MVL Sun — 1.23.25

Roughly

$2.5 million investment in current

space

Nathan Countryman

Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com

The City of Lisbon has approved a $750,000 development agreement with Fareway Stores following the sale of the

Winter Slam big boost for booster club

Mount Vernon families petition for sanctioning of middle school soccer

MV School Board to take action at February meeting

Nathan Countryman

The temperatures may have been steadily dropping as a polar vortex impacted the area, but it was a hot time on the Mount Vernon Middle School and Mount Vernon High School gymnasiums as the Mount Vernon Booster Club hosted a winter slam basketball tournament for multiple ages.

Teams from North Liberty, Anamosa, Lisbon, Mount Vernon, West Delaware, North Cedar and other schools participated in the tournaments hosted between the two gymnasiums.

Referees were there to call issues with play, but also to help instruct the middle school players on a rule of the game, like when it is okay to press the defense to full court during the tournament or on dribbling or traveling. Many parents commended the work of the referees of keeping the games lively but giving fair direction to all players.

Close games were seen, including one between Anamosa and North Liberty that was within two baskets right to the end of play.

The tournament was a fundraiser for the Mount Vernon Booster Club and required several volunteers to run the contests smoothly for the day.

Nathan Countryman | Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun

The Mount Vernon Mustangs and the Anamosa Blue Raiders square off in the Mount Vernon Middle School gymnasium.

Brothers Market grocery store to Fareway.

The first of 15 annual disbursements via Local Option Sales and Service Tax dollars of $50,000 each will occur Oct. 1, 2026, a year after the store has been officially open in Lisbon.

“This is a huge opportunity for Lisbon,” city administrator Brandon Siggins said. “If they hadn’t been willing to revitalize Brothers Grocery, they may have built somewhere near here, but maybe not this town, and we’d have this empty grocery store to worry about.”

Mayor Doug O’Connor concurred,

thanking Pritchard and Siggins for the work that went into making this a reality.

“This is a huge deal for this community,” O’Connor said.

Fareway is expected to invest $2.5 million in turning the Brothers Market grocery store into a Fareway Store, without doing construction to the exterior of the store.

Koby Pritchard, director of real estate for Fareway, explained that they are basing the size of this store to one that opened up in Rockwell City roughly three years ago. It’s a store with a footprint of less

Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com

More than 240 people signed a petition seeking the sanctioning of Mount Vernon middle school soccer as a school activity, which was presented at the January school board meeting.

The requirement for a petition to be considered by a school district is either 500 eligible voters or 10 percent of the number of voters who voted in the last school board election. For Mount Vernon’s 2023 school board election, 1,189 voters cast a vote, meaning 118 signatures were required for the petition.

In the petition to the school board, members of the Mount Vernon Soccer community including coaches Richard Lewis, PTO member Myleena Grenis and parent Whitney Jost outlined why sanctioning the middle school sport was important.

than 15,000 square feet that is proving to work for the grocer in a smaller community.

“The Mount Vernon and Lisbon and Denver communities were markets we had already potentially eyed for future stores, so when Brothers came to us, it checked many of the boxes we were looking for,” Pritchard said.

The difference is that with this model, turnaround for the new store will be roughly 16 weeks as opposed to Fareway

building a brand-new store in the community, which would have put a new store in the communities in 2029 at the earliest.

Construction will start in mid-February when Brothers Market closes doors. Fareway will be keeping several of the refrigerated aisles in the store, but will be installing new shelving throughout the majority of the store.

There will also be significant investment in the Fareway meat counter people expect to see at a

Fareway location.

“The pricing will be similar to what you see in a Cedar Rapids store, and the layout for items on shelves will be similar to other Fareway stores,” Pritchard said.

“We want to be able to do this the right way and invest in the Lisbon location like we would if we were building new.”

Pritchard said the store will have a grocery manager, assistant grocery manager, market manager and market assistant that will be hired full time. Those employees are expected to live locally in these communities.

Additional slots will be filled by a combination of full time and part time staff. Workers from Brothers who want to stay on with Fareway are currently being transferred to nearby Fareway stores for the next few months while the store is being constructed.

Pritchard said the decision to close the Brothers Market location during the transition was made knowing there are options for people to get groceries locally while that construction is happening.

“There is still Gary’s Foods down the road and a couple of

Fareway stores in the Cedar Rapids area,” Pritchard said.

Cabin Coffee’s franchise will remain open and the drivethrough will remain open throughout the renovation process.

Pritchard said to the council that every community that has had a Fareway built has never regretted that happening.

“We know it’s harder for these stores to survive in smaller markets, which is why we’re looking at the model in Rockwell City as how this store will operate,” Pritchard said.

Volume 156 I Issue 4

108 1st St SW, Mount Vernon, IA 52314

Phone: 319-895-6216 news@mvlsun.com

The Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun strives for accuracy and fairness in reporting news. If we’ve made an error or a report is misleading, let us know about it: news@mvlsun.com

STAFF

Publisher Jason Brummond jason.brummond@dailyiowan.com

Clear Creek-Amana, Center Point-Urbana, Marion, South Tama and Williamsburg all have sanctioned middle school soccer teams, while Mount Vernon’s team is not school sanctioned.

By sanctioning the program, Mount Vernon schools would pay for one head coach for the boys’ and girls’ teams; purchase game uniforms and equipment as needed; provide buses or school vehicles transportation to away matches; schedule and pay for referees for home matches and provide other administrative support.

The Mount Vernon middle school soccer program began

in 2021 as a pilot program to be considered for school sanctioning. Criteria laid out for the club included demonstrating interest among seventh and eighth grade students to field girls’ and boys’ teams; demonstrate an ability to generate revenue to offset program costs; and determine how programs would impact school transportation needs for spring sports.

The petition outlines that the club has met all three criteria. In the past two seasons, the boys’ team has had more than 30 youth interested in the sport, enough to field three teams.

The girls’ team has had a rooster of 20 players for the past two seasons as well, more than enough to

Budget hearings on roads, water, sewer and waste

Nathan Countryman

Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun

nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com

Budget discussions continued for Lisbon, with reviews of the road, water, sewer and solid waste budgets.

Roads

One of the expected increases for the roads budget this year is continued work of the Dolan Shop

Free

for the city, with the rewiring work slated to be completed this year. It’s a project that has been slated to be completed for several years now.

Engineer’s expenses are down for the year, with the Business 30 resurfacing project completed.

One project the city is looking at is crack sealing work on East Main Street. Public works director Travis Bagby said that the estimate he received for that job was roughly $29,000, and that would include crack sealing at other locations.

The city will also need to look at

field a complete squad.

The teams also generate roughly $1,000 per home contest in admission and concessions stand proceeds of the nine home games held.

In 2022, the Mount Vernon Middle School Parent Teacher organization voted to financially support the middle school soccer program as a bridge to school sanctioning. The PTO has provided funding for bus transportation to away matches in the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Both teams have proved successful in that time frame as well.

Interest in a club team has also garnered more than 90 youth locally playing in competitive soccer in leagues between 10U and

replacing a 2008 Gator in the city’s fleet. The estimated timeline to replace the Gator was in 2019, so the city was able to use the vehicle for another five years. The estimated cost for a new Gator is $15,000, and it will be pulled from budgets from a few different departments who utilize the vehicle.

Water/sewer

Both the water and sewer rate are estimated to go up 3 percent each this year.

Siggins said the cost increase for water is just due to the cost of operating the commodity. The city did put $15,000 in the budget for work on South Street and Jefferson Street.

For sewer, it’s the increase of contractual services that are driving the price up. The city has to do sludge removal twice a year. As well, the cost of water meters is also increasing.

The city also plans on making a double payment on the sewer debt

tax preparation program

Scheduling for VITA, a free tax preparation program, now available

United Way of East Central Iowa (UWECI) will once again be offering its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program in 2025. The program is scheduled to run from Feb. 3 to April 4. Appointments opened on

Jan. 14 and are available on a first-come, firstserve basis. Eligibility for the VITA program includes being a resident of Linn, Jones, Benton, Cedar, or Iowa counties and earning less than $67,000 per year as an individual or family.

There will be VITA sites available for the 2025 season at:

• Cornell College

• Hiawatha Public Library

• Horizons

• Ladd Library

• Marion Public Library

• St. Andrew Lutheran Church

• St. Mark’s United Methodist Church

• Jones County Volunteer Center

Appointments are required and must be scheduled online at uweci.org/vitaclient. For questions about the VITA program, including site infor -

15U for the Cedar Rapids/Marion clubs.

“The bottom line is the framework has been created – from youth teams through middle school and on to high school – for winning boys’ and girls’ soccer teams,” wrote Whitney Jost. “Sanctioning the middle school soccer program secures the future and success of soccer in Mount Vernon.”

Superintendent Matthew Leeman said the district was planning to move forward with sanctioning the middle school boys’ and girls’ soccer clubs this spring, with the board slated to take a vote on the matter at the next meeting and a memorandum of understanding, as the petition was requesting.

fund this year to pay down debt on a project.

Solid waste

There was not much change to the solid waste budget for the year. City administrator Brandon Siggins said that Johnson County Refuse has been much better with waste management in the tail end of this year. The city is under contract with the provider through 2028.

Work beginning on sesquicentennial celebration

Work is also beginning on the celebration of Lisbon’s 150th anniversary as a community. City administrator Brandon Siggins asked any citizens interested in helping to plan the celebration to let Lisbon City Hall know. The hope is the festival will be a separate celebration than Sauerkraut Days this year, but the plans are just forming for the event.

mation and eligibility requirements, please call 319-569-6995. No walkins will be accepted.

The VITA program would not be possible without the support from our volunteers. Last year, 100 volunteers gave over 5,100 hours of their time to provide free tax assistance to local residents. Because of their efforts and the opportunity to offer this critical service to individuals, our VITA program makes a difference in our community

and contributes to economic mobility.

“One of the most rewarding moments I’ve had as a VITA volunteer involved working with a family who legally immigrated to the United States and needed to prepare their taxes for the first time,” said VITA volunteer, Mark Polking.

“At the end, the couple was overjoyed to learn they would be receiving a significant refund. The impact our team felt was tremendous.”

Editor Nathan Countryman nathan.countryman @mvlsun.com

Sports Ryan Suchomel ryan.suchomel@mvlsun.com

Reporting Intern Joel Kellar

Advertising Sales Paul Rowland paul.rowland@mvlsun.com

Office/Sales Assistant Rochelle Ferguson rochelle.ferguson@mvlsun. com

Production Manager Heidi Owen heidi.owen@dailyiowan.com

Business Manager Debbie Plath debra.plath@dailyiowan.com

Official Newspaper: Mount Vernon, Lisbon, Bertram, Linn County, Mount Vernon Community School District, Lisbon Community School District

The Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun (USPS 367-520), a division of The Daily Iowan, is published weekly every Thursday by Student Publications, Inc., 100 Adler Journalism Building, Room E131, Iowa City, Iowa 52242. Periodicals Postage Paid at the Mount Vernon Post Office and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun, 108 1st St SW, Mount Vernon, IA 52314. Subscriptions: Contact Rochelle Ferguson at 319-895-6216 or rochelle.ferguson@mvlsun.com for additional information. Subscription rates: Linn and adjoining counties – $55 annually; elsewhere in Iowa – $75 annually; out of state – $85 annually.

Copyright 2025 Mount VernonLisbon Sun, a division of The Daily Iowan and Student Publications, Inc. All articles, photographs and graphics, both in print and online editions, are the property of Student Publications, Inc., and may not be reproduced or republished without written permission.

mvlsun.com

Correction

In the Jan. 9 issue, the cutline for Heritage Days on the Year in Review page identified the incorrect bank in the float photo. That photo was of Bridge Community

MVLCT auditions for Calendar Girls

Feb. 9 and 10

MVLCT Is thrilled to announce auditions for our next 45th Anniversary production Calendar Girls, directed by Kerry Covington (House of Blue Leaves, Rumors).

Audition Dates:

Sunday, February 9 at 7 p.m. in the Uptown Theatre at the First Street Community Center in Mount Vernon Monday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Uptown Theatre at the First Street Community Center in Mount Vernon Callbacks (If needed) Tuesday, February 11 at 7:00 in the Uptown Theatre at the First Street Community Center in Mount Vernon

Performance Dates:

April 4-5 and 11-12, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. and April 6, 2025 at 2 p.m. in the Uptown Theatre at the First Street Community Center in Mount Vernon

Audition Information:

This show is open to auditioners aged 18+. Auditioners should be prepared for cold readings from the script. Come dressed to move.

Bring your schedule of conflicts and a writing implement.

Fill out our audition form online here or at auditions.

Synopsis:

When Annie’s husband John dies of leukemia, she and best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. They manage to persuade four fellow Women’s Institute members to pose nude with them for an “alternative” calendar, with a little help from hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence. The news of the women’s charitable venture spreads like wildfire, and hordes of press soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in the Yorkshire Dales. The calendar is a success, but Chris and Annie’s friendship is put to the test under the strain of their newfound fame.

Based on the true story of eleven WI members who posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukaemia Research Fund, Calendar Girls opened at the Chichester Festival Theatre and has since become the fastest-selling play in British theatre history.

— Courtesy of Concord Theatricals

Character Descriptions:

Chris* - 40s/50s (Lead) You want Chris at your party. She will talk to people she doesn’t know, find things to say to fill silences and generate laughter. Without Chris in her life, Annie would be better behaved, her life less fun.

Annie* - 40s/50s. (Lead) Annie will join in mischief but is at heart more conformist and less confrontational than Chris. She has enough edge to be interesting, and enough salt not to be too sweet.

Cora* - 40’s. (Lead) Cora’s past is the most eclectic, her horizons broadened by having gone to college. She

is the joker in the pack but never plays the fool. Her wit is deadpan. Sings several times throughout the show.

Jessie* - 60s/70s. (Lead) A lover of life, Jessie doesn’t bother with cosmetics - her elixir of life is bravery. Jessie goes on roller coasters and will correct your grammar.

Celia* - 35-50. (Lead) Celia is a woman more at home in a department store than a church hall. She’s rebellious in a way that sets her apart from her peer group. Marie - 50’s. (Supporting) The WI is a trophy to her, which justifies her entire existence. There is a lingering part of Marie that would love to be on that calendar. Ruth* - 40s. (Lead) Marie’s right-hand woman. Eager to please but not a rag doll. Has a strong emotional arc, journeying from emotionally abused to the genuine self-confidence of a woman happy in her own skin.

