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Area firefighters battle flames in SE Pott. County

News

March 15th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Montgomery County Emergency Management Director Brian Hamman reports firefighters  from Elliott, Griswold, and Red Oak battled a barn fire on Wednesday afternoon in rural southeast Pott County. The call from 11717 480th Street came in at around 2:50-p.m.

The blaze started in the barn that was being torn down, and extended to the field as well as two grain bins. Several area farmers assisted with removal of grain from the bins as well as providing tractors in the field to contain the field fire. No injuries were reported.fire1fire2

 

Posted in News |

Survey: nearly 1 in 4 Iowa companies expect to add workers in coming months

News

March 15th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

A survey released this week shows Iowa employers are predicting a robust job market between April and June. Karen Miller, a spokesperson for Manpower, Incorporated, says “We found 71-percent of the employers that we surveyed are going to maintain their current staffing levels, while another 24-percent said they’re going to be adding to their staff for this coming quarter.”

The results of the second quarter survey are similar to those from a year ago, but mark an improvement over the first quarter of this year when 18-percent of Iowa employers anticipated adding to their workforce.

(Radio Iowa)

Posted in News |

Bluffs officer fires at fleeing suspect

News

March 15th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Iowa state police are investigating an officer-involved shooting in Council Bluffs. The Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation says the shooting occurred Friday evening, when a Council Bluffs officer fired his gun at a suspect during a foot chase, missing the suspect. No injuries were reported from the shooting.

The man was caught and taken to a local hospital for a medical condition not related to the shooting. The officer had been called to an eastern area of Council Bluffs for a report of a reckless driver.

Posted in News |

Harrison County Officials who broke the law order to purchase a book

News

March 15th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

An Iowa judge hast ordered three Harrison County officials to each purchase a $2 “Open Meetings, Open Records” handbook from the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, in lieu of paying a $100 fine for violating state open-meeting laws. The Daily NonPareil reports Judge James M. Richardson ruled earlier this month, that Supervisors Robert Smith, Walter Ultman and Gaylord Pitt had violated the open-meetings law during a meeting held Nov. 7th, by going into a closed session as trustees of the Ultman Drainage District. The ruling came after the Judge reviewed video footage of two meetings, the other of which was held Nov. 14th. The supervisors were initially fined $100 each, but court documents show those fines were later suspended.
The board had been involved in a lawsuit over a court order to fix the Utman Levee, an aging structure near Modale. In February, the supervisors unanimously voted to repair a 200-foot gap in the levee. According to the paper, the supervisors said the closed sessions were within the law because they were held under a section of Iowa Code that deals with the handling of matters in litigation or where litigation is imminent, and the disclosure of such information would be prejudicial, or put a governmental body at a disadvantage the position of the governmental body during litigation.

The court ruled that the supervisors would not have been prejudiced by the disclosure of the recording from the Nov. 7th meeting, where the board discussed whether to dispute the costs of subpoenas from a previous lawsuit, pay the costs or table the discussion for a further time. Since the court ruled records from the Nov. 7 meeting are public information because the discussions were not within the legal boundaries to enter closed session, the supervisors were ordered to disclose the recording from that meeting.

The court however,  ruled that the supervisors were within the scope of the open-meeting laws when they entered closed session during a meeting held under the same section of the Iowa Code, on Nov. 14th.

Posted in News |

Firefighters save 4 dogs inside burning unoccupied home

News

March 15th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Firefighters in Council Bluffs saved four kenneled dogs found inside a burning, unoccupied home, Friday afternoon. The Daily NonPareil reports the blaze at 1403 S. 8th Street was called-in at around 2:30-p.m.  Officials say crews were able to contain the flames to where they started, on the northwest side of the home.

Interim Fire Marshal Curtis McKeon told the paper said the fire started outside the home in a tarp-covered storage unit. The cause of the fire is unknown, but McKeon said there was no indication it was electrical or suspicious in nature, but the cause remains under investigation.

Deb Chapman said she lives at the home much of the week to take care of her 85-year old mother, Betty Chapman. Chapman said she was at her father’s house nearby when a friend called her about the fire. The incident caused about $6,000 in damage.

Posted in News |

Boys State Basketball 2A & 1A finals – Results from 3/14/2014

Sports

March 15th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Western Christian’s inside duo of Taylor Feenstra and Josh VanLingen combined for 32 points and 24 rebounds Friday night, leading the top-ranked Wolfpack past No. 3 West Fork 48-38 for the Class 2A state championship.

Feenstra, a 6-foot-7 senior, put up 20 points on 9-for-16 shooting. He also grabbed 13 rebounds as part of a dominating performance in the paint that produced the seventh state championship for Western Christian (27-0) and coach Jim Eekhoff, who tied Davenport’s Paul Moon for the most titles by a coach.

