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Atlantic Area Chamber Ambassadors celebrate new renovations in Wiota

News

June 23rd, 2023 by admin

The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors traveled to the city of Wiota to celebrate the new renovations to the Wiota Steakhouse and Wiota City Park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, June 22, 2023. The Ambassadors also had the opportunity to learn more about the rich history of Wiota while touring a museum, which has been set up in the Wiota Community Center for this weekend’s Sesquicentennial Celebration.

Brenda Williams, owner of the Wiota Steakhouse, shared about the history of the restaurant and how important their business is to the community. After a fire forced the restaurant to close in 2013, locals realized that this was a business that needed to be brought back. A team consisting of Brenda Williams, Ross Havens, and Lawrence Havens worked together to bring the business back to life and reopened in 2015 after an initial remodel. Recently, Williams has applied for different grants, which have allowed for new outside renovations. The process is nearly close to completion, but already looks stunning.

Williams also shared about the work that went into renovating the Wiota City Park. Members of the Wiota Boosters and Wiota City Council worked hard to receive a Community Development Block Grant which helped fund brand new equipment for children to use. The finishing touches were completed two weeks prior, which is just in time for Wiota’s 150th Anniversary Celebration. The community has a busy weekend planned, with festivities starting the morning of June 24th and will run until after dark that night. Some of the activities planned include a tractor ride, a parade, a “town royalty” coronation, a swap market, and a steak sandwich supper with a beer garden and live music. The Wiota Steakhouse will be serving beverages Saturday morning from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. during the “Drunkin’ Junkin’” event.

To learn more about the Wiota Steakhouse, visit their Facebook page, Wiota Steakhouse, or call 712-783-9232. More information pertaining to Wiota’s Sesquicentennial Celebration is also available on their Facebook.

Posted in News |

BERNARD KLEFFMAN, 60, of Portsmouth (6-30-2023)

Obituaries

June 23rd, 2023 by Ric Hanson

BERNARD KLEFFMAN, 60, of Portsmouth died April 10, 2023 at home.  Mass of Christian Burial for BERNARD KLEFFMAN will be held on Friday, June 30, 2023 at 11:00 am at St. Mary Our Lady of Fatima Church in Portsmouth.  Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

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Visitation will be held on Friday, June 30, 2023 from 10:00 am until service time at the church.

Burial in the St. Mary’s Cemetery in Portsmouth.

BERNARD KLEFFMAN is survived by:

Brothers:  Bob (Peggy) Kleffman, of San Ramon, CA; Ralph (Caroline) Kleffman, of Olathe, KS; Glen (Becky) Kleffman, and Paul Kleffman, all of Portsmouth.

Sister:  Lori (Bob) Magas, of Panama.

Posted in Obituaries |

Iowa’s Kris Murray drafted by Portland (w/audio)

Sports

June 23rd, 2023 by Asa Lucas

Former Iowa star Kris Murray is a Portland Trail Blazer. Murray was taken by the Blazers with the 23rd pick in Thursday night’s NBA Draft. He is coming off a junior season with the Hawkeyes in which he averaged better than 20 points and nearly eight rebounds.

Murray on getting the call that he had been drafted.

Murray knew Portland was a possible landing spot.

Murray has gone from lightly recruited out of Cedar Rapids Prairie High School to a first-round draft pick.

Posted in Sports |

Two arrests in Creston on Thursday

News

June 23rd, 2023 by admin

The Creston Police Department reports two arrests on Thursday.

At 10:41 a.m. Creston Police arrested 45-year-old Dennis Gerald Tyler of Creston on a charge of Theft 5th Degree and Forgery. Tyler was taken to the Union County Jail and later posted $5,300 bond.

At 10:20 p.m. Creston Police arrested 56-year-old Bruce Leroy Kerr of Creston on a charge of Driving While Revoked and OWI 2nd Offense. Kerr was taken to the Union County Jail and held on $3,000 bond.

Posted in News |

Kris Murray Selected By Portland in NBA Draft First Round

Sports

June 23rd, 2023 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa men’s basketball standout Kris Murray was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 23rd overall selection of the 2023 NBA Draft held Thursday evening. 

Murray watched the draft privately in Iowa City surrounded by family and friends.  