Brenda - 40s/50s. (Supporting) A dull guest speaker. John - 50s. (Supporting) Annie’s husband. John is a human sunflower. Not a saint. Not a hero. Just the kind of man you’d want in your car when crossing America. When he dies it feels like someone somewhere turned a light off.

Rod - 50s. (Supporting) Chris’s husband. You have to be a certain type of guy to stick with Chris and Rod loves it. He can give back what he gets, and has a deadpan humor. John was truly his mate, even if they met through their wives.

Lawrence/Liam - late 20’s. (Supporting) The photographer/commercial director. Hesitant without being nerdy. Patient. Shy but enough wit to make a joke. Arranges the shots but only sees the photos.

Lady Cravenshire - 60s. (Supporting) Lady Cravenshire doesn’t mean to be so patronizing but those girls from the WI seem from another world. When she makes an entrance, she makes an entrance. She is not a tweed wearer.

Elaine - 20’s. (Supporting) A young beautician. *This character will be modeling for the calendar with the illusion of nudity during the performance.

MV city administrator outlines accomplishments, items on radar for 2025

Nathan Countryman

Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com

Mount Vernon city administrator Chris Nosbisch gave an update on city’s accomplishments, as well as goals on the plate for 2025 for the community. More than 50 were in attendance for the session at the Lester Buresh Family Community Wellness Center.

On goals accomplished – Nosbisch said a lot of construction has happened in Mount Vernon over the past year, including the work on the Cottage Grove apartment complex and the demolition of the Mount Vernon Motel.

“The city does have a site plan for the old motel grounds that will be reviewed and discussed soon,” Nosbisch said. “It has proposed commercial spaces below with apartments up top.”

Street extensions included Glenn Street and Minish Street, which connect to the Cottage Grove Apartment complex. Fourth Street repaving was also an accomplishment for the city.

Water radio meter reads was another project the city completed in 2024.

The city is in the process of selling the old public works site and moving the majority of that site to Bryant Road spot instead. A generator installed at LBC will take a year

to be fully connected, as a part to connect to the building is on backorder.

As for future projects Nosbisch said looking into a childcare center at LBC, Phase II of the Wastewater treatment plant, uptown street lights are on the slate to begin this year. Streetscape may begin discussions this year.

Citizen questions

During the presentation, Nosbisch fielded a variety of questions from citizens. One of the first was on the requirements on notification of water quality. A citizen had performed a lead test after finidng connection lines were metal into her home, and the level came close to the EPA thresholds. As they didn’t have children present, they switched to a reverse osmosis filtration system.

Nosbisch explained that the only requirement from the EPA at the moment was on identifying homes with metal pipes connecting them to water mains and recommending to watch that.

Nosbisch said that in older homes, especially if one is not cycling through a lot of water, it can be easy for lead to seep into the water supply.

Nosbisch said that the city will not require a household to notify them of any lead in the lines as part of the selling process, because if work has not been done to mitigate the issue, the city could be at fault as well.

The city annually posts a water quality report open to all citizens as well.

When it came to Kwik Star/Kwik Trip, there were some saying the convenience store may not be needed in the community.

Nosbisch said the convenience store moving forward would add to the tax generated in the community.

“Iowa is a property tax heavy state, and a new commercial establishment adds to our tax roles,” Nosbisch said. “If Mount Vernon isn’t growing, we don’t have the value to continue offering the services many citizens want.”

He said the valuation of Mount Vernon, while it has increased, because it is a residential heavy community, the amount of revenue generated for that increase does not generate the same amount as a retail establishment.

“I’ll take more commercial or industrial developments all day long,” Nosbisch said. “They pay 90 percent of taxes, as opposed to residentials, which pay roughly 47 percent of valuation.”

Another person asked if building another assisted living center would add more to the tax roles. Nosbisch said

Thursday,

the state had changed how those centers are valued. They are now valued as residential, not a commercial space.

“Our biggest issue in offering more low to moderate income housing options or assisted living facilities is just having land to develop on,” Nosbisch said.

Sidewalk replacement was another topic that was mentioned. Nosbisch said the next bid for the project will happen this spring, with the contractor replacing through late spring and summer to make sure items are seeded and reestablished by fall.

The need for more enforcement of speed along some Mount Vernon roads came up as well, especially speeds along First Street and Hwy. 1. Nosbisch said the hope is that a permanent stop sign will be installed on Hwy 1 and Fourth Street intersection with the Department of Transportation’s work along Hwy. 1 in a few years, as that’s a crossing used by many school students.

Nosbisch encouraged citizens to call city hall or put in requests for improvements via the Mount Vernon City Hall website.

OPINIONS

SUN EDITORIAL

Nice state you got there— wanna sell it? Opportunity to get lifesaving training this weekend

Living in Iowa

Dan Brawner

“We’ve got great news for you!” the letter said in all caps. “We’re going to buy your house!”

What? My house isn’t for sale. “You don’t have to fix your roof,” it went on, “you don’t have to replace those leaky old windows. Don’t even bother sweeping your floor or doing your dishes. We will buy your house just the way it is.”

I like my windows.

“Call this toll-free number and within seven minutes you’ll have a cash offer for what your house is worth—and take it from us-- it’s not worth much!”

I don’t want to leave my happy home and be thrown out into the cold. I felt like Greenland. Who did these people think they are?

It appears these predatory realtors are part of a wave of imperialist expansionism sweeping the country. When Donald Trump talked about making Canada our 51st state, taking back the Panama Canal and buying Greenland, we thought he was trying out some new material for his upcoming comedy special (called “The Presidency”). Now even Iowa is getting in on the act.

Republican State Senator Mike Bousselot of Ankeny is actually proposing to buy nine southern counties in Minnesota. The only problem is that Minnesota isn’t for sale. Where did he get the idea he could buy another state? Did Bousselot fall for some scam ad on Craigslist? Is it a political stunt? Has the senator completely lost his mind?

Sure, there used to be great real estate deals in the past. Who can forget The Louisiana Purchase of 1803? It was 828,000 square miles for the bargain price of $15 million. Even adjusting for inflation, that’s only $370 million—or about the same price as Jeff Bezos’ second yacht.

And then there was Alaska. When US Secretary of State William H. Seward signed the treaty with Russia in 1867 to buy 665,400 square miles of the Alaska territory for $7 million (about two cents an acre), many in Congress mocked the purchase as “Seward’s Folly” and “a polar bear garden.” (Note: nobody offered Alaska’s indigenous Inuit people any compensation for the land they had called home for centuries.) A couple of years later, gold was discovered in Alaska and, well, you know the rest.

Texas used to belong to Mexico. Then, following the “Texas Revolution” which lasted about 10 minutes, Texas became an independent nation. (Many Texans insist it still is.) Then the US annexed Texas in 1845 to make it the 28th state. For free. What a deal!

But times have changed. There just aren’t bargain-basement states for sale anymore.

Sen. Bousselot is proposing to use Iowa’s budget surplus to buy counties in Minnesota—as if that money isn’t already desperately needed for medical care, roads, replacing lead water pipes, providing broadband to rural areas, etc. Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley said he is “willing to consider the proposal.” Consider it ridiculous? Consider it a waste of their time? Why not make an offer for the Brooklyn Bridge? I hear that’s for sale.

The Linn County Rotary Club and Lisbon Mount Vernon Ambulance Service will again be holding a community CPR class at Cornell College’s Thomas Commons Saturday, Jan. 25, beginning at 9 a.m. Sign-up is still available at bit.ly/MVL25CPR for the class.

‘Hadestown’ worth the ticket

An optional stop the bleed class will also be held at the same location beginning at 1 p.m.

The CPR training is offered free, unless you need to pay for certification from the American Herat Association, in which case it is $30.

In previous classes, LMVVAS director Jacob Lindauer has explained that the average response time is 10 minutes, especially in rural areas, and the importance of conducting CPR can help save lives. In Iowa, Lindauer said last year, the opportunity to survive a cardiac event is one percent, due to the distance of ambulances to responding and administering compressions until first responders arrive. More people knowing how to administer CPR improves those odds in our community.

Those most important steps in an emergency are calling 911 and starting to administer CPR as soon as possible and not stopping CPR until first responders arrive, even if it is hands only CPR to keep blood circulating.

The classes offered by LMVAS and the Rotary are a good way to refresh life saving skills for those who need them. More than 200 people have been trained on CPR since the class started seven years ago.

call them.

What is fun is when a show transcends and finds a way to be memorable in storytelling above those repeated beats.

“It’s a sad song, (a sad song), one we know from way back when. It’s an old song, an old tale from way back when… But we’re going to sing it again.”

That’s the thing about Greek tragedies. We all know them and the tropes they

COLUMN

inspired. They are the building blocks of so many of the stories that we tell again and again and again in our movies, television shows, plays and musicals. They are the original stories, adapted and retold for generations, the OG as today’s vernacular may

“Hadestown” does just that. I can’t count the number of times I’ve listened to the Broadway cast recording before seeing the show staged. There’s something beautiful of the stories of Greek deities with jazz and bluegrass music, with instruments that you don’t always expect to hear in a musical. Some of the haunting harmonies in those songs, especially in Act 1, are some of my recent favorite musical theater pieces, especially “Wait For Me.”

Finally seeing “Hadestown” in the touring show’s stop at the Adler Theater in Davenport, I was to borrow a term from another musical – blown away. Especially

watching how that song I love “Wait for Me” was staged. That descent to the Underworld – the lighting design, the choreography — elevated the lyrics and the yearning in that song. If I had any quibbles with the show, it is that the songs in Act II are not as strong as those above ground. That’s not to say Hades booming bass is not used to great effect, it’s just the musical seems to front load so many of its great songs before intermission. And the way that the story eventually concludes, is just utterly beautiful.

The tour is making stops at the Hancher Auditorium this coming weekend and in Cedar Falls and Des Moines in April. It’s a show if you weren’t able to see it on Broadway in it’s original run or tour is worth catching along it’s stops.

The devastation from the fires in California is unbelievable. Hearing the stories and seeing the pictures of what has happened is just incomprehensible. While we count our blessings here in Iowa, our hearts go out to the thousands who have had to be evacuated, the families who have lost loved ones, and the thousands who have lost their homes and businesses. It’s easy to distance ourselves from this crisis; California seems so far away from Iowa. We rarely see wildfires here. I’ve met so many Iowans who have never visited the west coast or know anyone in California. But these are our fellow Americans. More than 12,300 structures have been destroyed. Look at that number again. That’s an incredible amount of homes and businesses that are completely gone.

I keep thinking of the Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared.” I grew up with five brothers who were involved in Scouting and a father who often served as a Scoutmaster. The Boy Scout principles were a part of our family and home. We were all taught to be prepared. We kept a food supply in our home in case of a disaster or if things turned upside down financially (which happened a few times for our family). We were taught where the shut off valves were for water and gas in case one of us needed to turn it off in case of an earthquake or fire. It’s been over four years now since the Derecho. We were blind sighted by that disaster. We were lucky not to have a large death toll with all of the destruction the storm brought. We all learned to survive during those weeks without power. Those who didn’t have water learned to be creative with finding ways to wash and

get drinking water. It was an incredible time to see our communities come together and for neighbors reach out to one another.

But have we forgotten those lessons? Are we still keeping our gas tanks above a quarter or half tank? Did our plans go through with buying generators? Did we go and buy chain saws like we swore we would, so that we would be ready for the next big storm? Do we have water stored? Did we do any of the things we said we would do so that the next time we had to live through a disaster we would be more prepared?

When I hear of the people in California having 15 minutes to grab things in their homes before having to evacuate, I just think of the chaos that those 15 minutes probably held. I’m sure everyone was just overcome with anxiety and panic. I can’t imagine having only 15 minutes to run around my house to grab

what I would need to survive for the next few days and also grab things that were important to me in case I never was able to return to my house. That’s why the Boy Scout motto is so important. We can plan ahead so that if we are ever put in that predicament we will be prepared. We can have a “go-bag” packed with a change of clothes, some toiletries, snacks, and cash in it. We should have one ready for each member of the household and keep it in a place where everyone could get to it quickly. We can have a tote packed where we keep important papers like birth certificates, passports, deeds, etc. so that it’s easy to grab and we don’t have to spend valuable time gathering those things. If we have these essential things ready to go, then we can spend the remaining time gathering precious mementos and extra food and clothing. If we have pets, then we can gather them up and gather supplies for them. We’ll be able to shut off the gas and water and secure our homes. We can also use this time to go and help our neighbors

gather things.

I hope that we don’t have to experience what Californians are going through right now. It sounds like it

really took them by surprise. But I hope that we will use their experience to consider what we can do to be ready for what can come

our way. We never know what may come. Being ready and prepared won’t make it all better or take away from the devastation

of losing your home, but it will put us on a better path for facing those first few days after having everything obliterated.

Iowa Attorney General warns of increasing ‘grandparent scams’

Iowa Attorney General warns of increasing ‘grandparent scams’ Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and the Department of Public Safety are warning Iowans to be aware of a new wave of “grandparent scams.” Several Iowa communities throughout the state have recently reported efforts by criminal groups to swindle predominately older Iowans.

This scam is not new – the Attorney General’s Office has been warning Iowans about the grandparent scam since at least 2008.

In a grandparent scam, con artists call the victim posing as a grandchild and claiming they have been in an accident, hospitalized, jailed, or even in a foreign country, then ask the grandparent to send money to help them. At times, these scammers will go as far as to send an alleged courier to the grandparent’s home to retrieve the money.

Scammers will often trick the victim by using details about their grandchild that were obtained from social media accounts. The scammer might also team up with another scammer who pretends to be someone backing up the scammer’s claims, such as an attorney, doctor, or police officer.

“Scamming someone out of money is evil enough,” said Attorney General Bird. “But manipulating someone’s love for their grandchild shows just how low scammers will go to steal from you. In today’s digital age, it is more important than ever to double-check when someone calls asking for money and to never send it over the phone. If you or a loved one is suspicious of a grandparent scam, please call law enforcement and my office at 1.888.777.4590.”

The grandparent scam highlights the dangers of sharing personal information, wiring money, providing prepaid money card numbers or bank account information, and buying or transferring crypto currency to strangers by telephone. Grandparent scam transactions

generally transfer funds abroad and are often nearly impossible to trace.

The Department of Public Safety and Attorney General Bird recommend the following tips to protect against the grandparent scam:

• Hang up. End the call and verify the information.

