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LARRY NISSON, 85, of Atlantic (Celebration of Life 8/16/24)

Obituaries

July 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

LARRY NISSON, 85, of Atlantic, died Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at Atlantic Specialty Care.  A Celebration of Life for LARRY NISSON will be held at 11-a.m. on Aug 16, 2024, at the First United Methodist Church in Atlantic. Roland Funeral Service in Atlantic has the arrangements.

Visitation with the family present will precede the Celebration of Life, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 16th, at the church.

Memorials may be made to the family for future designation.

LARRY NISSON is survived by:

His wife – Madonna Nisson.

His daughters – Lauri (Rick) Boysen, of Atlantic, and Lynelle (Bob) Bjoin, of Des Moines, Iowa.

7 grandchildren; and 5 great-grandchildren.

Condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com.

Iowa State Unveils Fall Schedule

Sports

July 31st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State softball program has finalized its 2024 fall schedule, head coach Jamie Pinkerton announced. The Cyclones’ fall slate includes eight contests, three of which are at the Cyclone Sports Complex, as the season spans over four weeks.

ISU will again open its fall ball slate with DMACC, facing the Bears on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at the Cyclone Sports Complex. Later that week, the Cyclones will welcome NIACC to the CSC for a Sunday afternoon showdown on Sept. 22.

September is rounded out with the Big Four Classic. This year, Drake is the host, as the Cyclones will take to Des Moines for three-straight days of games against in-state foes. Big Four play begins with host school Drake on 9/27 and is followed by a Saturday Cy-Hawk showdown (9/28) and a Sunday matchup with UNI (9/29).

The 2024 fall ball slate concludes with a trip up north as Iowa State heads to Minneapolis to face both North Dakota State and Minnesota on Oct. 12.

All home matchups at the Cyclone Sports Complex are available to attend free of charge.

Fall Schedule
9/18 Iowa State vs. DMACC 4 p.m. Ames, Iowa
9/22 Iowa State vs. NIACC 3 p.m. Ames, Iowa
9/27 Iowa State vs. Drake 5 p.m. Des Moines, Iowa
9/28 Iowa State vs. Iowa 5 p.m. Des Moines, Iowa
9/29 Iowa State vs. UNI 11 a.m. Des Moines, Iowa
10/2 Iowa State vs. Kirkwood 3:30 p.m. Ames, Iowa
10/12 Iowa State vs Minnesota 12 p.m. Minneapolis, Minn.
Iowa State vs NDSU 2 p.m. Minneapolis, Minn.

Castro Named to Thorpe Award Watch List

Sports

July 31st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior Sebastian Castro has been named to the 2024 Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame (OSHOF) announced Wednesday.

The preseason watch list is selected by a screening committee whose members compile a list of players based on previous performance in NCAA Division I college football and preseason All-America lists. Castro (5-foot-11, 205-pounds) was one of 42 defensive backs named to the watch list.

Castro has also been named a 2024 Athlon preseason fourth-team All-American and second-team All-Big Ten selection. The Oak Lawn, Illinois, native was included on the Bronko Nagurski Watch List on Tuesday.

As a junior, Castro was a Pro Football Focus first-team All-American and an Associated Press third-team All-American. He also was named Phil Steele honorable mention All-America and second-team All-Big Ten. Castro was voted second-team All-Big Ten by league media and honorable mention All-Big Ten by league coaches.

Castro led the team with eight pass break-ups and three interceptions in 2023. Those totals ranked fourth and ninth in the Big Ten, respectively. He finished the year with 67 tackles (47 solo, 20 assists), including eight tackles for a loss.

Committee members will vote on a list of semifinalists to be announced on Oct. 29, with a group of three finalists to be announced on Nov. 26. A panel of over 250 sports writers, sportscasters, former players and coaches will vote to determine the winner of the 2024 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award. The award winner will be announced on the ESPN live presentation of The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 12.

Former Hawkeye cornerbacks Cooper Dejean and Riley Moss were Thorpe Award semifinalists in 2023 and 2021, respectively. Desmond King won the Thorpe Award in 2015 and was a semifinalist the following season, while Josh Jackson was a finalist for the award in 2017.

Iowa opens the 2024 season Aug. 31, hosting Illinois State inside Kinnick Stadium beginning at 11 a.m. (CT).

Steve Paternostro Joins Staff as Director of Operations

Sports

July 31st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa track and field has hired Steve Paternostro as Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Operations. The announcement was made on Wednesday by Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Joey Woody.

Paternostro will serve as the program’s travel coordinator, facilitate day-to-day operations of the team and act as a liaison to external staff.

