Pavilion at new sports complex named Relaxation touchdown
Nathan Countryman | Mount VernonLisbon Sun Thad and Jane Nevitt make the $10,000 donation to Lisbon Parks and Recreation director Drayton Kamberling at the Monday, Aug. 26, Lisbon city council meeting.
Goldin family makes donation for naming rights
Nathan Countryman Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com
Lisbon City Council approved the naming of the new pavilion at the sports complex north of Meyers Meadow.
The pavilion will be named Goldin Pavilion, in honor of former Lisbon mayor Steve Goldin.
Thad Nevitt, one of Goldin’s children, said that his father loved the town of Lisbon, especially after moving to the town in 1980.
“He considered this town his home town,” Thad said. “We thought this was a fascinating way to honor him and contribute to this community.”
Other children in the Goldin family include Christine Umphress, Michael Goldin, Kat Harrison-Goldin and Josh Goldin.
City administrator Brandon Siggins said the city had settled on naming the pavilion Goldin Pavilion to be consistent with the naming rights of items in the new sports complex moving forward.
“All the money for the naming rights stays with the Parks and Recreation department, which will help them moving forward,” Siggins said.
Drayton Kamberling, parks and recreation director, said that in talking with Sportsman Solution, who is doing the fundraising for the complex, they wanted uniformity in the naming conventions. There are a number of ball fields and other buildings that will potentially be named in the complex moving forward. The Goldin family donated $10,000 to name the pavilion in honor of their father.
Council member Mike Williams brought up some issues with the naming of the park just by last name, wondering what happens if a future building was named in honor of a different family member with the same last name. Thad said while the family’s first preference would have been full name of Steve Goldin for the pavilion, they were happy to move forward with the Goldin Pavilion if that’s what the city dictated.
Council members Nathan Smith, John Bardsley and mayor Doug O’Connor were all supportive of the decision. Goldin was mayor in Lisbon from 1988 to 1993.
Above: Jamison Herboldsheimer verifies the request for two sausage patties in the line Monday, Sept. 2.
Right: John Baxa sits in the seat of a Lisbon Fire Department vehicle Monday, Sept. 2 at the touch a truck event.
Football game, Labor Day breakfast events held locally
Nathan Countryman Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com
No, your eyes did not deceive you Friday, Aug. 30. There was a football game at Cornell College’s Van Metre Field. Both teams, however, were not from Iowa.
High school football teams from Pewaukee, Wis., and Moberley, Mo., held a game between their two teams at the geographical halfway point for both teams, Mount Vernon, Iowa.
Zach Schlabaugh said that Cornell had been contacted a month in advance about hosting the game.
“We always see this as positive to give two schools full of prospective students and their families an opportunity to see the campus and we had no conflicts,” Schlabaugh said.
The game kicked off at 7 p.m., with the Pewaukee Pirates topping the Moberley Spartans in a 36-18 game.
That was just one of the activities in the area for Labor Day celebration.
The other was the annual pancake breakfast at the Lisbon Fire Station Monday, Sept. 2. The breakfast started serving at 6:30 a.m. and ran until noon.
By 8 a.m. the lines to get into the fire station were reaching outside the Lisbon City Hall building, and only getting longer into the late morning. Lisbon fire chief Brandon Siggins said the breakfast served more than 1,400 people and will raise over $15,000, records for both attendance and profit.
Numerous members of Lisbon Fire Department, their families and neighboring fire departments helped serving pancakes, eggs, sausage, hash browns, coffee, orange juice and milk and keep the line moving.
Following the breakfast, the Lisbon Public Library hosted their Touch a Truck event, with several of the Lisbon Fire Department vehicles outside for youth in the community to explore.
PHOTOS | 2
Photos by Nathan Countryman | Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
Members of the Pewaukee Pirates practice a running warmup Friday, Aug. 30.
Mount Vernon-Lisbon
Betty Bartlett and Emily Brade
Top left: Ty Siggins dishes up some scrambled eggs Monday, Sept. 2, at the Lisbon Fire Department pancake breakfast, while his dad Jake, sister Kenley and Brian Hall get another batch started.
Bottom left: The Moberley Spartans take to the field for practice ahead of the game Friday, Aug. 30.
Above: A volunteer with the Labor Day breakfast gets silverware and plates ready on tracks.
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
Editor Nathan Countryman nathan.countryman @mvlsun.com Sports Ryan Suchomel ryan.suchomel@mvlsun.com
Local troop completes Girl Scout Silver Award project
“The desire to do good is universal. To the extent that each person contributes to making the world a better place, they become a beacon of hope.” --Juilette Gordan-Low, Founder of Girl Scouts of the United States of America
The Silver Award is the second highest award in Girl Scouts. A Cadette Troop of sixth to eighth graders has to choose a great, big deed that impacts the community that they feel strongly about. Our Troop 1966, from Mount Vernon and Lisbon, with members Betty Bartlett and Emily Brade, chose to help Iowans experiencing homelessness.
It may not seem like there is an unhoused population in Iowa, but according to Data USA, Linn County in 2022, had a poverty rate of 9.48 percent. Even though that percentage isn’t very high, it’s still concerning. Those 1 out of 10 humans struggle and can’t find homes. For those who need it, there are shelters in the area that can help.
One way to find help is to call the United Way at 211. It is a non-emergency phone number that is available in multiple languages which allows people who need it to get information and referrals for mental and physical health resources such as: housing, employment assistance, utilities, and food, along with suicide and crisis interventions.
Another resource in Linn County is the Catholic Worker House in Cedar Rapids, which helps single women, married couples, and families who need shelter. There are two houses in Cedar Rapids, each able to accommodate 10 people. They help anyone on the street in the surrounding area. The Catholic Worker House is located at 1027 Fifth AVE SE, Cedar Rapids. If you need services from them, you can call them using the number 1-319-362-9041. They try their best to provide shelter for everybody, starting with the people who are in the worst situation.
We believe that everyone deserves help to get back on their feet and a safe place to sleep. From our perspective, everyone in the home got along and they acted like a family. The home is a really positive place to be in. They provided everything a functioning home would have: hot food, child care, beds and bedding, hygienics, and a front porch filled with extra donated items. The Catholic Worker House staff told us they always need help, like deep cleaning, spending time with the kids that are housed there, and household repairs around the properties, although any help is appreciated.
The Catholic Worker House in Cedar Rapids opened in 1982 and soon after that it became a shelter. In 2009, Larissa Ruffin became house manager. She helped the place out by adding a new website for the company, remodeling the house, opening a second house, and starting an impact fund for the place.
We chose this charity because we wanted to find a way to help women in crisis and because helping others can create more positive energy in the community. Dorothy Day, the founder of the national Catholic Worker House program, said; “Encourage, lift and strengthen one another. For the positive energy spread to one will be
Educate community on what they learned about homelessness
felt by us all. For we are connected, one and all.”
For our Silver Award project, we contacted the Catholic Worker House for an interview and to ask for the best way our Troop could be of service. With the resources available to our Troop and our age and skill set, we realized we could help best by having a donation drive for hygienic products for their clients and do some activities with the child residents.
We started by contacting local businesses, churches, libraries, and schools in Lisbon and Mount Vernon to get permission to place boxes by their doors for people to leave donations. Special thanks to: Lisbon Dollar General, Brother’s Market, Gary’s Foods, Mount Vernon Ace Hardware, Mount Vernon Pharmacy, First Street Community Center, Lisbon United Methodist Church, Mount Vernon United Methodist Church, Saint John’s Catholic Church, Lisbon School, Mount Vernon Middle School, Mount Vernon High School, and Lisbon Library.
After a month, we collected the boxes and set up an appointment with the Catholic Worker House to deliver the supplies. During another visit, we did a sewing craft with some of the residents, where we made rice packs that can be heated or frozen to relieve general aches and pains. We plan to go back and provide more service because we realized what great impacts our small actions had on this home.
Our small Troop helped the community, by giving people who can’t afford basic needs what they need most. Even by writing this article it brings more aid to those in need and awareness to a sometimes invisible struggle. We hope that this article will give you the confidence to help people like we did.
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 2024 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
Contributed photos
Top: Betty Bartlett and Emily Brade recently completed their Silver Award project for Troop 1966, collecting supplies for homeless in the area and educating the public about the issue. Above: Betty Barlett and Emily Brade are seen with the donations they collected as part of their Silver Award Project.
Photos by Nathan Countryman | Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
Mike Conklin to host reading, Q&A for his new book on Sept. 10
Mike Conklin, a longtime writer who grew up in Lisbon, will be hosting a reading, Q&A, and signing for his new book Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. at Cole Library. Conklin will also have a segment after the reading where he will talk about becoming a writer.
The new book is another addition to his “Town and Gown” series inspired by his hometown. Through his years spent in the area and as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, Conklin has mastered the art of observing. He uses this skill for sto-
ryline ideas and to create those stories in meticulous detail.
“It’s the little things that make stories,” said Conklin, “If you’re in Mount Vernon or Lisbon, there may be nothing going on. But if you’re observant enough, by golly. Every little, small town has some sort of headache from the past that will be worth something.”
Conklin draws the main setting for each book in the series from Mount Vernon, Lisbon and Cornell College. The relationship between a small town and a college intrigues him because of how they coexist even when things may not be harmonious.
Conklin’s newest book, He Bet the Farm, will feature dual narratives that combine near the end. The book will lean on a few things inspired by the Mount Vernon and Lisbon area. Part of the story will feature a library filled with valuable collectibles merging with the college library in town. Similar to how the Mount Vernon public library is merged with the Cornell College library.
Conklin will also look into a dystopian future in college athletics in the book. He will dissect what college sports would be like if players were to become engulfed in the sports-betting world.