• Contact a trusted family member. Call a verified phone number for your grandchild, another family member, or friend to check out the story - even if you have been told to keep it a secret.

• Verify the person’s identity. Ask questions about your loved one that a stranger would not know.

• Resist the urge to act quickly or secretly. If someone is asking for money immediately and using fear, excitement, or sympathy, it’s a scam.

• Report the scam to local law enforcement. Scammers attack several residents and communities, so get assistance for yourself and help others avoid scam efforts.

• Don’t answer the door unless you know and trust the visitor. Don’t send money. Do not give out personal information, cash, wire money, or send a check or money order by overnight delivery or courier.

• File a complaint. In addition to notifying local law enforcement authorities, scam calls can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission, as well as the Office of the Attorney General of Iowa.

• Learn more about family emergency scams. For more information, read the FTC’s Family Emergency Scams, or visit the Attorney General’s Office website page on grandparent scams.

Iowans suspicious of a grandparent scam should immediately contact local law enforcement for assistance and report the scam to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office at 1.888.777.4590 or iowaattorneygeneral.gov. They may also file a complaint with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov/.

Results of compliance checks of Linn County tobacco product merchants

On Dec. 26, 2024, and Dec. 27, 2024, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division’s Iowa Pledge program, conducted tobacco compliance checks of area tobacco product merchants using an underage undercover purchaser. Of the twenty-three (23) Linn County tobacco product retailers checked (excluding the Cedar Rapids, Marion, and Hiawatha metro area), three violated Iowa’s tobacco laws by selling cigarettes/ tobacco products to a person under the age of 21.

The retailers that sold tobacco products to an underage person were:

• Casey’s 990 Robins Square Dr Robins

• Budzz LLC 105 S Main Ave Alburnett

• Casey’s 1495 State St Ely

Penalties for illegal tobacco sales in Iowa are as follows: employee: 1st violation - $135 fine, 2nd violation - $325 fine, 3rd and subsequent violations - $645 fine; retailer: 1st violation - $300 civil penalty, 2nd violation (within 2 years) - $1,500 fine or 30-day suspension of tobacco sales permit, 3rd violation (within 3 years) - $1,500 fine and 30-day suspension of tobacco sales permit, 4th violation (within 3 years) - $1,500 fine and 60-day suspension of tobacco sales permit, 5th violation (within 4 years) - revocation of tobacco sales permit.

Additional compliance checks may be conducted at any time throughout the year.

Reynolds pinned education, childcare improvements, and government efficiency as some of her top priorities.

Liam Halawith

The Daily Iowan

Mia O’Connor-Walker

The Daily Iowan

DES MOINES — Iowa

Gov. Kim Reynolds called to ban phones in classrooms, continue her work making government more efficient, and continue her reform of Iowa’s education system during her annual Condition of the State Address to lawmakers on Tuesday.

In front of a jam-packed House chamber, Reynolds called on lawmakers to enact an ambitious agenda focused on economic growth and addressing Iowa’s workforce issues.

Her growth focused agenda aims to promote Iowa as a haven for businesses looking to leave Democrat controlled

states including Illinois.

“I’m excited to tell this story in Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, or any city, big or small, around the country and around the world,” Reynolds said.

“Because it truly is a great story. And it’s one only Iowans could write.”

Reynolds proposes education policies

Among Reynolds top priorities for the session is mandating school districts ban cellphone use during “instructional time” at a minimum — with encouragement to implement further restrictions.

Reynolds said that phones are increasing anxiety, sleep loss, and distractions for teens and her policy is a start to addressing these issues.

Iowa isn’t the first

state to consider such a proposal, according to a recent report from Ed Week, 19 other states have signed similar proposals into law.

A June 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that 7 in 10 high school teachers say cell phone use is a major problem.

Reynolds said that common sense exceptions including emergencies will be included in the law that is not yet available to the public.

Reynolds is also proposing new policies to require training on the effects of social media for sixth through eighth grade students.

“Let’s make sure the classroom is a place for learning, growth, and connection,” Reynolds said, according to prepared remarks, on Tuesday night. “Let’s pass this bill and give students their best possible chance at success.”

Statehouse Democrats and Republicans signaled

they would support a cell phone ban.

Reynolds also proposed to continue on her work to better the foundations of education by addressing lagging math proficiency scores in the state. Reynolds’ proposal mimics her previous proposal addressing the state’s literacy rates.

Reynolds’ proposals promote early identification and interventions for students struggling with math proficiency, support educators through additional training, and give families resources to advance math development at home.

Reynolds announced a plan to require high school students to pass the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Naturalization Test to graduate high school.

“Prioritizing students means setting the kind of high and rigorous expectations that bring out their very best,” Reynolds said,

according to prepared remarks, on Tuesday night.

Reynolds to codify childcare pilot programs

Reynolds plans to continue improving the state’s childcare industry and voluntary preschool program.

The governor is launching a pilot program for childcare worker wage enhancements statewide, in which local businesses and residents donate to a fund to raise wages for childcare workers without raising fees. Reynolds also proposed changing a regional fund system into a streamlined statewide fund.

Reynolds is also looking to change the property tax rates for childcare centers from commercial to residential, saving the childcare centers money to help fund higher wages.

Another key priority for Reynolds is providing a “continuum of care” for preschool students by giving three-year grants, with a maximum of $100,000 a year, for school districts and child care providers to work on getting students from half-day preschool to the childcare center to address barriers to access.

The grant can be used to fund transportation between the facilities, the salary for a preschool teacher to teach at a childcare center, or putting childcare staff at local schools, according to Reynolds’s proposal.

“It’s about more than convenience,” Reynolds said. “It’s about offering our children the educational foundation they need while giving parents peace of mind that their children are cared for throughout the work day.”

Reynolds looks to bolster disaster aid

Reynolds spoke of the devastation Iowan communities faced following a summer of tornadoes and record flooding, resulting in $130 million in damages.

She emphasized the strength of communities impacted by these natural disasters and commended Iowans for coming together during times of hardship.

“I’ll never forget the devastation and heartbreak,” Reynolds said, “But I also witnessed Iowans lifting each other up.

Volunteers clearing debris, residents comforting neighbors, and local officials working around the clock.”

While she emphasized the role of community support, Reynolds also underscored the disaster relief programs that she and her cabinet launched to assist Iowans.

These programs included a temporary housing program for displaced Iowans, a disaster recovery housing assistance program to provide forgivable loans to cover the costs of repairing damaged homes, a new housing grant program, and a state program offering interest-free disaster loans for farmers.

The goal of these programs was to assist Iowan’s recovery from damages caused by extreme weather, and Reynolds aims to have these programs extended.

Reynolds began by proposing extended tax exclusions to disaster aid for developers who have received awards under the State Disaster New Housing Grant Program, which incentivizes developers to build new homes in communities impacted by disasters.

The governor’s bill will also include adjusting insurance regulations in order to protect Iowans from unfair insurance practices.

Beyond insurance, she proposed adjustments to the emergency funds transfer authority so that in times of disaster the state government is able to react as quickly as possible. Allowing the governor to transfer between designated funds with the approval of the state’s Executive Council.

Reynolds also proposed adding $2 million to the Nuisance Property and Abandoned Building Fund to help Iowan communities demolish buildings that cannot be repaired.

Reynolds to establish Department of Government Efficiency, mimicking Trump

To continue her mission of efficiency, Reynolds has proposed to establish an Iowa Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, through an executive order.

This decision comes in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to implement a DOGE in the federal government, of which South African businessman Elon Musk will be the head.

Though the decision does come on the heels of the Trump administration, Reynolds said in her speech that Iowa’s state government already has a culture of

this kind of government efficiency.

Reynolds has spent the past several years overhauling the state government. She has cut 1,200 regulations, streamlined 37 cabinet agencies into 16, and consolidated 256 state boards and commissions into 145.

“I like to say that we were doing DOGE before DOGE was a thing,” Reynolds said.

Iowa’s DOGE will monitor local governments to ensure efficiency, particularly in regard to spending and limiting the costs of government.

Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, said that Senate Democrats support a more efficient government but don’t want to see necessary programs slashed.

“Senate Democrats want efficient government, but we have to make sure that it’s transparent, that it still works for Iowans, that we’re not cutting programs that Iowans depend on, and that they’re not mandating more unfunded mandates for local governments who already are strapped,” Weiner said, speaking to reporters after the governor’s address.

Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said DOGE should stay away from telling local governments what to spend their money on.

“I think it’s absolutely fascinating to hear the state government looking forward to telling local governments what to do,” Konfrst said. “I’m fascinated to hear what local voters have to say about that.”

Reynolds appointed Emily Schmitt, general counsel of Sukup Manufacturing and the former chair of the Governors Child Care Task Force, to head the department.

“To build on our success, I’m launching our own State DOGE, to find even greater savings and efficiencies in both state and local government,” Reynolds said. “Because to pass meaningful property tax reform, we also need to be lean at the local level.”

Reynolds proposes slashing unemployment insurance rate

Reynolds also emphasized reforming the unemployment insurance system to make Iowa as economically competitive as possible.

Currently, Iowa unemployment insurance claims are at an all-time low while Iowa’s Unemployment Trust Fund is at an all-time high. Reynolds said the current balance of the Trust Fund, $1.8 billion,

Free Community CPR Class at Cornell College on Saturday, January 25, 2025

Time is the enemy when someone has a serious health emergency that stops blood flow to their organs. Starting CPR quickly can literally save a life.

“Minutes count,” says Jake Lindauer, director of the Lisbon-Mount Vernon Ambulance Service. “If CPR is started before our EMT professionals arrive on the scene, the prognosis for a good outcome goes way up. Bystanders who know CPR are especially important in rural communities like ours.”

Lindauer adds that if you are called to use your CPR skills, it most likely will be on one of your own family members.

If you’d like to learn (or re-learn) life-saving CPR skills from Lindauer and other LMVAS professional trainers, a free training class will be held Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Thomas Commons building on the Cornell College campus from 9 a.m. to noon You can sign up at the Rotary Club of Linn County web site, rotarylc.org, and follow the links to Mount Vernon CPR Training. It is open to anyone who lives or works in Lisbon or

Mount Vernon and is 16 or older. Enrollment will be limited to the first 40 enrollees.

LMVAS trainers will also offer an optional Stop the Bleed class on the same day and same location, 1-3 p.m. It’s also free, and you can indicate if you will attend the Stop the Bleed class when you enroll for CPR.

If you need Heartsaver certification from the American Heart Association, you will have to pay the certification fee ($30) on training day. Infant CPR and AED (defibrillator) training will be part of the class.

The Rotary Club of Linn County is again helping to organize the CPR class. “One of our missions is to make our communities safer and healthier for all residents,” says John Schultz, Rotary Club of Linn County President. “Helping get more people trained in life-saving CPR skills is one way we can do that. Area businesses, churches, schools, senior centers, government offices, sports venues, and other public places need to have people trained in CPR. Your own home needs it, too.”

This will be the eighth year the Rotary Club and the

is greater than what is needed to support unemployed Iowans, and the current unemployment tax rate is over-collecting from Iowa businesses.

“We need to stop punishing our employers by requiring them to pay more tax than necessary,” Reynolds said. “Instead, employers should keep and reinvest this money into their business, their workers, and their communities.”

To address these concerns, Reynolds proposed Iowa decrease the current taxable wage base by half, lower maximum tax rates to 5.4 percent across all tax tables, reduce the number of tax tables in the unemployment tax system, and encourage businesses to reinvest savings into their employees.

Konfrst pointed to recent layoffs from large employers like John Deere which are putting thousands of Iowans out of work.

“I don’t think that we need to be talking about giving corporations another tax cut right now,” Konfrst said. “What we need to do is look at how we can help the thousands of Iowans laid off in the past year from plants across the state.”

Reynolds proposed unemployment tax reforms last year, but lawmakers failed to take up the reforms.

Reynolds to request Medicaid work requirements

Reynolds also spoke of what she described as a culture of work in Iowa. Continuing her discussion of unemployment reforms, Reynolds said that she aims to turn the unemployment system in Iowa into a “reemployment system.”

To achieve her ideal “reemployment system” Reynolds proposes that Iowa applies for a federal waiver to implement work requirements for all able-bodied adults on Medicaid.

“In other words, if you can work, you should. It’s common sense and good policy. For the men and women who are receiving these government payments, getting back to work can be a lifeline to stability and self-sufficiency,” Reynolds said.

Thirteen states, not including Iowa, implemented Medicaid work requirements during Trump’s first administration. The Biden Administration revoked the work requirements in all of these states, arguing that work requirements do not promote the objectives of Medicaid and thus do not qualify for the waivers.

Ambulance Service have partnered to offer the Community CPR class. Over 200 Lisbon and Mount Vernon community members have been trained.

Just the Facts

What: 7th Annual Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community CPR Training Class

When: Saturday, January 25, 2025

CPR Class: 9:00-12:00

Stop the Bleed Class: 1:00-3:00

Where: Cornell College Campus, Smith Dining Hall, Thomas Commons, 810 Commons Circle, Mount Vernon, Iowa

Who: Anyone 16+ who lives or works in Mount Vernon or Lisbon. Class size limited to first 40 enrollees.

How to enroll: Go to the Rotary Club Website (rotarylc.org) and follow the links to Mount Vernon CPR Training. Multiple family members may enroll as long as space allows.

Sponsors: Lisbon-Mount Vernon Ambulance Service (trainers); Cornell College; Hills Bank (refreshments); Rotary Club of Linn County.

Dale Arnold Sargent, 94, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, formerly of Mount Vernon, Iowa, passed away on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. Visitation is 5-7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 23, at Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Mount Vernon. Funeral Mass is 11 a.m., Friday, Jan. 24, at St. John’s Catholic Church in, Mount Vernon, with visitation held one hour prior. Burial was Mount Vernon Cemetery.

Dale was born Jan. 5, 1931, in Manhattan, Kansas, the son of Paul and Helen Sargent. He spent much of his youth in Elkader, and graduated high school in Edgewood where he met his future wife, Eileen Klosterman.

