WINDY....AFTERNOON SUNSHINE AND A HGH OF 40 TODAY.

THE MAQUOKETA BOYS LOST TO DEWITT LAST NIGHT BY 5 POINTS...GOOD GAME.
TONIGHT, HERE IN TOWN, THE CARDINAL GIRLS PLAY DEWITT. EARLIER THIS SEASON, MAQUOKETA HAD AN UPSET WIN OVER DEWITT, A RANKED TEAM. THE GAME WILL BE ON KMAQ-FM TONIGHT.

THE IOWA GAME ON KMAQ-AM TONIGHT.

ABOUT 50 MEMBERS ATTENDED THE ANNUAL BREAKFASAT MEETING THIS MORNING AT THE DECKER HOTEL RESTAURANT. JAKE BICKFORD, LONGTIME MAQUOKETA BUSINESSMAN, RECEIVED THE PRESIDENT'S AWARD. HE STARTED AT BILL MOLER'S CLOTHING STORE IN 1959 AND BOUGHT THE STORE IN 1981. HE WAS CHAMBER PRESIDENT IN 1977.
THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S AWARDED WAS PRESENTED TO OUT-GOING PRESIDENT, BRIAN HINTGEN. HE CAME TO MAQUOKETA SIX YEARS AGO WITH ALLIANCE PIPELIND AND STILL WORKS FOR THEM PLUS IS A PARTNER IN THE NEW TRAVEL MART AT THE SOUTH EDGE OF MAQUOKETA. STURTZ, WHO RETIRED AT THE END OF THE YEAR AS CHAMBER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WAS PRESENTED WITH A GIFT BASKET FEATURING MAQUOKETA PRODUCTS.
RICK PRULL, M-S-B BANKER, IS THE NEW PRESIDENT
OF THE CHAMBER. GOING OFF THE BOARD, HINTGEN, BRIAN AUNAN AND ANNETTE SOHL. THE THREE NEW MEMBERS OF THE BOARD ARE JULIE MOORE, DEAN SHAUF AND CARRI GILSON.

THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT IS INVESTIGATING AN INCIDENT AT THE TERRY AND DIANE WUESTENBERG RESIDENCE ON THE MAQUOKETA CAVES ROAD. DIANE REPORTED SHE HEARD 3 OR 4 SHOTS WHILE DOING CHORES SUNDAY LATE AFTERNOON. IT IS BELIEVED THE SHOTS WERE FIRED BY A 22 FROM LONG RANGE. ONE OF THE BULLETS ENTERED THE MACHINE SHED WHERE SHE WAS WORKING AND LODGED IN A HORSE TRAILER. SEVERAL HORSES WERE LOCATED NEAR THE SHED AND ONE WAS STRUCK BY A BULLET. IT WAS STRUCK IN THE SHOULDER AND IS EXPECTED TO RECOVER. THE SHERIFF THINKS SOMEONE MIGHT HAVE PULLED OFF THE HIGHWAY AND MAY HAVE BEEN SHOOTING AT A DEER AND THE BULLET STRAYED.

TWO MAQUOKETA MEN WERE CHARGED IN DAVENPORT IN CONNECTION WITH THE PURCHASE OF 608 PILLS CONTAINING PSEUDOEPHEDRIN THAT WAS INTEDED TO BE USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF METH. MICHAEL R. MILLER, AGE 48 OF GERMAN STREET AND SHAWN M. BESLER, 32, OF NORTH ANDERSON STREET, WERE ARRESTED LAST FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EACH FACE TWO COUNTS OF DRUG POSSESSION IN SCOTT COUNTY DISTRICT COURT. THE TWO REMAINED IN SCOTT COUNTY JAIL YESTERDAY ON $139,750 BOND EACH.

THE MAQUOKETA MEA RECENTLY ASKED FOR A $1,500 RAISE ON A BEGINNING TEACHER'S BASE SALARY AND YESTERDAY, THE BOARD OFFERED A $200 RAISE.
THE FIRST TWO MEETINGS BETWEEN THE GROUPS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND NOW BOTH SIDES AGREED TO CONTINUE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, AS ALLOWED BY LAW. THE DISTRICT IS ALSO PROPOSIGN A MAJOR CHANGE IN THE HEALTH INSURACE PROGRAM FOR SCHOOL EMPLOYEES. MORE LATER ON THIS.

AT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT BANQUET THIS PAST SATURDAY NIGHT IN MAQUOKETA, FIRE CHEIF MARK BECK REPORTED THE NUMBER OF FIRE CALLS IN MAQUOKETA WAS WERE FEWER IN 2005 THAN IN PREVIOUS YEARS. THERE WERE 68 CALLS AND 39 RESCUE CALLS LAST YEAR. BOTH, THE LOWEST NUMBER IN YEARS. HE REPORTED THE AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME LAST YEAR WAS 7 MINUTES AND THERE WERE AN AVERAGE OF 11 FIREFIGHTERS PER CALL.
BECK ALSO SAID THE DEPARTMENT RECEIVED A $24,000 FEMA GRANT FOR A NEW BREATHING AIR COMPRESSOR. THE OLD ONE IS OVER 20 YEARS OLD.
NO SERVICE AWARDS WERE PRESENTED SATURDAY NIGHT AND THE ANNUAL LEO CLASEN AWARD WAS PRESENTED TO FIREMAN ROBERT EDWARDS.
THE CHEIF WILL BE ATTENDING A MEETING TOMORROW AFTERNOON WITH THE COUNCIL PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE AND TO BE DISCUSSED WILL BE A NEW ROOF OR REPAIRS TO THE FIRE STATION AND ALSO A POSSIBLE FIRE STATION ADDITION.

DALE EASTON, 87, OF JOHNSTON, IOWA,DIED YESTERDAY. HE WAS BORN IN MAQUOKETA, THE SON OF DALE AND MARTHA EASTON. HE AND HIS FATHER OPERATED A GROCERY STORE IN MAQUOKETA, WHERE KMAQ IS NOW LOCATED. HE LEFT MAQUOKETA TO GO WITH HY-VEE AND RETIRED WITH THEM IN 1982.
I PURCHASED THE KMAQ BUILDING IN 1969 FROM HIS MOTHER. HE IS SURVIVED BY FOUR DAUGHTERS, THREE GRANDCHILDREN AND TWO SISTERS IN MAQUOKETA, GERALDIN PITHAM AND LAURA MANIS.

THANKS FOR CHECKING IN.

I'M OFF TO THE BOY SCOUT SOUP SUPPER TONIGHT AT THE VFW POST HOME.

DENNIS VOY