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Flood Watch continues for Cass & some area Counties until Noon today (7/2/24)

News, Weather

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Audubon-Guthrie-Dallas-Cass-Adair Counties
208 AM CDT Tue Jul 2 2024

…FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CDT TODAY…

* WHAT…Flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible.

* IMPACTS…Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.

Monona-Harrison-Shelby-Pottawattamie-Mills Counties…FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 7-A.M. TODAY

* Flash Flood Warning for…Southwestern Pottawattamie County in southwestern Iowa..UNTIL 4:15-A.M.

Fremont IA-Mills IA-Pottawattamie IA–

Flood Watch for counties in dark green; flash flood warning for areas in burgundy; Flood warning for areas in bright green.

235 AM CDT Tue Jul 2 2024

…FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 230 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON…

* WHAT…Urban area and small stream flooding caused by excessive rainfall is expected.

* IMPACTS…Flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations is imminent or occurring. Numerous roads remain closed due to flooding. Streams continue to rise due to excess runoff from earlier rainfall.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…
– At 233 AM CDT, emergency management reported heavy rain in the warned area due to thunderstorms. Flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly. Between 3 and 7 inches of rain have fallen.
– Additional rainfall amounts up to 1 inch are possible in the warned area.
– Some locations that will experience flooding include…
Omaha, Council Bluffs, Glenwood and Carter Lake.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

Turn around, don`t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles.

Posted in News, Weather |

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the Nishna Valley: Tues., July 2nd, 2024

Weather

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Early this morning: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 66. S/SE winds 15-25 mph. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.
Today: Showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 82. S/SE winds 10-20.  New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible. FLOOD WATCH UNTIL NOON TODAY.
Tonight: Showers likely & thunderstorms ending late. Becoming partly cloudy. Low 60. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. West southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wed. Night: P/Cldy w/a 30% percent chance of showers & thunderstorms after midnight. Low around 64.
Independence Day: Partly sunny w/a 70% chance of showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 80.
Thursday Night: A 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Low around 60.
Friday: Mostly sunny & breezy, with a high near 77.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 83.

Posted in Weather |

Dominant pitching from AHSTW leads to Win

Sports

July 1st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

The AHSTW Lady Vikes softball team had a 2-0 victory over the CAM Cougars Monday night in the form of a pitching a duel. Starting Lady Vikes pitcher Etta Partlow was unrelenting retiring the first 3 CAM batters in the top of the 1st. The Cougar’s Ailey Wahlert had a similar response striking out 2 batters and giving up no hits in the bottom of the 1st. This form of pitching tug of war keeping the game at 0-0 finally broke at the bottom of the 5th inning. Bella Lamp started the 5th with a double towards left field. She then successfully stole third and came home off of a sac fly from Graycen Partlow to put AHSTW up 1-0. CAM was ready to respond in the top of the 6th as they had runners on third and second with two outs. But the inning ended with a line fly ball out in right field. Then in the bottom of the 6th the Lady Vikes added on to their lead with a run scoring in from an infield error. AHSTW secured the lead at 2-0 and put away the Cougars in the top of the 7th to hold on for the win.

Emma Follman for the Cougars stuck out with her 2-3 performance at the plate. Etta Partlow though had another solid night pitching 7 innings, with 6 strikeouts, 5 hits, no runs, and no walks. AHSTW Head Coach Katie Pace commended the way her pitcher battled throughout the night.

Games between CAM and the Lady Vikes can be a little more sentimental than other matchups with the history between these two programs.

The win pushes AHSTW to 15-8 on the year with their next game at Harlan on Wednesday night. Coach Pace is looking to see energy from tonight’s game carry into Wednesday’s.

The Cougars drop to 11-9 with the loss and travel to Nodaway Valley on Tuesday.

Posted in Sports |

Summit proposes August and September meetings for pipeline extensions

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

The company that recently gained approval from state regulators for its carbon dioxide pipeline system in Iowa wants to proceed with expansion requests for that system starting in late August. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports Summit Carbon Solutions has proposed new public informational meeting dates for 23 counties that would span about four weeks, according to documents recently filed with the Iowa Utilities Commission, formerly known as the Iowa Utilities Board. The first meeting would be Aug. 26 in Adams County.

The company must hold the meetings in affected counties before it can negotiate with landowners for easements and file petitions for permits to build the extensions.

