The Majors little league softball team finished their season just as July was starting, but they ended it on a disappointing high note. How does that happen? Well, they earned third place in their tournament which is great, but they would have loved to have ended it with the first or second place hardware. Still, third place is quite honorable and shows other towns what they will be contending within the next year or so as these ladies enter high school.
    The ladies, seventh and eighth graders with some sixth graders added to fill the roster, started their tourney in double header play. They first played West Monona which was quite exciting. The ladies in maroon took an 8-7 win to advance in the championship bracket. They then played Westwood which didn't go so well. They were denied a chance to play in the championship with their 1-13 loss to the Rebel ladies.
    The Rams, ranked #4 in the tournament, traveled to Ida Grove to play the #2 seed BCIG ladies. There, the girls played well together, giving the higher ranked team a loss and the Majors from our school district the third place sin. Head Coach Tiffany Gain gave a small summary of the game, from what she could remember after the fact.
    "Thursday (July 2nd) we played BCIG in Ida Grove and played an amazing game," she said. "Ashley Brown hits lead off and hit the first pitch of the game and beat the throw at first. She then stole second. She then stole third and scored on a passed ball in the first inning.
    "Leah Smeltzer pitched 5 innings and overpowered their offense, keeping them to just 3 runs," she added. "Kyndall Krause made an inning-ending line drive catch that prevented BCIG from scoring. We had GREAT catching by Lilly Weber. The whole Rams team was aggressive at bat. Lots of hits and aggressive base running that put us on top 9-7. Joanna Gain pitched the last inning and struck out 3 to close it out."
    Gain added that there were key hits up and down the line up. The wins were because of the strength of the team as a whole and their ability to play well with each other.
    The ladies will have great potential as the older ladies move up to high school and younger continue in little league next year. Tiffany also noted that the ladies were willing to learn new techniques which helped them improve throughout the season. For example, Ashley Brown and Kyndall Krause both learned how to slap hit, a huge part of the offense. Slap hitting utilizes a batter's speed to reach first base quickly. It is a technique which well be very advantageous as they move up the ranks in softball.
    "It was an honor to coach them this year," Gain exclaimed. "They worked through a lot of close losses early in the season. These girls learned to keep working hard and trust it would pay off in the end. It did! We won 3 of our last 4 games!
    The Majors, ladies from Danbury, Mapleton, and Anthon, were Leah Smeltzer, Brynlee Hieber, Joanna Gain, Mia Seuntjens, Sadie Cameron, Ellena DeVries, Lilly Weber, Kyndall Krause, Hunter Bentz, Ashley Brown, and Schalee Schrader. Tiffany's assistant coaches were Devon Hieber and Matt Schrader.
    Congratulations, team!
    Photo by Wendy DeVries. Thanks, Wendy!

    There will be deals galore in Danbury this weekend as the annual citywide garage sales will coincide with BlueJay Boutique's sidewalk sale. Pay a visit to town and check out the deals.
    Looking for new clothes and accessories? BlueJay Boutique will be your stop.
    Looking for previously loved items from household, workshop, decorations, and recreation? Check out the six sales held throughout town.
    A map for the sales is in this week's Review. An ad for BlueJay's sale is also in this week's Review.

    DES MOINES, Iowa (July 7, 2026) – MidAmerican Energy has filed a request with the Iowa Utilities Commission to update the delivery portion of its natural gas rates, which supports the infrastructure and operations needed to move natural gas to homes and businesses. The update only affects delivery rates – not the cost of gas. This request is designed to preserve the integrity of the gas system without jeopardizing historically low monthly bills.
    "We know customers don't want to see any part of their bill go up, and we do not take that lightly," said Karrie Leza, vice president, gas delivery. "This request reflects the careful work our people are doing to manage costs while continuing to safely operate more than 25,000 miles of natural gas lines across Iowa. These are the types of investments that reduce risk, bring critical systems up to date, and avoid more costly problems for our customers later on."
Keeping bills low over time
    Even with the proposed adjustment, MidAmerican's typical residential natural gas bill would remain lower than it was two decades ago and among the lowest in Iowa.
    Based on the same level of average monthly residential gas usage, a customer's monthly bill would be $58.49 under the proposed rates, compared to $74.10 in 2006, not adjusted for inflation. This reflects years of relatively stable base rates, along with lower natural gas supply costs now versus 20 years ago.
Customer impacts
    The proposed adjustment would affect only the delivery charge of customer bills, which supports the infrastructure and operations required to move natural gas to homes and businesses.
    It would not affect the cost of natural gas itself, which is set by the market and passed through to customers without any markup.
    The typical monthly residential bill would increase by about 5% - from $55.60 to $58.49.
    Business customer impacts would vary by rate class and usage but are generally expected to be in a similar percentage range, with final bill changes determined by the Iowa Utilities Commission.
Why now
    Many of the investments included in the request are designed to reduce risks and improve reliability, especially during Iowa's cold winter months, and avoid higher costs over time.
    Before seeking this adjustment, we reviewed the timing and scope of planned work and prioritized projects tied to safety, reliability, regulatory compliance and customer service. Where practical, the company sequences projects to manage costs and defers or rescopes work that does not meet those priorities.
    Key initiatives include: Replacing and inspecting gas lines before problems occur, Completing 24 miles of transmission pipeline integrity work from 2024-2027, Replacing low-pressure gas mains through 2030, Moving gas facilities for public road and bridge projects, Increasing excavation and underground location work, Modernizing critical technology, Maintaining fast emergency response, and Managing higher labor, material and contractor costs.
Next steps
    As allowed by law, MidAmerican will implement temporary gas delivery rates on July 17 while the Iowa Utilities Commission reviews the permanent rate request. Temporary rates are not the final rates.
    After its review, the commission will order final rates, which may be different from the company's proposal and will take effect on a date set by the commission. If final rates are lower than temporary rates, MidAmerican will refund the difference to customers with interest.
    You can learn more about the proposal at MidAmericanEnergy.com/Iowa or by calling 1-888-427-5632. The Iowa Utilities Commission's review process includes four public consumer comment meetings. There will be a meeting in Sioux City at the convention center on September 10th at 6:00 p.m.