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Railroads say delays improving in Great Plains

Ag/Outdoor, News

November 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Rail delays have been a problem for farmers throughout much of the Great Plains this year, but they’ve been less of an issue in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. Grain elevators around Sioux City say their rail shipments of grain this year have been mostly on time, and they’re cautiously optimistic about handling the big 2014 harvest over the next few months.

Don Truhe, general manager for the Southeast Farmers Elevator Coop, says his cooperative has been lucky to get all of its trains on time this year. It helps that a significant portion of the grain grown in the region is used by feedlots or biofuel plants.

In recent reports to the Surface Transportation Board, BNSF, Union Pacific and Canadian National railroads said they are making significant progress.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Northern Iowa beats Richmond 55-50

Sports

November 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – Seth Tuttle scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on Sunday and Northern Iowa held off Richmond 55-50 to start a season 7-0 for the first time since 1963-64. Tuttle has reached double-figure scoring in 24 consecutive games. Junior guard Wes Washpun scored 16 for the Panthers (7-0), including four 3-pointers. Kendall Anthony led Richmond (2-3) with 12 points and Trey Davis had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Northern Iowa used a 10-2 run to lead 14-4, but Richmond pulled to within four points, 14-10, after a 3 by Terry Allen. Washpun hit a 3 at 3:14 and the Panthers led 30-15 at halftime. The Spiders opened the second half with a 13-6 run and pulled to within four, 50-46, on a layup by Davis with 57 seconds to play. Matt Bohannon hit five free throws in the final 25 seconds to keep the Spiders at bay.

Posted in Sports |

WYONNE E. KNUDSEN, 97, of Harlan & formerly of Shelby (Svcs. 12/2/14)

Obituaries

November 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

WYONNE E. KNUDSEN, 97, of Harlan (& formerly of Shelby), died Sat., Nov. 29th, in Harlan. Funeral services for WYONNE KNUDSEN will be held 11-a.m. Tue., Dec. 2nd, at the Shelby United Methodist Church, in Shelby. Burmeister-Johannsen Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

The family will greet friends from 10-until 11-a.m. Tuesday at the Shelby United Methodist Church (one-hour prior to the service).

Burial will be in the Shelby Cemetery.

WYONNE KNUDSEN is survived by:

Her daughters – Sandi Hynes, of Erie, CO., & Marci (Doug) Robinson, of Shelby.

Her sisters – Alvina Carter, of Miami, Fl., & Mildred Bottorff, of Harlan.

5 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, 1 great-great granddaughter, other relatives & friends.

Posted in Obituaries |

BARBARA CORNISH, 90, of Bayard (Svcs. 12/5/14)

Obituaries

November 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

BARBARA CORNISH, 90, of Bayard, died Sun., Nov. 30th, at the Dallas County Hospital, in Perry. Funeral services for BARBARA CORNISH will be held 6-p.m. Fri., Dec 5th, at the United Methodist Church in Bayard. Ohde Funeral Home in Bayard has the arrangements.

Friends may call at the United Methodist Church in Bayard from 4-to 6-pm on Friday.

Burial will be at a later date in the Highland Township Cemetery in Bayard.

Posted in Obituaries |

MILO “MIKE” G. KEENEY, 73, of Guthrie Center (Svcs. Pending)

Obituaries

November 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

MILO “MIKE” G. KEENEY, 73, of Guthrie Center (& formerly of Maqouketa), died Wed., Nov. 26th, home. Services for “MIKE” KEENEY are currently pending at the Twigg Funeral Home in Guthrie Center.

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

Burial of cremated remains will take place at a later date.

MILO “MIKE” KEENEY is survived by:

His wife – Carol Ann Keeney.

His son – Michael (Patsy) Keeney.

His daughter – Christine (Wayne) Conner.