He takes pride in the amount of detail in each story. As a former writer for regional news outlets, writing a novel gives him an opportunity not to be limited by space or a word count when he is telling a story. These realistic fiction books, based off some of his life experiences, are written to intrigue readers who want to learn something from what they read.
“Writing books like these allows me to have a cathartic experience,” Conklin said. “I can write stuff and get it off my chest.”
This new book and all of Conklin’s previous novels can be found at the Cole Public Library.
Linn County GIS earns excellence in action award
The Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) is pleased to announce that the Linn County Geographic Information System (GIS) Division Community Services Resource Hub and Property Tax Collections and Distribution Hub are recipients of the 2024 ISAC Excellence in Action Award. The Excellence in Action Award Program is a competitive awards program that seeks to identify and recognize innovative county government employees, programs, and projects. The awards were presented during a ceremony at the ISAC Annual Conference in Des Moines Aug. 21.
GIS Specialist Peter Konrad worked with the Linn County Community Services Department to develop an interactive and searchable online tool to help residents and others find local resources and services such as providers and assistance programs. Local service providers can submit and update offerings and availability through the online platform, so residents always have up-to-date information when searching by location, organization, or services provided. The Hub has led to efficiency internally by replacing an antiquated paper system and streamlining workflow
and providing great value to the community with easily accessible and enhanced resource offerings.
GIS Analyst Matt Boyle worked with the Linn County Treasurer’s Office to develop a hub site with maps, charts, graphs, and statistics to provide property tax information in a user-friendly and visually appealing way. Property owners and others can see tax collections and disbursements countywide and by local jurisdiction, as well as explore current and historical tax information for individual properties. The data automation procedures developed have led to workflow efficiency and provide the county, other local jurisdictions, and the public with the most up-to-date property tax data in a transparent and informative way. The Iowa State Association of Counties and the Excellence in Action Selection Committee wish to extend their congratulations to the Linn County GIS Division Community Services Resource Hub and Property Tax Collections and Distribution Hub for being selected as recipients of the 2024 ISAC
Contributed photos
Left: ISAC Executive Director Andrea Woodard, Linn County GIS Specialist Peter Konrad, and ISAC President and Clay County Supervisor Barry Anderson. Right: ISAC Executive Director Andrea Woodard, Linn County GIS Analyst Matt Boyle, and ISAC President and Clay County Supervisor Barry Anderson.
Conklin
OPINIONS
SUN EDITORIAL
PHill from Pleasant Hill is free at last! Lot of fun holidays on a calendar these days to celebrate
Living in Iowa
Dan Brawner
PHill, the water buffalo has just had the worst week of his life. And possibly, the best week.
On Saturday, Aug. 24, PHill’s owner, Prem Nepal of Pleasant Hill, Iowa, was getting ready to shoot and slaughter him. But, to Nepal’s surprise, PHill knocked him over and escaped. Being a water buffalo, PHill, as he is known locally, is a big guy. His kind are the largest of the Bovini family and can weigh up to 2,600 pounds. So, you can imagine what an impressive sight it was to see PHill leap over the tall chain link fence and make his escape.
You would think any animal PHill’s size would have a tough time hiding from humans. But for five days, PHill remained at large, occasionally spotted happily wallowing in mud holes and, in one incident, caught comically gawking into a neighbor’s wide-angle doorbell camera, making PHill’s nose look really big. And each time, he vanished before he could be captured.
This was not the first time animals had escaped from Mr. Nepal. Authorities were called on at least three occasions when six goats and “rogue” cows escaped Nepal’s fences. Police once shot and killed one of the cows. Nepal was fined for not having the animal on a leash and later for failing to dispose of the carcass.
When Pleasant Hill police finally did catch up to PHill, they claimed he acted “aggressive.” So, they shot him. With a shotgun. Water buffalos are known throughout Asia as hard-working gentle giants, used for plowing rice fields or transporting heavy items. They are such mild creatures that the job of working with them is often assigned to children. How did PHill react to being shot by police? He ignored them.
PHill had quickly become a Des Moinesarea celebrity. Shawn Camp, founder of the “vegan, nonprofit” Iowa Farm Sanctuary in Oxford observed, “The local community absolutely rallied for PHill and didn’t rest until he was given a fair chance at safety and freedom.” He added, “The outpouring of love for PHill, a farmed animal…is so incredibly heartwarming.” The company Raygun had started selling a “Free PHill” t-shirt, depicting a water buffalo jumping over a fence with the caption “The great water buffalo escape. Pleasant Hill, IA 2024.” Later, police subdued PHill with two tranquilizer darts and got him into a trailer.
In a fairytale ending, PHill has been saved from slaughter and was taken to the Large Animal Hospital in Ames for stateof-the-art treatment of his injuries. Prem Nepal surrendered his ownership of PHill to the Farm Sanctuary where the sociable buffalo will now have many fellow rescued animals to play with. Mr. Camp promises that, after PHill’s recovery is complete, visitors are invited to meet PHill at the Oxford facility where he is expected to live out his days in comfort and happiness.
We’re late… Or about to be for National Be Late for Something Day.
Of course, that’s kind of what happens when you think Fight National Procrastination Day is actually Sept. 5, but alas, that itself is tomorrow… And we tried to keep pushing off this editorial until the last minute this week as ideas were fleeting, but the deadline for the newspaper, even on holiday weeks, never changes.
Maybe we’re just slowing down because we ate that extra dessert yesterday for “Eat an Extra Dessert Day” (In our defense, choosing between a Blizzard at Dairy Queen or a cookie at White Tree Bakery can sometimes be a very tough decision…)
Then of course, we have National Read a Book Day Friday, Sept. 6, which we wrote about last year, followed of course by National Buy a Book Day (because after you’ve just finished a book, you got to add one to your pile of things to read)… Both those also precede International Literacy Day on Sunday, Sept. 8. And Grandparents Day.
National Dog Walker Appreciation Day is also the same as Hug Your Hound Day being Sunday, Sept. 8. You should not confuse the intent of the latter two holidays or at least ask for consent from both your dog or dog walker before you hug either…
Or maybe the goal this Sunday is to boldly go where mankind has never gone before and relish in the adventures of Star Trek Day, like many of us try to make sure people don’t confuse with May 4.
Even with some of those days that are fun are the reminders of the importance of checking in on loved ones. Tuesday, Sept. 10, marks World Suicide Prevention Day. And Thursday, Sept. 12 marks Are You Okay Day? Given the week some people might have had trying to follow all those little holidays, that might be for the best.
It’s funny how many silly holidays or days of note there are on any given calendar to celebrate all things, big or small. Maybe find the one you want to celebrate most in the coming weeks or months.
Sports reporting bolstered, other Daily Iowan help coming
Nathan Countryman Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com
ny side
We’ve had ongoing discussions about the partnership between Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun and the Daily Iowan, and we had an intern this summer that has assisted us.
Intern Joel Kellar will be staying on as an intern with reduced hours in the coming school year as well.
We’re also going to be seeing help from some of the classes at the Daily Iowan to help bolster our sports photography and reporting. People who pay attention to our sports pages know we’re blessed with some fantastic stringers and students from the Mustang Moon that happily provide photos for us on a weekly basis. Those partnerships are ongoing. This is another way we’re letting students at the Daily Iowan get experience themselves and build our coverage.
You may see some recaps of the games on Friday nights, brief stories that those students are doing as part of their partnership with the Cedar Rapids Gazette that benefits us as well. Ryan will still be writing the big game stories and visit with the coaches every week for a range of sports.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Kids Online Safety Act needs to pass
Just weeks ago, the Senate — with bipartisan support — unanimously passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). It now is up to our Congress to pass this much needed legislation.
As a teacher for 30 years, I ha a front row seat in witnessing the dramatic impact of the ‘smart phone’ on my students’ ability to stay focused. The captivating power of this device both surprised and alarmed me. When Gov. Reynolds organized a conference back in 2013 entitled “Media’s Effect on Youth” I jumped at the chance to learn more from a panel of experts.
Since then, I have kept on top of the latest research — everything from black box algorithms to the more recent generative artificial intelligence The potential for good is there, but also — thanks to years of research — we are now aware of the documented harm and potential for additional harm.
Today the harms online for children shock me and make e fear for the mental health of my grandchildren. Tech’s prioritization of profit over ‘duty of care’ to our children must stop. This Act provides parents with better tools to protect their children online.
The Senate started a welcomed bipartisan movement. Let’s keep this bipartisan momentum going! The EU have already enacted their digital services act. Here in the United States we have waited and waited for legisla -
But this is another way we’re taking smaller steps in what works for students to get that experience of working at a community weekly newspaper before they leave college.
This past Tuesday, members of the newspaper staff, and a few select community members and city officials were interviewed by Teri Finneman, from the University of Kansas who is doing her own work on a book about the partnership between journalism schools and newspapers. I’m really interested to read how this has worked at other school and newspapers myself, but the questions she provided staff before hand gave me time to reflect and prepare for the interview. I’m so used to being on the other side of asking questions that to have to answer some of them myself sets me slightly aback.
I have done this career for almost 20 years now. At times, it’s been rocky. At times I’ve worried about my job.
But through it all, the importance of this job, be that covering the happenings at a council meeting or school board or telling someone’s story always remind me why I got into this profession to begin with.