Dale graduated from Upper Iowa University. He married Eileen in 1953 and they shared over 70 loving years together. He was a veteran who served in the Korean War in the Counter Intelligence Corps. He started his own accounting business in Mount Vernon in 1966, which he ran successfully for nearly 35 years until his retirement. He then worked part-time for many years at Bauman’s, where he enjoyed serving the Mount Vernon community that he loved. He was an avid reader with an interest in a wide variety of subjects. Dale and Eileen loved to travel. Branson was one of their favorite destinations, and they especially liked any trip that allowed them to visit their grandchildren. Dale enjoyed playing cards and was involved in many bridge clubs with friends. He and Eileen established deep roots in Mount Vernon, their home for almost 60 years. In recent years, he lived at Country House Residence in Cedar Rapids where he affectionately helped to care for Eileen.

Dale is survived by his children, Mark (Kris) Sargent, Steve (Jeanina) Sargent, Linda (Steve) Joerger, and Brian Sargent; eight grandchildren, Matt (Kristin) Sargent, Kelsie Sargent, Liz Sargent, Jill Joerger, Anna (Andrew LaFaver) Joerger, Ellen (Isaac) Laughlin, Ben Joerger, and Sara Joerger; great-grandson, Aiden and Keegan Sargent; sistersin-law, Ruth Bergan and Ruth Klosterman; and many nieces and nephews.

Dale is preceded in death by his parents, wife, in-laws, Michael Bergan, Janice (James) Lammers, Lary Klosterman, and Gary Klosterman.

Memorials may be made to Hospice of Mercy.

Those unable to attend are invited to watch the service via livestream. Please find the livestream link on Dale’s tribute wall and share your support and memories with his family at www.stewartbaxter.com under obituaries.

David Schenk, 62, passed away unexpectedly Jan. 13, 2025, at his home in Cedar Rapids, after recent heart issues. No services at this time. Private burial will be at Lisbon Cemetery will be at a later date.

David was born May 17, 1962, in Cedar Rapids, son to Buddy and Pat (Sizer) Schenk. David grew up in Lisbon, played multiple sports, and graduated from Lisbon High School in 1980.

He went on to the University of Upper Iowa and graduated with his Bachelors Degree in Recreational Management. He worked at several organizations in the Cedar Rapids area prioritizing kids and later adults and their families. He was currently employed at ASAC as a Recovery Support Professional.

David loved sports, especially the Green Bay Packers. He enjoyed playing cards and going to casinos. He also had many pets growing up.

David is survived by his sisters, Deb (Bill) Werderman and Dani (Jeff) Chapin; nieces, Sara and Allison; nephews, Amos, Nicholas, and Zachary; uncle, Tim Sizer; aunt, Joan Sizer; and several great nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Buddy and Pat Schenk; and sister, Diane Schenk Burnside.

The family extends a special thank you to his colleagues over the years for caring and being a friend to David.

Memorials may be made to Dani Chapin, P.O. Box 235, Lisbon, Iowa 52253.

Please share your support and memories with David’s family on his Tribute Wall at www.stewartbaxter.com under Obituaries.

CLUB NOTES

The Mount Vernon Trailblazers 4-H club held their monthly meeting Sunday, Jan. 12, at the Mount Vernon Fire Department. During the meeting we grouped up into committees. Community service talked about the pancake breakfast being on April 19 and the road side cleanup is going to be before the April meeting. Education/ Recreation discussed what we would learn in the March Agriculture Program about agriculture safety.

learned that the new fair booth theme would be Jun gle of Opportunity and threw around some ideas for the fair booth. The club leader told the club that after next month’s meeting we would also have pre sentations from most of the club’s members. Next month’s meeting will be held at The Mount Vernon Fire Department Feb. 2.

Lisbon Jazz Festival today

Nathan Countryman

Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun

nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com

Lisbon Jazz Festival will be today (Thursday, Jan. 23), running from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

According to Lisbon band director Joseph Arch there will be 18 bands performing at two locations during the day. Admission is $5.

“I like the responsibility of putting on an event of this size,” Arch said. “Two years ago, this event didn’t exist, now we have 11 schools coming in.”

After each performance, bands will have a clinic with judges.

“Come on out,” Arch said. “There are a lot of hard-working kids in eastern Iowa, this is a great chance to hear them.”

Cole Corner

Cathy Boggs Cole Library

TumbleBooks has new titles

Bring the fun of read-aloud stories and eBooks into your home with the TumbleBooks link for children on Cole Library’s website. What is Tumblebooks ? TumbleBooks is a collection of animated talking storybooks for all ages. For preschoolers and pre-readers, there are Read Alongs ; for independent readers, there are eBooks, STEM, Graphic Novels , and Nonfiction . These areas are then subdivided into categories of interest; from there, titles can be chosen. TumbleBooks are created from existing books--licensed from children’s book publishers and converted to the TumbleBooks format. The books can be heard in English, Spanish, or French. The site also includes puzzles, games, and videos that correspond with some of the stories. To reach the TumbleBooks site from your home computer or tablet, click on the public library web book, the words will turn color when the story is read aloud,

Nathan Countryman

Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com

Mount Vernon’s Nina Scott will be one of the 100 entrepreneurs participating in an upcoming season of The Blox television series.

Scott said she came upon the opportunity on social media last fall and applied.

One of her families favorite reality shows to watch has been the competitive show “Blown Away” on Netflix, watching contestants glass blowing creations.

Thursday, January 23: 8am-10pm Friday, January 24: 8am-5pm Saturday, January 25: 10am-4pm Sunday, January 26: 12pm-10pm Monday, January 27: 8am-10pm Tuesday, January 28: 8am-10pm Wednesday, January 29: 8am-10pm Thursday, January 30: 8am-10pm

“As someone who likes watching people take an item and upscale it, it fits a certain niche,” Scott said. “After watching a season of Blown Away, I stumbled on this show ‘The Blox’ on Amazon.”

Scott said one of the things that intrigued her is that while it is a competition show, it is a show where people aren’t sent home after every week.

“It isn’t really a cake walk, and some of the competitions are tough, but it gave many of these business owners chances to tell their stories,” Scott said.

According to The Blox, roughly 5,000 have applied, and they only select approximately 100 to the show each season.

Scott was contacted to complete a questionnaire last fall, and around Thanksgiving one of the casting directors gave her a call to complete a video interview.

“I thought maybe that wasn’t a strong interview,” Scott said. “But I found out I made the cut.”

Scott goes to record for the season of the show in

“It’s really billed as an educational experience,” Scott said.

“I also want to learn more information on how they would think about making more experiential art in our community,” Scott said. “That’s one of the reasons we created stART in Lisbon. It’s a business not worried about the artwork or piece you’re working on having a desired outcome, it’s all about getting your first start in art.”

Scott said she has watched a few episodes of the show to help her prepare, and what she has loved is the structure of the show and the season, focusing on morning lessons, then tasks and an eventual evening pitch.

“There’s opportunities to have one on one experiences with many leaders,” Scott said. “While there is a chance to be competitive and earn points, I’m just looking to see what I can learn.”

She also thinks it will be great to highlight that there are people of all ages who run businesses to a wider audience.

“I’m really hoping to make a great pitch for Lisbon,” Scott said.

Mount Vernon girls’ basketball was missing a few players, but still put together a 23-point win over Independence, 65-42, on Friday, Jan. 17, in Mount Vernon.

“We didn’t play as good as we normally do,” sophomore Taylor Franck said.

Star freshman guard Savanna Wright was out sick, and top reserve post, sophomore Rylee Rasmussen, was nursing an injury.

“Chemistry was totally different, at times,” Mount Vernon coach Nathan Sanderson said. “It was the first time we had some combinations playing with each other. But they did a great job.”

Independence (7-7) trailed at halftime by 18 points, 39-21, but made things interesting by hitting 6 of 10 from 3-point range.

“They shot 23 percent from 3 coming into the game,” Sanderson said. “The math said that’s where we want them to shoot it from. Y’know, they hit a couple that were pretty contested or pretty deep, that we didn’t feel bad about giving up. They just happened to go in.”

Indee ended up 9 of 19 from the arc, so they did cool down a bit. Freshman guard Libby Preuss finished with six 3-pointers and a team-high 18 points.

“Kudos to Libby,” Franck said. “She’s just a freshman and has a bright future ahead of her.”

Mount Vernon (13-1) shot pretty well from distance, as well, sinking 12 3-pointers, led by senior Sydney Huber with

Mustang girls leap over Independence 65-42 Lisbon girls topple North Cedar, Pekin

Lisbon girls’ wrestling hosted North Cedar and Pekin on Thursday, Jan. 16 and then placed third at the BGM January Bash on Friday, Jan. 17, in Baxter.

The Lions beat North Cedar 60-6 and topped Pekin 54-22. There were three weights contested against the Knights and six against the Panthers. Jordyn Jarchow (115) and Addison Clark (135) each had had a pair of pins for the Lions.

At BGM, the Lions had 102 team points, finishing behind Aplington-Parkersburg/Grundy Center (148) and Gilbert (139).

Emma Dietsch (145) won gold, and Kaylee Jordan (155) earned silver for the Lions at the eight-team event.

2-6 0-0 5, Kylie Osborne 0-0 0-0 0, Regan Reeg 1-1 0-0 2, Amya Rupprecht 1-1 1-2 3, Emelia Lange 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-39 5-9 42. MOUNT VERNON (65) – Taylor Franck 4-14 2-2 12, Chloe Meester 6-8 1-4 13, Courtney Franck 3-5 0-2 6, Sydney Huber 8-18 0-0 22, Eryn Jackson 3-6 0-0 9, Sophia Meester 0-1 0-0 0, Quinn Pershing 1-5 0-0 3, Alivia Truitt 0-0 0-0 0, Lucy Wischmeyer 0-0 0-0 0, Ella Wilson

six. She led all scorers with 22 points.

Eryn Jackson, making her first start, sank three, for nine points.

Chloe Meester had 13 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double, and Taylor Franck finished with 12 points.

On Tuesday, Jan. 14, the Mustangs handled Center Point-Urbana, 68-41. All five starters were in double figures – Wright with 10, Taylor Franck with 12, Meester with 16, Courtney Franck with 12 and Huber with 11. Courtney Franck also had 10 rebounds and six assists.

The Mustangs got out to a dominating start, leading 21-5 after one quarter.

Mount Vernon is now 9-0 in the WaMaC East and are about to start playing a lot of teams for the second time, many of them on the road.

“Five of our last seven are on the road,” Sanderson said. “Teams are going to make some adjustments and attack us

different ways. It’ll be a good challenge.”

After playing at Marion on Tuesday, Jan. 21, the Mustangs travel to Solon on Friday, Jan. 24.

“Once we get all our people back, I think we’ll be in a really good spot,” Taylor Franck said. “We’ll get everyone’s best version; we just have to play our game. All we can do.”

0. Totals 25-58 3-8 65. Independence 9 12 9 12 – 42 Mount Vernon 21 18 12 18 – 65 3-point goals – Indee 9-19 (Preuss 6-8, Ressler 0-1, Ristoedt 0-2, Lange 0-1, Ludwig 2-3, TeBockhorst 0-1, Stelter 1-3), MV 12-38 (T.Franck 2-11, C.Franck 0-1, Huber 6-14, Jackson 3-6, Pershing 1-5, Wilson 0-1). Rebounds – Indee 25 (TeBockhorst 6), MV 38 (Meester 12). Turnovers – Indee 24, MV 16. Total fouls – Indee 7, MV 8. Lisbon 60, North Cedar 6

Alina Mallie (L) won by forfeit. 145 – Emma Dietsch (L) won by forfeit. 155 – Kalya Moorman (L) won by forfeit. 170 – Kalya Moorman (L) won by forfeit. 190 – Shyanne Crane (L) won by forfeit. 235 – Double forfeit.

(L) won by forfeit. 235 – Rylee Frye (P) won by forfeit. 100 – Double forfeit. 105 – Lexa Nelson (P) pinned Ann Marie Morgan 2:29. 110 – Gracie Cummings (L) won by forfeit. 115 – Jordyn Jarchow (L)

MV boys win Creston Invite

Ryan Suchomel

Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun ryan.suchomel@mvlsun.com

Mount Vernon had not wrestled in a traditional tournament all season.

So, winning the Creston Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 18, was an impressive benchmark for the Mustangs.

“Well, wrestling is wrestling,” Mount Vernon coach Vance Light said. “We wrestled better than the previous Saturday.”

Independence 34, Mount Vernon 29

144 – Jase Jaspers (MV) tech. fall Kameron Kremer 20-5 2:40. 150 – Mikey Ryan (MV) tech. fall Logan Bevans 19-3 1:47. 157 – Tyler Wieland (I) dec. Will Goodlove 7-1. 165 – Christopher Meyer (I) maj. dec. Cooper Hird 11-3. 175 –Braylen Bieber (I) dec. Jaxon Anderson 9-6. 190 – Caysen Curran (MV) maj. dec. Mikey Bailey 9-0. 215 – Kael Riniker (MV) dec. Colton McDowell 7-5. 285 – Ethan Wood (MV) dec. Gable Eddy 10-3. 106 – Benjamin Anderson (I) won by forfeit. 113 – Cooper Krob (MV) pinned Dawson Scheetz :51. 120 – Jake Haugse (MV) dec. Zach Homan 15-8. 126 – Carver Wieland (I) pinned Jake Shady :53. 132 – Remy Ressler (I) pinned Nolan Mercer :28. 138 – Tanner Wilson (I) pinned Chasen Caskey 3:02. Mount Vernon 65, Vinton-Shellsburg 17 138 – Chasen Caskey (MV) pinned Tate Schminke 1:47. 144 – Jase Jaspers (MV) pinned Kyler Messer 2:17. 150 – Mikey Ryan (MV) pinned Isaiah Schneider 1:09. 157 – Will Goodlove (MV) pinned Brock Hoppenjan :25. 165 – Cooper Hird (MV) pinned Jackson Hansel 1:32. 175 – Watson Krob (MV) pinned Kaden Kerkman :17. 190 – Caysen Curran (MV) pinned Kolby Walker :42. 215 – Kael Riniker (MV) pinned Ricky Jackson 1:49. 285 – Ehtan

No. 4 Mount Vernon scored 199 team points to edge Algona (194) and No. 3 EBF (182) for the title.

The Mustangs crowned three champions – Jase Jaspers (144), Caysen Curran (190) and Ethan Wood (285).

Jaspers and Wood have been ranked No. 1 at some point this season, and are currently No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in 2A, but it was a big day for the unranked junior.

“Caysen started out slow at the beginning of the year, but has steadily improved over the last month or so,” Light said.