The 14 proposed offshoots to additional ethanol plants from Summit’s initial proposal would increase the size of the system in Iowa by about 341 miles — or about 50%. The IUC indicated last week it would grant Summit a permit for the company’s initial proposal, which has about 690 miles of pipe.

The company hopes to transport captured carbon dioxide from ethanol producers in five states to North Dakota to be stored underground. The IUC has stipulated that Summit cannot start laying pipe in Iowa until it obtains permits in the Dakotas. It said the company can use eminent domain to force agreements with unwilling landowners to use their properties for the project.

North Dakota regulators are considering Summit’s pipeline route in that state and whether it would be allowed to pump the greenhouse gas into the ground. Summit has said it will reapply for a pipeline permit in South Dakota this month. The company hopes to start construction next year.

The IUC denied requests from pipeline opponents to consider the extensions along with the initial proposal. Those extensions and maps of their routes were unveiled in March while the initial permit process was still pending. Some argued, unsuccessfully, that parts of the system route should be revamped to shorten its overall length.

Instead, each of the extensions from the initial route will be subject to individual permits. Summit had hoped to hold informational meetings for them in April and May, but the commission rejected those dates without providing a reason.

Summit submitted new maps of the extension routes last week that increased their total length by about a half mile. A notable change was in Hardin County, where a proposed route moved slightly closer to Iowa Falls.

The new proposed meeting schedule — which has not yet been approved by the IUC — goes from Aug. 26 to Sept. 20 in the following counties: Adams, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Clay, Fayette, Floyd, Greene, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Ida, Kossuth, Mitchell, Montgomery, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Sioux, Webster and Worth.

The Iowa Utilities Commission, formerly the Iowa Utilities Board, announced its name change on Monday and said it was the result of a state government reorganization last year that removed the agency from the state Department of Commerce.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Gov. Reynolds Announces Appointments to Iowa’s Boards and Commissions

News

July 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES – Today, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced appointments to Iowa’s boards and commissions. 

 The following appointments of the following from around the KJAN listening area, are subject to Senate confirmation (name/County): 

 Commission of Deaf Services   

Dustin Blythe, Dallas County

Tina Caloud, Pottawattamie County 

Board of Behavioral Health Professionals 

Lora Keipper, Dallas  

Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board 

Randy Watts, Cass 

Jeffrey Miller, Pottawattamie     

Real Estate Commission 

Tanner Westberg, Dallas 

Accountancy Examining Board 

Jessica Richter, Dallas 

Lindsay Knoop, Dallas  

Board of Mortuary Science 

Martin Rieken, Pottawattamie 

John Parrish, Dallas 

Kelsey Lo, Dallas   

Landscape Architectural Examining Board 

Nate Weitl, Madison   

Real Estate Appraiser Examining Board 

Tonya Eller, Crawford  

Board of Speech Pathology and Audiology 

Caitlin McKenney, Dallas  

Architectural Examining Board 

Dan Dutcher, Dallas   

Interior Design Examining Board 

Cathy Koch, Dallas  

Engineering and Land Surveying Examining Board 

David Tallon, Harrison

State Workforce Development Board  

Jessica Dunker, Dallas  

The following appointments are not subject to Senate confirmation: 

Iowa Arts Council  

Donna Dostal, Pottawattamie

Council on Agricultural Education 

Ben Booth, Carroll  

Council for Early ACCESS 

Dr. Shelley Horak, Dallas

Statewide Interoperable Communications System Board (ISICS):

Jeffery Vanderwater, Adair 

Fire Service and Emergency Response Council  

Pamela Kenkel, Dallas 

State Banking Council 

Debora Quandt, Crawford 

Posted in News |

State Casino revenue trending flat for the fiscal year

News

July 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The state fiscal year ends on June 30th and it looks like revenue from casino gambling is going to be down slightly. Racing and Gaming Administrator, Tina Eick says that’s been the trend through May. She says they are down less than two percent through May. The June numbers are expected to show the same thing once they completed.

“Keep in mind we are coming off a couple of really good post COVID years for AGR (adjusted gross revenue), so we have been trending upwards, but I would say this year we’re trending flat,” she says.

Gambling revenue in the last fiscal year was one-point-seven BILLION dollars.

Posted in News |

Higgins Named Walter Camp Preseason First-Team All-American

Sports

July 1st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa fifth-year senior Jay Higgins has been named a 2024 Walter Camp Preseason First-Team All-American, it was announced Monday by the Walter Camp Foundation.

