OSKALOOSA — The Mahaska Chamber & Development Group is getting ready for the Coffee & Conversation events. This engaging series of informative sessions provides Mahaska County residents with invaluable insights to state, county and local topics, fostering opportunities for community members to meet, learn, and discuss subjects important to community improvement. Join them at Smokey Row (109 S Market, St., Oskaloosa) from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM for these enlightening conversations. A special thank you to MidWestOne Bank for sponsoring coffee for all attendees.
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House Fire in Bussey Results in Multiple Injuries, Severe Damage
BUSSEY – A house fire in Bussey over the weekend sent multiple people to the hospital and resulted in severe damage to the home.
According to Bussey Fire and Rescue, the fire was reported on Sunday, November 30th, at approximately 4:43pm. Firefighters were dispatched to an address on Elba Avenue in Mahaska County for the report of a residential structure fire with injuries. Initial reports stated that a male was working on a gas line inside the home when the home caught fire.
While en route to the station, mutual aid was immediately requested from Indiana Township Fire Department and Eddyville Fire Department for tankers and manpower. Mahaska Health Partnership was also requested for an ambulance. BFD responded with an engine, a tanker and an ambulance. ITFD responded with an engine, a tanker and a rescue. EFD responded with an engine and a tanker and Mahaska Health Partnership with an ambulance. Crews arrived on scene to find a single story residential structure with smoke showing from all four sides. Crews were also met in the driveway with a burn victim, as well as multiple victims complaining of smoke inhalation. It was confirmed that everyone was out of the home at that time. Bussey Rescue as well as Mahaska Health Partnership transported multiple victims to the hospital.
Crews began an offensive attack inside the structure. It was confirmed at this time to be a basement fire that was being fueled by liquid propane that had ignited prior to FD arrival. All utilities were shut off to the home and additional mutual aid was requested from Oskaloosa Fire for manpower. OFD responded with an engine and a rescue.
While crews were inside attacking the basement fire, the fire progressed through the floor on the first division and extended into the attic. Crews continued to battle the fire for approximately 3 hours. Due to the amount of breathing air consumed during the fire fight, Melcher-Dallas Fire was requested for use of their mobile fill station on their rescue truck to refill SCBA bottles. During overhaul operations there was one FF who sustained a minor, non-life threatening injury.
The fire was contained to one end of the basement as well as one end of the first division of the home. The rest of the home as well as the garage experienced severe smoke and water damage. The scene was secured by the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office and the cause of the fire is being investigated by the Iowa State Fire Marshall‘s Office.
Assisting agencies included: the Iowa State Patrol, Indiana Township Fire Department, Eddyville Fire Department, Oskaloosa Fire Department, Melcher-Dallas Fire Department, Mahaska Health Partnership, Iowa State Fire Marshall’s Office, Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch, Mahaska County Dispatch, Mahaska County Rural Water and Mahaska County Secondary Roads Department.
Luigi Mangione due in court as fight continues over evidence in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing case
NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione is due back in court on Tuesday for the second day of a hearing in his bid to bar New York prosecutors from using evidence that they say links him to last year’s killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The pretrial hearing in Mangione’s state murder case kicked off Monday with prosecutors playing surveillance videos of the Dec. 4, 2024, killing and security footage of his arrest five days later at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
Mangione, 27, gripped a pen in his right hand, making a fist at times, as prosecutors played the audio of a 911 call from a McDonald’s manager relaying concerns from customers that Mangione looked like the suspect in Thompson’s death.
Mangione’s lawyers are asking Judge Gregory Carro to block prosecutors from showing or telling jurors about items seized from his backpack during his arrest, including a 9 mm handgun that prosecutors say matches the one used in the killing and a notebook in which they say Mangione described his intent to “wack” a health insurance executive.
The defense contends the items should be excluded because police didn’t have a warrant to search his backpack. They also want to suppress some statements Mangione made to law enforcement personnel, such as allegedly giving a false name, because officers started asking questions before telling him he had a right to remain silent.
Mangione, the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. The state charges carry the possibility of life in prison, while federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Neither trial has been scheduled. The next hearing in the federal case is scheduled for Jan. 9.
Mangione’s lawyers want to bar evidence from both cases, but this week’s hearing pertains only to the state case.
Five witnesses testified on Monday, including a Pennsylvania prison officer who said Mangione told him that at the time of his arrest he had a backpack with foreign currency and a 3D-printed pistol.