“Portland is excited to have me,” said Murray. “They said they were running through the halls when they picked me. I am excited to meet everyone and get to Portland. I think it will be a really good situation for me.” 

Kris’ twin brother, Keegan was selected with the fourth overall pick a year ago by the Sacramento Kings. It marks the second time in program history that Iowa has had first-round draft picks in consecutive years. John Johnson was selected by Cleveland in 1970 and Seattle picked Fred Brown in 1971 (B.J. Armstrong and Roy Marble were each chosen in the first round of the 1989 draft). 

The Murray’s are the fifth set of twins drafted in the NBA first round, joining Horace and Harvey Grant (1987; 1988), Brook and Robin Lopez (2008), Markieff and Marcus Morris (2011) and Amen and Ausar Thompson (2023). 

Kris Murray becomes the 58th Iowa men’s basketball player to be selected in an NBA Draft, and 23rd to be selected in the top two rounds. He is the fourth Hawkeye to be drafted in the last three seasons and sixth in the Fran McCaffery era. Roy Devyn Marble (Orlando) and Aaron White (Washington) were drafted in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Luka Garza (Detroit) and Joe Wieskamp (San Antonio) were picked in 2021, while Keegan Murray was selected by Sacramento in 2022. Undrafted free agent Tyler Cook, who played three seasons with the Hawkeyes (2017-19), played 28 games with the Pistons in 2021 and 20 contests with the Chicago Bulls in 2022. 

Murray (6-foot-8, 220 pounds) was a consensus third-team All-American after being voted third team All-America by Sporting News, United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and the Associated Press this past season. He was also a Naismith, Wooden and Lute Olson Award semifinalist, and was a finalist for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year. Murray also earned NABC and USBWA All-District accolades and was a unanimous all-conference selection.  

Murray, who shared the 2023 Chris Street Award with teammate Filip Rebraca, averaged a team-best 20.2 points and 7.9 rebounds as a junior. He was the only Division I player to average 20+ points, 7+ rebounds, one block, and have made 65+ 3-pointers in 2023. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native scored 30+ points four times, 25+ points nine times and 20+ points 15 times last season. 

Murray helped the Hawkeyes win 67 games, advance to three NCAA Tournaments and win the 2022 Big Ten Tournament championship during his three years in Iowa City. In three seasons, he amassed 934 points, 387 rebounds, 96 assists, 66 blocks and 60 steals. 

Posted in Sports |

ISU Announces Non-Conference Men’s Hoops Schedule

Sports

June 23rd, 2023 by Asa Lucas

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State has announced its men’s basketball non-conference schedule for the 2023-24 season.

The schedule features nine home games at Hilton Coliseum. The season opener is slated for Nov. 6 against Green Bay, the first of three games in the first week of the season to be played at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones will also face Lindenwood (Nov. 9) and Idaho State (Nov. 12) during the first week of the year.

Iowa State will host Grambling State Nov. 19 before heading to the ESPN Events Invitational Nov. 23-26 in Orlando. The bracket for the ESPN Events Invitational will be released later this summer for a field that includes Boise State, Butler, Florida Atlantic, Penn State, Texas A&M, VCU and Virginia Tech. The Cyclones hit the road for the first time Dec. 1, traveling to DePaul for the BIG East/Big 12 Battle.

The annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series game against Iowa will be played Dec. 7 at Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State will face Prairie View A&M Dec. 10 before taking a break for finals. The Cyclones close out the non-conference schedule with home games against Florida A&M (Dec. 17), Eastern Illinois (Dec. 21) and New Hampshire (Dec. 31).

Times and television selections will be announced at a later date.

 

2023-24 Iowa State Men’s Basketball Non-Conference Schedule
Nov. 6 – Green Bay – Hilton Coliseum
Nov. 9 – Lindenwood – Hilton Coliseum
Nov. 12 – Idaho State – Hilton Coliseum
Nov. 19 – Grambling State – Hilton Coliseum
Nov. 23-27 – ESPN Events Invitational – Orlando, Fla.
Dec. 1 – at DePaul (BIG EAST/Big 12 Battle) – Wintrust Arena
Dec. 7 – Iowa (Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series) – Hilton Coliseum
Dec. 10 – Prairie View A&M – Hilton Coliseum
Dec. 17 – Florida A&M – Hilton Coliseum
Dec. 21 – Eastern Illinois – Hilton Coliseum
Dec. 31 – New Hampshire – Hilton Coliseum

