The Burlington Beacon Newspaper

01/11/2026

No. 12 Indian Hills survives Blackhawks

Beacon Sports

Three Warriors scored in double figures and No. 12 Indian Hills survived Southeastern Community College, 68-61, in a men’s basketball game in Loren Walker Arena Saturday night.

It was this season’s first Iowa Community College Athletic Conference game for both teams. Indian Hills improved to 16-2 (1-0); SCC is 8-8 (0-1)

The Blackhawks’ only lead was at 3-0 on a Prophet Fields 3-pointer to open the scoring. The Warriors scored the next six points and never trailed again. The biggest Indian Hills margin was 16 points at 23-7, but SCC trimmed it to a 30-23 deficit by halftime.

The two teams played even in the final 20 minutes. A layup by Fields with 6:53 left to play pulled SCC to within a point at 50-49, but the Blackhawks couldn’t regain the lead.

Indian Hills sophomore Taj Au-Duke led all scorers with 22 points. K.J. Lamonte had 15 points and Chaz Watson added 12 for the Warriors. Three Blackhawks also scored in double figures. Gavin Van Wie led with 18 points, including 4-for-8 shooting from 3-point range. Fields and Jaleel Donley each scored 12 for SCC.

Indian Hills out-rebounded SCC, 40-26. Au-Duke grabbed eight rebounds and Ukrainian Vladyslav Semerych had seven boards for the Warriors. Fields had six rebounds for SCC.

SCC hosts Harry S. Truman at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Photos by John Lovretta

01/11/2026

Rally falls short for SCC women

Beacon Sports

A second-half Southeastern Community College rally fell short aa Iowa Western toppled the Blackhawks, 72-60, in a women’s basketball game in Loren Walker Arena Saturday afternoon.

The Reivers led 33-21 at halftime and took their biggest lead at 46-31 midway through the third quarter. But the Blackhawks scored 16 of the next 17 points to knot the score at 47-47 by the close of the third quarter. With 32 seconds left in the third quarter, Avelle Bonfoh’s layup off a steal by Trinity Barret pulled SCC to within a point at 46-47. With 6.6 seconds left, Barret’s free throw tied the score.

But the Reivers scored six of the first eight points of the fourth quarter and held on for the win.

Barret led all shooters with 25 points, including three 3-pointers and 12-for-14 efficiency at the free throw line. Mia Stokes scored 15 points, Aniyha Hereford had six points, Sophie Brown and Bonfoh scored five points each, and Makyla Woods added four.

Three Reivers reached double figures. Sydney Donaldson scored 19 points, Kailynne Small had 18, and Grace Albertson had 11.

The Reivers out-rebounded SCC, 36-27. Aniyah Howard grabbed 10 for Iowa Western. Woods led SCC with seven rebounds,

Iowa Western improved to 9-6 (6-3 ICCAC). It was the fourth straight loss for SCC, now 6-11 (1-8).

Photos by John Lovretta

01/10/2026

Mediapolis sweeps Danville at Bears' gym

By Chris Faulkner
Beacon Sports

Tenth-ranked Mediapolis' girls basketball team pulled away from Danville in the second half to beat the Bears 64-38 Friday night in a South Division game at Danville's gym.

In the second game, Mediapolis led Danville throughout and finished with a 65-48 victory.

Danville plays Saturday at Durant. The Bulldogs and Bullettes play at West Burlington next Tuesday.

Girls game

The Bullettes (9-0 in the South, 12-0 overall) jumped off to a 16-4 lead but got in foul trouble early.

They led 31-14 midway through the second quarter, but Danville finished the first half with nine unanswered points.
Danville came as close as five, 40-35, but the Bullettes finished the quarter with a 7-1 run and outscored the Bears 17-2 in the final quarter.

Mediapolis finished with two players having four fouls and two with three fouls each.

Mediapolis chooses to live and die by the 3-pointer. “We're a small team,” Coach Todd Borensen said. “We play up tempo, so we're going to take what they give us.”

The Bullettes led the state in scoring 3-pointers with 128, 30 ahead of the runner-up.