Mount Vernon also had three finish runner-up – Mikey

Wood (MV) pinned Brenna Vanderheiden 1:00. 106 – Jackson Parmater (VS) tech. fall Cooper Korb 17-0 4:21. 113 – Eli Ollinger (VS) won by forfeit. 120 – Jake Haugse (MV) pinned Conner Bridgewater 2:56. 126 – Gavin Sanders (VS) pinned Jake Shady 3:11. 132 – Nolan Mercer (MV) tech. fall Ryan Shipley 18-3 3:03. Creston Invitational Team scores – 1. Mount Vernon 199; 2. Algona 194; 3. Eddyville-Blakesburg-

Ryan (150), Will Goodlove (157), and Kael Riniker (215). Light said that sophomore Cooper Krob (106) had a good day, finishing fifth.

“And we had a couple unattached kids that did well,” Light said, citing 132-pound sophomore Nolan Mercer. “Everyone wrestled pretty well,” Light said.

Earlier in the week, the Mustangs split a pair of WaMaC duals in Independence.

No. 6 Independence topped No. 8 Mount Vernon, 34-29, winning the final three matches by pin at 126, 132 and 138 pounds.

Mount Vernon also beat Vinton-Shellsburg, 65-17.

Lisbon boys add three more dual wins

Ryan Suchomel

Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun ryan.suchomel@mvlsun.com

Lisbon boys’ wrestling picked up three more dual wins last week, and finished runner-up at the Ed Hadenfeldt Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 18, in Solon.

“I know we finished second, but Clear Creek Amana is a great 3A team, and North Scott is a ranked 3A team, and we finished right between them,” Lisbon coach Aaron

Lisbon 62, Wapsie Valley 13 144 – Dallas Tisue (WV) maj. dec. Luke Robinson 19-7. 150 – Ian Kelsey (L) won by forfeit. 157 – Tiernan Boots (L) won by forfeit. 165 – Gage Holub (L) maj. dec. Brayden Berinobis 17-8. 175 – Kanen Decker (WV) tech. fall Caleb Brown 17-1 2:19. 190 – Jonah Frost (WV) maj. dec. Walker Smith 14-0. 215 – Jacob Walerius (L) won by forfeit. 285 – Hudson Herboldsheimer (L) won by forfeit. 106 – Jack Gogel (L) won by forfeit. 113 – Cael Stricker (L) won by forfeit. 120 – Wesley Sadler (L) tech. fall Sawyer Krall 19-4 5:50. 126 – Cade Happel (L) pinned Kayden Bentley 2:48. 132 – Carter Gadberry (L) tech. fall Landan Frost 17-2 5:06. 138 – Jackson Knapp (L) won by forfeit.

Lisbon 78, North Cedar 3

157 – Tiernan Boots (L) won by forfeit. 165 – Gage Holub (L) pinned Brennen Koch 1:58. 175 – Caleb Brown (L) won by forfeit. 190 –Walker Smith (L) pinned Braxton Lange 1:55. 215 – Jacob Walerius (L) pinned Ryan Graves 0:00. 285 – Cooper Heister (NC) dec. Hudson Herboldsheimer 6-0. 106 – Jack Gogel (L) won by forfeit. 113 – Cael Stricker (L) won by forfeit. 120 – Wesley Sadler 9L) pinned Holden Anderson :56. 126 – Cade Happel (L) pinned Braylon Leeper :52. 132 –Carter Gadberry (L) pinned Coltyn Pullen 1:15. 138 – Jackson Knapp (L) won by forfeit. 144 – Luke Robinson (L) won by forfeit. 150 – Ian Kelsey (L) won by forfeit. Lisbon 63, North Linn 13 150 – Tate Woods (NL) dec. Ian Kelsey 7-5. 157 – Tiernan Boots (L) pinned

Helmrich said. “I’m happy with how we wrestled.”

The Lions had six wrestlers make the final, and four came home with gold. Jack Gogel (106), Wesley Salder (120), Cade Happel (126), and Tiernan Boots (157) won titles. Cael Stricker (113) and Jackson Knapp (138) were runner-up.

“We got some guys firing on all cylinders,” Helmrich said. “We’re trying to peak at the right time at the end of the season.

Earlier in the week, Lisbon beat Wapsie Valley, 62-13, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, in Fairbank, and beat North Cedar

Rhyley Morris :58. 165 – Gage Holub (L) pinned Trevor Kaut 4:45. 175 –Caleb Brown (L) pinned Michael Moore :41. 190 – Jacoby Peyton (NL) pinned Walker Smith 1:03. 215 – Hudson Herboldsheimer (L) won by forfeit. 285 – Jacob Walerius (L) pinned Melvin Hintze :26. 106 – Jack Gogel (L) tech. fall Mack Arnold 18-2 2:59. 113 – Cael Stricker (L) maj. dec. Jacob Rauch 17-3. 120 – Wesley Sadler (L) pinned Cooper Pillard 1:16. 132 – Carter Gadberry (L) pinned Jorden Rawson 1:44. 138 – Jackson Knapp (L) pinned Kyle Doyle 1:03. 144 – Westyn Price (NL) maj. dec. Luke Robinson 10-1. Ed Hadenfeldt Invitational Team scores – 1. Clear Creek Amana 240.5; 2. Lisbon 215; 3. North Scott 204; 4. Solon 195; 5. West Liberty 167; 6. West Branch 120.5; 7. Iowa Valley 115; 8. Pella 93; 9. Iowa City Liberty 88; 10. Dike-New Hartford 73.5; 11. Vinton-Shellsburg 61; 12. Center Point-Urbana 42; 13. North Scott JV 38; 14. North Cedar 13. LISBON 106 – Jack Gogel, 4-0, first. 106 – Kyler Happel, 3-2, seventh. 113 – Cael Stricker, 2-1, second. 120 – Wesley Sadler, 4-0, first. 120 – Jack Andrews, 1-2. 126 – Cade Happel, 4-0, first. 126 – Gavin Hove 2-3, eighth. 132 – Carter Gadberry, 3-2, seventh. 138 – Elliott Moehlman, 1-2. 138 – Jackson Knapp, 3-1, second. 144 – Luke Robinson, 0-2. 150 – Ian Kelsey, 2-3, sixth. 157 –Tiernan Boots, 3-0, first. 165 – Gage Holub, 5-1, third. 175 – Caleb Brown, 2-2, fifth. 190 – Walker Smith, 0-2. 215 – Jacob Walerius, 2-3, sixth. 285 – Hudson Herboldsheimer, 1-3, eighth.

MV boys’ dunk on independence, CP-U

Ryan Suchomel

Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun ryan.suchomel@mvlsun.com

The Mount Vernon boys’ basketball team took the 6 p.m. slot Friday, Jan. 17, and then proceeded to get all over Independence early and often, much like the top-ranked Mustang girls’ often do.

“I like the way we came out of the gate,” Mount Vernon coach Derek Roberts said. “Our guys got after it defensively and kind of set the tone that way.”

Mount Vernon (11-1) raced out to an 11-0 lead, were up 15-5 at the first quarter break, and then started the second quarter with a 16-0 run.

“We were just doing what coach told us,” senior Cole Thurn said. “Play hard, pressure the ball. That’s what we do here.”

The Mustangs, who are currently No. 10 in 3A in the IHSAA rankings, are building a bit of a reputation.

“Our whole game plan was to get turnovers,” Thurn said. “Do what we do. Score. Play hard defense.”

It works, too. Mount Vernon is second in 3A in scoring defense (42.5 points per game).

On Friday, Mount Vernon turned to its bench early and often, getting some younger players some key minutes.

“We’ve got confidence in a lot of guys,” Roberts said. “They work their tails off in practice, and we try to honor that.”

“They are stepping up big for us,” Thurn said. “They are a good group, and they’ll be big for us as we get deeper in the season.”

Junior Kellen Haverback led the scoring with 18 points, followed by senior Joe Briesemeister with 15 points and nine rebounds.

On Tuesday, Jan. 14, Mount Vernon beat Center Point-Urbana, 56-46.

The Mustangs trailed at half, 26-22, but outscored the Stormin’ Pointers 34-20 in the second half.

Briesemeister had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Haver-

back had 16 points. Seth Rushford added 13 points. Thurn had zero points, and just two points against Indee.

But that’s just fine, the senior said.

“I just do my job; we have plenty of scorers,” Thurn said.

“When you need a guy to dive on the floor, and just do all the dirty work … that’s my job.”

Powers finished with a team-high 15 points, followed by Daylin Schaefer with 14 points and Gryson Wollum with 13 points. Against the Defenders, the Lions were within a basket with a minute to play, but couldn’t find the magic for the upset. Marquette made 10 3-pointers.

Lisbon boys lose to North Linn Lions girls slashed by Lynx 63-31

Ryan Suchomel

Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun ryan.suchomel@mvlsun.com

It was a week of big challenges for the Lisbon boys’ basketball team, as they took on the teams on top of the Tri-Rivers Conference.

On Tuesday, Jan. 14, they lost to West leaders No. 10 North Linn, 65-50, in the Lions’ Den. On Friday, Jan. 17, they lost to East leaders and top-ranked Bellevue Marquette, 71-66.

Against the Lynx, the Lions were right there, and were tied at halftime, 26-26, and tied midway through the third quarter, 32-32.

But then North Linn went on a 10-0 run, and opened the fourth quarter by canning four 3-pointers – two by Cael Benesh and two by Cole Griffith.

“We were trading 2-pointers for 3-pointers, and it wasn’t really working out in our favor,” Lisbon coach Levi Montague said. North Linn (12-1) had built a 12-point lead in the first half, 21-9, and the Lions erased that with an impressive 17-3 run. But couldn’t find that magic twice in the same game.

“We weren’t shooting the ball good, and we just got sloppy on defense,” senior Jackson Powers said. “The second half was not ours.”

Schaefer had a game-high 22 points, Powers added 13 and Wollum had 10 before fouling out.

The good news for Lisbon (8-4) is both North Linn and Marquette are 1A teams, and the Lions are 2A this winter.

“It was an opportunity to plays some great programs,” Montague said. “They compete at the state tournament every year. And our guys need to see a little bit of that.”

This week should be easier for the Lions. They traveled to Cedar Valley Christian (6-7) on Monday, Jan. 20, and have a non-conference game at West Branch (5-8) on Thursday, Jan. 23, before traveling to Calamus-Wheatland (6-7) on Friday, Jan. 24.

“It can’t be ‘me’ ball, it has to be ‘we’ ball,” Powers said. “We’ll get better.”

NORTH LINN (65) – Cole Griffith 8-17 0-0 22, Cael Benesh 3-8 0-0 8, Mason Bechen 7-13 4-4 19, Hayden Schmidt 1-3 2-4 4, Drew Ries 5-12 0-0 10, Cade Garman 1-3 0-0 2, Waylon Raue 0-1 09-0 0.

Totals 25-59 6-8 65.

LISBON (50) – Tyler Sauser 0-8 0-0 0, Jackson Powers 6-7 0-0 15, Grayson Wollum 5-13 2-3 13, Ian Whittenbaugh 3-6 2-2 8, Daylin Schaefer 7-11 0-1 14, Dakota Clark 0-0 0-0 0, Nathan Ahrendsen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-45 4-6 50. North Linn 14 12 16 23 – 65 Lisbon 7 19 8 26 – 50 3-point goals – NL 9-31 (Griffith 6-13, Benesh 2-7, Becken 1-4, Schmidt 0-2, Ries 0-4, Raue 0-1), Lisbon 4-15 (Sauser 0-6, Powers 3-4, Wollum 1-3, Whittenbaugh 0-1, Schaefer 0-1). Rebounds – North Linn 32 (Ries 10), Lisbon 27 (Powers 7). Turnovers –NL 2, Lisbon 10. Total fouls – NL 11, Lisbon 15.

MV girls pin Independence

Mount Vernon girls’ wrestling got a little revenge, then finished a heartbeat from an upset win during a double dual Thursday, Jan. 16, in Independence.

Mount Vernon had lost to Independence back on Dec. 3, 40-33, but this time won 49-24.

“It was nice to get that win back in dominating fashion,” Mount Vernon coach Trevor Trende said.

In the second dual, No. 5 Mount Vernon lost to No. 4 Vinton-Shellsburg by one point, 42-41.

“We are so close, and it comes down to bonus points,” Trende said.

Kate Martin did her part, beating No. 9 Olivia Port by technical fall, 16-1, at 105 pounds.

“That was a huge win,” Trende said.

The Mustangs cap a busy week by hosting the WaMaC Tournament Friday, Jan. 24.

Ryan Suchomel Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun ryan.suchomel@mvlsun.com

There are horrific, nightmare starts to a basketball game, and then there is what happened to Lisbon on Tuesday, Jan. 14 against No. 2 (1A) North Linn.

The Lynx used their full-court press to start the game on a 22-0 run. That included the Lions getting whistled four times for a 10-second violation.

“(The press) made us turn it over, a lot,” sophomore Morgan Sauser said. “I think we just panicked a lot and that caused us to throw it away.”

Lisbon finally scored in the final minute when Sauser got a steal and a layup, plus a foul shot, to make it 22-3 at the

quarter break.

“We were just a little intimidated,” Lisbon Coach Jack Leighty said. “Once we got over that, we did a better job of it, especially in the second quarter.”

Lisbon ended up with 25 turnovers, but also forced North Linn into 14 turnovers. There was just no recovering from that tough start.

“We’re a young team and don’t always see that type of pressure,” Leighty said. “We know what we need to do to improve.”

The Lions were also without junior starter Kamryn Kahl, who was out with an injury. Sauser finished with 13 points to lead the offense.

NORTH LINN (63) – Allie Haughenbury 6-8 0-2 12, Mackenzie Bridgewater 6-14 0-0 14, Carly Ries 2-12 1-2 6, Emilee Beuter 4-6 2-5 10, Samantha West 0-0 0-0 0, Ava Hoover 0-0 0-0 0, #1 0-0 0-0 0, Peyton McMahon 1-3 0-0 3, Delanie Rawson 0-0 0-0 0, Gillian Schulte 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 4-11 63. LISBON (31) – Emersyn Reiter 0-3 0-0 0, Emma Pleasant 2-2 1-4 5, Kyla Kahl 2-8 0-2 5, Ava Ahrendsen 1-1 1-2 3, Morgan Sauser 5-12 1-1 13, Quinn Roos 1-3 0-2 2, Brynnley Patterson 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 12-29 3-11 31. North Linn 22 20 12 9 – 63 Lisbon 3 11 5 12 – 31 3-point goals – North Linn 7-24 (Bridgewater 4-6, Boge 2-8, Ries 0-9, McMahon 1-1), Lisbon 4-15 (Reiter 0-3, Kahl 1-3, Sauser 2-8, Patterson 1-1). Rebounds – NL 30 (Haughenbury 8), Lisbon 22 (Reiter 4, Kahl 4). Turnovers – NL 14, Lisbon 25. Total fouls – NL 7, Lisbon 7.

