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TOP STORIES
YMCA NEWS
YMCA opens facilities to veterans in November
Construction work continues on a new set of covered docks at Dock D of the Fort Madison Marina. The docks will help ease a waiting list for covered docks at the revitalized marina in Fort Madison.
MARINA NEWS
Marina growth dictating expansion
LOCAL NEWS
Connection Bank adds $100K to OFMP effort
Obituaries

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SPORTS
Elizabeth Griffin celebrates an ace with Adalyn Kruse Wednesday night at the IGHSAU Class 1A State Volleyball Tournament in Coralville's Xtream Arena.
STATE VOLLEYBALL
Crusaders swept out of Class 1A semis
Freshman Brynn Dennings catches a dig as Adalyn Kruse (3) looks on Tuesday night at Xtream Arena. The Lady Crusaders won in five sets and will face top-seeded and top-ranked Ankeny Christian in the semifinals Wednesday.
CRUSADER PREVIEW
Crusaders get top-ranked Ankeny Christian in semis
HTC senior Adalyn Kruse sticks the Holy Trinity Catholic sticker on the semi-final bracket line at the girls IGHSAU State Volleyball tournament after Tuesday's upset win over 4th-seed Wapsie Valley at Xtream Arena in Coralville.
STATE VOLLEYBALL
Crusaders shake off slow start in quarters
Central Lee's Drake Newton (451) hangs around in the top 30 after about a mile and a half of the 5K Class 2A State Cross-Country meet in Fort Dodge Friday afternoon. Newton finished in the top 25 with a personal best 16:58.8.

Newton gets top 25 at state

FORT DODGE – A slightly cooler afternoon helped the 2A state cross country runners throw up some quick times at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge Friday afternoon. Central Lee junior Aubree …
HTC senior Adalyn Kruse got one of her 16 kills on the night here in the second set of the Crusaders' three-set win over BCLUW Wednesday in Williamsburg.

Lady Crusaders head back to state

WILLIAMSBURG — This one wasn’t going to get away. Not after the pain of the missed opportunity from last year that the returning members of Holy Trinity’s volleyball team remembered. …

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Holy Trinity Catholic High School's Kate Piper (24) puts the ball over the net during the first set of their Class 1A Region 5 semi-final game against Wayne High School, Monday, October 26, 2026 at Holy Trinity Catholic High School in Fort Madison. HTC won 25-13.
FORT MADISON - Holy Trinity’s goodbye to Shottenkirk Gym for the volleyball season was quick, but there was some emotion with the farewell. It took the Crusaders less than an hour to defeat Wayne …
The Bloodhound's Max Jones takes a hit from Solon's Sawyer Hansel (25) in the second half of Friday's 55-6 win by the Spartans. Fort Madison finished the season 3-6.
SOLON – There were a few wins that the Hounds were able to take away from Friday’s season ending loss to Class 3A’s top team in the state in undefeated Solon. The Hounds lost 55-6 to end the …
LEE COUNTY NEWS

 
Lee County News

Groups work out creative incentive package for steel plant

FORT MADISON – Lee County residents got their first glimpse Wednesday night into negotiations between the county and the Minnesota company that plans to build a $15 billion steel facility in Green …

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For the Record

For the Record - Thursday, November 5, 2026

Fort Madison Police Report 11/04/26 - 2:29 PM - Fort Madison police responded to a no injury accident in the 3400 block of Avenue L. 11/04/26 - 2:41 PM - Fort Madison police responded to a report of …

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Opinion

Never been a rebuild for Crusader volleyball

A hitting error by Ankeny Christian had Holy Trinity within two points of the lead in Wednesday’s Class 1A state volleyball tournament semifinal, and Kate Pieper wasn’t going to let the moment …

Reader worried about flooding around steel project

Dear Editor: Watched the town hall meeting on Masabi Steel and Metallics. In that meeting it came out Masabi is owned by India and all steel produced will go to India and not the U.S. The local …