That strategy paid off on Friday. Mediapolis was 11 of 33 from 3-point range, equivalent to 50 percent shooting within the arc. But the Bullettes also shot 14 of 23 for their 2-pointers.

Josie Hutchinson scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and had two steals and a blocked shot for the Bullettes. She and Grace Holsteen had three 3-pointers each, and Holsteen finished with 17 points.

Amelia Grace added nine points, with one 3-pointer, and made five steals. Bryn Wright had eight points, with two 3-pointers, and made four steals. Ella Wagenbach also had eight points, with two 3-pointers.

Maycie Thornburg added a steal.

In that final quarter, Mediapolis didn't make a single turnover.
Danville's Alaina Gourley and Alivia Bauer each scored 11 points to lead the Bears. Gourley had nine rebounds, and Bauer had five rebounds, three steals, and two blocked shots.

Brynley Wenig and Macie Wagner had six points each, and Amy Stuecker and Claire Montgomery scored two each.
Coach Borrison said the fouls hampered their efforts, and four of his starters had three by halftime.

“We had two timeouts where we talked about that,” he said. “Let's work the ball and try to get some pe*******on, get in the lane.”

But he said he didn't feel like he was going to be able to draw fouls, so he had his girls do a lot of perimeter passing to eat up the clock; the 3-pointers helped them pull away down the stretch.

Danville coach Matt Morris said, “Defensively, we came up with a good game plan. We tried to get them out of sorts a little bit.
“Obviously, getting them in foul trouble in the first half makes a difference when you get Wagenbach and a couple of other students on the bench.”

Morris said his players did a good job of controlling the tempo.
But in the second half, “We came out flat. We never really got going. We just kind of ran out of gas, or it's part of the growing pains of a really, really good-ranked team.”
Boys game.

Mediapolis (7-1, 8-3) led 16-10 after the first quarter, pulled ahead to 37-21 at halftime, and led 53-34 after three quarters.
The Bulldogs had a 12-5 run to start the fourth, and Coach Greg Worrall emptied his bench at 3:45 with a 65-39 lead.

Mediapolis came close to having nine players in double figures: Max Griffin made four 3-pointers, shot 7 of 9 overall, and scored 19 points. Will Lutenegger had 16 points and five steals. Brock Spear scored nine points off the bench, Gannon Gunn had eight points and six rebounds, and Will Worrall had seven points.
Brayton DeLang, Hayden Gugeler, and Henry Lutenegger had two points each.

The Bulldogs shot 48 percent from the field and 11 of 14 from the line.

Danville drops to 3-5, 6-5.

Connor Hulett led Danville with 12 points and five rebounds. Leighton Rice, Dillan Mason, and Ty Frazier scored eight points each. Graylon Walker scored six points, Trevor Yaley four, and Kaiden Kerr two.

Danville shot just under 60 percent from the field, but without the rebounds for second chances, they didn't get as many looks. They had 14 turnovers and only made 3 of 9 free throws.
Mediapolis was coming off a 71-60 loss to Wilton on Thursday. “You can have a little bit of jet lag, and that was our biggest worry coming in,” Worrall said.

Instead, the Bulldogs shone in the two areas Worrall focuses on for his team: turnovers and defensive rebounds. The starters committed just six turnovers, and Worrall said his goal is eight or fewer.

His other goal is for his team to get 85 percent of the defensive rebounding opportunities. Danville had just two offensive rebounds compared to 14 defensive rebounds by the Bulldogs.
“The other thing we like to do,” Coach Worrall said, “is we've been trying to move the ball more. Our kids share the ball well.
“Give them credit, they did a nice job of hitting some shots and staying in the game,” he said. “They're always well prepared and make you work for your stuff.”

Photos by John Lovretta

01/09/2026

Nike wrestles added two more dual victories

By Chris Faulkner
Beacon Sports

The Notre Dame-West Burlington wrestling team defeated another pair of Southeast Superconference opponents Thursday at Father Minett Gymnasium.