CLASSIFIEDS

Auction

3-Storage units full of stuff (Oberbreckling, Holerud, Waltz/Akerman) and 2-trailers (Holerud) will be auctioned at Noon on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. Discount Storage Units, 945 W. Business Hwy 30 (beside the golf course), Lisbon. 319-895-8899

Wanted

WANTED: JUNK APPLIANCES. Will pick up for free. Farm clean-up, batteries. Will buy junk cars. 319-331-8122

Help WantedGovernment POLICE OFFICER: Indianola Police Department will begin taking applications for the positions of Police/Patrol Officer starting 1/6/2025. Obtain applications by visiting https:// indianolaiowa.applicantpro. com/jobs , choose Police Officer. Deadline 2/7/2025 EOE

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On Friday, Jan. 17, the Lions (5-9, 5-3) lost to the Tri-Rivers East leaders, Bellevue Marquette, 58-36. Mount Vernon 49, Independence 24 130 – Claire Carey (I) pinned Liliana Grosse 1:29. 135 – Kennedi Bevans (I) pinned Lyla Glaza 1:31. 140 – Hannah Jones (MV) won by forfeit. 145 – Addi Whisner 9MV) dec. CeCe Priebe 4-0. 155 – Kaylee Kintzel (MV) won by forfeit. 170 – Gracie Pinckney (MV) won by forfeit. 190 – Libby Dix (MV) won by forfeit. 235 – Josie Panos (MV) won by forfeit. 100 – Carly Elliott (MV) won by forfeit. 105 – Kate Martin (MV) maj. dec. Natalie Nichols 13-0. 110 – Kiersten Swart (MV) pinned Sophia Hurley 1:31. 115 – Brooklyn Murray (I) won by forfeit. 120 – Double forfeit. 125 – Madison Arnold (I) pinned Lexi Glaza 3:52. Vinton-Shellsburg 42, Mount Vernon 41 125 – Camden Erhardt (VS) pinned Lexi Glaza :48. 130 – Callie Nosbisch (VS) pinned Liliana Grosse 1:51. 135 – Aly Erickson (VS) pinned Lyla Glaza :41. 140 – Chloe Sanders

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Mount Vernon first semester honor roll

* Denotes 4.0 GPA

Ninth graders - Zay James Austerman, Malikai Cedric Bachmann, Betty Sue Bartlett, Jack Gordon Bauer, Trae David Bielefeld, Jamison Wayne Billingsley*, Luiza Irena Blacharski, Kyle Lewis Bock, Teddy James Bonewald*, Lexi Annalee Boren*, Nora Ann Brase, Jaidyn Jorie Burge, Fiona Mae Calcara, Jack Thomas Carnes, Maggie Lee Cook*, Hazel Grace Danielson, Danny Ian Dye*, Andrew James Errington*, Teagan Grace Finn*, Zeke Wayne Fisher, Graham Elliott Foreman*, Lexi Elizabeth Glaza*, Gabriel Keith Grafft, Liliana Grace Grosse*, Ian Christopher Hagen, Isaiah Lee Hanson, Holden Carter Hlavacek, Jaylee Elaine Jaspers, Rowan Eirik Jensen*, Landon Allen Johanningmeier, Fenn Liane Butler Jones*, Elliotte Deborah Kinion, Evelyn Marie Klima, Jackson Jon Koehn, Dottie Grace Korte*, Jackson Matthew Krug, Ryker James Lee, Leah Marie Leonard, Lexi Guo Liu*, Taylor Katheryn Manternach*, Everett Louis Marshall, Cora Lynn Martin*, Kate Danielle Martin*, Elliott Thomas McNulty*, Avery Eden Miller, Hannah Louise Morf*, Leah Christine Morse*, Isla Ann Novak, Beck Timothy Oesterle*, Josie Claire Panos, Sophia Elizabeth Patten*, Madelyn Grace Paulus, Emma Jo Pederson, Quinn Reese Pershing*, Cameron James Poggenpohl, John Dale Puetz, Easton Josiah Reasland*, Daxton Thomas Recker, Hudsyn Lee Reyhons, Sunny Rian, Jada Lauren Ripke*, Marlena Louise Rodenberg*, Adrienne Lynn Ruhland*, Zion Osei-Agyeman Safo*, Christopher James Schneider, Emily Ann Schnoor*, Annabelle Nicole Smith, Ella Grace Speth*, Gunner Ryan Steinberg, Holden Miles Steine*, Violet Serena Tharp, Clara Libby Vavricek*, Andrew Donald Weber, Bella Jade Weber*, Cole Bennett Weddington, Star Marie Wegner, Hutson Ray Wiesenhofer, Ashlynn Renee Wilcox, Hagen Ward Wilkins, Emery Ann Willems*, Ella Rose Wilson*, Lydia Rose Woods, Savanna Leigh

Lisbon first semester honor roll

Lisbon Honor Roll 3.00-3.66

Seventh grade - Ryker Bagby, Jake Baker, Ella Bennett, Cooper Booth, Bentley Bunge, Branzen Butteris, Kallie Carnes, Rowan Clough, Cael Dains, Gable Helmrich, Ty Hofmeister, Wyatt Holmes, Jayden Howe, Samuel Jubeck, Finnegan Krall, Charli Larson, Otto Ludeke, Emersyn Martin, Connor Noehl, James Nuckolls, Kohl Rummells, Rylan Sporrer, Yvette Strauch, Isabelle Wolfe

Eighth grade - Kinzie Akers, Eldin Bauer, Violet Chalupa, Tyler Kubovec, Jonah Morillo, Jake Weber

Ninth grade - Colin Applegate-Clark, Drew Bixler, Spencer Clough, Payton Felderman, Alyssa Hrabak, Jackson Ryker, Jordyn Jarchow, Kameron Marbeth, Lillian Moeller, Ava Snyder

10th grade - Adrian Armstrong, Anthony Armstrong, Griffin Barber, Morgan Bell, Spencer Fall, Jackson Gogel, Ashlynn LeClere, Ryder Meeks, Ann Marie Morgan, Janissa Morillo, Kenyon Morris, Ryan Nevins, Tate Petersen, Emma Pleasant, Cameron Prasil, Morgan Sauser, Calder Schumacher, Ethan Stone, Cal Stoneking, Cael Stricker, Sydney Techau, Pattison Tutton, Henrik Whitney

11th grade - Nathan Ahrendsen, Colby Block, Nathan Brown, Riley Clark, Carew

Wright.*

Sophomores - Matthew David Bany, Caleb Chase Bartelt*, Avalyn Mae Bauer, Brynlee Jo Bettcher*, John Joseph Bishop

IV*, YeongHo Dennis Bishop, Emily Grace Bock*, Josie Lynn Bothell*, Matthew James Bradbury, Alex Edward Briesemeister*, Zach H. Broomhall*, Chasen Michael Caskey, Brock James Chapman, Porter Griffey Lee Chatman*, Collin Xavier Clark, Maddox Michael Curran, Ayla Jillian Davis, Andrew Nicholas Dix*, Eleanor Rose Dye*, Stratton Thomas Ellyson, Brooklynn Jean Feddersen, Rylee June Gerber, Natalee Sue Glaister, Lyla Abigail Glaza, Hayden Hope Gookin*, Kendal Nicole Ann Marie Hoeppner, Lillian Jean Hotz*, Will Joseph Huber, Raya Marie Hufendick, Beckett William Story Johnson*, Carie Leigh Johnson*, Gus Quentin Johnson, Chris Mae Jones, Remington L. Klima, Cooper JosephJacob Krob, Mallie Ann Lange, Joey Jo Latta*, Izaak Patrick Leonard, Nathaniel Ames Lewis*, Landyn Michael Leyse, Chloe Alice Lynner*, Cole Michael McDermott, Sophia Hope Meester, Nolan William Mercer, Brody Lee Miksch, Evelyn Marie Moeller*, Spencer Griffin Moellering, Mia Grace Panos, Payton William Paustian, Avery Alizabeth Pershing, Abigail Rose Phillippe, Laina Grace Pisarik*, Rose Marie Pisarik*, Nate Ervin Poduska*, Alaina Marie Pospisil* Jayden Charles Pyatt*, Rylee Elizabeth Rasmussen* Tommy John Rasmussen*, Xander Jace Riniker*, Chester Sidwell Rood*, Caroline Alexandra Rupe*, Luke Thomas Rushford*, Seth Allan Rushford*, Timber Celeste Scholl, Mavrik Paislee Schweer*, Miranda Jean Sellner*, Lilly Grace Siggins*, Clay Thomas Simpson, Milo Jeffrey Slauson, Reagan Jane Slaymaker*, Carly Ryan Steen*, Anna Grace Stephens*, Maciann Marie Stoner, Maddox Jonathan Thede, Avery Rylann Thurn*, Alivia Grace Truitt, Avri Grace Trumblee-Looney*, Zane Alan Van Regenmorter*, Jackson James Voight*, Asher Kael Webster, Eastin Michaela Whisner*, Paxton Andrew Whitham*, Koen Henryk Wiebel, Ava Grace Willems*, Jonathan Keolaokapono Winkler*, Lucy Ann Wischmeyer*, Charlotte Fiala Woosley*, Jakob Allen Yock, Micah Mateo Young. Juniors - Jaxon James Anderson, Grace Anna Bausch, Eva Elizabeth Bishop*, Alyssa Nicole Bohlken, Madeline Marie Boren, Brighton Glenn Bybee*, Carrington Marie

Bybee*, Nathan Thomas Conrad, Lilly Ann Cook*, Mason Alan Cossolotto, Michael Dennis Covington*, Caysen Melton Curran, Rose Daoud, Isaac James Dausener*, Edith Lillian Dawson*, Bella Maria Donatti, Carly Jo Elliott*, Cael Thomas Foreman, Courtney Rae Franck*, Taylor Lee Franck, Owen Matthew Francois*, Topher Rose Gaffney, Elena Quinn Gehrke*, Emily MaryHelen Giel, William Nathan Goodlove, Isabel Govea, Zoe Grady*, Landon Anthony Grosse*, Grace Elizabeth Hale, Benedict William Hanna, Levi Joseph Hanna, Kellen McLauglin Haverback*, Emmy Sue Hawker, Polly Ann Hinrichs, Emma Margaret Hoffman*, Ryan Scott Hoffman, William Francis Huebner, Cormac Michael Hunter, Harmony Rose Ireland*, Jase Russell Jaspers*, Claire Silje Jensen*, Hannah Caroline Jones*, Kadence Justine Kaiser, Caleb Kenneth Keegan*, Kaylee Lynn Kintzel, Malena Rachel Koehn*, Jacob James Kramer, Mae Addison Krapfl*, Lewis Abram Krob*, Carlton Ernest Latta, Kaitlyn Anne Lighthall, Isabelle Kalynn Logue, Cash Scott Luneckas*, Dakota Paige Macchione, Bella Elaine Manternach, Lydia Jane Marshall*, Grace Mildred Meier-Gast*, Olivia Paul Melsha, Brogan Henry Meyer*, Sophie Louise Milich, Mason David Miller, Ingrid Adeline Morf*, Andy Bliss Morris*, Hudson Joe Morrissey, Toby Anthony Neal, Sadie Kay-Lynne Oberbreckling, Cassidy Elizabeth Olberding, Emmy Grace Osborn, Skylee Elizabeth Parks*, Emara Anne Perreault*, Gracie Jean Pinckney, Eli Douglas Plotz, Alexandra Annette Pons, Nolan Michael Pownell, Thomas Henry Rian*, Korah Jo Robinson, Ashtyn Rylie Rollinger, Peyton Lee Russell, Michael Marvin Ryan*, Dawson Jay Scheil, Jayden Lawrence Scieszinski*, Ellah Kay Shook*, Willow Lynn Shroyer, Cora Mae Smith, Wyatt Robert Smith, Logan George Stanerson, Hunter Mark Steine, Mya Lynn Stoner*, Mae Layne Stoops, Kaia Mae Swaim*, Kiersten Marie Swart*, Allison Loraine Teague*, Leo Vincent Tharp, Claire Danielle Thuerauf, Drew Daniel Thurn, Ashley Renee Trachta, Grant Henry Tucker*, Will Bennett Turner*, Audrey Irene Vaughn, Norah Grace Weber*, Xander Clarence Weber, Charles Benesh Weldon*, Adeline Grace Whisner*, Cali Lynn Whitaker, Katie Ryan Whitehead, Jaelynn Rose Williams*, Landon Dean Wilson*, Kevin John Zehms*. Seniors - Lincoln Anthony Alles, Nicholas

James Alles, Lily Elizabev Amthauer, Vivian Tanner Andrews*, Molly Patricia Bany*, Andrew Philip Barns, Katherine Emily Bauer, Aaron James Bellamy, Colin Joseph Bentley, Hailey Anne Bock, Noah Ethan Boerner, Caitlyn Rechel Boren, Saevill Eugene Brazee, Josef Eric Briesemeister, Cora Magdalene Campanelli, Alima Cisse*, Nolan Isaiah Davis, Grace Kathryn Dehmer, Elizabeth Sue Dix, Margaret Alice Dye, Sarah Diane Esbaum, Gunnar Daniel Fishler*, Simon Lin Gillespie*, Ean William Grudzinski, Charlotte Mary Elizabeth Hand, Nathan Andrew Hansen, Bennett Gregory Harp, Jake Allen Hartman, Bella Rose Hasley, Jakob Douglas Haugse, Olivia Jo Haverback*, Lauren Ann Hepker, Brandy Ann Hills, Cooper Jeffrey Hird, Sydney Natalie Huber, Ethan James Hunt, Marquez Canaan Ireland, Eryn Elisabeth Jackson, Cyrus Matthew Johnson, Effie Louise Johnson, Emrie Beth Johnson, Kaleb Michael Jones, Emmett McArtor Jordan*, Mallory Ann Kaiser, Dominic Joseph Kocher, Eli Linton Koster, Erik Curtis Lamb, Nova John Lane, Zara Eden Larsen*, Aly Danielle Lashley, Elizabeth Ann Louwagie*, Selah Kilene Loyd*, Gabriel Alan Mahoney, Sydney Ruth Maue, Anthony James McDermott, Chloe Grace Meester, Elizabeth Merryman Morf, Abigail Ann Moss*, Laney Belle Myers*, Cayden Robert Noehl, Brody Paul Nosek, Clare Elise Nydegger, Seamus Patrick O’Connor, Ellia Helene Oesterle, Grady Victor Olberding, Violet GenevieveBaker Olinger, Elsie Lynn Owen, Luke Fisher Paulus*, Gavin Mathew Plathe, Gabriel Portillo, Shelton Antwain Poteat II, Gabrielle Elizabeth Quirouette, Josiah Stephen Recalde, Kael Vincent Riniker, Skye Elizabeth Rodman, Jaden Grace Rolland, Reid Channing Rolland, Cana Maame Safo*, Cayden Lee Scheil, Sam Lee Schoff*, Paige Tayler Schurbon*, Sarah Salmin Sharif, Jack Henry Simmons, Leo William Smejkal, Aisling Michael Smith, Sarabell Sue Steil, William Mitchell Stevenson, Isabella Rose Stimmel, Kara Rose Swantz, Garet Lee Swartzendruber, Megan Virginia Teague*, Natalie Carolann Thuerauf, Cole William Thurn, Lily Marisol Torres-Moffit, Calista Josephine Rose Urmie, Graham Gregory Vavricek, Penelope Therese Vig, Renee Ethel Vig*, Noah Douglas Webster, Tyler Marlin Williams, Ethan James Wood, Payton Leigh Woodland, Adam Henry Zehms.