It’s always changing, every week and year. While the same events and festivals may pop up, you gain something different in your coverage each time. And you have the privilege to tell people’s stories to a community at large.
tive action. It is time for our U.S. Lawmakers to protect our children by passing KOSA this September. Please ask Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (Washington, D.C. Office (202-225-2911) or Cedar Rapids office (1-319-364-2288)) to vote yes to pass this long over due bill to protect our kids. Julie Brannaman Lisbon
Restore reproductive freedoms nationally, vote Sarah Corkery
Think of a young woman. She could be your sister, your friend, your daughter. She is nine to 10 weeks pregnant, and she wants to be pregnant. Unfortunately, she starts bleeding quite heavily. She goes to the emergency room, where she is asked whether anyone did something to harm the pregnancy. She must now endure the sadness of the loss of the pregnancy as well as fear that the loss could be viewed as the result of a crime.
This is just one example of possible consequences of Iowa’s six-week abortion ban. I plan to vote for Democrat Sarah Corkery for U.S. House of Representative. We need national legislation to restore reproductive freedoms, which will only happen when Democrats regain control of Congress.
Deborah George, M.D. Mount Vernon, Iowa
Iowa libertarian congressional candidates kicked off ballot by state panel
ocratic State Auditor Rob Sand. Sand was the only member of the panel to vote against the objection to the candidacy of the three libertarians.
business.
A three-member state panel upheld objections to the candidacy of three Iowa libertarian congressional candidates on Wednesday in a 2-1 decision.
The decision effectively removes the candidates from the Nov. 5 general election ballot, though they can ask a district court to intervene.
The objections were brought by Republican activists, county party officials, and political candidates represented by Alan Ostergren on Wednesday.
The three Libertarian candidates who were disqualified from the ballot include Nicholas Gluba, the candidate for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, Marco Battaglia, the candidate for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, and Charles Aldrich in the 4th Congressional District.
The state panel that hears candidacy objections consists of Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate, Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird, and Dem -
The objectors argued that the Libertarian Party of Iowa failed to properly conduct county conventions, making their special conventions where they nominated the congressional candidates null and void, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
The Iowa Libertarian Party conducted their precinct and county conventions on the same day on Jan. 15, but lawyers for the objectors argued that Iowa code specifies that delegate terms don’t start until the following day.
The objectors argued that since the county conventions were done incorrectly, the special conventions to nominate the three congressional candidates were invalid.
The Libertarian Party gained major party status in 2022 when its gubernatorial candidate Rick Stewart gained 2 percent of the vote, making them subject to Iowa’s laws regarding major political parties.
Sand said the panel’s decision “nit-picked” Libertarian Party business and bucked the Supreme Court precedent that says states should not interfere in party
prepare for the new software. This step will ensure no documents are pending during the conversion to the new system. The office will continue to accept documents for recording, but documents received after August 30 at noon will not be recorded until the new system is operational, which is expected to be Sept. 3.
“We are excited to bring this technology to Linn County. It will improve our entire recording process,” said Linn County Recorder Carolyn Siebrecht. “The real estate industry has modernized and is using more digital processes. This new software will be more efficient for us and our customers, and it will save money by reducing our use of paper and postage.”
The online property search is also part of the software change.
“We want our customers to know that when they visit the Recorder’s Office website and search property records, the website will look different than the last time they visited,” Siebrecht said.
Software enhancements include:
The
“This is a wrong-headed plot by Iowa’s uniparty to limit voters’ choices and prop up a broken, two-party system,” Sand said in a news release on Wednesday. “I stand against it.”
Libertarian candidate Gluba, who was seeding a seat in Iowa’s 1st Congressional district, said Republicans on the panel had political motivations for upholding the objection.
“I was not shocked as the panel is stacked against us via political party affiliation,” Gluba wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan. “The two votes to sustain the objection came from the two Republican party members on the panel. The one dissenting vote came from the only Democrat sitting on the panel. The result was predictable.”
The absence of a libertarian candidate on the ballot could make a difference in close races, which are expected in Iowa’s 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts. U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, was a first-term incumbent who won by less than 2,000 votes in 2022 with no libertarian candidate on the ballot.
Gluba and other candidates are working on appealing the decision with Iowa courts.
For questions about the new land records software or property fraud alert, contact the Linn County Recorder’s Office by calling 319-892-5420 or email Recorder@LinnCountyIowa.gov.
new technology will improve accuracy while saving
• Land record recordings will be available and viewable immediately.
time and money
The Linn County Recorder’s Office will begin using a new land recording software September 3. Effective September 3, recording and searching will be done in the new system operated by Fidlar Technologies.
The Linn County Recorder’s Office will suspend recording documents at noon on Friday, August 30 to
• Property owners can leave the Recorder’s Office with their original deed rather than wait to receive it in the mail.
• Property Fraud Alert: Linn County residents can sign up to be notified by phone or email if a document is recorded in Linn County under their name. Linn County property owners who were registered with Property Check to monitor for fraud alerts under the previous system will transition automatically to Property Fraud Alert as part of this change and will receive an email from Fidlar Technologies confirming the transfer.
Open Book event presented at Lisbon Public Library
Nathan Countryman
Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com
JJ Kapur and Joshua Musonda presented their stories as part of a CultureAll Open Book event at Lisbon Library’s Heritage Hall Wednesday, Aug. 28. The program was supported by a grant from Humanities Iowa to bring this presentation to adults.
Karen Downing, director of CultureAll, said that there are a total of 53 books featuring the stories of Iowans from diverse backgrounds. As part of the presentation, Augustin and Kapur would share their stories and then leave a question for participants to springboard their own connections and stories from the piece.
Musonda’s story focused on his dislike of the cold weather. Musonda, who grew up in South Africa, said that for him, temperatures that were negative 2 Celsius (roughly 25 degrees Fahrenheit) were the winter temperatures he was used to, and even that was challenging for his body to endure.
“Despite the number of layers you put on in those temperatures, the cold always has a way of finding it’s way to you,” Musonda said.
He remembers when they first came to the United States, a family of seven, and experienced their first winter.
Their first solution when dealing with these cold temperatures was having individual electrical heaters that would operate in the winter.
That led to the family shorting their electricity in their house because it overloaded the circuits the heaters were plugged into.
“Not only were we freezing, but now we were left in the dark, too, while we figured out how to fix this,” Musonda said.
The next solution was utilizing hot water bottles before going to bed at night to provide warmth in the winter months.
“The issue is you would have these hot water bottles and every few weeks of use of pouring in this extremely hot water, you’d have bottles that would break,” Musonda said. “Then she’d have all of these kids asking about new hot water bottles, and those weren’t cheap.”
Musonda said they were privileged to live next to a neighbor from Bulgaria who told her own stories of hot bottles that were created when she was a young child that used glass bottles instead.
“That discussion stuck with my mom, and when she went home and was looking at the cupboards, she realized that we didn’t have glass bottles, but we had plenty of Tupperware bottles,” Musonda said.
It was an example of how his mother took something that was once useless and made it something useful.
It’s a lesson he has carried into his own life as well. He’s used knifes as screwdrivers when he couldn’t find one of those, or used his running as a stress reliever, turning
He recounted that night, his father sang one of the Sikh hymns over his son.
Shortly after, his father found a remission from his depression as well.
The question Kapur wanted people to explore was how people they held up as heroes were shown to be human to them.
other items that might have been useless into something useful for himself.
( ) said that he recently returned from the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) with a case of COVID-19. As he was recovering, he took the time to watch more of the Olympics.
Amy White recounted that growing up she and her family would do a lot of camping. At those campsites, there weren’t a lot of toys so items like stones and sticks became puppets or figures for playing.
JJ Kapur spoke about how he grew up an only child and his interactions with his father shaped his own love of learning and imagination.
“When I grew up, I grew up watching Bollywood movies with my parents,” Kapur said. “In those movies, the superheroes aren’t like the ones that are depicted from Marvel with big muscles or shooting web from their fingertips. They’re usually heroes who have pockets full of pixie dust.”
In his life, the closest example he had to a real life superhero was his father. Every day after his father would come home from work, the two would go to the basement which was their laboratory of play.
“Because I was an only child, my dad served as my big brother and sometimes drill sergeant,” Kapur said.
Kapur recounted that some of their lessons might be taking something that looked useless into something useful. In one case it was wrapping copper wire around a cardboard box and attaching a light to one end of the copper wire and then using a magnet that they would circle around the copper wire, that would turn the lightbulb on with kinetic energy.
“I’d later find out the term for this type of energy conduction is electromagnetic conduction, but at the time it was just mind blowing to see it work,” Kapur said.
Kapur recounted as he grew older, that basement stayed the same.
During the pandemic, Kapur returned home and was now living in that basement.
Also during that pandemic, his father was interacting with being forced to work from home for the first time in a 30-year career.
“And mom and I noticed a change in dad with that working from home,” Kapur said. “His calls to family, that would sometimes have spanned hours, were lasting just a few minutes before he passed the phone on.”
Kapur said that looking at it now, he could see it was a textbook example of major depression.
“That definition in a textbook is the inability to experience joy,” Kapur said. “I viewed it more as my dad had lost the ability to play.”
Around the same time, Kapur was going through his own issues as well. He’d had a first relationship, first love and eventually first break-up. It was one of those nights after the break-up he asked his dad to sleep beside him, to reconnect with his father.
Sandeep, a doctor in Iowa City, said his interactions with patients usually goes the other way. He sees them as human, tackling an illness and getting treated, but it’s walking out to those waiting rooms that he sees how important that person is to a range of other people.
“There are no common men or women who step through our doors,” Sandeep said. “Many of them are heroes to their family and friends.”
Thank you!
Nathan Countryman | Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
Joshua Musonda (left) and JJ Kapur (middle) were the storytellers for the OpenBook presentation Wednesday, Aug. 28, at Lisbon Library.
Nathan Countryman | Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
Presenters Joshua Musonda and JJ Kapur in front of the audience for the OpenBook presentation at Lisbon Public Library Wednesday, Aug. 28.
Karen K. Somerville, 81, of Onslow passed away Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, at the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City.
