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Drought Map Shows Slight Improvement

Ag/Outdoor, News, Weather

July 21st, 2023 by Ric Hanson

Click to enlarge this map

(Radio Iowa) – The new map from the U-S Drought monitor show some slight improvement following rains across the state.  All of the state still has some sort of drought rating, but the area that was in extreme drought dropped below four percent in the last week. The severe drought areas dropped from nearly 39 percent to less than 14 percent. With those percentages dropping, nearly 60 percent of the state is now in moderate drought, and around 22 percent is abnormally dry. The worst drought conditions remain in northwest and southeast sections of the state.

No. 3 Remsen St. Mary’s plays No. 9 Lisbon for 1A baseball title

Sports

July 21st, 2023 by Ric Hanson

Third ranked Remsen St. Mary’s plays ninth ranked Lisbon in the 1A championship game at state baseball in Carroll. Remsen St. Mary’s lost in the title game a year ago to New London.

That’s Remsen St. Mary’s coach Dean Harpenau, who says it could be another low scoring, defensive game.

The Hawks are in search of their first title since 2016.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the Nishna Valley: Friday, July 21, 2023

Weather

July 21st, 2023 by Ric Hanson

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. Calm wind becoming north 5 to 7 mph in the morning.
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. North northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm.
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. Southwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming west northwest in the afternoon. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. West northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming south after midnight.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 87.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 63.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 82. Our Low this morning, 56. Last year on this date the High was 91 and the Low was 63. The Record High was 107 in 1934, and the Record Low was 44 in 1894. Sunrise is 6:03-a.m. Sunset is 8:48-p.m.

Eastern Iowa Christmas tree farms seeing impact of drought

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 21st, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The severe drought in eastern Iowa has had an impact on the Christmas tree crop that will likely show up several years down the road. Mark Banowetz started the Cedar’s Edge Evergreen Market in Ely seven years ago, and told K-C-R-G T-V he is looking forward to the first season of sale. “These trees that we put in that were a foot or 16 inches, they’ve grown to 9 feet or so,” Banowetz says. He says the drought isn’t impacting the bigger trees, but the 500 seedlings he planted this year that have struggled.

“We’re losing a lot of seedlings,” he says. Iowa Christmas Tree Association President Bob Moulds, says Banowetz isn’t alone. He said a lot of newer farmers were also struggling, and there isn’t crop insurance for Christmas trees. “If they die, they die,” he said. “There’s no insurance, there’s nothing.” Moulds is the owner of the Wapsie Pines Tree Farm in Fairbank, and says he started changing his ways after the 2013 drought. He tells K-C-R-G- T-V he started watering and mulching each of the four-thousand trees he planted this year.

“If we had not mulched all these trees and individually watered them three times while it was dry, a large percent of them would not have made it,” said Moulds. As the Association’s new President, Moulds said he wanted to show other new farmers like Banowetz, what he learned over the years. So, they too can make it through droughts like the one we’re seeing right now.

KCRG-TV photo

Moulds says when tree farmers have bad drought years they can usually plant twice the number of seedlings the following year to make up for the ones they lost. But he said that can also be a risk if there’s another drought the next year.

IndyCar driver Kyle Kirkwood previews weekend doubleheader at Iowa Speedway

Sports

July 20th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

IndyCar driver Kyle Kirkwood says racing at the Iowa Speedway offers a physical challenge. Kirkwood is currently 11th in points in the NTT IndyCar series which has a racing twinbill at the Newton track this weekend.

Kirkwood says the lack of power steering is taxing on a short track as is the elevated track temperature.

Kirkwood says two races in two days adds to the challenge.

Kirkwood says the Iowa Speedway features three racing lines and how the car is set up will determine which one to use.

Kirkwood was a rookie in the IndyCar series last year and an early season win at the Long Beach Grand Prix back in April was a career changer.

The Hy-Vee Homefront 250 is Saturday afternoon, and the Hy-Vee One Step 250 is Sunday afternoon.

Iowa junior Payton Sandfort on summer workouts

Sports

July 20th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

Iowa junior Payton Sandfort wants to known as more than just a shooter. The Waukee native is coming off a season in which he averaged nearly 10 and-a-half points per game and made 59 three pointers. More than half of his baskets last season were from behind the arc.