2023-24 Season Ticket Information:
–Season Ticket Renewals – Cyclone fans who purchased season tickets last year will be contacted (by email) by early July with additional details to renew their seats for the 2023-24 season.
–New Season Tickets – Demand for season tickets continues to be strong. We expect a variety of seating options will be available for Cyclone Club members and public ticket buyers. To join the waitlist please click here.
–*NEW* Basketball Mobile Pass – Includes a ticket for all home games. This unique season ticket gives fans a different seat for each game.
-Single-Game Tickets – The athletics department will offer a variety of single-game ticket promotions. Detailed information will be shared prior to the start of the season.

Should you have questions in regard to requesting season tickets or renewing tickets from last year, please contact the Iowa State Athletics Ticket Office by phone at 888-478-2925 or by email at tickets@iastate.edu.

Posted in Sports |

Heartbeat Today 6-23-2023

Ag/Outdoor, Heartbeat Today, Podcasts

June 23rd, 2023 by Jim Field

Jim Field visits with Griswold-area farmer Josh Bierbaum who was recently honored with a Young Farmer Leadership Award from the Iowa Farm Bureau.

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (28.3MB)

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Posted in Ag/Outdoor, Heartbeat Today, Podcasts |

CWS Scores and Schedule

Sports

June 23rd, 2023 by admin

June 22 (all times ET):

LSU picked up a thrilling 11th-inning walk-off victory over Wake Forest to advance to the CWS Finals against Florida. LSU third baseman Tommy White launched a tow-run bomb with no outs in the bottom of the 11th to win the game. The big hit came at the end of an epic pitchers dual between the Tigers’ Paul Skeens and the Demon Deacons’ Rhett Lowder. Skeens threw 8 shutout innings, surrending just two hits and a walk, striking out 9. Lowder threw 7 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out 6. The Tigers will face Florida for the first time this season in the finals starting on Saturday. The Gators advanced with a win over TCU on Wednesday.

MCWS Finals — Best two-of-three:

Posted in Sports |

Name released of man shot & killed by Franklin County deputy

News

June 23rd, 2023 by admin

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation has released the name of the man who was shot and killed by a deputy this week in Sheffield.

The DCI says deputies from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home in the western portion of Sheffield at about 9:42 PM on Tuesday on the report of a domestic dispute. On arrival, deputies encountered a male, who is now identified as 30-year-old Matt Davis of Hampton, who was brandishing a handgun. The DCI says Davis was arguing with family members who had locked themselves inside the house and called 9-1-1. Deputies ordered Davis to drop the gun, and he refused and started walking toward the deputies. Davis pointed the gun at a passing vehicle and then the deputies. Deputies shot Davis, striking him once. Davis died at the scene.

The DCI says the weapon Davis pointed at the deputies was a pellet gun, and that the incident was captured on the deputies’ body cameras. Upon completion of their investigation, the DCI will forward all results to the Franklin County Attorney’s Office for review.

Posted in News |

Free arts festival opens in Iowa’s largest city, huge crowds expected

News

June 23rd, 2023 by admin

Consistently ranked as one of the top five events of its kind in the country, the Des Moines Arts Festival opens later today (Friday) in the downtown’s Western Gateway Park. Colleen Murphy, the fest’s community relations director, says they’ll be showcasing 190 artists from 34 states during the three-day event, and there’s also a spotlight on in-state talent called the Emerging Iowa Artists program.

Whether you’re looking for a painting in oil or watercolor, framed nature photography, or a piece of sculpture for the mantel, there will be works of art ranging in price from just a few dollars to a few thousand dollars.

During the art show, the Des Moines Central Library is hosting a free film festival featuring an array of more than 40 movies from nine countries. There’s also live music on two stages, including the nationally-touring band Sister Hazel. The weather forecast calls for highs all three days in the upper 80s or low 90s, so she suggests you dress cool, wear a hat and sunscreen, plus, there are five main beverage stations to help you stay hydrated.

In recent years, the festival has drawn a crowd of around 250-thousand over the three days. Admission and parking are free through Sunday. https://www.desmoinesartsfestival.org

Posted in News |