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Colts know stopping Chiefs’ Charles key to victory

Sports

January 2nd, 2014 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — On at least three occasions this season, an opposing coach was asked what it takes to stop Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles. Each time, they came back with the exact same response. “If you’ve got the answer,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said, “I’m all ears.”

That was before Kansas City played Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago at Arrowhead Stadium, and the Colts didn’t need to do much to stop Charles in a 23-7 victory. The Chiefs only gave him six touches in the second half, something coach Andy Reid lamented following the game.

It stands to reason that Kansas City will at least make the Colts do the job themselves when the teams meet in a wild-card playoff game Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Pagano calls Charles a “game wrecker” and a “home-run hitter.”

Two years after a devastating knee injury threatened his career, and one year after he was the lone bright spot in a blighted season, Charles has put together one of the finest campaigns in the history of a franchise that has had plenty of notable offensive stars.

 

He’s already run for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns, solid if unspectacular numbers unless you consider that he’s done it while averaging 5 yards per carry. He also has a career-best 70 catches for 693 yards and seven more touchdowns, giving him nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

Northern Iowa defeats Bradley 80-46

Sports

January 2nd, 2014 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Seth Tuttle scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Northern Iowa to an 80-46 victory over Bradley on Wednesday night. Matt Bohannon had 16 points and three assists for the Panthers (7-6). Wes Washpun added 15 with eight assists and a pair of steals and Jeremy Morgan came off the bench to score 10.

Northern Iowa surged to a 14-0 advantage early in the first period and went on to lead 43-26 at the break. A pair of 3-pointers by Bohannon and two buckets from inside the paint by Tuttle to start the second half extended the Panther lead to 26. Northern Iowa would finish the game hitting 48 percent from the field and sinking 84.2 percent from the line.

Bradley averaged just 37 percent from the field overall and suffered 13 turnovers in the contest. Walt Lemon, Jr. led the Braves (5-9) with 17 points.

Drake defeats Evansville 94-66

Sports

January 2nd, 2014 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Jordan Daniels scored 28 points with three assists as Drake defeated Evansville 94-66 on Wednesday night. Richard Carter put up 19 points and grabbed four rebounds for the Bulldogs (10-3). Chris Caird had 10 points and Aaron Hawley came off the bench to score 12. Drake hit 61 percent from the field overall, 65.5 percent from the line and sank 65.5 percent from 3-point range. A Daniels 3-pointer at 16:25 in the first capped a 12-2 Bulldog run to start the game.

Evansville’s D.J. Balentine scored nine points in the final minute of the first period, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer, to cut the Aces’ deficit to four points at the break. The Bulldogs completely dominated the second period, leading by as many as 30 points with a minute left to play.

Balentine led the Aces (7-7) with 20 points.

Iowa News Headlines: Thu., Jan. 2nd 2014

News

January 2nd, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s 21 publicly traded companies had a great year in the market. Share prices for all 21 went up in 2013 and all but four of them beat the Dow Jones industrial average, which had its best year since 1995.

POCAHONTAS, Iowa (AP) — An Army Reserve unit in north-central Iowa has been called up for duty in Afghanistan. A deployment ceremony is scheduled for Jan. 18 for the 415th Military Police Detachment (Law and Order). The unit was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010.

ASHTON, Iowa (AP) — Officials are blaming the cold weather for a train derailment in northwest Iowa. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office says more than a dozen cars came off the tracks Tuesday morning along Iowa Highway 60 south of Ashton. National Weather Service records show subzero temperatures have chilled the area in recent days.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State will hold a public visitation to honor former basketball coach Johnny Orr, who died Tuesday at age 86. The doors to Hilton Coliseum in Ames will open at 1 p.m. Thursday for the visitation. Orr led the Cyclones from 1980 until 1994.

Iowa State to hold public visitation to honor Orr

Sports

January 1st, 2014 by Ric Hanson

AMES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa State will hold a public visitation to honor legendary former basketball coach Johnny Orr, who died Tuesday at age 86.  The doors to Hilton Coliseum in Ames will open at 1 p.m. Thursday for the visitation. The Orr family will be present from 4 p.m. until Hilton closes at 8 p.m.  It is the arena where Orr was known for entering to the “Tonight Show” theme and a trademark fist pump, helping cultivate a tremendous home-court advantage for the Cyclones.

Orr led the Cyclones to a school-record 218 wins from 1980 until 1994. He previously spent 12 years as head coach at Michigan and three at Massachusetts.  The energetic and charismatic Orr finished with a career record of 466-346 and 10 NCAA tournament appearances.

Alarm system alerts authorities to residential fire

News

January 1st, 2014 by Ric Hanson

An alarm system alerted authorities in Mills County to a residential fire Tuesday night. The Sheriff’s Office says Mills County dispatch received a report at around 9:30-p.m. of an alarm at 16683 Alcorn Avenue in rural Council Bluffs. The call came from a security company. Mills County Deputies and the Iowa State Patrol responded to the scene.