It is Higgins’ third preseason honor as he was also selected as a preseason first-team All-American by Phil Steele and Athlon. He was also named the Phil Steele Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

The Hawkeyes had three Walter Camp All-Americans in 2023 (Cooper DeJean, Tory Taylor, Higgins) and the program has had at least one Walter Camp All-American in each of the last 10 years (dating back to 2014).

The Indianapolis native started at middle linebacker in all 14 games in 2023, leading the team with 171 tackles (79 solo, 92 assists).  The figure tied an Iowa single season school record, led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally.   He finished with 15+ tackles in three games and 10+ tackles in 10 contests.

Higgins earned All-America distinction from eight different outlets a season ago and was Iowa’s Roy Carver Most Valuable Player on defense for a unit that ranked fourth nationally, surrendering 14.8 points per game.

The Hawkeyes open the 2024 season Aug. 31, hosting Illinois State at 11 a.m. (CT) inside Kinnick Stadium.

Posted in Sports |

SWITA adds new Maintenance Assistant and Scheduler

News

July 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

ATLANTIC, Iowa- Southwest Iowa Transit Agency (SWITA) reports they have recently added two new members to the office team in Atlantic. Kyle Rock has taken the role of Maintenance Assistant and Michael Wolff was added as a Transit Scheduler.

Kyle comes to SWITA from the AHSTW School District and resides in Avoca. He graduated from Avoca and has a varied work background from teaching/coaching to beverage sales to driving. Kyle said he knew about SWITA’s services for a long time because his sister uses the service, and he came to SWITA to be a driver. It happened to work out that the Maintenance Assistant position would come open around the time he was set to join the team. With his background it was a great fit that gave him the type of hours he was looking for. Kyle will help to maintain the SWITA fleet and facilities, while also helping with driving as needed.

Kyle Rock

Michael comes to SWITA from Austin, Texas. He moved with his fiancé, son, and two dogs to be closer to family in the area. They moved up to Oakland with his parents while they search for a place in Atlantic. He found out about the position from his father, who is a driver for SWITA.

Michael Wolff

Posted in News |

Gov. Reynolds Issues Open Letter to Iowans on Department of Labor’s Excessive Fines on Iowa Businesses

News

July 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Updated) – Governor Kim Reynolds says the needs and challenges of today’s workforce have changed — and the U-S Department of Labor is enforcing outdated child labor rules on Iowa businesses. Reynolds has released what she describes as an open letter to Iowans, criticizing federal fines being proposed against Iowa businesses that have employed minors beyond 7 p.m. on school nights. Reynolds signed a state law in 2023 that said 14 and 15 year olds could work until 9 p.m. during the school year and until 11 p.m. in the summertime.

Reynolds says while the extra two hours of nighttime work looks like a sensible option to most Iowans, she says the federal government is treating it like a sinister plot. The governor says for decades Iowa and more than 20 other states have let young teens work more hours than is allowed under federal standards and Iowa businesses are being singled out by heavy-handed federal bureaucrats.

A spokesperson for the U-S Department of Labor says it is dangerous and irresponsible for Iowa’s governor and state legislature to undermine federal child labor protections amidst a rise in child labor exploitation in this country. Democrats in the legislature who voted against the law say they warned Republicans and business groups pressing for the changes the state law violated federal standards.

Posted in News |

Lacasse Makes Canadian National Team

Sports

July 1st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

OTTAWA, CANADA – University of Iowa graduate Cloé Lacasse (‘14) was named to the Canadian women’s national team on Monday. Lacasse will compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics from July 25 to Aug. 10.

The Ontario, native, becomes the first Iowa women’s soccer product to compete at Olympics.

“Congratulations to Cloe on a monumental achievement,” said Head Coach Dave DiIanni. “This is truly an example of her commitment and perseverance to develop, grow and challenge the environments she has been put in along the way as a professional soccer player in order to accomplish her most lofty goals.

“We are so proud of her, as she represents Iowa Soccer with the utmost class and excellence.”

Lacasse is one of six forwards selected to join the 18-player roster. Formerly a two-time All-Big Ten First Team honoree, Lacasse currently plays for Women’s Super League club Arsenal in the United Kingdom.

Canada is one of 12 participating nations at this year’s Olympic Games. The Canadian women’s national team won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and is the only squad to have reached the podium in each of the last three Olympic Games.

Hawkeye history is nothing new for Lacasse, who was part of the first NCAA Tournament qualifying team in program history during the 2013 season. Lacasse is tied for first in Iowa program history for career points (112) and sits atop the Hawkeye record book in career shots (306).

Posted in Sports |