Swarmhenge now at Empty Nest

Caden Hinkle did it again—he created another yard sculpture out of RR ties.  The first one was a raised-garden bed.  I had him notch the ties so they fit together like Lincoln Logs.  …

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Education News
CENTRAL LEE SCHOOL
MADSEN

Madsen named Regional Teacher of the Year

LEE COUNTY - The Iowa Department of Education today announced nine teachers from across the state have been selected as the 2027 Iowa Regional Teachers of the Year, following the inaugural 2025 …

HTC gets state support of early child program

FORT MADISON - The Iowa Department of Education recently approved 10 community-based providers to deliver services to young learners and their families through the Statewide Voluntary Preschool …

Solar panel work complete at high school

FORT MADISON – At the Fort Madison School District board meeting Wednesday last night, Director of Maintenance Nic Chiri said in his presentation several summer projects for the district have been …

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LATEST NEWS
BLAKELY
Jill “Penny” Blakely, 73, of Keokuk, passed away on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at New London Specialty Care in New London, Iowa. Penny was born on November 27, 1952, in Rock Island, Illinois, the …
PRINTY
James Edward Printy, 80, died November 2, 2026, at the Montrose Health Center. James was born on January 27th, 1946, to Roy and Emma (Schevers) Printy. He was the youngest of 7 siblings that grew up …
GNANN
Linda Lou Bishop Gnann, 92, of Nauvoo,  passed away on Monday, November 2, 2026 at 4:45 PM surrounded by her family at her home. She was born on January 3, 1934 in Ft. Madison to Lymon and …
LUNG
Andrea “Deon” Lung, 70, of Niota, Illinois, passed away at 4:20 a.m. Sunday, November 1, 2026, at her home. Deon was born on August 28, 1956, in Fort Madison, Iowa, the daughter of David George …
There is a simple way to assess how much Iowa governments think ordinary citizens deserve to know, and engage in the debate, when officials have an initiative they are eager to undertake. Call …

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Health News
Lee County Health Department Administrator Michele Ross talks with visitors of the department's Kids' Health & Safety Fair at the Meller Family Health Center Thursday evening.
Kids' Health Fair more than health fare
FORT MADISON – The Lee County Health Department showed off just a little bit Thursday afternoon at the Meller Family Health Center. LCHD staff and volunteers held the third-ever Kids’ Health …
Great River Health gets CMS notice
WEST BURLINGTON - Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Centers released information Wednesday about a broken link that led to a formal notice from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requiring …
Kaitlin Krueger, of Counseling Associates, signs a declaration of participation at Wednesday morning's Thrive Iowa launch at Quality Inn & Suites in Fort Madison.
Restore Hope helps kick off Thrive Iowa
LEE COUNTY – The Thrive Iowa effort is officially underway. After rolling out the basics of the program in February, a new grant-funded initiative to help those struggling to gain a foothold on …

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Business News
U.S. Dept. of Energy's Office of Electricity Chief of Staff David Denton speaks with officials from Danville and Access Energy Coop Thursday morning at a Denmark substation. Denton said he was in town to get a closer look at utility resiliency projects.
Dept. of Energy officials visit utility projects
DENMARK – The Chief of Staff of the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Office of Electricity got a snapshot of what federal grant funds are doing to reinforce the area's electrical grid Thursday. The DOE’s …
The former KL Megla building, current home to Lee County Economic Development Group and several tenants will be put up for sale following a meeting today of the Southeast Iowa Regional and Economic Port Authority board. LCEDG will be moving into the former Dollar General store across the highway.
LCEDG and SIREPA agree to sell Montrose center
MONTROSE – The building that currently houses the Lee County Economic Development Group will be for sale in the near future. And LCEDG operations are likely to move across Hwy. 61 into the former …
Dept. of Energy official to visit Denmark Thursday
DENMARK – Staff from the U.S. Department of Energy will be in southeast Iowa on Thursday to review project sites and talk about the area’s utility and grid resilience projects. The event will …

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