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Waukee rolls past Valley 72-58 to win 5A championship

Sports

March 8th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Reilly Jacobson scored 24 points and No. 2 Waukee capitalized on top-ranked West Des Moines Valley’s shooting woes to beat the Tigers 72-58 Saturday night and win the Class 5A state championship. The Waukee guards set Jacobson up for easy shots inside with crisp entry passes, and she converted to help the Warriors (24-2) claim the title in their first trip to the finals. Jacobson went 10-for-14 from the field, grabbed 12 rebounds and was named captain of the all-tournament team.

Valley (23-3), which beat Waukee 72-66 during the regular season, fell behind while it was missing 15 of 16 shots during a stretch spanning halftime and never made a serious run to get back in it. Grace Vander Weide led Valley with 20 points and nine rebounds.

#17 Iowa State beats TCU 89-76 for 2nd place in Big 12

Sports

March 8th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Georges Niang and Monte Morris each had 19 points and No. 17 Iowa State ended the regular season with another comeback win, beating TCU 89-76 on Saturday night to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 tournament. After only two points with three turnovers before halftime, Niang had two assists, two rebounds and a layup as Iowa State (22-8, 12-6 Big 12) went ahead to stay with a 16-5 run in the first 4½ minutes of the second half. That included the assist on a tiebreaking 3-pointer by Naz Long.

Kenrich Williams had 17 points and Kyan Anderson 16 for TCU (17-14, 4-14), which had won its previous three home games. Bryce Dejean-Jones added 15 points for the Cyclones, who had a 63-point outburst in the second half. Jameel McKay had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Ohio State women top No. 14 Iowa 91-85 in OT in Big 10

Sports

March 8th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell scored 29 points for the second night in a row, Alexa Hart added 24 and Ohio State topped No. 14 Iowa 91-85 in overtime to advance to the Big Ten Conference tournament final on Sunday. Ohio State (23-9) will face No. 4 Maryland (29-2), winners over No. 24 Northwestern in the other semifinal on Saturday.

In overtime, Whitney Jennings made a pair of free throws with 42 seconds left to draw Iowa to within one point. But on the next possession, Mitchell nailed a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to make it a four-point game. Jennings missed from the inside on the next trip down, and Mitchell made two free throws to seal it. After a tightly-contested second half, Hart hit 1 of 2 free throws to put Ohio State up by two with 17 seconds to go, but Bethany Doolittle’s layup with three seconds left forced overtime.

The teams were tied at the half at 37. Melissa Dixon had 22 points and Doolittle finished with 21 for Iowa (24-7).

Iowa AMBER ALERT cancelled Sunday morning

News

March 8th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

An AMBER ALERT issued Saturday afternoon in Iowa has been cancelled The Iowa Department of Public Safety reported early Sunday morning 9-year old Brianna Crane, of Solon, was found safe.  Capt. Gary Kramer with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that Brianna Crane was found early Sunday and “appears to be in good health.” Kramer said authorities are investigating what happened.

The girl was allegedly abducted at around 2:30-p.m. Saturday, by her step-father, 48-year old Kenneth Eugene Johns and the pair were thought to have been in southeast Iowa hours after the Alert was issued. Authorities are still searching for Johns. He is still believed to be armed and dangerous. If you know where he is, do not approach him. Instead, you should call 9-1-1.

Kenneth Johns

Kenneth Johns

Brianna Crane

Brianna Crane

No. 11 Northern Iowa whips Loyola 63-49

Sports

March 7th, 2015 by admin

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Seth Tuttle led a balanced, methodical attack with 13 points and No. 11 Northern Iowa was stingy again defensively, beating Loyola 63-49 in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament semifinals on Saturday night.

Marvin Singleton and Jeremy Morgan added 11 points apiece for the Panthers (29-3), who held Bradley to 46 points in the quarterfinals. Northern Iowa is fourth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 54 points, and has won 18 of 19 headed into the title game against fourth-seeded Illinois State (21-11), which upset top-seeded and eighth-ranked Wichita State earlier Saturday.

Northern Iowa beat Illinois State by one and 19 points in the regular season.

The Panthers shot 51 percent, scored 14 points off turnovers and held Loyola (19-13) without an offensive rebound. The Ramblers, who entered with a three-game winning streak and scored 81 points in the quarterfinals, shot 46 percent but were outrebounded 27-18 overall.

Montel James had 14 points and Milton Doyle added 11 points and six assists for Loyola.

Nevada beats Pocahontas 58-54 to win Girls Class 3A title

Sports

March 7th, 2015 by admin

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Alli Fey scored 20 points and hit three 3-pointers during a big second-half run that carried Nevada to a 58-54 victory over Pocahontas and the girls’ Class 3A state championship on Saturday.

Fey’s outside shooting complemented the strong inside play of Lexy Koudelka and Kati Casabaum, a combination that the quick but smaller Pocahontas players couldn’t overcome — even with the Indians’ Elle Ruffridge scoring 33 points.