Posted in Obituaries |

NW Iowa state Rep. Alons dies after cancer battle

News

November 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa state Rep. Dwayne Alons, who was battling renal cancer, has died. Republican leaders in the state House announced Sunday that Alons died late Saturday. Alons, a Republican from Hull, announced his diagnosis last month, but at that point he planned to continue serving in the state legislature. Alons was a retired farmer and former Iowa Air National Guard brigadier general. He was first elected in 1998. House Speaker Kraig Paulsen says he is sad to loose such a passionate lawmaker

Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer says Alons did an exemplary job representing people in his district and listening to their concerns. Alons and his wife, Clarice, had four children and 13 grandchildren. In the House, he most recently served as the Chairman of the Veterans Affairs committee.

Posted in News |

Iowa girl, 5, dies 2 weeks after sledding accident

News

November 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A 5-year-old Iowa girl has died two weeks after she was hit by a truck while sledding down her grandfather’s driveway. Council Bluffs Police reported Sunday that Kailey Maloney died Saturday at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. She had been treated there since her Nov. 16 injury.

Maloney was sledding down the driveway of her grandfather’s property at 44 Bennett Avenue, when she was hit by a 2005 Chevrolet pickup truck after she slid into the street. Police say no charges have been filed in this incident, which remains under investigation.

Posted in News |

Bo Pelini fired after 7 seasons with Cornhuskers

Sports

November 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Bo Pelini has been fired as Nebraska’s football coach after a seven-year stint marked by his inability to restore the program to sustained national prominence and a number of embarrassing losses in big games.

Pelini extended his streak of winning at least nine games every year with a 37-34 overtime win at Iowa on Friday but he never finished a season with fewer than four losses or ended a conference-championship drought that dates to 1999.

Pelini, whose tenure spanned Nebraska’s transition from the Big 12 to Big Ten, was 66-27 and led the Cornhuskers to three league championship games.

Posted in Sports |

LLOYD D. KELLY, 74, of Audubon (Svcs. 12/2/14)

Obituaries

November 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

LLOYD D. KELLY, 74, of Audubon, died Thu., Nov. 27th, at St. Anthony’s Regional Hospital in Carroll. Funeral services for LLOYD KELLY will be held 10-a.m. Tue., Dec. 2nd, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Audubon. Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon has the arrangements.

Friends may call at the funeral home, where the family visitation begins at 6-p.m. Mon., Dec. 1st.

Burial will be in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Audubon.

LLOYD KELLY is survived by:

His wife – Donna Kelly, of Audubon.

His children – Sheryl Kelly, of Cedar Rapids; Sharon (Ed) Knapp, of Polk City, & Randy (Megan) Kelly, of Audubon.

His brother – Jerry (Ardell) Kelly, of Audubon.

His sister – Doris (Charles) Rattenborg, of Springfield, MO.

5 grandchildren, his in-laws, other relatives, and friends.

Posted in Obituaries |

AHST School PPEL vote set for Tuesday

News

November 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Residents of Avoca, Hancock, Shelby and Tennant will be asked to vote Tuesday, on approving an expanded tax to support facility repairs, technology and transportation spending for the AHST Community School District. The Daily NonPareil reports a special election will be held on a physical plant and equipment levy (PPEL – or “Peppel” as it’s commonly called) authorization for up to $1 of every $1,000 in taxable valuation.

The new levy would go toward three goals: Updating the district’s transportation fleet by purchasing a new bus each year; repairing roofs, playgrounds and sidewalks; and maintaining the district’s 1:1 laptop initiative for students in first through 12th grades.

By supporting those goals, school officials say the PPEL would also free up money to renovate schools, such as expanding the high school to remove portable classrooms. AHST currently levies a board-approved 33-cent PPEL, which generates roughly $100,000 each year. Combined with the proposed voted PPEL, the district would take in as much as $400,000 annually. The new tax would generate a total of about $3 million over the 10 years voters would authorize the levy.

Voters in Walnut approved an expanded PPEL in 2010 for the maximum $1.34 per $1,000 of taxable valuation, according to the Iowa Department of Education. If the reorganization with AHST eventually takes place, Iowa Code states the reorganized district would have a PPEL “for the least amount and the shortest time for which it is in effect in any of the districts.”

 

Posted in News |