Paternostro joins the staff after spending nearly three years as the director of recruiting for track and cross country at Ottawa University in Kansas. In addition to his recruiting responsibilities, he assisted with logistics and operations for the program.

Before heading to Ottawa University, Paternostro was the director of admission for engineering and technology at Trine University.

Paternostro has extensive track and field coaching experience. Prior to his time at Trine, he was the assistant women’s track coach at the University of Toledo, head coach at Alfred State and assistant coach at Daemen College.

An alum of Edinboro University, Paternostro was a Division II national qualifier in the decathlon. He was also an NJCAA national champion at Erie Community College before transferring to Edinboro. Paternostro earned his bachelor’s degree in individualized studies and human performance from Edinboro.

Pickup strikes a bull in Greene County early Tuesday morning

News

July 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Bagley, Iowa) – The 16-year-old male from Bagley escaped injury, after the vehicle he was driving struck a bull on the road north of Bagley early Tuesday morning, in southern Greene County. According to the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, the accident happened on Quail Road/K Avenue just north of the intersection with 100th, at around 4:45-a.m., Tuesday.

The truck, a 2015 Dodge Ram 2500 was traveling northbound when it struck the bull owned by Christopher Laws, of Bagley. The Sheriff’s report said the pickup’s driver swerved to avoid the collision but was unable to do so. The bull ended-up in the west ditch after it was struck. The pickup sustained disabling damage amounted to an estimated $8,500. The bull was valued at $2,000.

Iowa Utilities Commission hears comments on pipeline rules

News

July 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Utilities Commission heard public testimony Tuesday on proposed changes to its rules on hazardous liquid pipeline. Several of the people who commented were involved in the process for the Summit Carbon Solution’s carbon dioxide pipeline permit that was ultimately awarded despite their opposition. Sheri Webb, a landowner in Shelby County, says holding hearings during the harvest leaves people out of the process. “If they’re 24-7 and a lot of those combines are going 24-7, they just switch operators or they’ve got chores to do they didn’t make it to those meetings,” she says. “that is so wrong those people were left out in the dark in many instances.”

Webb also said many older landowners don’t use computers and trying to file things online was not easy. “I even hesitated the first time I was getting on the I-U-B site, which now is our utilities commission. I didn’t know what I was doing,” Webb says. “The website’s not super friendly. And now it’s I think it’s even worse now. But I guess the point is, is when you’ve got senior citizens that either don’t have a computer or don’t have the skills, they are left in the dark and that is wrong.” She says posting public notices in newspapers is not a good way to get information out, as many people no longer take the paper. “Most counties now have a website and a lot of them have a Facebook presence so I would suggest that they also be asked to put notifications in those areas,” Carter says.

Kathy Carter of Rockford also talked about using the Iowa Utilities Commission website. “One of the first things that I would like to bring to the attention of the commission is how very hard and frustrating it was to try to find on the I-U-B website the revised rules that showed not only the red lining but additions,” she says.

The hearing is part of the Governor’s executive order requiring all state agencies to review administrative code and an update and streamline rules and regulations. The I-U-C will consider any changes to the rules and then will host public hearings before the rules are adopted.

Dubuque native, a UI engineering grad, is Boeing’s next CEO

News

July 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A Dubuque native who led Cedar Rapids based Rockwell Collins for five years will become chief executive of Boeing next week. Robert “Kelly” Ortberg was CEO at Rockwell Collins from 2013 to 2018. Ortberg graduated from the University of Iowa in 1982 with a degree in mechanical engineering and got a job at Texas Instruments making semiconductors. Ortberg’s Rockwell Collins career started in 1987. At one point Ortberg led a division of the company that produced electronics and communications equipment for Boeing’s 787 “Dreamliner.” It’s a different plane, Boeing’s 737 MAX, that has sparked the company current safety and financial problems.

Ortberg, who is 64, said” there is much work to be done” at Boeing and he looks forward to getting started on August 8. Ortberg led Rockwell Collins through its merger with United Technologies as well as the company’s name change to Collins Aerospace and its acquisition by Raytheon. He retired from Raytheon, now known as RTX, in 2021.

Boeing X logo

Dennis Mullenberg, a native of Sioux Center, who earned an aerospace engineering degree from Iowa State University, started at Boeing in 1985 as an intern and rose to become its CEO in 2015. He was fired in late 2019 after the Boeing 737 MAX was grounded worldwide following two overseas crashes that killed 346.

The CEO who replaced Mullenberg is now being replaced by Ortberg.

Get ready for AtlanticFest!

