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Groundbreaking ceremony set for Jefferson casino

News

July 10th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Construction equipment has begun dirt work on the recently approved casino in Jefferson but local and state officials are gathering to turn a few spades of dirt themselves in the ceremonial groundbreaking celebration to officially kick off the project. The Wild Rose Jefferson casino project was awarded a gambling license on June 12 by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.

The $40 million project including an events center, sports bar, restaurants, and an Iowa store will add 275 jobs. A 71-room hotel also will be built. The casino is going up at the intersection of U.S. Highway 30 and Iowa Highway 4 in Jefferson. It is scheduled to open for business late next summer.

Iowa Rep. Chip Baltimore, a Boone Republican, is among the speakers at Thursday afternoon’s groundbreaking ceremony.

Posted in News |

Wednesday Girls Regional Softball Scores

Sports

July 10th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

CLASS 1-A Quarterfinals:

  • Glidden-Ralston 4, Charter Oak-Ute 0
  • Exira/EHK 6, Stanton 5
  • CAM 1, Griswold 0
  • Mount Ayr 5, Lenox 2
  • Martensdale- St. Marys 11, Guthrie Center 1 (6 innings)
  • Bedford 9, Murray 4
  • Westwood 11, West Harrison 6
  • Essex 8, Fremont-Mills 3
  • Ar-We-Va 9, Woodbine 5

 

CLASS 2-A Quarterfinals:

  • Treynor 8, A-H-S-T 7
  • Earlham 12, Van Meter 2 (5 innings)
  • IKM-Manning 9, Southwest Valley 0
  • Underwood 4, Logan-Magnolia 2
  • Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 7, Missouri Valley 3 (9 innings)
  • St. Edmond 2, Panorama 0 (suspended in the top of the 3rd. Game will resume Thursday at 7:00 pm at Rogers Park)

Posted in Sports |

Lynn wins 10th, Cardinals top Pirates 5-2

Sports

July 10th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lance Lynn reached double figures in wins before the All-Star break for the third straight year and Kolten Wong homered for the second game in a row, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates for the third straight time, 5-2 on Wednesday night. Matt Adams had three hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals, who will go for a four-game sweep over the NL Central rival they beat in the division series last fall on Thursday, although they might have to do it without All-Star catcher Yadier Molina.

Molina was removed for a pinch-hitter in the third inning with a sprained right thumb from sliding into third base and will be re-evaluated before the finale. He caught another half-inning before leaving the game. Neil Walker homered and doubled for Pittsburgh, which had won 12 of 15 entering the series and dropped the first two on game-winning, ninth-inning homers by Adams and Wong.

Posted in Sports |

Cardinals baseball News, 7/10/14

Sports

July 10th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Cardinals C Molina leaves game with sprained thumb

ST. LOUIS (AP) — All-Star catcher Yadier Molina has been removed from the St. Louis Cardinals’ game against Pittsburgh in the third inning with a sprained right thumb. The team said the injury will be re-evaluated Thursday. A trainer attended to Molina on the field Wednesday night after he slid feet first into third base in the second inning. Molina remained in the game and caught the top of the third before he was lifted for pinch-hitter Tony Cruz in the bottom half.Cruz then replaced Molina behind the plate.Molina was voted to his sixth straight NL All-Star team Sunday and is a starter for the fourth time. He doubled in the second inning and was hitting .287 with seven homers and 30 RBIs.

CARDINALS-KELLY

Kelly set to return to Cardinals rotation

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Joe Kelly is set to return to the rotation Friday from a hamstring injury that’s sidelined him nearly three months. Kelly was injured running to first on April 17. He’s 1-1 with an 0.59 ERA in three starts heading into the start in Milwaukee and was 10-5 last year with a 2.69 ERA. The right-hander is one of three starters on the 15-day disabled list. Michael Wacha is out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his pitching shoulder sustained in mid-June and lefty Jaime Garcia will undergo season-ending thoracic outlet surgery on Friday in St. Louis to relieve nerve issues that caused numbness and tingling in his shoulder, arm and hand resulting in a loss of feel for his pitches. Lefty Kevin Siegrist was set to begin a minor rehab stint from a forearm strain that landed him on the DL on May 24.

Posted in Sports |

St. Louis keeps “Arch Madness” through 2018

Sports

July 10th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

UNDATED (AP) — The Missouri Valley conference men’s basketball tournament will remain in St. Louis through at least 2018. St. Louis will host what’s become known as “Arch Madness” for the 25th straight year in March. The Valley announced Wednesday that St. Louis has also been awarded the 2016-18 tournaments and that it has an option to extend its deal with the city through 2020.

