note of the signs and respond.

Hucker says, “We’d like motorists to remember to slow down, drive with caution, put the phone down, limit distractions, buckle up, all of those good safe driving habits that we, the Iowa State Patrol and law enforcement always preach.”

Traffic deaths had been on the decline in Iowa and nationwide throughout the 2000s and 2010s. “And then something happened in 2020,” Hucker says. “Perhaps it was pandemic-related or what have you, but the trend has gone the opposite direction. We’ve seen roadway fatalities increasing every year since then, and it’s quite an alarming rate to have that year that shift in the data.”

A total of 312 people have died on Iowa’s roads so far this year, a rise from 286 on this date a year ago.

The six Safety Corridors in Iowa are:

  • U.S. 20 from Lawton to Moville in Woodbury County
  • U.S. 6 from East of Council Bluffs to US 59 in Pottawattamie County
  • I-80 from County Road F-48 to Newton in Jasper County
  • Iowa 5 from Iowa 92 to the Monroe County line in Marion County
  • U.S. 218 from Mt. Pleasant to County Road J-20 (near Salem) in Henry County
  • Iowa 2 from Donnellson to U.S. 61 in Lee County

Hucker says the six ranked in the top one-percent statewide for all crashes and severe crashes. They also had a higher number of single-vehicle, run-off-the-road crashes and rear-end crashes at intersections, with speeding and distraction as the major causes.

Iowa’s furharvest season began Nov. 4

Posted on by Sam Parsons

DES MOINES — Iowa trappers can expect to find good numbers of furbearers statewide during the 2023-24 season, that began on Nov. 4.

“Our furbearer population is stable or trending up for most species, except for muskrats and gray fox,” said Vince Evelsizer, furbearer biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “Our muskrat population is good here and there in the marshes with ideal habitat and have water, but overall the population has been in a gradual decline overall over the past thirty years.”

Evelsizer said conditions are dry across most of the state and streams, rivers, ponds and wetlands are low or completely dry which can change how and where trappers make their sets.

He said red fox numbers are slightly higher but varies by region. Beaver is stable to increasing in several regions, and river otters and bobcats are stable to increasing as well. Muskrats had for generations been the species that beginning trappers targeted as they gained experience, but with fewer muskrats in the marshes, novice trappers have shifted to raccoons.

“Raccoons are a really good entry level species for novice trappers, they are abundant statewide and it’s a species that would benefit from a reduction in its overall numbers,” he said.

Of note, youth can accompany a licensed adult trapper or fur hunter in the field without being licensed as long as they don’t participate, he said. “However, we encourage participation. If the youth would like to participate, they can simply purchase a youth furharvester license for $7.50.”

A change from last year is that the regular fur harvest season was extended a full month beginning this year. Last year the regular fur season closed on Jan. 31. Beginning this year, it now closes on Feb. 28, 2024.

The CITES tag must remain with the animal until it is processed or sold. The DNR will not be collecting bobcat and otter skulls and lower jaws this year for tooth aging purposes.

Overall, the wild fur market is weak again this year, which is similar to the last few years, but regardless of fur prices, Evelsizer encouraged trappers to take a beginner along to share the experience. Beavers, badgers, striped skunk, and bobcats may trend upward in fur markets this year.

“It’s a great way to get outdoors, spend some time with a beginner, enjoy trapping and pass along our knowledge,” he said.

Nearly 15,300 Iowans purchased a furharvester license in 2022 and that number has been fairly stable over the past seven years.

The Iowa Trapper’s Association and the Iowa DNR is offering one more ‘learn to furharvest’ workshop for beginners this fall on Nov. 18, in St. Charles. Participants will learn basic strategies for trapping such as trapping ethics, best management practices, proper equipment, trap placement, trapping regulations and steps for preparing hides for trade. Sessions will cover history of trapping in North America, wildlife identification, regulations and several demonstration stations. To register, go to www.iowadnr.gov/learntohunt.

City/School Election Results: Krutzfeldt, Hite, Greenlee Win Mayor Elections; Osky Votes to Protect Initiative and Referendum

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Sam Parsons

Unofficial results from the city and school elections yesterday have been posted to the Iowa Secretary of State’s website. Posted results can be found below.