Koudelka, a 6-foot-1 freshman, scored 15 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and forced Pocahontas into some difficult shots near the basket. Casabaum, a 6-foot junior, shot 6-for-7 from the field and scored 16 points.

Atlantic Fire Department to Conduct Smoke Detector Installation Project Monday

News

March 7th, 2015 by admin

The Atlantic Fire Department will be conducting a targeted door to door smoke detector installation project on Monday, March 9th in Atlantic.

The department will conduct the installations beginning at 5:30 pm and continuing throughout the evening.

Fire Chief Mark McNees stated “this is an expansion of the program we have been working on where we targeted residences with school age children. We now are going to target high risk areas.” The department will be focusing on the Sycamore Village mobile home park, and low income high density apartments.

Fire Prevention Officer Dustin McLaren has been working with Rolling Hills Bank, and Brocker, Carns and Carns Insurance to expand the program. McLaren says “ these two local businesses approached us about helping our program. They have funded the purchase of over 300 detectors for our efforts and we thank them for their generous gift to the department and community.”

The department was one of the first in the state to partner with the State Fire Marshal’s office. The marshal’s program is still distributing detectors throughout the state to departments that wish to conduct installations.

Firefighters will install up to two detectors free of charge at each residence and will advise residents on proper placement of other detectors and the necessity of escape plans. McLaren added, “smoke detectors are proven to be the most effective way to prevent injuries and deaths from fire. The Atlantic Fire Department is committed to preventing fires, injury, and death in any manner possible.”

Chief McNees reminds residents that the department has a priority list for installation of detectors and if those residents are missed they can contact the department and firefighters will install detectors as long as the supply lasts. The priority list for installation includes homes with school age children, homes with elderly residents, and low income residences.

McLaren adds that if smoke detectors are present in a home, but are over ten years old, the department recommends replacing them with a dual sensor detector.

ELAINE M. SHELDON, 87, of Harlan (Svcs. 03-11-2015)

Obituaries

March 7th, 2015 by admin

ELAINE M. SHELDON, 87, of Harlan died Thursday, March 5th at Mercy Hospital.  Funeral Services for ELAINE M. SHELDON will be held Wednesday, March 11th at 11:00am at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Harlan.  Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 10th from 4:00pm-8:00pm at Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan with a Wake Service at 7:00pm that evening.

Burial will be in the Harlan Cemetery.

ELAINE M. SHELDON is survived by:

Daughter: Patty (Tom) Muenchrath of Harlan.

Brothers: Bud Weis of Harlan. Bob (Ruth) Weis of Defiance. Ron (Rita) Weis of Omaha, NE. Joe (Gladys) Weis of Norfolk, NE. Gary (Joanne) Weis of Omaha, NE.

Sisters: Aggie Gary of Richmond, VA. Alice Alexander of Omaha, NE.

Sisters-in-law: Betty Sheldon of Douglas, WY. Dorothy (Frank) Bama of Sun City, AZ. Poly Shaffer of Douglas, WY.

5 Grandchildren

12 Great-Grandchildren

JOHN JEROME WELLS, 83, of Manilla (Svcs. 03-11-2015)

Obituaries

March 7th, 2015 by admin

JOHN JEROME WELLS, 83, of Manilla died Friday, March 6th at the Manilla Manor. A Mass of Christian Burial for JOHN JEROME WELLS will be held on Wednesday, March 11th at 1:30pm at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Defiance.  Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

Visitation will be held Tuesday, March 10th from 3:00pm-9:00pm at the Church with a Wake Service at 7:00pm that evening.

Burial will be in the St. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Defiance.

JOHN JEROME WELLS is survived by:

Wife: Mary Wells of Defiance.

Sons: John Wells of Defiance. Bon (Annette) Wells of Lake View.

Brother: Leonard (Darlene) Wells of Denison.

6 Granchildren

4 Great-Grandchildren

WILLIS L. MERRITT, 86, of Atlantic (formerly of Griswold) (Svcs. 3/12/15)

Obituaries

March 7th, 2015 by admin

WILLIS L. MERRITT, 86, of Atlantic (formerly of Griswold) died Friday, March 6th in Lincoln, NE.  Funeral Services for WILLIS L. MERRITT will be held 10:30-a.m. Thu., March 12th, at the Central Church of Christ, in Griswold. Duhn Funeral Home in Griswold has the arrangements.

An open visitation will be held at the Duhn Funeral Home in Griswold on Wednesday, with the family present from 6:30-8:30-p.m.

Interment will take place at a later date.

WILLIS MERRITT is survived by:
His wife – Lu, of Atlantic.

His daughters – Shellie Steffen (& friend Mike Casey), & Catherine Hankemeier, of Council Bluffs.

His brothers – Dean Merritt, of Griswold, & Curtis Merritt (Frances), Council Bluffs.

His sisters – Wilma Selders, of Griswold, and Frances Cupples of Fullerton, NE.

6 grandchildren, his in-laws, other relatives & friends.