He has been working this summer to diversify his game.

No. 1 Williamsburg and No. 2 Assumption prepare for Friday’s 3A title game at state softball

Sports

July 20th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

Top ranked Williamsburg and second ranked Davenport Assumption will collide in Friday afternoon’s Class 3A championship game at the state softball tournament in Fort Dodge. Assumption advanced to the title game for the seventh time in eight years with Wednesday’s 7-5 win over Dubuque Wahlert. Williamsburg got by Estherville Lincoln Central 8-0.

That’s Williamsburg coach Adam Berte. These are familiar opponents. The Knights beat Williamsburg the last two years in the state tournament while the Raiders claimed a 4-3 win in a regular season game back in early June.

If recent history is any indication the game will be close.

A victory would give Wlliamsburg a first ever state title.

That is senior catcher Jenna Thurm who says these teams have played so often it has almost become a rivalry.

 

ISU Mourns Loss of Hall of Famer Dedric Willoughby

Sports

July 20th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

AMES, Iowa – Dedric Willoughby, an Iowa State Hall-of-Famer and one of the greatest shooters in Cyclone men’s basketball history, died yesterday at the age of 49.

A native of New Orleans, Willoughby was the linchpin on two of Iowa State’s most successful teams in 1995-96 and 1996-97, earning first team all-league honors and leading the team in scoring (20.5 ppg; 18.9 ppg) both seasons.

Willoughby played just two seasons at Iowa State. He began his career at New Orleans for future Cyclone head coach Tim Floyd, but when Floyd took the Iowa State job in 1994, Willoughby transferred to Iowa State prior to the 1995-96 season.

Iowa State was picked to finish last in the final season of the Big Eight Conference, but with Willoughby, and outstanding teammates Kelvin Cato, Kenny Pratt, Shawn Bankhead and Jacy Holloway, the Cyclones shocked the nation by finishing second in the Big Eight (9-5).

Willoughby was the Big Eight Newcomer of the Year and the catalyst in the school’s first-ever Big Eight Conference postseason tournament title in 1996.

In the final Big Eight Tournament championship game, Willoughby calmly sank two clutch free-throws in the final seconds to propel the Cyclones to victory over No. 5 Kansas, 56-55. He was named MVP of the tournament.

In Willoughby’s senior season (1996-97), the Cyclones rose as high as No. 4 in the AP poll and again placed near the top of the league standings, tying for third in the inaugural season of the Big 12 at 10-6.

Willoughby is remembered for his smooth jumpshot. He had a quick release and was extremely accurate, drilling 190 3-pointers at a near-40-percent clip during his career. Willoughby’s nine 3-pointers vs. No. 1 Kansas in Hilton Coliseum in 1997 stood as the school standard for many years.

He made 102 3-pointers in his senior season, a total which still ranks No. 1 on ISU’s single-season record chart.

Iowa State advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament in Willoughby’s final season. In his last game as a Cyclone, Willoughby made eight 3-pointers and scored 34 points against UCLA, as the Cyclones lost on a last-second shot (74-73) to miss out on the opportunity to advance to the Elite Eight.

His 34 points vs. UCLA equals the most by a Cyclone in a NCAA Tournament game.

Willoughby was named a Second Team All-American by Basketball Times in 1997 and ended his career as the first player in Cyclone history to score over 1,000 points (1,186) in just two seasons.

Willoughby played professionally for a number of years, making his NBA debut in 1999-2000 with the Chicago Bulls, reuniting with Floyd, who left Iowa State after the 1997-98 season to coach the Bulls. He averaged 7.6 points in his lone season in the NBA.

Willoughby was named to Iowa State’s All-Century men’s basketball team in 2008 and was inducted into the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.

Big 12 Announces 2024 Men’s Basketball Conference Opponents

Sports

July 20th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

The Big 12 announced the Conference scheduling matrix for the 2023-24 Men’s Basketball season. Teams will play five Big 12 opponents twice, then play the other eight conference opponents once, for a total of 18 Conference games.

Opponents were selected based on a combination of geography, historical results and a poll of the coaches to best balance the schedule in terms of travel and competitiveness. A full Big 12 schedule will be released at a later date.