Another prison officer said his superintendent told him Mangione was being held under constant watch because the facility “did not want an Epstein-style situation,” referring to Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 jail suicide.
More law enforcement officers are expected to take the witness stand on Tuesday.
Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind as the executive walked to a midtown Manhattan hotel for his company’s annual investor conference. Prosecutors say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
Mangione was arrested as he ate breakfast at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan after the restaurant’s manager told a 911 dispatcher, “I have a customer here that some other customers were suspicious of — that he looks like the CEO shooter from New York.”
The manager told the dispatcher that she searched online for photos of the suspect that police disseminated. But, as Mangione sat in the restaurant, she said she could only see his eyebrows because he had a beanie pulled down close to his eyes and was wearing a medical face mask.
On Monday, a few dozen Mangione supporters watched the hearing from the back of the courtroom.
One wore a green T-shirt that said: “Without a warrant, it’s not a search, it’s a violation.” Another woman held a doll of the Luigi video game character and had a smaller figurine of him clipped to her purse.
Court officials say the hearing could take more than a week.
Iowa Board of Regents leaders stepping down
By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)
The top two leaders on the board that oversees the three state universities will step down Thursday.
Board of Regents president Sherry Bates of Scranton took over as interim president in January of 2024 when then president Michael Richards stepped down, and then was elected permanently to the post. Bates first joined the board in 2014, and her latest term expires in April of 2029.
Bates says in a statement: “It’s time for me to step back, spend more time with my family, and allow the next generation of Regent leadership to continue our good work. Iowa, Iowa State and UNI are among the best public universities in the country, and I look forward to seeing them continue to grow and excel.”
Board President Pro-Tem Greta Rouse of Emmetsburg first served as a student regent from 2008-2012. She was later appointed to six-year term on the Board again in April of 2021. She is staying on the Board and says in a statement that stepping away from leadership will allow her to spend more time with her family.
The Regents will meet Wednesday to elect new leadership.
Oskaloosa CSD Makes Statement Regarding Conference Realignment Discussions
OSKALOOSA, Iowa – The Oskaloosa Community School District issued a statement regarding discussions surrounding conference realignment:
“The Little Hawkeye Conference has continued to explore long-term stability and balance across its membership. Earlier this year, the conference approved the additions of two schools beginning in the 2026–27 school year, with both schools publicly accepting invitations.
“In recent weeks, additional activity across the conference has accelerated conversations. With recent developments and a widening gap between larger and smaller schools within the Little Hawkeye Conference, it is appropriate for Oskaloosa Schools to reassess what environment best supports our students and families. Competitive balance, travel, scheduling, and opportunities across athletics, performing arts, and activities remain central to that review.
“A leadership committee composed of parents, community members, teachers, and coaches is evaluating options. Those options include remaining in the Little Hawkeye Conference, forming a new conference, or exploring membership in another conference. No decisions have been made, and no specific direction is being recommended at this time.
“Our goal is to take a thoughtful look at what is best for students. We expect to complete our review before July 1, 2026 and we will share updates after any official action by the conference or the Oskaloosa School Board.”
Oskaloosa City Council Approves Drone Purchase for Fire Department, Discusses Annual Community Survey
By Sam Parsons
The Oskaloosa City Council held a regular meeting last night and recognized the 2025 Oskaloosa Police Officer of the Year. Officer Stephen Stangl was the recipient of the award; the OPD says that Officer Stangl is a department Field Training Officer who helps run their evidence department, oversees the alcohol and tobacco compliance programs, and serves as their portable breath test calibration officer.
In official business, the council approved the purchase of a drone for the Oskaloosa Fire Department, using donated memorial fund money. According to the fire department, the drone will be a valuable tool to aid in search and rescue, Haz-Mat incidents, fire investigations, and other incidents.
The council also discussed the merits of conducting an annual community survey. The last time the community administered such a survey was in 2022, when they were gathering data for Plan Osky, their comprehensive plan. City staff recommended administering a community survey annually, and the council agreed to conduct a survey this month, with any following surveys to be determined by the level of participation in this month’s survey. This was approved by a 6-1 vote; councilmember Lisa Ossian accounted for the lone “no” vote.
The next regular meeting for the Oskaloosa city council is scheduled for December 15.
