United Group Insurance

New NW Iowa psychiatric facility for children opens in May

News

March 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A new facility offering psychiatric care and substance abuse treatment to children and teens in northwest Iowa is expected to address an important need in the region when it opens this spring. The Sioux City Journal reports the new Jackson Recovery Centers Child and Adolescent Recovery Hospital is expected to open in May.

Right now the closest child psychiatric crisis centers are either about 60 miles away in Cherokee, Iowa, or about 90 miles away in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The $10.5 million project has been under construction in Sioux City since August. It will have 72 inpatient beds and a 12-bed psychiatric stabilization unit.

Feb. 2015 Weather Stats for Atlantic

Weather

March 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

(information compiled at KJAN, the official National Weather Service reporting site for Atlantic)

The Average High temperature for Atlantic during Feb. was 28. The Average Low was 3. Snowfall for the month amounted to 5.5-inches, with liquid precipitation amounting to .31″.

The warmest days were 44 degrees, on the 7th, 24th & 25th. The lowest temp was -23 on Feb. 4th.

GERALD J. GROSS, 80, of Irwin (Svcs. 3/4/15)

Obituaries

March 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

GERALD J. GROSS, 80, of Irwin, died Fri., Feb. 27th, in Omaha. A Mass of Christian Burial service for GERALD GROSS will be held 11-a.m. Wed., March 4th, at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, in Defiance. Burmeister-Johannsen Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

Friends may call at the funeral home on Tue., March 3rd, from 2-until 9-pm, with the family greeting friends from 5-until 8-pm. Online condolences may be left at www.burmeisterjohannsen.com.

A Wake service will be held at the funeral home beginning at 7-p.m. on Tuesday.

Burial will be in the St. Peter’s Catholic Cemetery in Defiance.

GERALD GROSS is survived by:

His wife – Martha Ann Gross, of Irwin.

His daughter – Deb (David) Stracke, of Harlan.

His sons – Leonard (Darcy) Gross, of Kirbyville, MO; Tony Gross,  andPaul (Joy) Gross, all of Manilla; & Dean (Jamie) Gross, of Irwin.

His brother – Ronald (Rita) Gross, of Defiance.

13 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, his sisters-in-law, other relatives & friends.

MARY ALBERTA SCHMITT, 95, formerly of Guthrie Center (Visitation 3/6/15)

Obituaries

March 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

MARY ALBERTA SCHMITT, 95, of Brownsville, TX (& formerly of Guthrie Center), died Feb. 23rd, at home. A visitation for MARY SCHMITT will be held from 10-a.m. until Noon on Fri., March 6th, at the Twigg Funeral Home in Guthrie Center.

Online condolences may be left at www.twiggfuneralhome.com.

Burial will be in the Union Cemetery at Guthrie Center.

MARY SCHMITT is survived by:

Her sons – David (Tommie) Brubaker, of Anchorage, AK., & Steven (Andrea) Brubaker, of Guthrie Center.

RONALD GREGERSON, 68, of Manilla (Svcs. 3/5/15)

Obituaries

March 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

RONALD GREGERSON, 68, of Manilla, died Sat., Feb. 28th, at home. Funeral services for RONALD GREGERSON will be held 11-a.m. Thu., March 5th, at the United Methodist Church in Defiance. Ohde Funeral Home in Manning has the arrangements.

Friends may call at the funeral home from 5-until 7-pm on Wed. (3/4). Visitation will resume 10-a.m. Thursday at the United Methodist Church in Defiance.

Burial will be at a later date.

RONALD GREGERSON is survived by:

His wife – Virginia Gregerson.

His son – David Gregerson, of Atlanta, GA.

His daughter – Dianne Drueppel, of Schuyler, NE.

His brother – Larry Gregerson, of Indianapolis, IA.

NWS weather forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area, 3/1/2015

Weather

March 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

(Updated 5:42-a.m. NWS/Des Moines)

Today: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Southwest wind 6 to 11 mph becoming west northwest in the afternoon.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 13. Wind chill values as low as 5. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.

Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Wind chill values as low as 10. Light and variable wind becoming south southeast 10 to 15 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 21 mph.
Monday Night: A slight chance of snow and sleet before midnight, then sleet likely between midnight and 3am, then freezing rain likely after 3am. Cloudy, with a low around 29. Breezy, with a south southeast wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New ice accumulation of less than a 0.1 of an inch possible. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Tuesday: Rain and sleet likely before noon, then a chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 35. Windy, with a south wind 14 to 24 mph becoming north northwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 5. Windy.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 19.

Iowa Girls State Basketball Schedule: Mon., March 2nd 2015

Sports

March 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

(At Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines)

Class 1-A Quarterfinals

10-a.m. Colo-Nesco vs. Newell-Fonda

11:45-a.m Burlington-Notre Dame vs. Central Lyon

1:30-p.m. Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton vs. Bedford (ON KJAN)

3:15-p.m. Fremont-Mills vs. Springville

Class 2-A Quarterfinals

5:00-p.m. Unity Chrisian vs. Cascade

6:45-p.m. IKM-Manning vs. South Central Calhoun

8:30-p.m. North Linn vs. Des Moines Christian

(2-A resumes Tuesday morning at 10-a.m. w/Western Christian taking on IA City Regina)

Iowa Boys Basketball Sub-State Finals from 2/28/15

Sports

March 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Class 1-A
South O’Brien, Paullina 54, Ruthven-Ayrshire 42
West Hancock 84, Nashua-Plainfield 73
Gladbrook-Reinbeck 73, West Central 49
Belle Plaine 79, Marquette Catholic 69 (OT)
Danville 78, Sigourney 29
Earlham 73, Grand View Christian School 51
Nodaway Valley 50, Fremont Mills 45
Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 59, Lawton-Bronson 37

Class 2-A
Western Christian 49, Sioux Center 47
Forest City 70, PAC-LM 55
Aplington-Parkersburg 61, New Hampton 59
Western Dubuque 43, Monticello 38
Iowa City Regina 69, West Burlington 38
Pella Christian 48, Des Moines Christian 41
Woodward Academy 46, Panorama 36
Treynor 51, IKM-Manning 48

Iowa’s fuel tax is going up, how long before road fixes?

News

March 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — With a fuel tax increase taking effect, how quickly can Iowa drivers expect to see road improvements on their daily commutes? State and county officials say there will be additional road work underway later this year, but it’s too soon to talk specifics. The 10-cent a gallon increase starts at the pump March 1 and is expected to generate over $200 million annually for Iowa’s bridges and roads, many of which are considered deteriorating or deficient.

Lyle Brehm, county engineer for Tama and Poweshiek counties, says he has a “very long list of repairs.” The Legislature approved the tax increase several days ago in a bipartisan deal. Gov. Terry Branstad  quickly signed it into law. The tax was last raised in 1989.

Iowa early News Headlines: Sun., March 1st 2015

News

March 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — An arctic winter weather system hovering over Iowa has led to several record-breaking cold temperature readings in the state. The National Weather Service says Mason City hit a record low of 18 degrees below zero at 6 a.m. Friday, shattering its 115-year-old record. Waterloo also reached a record low of 24-below zero on Friday. More snow and frigid wind chills were expected overnight into Sunday across much of the state.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque man has been cited on suspicion of reckless driving after police said he drove through the front of a nail salon and caused $10,000 in damages. The Telegraph Herald reports that 37-year-old Devin Stampley was cited after the crash at 6:20 p.m. Thursday at Nails for U. No one was injured, even though the business was open and serving customers at the time of the crash.

DECORAH, Iowa (AP) — An eagle watched by the Raptor Resource Project’s Decorah Eagle Cam has laid a third egg this season. The Des Moines Register reports that the third egg was laid just before 7 p.m. Wednesday. That follows the eagle pair’s tradition of laying three eggs every mating season.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — No injuries have been reported from a Cedar Rapids apartment fire that displaced six people. Officials say firefighters responded to a report of smoke in the building around 5:45 a.m. yesterday.