United Group Insurance

Plea bargain reached in Slauson case

News

November 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

There will be no trial for an Atlantic mom accused of lying about her 5-year-old daughter’s cancer. Cass County Attorney Daniel Feistner told KETV in Omaha that both sides have agreed to keep the details of the agreement private until a court hearing Monday. A similar announcement was received at KJAN from Feistner.

All Feistner would say is that the deal will settle the case and there will be no trial. The 30-year old Slauson, was scheduled to go to trial Tuesday in Mills County on 20 charges, ranging from felony child endangerment to first-degree theft.

HARRY LEONARD “BILL” GAINES, III, 60, of Council Bluffs, an Atlantic native (11-13-14)

Obituaries

November 13th, 2014 by Jim Field

HARRY LEONARD “BILL” GAINES, III, 60, of Council Bluffs, an Atlantic native died November 8th.  Funeral service for HARRY LEONARD “BILL” GAINES, III will be Thursday, November 13th at 10:00 am at the Hoy-Kilnoski Funeral Home in Council Bluffs.

——————————————————————————-

Visitation will be Wednesday from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Hoy-Kilnoski Funeral Home.

Interment will be in the Garner Township Cemetery.

The family will direct memorials.

HARRY LEONARD “BILL” GAINES, III is survived by:

The love of his life: Darla Gearhart.

Sons: Tyler (Casey) Gaines and Jon (Jessica) Gaines.

Daughters:  Nikki (Gregory) Holmquist and Rachel Gaines

Mother:  Jettie Gaines

Stepchildren: Tabitha (Jesse) Stoops and Dylan (Marisha) Sporer

Brothers:  Tab (Reha) Gaines; Todd (Barb) Gaines

Sister:  Linda (Larry) Fulk

6 Grandchildren

State Volleyball Tournament

Sports

November 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Class 5-A
(3-2) Bettendorf 23-25-25-20-16, Johnston 25-19-19-25-14
(3-0) Ankeny Centennial 25-25-25, Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln 23-21-16
Class 4-A
(3-0) Harlan 25-25-25, Clear Creek-Amana 12-16-13
(3-2) West Delaware 25-25-24-20-15, Marion 22-20-26-25-9
Class 3-A
(3-1) Mount Vernon 23-25-25-25, Red Oak 25-21-20-15
(3-0) Solon 25-25-25, Nevada
Class 2-A
(3-0) Dike-New Hartford 25-25-25, Unity Christian 19-11-17
(3-0) Western Christian 25-25-25, Sumner-Fredericksburg 22-16-18
Class 1-A
(3-0) Holy Trinity Catholic 25-25-25, Tripoli 20-23-17
(3-2) Central Lyon 20-22-25-25-15, Janesville 25-25-20-19-11

Friday Championship Schedule:

Class 5-A Championship
10:00 am – Bettendorf (38-0) vs. Ankeny Centennial (43-3)

Class 4-A Championship
12:15 pm – Harlan (40-2) vs. West Delaware (45-2)

Class 3-A Championship
2:00 pm – Mount Vernon (33-7) vs. Solon (32-8)

Class 2-A Championship
4:45 p.m. – Dike-New Hartford (39-3) vs. Western Christian (44-2)

Class 1-A Championship
7:00 p.m. – Holy Trinity Catholic (47-4) vs. Central Lyon (38-3)

Thursday High School Football Semi-Finals

Sports

November 13th, 2014 by Jim Field

@ UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls

8-Man:

Newell-Fonda 40, H-L-V 18
Fremont-Mills 30, Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn 27

Class 3-A:

Bishop Heelan Catholic 59, Creston 14
Pella 27, Cedar Rapids Xavier, 0

ROY ALDAG, 98, of Atlantic (Svcs. 11/17/14)

Obituaries

November 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

ROY ALDAG, 98, of Atlantic, died Wed., Nov. 12th,  at the Atlantic Nursing and Rehab Center. Funeral services for ROY ALDAG will be held 2:30-p.m. Mon., Nov. 17th, at the Hockenberry Family Care Funeral Home, in Atlantic.

There is no visitation. Memorials may be directed to the 1st Lutheran Church, in Wiota.

Burial will be in the 1st Lutheran Church Cemetery at Wiota.

ROY ALDAG is survived by:

His niece – Doris (Gary) Comes, of Atlantic, and two nephews Ivan (Annette) Parker of Nixa, MO and Wayne (Carol) McCurdy of TX.

Griswold Honors Topham, Girls Cross Country Team at Rally

Sports

November 13th, 2014 by Jim Field

The Griswold girls cross country team and four time state champion Rebekah Topham were celebrated this morning at a rally at the Griswold High School.  Topham made history as the only girl to win four cross country state titles earlier this month.  In addition, Topham had a number of impressive feats including being a 3 time Iowa runner of the year in cross country, a 2 time Gatorade Athlete of the Year in cross country, a 4 time Individual champions in the Western Iowa Conference meet, the regional qualifying meet and the state championships.  She also twice had the fastest time of all classes at the state meet and helped her team finish 1st, 2nd, 7th and 3rd place in the last four years.

Athletic Director Kevin Whitehill and Coach Jeff Topham spoke and a highlight film was also shown to the crowd.

