City of Keokuk Updates and Other News

In several reminders from the City of Keokuk, they want to make sure that everyone remembers the city offices will be closed on Tuesday, Jan. 1 in observance of New Year’s Day. This includes the offices for the Keokuk Area Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Keokuk and United Way, but the offices can still be reached at 524-5055, 524-5056 and 524-4504 respectively.

Also, City sanitation crews will be picking up Christmas trees the week of January 13th. Residents should have their tree out to their trash pickup spot on their regular trash collection day. Remove all metal and plastic from the tree and do not place the tree in a plastic bag.

There will be no trash pickup either on Tuesday due to the holiday and will instead be collected on the second. Trash pickup will go back to a normal schedule beginning next week.

Similarly, the City Hall Offices of Fort Madison and the Fort Madison Public Library will also be closed on New Year’s Day while the Monday and Tuesday trash pickup routes will both be picked up together later in the week.

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2019 Spirit of Keokuk Awards!

Do you know an individual, business, or organization that has made significant contributions of their time, talent, and expertise toward economic vitality in Keokuk? Nominate them. Nominations are due Monday, Jan. 21, 2019.

The awards will be presented at the Spirit of Keokuk Awards ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019.

The Lee County Leadership Program is requesting applications from nonprofit organizations throughout Lee County for community projects.

The eleven participants of this year’s Lee County Leadership Program will use their new skills and expanded network in leading three community projects proposed by Lee County community organizations. Applications for community projects are due Friday, Jan. 18. 

Past successful projects include a fundraiser kickball tournament, introduction of healthy smoothies for concession stands and family friendly event to promote a community library.

Organizations will work with three to four leadership participants for an estimated 60 total man hours dedicated to completing the project.  The project timeline is the beginning of February to mid-April. Leadership teams will present on their project and experience at Lee County Leadership Graduation on May 7.

Contact the Keokuk Area Chamber of Commerce or Fort Madison Area Chamber of Commerce to learn more and receive a project application.

Shelley Oltmans can be reached by phone at 319-524-5055 and by email at [email protected] while Savanna Collier can be contacted over the phone at 319-372-5471 or by email at [email protected]. Chosen projects will be announced Jan. 23. 

In sports news, the Iowa Hawkeyes had games in men’s and women’s basketball over the weekend with the men holding on for a five point win against the Bryant Bears.

The #24 Hawks played without starting center Luka Garza and started senior Nicholas Baer in his place. Baer joined Tyler Cook, Jordan Bohannon and Joe Wieskamp in double figure scoring. Cook led the way with a 19 point, 12 rebound double-double performance.

With the win, Iowa finishes the non-conference portion of their schedule undefeated at 11-0. They will be on the road for the next contest when they travel to Indiana for a matchup with the Purdue Boilermakers at 6 PM on Thursday.

In women’s basketball, the Hawkeyes fell to the #21 Michigan State Spartans 84-70 on Sunday. Iowa led by six at halftime, but were outscored 47-27 in the second half.

Even in a loss there was a major positive as Megan Gustafson, thanks to a 30 point, 14 rebound performance, set a new school record for the most career points in basketball history, men’s or women’s. She passes former teammate Ally Disterhoft for the distinction and talked after the game about how much of an honor it was to pass a close friend.

Coach Bluder also spoke after the game about how big Gustafson has been to the women’s basketball program.

In wrestling, Iowa picked up a win in the team race at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Sunday. Iowa scored 184 points to win its 28th Midlands title. Sophomores Austin DeSanto and Alex Marinelli each picked up individual titles.

This is the second Midlands title in two years for Marinell who defeated the top seeded Evan Wick, 4-3.

Spencer Lee, Max Murin, Kaleb Young and Cash Wilcke all placed second in their respective weight classes while Pat Lugo and Jeren Glosser each came in fourth and Paul Glynn and Jacob Warner finished in fifth.

Dave O’Hara with Radio Keokuk, host of Hawkeyed & more every Saturday at 10:00 AM on Z93.9, is proud to bring Iowa Football great, Marvin McNutt to the Tri-States for an Outback Bowl Viewing Party on Tuesday, Jan. 1 at Kinnick South in Fort Madison.

The Meet and Greet, which includes an autograph sessions for just $10 for the first item, $5 a piece after that, with Iowa’s all-time leader in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns begins around 10:30 with game kickoff scheduled for 11:00. The event will run throughout the game.