City

City of Barnes City – Mayor

Barbara Jean Davis – 18 votes (81.8%)

City of Barnes City – City Council At Large

Nancy Dunnick – 22 votes (44.0%)

Donald Baker – 16 votes (32.0%)

Jolee Stoddard – 10 votes (20.0%)

City of Beacon – Mayor

Shawn Maxwell – 66 votes (88.0%)

City of Beacon – City Council At Large

Ron Kauffman – 55 votes (16.5%)

Thomas W. Van Der Veer – 55 votes (16.5%)

Darrell Rust – 51 votes (15.3%)

Richard Thomas – 50 votes (14.0%)

Chad Bru – 45 votes (13.5%)

Bill Williams – 33 votes (9.9%)

Dwight Teeter – 30 votes (9.0%)

City of Eddyville – Mayor

Doug Greenlee – 18 votes (78.3%)

Phyllis Sutton – 4 votes (17.4%)

City of Eddyville – City Council At Large

James Sutton – 15 votes (41.7%)

Write-in – 21 votes (58.3%)

City of Fremont – Mayor

Sherri Baxter – 78 votes (95.1%)

City of Fremont – City Council At Large

Zachary Neff – 40 votes (24.0%)

Deana Hamilton – 39 votes (23.4%)

Mark Neff – 35 votes (21.0%)

Randy Hobbs – 31 votes (18.6%)

Mica Cavin – 21 votes (12.6%)

City of Keomah Village – Mayor

Write-in – 35 votes (100.0%)

City of Keomah Village – City Council At Large

Brian Sierens – 43 votes (49.4%)

Larry Boyer – 41 votes (47.1%)

City of Keomah Village – At Large to Fill a Vacancy

Alyce Chandler – 42 votes (95.5%)

City of Keomah Village – Public Measure OI

Yes – 34 votes (75.6%)

No – 11 votes (24.4%)

City of Leighton – Mayor

Andy N. Sytsma – 26 votes (100.0%)

City of Leighton – City Council At Large

Kenneth L. Ver Meer – 26 votes (19.3%)

Henry W. Van Roekel – 25 votes (18.5%)

Steven H. Nieuwsma – 24 votes (17.8%)

Kimberly A. Sytsma – 24 votes (17.8%)

Francis A. Ready – 24 votes (17.8%)

City of New Sharon – Mayor

Dustin D. Hite – 179 votes (71.6%)

Benjamin Hansen – 41 votes (16.4%)

Jeffrey D. Long – 30 votes (12.0%)

City of New Sharon – City Council At Large

Keri Lamberson – 156 votes (39.9%)

Linda S. Steel – 134 votes (34.3%)

Ronnie Wyatt – 98 votes (25.1%)

City of Oskaloosa – Mayor

David Krutzfeldt – 715 votes (65.1%)

Jeremy Lewis – (34.7%)

City of Oskaloosa – City Council At-Large

Joe Caligiuri – 525 votes (50.5%)

Sarah Appleget – 511 votes (49.1%)

City of Oskaloosa – City Council Ward 2

Bob Drost – 215 votes (95.6%)

City of Oskaloosa – City Council Ward 4

Steve Burnett – 257 votes (97.0%)

City of Oskaloosa – Public Measure OM

Yes – 420 votes (39.3%)

No – 649 votes (60.7%)

City of Rose Hill – Mayor

Write-in – 10 votes (100.0%)

City of Rose Hill – City Council At Large

Terry J. Lowe – 12 votes (23.5%)

Steve Kauffman – 9 votes (17.6%)

Julia Newcomb – 9 votes (17.6%)

Rob Dannels – 8 votes (15.7%)

Dianna Ilynn Roberts – 7 votes (13.7%)

Debra Lowe – 5 votes (9.8%)

City of University Park – Mayor

George Toubekis – 38 votes (95.0%)

City of University Park – City Council At Large

Joseph L. Albright – 32 votes (49.2%)

Kevin Hladik – 32 votes (49.2%)

School

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont School – Public Measure UV

Yes – 121 votes (85.2%)

No – 21 votes (14.8%)

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont School – Director District 4

Tyrone Lobberecht – 25 votes (56.8%)

Bruce Vroegh – 19 votes (43.2%)

North Mahaska School – Director District 1

Michelle Sampson – 92 votes (96.8%)

North Mahaska School – Director District 2

Polly J. Ehret – 98 votes (100.0%)

North Mahaska School – Director District 3

Brett Morris – 32 votes (61.5%)

Crystal VanderLinden – 20 votes (38.5%)

North Mahaska School – Director District 5 To Fill A Vacancy

Kraig L. Koehler – 29 votes (93.5%)

Oskaloosa School Director – At-Large

Amanda McGraw-Ferguson – 948 votes (25.6%)