Young Ambassador Winners Announced in Oskaloosa
OSKALOOSA — The Oskaloosa Main Street Young Ambassador Contest winners were announced during a fun and festive ceremony at Penn Central Mall on Monday evening. Sixteen young contestants, along with their families and friends, gathered to celebrate the start of the holiday season.
Investigators plead for tips after 3 children, 1 adult killed in shooting at child’s birthday party
STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in California appealed to the public for tips, cellphone video, witness accounts and even rumors as they searched Sunday for a suspect in the killing of three children and an adult during a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party.
Someone opened fire at a banquet hall in Stockton where 100 people or more had gathered on Saturday, San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow told reporters. He said detectives believe the gunfire continued outside and there may have been multiple shooters.
Withrow said the deceased were ages 8, 9, 14 and 21. Eleven people were also wounded, with at least one in critical condition, he said. No one was in custody by Sunday evening, and the sheriff urged anyone with information to contact his office.
“This is a time for our community to show that we will not put up with this type of behavior, when people will just walk in and kill children,” Withrow said during a Sunday media briefing. “And so if you know anything about this, you have to come forward and tell us what you know. If not, you just become complacent and think this is acceptable behavior.”
Sheriff’s spokesperson Heather Brent said earlier that investigators believe it was a “targeted incident.” Officials did not elaborate on why authorities believe it was intentional or who might have been targeted.
Roscoe Brown said the party was in honor of his brother’s granddaughter, who turned 2 years old and was uninjured. Brown, who works for the city of Stockton’s Office of Violence Prevention, was in Arizona when he learned about the shooting and drove straight to the scene. He said a niece and nephew of his were shot, and he knows several other victims. He didn’t have information about their conditions.
“Who would come and do that to some kids, you know?” Brown told The Associated Press following a vigil organized by faith leaders to honor the dead and pray for the wounded. “You can’t shoot up a party. That’s senseless. A kid’s party, at that.”
The shooting occurred just before 6 p.m. Saturday inside the hall, which shares a parking lot with other businesses in the city of 320,000 residents about 80 miles (130 kilometers) east of San Francisco.
“This was a birthday party for a young child, and the fact that this happened is absolutely heartbreaking,” Brent told reporters. She said investigators would welcome any information, “even rumors.”
District Attorney Ron Freitas urged the shooter to “turn yourself in immediately.”
Hours after the shooting, the Stockton Police Department arrested five people, including a juvenile, on weapons and gang-related charges. There was no indication that the arrests were connected to the killings at the banquet hall, the sheriff said.
Mayor Christina Fugazi told reporters that the 8-year-old victim attended a local school and had a parent who worked for the Stockton Unified School District. The mayor said counselors would be available this week at city schools.
Community leaders expressed anguish over the loss of victims so young.
“They should be writing their Christmas lists right now. Their parents should be out shopping for them for Christmas. And to think that their lives are over. I can’t even begin to imagine what these families are going through. Breaks my heart,” Fugazi said on Sunday.
In 2024, Stockton had many more homicides — 54 — than other California cities of similar size, but the rate was down through October of this year, according to city data.
Fugazi on Saturday recalled a shooting several years ago in which “seven people were gunned down” in the city.
Withrow said he cut his family’s Thanksgiving celebration short and drove more than eight hours from Oregon to the shooting scene.
“I put down my grandbabies, to come hunt down these animals who took somebody else’s babies away from them,” the sheriff said.
Massive Thanksgiving weekend storm hits Iowa
By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)
Classes are cancelled today at Iowa State University, the University of Northern Iowa and several other Iowa colleges to give students who went home for Thanksgiving more time to return after a massive storm dumped over a foot of snow in some areas of the state.
The Iowa State Patrol responded to 210 accidents on Iowa highways from Friday through midday Sunday. The patrol says there were no fatalities, but 20 people were injured. State troopers were called to help well over 600 motorists during the storm.
The National Weather Service reports by Sunday morning, 16.5 inches of snow had fallen in Fort Dodge. The Des Moines Airport was shut down for about 12 hours after a plane slid off the runway Saturday night.
Many churches cancelled services on Sunday and dozens of Iowa schools have cancelled or delayed the start of classes today.
38th Annual Lighted Christmas Parade Set for Saturday
OSKALOOSA — Oskaloosa’s 38th Annual Lighted Christmas Parade is set to bring thousands downtown on December 6 for a full day of holiday celebrations. The festivities are a blend of long-standing traditions with new experiences that highlight the community’s warmth, creativity, and showcasing the largest Christmas Parade yet.
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