A visitation was held Monday, September 2, 2024, at Dawson Funeral Services in Wyoming. Her funeral service was Tuesday, Sept. 3, at Dawson Funeral Services in Wyoming. Burial will be held at South Mineral Cemetery in rural Onslow.
Karen Kay was born February 6, 1943, in Carroll, to Merritt and Caroline (Walther) Butrick. She graduated from Glidden High School and went on to earn her Medical Transcriptionist Degree from American Institute of Business (AIB) in Des Moines.
On May 24, 1964, in Glidden she was united in marriage to Denny Somerville. She worked as a medical transcriptionist in Des Moines, Anamosa, Cedar Rapids and Lowden. Karen and her husband owned and operated Lowden Fertilizer LTD. She was a bookkeeper for Big Bills, Inc. and finished her working career as a Crop Adjustor with her husband. Karen enjoyed spending her time crocheting, working on word searches, reading and watching TV. She loved spending time with her family.
Those left to cherish her memory are her children; Ken (Paige) Somerville of Onslow, Janet Biddiscombe of Huntsville, Texas, Julie (Darrin) Schaefer of Onslow, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
She is preceded in death by her parents and husband.
Memorials may be directed to her family in her honor. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.dawsonfuneral.com. Cards of condolences may be mailed to Dawson Funeral Services Attn: Karen Somerville Family Po Box 258 Wyoming, Iowa 52362.
Carl Wayne Shipley, age 87, of Lisbon passed away Aug. 30, 2024, after a long illness. He was surrounded by his loving family at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was born in rural Keosauqua Sept. 30, 1937, the son of Seth Harold and Lela Mary Louis (Saddler) Shipley. He married Karen “Kay” Potter and later married Lois Arlene Weber on January 28, 1967 in Lisbon.
He worked for 34 years in maintenance at Iowa Electric. He enjoyed driving tractors, especially Farmall, spending time going to the races with his stepson, Bill, and driving his ATV and truck around town or taking spontaneous road trips with his beloved sidekick, Carol Light.
Wayne was a cherished brother, father, stepfather and father-in-law. Surviving are two sisters, Myrna (Shipley) Chaney of Des Moines, and Sharon (Shipley) Smith of Mount Pleasant, He will be missed by his children and stepchildren, Van Harold and Kathy Shipley of Galesburg, Ill., Sharon Mae (Hampton) and Tom Kendall of Waterloo, William Allen and Lori Shoop of Stanwood, and Kelly Lee (Clark) and David Fairchild. He leaves behind his seven grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, and five great-great grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Lois Arlene; and children, Bryan Shipley of South Carolina, Bonnie Jean (Hampton) of Fort Worth, Texas, Dennis Hampton of Lisbon, and Melody Ann (Shoop) Clark of Hopkinton.
Wayne will be sadly missed by all who knew him. Immediate family and friends are kindly invited to attend graveside service at the Lisbon Cemetery, Lisbon. Pastor Tom Mattson of Living Hope GMC will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been created for C. Wayne Shipley with the St. Lukes Hospice Foundation, Cedar Rapids, Iowa in care of Outpatient Hospice.
Condolences and memories may be sent in care of Bill and Lori Shoop, 310 S. Elm Street, Stanwood, Iowa 52337.
Please share your support and memories with Wayne’s family on his Tribute Wall at www.stewartbaxter.com under Obituaries.
Trash pick-up Lisbon
Lisbon trash and recycling will be picked up, Friday Sept. 6, due to the Labor Day holiday. It is a green lid week.
Iowa High School Speech Association judge certification clinic
Want to learn more about judging high school speech contests? Mount Vernon High School will be hosting a judge certification clinic at the Mount Vernon High School Library Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 6:30 p.m.
Those who want to certify as a judge will need to pay $10 to register as a judge, but can earn $150 per day judging speech contests. Certification includes training and guidance from a district officer as well as receiving an open book test that will certify judges for the next three years.
If you have questions, email Tawnua Tenley at ttenley@mvcsd.org.
Annual Highway One Marching Band classic
Merchandise for the third annual Highway One Marching Band classic is available at CauseTeam. Deadline to order is Sunday, Sept. 22.
The Highway One Marching Band Classic is Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. in Mount Vernon.
The event is a collaboration of the marching bands of Anamosa, Lisbon, Solon and Mount Vernon. All bands perform the National Anthem and each band then performs their 2024 program for each other and the community. Band director Scott Weber said he is expecting a full house that evening. The event is free admission to watch and cheer on the bands.
Mini Mustang cheer clinic
Students in grades preschool – fourth grade are invited to join the Mount Vernon Mustang cheerleaders to learn a few cheers and perform at the Friday, October 11 football game. Forms and payment of $30 must be returned to the elementary school office by September 24.
Mount Vernon Boys Basketball Camp
The Mount Vernon Boys Basketball Club (MVBC) offers boys in grades second through eighth grade the chance to develop fundamental skills and a passion for basketball within a competitive yet supportive environment. The program emphasizes the MV basketball philosophy, focusing on sportsmanship, teamwork, and leadership. While the MVBC is competitive, it is designed to balance skill improvement with personal development across different grade levels.
All boys interested in participating in the MVBC for 2024-2025 season, must submit a registration form, even if they participated last year. If you have any questions, please contact Derek Roberts at droberts@mvcsd.org or Kyle Hach at kylehach@gmail. com. Registrations are due by Sept. 16.
Amanda L. Latta of Mount Vernon graduated from the School of Information Studies at Louisiana State University with a Master’s in Library and Information Science and a graduate certification in archival studies. Amanda has been hired at the Swisher Community Library as an assistant librarian and archivist and is in charge of adult programming and creating a digital archive.
Cole Corner
Cathy Boggs Cole Library
Plan your Iowa fall road trip with new travel books at Cole
As summer turns to fall, are you looking for some short excursions to enjoy the beauty of the changing seasons?
At Cole Library, we have purchased several Iowa travel books to entice you out on the roads for an adventure. These books will guide you to explore Iowa’s backroads, history, and scrumptious food.
The titles are: Perfect Day Iowa: Day Trips, Weekend Getaways, and Other Escapes, Sara Broer; Iowa – Off the Beaten Path 11th Edition, Lorie Erickson; Iowa Supper Clubs, Megan Bannister; Secret Iowa: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, Megan Bannister; Hiking Iowa: A Guide to the State’s Greatest Hiking Adventures 2nd Edition, Seth Brooks.
Happy trails!
Quiet crossing discussed at Lisbon City council
Nathan Countryman Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com
Citizen Robert Zahorik asked the council if there is any action that is being pursued on a Quiet Zone crossing at the Washington Street intersection with the railroad.
Council member John Bardsley said that the council had looked into the matter a few years ago, and found that it was quite expensive.
“As well, the barrier between lanes to make sure people do not pass the crossing guards would be an issue for the grain bins and implements at Lisbon,” Bardsley said.
Bardsley said the council does not know what the rules are for those crossings now, but the crossing would also be at the city’s expense only, not to the county or railroad.
Council member Kevin Steele — who had run on looking into the quiet zones as an issue — said he discovered shortly after being elected that the council had previously looked into the matter and it was more costly than he expected, as well as the issues for farmers who use the farm-to-market road the barriers would provide.
Council member Rick Scott asked why there was a request for the quiet zone.
Zahorik said he lived along Market Street and the trains blowing horns was loud throughout the day. Scott said that he himself lives close to the tracks, and the noise doesn’t bother him. He also said that the proximity to the trailer court was a need for the sound of those horns as well.
Karen Somerville
Carl Shipley
Lisbon tops Durant 30-0
Ryan Suchomel
Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
ryan.suchomel@mvlsun.com
Lisbon features a multi-faceted offense with a lot of new weapons in the passing game, and it showed some of that in a 30-0 win over Durant on Friday, Aug. 30, at Walmer Field.
But they also have Tiernan Boots.
The senior running back ran for 165 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries, helping put the Wildcats away in the second half.
“What you see out of Tiernan Boots is what you get,” Lisbon Coach Dylan Hastings said. “He’s a hammer. He’s a horse. He’s got those low legs.”
Boots had 78 yards and a TD on 10 carries in the first half. Lisbon led at half, 10-0.
It was a simple decision to opt for more of that.
“I mean, it was working, so …” Boots said. “We just do what we do.”
Senior quarterback Dakota Clark is being asked to air it out a little more this year. He has some new weapons on the outside, including 6-foot-6 Grayson Wollum (2 catches, 25 yards) and 6-foot-4 Daylin Schaefer (2-10).
But handing it off or pitching it to Boots, was a no-brainer.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Clark said. “We ran what was working. We ran it down their throat and put points up on the board.”
And the Lions did it behind a rebuilt offensive line that features left tackle junior Nathan Anderson (6-3, 210), left guard senior Evan Coleman (6-0, 205), center senior Ethan Hoekstra (6-0, n/a), right guard senior Jacob Walerius (5-9, 205), and right tackle senior Hayden Jackson (6-5, 315).
The group was stung by five holding penalties, but moved some big Wildcat defenders around, as well.
“We’re replacing some guys on the O-line and we had to have some conversations at halftime,” Hastings said. “That’s the good thing about this group, they are coachable, and are able to make adjustments. In the second half our offensive line blocked a lot better.”
And really, the 23-yard field goal by senior Gage Holub in the first quarter ended up being all the scoring Lisbon needed. They shut out the Wildcats, and held them to 92 total yards and just four first downs.
“Our defense was tough,” Boots said. “We’re going to stay tough and going to get tougher.”
“It was nice to hit some other guys,” Clark added. “We really laid the boom on them tonight.”