The Nikes handled Highland 62-14 in the first match of the triangular, Columbus/Winfield-Mount Union defeated Highland 45-33, and then ND-WB finished the night with a 53-22 victory over the Wildcats.

The Nikes wrestle at the Maquoketa Valley tournament Saturday.

ND-WB coach Bill Plein doesn't measure his team's success by how lopsided the score is.

“It doesn't matter who won or lost,” Coach Plein said. “You look at the individual matches and what mistakes we made, and we made a lot of mistakes. We've got lots of things to work on.”

The mental mistakes are the biggest concern, Plein said.

In the Highland match, Kohen Dietzenbach opened things up at 113 with a pin in 1:12 over Cobinank. Rowan Berndt, 120, pinned Cash Cole in 3:14. C**t Boyles then pinned Brock Nebergall in 2:29 at 126.

Ryan Rose edged Tyler Pierson 11-8 at 132, and Jared Glendening won by tech fall at 138 over Brock Thomann.

Tate Sherwood suffered the first loss for the Nikes that night, losing 11-8, Rocky Hamilton at 144.

Kael Cook pinned Jarrett Brackin in 1:47 at 150 pounds. Hank Humphries and Joey Glendening won by forfeit at 157 and 165, respectively.

Jake Murray, at 190, pinned Jose Ramirez in 1:51, and Bryce Burgus pinned Keaton Van Schoyck in just 32 seconds at 215.

Maddox Dietsch won by forfeit at 285.

The Nikes' 106-pounder, A.J. Worrell, lost by tech fall in the final match to Landen Sweeting.

The Nikes won the first seven matches against Columbus/W-MU, starting with Rose pinning Traeger Smith in 33 seconds.

Boyles then held off Bowen Thomson in a close 11-8 decision, with Thomson struggling to eke out a match-tying takedown.

Jared Glendening won by tech fall over Angel Ineichen 16-0, Sherwood pinned Jaiden Beeding in 1:06, Cook pinned Dante Orozco in 41 seconds, and Humphries made very short work of Leo Corona with a fall in just 12 seconds.

Columbus/W-MU's Trevor Phillips pinned Nike Zaylan Wenig at 175, and Kason Dopler of the Wildcats won a major 12-1 decision over Murray.

Burgus decisioned Antemeo Aragon 7-3.

But Dietsch lost by fall to Ronaldo Villega in 42 seconds, and Justin Knipfer pinned Worrell at 106 in 2:47.

Dietzenbach suffered an early takedown but bounced back quickly and pinned Dakota Aney in 3:39.

Berndt won by forfeit to close out the night.

Coach Plein recognized a couple of highlights: “Bryson wrestled a good match against the Columbus kid, and Jared Glendening had two good wins for us.”

Photos by John Lovretta

The Nikes handled Highland 62-14 in the first match of the triangular.

01/09/2026

This is awesome!

The West Central High School Drama Department is hosting a Music Trivia Night! There will be a food available for purchase, as well a raffle. All proceeds go to our Drama Department to help with purchasing items for our student shows. The event will be the night of Saturday, February 7th at The Barn in Biggsville! See attached graphic for more info.

01/09/2026

One Person Dies in Wednesday Crash

By Beacon Staff

Burlington Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident that happened Wednesday afternoon.

At 1:06 p.m. the Burlington Police Department responded to the area of West Burlington Avenue and Agency Street for a two-vehicle traffic accident. Officers arrived on the scene roughly three minutes later.

On Thursday, the police department was notified that one of the driver in the accident died of their injuries on Thursday.

The investigation into the accident is ongoing and is being handled by the Burlington Police Department’s patrol division and criminal investigation division.

Police have not yet released the name of the person who died in the accident. Police said more information would be released at a later date.

01/09/2026

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01/08/2026

SCC vs. Marshalltown

Photos by John Lovretta

Southeastern Community College's Makyla Woods (12) goes up for a basket during the team's game against Marshalltown Community College on Jan. 7 at SCC's Loren Walker Arena. Marshalltown won 56-49.