News

July 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – AtlanticFest, presented by First Whitney Bank & Trust, will be held Saturday, August 10th, rain or shine. AtlanticFest is an annual festival that serves as a fundraiser for the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce. Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Program Director Kelsey Beschorner, says “AtlanticFest is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Chamber. Our sponsors help cover a lot of the costs of the event, allowing us to raise funds through registration fees, pop stand sales and raffle ticket sales. We use the funds from AtlanticFest to continue to grow community events while also supporting business-based programs.”

Downtown Atlantic, she says, will be filled with fun activities for the whole family to enjoy. Come early and start the day with a pancake breakfast or a run/walk in the Annual Road Race with chip timing. There will be crafters from all over Southwest Iowa, as well as some of the best food vendors to help satisfy any appetite. Kids can enjoy bounce houses, face painting, pedal pulls, and games throughout City Park. The 26th Annual Car Show and 10th Annual Motorcycle Show will be taking place once again this year. New this year, Dirt Road Divide will fill Chestnut Street will live music from 11-3PM.

The 3rd Annual Bag Tournament will return to City Park. Teams of two can enter for $50 and try their chance to win $500, $300 or $200 guaranteed. Registration begins at 10 AM at the City Park Shelter.

AtlanticFest file photos courtesy the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce.

Day-of registrations are accepted for events including: car show, motorcycle show, road race and bags tournament. Maps of the event, Atlantic merchandise and more will be available at the Chamber booth in City Park. To learn more about AtlanticFest, visit www.atlanticiowa.com.

Beschorner says the Chamber thanks their partners for making the event possible. Those partners include: First Whitney Bank & Trust; A.M. Cohron & Son; Gregg Young- Atlantic; Atlantic Municipal Utilities; Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling; Armour Insurance; Brocker, Karns & Karns; Brown’s Shoe Fit; Camblin Plumbing & Heating; The Downtowner Cafe; McAtee Tire; Nishna Valley Family YMCA; Roland Funeral Home; Rolling Hills Bank; Rush, CPA & Associates; Salute Gymnastics, and the Wiota Steakhouse.

(Update) – 18 hogs die as the result of a tractor-trailer rollover in Guthrie County

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Adair, Iowa) – An accident early this (Wednesday) morning, north of Adair, resulted in the death of 18 hogs, some of which were badly injured and had to be put down by law enforcement. Guthrie County Sheriff Marty Arganbright told KJAN News the accident happened at around 3:30-a.m. as the semi tractor trailer was heading west/southbound on White Pole Road. When the semi came to the intersection with Frontier Road, the driver slowed down, but didn’t get slowed-down enough to stop at the posted intersection. As he turned right onto Frontier Road, a load of about 160 fat hogs being taken to market, shifted, causing the trailer to tip over into the ditch, taking the semi cab with it.

Sheriff Arganbright said the hogs loaded on the top, inside deck of the trailer, went through the roof of the trailer and became piled-up onto of one another. The animals – he said – were scared and traumatized. They had lived most of their lives on a concrete pad and were already stressed by the road trip. The driver, and his young son (Whose names were not immediately available), were not hurt.

photo submitted to KJAN

The Sheriff and Deputy Blake Michelson worked traffic control while the remaining hogs were being rounded-up and loaded into another livestock trailer. The whole process took about six-hours. Richter and Son Towing removed the semi from the scene.

Adair County Supervisors approve hiring of former custodian as a PT employee; reappointment of 2 Comp Board members

News

July 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, today (Wednesday), agreed to hire a former custodian as a part-time custodian. Rich Wallace had retired as full-time custodian in January of this year (2024). Auditor Mandy Berg and Maintenance Director/Custodian Scott Roberts, both said Wallace has been helping out as needed since his retirement.

The Board agreed to make Wallace’ pay of $22.58/hour retroactive to May 21st. He’ll be asked to help out as needed. In other business, the Adair County Supervisors acknowledged the receipt of two Manure Management Plans, Rose Acres Winterset Egg Farm and Prestige Farms in Anita (Nichols’ Hog Farm). The Board approved two appointments to the Compensation Board, pending their being willing to hold those seats again. Both appointments were of former Comp Board members. Auditor Mandy Berg…

The Supervisors accepted a bid from Murphy Heavy Contracting out of Anita, in the amount of $92,610 for the County Road G-61 pipe repair/revetment project. Hungry Canyons Alliance will pay for a portion of that amount. There were two bidders out six requested quotes for the work. And, the Board authorized Chairman Jerry Walker to sign the final voucher for an FY25 Farm-to-Market road rock contract with Schildberg’s, in the amount of $251,436.95.

Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman updated the Board on some of the various county road projects that are currently underway.

Kauffman said they’re still waiting on culvert liners for one of the projects, and they’ll be using a grinder to work out some bumps in certain roads to smooth them out.