Hastings said the Lions always take pride in their defense, and use the motto, S.O.S. – Swarm. Offend. Suffocate.
“We’re a very aggressive defense. We are going to bring it at you,” Hastings said. “When we get in a tough situation, that’s a momentum boost when you can stuff a team and hold them.”
Durant (0-1) hurt itself with a bad punt team. A high snap on its first punt gave Lisbon the ball at the Wildcat 35. That led to the field goal.
The next punt by Durant senior Isaac Nielsen was a squib that rolled backward and ended up going for zero yards. That gave the Lions the ball on the Durant 25. That drive ended in a fumble.
Later in the first half, Lisbon finally started on their own end, and put together a 13-play, 64-yard drive, capped with a Boots TD run of four yards on fourth-and-1.
The 10-0 halftime lead might have made a few fans nervous, given that the Lions thumped the Wildcats 42-0 last season in Durant.
“That’s a great team and they’ve got some big boys,” Hastings said. “I’m proud of the way our boys adjusted. That first week game, you don’t quite know what you are going to get. The boys adjusted really well.”
The Lions got the ball coming out of halftime and went on a 10-play, 55-yard drive that ended with Clark sneaking it in from the one.
Lisbon added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter from Boots to put the game away.
“It didn’t feel like a 30-0 game,” Boots said. “They are a stronger team than last year.
“We are always progressing, getting better. We kept pushing tonight, and got better each play.”
Clark, who took a few pictures with young fans while walking off the field, was impressed by how the Lions kept grinding away.
“We have a lot of work to do, we all know that,” said Clark, who had 85 yards rushing and 84 yards passing. “We’ve still got a lot to learn. We’re good. We’ll push through it.”
The season continues with a Week 2 game at Louisa-Mus-
Lisbon’s Quinn Coleman, Dakota Clark
catine. The Lions beat them last season 55-0, and the Falcons opened the year with a 70-0 loss to Tipton.
“The boys will be ready to rock and roll,” Hastings said. “Next week, we want to go 1-0 again.”
TEAM STATS
D L
First downs 4 23
Rushes-yards 24-54 42-259
Passing yards 38 84
Cmp.-Att.-Int. 10-20-0 9-17-0
Total yards 92 343
Fum.-lost 1-1 3-3
Punts-ave. 6-25.5 1-18.0
Pen.-yds. 3-20 6-48
Durant 0 0 0 0 – 0
Lisbon 3 7 7 13 – 30
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing – Durant: Tate Mckinley 10-51, Isaac Nielsen 8-(-6), Wyatt Cole 3-7, Cannon Davis 2-0, Colby Gast
Lisbon: Tiernan Boots 24-165, Dakota Clark 16-85, Quinn Coleman 2-9.
Passing – Durant: Isaac Nielsen 3-7-3-0, Cannon Davis 7-13-35-0. Lisbon: Dakota Clark 9-17-84-0.
Receiving – Durant: Joshua Pool 3-22, Gus Thoma 3-9, Brady Schult 2-(-2), Colby Gast 1-5, Owen DeLong 1-3. Lisbon: Grayson Wollum 2-25, Tiernan Boots 2-22, Quinn Coleman 2-21, Daylin Schaefer 2-10, Chase McFarlane 1-6.
Jennifer Tischer | Contributed photo
(No. 1) and Jacob Walerius (No. 60) work at tackling a Durant player Friday, Aug. 30.
Jennifer Tischer | Contributed photos
Above: Lisbon’s Tiernan Boots (No. 7) pushes for more yards as a Durant player attempts a tackle at Walmer Field Friday, Aug. 30.
Left: Lisbon’s Evan Coleman (No. 58) and Jacob Walerius (No. 60) tackle a Durant player at Walmer Field Friday, Aug. 30.
1-2.
Mustangs stampede to 44-6 victory over Panthers
Ryan Suchomel
Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
ryan.suchomel@mvlsun.com
A new era of Mustang football began Friday, Aug. 30 in Monticello. And, no surprise, it looked a lot like the last one.
Coach Brad Meester got his first win and the Mustangs rolled, 44-6.
“I thought it was a good start for us,” Meester said.
The former NFL offensive lineman was really happy with the way the Mustangs controlled the line of scrimmage, and how they got the running game going early and often.
Senior running back Cooper Hird led the way with 81 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries. Junior Caysen Curran added 50 rushing yards, and sophomore Jakob Yock had 36.
“He did a tremendous job for us,” Meester said of Hird. “When the hole is there, he hits it running downhill. But he’s really shifty, too.”
Last season, with Joey Rhomberg at quarterback, the Mustangs may have been viewed as a passing team. And while they certainly aired it out Friday, Meester wants to
shift away from that perception.
“We are a run-first team,” he said. “When the weather gets crazy, you have to run the ball. It was promising how we established the run.”
The aforementioned passing game is now in the hands of junior Kellen Haverback, who was 10-of-17 passing for 219 yards.
“Kellen did a tremendous job back there and hit some big passes downfield,” Meester said.
Meester said that Haverback had plenty of time to throw thanks to the offensive line. That group includes Nova Lane, Kael Riniker, Aaron Bellamy, Ethan Wood and Joe Briesemeister.
“The line really dominated on both sides of the ball,” Meester said.
Junior Jase Jaspers led the receivers with three catches for 112 yards. Watson Krob had two catches for 82 yards, and Ethan Wood had four grabs for 25 yards.
But what really tilted the game Friday was the defensive turnovers. Briesemeister and Jaspers each had an interception in the first half.
“That changes the game,” Meester said. “Our D-line got a lot of pressure and got after their quarterback.”
Mount Vernon had nine sacks. Riniker had 2.5, Wood and Jaxon Anderson each had two, and Lane had 1.5. Caleb Keegan added another.
The Panthers finished with just three rushing yards, and 83 through the air. Monticello (0-1) didn’t score until the fourth quarter.
Mount Vernon led 7-0 after one quarter, thanks to a 4-yard TD run by Haverback, then really turned it on in the second quarter.
Hird had three rushing touchdowns (2, 16, and 3 yards) and Haverback connected with Krob on a 73-yard bomb.
“Early on we had a couple series where we couldn’t finish drives,” Meester said. “In the second quarter, we were able to put some things together.”
The running clock was ticking for the entire second half. Curran added a 1-yard TD to make it 44-0.
“The second half flies by with the running clock,” Meester said. “We got a lot of guys in, and they did a nice job.”
Mount Vernon opens its second home season at the Martha Parsons Activities Complex on Friday, Sept. 6, against Union Community. The Knights beat Aplington-Parkersburg 14-0 in Week 1.
Lucy Wischmeyer | Mustang Moon
Top: Mount Vernon’s Watson Krob (No. 1) tries to catch the ball before heading out of bounds with a Monticello Panthers defender right behind him.
Far left: Mount Vernon’s Bennett Harp (No. 11) punts the ball for the Mustangs Friday, Aug. 30.
Left: Mount Vernon’s Kellen Haverback (No. 8) looks for an open player as a Monticello Panther defender closes in on him.
Lions roar over teams in Lisbon Classic
Team goes 2-1 in season opener
Ryan Suchomel
Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
ryan.suchomel@mvlsun.com
No. 13 Lisbon volleyball went 2-1 at its season-opening Lisbon Classic inside the Lions Den.
The event was moved from Tuesday, Aug. 27, to Thursday, Aug. 29, because of the heat, and it lost two teams as a result. It still remained a busy night, and Lisbon beat Central Elkader 21-10, 21-12, and Alburnett 21-19, 21-19, before falling
MV spikers face tough competition in Bellvue
Team beats four opponents in tournament
Ryan Suchomel
Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
ryan.suchomel@mvlsun.com
Top-ranked Mount Vernon is still undefeated in Iowa, but got clipped twice at the prestigious two-day Bellevue West Tournament on Friday, Aug. 30, and Saturday, Aug. 31, in Nebraska.
On Friday, the Mustangs beat Millard West 26-24, 18-25, 25-20, Elkhorn North 24-26, 25-17, 25-22, and Gretna 25-12, 25-21. On Saturday, they beat Millard South, 25-22, 25-14, before falling to Omaha Skutt Catholic 25-17, 27-25. In the third-place match, they lost to Omaha Westside, 15-25, 25-22, 25-22.
“Going to the Bellevue West Tournament is like going to the Class 5A/4A state tournament over Labor Day weekend,” Mount Vernon coach Maggie Willems said. “The teams we played are perennial powers and already playing at a high level this early in the season.”
The weekend matches also came after the Mustangs opened play Thursday, Aug. 29, with three matches in Pella.
“What was really tested was our grit,” Willems said. “We played nine games in three days, and none of the matches were against an opponent that we outmatched. It was a grind.”
The Mustangs probably won’t lose too many matches this fall, so losing twice in an afternoon could’ve been a shock.
“They totally understand the purpose of this tournament and that it’s a process for continued growth,” Willems said. “We got exposed, which is exactly what
you want. We can figure out in all phases of the game (both physical and mental) what we need to focus on in training.”
Senior setter Sydney Huber was busy, handing out 139 assists over the six matches. Returning Class 3A Player of the Year Chloe Meester had 79 kills.
The other top attackers included Paige Schurbon (20 kills), Sophia Meester (26 kills), Sydney Maue (23 kills) and CaliAna Whitaker (14 kills). Eryn Jackson led the defense with 57 digs.
At the Pella Quadrangular, the Mustangs beat No. 11 (4A) Pella 25-20, 25-19, beat No. 6 (3A) Mid-Prairie 25-11, 25-21, and topped Bondurant-Farrar 25-11, 25-17.
Huber had 73 assists over six sets. Chloe Meester led the attack with 31 kills, but against the Bluejays, did not lead the team in kills. Schurbon topped her 7 to 6.