01/07/2026

BEACON BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

New eateries spice up Burlington

Story by Chris Faulkner
Photos by John Lovretta

Dash Kadriu doesn’t like to think of himself as a co-owner of two restaurants.

“I’m still an employee,” he said, preferring to interact often with his customers at Toast of Burlington, which is alongside Frank’s Hot Chicken restaurant.

Less than two months ago, Kadriu and his business partner, Ben Bekiri, took over Suites 108 and 110 in City Center, 2750 Mount Pleasant St., that formerly housed Billy Sims Barbecue and Wingstop.

Toast of Burlington is on the east side and is a dine-in restaurant, but Kadriu said many customers take it to go, as they did with Billy Sims.

The menu features breakfast items, sandwiches, and salads, and it’s open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Frank’s Hot Chicken is on the west side, open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

It’s named after a friend’s son and is not connected with the national franchise. It has a simple menu with chicken sandwiches and tenders, along with fries.

It has a few tables to dine at, but Kadriu said the bulk of the customers do carry out or order through DoorDash or Uber Eats.

Both share the same kitchen.

Seeing a Need

Bekiri runs The Quad City Family Restaurant in Moline, Ill., and he and Kadriu were looking to branch out.

Their search ended in Burlington, “so I wanted to give it a shot,” Kadriu said. “A lot of people were telling me we need a breakfast place.”

Kadriu came to America from Albania eight years ago, and he has been working at restaurants since 1997, when he was just 15.

“When I moved to the United States, I liked breakfast and lunch, because after that, everybody has time to live their life,” Kadriu said, which is why his businesses are closed by mid-afternoon.

“That goes for my employees and me too, because after working, we have a life.”

As for considering himself an employee, “I’ll do anything,” Kadriu said, and one minute he’s greeting the customers coming through the door, another minute he’s double-checking on an order, and next he’s at the register taking payment for the food.

“It doesn’t matter what I do; when the customer leaves, I want them to leave happy,” Kadriu said.

Kadriu only uses fresh ingredients for his restaurants. “We don’t have anything frozen, even the chicken,” Kadriu said. He gets the orange juice fresh-squeezed.

Six weeks in, “So far everybody is happy,” Kadriu said.

The partners opened up the chicken portion of the business because it was already set up as Wingstop.

Kadriu had to shorten those hours because of staffing issues.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Kadriu said.

He is already looking ahead to the near future, with ideas such as eliminating the wall separating the two food places.

“We’re planning on making it a big place if our business goes the right way,” Kadriu said.

“People come for the chicken, but try the breakfast. People come for breakfast but try the chicken.”

He said they may reopen a couple of nights a week for supper. “People are asking for it,” Kadriu said.

Hours:
• Toast of Burlington: Daily, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Frank’s Hot Chicken: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

01/07/2026

Check out these great events!

01/07/2026

ND boys top WB; Falcon girls beat Notre Dame

By Chris Faulkner
Beacon Sports

Notre Dame's boys' basketball team broke a nearly 4-year winning streak.

The fourth-ranked (Class 1A) Nikes defeated West Burlington's boys 79-46 Tuesday night on the Falcons' court. The last time the Falcons lost at home was Feb. 7, 2022, according to former Falcon coach Cody VanFleet, who was there cheering on his daughter Brielle's Notre Dame team.

In that girls' game, host West Burlington beat the Nikes 59-33. The Falcons are 6-3 in the South, 8-3 overall, and host New London on Friday. New London lost to Danville 82-5.

Notre Dame is 1-6, 1-8, and plays at Van Buren County on Friday.

Notre Dame's boys are 7-10 and 10-0, and West Burlington falls to 4-4 and 6-4.

Boys Game

The Falcons led 9-8 after the first quarter and were up 16-11 early in the second.

But the Nikes finally got their defense working, which sparked the offense, and Notre Dame went on a 16-4 scoring run.

The Nikes led 33-25 at halftime, but West Burlington cut the lead to 34-31.

Notre Dame, however, shifted into high gear again and finished the quarter by outscoring West Burlington 28-10.