Baylor
Home-and-away: BYU, Kansas, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech
Home-only: Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, Oklahoma
Away-only: UCF, K-State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia

BYU
Home-and-away: Baylor, UCF, Iowa State, K-State, Oklahoma State
Home-only: Cincinnati, Houston, TCU, Texas
Away-only: Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, West Virginia

UCF
Home-and-away: BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Home-only: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma
Away-only: K-State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas

Cincinnati
Home- and-away: UCF, Houston, TCU, Oklahoma, West Virginia
Home-only: Iowa State, K-State, Oklahoma State, Texas
Away-only: Baylor, BYU, Kansas, Texas Tech

Houston
Home-and-away: UCF, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas
Home-only: K-State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Away-only: Baylor, BYU, Oklahoma, TCU

Iowa State
Home-and-away: BYU, Houston, K-State, Oklahoma, TCU
Home-only: Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Away-only: Baylor, UCF, Cincinnati, Texas

Kansas
Home-and-away: Baylor, Houston, K-State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
Home-only: BYU, Cincinnati, TCU, Texas
Away-only: UCF, Iowa State, Texas Tech, West Virginia

Kansas State
Home-and-away: BYU, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma State, West Virginia
Home-only: Baylor, UCF, Oklahoma, TCU
Away-only: Cincinnati, Houston, Texas, Texas Tech

Oklahoma
Home-and-away: Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas
Home-only: BYU, Houston, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Away-only: Baylor, UCF, K-State, TCU

Oklahoma State
Home-and-away: BYU, Kansas, K-State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech
Home-only: Baylor, UCF, TCU, West Virginia
Away-only: Cincinnati, Iowa State, Houston, Texas

TCU
Home-and-away: Baylor, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Home-only: UCF, Houston, Oklahoma, Texas
Away-only: BYU, Kansas, K-State, Oklahoma State

Texas
Home-and-away: Baylor, Houston, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Home-only: UCF, Iowa State, K-State, Oklahoma State
Away-only: BYU, Cincinnati, Kansas, TCU

Texas Tech
Home-and-away: Baylor, UCF, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas
Home-only: BYU, Cincinnati, Kansas, K-State
Away-only: Iowa State, Houston, Oklahoma, West Virginia

West Virginia
Home-and-away: UCF, Cincinnati, K-State, TCU, Texas
Home-only: Baylor, BYU, Kansas, Texas Tech
Away-only: Iowa State, Houston, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

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Iowa Announces 4 Football Sellouts

Sports

July 20th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa’s 2023 home football contests against Western Michigan (Sept. 16, 2:30 p.m.), Michigan State (Sept. 30, TBA), Purdue (Oct. 7, TBA) and Minnesota (Oct 21, TBA), scheduled at Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium, are officially sold out. The announcement was made Thursday by the UI Athletics Department.

 

There are a limited number of all-inclusive hospitality ticket packages available for each game; ticket information is available at hawkeyesports.com/tickets

 

Tickets remain for games against Rutgers (Nov. 11, TBA) and Illinois (Nov. 18, TBA), while a limited number of tickets remain for the season opener against Utah State (Sept. 2, 11 a.m.).

 

Tickets are only sold and issued by the UI Athletics Ticket Office and its authorized agents. Persons buying tickets from other entities do so at their own risk. Fans should use caution if buying tickets from unauthorized outlets and are strongly encouraged to use SeatGeek, the official fan to fan marketplace of Hawkeyes, for sold out events. The UI Athletic Ticket Office (hawkeyesports.com/tickets) is only able to service/support purchases made through that office, or on SeatGeek. Iowa Athletics reserves the right to cancel any ticket purchases, less fees, made for the purpose of resale without notification.

 

All tickets for University of Iowa athletic events are distributed electronically and should be downloaded to a smartphone device. If you do not have access to a smartphone, please contact the ticket office to make arrangements.

 

Tickets are distributed no earlier than three weeks prior to the start of a season. If applicable, season tickets and/or parking will not be released until all required contributions have been received and processed by the I-Club. For more information, please visit hawkeyesports.com/mobiletickets.