“That shows that we will be hard to defend,” Willems said. “We’re pretty terminal at every position on the court this year.”
Schurbon had 15 kills overall. Sophia Meester had 15 kills and Maue had 18 kills.
Sophia Meester, a sophomore, has developed into another strong frontline attacker.
“She moved from the right side to the left side, which is her strong position,” Willems said. “She will make significant contributions this season.”
Mount Vernon gets a week to recover from its big road trip before hosting a 15-team tournament on Saturday, Sept. 7, starting at 8:30 a.m.
to Tipton 21-14, 21-16.
“It was good,” Lisbon coach Lance Kamaus said. “I think we had five kids who made their varsity debut.”
Against Alburnett, the Lions trailed in the first set 16-12 and in the second set, 16-10, and rallied to win both.
“Instead of finding a way to lose, we found a way to win,” Kamaus said. “Those stretches were the best we passed all night long, and we were able to get the balls to our hitters. It was good to see the kids grow up just a little bit.”
Kamaus also said that senior Aislin Andrews got on a hot serving run to spark the comeback.
Against Class 3A Tipton, the Lions were hurt by errors. In the first set, the Tigers scored off eight Lisbon attack errors and three service errors.
“That’s tough to come back from,” Kamaus said. “When you are serving under 80 percent … that’s not acceptable.”
Lisbon still managed to start the year 2-1, even shorthanded. Junior Lauren Stolte stepped in at setter and had 44 assists over the three matches.
Home meet cancelled due to heat
The season-opening Mount Vernon Invitational on Tuesday, Aug. 27, was cancelled due to high temperatures.
Mount Vernon-Libson cross country now opens the schedule Thursday, Sept. 5, at the Kirk Schmaltz Invitational in Ames.
Savage accepts new coaching post
Former Mount Vernon girls’ soccer coach Brandon Savage has accepted the men’s and women’s soccer assistant coaching job at Hawkeye Community
“Kaitlyn (Hasselbusch) was injured, and so we were missing our setter with over 1,000 assists last year,” Kamaus said. “But Lauren did a nice job stepping in.”
Junior Mykala Luzum-Selmon led the way with 24 kills on the night. Senior Sarah Dietsch had 13 kills.
“Sarah is in a different role this year,” Kamaus said. “She’s a main option, instead of a secondary one. And she had a nice night.”
Kamryn Kahl and Kyla Kahl led defensively with 15 digs each.
“Kamryn played all around for the first time in her life, and played well,” Kamaus said.
In the first win of the night, Kamaus reached 400 career wins. He downplayed the milestone.
“When you’ve done this for a long time, that’s what happens,” Kamaus said. “I’ve had some really good players.”
Lisbon hosts another multi-team event Thursday, Sept. 5, in the Lions Den. They play Winfield-Mt. Union at 5 p.m., North Linn at 6 p.m., and East Buchanan at 8 p.m.
College. Savage played for the RedTails before moving on to play for Mount Mercy.
Cornell volleyball wins opener No. 23 Cornell defeated No. 21 Wisconsin-Stevens Point 20-25, 26-24, 25-22, 18-25, 15-11 in a barnburner on Friday, Aug. 30 at the Jim Coleman Memorial Classic in Aurora, Ill. Ilah Perez-Johnson had 15 killsa nd Mia Tubbs added 13 kills to pace the attack. Conrell also lost to Aurora, the host team, 24-26, 25-23, 19-25, 25-20, 15-8, and beat Elmhurst 25-13, 25-15, 25-15, to begin the season 2-1.
MVHPC selects company to help with updated design guidelines
Nathan Countryman
Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com
The Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Commission selected JMT of Columbus, Ohio, as the group to help set their updated design guideline booklet at a meeting Wednesday, Aug. 28.
A total of four companies provided a request for proposal for the commission for the updated design guideline project.
Commission president Sue Astley said that the subcommittee had looked at a number of factors when selecting the group best suited for the project. Cost was only one factor the group looked at. The subcommittee also looked at the quality of work the companies had previously provided to a community such as Mount Vernon.
JMT best fit the parameters and had the lowest cost for updating design guidelines, with an estimate of $24,927.
Astley explained that the project will use $16,000 from the City of Mount Vernon and $8,000 from the Maurice Foundation. If there are cost overruns, that will come through the HPC annual budget or additional funding resources.
MVHPC’s current design guidelines were established by former member Ed Sauter. The book features many drawings Sauter used to explain the different design guidelines. The subcommittee has encouraged JMT to incorporate portions of Sauter’s drawings and discussion regarding guidelines, while also adapting language for new and updated design guidelines.
JMT could begin the project as soon as the first week of September and the guidelines could be updated by May 2025.
JMT previously completed updated design guidelines for Cedar Rapids Historic Preservation Commission. The subcommittee consisted of Duane Eash, Randy Brown, Wade Squiers, Edith Dawson and Sue Astley.
CALENDAR & PUZZLES
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
10:15 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, Sept. 5
Story Time, Cornell Public Library Byerly Room, 9:30 a.m.
Fiber Friends, Southeast Linn Community Center, 10:30 a.m.
Friday, Sept. 6
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, Sept. 7
Lisbon Library hosts local seasonal vegetarian cooking class with Mariah from the Plantiful Pantry, Southeast Linn Community Center Kitchen, 11 a.m.
Mount Vernon High School presents “The Wolves,” Mount Vernon Performing Arts Center, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 8
Mount Vernon High School presents “The Wolves,” Mount Vernon Performing Arts Center, 2 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 9
Matinee movies for adults “Aquaman and the Last Kingdom,” Cole Library room 108, 1 p.m.
Washington Elementary Teachers and Parents Meeting, Washington Elementary Room 201, 6 p.m. Lisbon City Council, Lisbon City Hall, 7 p.m.
200 E. Market St., 455-2000 livinghopegmc.org
Pastor: the Rev. Josh Swaim
Services live streamed at Living Hope Global Methodist Church’s YouTube page Sundays at 9:45 a.m. Sun.: 9:45 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 Jack Ray 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
Tuesday, Sept. 10
Lego Club, Cornell college Room 108, 3:30 p.m. Libations and Liberals, The Plantiful Pantry, 6 p.m.
Yarn squad, Cornell College Cole Library Room 326, 6:30 p.m.
Mount Vernon School Board meeting, Mount Vernon High School Library, 6:30 p.m.
Author talk with Mike Conklin, Cole Library Room 108, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 11
Early out Mount Vernon and Lisbon Schools. Cards, Southeast Linn Community Center, 10-11:30 a.m.
Linn Lunch Bunch, Southeast Linn Community Center, 11:30 a.m.
Early out activities, Southeast Linn Community Center, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Lisbon school Board meeting, Lisbon School Library, 6 p.m.
Iowa High School Speech Association judge certification clinic, Mount Vernon Performing Arts Center lobby, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 12
Story Time, Cornell Public Library Byerly Room, 9:30 a.m.
Fiber Friends, Southeast Linn Community Center, 10:30 a.m.
Lisbon Public Library board meeting, Lisbon Public Library, 7 p.m.
Across
1 Tools for making belt holes
5 Cocktail served in a copper mug, familiarly
9 Like a kite
14 Signal to stop, say
15 Common ___
16 Tiny pest
17 *They’re found next to cabarets
19 Airpods come in them
20 Nearsighted sort
21 Neighbor of Ursa Major
23 Champagne name
24 *Viable investment plans
28 Kind of protein for bodybuilders
31 Split
32 Occupants of 53-Across
33 Like pomegranate seeds, but not apple seeds
34 Many a flower girl
38 *They might be marked as absent
40 *Baby talk
41 Measure the depth of
42 Like corduroy fabric
45 Show signs of mythomania
46 Racetrack leader
48 Google ___
49 *Like some nasty habits
53 Subjects of Project Blue Book
54 Isaac Newton, from the age of 62 onward
55 Tedium
59 Puts up on Zillow, perhaps
61 Many a gymgoer’s goal … or what the starred clues in this puzzle must have for their answers to make sense?
64 [$@#%!]
65 Lead-in to skeleton or scope
66 Where Columbus thought he had landed in 1498
67 Junipero ___, known as the “Apostle of California”
68 Trick-taking card game
69 Feature of a witch costume
Down
1 Interjection that might serve as a mild warning
2 Like some kitchen paper
3 Cosmetic procedure, for short
4 Not careful
5 Fannie of the finance industry
6 Popular subject for still-life drawing
7 Spare, perhaps
8 Makes a gradual entry
9 Psych (up)
10 Middle ground, from the Latin
11 Bad apple or sour grapes, e.g.
12 What subjects and their verbs should always does ... er, do?
13 Things weavers weave
18 ___-soul (music genre)
22 Condition associated with hyperawareness, for short
25 Documents that ensure secrecy, for short
26 Target of benzoyl peroxide
27 Novelist Miller
28 Go “Boo-hoo!”
29 Many pages are written using this
30 Isaac’s firstborn
33 Endpoint of a radius
35 ___ the Elephant, children’s TV character
36 Excerpt
37 They may be locked or rolled
39 Fraud
40 Man-eating menace
42 Brings back on
43 Where you might find yourself on edge?
44 Approximate recipe measure
47 Superiors of sgts.
48 Stylized name for a caffeinated soft drink
49 Flower shop purchases
50 Meet a mid-April deadline, say
51 Who pays all legal costs under the so-called “English rule”
52 “Twisters” director ___ Isaac Chung
56 Zilch
57 Company that acquired Postmates in 2020
58 “___ that nice!”
60 Word with dog or day
62 Open show of intimacy, for short
63 Flower shop purchase
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.
with Mayor Doug O’Connor presiding. The following City Council members were present: John Bardsley, Rick Scott, Mike Williams, Kevin Steele and Nathan Smith.