Upon their arrival, officers entered the residence to find it filling with smoke and several alarms being reported by the security company. Law enforcement left the home and called for fire and rescue personnel. Firefighters from Pacific Junction and Glenwood Fire and Rescue, along with personnel from Oak Township and Lewis Township Fire responded to the scene.

The home’s owner, 69-year old Gerald Nibbe, was in Omaha visiting his son at home at the time of the alarm, and arrived at the home he’s lived in since the 1970’s, after being notified by the alarm company. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Two classic cars, which were located in a garage next to the house, were among the items damaged in the blaze.

Hill runs for 216 yards, LSU beats Iowa 21-14

Sports

January 1st, 2014 by Ric Hanson

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jeremy Hill rushed for 216 yards and two touchdowns, helping No. 14 LSU and inexperienced quarterback Anthony Jennings hold off Iowa 21-14 in the Outback Bowl on Wednesday. Craig Loston’s interception stopped a potential game-tying drive, giving Hill a chance to put the game out of reach by carrying four times for 87 yards on a six-play, 92 yard march that gave the Tigers (10-3) a 21-7 lead.

Iowa (8-5) again pulled within a touchdown after Jordan Cotton returned the ensuing kickoff to the Tigers’ 4. Jennings rushed for a touchdown but only threw for 82 yards while standing in for the injured Zach Mettenberger in the freshman’s first college start.

Backup quarterback C.J. Beathard ‘s fourth-down interception stopped one promising drive for Iowa, but he also tossed a 4-yard TD pass to Kevonte Martin-Manley to trim the Hawkeyes’ deficit to 21-14 with 1:42 remaining.

Wind Chill Advisory for much of the area late tonight into Thursday

Weather

January 1st, 2014 by Ric Hanson

AREA COUNTIES:AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS– 326 PM CST WED JAN 1 2014 ...WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO NOON CST THURSDAY

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A WIND CHILL ADVISORY WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO NOON CST THURSDAY.

* WIND CHILL VALUES…WIND CHILL VALUES WILL BOTTOM OUT BETWEEN 20 BELOW SOUTH AND 30 BELOW NORTH BY EARLY THURSDAY MORNING.

* IMPACTS…BITTERLY COLD TEMPERATURES AND WIND CHILLS WILL MAKE ALL OUTDOOR ACTIVITY DANGEROUS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A WIND CHILL ADVISORY MEANS THAT VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE LOW WIND CHILLS. THIS WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN. IF YOU MUST VENTURE OUTDOORS…MAKE SURE YOU WEAR A HAT AND GLOVES.

MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MONTGOMERY-PAGE COUNTIES…WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO 11 AM CST THURSDAY…

Iowans warned about new scam that sounds very legit

News

January 1st, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The Internal Revenue Service is warning Iowans about a sophisticated telephone scam targeting taxpayers. Christopher Miller, the I-R-S spokesman for Iowa, says anyone may be at risk for getting one of these calls, but the con artists are also singling out recent immigrants, who may be easier prey. “The victims are told that they owe money to the IRS and that the money has to be paid promptly through a preloaded debit card or a wire transfer,” Miller says. “If they refuse, they are threatened with arrest or deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license.”

The scam is being used on taxpayers in nearly every state in the country — and he says they are calling Iowans. Miller says the agency wants to educate taxpayers so they can protect themselves. “We want everyone to understand that the IRS will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone or request prepaid debit card or wire transfer information to settle a tax problem,” Miller says. “That’s not the way it works.” The first I-R-S contact with taxpayers on a tax issue is likely to occur via mail, he says, not a phone call. Miller says this scam is particularly troubling as the con artists, in many cases, have gone to great lengths to appear legitimate.

“Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers and they may even be able to recite the last four digits of the victim’s Social Security number, which is scary,” Miller says. “They have even figured out a way of ‘spoofing’ the IRS toll-free number so it shows up on your Caller ID.” Some scammers have sent bogus I-R-S emails to victims to support their bogus calls. Victims may also hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic an I-R-S call site.

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the I-R-S and you might owe taxes, Miller says to call the agency at 800-829-1040 to see if there really is an issue. Otherwise, report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484.

(Radio Iowa)

JOYCE STANLEY, 81, of Casey (Svcs. 1/6/14)

Obituaries

January 1st, 2014 by Ric Hanson

JOYCE STANLEY, 81, of Casey, died Tue., Dec. 31st,  at the Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines. Memorial services for JOYCE STANLEY will be held 11-a.m. Mon., Jan. 6th, at the United Methodist Church in Dexter. Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield has the arrangements.

The family will greet friends one hour prior to services on Monday at the church. Online condolences may be left to the family at www.steenfunerals.com.

Burial will be in the Dexter Cemetery at a later date.

Memorials may be directed to the Joyce Stanley memorial fund to be established by the family at a later date.