Nike senior Shay Stephens, held to just four points in the first quarter, finished with 35 points, 18 rebounds, four steals, and numerous assists.

Eli Oleson had 13 points, and L.J. Harris finished with 11. Payne Prottsman scored 10. Garrison Reid hit a pair of 3s, and Tatum Warner and Kellan Porter each made a field goal.

Curtis Randall was one of the late subs, and he contributed a blocked shot.

Ayden Figuereo led West Burlington with 15 points and seven rebounds. Silas Lotzow and Ari Jannings scored nine each, Prior Bowen had five, and Kale Eggar, Jezden Nupp, and Sam Dzawo had two points each.

The Falcons, as a team, however, only had 18 rebounds, matching Stephens' total.

Notre Dame coach Dan Kies addressed the issues early on that had the Falcons leading in the early goings.

“We just didn't move all that well offensively without the ball; a lot of standing and things like that,” Kies said. “We didn't do a very good job of stopping things in the middle.”

Stephens then spoke about what turned things around.

“We started working together,” he said. “Obviously, it starts with defense, and we didn't play too good a defense that first half.”

Coach Kies told them at halftime “to come out wanting to win,” Stephens said.

“We started running the floor better, and I think that helped us a lot,” he said.

Stephens began racking up points, but his assists helped as well as. “I like getting my teammates open, get my teammates buckets, keeping everyone happy,” he said. “That's where our team ties in. It's not just me scoring.”

West Burlington coach Jonah Marlow said he knew beating Notre Dame would be a big task.

“It's really hard to play a full 22 minutes against that team,” Marlow said. “They're good.

“Our game plan that we had as a team, as a program, worked pretty well there in the first half,” which included keeping the role players at bay.

“But the second half caught up with us, and it's my fault,” Marlow said. “I'll take the responsibility for not having a good enough game plan against them.”

But there was no answer for Stephens. “He's such an unbelievable athlete,” Marlow said.

He said the Nikes have a strong transition game, “and Shay's just facilitating the floor. He's quick, and he can handle the ball hard when he gets to the rim.”

Girls Game

An improved West Burlington team led Notre Dame 16-4 after the first quarter, and started the second quarter with a 14-3 run.

Kaylee Webb scored 19 points on 6 of 12 shooting overall and 7 of 10 from the free-throw line. She also made nine steals. Freshman Presley Prill, in the top 10 of 3-pointers made among all classes, added five more and finished with 17. She also had four steals.

Adley Mundth had eight points, eight rebounds, and two steals. Kyleigh Applegate had four points, Lydia Armstrong and Brylie Wiseman had three each, and Jenna Bowman added a field goal and seven rebounds.

For Notre Dame, Kinsey Cameron led with 12 points. Kyleigh Kniffen was 4 of 5 from the field for eight points, and she also had eight steals. Kaitlyn Kipp had seven points, Daisy Hazell five, and Ava Fruehling one.

West Burlington coach Joe Bowman said he told his girls after the game that, “I thought it was probably their most complete game that they played yet.

“We had some down spots at the end of the first half, and then again at the start of the fourth quarter,” Bowman said. “But overall, I was happy with their effort.”

What helps the Falcons is the presence of Webb inside and Prill's strong outside shooting.

“I think the more scorers you can have, the better. Teams have to pick their poison,” Bowman said.

“Are they going to close out on a girl like Presley or Lydia, or are they going to try to go with cutters like Kaylee and Adley and those girls?”

Mundth took the ball inside early on for three quick layups in traffic.

“Adley's got potential to be fantastic,” Bowman said of the freshman, “and she's well on her way.”

Prill is another freshman who has bolstered the West Burlington lineup after the team had just eight players on varsity.

Prill, the daughter of assistant coach Steve Prill, said of jumping into the varsity role right away, “It feels really good. We've been playing during the summer.”

She said her father has been coaching her since first grade.

Does that make it harder for a dad to be one of the coaches now?

“I like it,” Prill said. “He pushes me, so it just helps me get encouraged and motivated to keep shooting.”

Photos by John Lovretta

01/07/2026

This is awesome!