OTHERS PRESENT: Drayton Kamberling, Brandon Siggins, Travis Bagby, Doug Shannon, Jacob Lindauer, Thad and Jane Nevitt, Robert Zahorik and Dave Schechinger. Marc Mohn, Miriam Johnston, Dean Johnston, Marianne Zahorik and Robert Meyers Butterfield were present via zoom. CONSENT AGENDA: Motion by Scott, seconded by Williams to approve the consent agenda consisting of minutes of August 12th, list of bills, and Run for Pie 5K. All Ayes. Motion carried 5-0. Resident Robert Zahorik addressed council with concerns of noise control at the railroad crossing along Washington Street. Motion by Scott, seconded by Bardsley to approve naming the pavilion at the sports complex the Goldin Pavilion named after former Lisbon mayor Steve Goldin. All Ayes. Motion carried 5-0. Thad and Jane Nevitt presented a donation to the sports complex of $10,000. Motion by Smith, seconded by Williams to go into public hearing at 7:09pm
for FY25 Budget Amendment #1. All Ayes. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Williams, seconded by Smith to go out of public hearing at 7:10pm. All Ayes. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Smith, seconded by Williams to approve Resolution 25-2024 Approving FY25 Budget Amendment #1. Roll call vote. Ayes: Bardsley, Steele, Smith, Williams, Scott. Absent: None. Nays: None. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Bardsley, seconded by Smith to approve Resolution 26-2024 Approving Plat Holiga’s First Addition. Roll call vote. Ayes: Bardsley, Steele, Smith, Williams, Scott. Absent: None. Nays: None. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Bardsley, seconded by Smith to approve Resolution 27-2024 Approving Plat of Survey #2869 reference Lot 53 Novak Estates 5th Addition. Roll call vote. Ayes: Bardsley, Steele, Smith, Williams, Scott. Absent: None. Nays: None. Motion carried 5-0. Council was presented with details on the Run for Pie 5K to be held on Saturday September 21st and the timeline for Business 30 overlay project. Project is to begin on September 3rd with a tentative completion date of October 10th.
The council received the following reports from city departments:
City Engineer Dave Schechinger –working on punch list items from the water main project.
Public Works Director Travis Bagby – pushing the next phase of the water main to the spring due to Highway 30 and school projects, splash pad will be closing Sunday night for the year, millings to be repurposed, and a pump has failed at Grant Ave lift station.
Parks & Recreation Director Drayton Kamberling – softball concessions was very successful, back to school night was a huge success, movie night didn’t happen due to the weather, but we have a year to use the movie credit, park is busy with sports starting up, mowing, and Halloweentown preparations. Thank you to the Nevitt family for the generous donation to the parks department.
Police Chief Doug Shannon – thank you to the Sauerkraut Day committee for their organization, there were no issues that weekend. Reminder to watch for kids with school starting back.
Ambulance Director Jacob Lindauer – finished the festivals with 18 calls that weekend, none of which were Sauerkraut Days related. Now focusing on football season and fundraising. 564 calls to date.
City Administrator Brandon Siggins – bathtub races profited $1,900, pancake breakfast will be Monday September 2nd and Brothers will be doing a roundup fundraiser. Planning and zoning meeting, office interviews, training next month, Meyers Farmstead work, and precon meeting for Highway 30. Thank you, Sauerkraut staff, with record number of attendees and city staff for helping when needed at the event.
Mayor and council thanked the Sauerkraut committee, Nevitt family, city staff and law enforcement personnel. The town has been busy, and it takes many hands to keep things moving. The library will be having a round up at Brothers in the coming months as well and currently has over 185 kids signed up for the Dolly Parton library program.
Motion by Smith, seconded by Bardsley to go into closed session at 7:25pm pursuant to Iowa Code Chapter 21.5(j) to discuss possible purchase/sale of real property. Roll call vote. Ayes: Bardsley, Steele, Smith, Williams and Scott. Absent: None. Nays: None. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Bardsley, seconded by Williams to out of closed session at 8:08pm. Roll call vote. Ayes: Bardsley, Steele, Smith, Williams and Scott. Absent: None. Nays: None. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Bardsley, seconded by Smith to have City Administrator Siggins proceed as discussed in the closed session. All Ayes. Motion carried 5-0. Mayor Doug O’Connor adjourned the meeting at 8:10pm. Christina Eicher, City Clerk Doug O’Connor, Mayor Published in the Sun September 5, 2024.
CITY OF LISBON LIST OF CLAIM
8-26-2024
VENDOR NAME DESCRIPTION AMOUNT AAA PEST CONTROL PEST CONTROL 50 AFLAC
For Rent
2 bedroom duplex for rent in Lisbon. Attached garage. Laundry hookups. Small yard. $950 per month. 319310-5898
Apartment for Rent uptown Mt. Vernon. 2 bedrooms. No Smoking. No Pets. 319-2708600
For Sale - Pets
When veterinary care is unavailable or unaffordable, ask for Happy Jack® animal healthcare products for cats, dogs, & horses. At Tractor Supply ® & Bomgaards ® (www.happyjackinc.com).
Miscellaneous
The bathroom of your dreams in as little as 1 day. Limited Time Offer - $1000 off or No Payments and No Interest for 18 months for customers who qualify. BCI Bath & Shower. Many options available. Quality materials & professional installation. Senior & Military Discounts Available. Call Today! 1-888-708-4754
Help Wanted
IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR LINN COUNTY IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF THOMAS BOVA, DECEASED CASE NO. ESPR047091
NOTICE OF PROBATE OF WILL, OF APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTOR, AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS To All Persons Interested in the Estate of Thomas Bova, Deceased, who died on or about July 29, 2024: You are hereby notified that on August 23, 2024, the Last Will and Testament of Thomas Bova, deceased, bearing date of April 24, 2024 , was admitted to probate in the above named court and that Derek Bova was appointed Executor of the estate. Any action to set aside the will must be brought in the district court of said county within the later to occur of four months from the date of the second publication of this notice or one month from the date of mailing of this notice to all heirs of the decedent and devisees under the will whose identities are reasonably ascertainable, or thereafter be forever barred.
Notice is further given that all persons indebted to the estate are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned, and creditors having claims against the estate shall file them with the clerk of the above named district court, as provided by law, duly authenticated, for allowance, and unless so filed by the later to occur of four months from the date of the second publication of this notice or one month from the date of mailing of this notice (unless otherwise allowed or paid) a claim is thereafter forever barred.
Dated August 26, 2024. Derek Bova, Executor of Estate 4426 Ashworth Dr, #10 Cedar Falls, IA 50613
Guy P Booth, ICIS#: AT0001014 Attorney for Executor Guy P. Booth Law Office 425 2nd St SE, Suite 1010 Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Date of second publication September 12, 2024
Published in the Sun September 5, 2024.
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
MOUNT VERNON PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION
SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 6:00 PM
The Planning and Zoning Commission for Mount Vernon, Iowa, will conduct a Public Hearing on September 18, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall, 213 First Street NW in Mt. Vernon, IA 52314. Individuals wishing to join via Zoom may contact City Hall at (319) 895-8742 at least one day in advance of the meeting. The public hearing will be held in consideration of Chapter 165 Zoning Ordinance amendments, defining Smoke Shop and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU), making them permitted uses within certain districts. The amendments are available for review in the City Clerk’s office, 213 First St. NW, Mt. Vernon, IA 52314. Published in the Sun September 5, 2024.
Safe Step. North America’s #1 Walk-In Tub. Comprehensive lifetime warranty. Top-of-the-line installation and service. Now featuring our FREE shower package and $1600 Off for a limited time! Call today! Financing available. Call Safe Step 1-844-376-4154.
Eliminate gutter cleaning forever! LeafFilter, the most advanced debris-blocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 20% off Entire Purchase. Plus 10% Senior & Military Discounts. Call 1-855-913-1560.
Help Wanted
Prepare for power outages today with a Generac Home Standby Generator. Act now to receive a FREE 7-Year warranty with qualifying purchase. Call 1-855-954-5087 today to schedule a free quote. It’s not just a generator. It’s a power move.
Mount Vernon presents “The Wolves”
Nathan Countryman
Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com
Mount Vernon High School Theater will be presenting “The Wolves” by Sarah DeLappe as the school’s one-act play this fall. Show dates are Saturday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 8, at 2 p.m., with tickets $10 each for general admission or available at mvhstheatre.ludus. com/index.php.
The play centers on the experiences of high school girls through their weekly Saturday morning pre-game soccer warmups. Director Tom Stephens did note that Concord notes there is adult language and mature themes in the production.
“September is usually when we try to do something different than we usually do on the main stage,” Stephens said. “This show is presented in three-quarters of the round, inviting our audience up on to the stage with us, which makes it a unique event.”
The play has a cast of nine girls, all portraying teenage girls.
Because it is in the round, there is no set traditional blocking. Stephens said while that can be seen as a challenge, he views it as an opportunity for the actors to experience a different style of acting.
“They’re free to use all portions of the stage and their decisions on how to act or react to something changes the style of the production.”
The theater group was also selected to present a 45-minute cutting of this show at the Iowa Thespian Festival this November.
Megan Teague, student director, said that this show has given her more confidence to speak to her peers on ways to improve the production and performances.
“We still have fun at practices, but there’s a balance you have to have as a student director about what you
are expecting and what they are delivering, as well as the technical elements of the show,” Megan said.
Megan said the biggest issue for her was not seeing the cast for portions of summer.
“They’re picking up the show well, though, and it’s going to be ready by opening night,” Megan said.
Renee Vig plays Number 13 in the production.