Kamaus, Benjamin Kelley, Austin Kelsey, Mykala Luzum-Selmon, Callia McAlexander, Kinsley Rissler, Lauren Stolte

12th grade - Aislin Andrews, Cayden Beatty, Quinn Coleman, Payton Hansen, Kayla Happel, Alyse Jeffrey, Madison Kruse, Kaitlyn Kulper, Jensen Nost, Devin O’Brien, Daylin Schaefer, Riley Stone, Savannah Valdez

Lisbon High Honor Roll 3.67-4.00

Seventh grade - Izabella Benson, Ayla Blanchard, Owen Brade, Colt Crabtree, Ella Czarnecki, Hayden Davis, Natalie Ford, Reese Gaede, Rylan Hall, Louis Jones, Brynn Kahl, Kinsley Kamaus, Greyson Loffer, Hawke Mason, Violet Moeller, Matthew Reed, Riley Resor, Collin Schumacher, Brant Von Behren, Natalie Von Behren, Presley Whitman, Breklynn Zerbe

Eighth grade - Tanner Beatty, Kayla Bergmann, Baylor Boots, Brogan Boots, Mackenzie Clark, Eryn Clarke, Lucas Curtis, Harper Feldman, Kinzey Ferguson, Grace Gadberry, Jaycie Happel, Fletcher Hove, Alexis Jensen, Klayton Kahl, Gavin Lord, Kooper Martin, Eliza Moehlman, Tate Moore, Noah Sporrer, Ella Stensland, Cayla Stricker, Wesley Valdez, Elin Whitman, Brysen Youngblut

Ninth grade - Mia Adams, Jonathan Andrews, Peyton Appel, Caiden Bosenberg, Hermione Chalupa, Shyanne Crane, Gracie Cummings, Emma Dietsch, Paige Epperply, Olivia Gogel, Sophia Hansen, Kendall Hartelt, Kasston Jimmison, Kyla Kahl, Ian Kelsey, Jacob Kerslake, Schaefer Krie, Izabella LeClere, Carly Long, Ava Mollenhauer, Clara Moore, Caleb Norton, Brynnley Patterson, Oliver Pfannebecker, Luke Robinson, Quinn Roos, Logan Santis, Walker Smith, Carlee Turkington, Josephine

Watson, Madelynn Zerbe 10th grade - Ava Ahrendsen, Ellie Beatty, Asa Bee, Sophie Bennett, Tierryn Cart, Kylie Cress, Payton Curtis, Holley Digthon, Caleb Ford, James Hansen, Kyler Happel, Gavin Hove, Leila Mayhew, Logan Mitchell, Caroline Morris, Natalie Pumphrey, Hallie Ries, Jenna Ries, Leon Rogers 11th grade - Lohgan Anderson, Abby Bock, Bryce Boots, Lynnlee Caspers, Sawyer Feldman, Maryjane Gerber, Cade Happel, Kamryn Kahl, Jackson Knapp, Avery Long, Alina Mallie, Britton Mason, Chase McFarlane, Jordin McFarlane, Josie Nost, Henry Reiling, Emersyn Reiter, Adalyn

Ricke, Alexa Roos, Caleb Ross, Mariah Scharff, Kaitlyn Silver, Brody Speidel, Ian Whittenbaugh, Ryan Winders 12th grade - Rachel Bartels, Kiera Bergmann, Kolsie Bixler, Ethan Block, Tiernan Boots, Addison Clark, Dakota Clark, Evan Coleman, Sarah Dietsch, Brynn Epperly, Madison Flockhart, Lillian Gaiser, Kaitlynn Hasselbusch, Ethan Hoekstra, Gage Holub, Madelyn Kulper, Gretchen Moehlman, Aiden Morrill, Addison Mullis, Daniela Padilla Toro, Jackson Powers, Christopher Ricke, Kayla Ries, Wesley Sadler, Tyler Sauser, Brianna Turkington, Jacob Walerius, Grayson Wollum

PowerSchools impacted by cybersecurity incident

Area schools among information impacted in breach

Nathan Countryman

Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com

Both Lisbon and Mount Vernon Schools are alerting families that information collected on PowerSchools was impacted in a recent cybersecurity incident. Data accessed includes parent, student and educator

contact information, with potential name and address information. A portion of individuals at Mount Vernon also had some personally identifiable information, including social security numbers and medical information possibly impacted as well.

“Protecting our students and educators is something we take seriously,” said superintendent Matt Leeman. “With PowerSchool’s help, more information and resources (including credit monitoring or identity protection services if applicable) will be provided to you as it becomes available.”

Superintendent Autumn Pino said there was nothing the Lisbon School District, other school districts or

Violent and serious crime rates in Linn County decrease in 2024

Linn County prosecutors continue to see a decline in the most serious charges but overall caseloads remain high

The Linn County Attorney’s Office is releasing statistics on cases of violent and serious crimes filed by their office in 2024, along with statistics from 2023 and 2022. Violent and serious crimes include homicide and attempted homicide, firearm-related offenses, sexual abuse, robbery, burglary, and eluding police -- a serious driving offense.

The statistics show a decrease in all categories of these serious and violent crimes in 2024, with the exception of cases of sexual abuse. Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks attributes the increase in sex abuse cases to an investigative operation focused on individuals soliciting children conducted by the Cedar Rapids Police Department that resulted in 18 cases. These 18 cases were in addition to cases involving victims who reported sexual abuse that resulted in charges filed.

In addition to seeing a decrease in violent and serious crimes in 2024, the Linn County Attorney’s Office obtained guilty verdicts and guilty pleas in 10 high-profile homicide cases.

“The year 2024 was a successful year for our prosecutors in the courtroom. It was also a year where we saw crime rates drop for the most serious offenses in Linn County, so it was a good year for our community,” said Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks. “The low crime numbers recently reported by the Cedar Rapids Police Department carried over into our office as well. Law enforcement numbers are based on crimes reported, whereas our numbers are based on crimes where the investigations result in criminal charges.”

The Linn County Attorney’s Office prosecutes cases referred by Marion, Hiawatha, Mount Vernon, and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office in addition to cases from the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

The following table shows the crime statistics for the past three years. Firearm-related crimes were down in all of the offenses included in each category.

*CRPD investigative operation

**Not including the CRPD operation.

Definition of Crime Categories in This Report

Homicides & Attempted Homicides crimes include the number of charges of murder, voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, vehicular homicide and attempted murder. Since these numbers were reported as charges, not cases, some of the charges may have been filed in one case.

Firearms crimes include Possession of Firearm as a Felon or Domestic Abuser, Going Armed with Intent, Intimidation with a Dangerous Weapon, Persons Ineligible to Carry and Trafficking Stolen Weapons. These numbers were reported as charges, not cases, because they typically involve separate acts involving a firearm. Since these numbers were reported as charges, not cases, some of the charges may have been filed in one case.

Sex Abuse crimes include any case where at least one charge was filed under Chapter 709 of the Iowa Code, which is the chapter of the Iowa Code that covers most sex offenses. For each case, there may be multiple counts or charges involving the same victim. Robbery crimes include all cases of Robbery in the First Degree and Robbery in the Second Degree.

Burglary crimes include all cases of Burglary in the First Degree, Burglary in the Second Degree, Attempted Burglary in the First Degree, and Attempted Burglary in the Second Degree. Most, if not all, of the burglary offenses in this report involve burglaries where victims were personally present.

Note: There is a category of burglary in the third degree. That category is not included in this report because it involves structures and vehicles where people (victims) are not

Grant Wood AEA could have done to protect against this cybersecurity breach.

“PowerSchool has been working closely with a cybersecurity firm to address the situation,” said Lisbon superintendent Autumn Pino. “They are confident the stolen data has now been deleted, and the unauthorized party no longer has access. While this breach was on PowerSchool’s end and as not impacted any of our other district systems, PowerSchool is taking steps to prevent any further misuse of this data.”

Pino said the district will remain in communication with the district’s legal counsel, insurance advisor, PowerSchool managers and the Grant Wood AEA.

present. The purpose of this report is to focus on more serious burglary crimes, ones that occur when people are present.

Eluding results when an offender fails to stop for a law enforcement vehicle with lights and sirens activated. Eluding often reaches dangerous speeds. Prosecution of eluding offenses has been a priority for the County Attorney’s Office, along with the prosecution of violent offenses. The Linn County Attorney’s Office has led efforts across the state to strengthen penalties for eluding offenders. This work helped result in new laws signed by Governor Reynolds in 2020 (SF2275) that increased penalties for repeat offenders and in 2023 (HF 358) that makes any eluding offense where the offender exceeds the speed limit by 25 mph or more a felony.

Overall crime numbers reflect the decrease in violent and serious crimes and felonies, however, indictable misdemeanor filings rose slightly in 2024. Indictable misdemeanor filings were up about 6% from the two-year average while felonies were down about 8.5%.

“The drop in the most serious crimes is noteworthy compared to past years,” said Maybanks. ”Our overall statistics are a result of the decrease in violent and serious crime, a dip in felony drug prosecutions, and an increase in lower-level property and financial crime prosecution.”

The Linn County Attorney’s Office has not been able to add a prosecutor to the staff due to budget constraints since 2020, and caseloads per prosecutor are above the national average. In 2023, the average caseload per year for each Linn County felony attorney was 185. That number dipped to 170 in 2024. The American Bar Association recommends a caseload of 150/year for felony attorneys.

According to Maybanks the statistics show a community that has grown safer and more secure over the past three years.

“Linn County has always been a safe place to live, work, raise a family and to call home,” Maybanks maintained. “Credit goes to the resilience of the residents of this community and to the leaders of government and industry who make this community the best place to live in the state of Iowa.

“We should also acknowledge the dedication of our local law enforcement departments and the hard-working prosecutors in our office who are committed to public safety, justice and victims,” said Maybanks, who led the prosecution of four of the ten homicides that resulted in convictions this year. “We believe our record of convictions and just results speaks for itself. The teamwork between law enforcement and our prosecutors deserves the highest commendation.”

2024 Successful Homicide Prosecutions

Between January 23, 2024, through November 14, 2024, the Linn County Attorney’s Office successfully prosecuted the following 10 homicides:

• Kazius Childress: pled guilty to murder in the second degree Jan. 23, 2024, and sentenced April 19, 2024, for the death of Cordal Lewis, age 19; prosecuted by Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks and Assistant Linn County Attorney Jennifer Erger.

• Brannon Johnson: found guilty by a jury of murder in the second degree March 6, 2024, for the death of Jorge Maldonado-Vasquez, age 27; prosecuted by First Assistant Linn County Attorney Monica Slaughter and Assistant Linn County Attorney Alex Anderson.

• Duvall Walker: found guilty by a jury of murder in the first degree March 13, 2024, for the death of Cameron Barnes, age 33; prosecuted by Assistant Linn County Attorneys Andrew Powers and Heidi Weiland.

• George Deason: found guilty by a judge of Murder in the second degree March 15, 2024, for the death of Elsie Deason, age 71; prosecuted by Assistant Linn County Attorney Andrew Powers and Katherine Shimkat.

• Kyl Kubite: pled guilty to Vehicular Homicide and sentenced March 18, 2024, for the death of Bonnie Stover, age 59; prosecuted by First Assistant Linn County Attorney Monica Slaughter.

• Keyun McGowan: found guilty by a jury of murder in the first degree March 25, 2024, for the death of Cristian Upah, age 17; prosecuted by Criminal Division Head Jordan Schier and Assistant Linn County Attorney Alex Anderson.

• Shane Teslik: found guilty by a jury of voluntary manslaughter April 8, 2024, for the death of Devonna Walker, age 29; prosecuted by Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks and First Assistant Linn County Attorney Monica Slaughter.

• Curtis Padgett: found guilty by a judge of murder in the first degree May 6, 2024, for the death of Dennis First, age 64; prosecuted by Assistant Linn County Attorneys Molly Edwards and Jennifer Erger.

• Kazius Childress: pled guilty to murder in the second degree Aug. 27, 2024, and sentenced on Oct. 25, 2024, for the death of Kavon Johnson, age 22; prosecuted by Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks and Assistant Linn County Attorney Jennifer Erger.

• McKinley Louisma: found guilty by a jury of Murder in the first Degree, kidnapping in the first degree and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony, for the death of Melody Hoffman, age 20; prosecuted by Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks and First Assistant Linn County Attorney Monica Slaughter

CHURCHES

MOUNT VERNON

St. Paul Lutheran Church L.C.M.S.

600 Fifth Avenue South

Pastor: Rev. Sean Hansen www.splcmv.org; send e-mail to info@splcmv.org

Sun.: 9:30 a.m. In-person worship

Please refer to our website or contact the church directly for additional worship information.

First Presbyterian Church

301 1st St. N.W.

www.firstpresmv.com

319-895-6060

Pastor: Rev. Lori Wunder

Sun.: 9:30 a.m. in-person worship.