Matt Sherlock – 946 votes (25.5%)

Charlie Comfort – 913 votes (24.6%)

Sarah Hall – 848 votes (22.8%)

Oskaloosa School – Public Measure OL

Yes – 789 votes (55.3%)

No – 637 votes (44.7%)

Pella School Director – District 1

Travis Thompson – 37 votes (62.7%)

Timothy Tripp – 21 votes (35.6%)

Pella School Director – District 2

Paul Weesner – 46 votes (97.9%)

Twin Cedars School Director – At Large

Casey Crozier – 8 votes (29.6%)

MaKenzie Burk – 7 votes (25.9%)

Jade Mockenhaupt – 7 votes (25.9%)

Mike Weldon – 5 votes (18.5%)

Tri-County School Director – At Large

Heather Schmidt – 3 votes (42.8%)

Chad McKain – 3 votes (42.8%)

Write-in – 1 vote (14.3%)

Four Indians Honored by Little Hawkeye Conference

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Sam Parsons

The Little Hawkeye Conference unveiled its all-conference honorees for the 2023 season, which just came to a close. Four members of the Oskaloosa Indians made the cut, led by Hannah Quang, who was honored as a first-team middle.

1st Team

S – Tori Runyan – Indianola

OH/S – Katie Scheckel – Pella

OH – Camryn Overton – Indianola

OH – Aspen Nelson – Indianola

OH – Kadance Ahn – Newton

OH – Noelle Sutcliffe – Norwalk

L – Grace Dehmer – Norwalk

MH – Hannah Quang – Oskaloosa

2nd Team

S – Chloe Huisman – Pella Christian

OH – Landry Glasgow – DCG

OH – Gracie DeRonde – Oskaloosa

OH – Brynn Higginbotham – Pella

L – Kyli Hiemstra – Pella

RB – Brynn Bishop – Indianola

MH – Mackenzie Sloan – Indianola

MH – Ava Johnson – Norwalk

MH – Maggie Liefker – DCG

Honorable Mentions

S – Gwen Farley – DCG

S – Macy Lampe – Newton

S – Lily Bonnett – Oskaloosa

OH – Ava McKay – Norwalk

OH – Anna Cantrell – DCG

OH – Delaney Woollums – Newton

OH – Annika Van Dyke – Pella Christian

OH – Ema Zula – Pella Christian

OH/RS – Brooke Schulte – Pella

RS – Sydney Namminga – Pella

RS – Macy Wente – Indianola

L – Maci Lerseth – Indianola

L – Lydia Van Veldhuizen – Oskaloosa

MH – Emmory Toppenberg – Norwalk

Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow and Chaka Khan ready for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Posted on by Sam Parsons

NEW YORK (AP) — Fans of hip-hop, country, pop, funk, R&B and rock all have reason to cheer the 2023 class entering the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Missy Elliott, Kate Bush, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Chaka Khan, “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius and the late George Michael will be inducted into the hall on Friday night in New York City. The ceremony is also streaming live for the first time on Disney+.

Also entering the hall are The Spinners, Rage Against the Machine, DJ Kool Herc, Link Wray, Al Kooper and Elton John’s longtime co-songwriter Bernie Taupin.

The ceremony in Brooklyn will feature either as presenters or performers John, Brandi Carlile, Dave Matthews, H.E.R., Chris Stapleton, St. Vincent, New Edition, Stevie Nicks, Adam Levine, Carrie Underwood, Common, Ice-T, LL Cool J, Miguel, Queen Latifah and Sia. There’s even money that John will sing some of the songs he wrote with Taupin.

Elliott becomes the first female hip-hop artist in the rock hall, which called her “a true pathbreaker in a male-dominated genre.” Taupin makes it into the rock hall 29 years after his writing partner, John.

Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction. Nominees were voted on by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals.

Bush was a nominee last year but didn’t make the final cut. She got in this year due to a new wave in popularity after the show “Stranger Things” featured her song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God).” The hall hailed her for “using lush soundscapes, radical experimentation, literary themes, sampling, and theatricality to captivate audiences and inspire countless musicians.”

Bush comes into the ceremony having broken three Guinness World Records, including becoming the oldest woman to reach No. 1 and the longest gap between No. 1s on the UK’s singles chart.

Michael, first as a member of Wham! and then as a solo artist, was cited for “paving the way for a generation of proud LGBTQIA+ artists, from Sam Smith to Lil Nas X to Troye Sivan” and the 90-year-old Nelson was simply described as “an American institution.”