“I enjoy how silly and loudly outspoken this character is,” Vig said. “It’s fun to be able to make everyone laugh.”
Her biggest challenge is figuring out when to make things more serious if a script demands it.
Allie Teague plays Number 7 in the production.
“I really love how sassy this character is,” Allie said. “She’s so fun to portray.”
Her biggest challenge comes with balancing the other side of the character, who is angry all of the time.
Emma Hoffman plays Number 2.
“I’ve never had the chance to straight up play a teenage girl,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman has also loved being part of such a small cast for the production and giving different experiences of what it is like to be a teenager.
Hoffman also loves that she has the ability to bring her soccer experience to the production as well.
“This is a unique show we’ve not done before,” Megan said. “Performing in the round gives the audience the opportunity to be right close to these performances and seeing actors in a clear light.”
“It’s a funny and hilarious show,” Vig said. “It also has moments that get across how intense being a teenage girl is.”
“It’s a really good representation of how teens talk day to day while tackling some serious subjects,” Allie said.
“It tackles some tougher topics that teenagers deal with,” Hoffman said.
Above: The cast works on their passing drills during “The Wolves.”
Left: The players on the soccer team get their stretches in ahead of the game. The play “The Wolves” will be performed “in the round” on Mount Vernon Performing Arts Center stage Saturday, Sept. 7 and Sunday, Sept. 8.
Cast list announced for ‘Neil Simon’s Rumors’
Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Theater has announced their cast list for the production of “Neil Simon’s Rumors.” The show will be directed by Kerry Covington.
Braden Rood will play Chris, John Zbanek Hill the role of Ken, Duane Larson the role of Lenny, Kim Benesh the role of Claire, Tiffany Zafrikar the role of Cookie. Brian Tanner will play the role of Ernie, Trevor Baty the role of Glenn, Shauna Daubs the role of Cassie, Jeremy Eble the role of Welsh and Rbecca Hein the role of Pudney.
According to Concord Theatricals, “When they gather to celebrate a tenth wedding anniversary, four New York power couples experience a severe attack of Farce.
At a large, tastefully-appointed Sneden’s Landing townhouse, the Deputy Mayor of New York has just shot himself. Though it’s only a flesh wound, Charlie Brock’s self-inflicted injury sets off a series of events causing four couples to experience a severe attack of farce.
As their tenth wedding anniversary party commences, Charlie lies bleeding in another room, and his wife Myra is nowhere in sight. The first guests, lawyer Ken Gorman and his wife Chris, scramble to get “the story” straight before the other guests arrive.”
The show dates are Oct. 18 through Oct. 20 and Oct. 25 and Oct. 26. Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
ENTERTAINMENT
Nathan Countryman | Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun Players celebrate a victory on the field in “The Wolves.”
Nathan Countryman | Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
‘Tangled Up in Time’ highlights
Dyas’ 4 decades of art-making
From Aug. 27 through Oct. 6, 2024, the Peter Paul Luce Gallery will present a retrospective of Sandra Louise Dyas’ artwork. This exhibition of visual art, “Tangled Up in Time,” includes photographs, collages, and video work that Dyas produced over the last four decades of her career as an artist and educator.
Throughout her career, Dyas’ work has centered around the idea of home and the passage of time. She uses photography to examine how people develop connections in a particular place and how that place shapes them over time.
“My obsession has always been with the mysterious nature of time, the impermanence of life, its beauty, and its sadness. Photographs contain both time and memories inside of them,” Dyas said.
Dyas, who retired this year after teaching for 25 years at Cornell College, will be present with her work
during a reception that will coincide with Cornell College’s Homecoming 2024 Weekend Saturday, Oct. 5, in the Luce Gallery from 3–5 p.m.
During her time at Cornell College, Dyas taught photography, drawing, and intermedia and mentored many students at every stage of their academic careers. For additional information, contact Brooks Cashbaugh at bcashbaugh@cornellcollege.edu or visit Dyas’ website (https://www.sandydyas.com/). The exhibit is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–4 p.m. and Sunday 2–4 p.m.
Farm to Fork lunch at Bon Appetit Sept. 24
Community invited to dine on a menu featuring fresh, local ingredients
The culinary team of Cornell College’s food service provider Bon Appétit Management Company is celebrating 20 years of Eat Local Challenge, our annual tradition challenging our chefs to serve a meal made entirely from ingredients harvested or raised within 150 miles of our kitchen— the only exception is salt.
Our chefs will create 100% local meals highlighting the breadth of flavors of our local food systems, including produce, dairy & meats from several of our local Farm to Fork partners.
Bon Appetit will also be hosting a “Farmer’s Market” on campus. Students, faculty, staff and members of our community are invited to dine with us this day and browse and purchase fresh, harvest-time ingredients from our visiting Farm to Fork partners.
The Farmers Market and lunch will be Tuesday, Sept.
24. The farmers market will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cost for lunch is $11.76 per adult, $4.95 per child. Credit, debit, check and/or Apple Pay accepted. No cash payments accepted at Bon Appetit.
Bon Appetit would also like to take this opportunity to thank the hard-working men and women who help us provide and prepare quality foods in a socially responsible manner, every day.
Our wonderful Farm to Fork Partners include: Buffalo Ridge Orchard, Central City Country View Dairy, Hawkeye Dan and Debbie’s Creamery, Ely Farmer’s Hen House, Kalona Heartland Fresh Family Farm, Argyle
Little Scratch Coffee, Mount Vernon Pure Green Earth Farms, Mount Vernon WW Homestead Dairy, Waukon Olde Capitol Food Company, Iowa City
Bon Appétit first launched the Eat Local Challenge in 2005 and has celebrated local food every year since to remind our guests of the bounty growing all around us. This year also marks 25 years since the creation of our industry-leading local purchasing program, Farm to Fork, which requires all our cafes nationwide to source at least 20% of food from small, local farms.
There is one thing we’re sure of: our unwavering commitment to developing local foodsheds that not only benefit local farms, ranches, and food businesses but also enrich local communities.
Submitted photos
The Tangled Up in Me exhibit is on display from now through Oct. 6 at Cornell College’s Peter Paul Luce Gallery. Below: One of the art piece’s by Sandra Dayas in the exhibit at Cornell College’s Peter Paul Luce Gallery.
Dyas
Hilltop Plants and Records grand opening Saturday
Hilltop Plants and Records will have a grand opening Saturday, Sept. 7, in uptown Mount Vernon.
The business is the third business to take a space in the former Shepley Pharmacy Space on First Street in uptown Mount Vernon (street address is 113 First St. E, Suite C).
“One of the pieces of guidance we got from both Becka Owens at Blooming Acres and from the record store shops we visited was the importance of having a retail establishment on the Main Street in town to draw in more foot traffic,” said Michael Bray, co-owner of the shop.
When they saw the space open in the former pharmacy location, it made a great deal of sense.
“We’re friends with both of our neighbors, Little Scratch Coffee and Iron Leaf Press,” Stefanie Bray said.
Both Stefanie and Michael have grown up with a great love of music, spending a lot of their time at record shops growing up as well.
“When our 13-year-old daughter started getting into vinyl, we started realizing there was a market for vinyl again,” Michael said.
Stefanie said that they knew having a record shop alone wouldn’t be enough for a new small business, so they looked into another of their loves, which was gardening. Michael is a Master Gardener.
“In the past, we’ve grown vegetable plants from seeds in the winter and then propagate other plants as well,” Stefanie said.
“The issue is the window for that type of gardening is really very-time specific,” Michael said. “But if we’re looking for indoor plants and succulents that can grow year-round, that’s something that we can build on, as well as the pots and items people need to care for plants.”
The flow for the space is to have most plants that need sunlight getting that in the front windows, and other plants throughout the records in the shop. The couple have more than 5,000 vinyl records that will start moving to the storefront over the next few days.
The ultimate goal is to help create a space people want to hang out at — whether that be buying the vinyl records they are looking for, enjoying artists who may be having pop-up concerts in the venue or taking classes that will teach new gardeners the things they need to know about raising plants.
“We’ll have listening stations so people can listen to records,” Michael said.
They said people like Becka and other shop owners in locations like Pool 19 in Fort Madison have given them plenty of advice, since they aren’t in direct competition. Things like how to build up customer service by setting aside items people see online that they’re interested in or making sure to highlight new inventory.
Michael said even when people have been selling some of their vinyl library, their concern isn’t the price it gets or that they’re downsizing, but that the records will find a new owner who will appreciate them.
And they had a portion of their vinyl library and plants out at Nitty Gritty Antiques Festival in uptown Mount Vernon in early July.
Michael and Stefanie have lived in Mount Vernon since 2015, and are both excited about the move to
having a business on First Street in uptown Mount Vernon not far from where they live.
They said they discovered the space in the pharmacy from the work of Joe Jennison, and they were both appreciative of the work that has been put in to refurbish the space.
“It looks so different than it did when it was a pharmacy,” Michael said.
When the duo aren’t working their regular jobs or at their new shop, they love spending time with family, spending time outdoors hiking, enjoying game nights with friends in Mount Vernon and Lisbon or keeping up with their kids extra-curricular activities. Michael also plays in local bands, including Asking For a Friend.
Hours for the shop will be Wednesdays through Fridays from noon to 4 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The store is holding a grand opening this Saturday, Sept. 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the first 50 customers receiving a mini succulent plant. You can find more information of the business on their Facebook page or website hilltopplantsandrecords.com.
Nathan Countryman
Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun nathan.countryman@mvlsun.com
Nathan Countryman | Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun
Desmond Bray, Stefanie Bray and Michael Bray outside their shop’s storefront.
The grand opening of Hilltop Plant and Records is this Saturday, Sept. 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.