Congratulations to Rebekah and the Griswold girls on a great season.

To view the video from the ceremony online, go to High School Cube and search for Griswold, Iowa.

 

Measurable snow expected over much of Iowa this weekend

News, Weather

November 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Scattered flurries are flying across much of the state, but no accumulation of snow is expected. A more significant snow event is coming over the weekend, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Craig Cogill.  “As we move into Saturday and Saturday night, we are going to see a system move through the Midwest producing snow across the entire state of Iowa, generally 1 to 3 inches,” Cogill said. “The good thing is there will be very little wind with the snowfall, so it shouldn’t have too big of an impact.” The weekend snowfall will likely stick around for a while, as temperatures are not expected to climb above freezing anytime too soon.

“We are going to see the cold weather stick around into next week, really little relief seen in any way of warming up,” Cogill said. Prior to Saturday’s snow, the forecast calls for mostly clear conditions tonight (Thursday), with lows across the state ranging from zero to the mid-teens. Friday will be sunny with highs in the 20s to low 30s.

(Radio Iowa)

Mills County Community Foundation grows to $2.5-million

News

November 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Community betterment projects in the Malvern area stand to receive a huge financial boost thanks to the generosity of a local man. Allen Hall, Chair of the Mills County Community Foundation, says through the estate of William L. Costello, a foundation was created that has grown to $2.5 million. “Bill” Costello was a fourth generation insurance agent in the Costello Insurance Agency established in 1912. He passed away at age 65 in October of 2012.

As a native of Malvern, Bill Costello’s roots ran deep in the community. He graduated from Malvern High School in 1965 and received his Bachelor of Science degree from Northwest Missouri State University in 1971 while also serving in the Army National Guard. He finished his National Guard service with the Glenwood unit. Through his years owning and operating the Costello Agency, his commitment deepened to his clients, the residents of the community, and for community service and betterment projects. He began elements of his foundation in 2003 with the Mills County Community Foundation by starting the William L. Costello Endowed Fund stating on numerous occasions.

In 2007 he created the William L. Costello NWMSU Endowed Scholarship Fund for local graduating high school seniors. He then began honing his estate plans and the grant making details for his foundation which emphasized community betterment projects that would dovetail with the Mills County Community Foundation. He determined that plans for utilizing Costello funds for the betterment of the Malvern area community must be submitted annually by nonprofit groups by September 1st to the Mills County Community Foundation for consideration by the board.

The announcement of the William L. Costello Foundation is timed with National Community Foundation Week and the Mills County Community Foundation fall grant distribution of $94,400 to Mills County nonprofit agencies. This total includes $63,600 from the William L. Costello Endowed Fund. Next year the Costello fund will have approximately $113,000 to grant to Malvern area nonprofit projects.

Mills County Community Foundation has distributed over $2.8 million in grants and scholarships over the last 14 years and is affiliated with eight other countywide community foundations collectively known as the Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa and the Omaha Community Foundation. For information about donating or establishing an individual foundation/fund, please contact any of the Board Members, or call Dennis Nissen, Iowa Foundations Director, at 800-794-3458.

Gaming commission OKs license for Iowa dog racing

News

November 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

ALTOONA, Iowa (AP) – A trade group has been given the greenlight to move ahead with plans to keep dog racing alive in Iowa. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission approved a racetrack license for pari-mutuel wagering on Thursday to the Iowa Greyhound Association. It gives the group authority to operate the Dubuque Greyhound Park at Mystique Casino.

Commission administrator Brian J. Ohorilko says the approved license is based on several conditions, including issues of security and financing. IGA will need to update the commission on them before they’re operational on Jan. 1.

The approval for a license follows a state law this year that will cease dog racing in Council Bluffs at the end of 2015. The racetrack in Dubuque will eventually be the sole location for live dog racing in the state.

Salvation Army Bell ringing volunteers needed in Cass County

News

November 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The Cass County Chapter of the Salvation Army is kicking-off its annual “Red Kettle” campaign. Steve Livengood, of Atlantic, is serving his first year as chair of the event, which is being run differently this year, from years past. Livengood says volunteers will be out at various locations in Atlantic on Saturday’s only, instead of Saturday and Sunday. He says 90-percent of what is collected here stays in Cass County. Last year, $7,443 was raised, but that was over both days.

The kettles will be in place on Saturday’s, beginning November 29th . The other dates include December 6th, 13th, and 20th. For those who want to serve as volunteer bell ringers, Livengood says you won’t have to stand out in the cold nearly as long this year. The shifts will be 90 minutes long instead of two-hours. The first shift starts at 10-a.m. They’ll end at 4-p.m., and be positioned at four locations in Atlantic. They include both main entrances to the Wal-Mart Store, at Hy-Vee, and at Fareway.

Livengood says they need help at Wal-Mart and Fareway, because the Hy-Vee site is already covered by the Atlantic Kiwanis and others. The bell ringers will take donations in the form of cash, checks and loose change. Livengood said the money raised is for children and families in the County who are in need.

If you’d like to volunteer as a Salvation Army Bell Ringer, call Steve Livengood at 712-243-5445. Leave your name, phone number and the time most convenient for you to work a shift. Be sure to dress warmly and bring a smile. The bell and kettle will be waiting for you. You can even bring a friend to help out.