Crow was recognized for key songs in the 1990s musical canon like “All I Wanna Do” and “Every Day Is a Winding Road,” while Rage Against the Machine “forged brazen protest music for the modern world.”

The hall called DJ Kool Herc “a founding father of hip-hop music” who “helped create the blueprint for hip-hop.” And Chaka Khan was described as “one of the mightiest and most influential voices in music” a “streetwise but sensual hip-hop-soul diva,” who paved the way for women like Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu and Janelle Monáe.

The Spinners became a hit-making machine with four No. 1 R&B hits in less than 18 months, including “I’ll Be Around” and “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love.” Rock guitarist Wray was said to be ahead of his time, influencing Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Springsteen.

Cornelius, who died in 2012, was celebrated for creating a nationally televised platform for African American music and culture. He “became a visionary entrepreneur who opened the door — and held it open — for many others to follow him through.”

ABC will air a special featuring performance highlights and standout moments on Jan. 1.

New center aims to help Iowa veterans, family members become entrepreneurs

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Matt Kelley (Radio Iowa)

Veterans Day is next week and the Iowa district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration is promoting a new center devoted to helping those who’ve served our country in uniform to launch or expand their own small businesses. Ty Williams is director of the S.B.A.’s Veterans Business Outreach Center, which opened in July in Omaha to serve Iowa and Nebraska.

“We’re hoping to reach veterans, military spouses, transitioning active duty members,” Williams says, “and our goal is to help them as they start their small businesses, provide them with training and counseling.”

The S.B.A. opened this center in an effort to show its support for this important community, which Williams says includes past and current members of the Iowa Army and Air National Guard and Reserves.

Williams says she knows first-hand how hard it can be to start or grow a small business, as well as the challenges veterans face transitioning into the civilian workforce.

“I had three small businesses of my own and I didn’t know about all these programs that were available as a military spouse,” Williams says. “I just went through the bumps and bruises of getting my businesses started. So I thought that it would be a great help to veterans if they had someone to guide them and lead them along the way, so they don’t have to make the same mistakes that I made.”

While the center is based in Omaha, Williams says the services are available to all Iowa veterans and their family members.

“Since we’re new, we’re just trying to get the word out that we are here and available to help,” Williams says. “Spread the word, attend our training, join our social media platform, because we have all our trainings and upcoming events there. A lot of our trainings are hybrid so they will be able to do it online.”

Available programs include: Boots to Business, business training and counseling, as well as help with business loans and veterans business certification.

OHS Marching Band Earns 50th Consecutive Division 1 Rating at IHSMA State Festival

Posted on by Sam Parsons

OSKALOOSA — On October 14, the Oskaloosa High School Marching Band achieved a remarkable milestone by securing its 50th consecutive Division I (superior) rating at the Iowa High School Music Association (IHSMA) State Marching Band Festival.

The competition took place at Pella High School, with OHS competing in Class 3A. Bands receive ratings on a scale ranging from Division V to Division I, with Division I being the highest attainable rating. Oskaloosa boasts the second-longest streak in the state of Iowa, surpassed only by Valley High School in West Des Moines.

The OHS Marching Band is led by Director James (Jim) Deprizio.

“Our goal is always to earn a top rating at the state competition, and we never take it for granted,” said Deprizio. “Our students work tirelessly, dedicating themselves to local competitions throughout the fall season to prepare for state. All of the Oskaloosa band directors are incredibly proud of our students’ unwavering dedication and the outstanding results they have achieved.”

The marching band’s other notable accomplishments preparing for the IHSMA event this season include earning first place at the Mt. Pleasant Marching Band Invitational on September 16, as well as at the Davis County Festival of Bands on September 30. The band has also won Best Color Guard (twice), Best Drum Line(twice), and Best Winds (twice)

“We are immensely proud of the standard of excellence that the OHS Marching Band and their dedicated directors consistently maintain,” said Mike Fisher, Superintendent. “Their 50th consecutive Division I rating at state exemplifies the commitment to the quality that our marching band students and staff bring to the community, and we are exceptionally proud of their achievements and how this program engages ALL students to embrace the power of learning.”

Each year in August, OHS Marching Band students begin learning their state routine and dedicate the fall season to refining it through numerous group rehearsals, individual rehearsals, instrument-specific rehearsals, and performances during home football games. The IHSMA State Marching Band Festival marks the conclusion of the marching band season.

To learn more about the OHS Marching Band, please visit the Oskaloosa Bands Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Oskybands/.

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