Online services stream beginning at 9:20 a.m. on Facebook

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

Rev. Andrew Awotwe-Mensah, parish priest

Sun.: 8 a.m. Mass

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Justus Hallam, Bishop

Meeting at: 4300 Trailridge Rd. SE, Cedar Rapids Sun.: 11:30 a.m. in person services. Also an option for digital worship services.

United Methodist Church

Pastor Vicki Fisher

www.umcmv.com

Sun.: 8:30 a.m. Praise Worship

11 a.m. Traditional worship

Both worships available online at UMCMV.com

An LGBTQ affirming congregation

Community Bible Church

940 W. Mount Vernon Rd.

www.mvcbc.org, 895-6269

Teaching Pastor Brandon Glaza

Discipleship Pastor Dennis Fulkerson

Youth Pastor Stephen Thomas

Sun.: 9:30 a.m. In-Person Worship Service

Wed. - 6 p.m. Encounter and Youth Group

Linn Grove Presbyterian

2000 Linn Grove Rd., Mt. Vernon

Pastor Carla Burge

Sun: 9 a.m. in-person worship, masks requested Also, weekly readings, prayers and sermons are posted on the church’s Facebook page.

Baha’i Faith

Nina Scott, Group Secretary, 319-270-9230

CrossLife Community Church

Pastor Erik Bennett

Sun.: 10:30 a.m. – In-person worship service. Services also livestream on Facebook page.

LISBON

Living Hope Global Methodist Church

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Thursday, Jan. 23

Lisbon Jazz Band festival, Lisbon Auditorium and Lisbon band room, all day.

HAIG Talk - From the Balcony: Black Moviegoing and Political Protest in the Jim Crow South by Professor Catherine Stewart, Cornell College Thomas Commons Hedges Conference Room, 11:10 a.m.

Story Time, Cornell College Cole Library Browsing Room, 9:30 a.m.

Fiber Friends, Southeast Linn Community Center, 10:30 a.m.

Friday, Jan. 24

Bingo, Southeast Linn Community Center, 10-11:30 a.m.

Linn Lunch Bunch, Southeast Linn Community Center, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 25

Mount Vernon Archery Club, Mount Vernon High School and Middle School, 8 a.m.

CPR Community Class, Cornell College Thomas Commons, 9 a.m. to noon

Stop the Bleed class, Cornell College Thomas Commons, 1-3 p.m.

Lisbon Booster Club Lucky Lions Casino Night, Tin Roof Hideaway and events Center, 6:30 p.m.

Mount Vernon Junior Thespians present

“Seussical, Jr.,” Mount Vernon District Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 26

Mount Vernon Junior Thespians present

“Seussical, Jr.,” Mount Vernon District Auditorium, 2 p.m.

200 E. Market St., 455-2000 livinghopegmc.org

Interim Pastors

Services live streamed at Living Hope Global Methodist Church’s YouTube page Sundays at 8:45 a.m.

Sun.: 8:45 a.m. — In-person worship.

Seeds of Faith Lutheran Church, ELCA

798 Brenneman Lane, 455-2599

(Off Hwy. 30 on eastern edge of Lisbon) www.seedsoffaithlutheran.org/

Pastor Erika Uthe

9 a.m. — In-person worship. Services also livestream via Seeds’ Facebook Page.

BERTRAM

United Methodist Church 319-365-8077

Rev. Darwin Moore, Pastor Sun.: 10 a.m. — In-person worship service

MARTELLE

Christian Church Sun.: 10:30 a.m. — in person worship service

Services also stream online at Martelle Christian Church’s YouTube page.

United Methodist Church Sun.: 10:30 a.m. Worship service. No Sunday school.

SPRINGVILLE

United Methodist Church Sun.: 9 a.m. Worship service. Wed.: 6:30 p.m. Praise service

Faith Christian Fellowship

Pastor Joseph Bielema Sun.: 9:30 a.m. worship at Springville Memorial Library, in the Buresh Room

(264 Broadway Street)

St. Isidore Catholic Church Sat.: 6 p.m. Mass

MECHANICSVILLE

Living Hope Bible Church

Mechanicsville Memorial Building

First Presbyterian Church 408 E. First Street.

Christian Community Church of Mechanicsville

307 East First Street

563-432-7716

Sun: Sunday School 10-11am and in-person Worship Services at 11:15am with Fellowship to follow.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church

Pastor: Father James Flattery

Wed.: 8:30 a.m. — mass Sun.: 8 a.m. Mass

Monday, Jan. 27

Lisbon City Council, Lisbon City Hall, 7 p.m.

High School State Jazz Competition, Mount Vernon Performing Arts Center, 1-8 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 28

Lego Club, Cornell college Room 108, 3:30 p.m.

Yarn squad, Cornell College Cole Library Room 326, 6:30 p.m.

Winter Seed Sowing, Cornell College Cole Library Room 108, 6:30 p.m.

Learn to play bridge, Cornell College Cole Library Room 410, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 29

Cards, Southeast Linn Community Center, 10-11:30 a.m.

Linn Lunch Bunch, Southeast Linn Community Center, 11:30 a.m.

Learn to play bridge, Cornell College Cole Library room 108, 1 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 30

Story Time, Cornell College Cole Library Browsing Room, 9:30 a.m.

Fiber Friends, Southeast Linn Community Center, 10:30 a.m.

Community Leadership panel, Cornell College Thomas Commons Hall-Perrine Room, 6:30 p.m.

Tom Nothangle faculty recital, Cornell College

Armstrong Youngker Hall Ringer Recital Studio, 7 p.m.

Across 1 Some mustangs

6 Comedian Ken of “The Masked Singer”

11 Laser-focused mindset

12 They might be standing

14 Vegas nickname

15 Unfair judgments

17 Stopping point for a cruise or Crusoe

18 Commoner

20 “Say no more”

21 Nowhere to be found, informally

22 Parenthetical on four #1 albums since 2021

25 Cellular data?

26 Disparate

28 Its home is on the range

30 Nasty look

31 Speed limit, of a sort

32 “That makes sense now”

34 Illicit info

35 Sticky treats, in more ways than one?

39 Fictional queen of Arendelle

43 Greek consonant

44 “That makes sense now”

45 With 45-Down, displays during an online presentation ... or a hint to three pairs of answers in this puzzle

47 Alternatives to ands or buts

48 Spelling Bee rank between Solid and Great

49 Had over

50 Hand (out)

52 Shake deeply

54 ___-Way, brand of plows and salt spreaders

55 Attention-grabbing appearance, maybe

57 “Still good to meet up?”

59 Beam of light

60 Baby bear?

61 Chums

62 Mount Vernon or Monticello

Down

1 Get stuck in traffic, say

2 Way back when

3 What selfish athletes spell “team” with, presumably

4 Take-home amount

5 With craft

6 Websites with employment opportunities

7 Theodore Roosevelt ushered in a “Progressive” one

8 Quirky

9 Burning man?

10 Charlie brought his to the chocolate factory

11 See 11-Across

13 Kind of cord

14 Nantz’s longtime N.F.L. commentating partner

16 Devoted fan, informally

19 Coding catchall

22 See 22-Across

23 13th-century poet who wrote the “Masnavi”

24 Kerfuffle

27 Neckwear sometimes made with kukui nuts

29 Gets involved in

31 See 31-Across

33 Hedgehog lookalikes

35 Get one’s hair just right

36 Futile batting statlines, in baseball lingo

37 Hangs out for a while

38 Barely makes, with “out”

40 “Dinner is served!”

41 Cross-reference for additional information

42 Free throw after a basket

45 See 45-Across

46 Most evasive

51 Sicilian landmark

53 Sorcerer

56 Something connected to a QR code

58 Org. for Coco Gauff

SUDOKU

To play: Complete the grid so that every row, column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. There is no guessing or math involved, just use logic to solve.

TRAINING FOR SANITARI-

$60.00

& ASSOCIATES HEALTH ASSISTANCE $45.00 DRIVE BY INVESTMENTS II LLC RENT FOR CO ATTY & COURTS STORAGE $5,482.82

EASTERN IOWA HEALTH CENTER

ARPA2022-016 - INCREASING ACCESS

$13,080.00

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FITNESS REIMBURSEMENT $90.00

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ELY CITY OF QTR 2 UTILITY REIMBURSMENT

$4,375.00

EMC RISK SERVICES LLC WORK COMP EXPENSE $66,325.91

EPP, LISA REIMBURSE FOR CEU $260.00 ERGER, JENNIFER CSCF FEES $275.00 ESCO ELECTRIC CO RECEPTACLE UPGRADES $7,520.45

$643.05

CITY OF GENERAL ASSISTANCE $87.26 FIDLAR TECHNOLOGIES INC LAREDO LI-

TION PERMIT FEES $300.00

IOWA REAL ESTATE GROUP LLC GENERAL ASSISTANCE $900.00

IOWA SEX CRIMES INVESTIGATORS ASSOC ISCIA CONFERENCE REGISTRATION $175.00

JAYTECH INC WATER TREATMENT $2,009.10

JONES CO / IOWA AUDITOR SERVICE FEES $50.10

JUNGE LINCOLN MERCURY PARTS & SUPPLIES $485.42

JUNGE, GARY ABANDONED WATER WELL PLUGGING $700.00 KELLEY’S AUTO BODY LLC PROFESSIONAL SERVICES $17,009.27

KETELS, BRADLEY TRAVEL/TRAINING REIMB $78.50

KIECKS ALTERATIONS $37.00

KIESEY, MICHELLE M MEDICAL EXAMINER FEES $304.29

KIRKWOOD COMM COLLEGE FIRST AID TRAINING $115.00

KKCM PROPERTIES LLC GENERAL ASSISTANCE $900.00 L & L MURPHY ASSOCIATES CONSULTING SERVICES $13,333.32 LEVEL 10 APPAREL APPAREL $439.00

LINDEMAN LAW ATTORNEY FEES $285.60

LINDER DONALD J DO PC MEDICAL EXAMINATION

MOORMAN, ALAN J ABANDONED WATER

$700.00

WELL PLUGGING

MOUNT VERNON CITY OF QTR 2 UTILITY

REIMBURSEMENT $2,000.00

MURDOCH FUNERAL HOMES GENERAL ASSISTANCE

$2,000.00

MY OWN HOME CR LLC GENERAL ASSISTANCE $450.00

NAACP CEDAR RAPIDS BRANCH #4013 ARPA2022-019 - COMMUNITY GARDEN PROJECT $2,247.50

NYEMASTER GOODE PC TORT LIABILITY

$5,897.00

ONNEN, MICHAEL D MILEAGE REIMB $284.08

ORIGIN DESIGN CO BRIDGE INSPECTIONS $16,842.25

ORKIN LLC PEST CONTROL $195.00

PARADISO, SEAN FITNESS REIMBURSEMENT $274.50

PARTS AUTHORITY LLC PARTS & SUPPLIES

$622.58

PAYNE, TIMOTHY CLOTHING ALLOWANCE FY25

$392.66

PERFORMANCE FOODSERVICE LLC FOOD & PROVISIONS

$22,536.48

PHYSICIANS CLINIC OF IOWA PC HEALTH ASSISTANCE

$58.64

POINTE AT CEDAR RAPIDS THE GENERAL ASSISTANCE

$900.00

POWERS, SCOTT R FITNESS REIMBURSEMENT

$360.00

PROFESSIONAL HEALTH SERVICES PC MEDICAL EXAMINER FEES

$360.00

RADIOLOGY CONSULTANTS OF IOWA, PLC HEALTH ASSISTANCE

$187.00

RAPIDS WHOLESALE MEDICAL REFRIGERATOR WARRANTY

$238.00

RATHJE CONSTRUCTION LOST2024-101 - SECONDARY ROADS HQ - WATER MAIN EXTENSION

$3,201.00

REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT ASSOCIATION ARPA2022-217 - TOGETHER WE CAN

$1,285.00

RELIABLE PROPERTY SOLUTIONS LLC GENERAL ASSISTANCE

$853.01

RESERVE AT 66 LC GENERAL ASSISTANCE $900.00 VA ASSISTANCE $990.00

RUSHFORD, HOLLY J APPEAL TRANSCRIPT $45.00

SANSI GENERAL WELFARE SERVICES SUPPORT $676.92

SCHISSEL LLC VA ASSISTANCE

$1,310.00

SHAH LLC INTERPRETING SERVICES $371.50

SHRED-IT US JV LLC SHREDDING SERVICES $438.96

SIMMONS, TRACY M CAREGIVER REIMBURSEMENT FY25 $499.99

SLIGHT, LEVI T DECEMBER MILEAGE $234.50

SNYDER & ASSOCIATES PROFESSIONAL SERVICES - HORSESHOE FALLS BRIDGE $6,000.00 SOIL CONCEPTS INC HYDROMULCHMORGAN CREEK PARK LODGE

$12,500.00

SOUTH SLOPE COOP TELE PHONE SERVICE PALDOWS OBSERVATORY $42.80

LUKES HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION CONTRACT LABOR $12,773.11 STAR FOOD SERVICE EQUIPMENT & REPAIR REFRIGERATOR $122.50

STORM STEEL OB BLADES FOR JOHN DEERE PLOW $140.64

STROHMAN ENTERPRISE INC HOLSTERS $374.58

TANAGER PLACE CONTRACT LABOR

$11,535.57

TEAH, MERCY Y MILEAGE REIMB $77.12

TENSION ENVELOPE CORPORATION

MERCY MEDICAL CENTER ARPA2022215 - ENHANCED INFECTION CONTROL $87,081.23

HEALTH ASSISTANCE $118.50

OP2023-205 - OPIOID TREATMENT & RE-

COVERY PROJECT $32,685.24

MIDAMERICAN ENERGY - ASSISTANCE UTILITIES ASSISTANCE $1,040.17 VA ASSISTANCE $38.00

MOFFITT, CHASE W FITNESS REIMBURSEMENT $256.80

MOLO COMPANIES CAR WASH EXP $20.00

WINDOW ENVELOPES $1,580.25

TERRACON CONSULTANTS INC

LOST2024-101-02 - OBSERVATION & TESTING $6,683.50

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES $503.50

SOIL BORINGS $19,915.20

THE LINN COUNTY COMMUNITY ACTION FUND ARPA2022-209 - YOUTH LEADERSHIP $10,492.64

THIELEN, DAVID MILEAGE REIMB $21.44

THINK SAFE INC AED PROGRAM MAN-