VanLingen, a soft-handed 6-6 sophomore, added 12 points and 11 rebounds to help Western Christian cap the school’s first unbeaten season and avenge its only loss in a state championship game.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Brandon Snyder scored 23 points and handed out nine assists and unranked West Lyon rolled past Number 4 Dunkerton 60-32 Friday night to win the Class 1A state championship. Snyder quarterbacked West Lyon to the Class A football title last fall. He ran the show again as the Wildcats (23-5), seeded eighth in the eight-team field, won the basketball crown in their first trip to the state tournament.

The Wildcats did it convincingly, winning their three games at state by an average of 21.3 points and postingthe widest margin ever in a 1A championship game.

Kaleb Heyer added 10 points, 16 rebounds and five steals for West Lyon, while Nick Anderson led Dunkerton (27-2) with 11 points.

Posted in Sports |

No. 16 Iowa State beats No. 10 Kansas, 94-83

Sports

March 15th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Georges Niang scored 25 points before leaving with a bloody gash to his forehead in the closing minutes, and No. 16 Iowa State held on to beat No. 10 Kansas 94-83 Friday night and reach its first Big 12 tournament title game since 2000. DeAndre Kane had five 3-pointers and scored 20 points, and Big 12 player of the year Melvin Ejim added 19 points for the fourth-seeded Cyclones (25-8), who will play for just their second tournament title against the winner of Texas-Baylor on Saturday night.

Relying on some hot outside shooting, Iowa State took charge in the second half, and then held on as the top-seeded Jayhawks (24-9) tried to make a late run to get back into the game. Perry Ellis led Kansas with 30 points. Andrew Wiggins finished with 22.

Posted in Sports |

Iowa early News Headlines: Sat., 3/15/2014

News

March 15th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say they have arrested one man and are looking for three others in connection with a shooting at an Iowa City apartment complex. Cedar Rapids police arrested 20-year-old Devasier Dungtion of Cedar Rapids on Friday. Police in Iowa City have issued arrest warrants for two other 19-year-old men of Cedar Rapids and one 20-year-old man from Iowa City.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say two juveniles have been charged with starting the fire that damaged playground equipment at a Des Moines elementary school. Police Sergeant Dan Blom tells the Register that the juveniles were charged yesterday with second-degree arson and turned over to their parents. Des Moines fire officials said they responded shortly before 11 a.m. Friday to Park Avenue Elementary.

DENVER, Iowa (AP) — A schools administrators group has named a northeast Iowa woman its elementary principal of the year for 2014. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier says Kim Tierney at Denver Elementary School was cheered during an assembly at the school on Thursday.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Georges Niang scored 25 points before leaving with a bloody gash to his forehead in the closing minutes, and Number 16 Iowa State held on to beat Number 10 Kansas 94-83 last night and reach its first Big 12 tournament title game since 2000. DeAndre Kane had five 3-pointers and scored 20 points, and Big 12 player of the year Melvin Ejim added 19 points for the fourth-seeded Cyclones.

Posted in News |

Skyscan forecast: Sat., March 15th 2014

Weather

March 15th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

(Updated 5:16-a.m./NWS Des Moines)

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 57. East northeast wind 7 to 13 mph.

Tonight: Rain, snow, and sleet, becoming all snow after 2am. Low around 22. Windy, with a north northeast wind 22 to 24 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow and sleet accumulation of around an inch possible.

Sunday: A 10 percent chance of snow before 7am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 36. Wind chill values as low as 10. Breezy, with a north northeast wind 11 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

Sun. Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 21. East northeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south southeast after midnight.

Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 55. Breezy, with a south wind 11 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 54. Breezy.

Posted in Weather |

MERRILL “DUTCH” LETT, 91, of COUNCIL BLUFFS, Svcs MONDAY MARCH 17TH

Obituaries

March 14th, 2014 by admin

MERRILL “DUTCH” LETT, 91, of COUNCIL BLUFFS, (AND FORMERLY OF MACEDONIA) has died. Memorial services for MERRILL LETT will be held on Mon., Mar. 17th at 10:30am at the Macedonia United Methodist Church, in Macedonia. The Loess Hills Funeral Home in Carson is in charge of the arrangements.

Visitation will be Sun., Mar. 16th from 3pm-5pm at the Loess Hills Funeral Home in Carson.

Burial will be at The Macedonia Cemetary.

MERRILL “DUTCH” LETT is survived by his wife of 64 years, Catherine Lett of Council Bluffs.

Daughters Sharon Lett-Self (Glenn) of Houston, TX; Sheryl Lett of Cheyenne, WY: and Sondra (Duane) Laughlin of Carson.

2 grandchildren, other relatives and a host of friends.

Posted in Obituaries |