League Commissioner Doug Elgin says the Valley targeted St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, Indianapolis and Las Vegas as prospective host cities before choosing to keep the tournament in St. Louis. The Valley’s stay in St. Louis is the second longest for a neutral site tournament, trailing only the Big East’s tenure in New York City

Posted in Sports |

NWS Forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area – 7/10/14

Weather

July 10th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Wednesday’s High was 81. Our Low this morning (through 5-a.m.) was 61. (The 24-hour Low ending at 7-am will be 55)

Today – Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Breezy, with a south southeast wind 6 to 11 mph increasing to 12 to 17 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.
Tonight – Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 3am. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South southeast wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Friday – Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 85. South wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday Night – A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. South southeast wind around 7 mph becoming east northeast after midnight. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday – A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday Night – A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Sunday – A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 84.

Posted in Weather |

Iowa fair to display ‘Field of Dreams’ sculpture

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 10th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa State Fair will feature a “Field of Dreams” butter sculpture this year along with its iconic butter cow. Fair officials say the sculpture will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Iowa-based movie filmed at the Lansing Family Farm in Dyersville. The molded butter sculpture will depict aspects of baseball and Iowa’s farmlands. It will join the butter cow in a 40-degree cooler.

The fair will also offer a new interactive exhibit called “Farm with Us.” It will include bushels of corn and soybeans for people to touch and an interactive digital screen. This year’s fair will be held Aug. 7-17.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Iowa early News Headlines: Thu., July 10th 2014

News

July 10th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governor Terry Branstad has issued a disaster emergency proclamation for seven Iowa counties in response to recent storms and flooding. The counties covered are Audubon, Grundy, Ida, Jasper, Keokuk, Poweshiek and Washington. The governor is also asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assess 20 counties that were hit hard by storms last month.

WELLMAN, Iowa (AP) — A former business manager for an eastern Iowa school district has been accused of stealing about $8,00 through an employee credit card. The Mid-Prairie School District says Cindy Steege of North Liberty faces theft charges in connection to unauthorized charges on the card. School officials say they contacted authorities last month after finding possible financial irregularities.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A boy who ran away from a Dubuque juvenile facility has been hospitalized after he stole a county road department pickup truck and crashed it into a utility pole. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports the boy left Hillcrest Family Services and took the truck yesterday afternoon. Police say the boy suffered minor injuries in the crash.

FAIRFIELD, Iowa (AP) — Part of an old building in eastern Iowa has been torn down over concerns it might collapse. The Fairfield Fire Department says it responded to an emergency call Tuesday about the structural integrity of the building. Businesses and apartments near the building were temporarily evacuated. An excavating company came in and tore down some of the structure to avoid potential injuries.

Posted in News |

Audubon County included in Disaster Emergency Proclamation

News

July 9th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Gov. Terry Branstad, Wednesday, issued a proclamation of disaster emergency for seven counties in response to the ongoing flooding and severe weather beginning June 26, 2014, temporarily lifted certain transportation weight restrictions and requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to conduct assessments in 20 counties impacted by the June 26 and continuing storms.

Counties included in this most recent disaster proclamation are Audubon, Grundy, Ida, Jasper, Keokuk, Poweshiek and Washington. The governor’s proclamation allows State resources to be utilized to respond to and recover from the effects of these storms.

In addition, the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEMD) made a request Wednesday to FEMA, to conduct damage assessments in 20 counties impacted by the June 26 and continuing storms. The damage assessments, which will primarily cover public infrastructure, will be conducted jointly by FEMA, HSEMD and local officials. Results of the damage assessments could be used to determine if a request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration is warranted. Damage assessments will be conducted in the following counties: Audubon, Black Hawk, Butler, Cedar, Des
Moines, Grundy, Hamilton, Hardin, Ida, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Lee,
Linn, Louisa, Mahaska, Muscatine and Poweshiek.

This is the fourth such request that HSEMD has made to FEMA to conduct damage assessments as a result of June severe weather.

Posted in News |

(Updated 5:30-a.m. 7/10) Head-on collision reported near Walnut

News

July 9th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Emergency crews were called to the scene of a head-on collision Wednesday afternoon, southeast of Walnut. The accident happened at around 4:25-p.m. on 530th near the intersection with Sumac Road in Pottawattamie County. Multiple injuries were reported, along with victims trapped. LifeNet responded to the scene along with Walnut Rescue and Medivac Ambulance. Two people were in each vehicle.

Three of the victims were transported from the scene. Two of them went to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic. Another was flown to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha. Family members say two women were in one vehicle. One of the vehicles was driven by Leah Jenkins, of Atlantic. Her sister says Leah suffered from several broken bones and other, unspecified injuries, but was expected to make a full recovery. A passenger in the car suffered from scrapes and bruises. Both women were wearing their seat belts.

The status of a victim in the other vehicle is not available, while the fourth person was not injured. The names of the other accident victims have not officially been released.

The accident remains under investigation by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office.

Posted in News |