Lavon Eblen speaks about the incredible edible egg.
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Lavon Eblen speaks about the incredible edible egg.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (7.6MB)
Subscribe: RSS
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa lawmakers are continuing the effort to keep wrestling in the Olympics. The state House and Senate passed resolutions Thursday calling on the International Olympic Committee to reconsider the decision to drop wrestling from the 2020 games. Democratic Sen. Tod Bowman of Maquoketa says wrestling defines Iowa.
The NCAA wrestling championships kick off in Des Moines today (Thursday). Famed Iowa wrestler Dan Gable appeared in the legislature in support of the move. Gable won a gold medal in the 1972 Olympics and coached at the University of Iowa from 1977 to 1997.
Gov. Terry Branstad has also worked to restore wrestling to the 2020 games with a campaign called “Let’s Keep Wrestling.” The effort has the support of the state’s congressional delegation and nearly 25,000 people have signed an online petition.
The Atlantic Police Department says no injuries were reported following an accident Wednesday afternoon in the parking lot of the Atlantic Shopping Plaza. Officials say a vehicle driven by Lori Burgduff, of Shenandoah, was traveling south in the parking lot near the Pizza Ranch restaurant, when a legally parked car driven by Stephen Bartel, of Castana, backed out of the parking stall, and was hit by Burgduff’s vehicle. The damage amounted to $2,800. No citations were issued.
An Atlantic man who was stabbed during an altercation on January 28th, was arrested Wednesday on drug charges. The Atlantic Police Department reports 43-year old Robert Leslie was taken into custody on warrants for Manufacturing a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine – 3rd offense, and on three counts of Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp. Leslie was booked into the Cass County Jail.
The Atlantic P-D reports also the arrest on Wednesday, of 56-year old Terry Calhoun, of Atlantic, on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault/2nd offense, and 24-year old Justin Cooley, of Atlantic, on a Cass County warrant for violating his probation. Both men were booked into the Cass County Jail.
The 17th Southwest Iowa Classic basketball event is scheduled for Sunday, March 24th at the Kanesville Arena on the campus of Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs. Several of the area’s top senior players will participate. They will play as large school vs. small school teams. The day will begin at 1:00 pm with the girls game, followed by the boys at 3:00 pm. The event is co-sponsored by Iowa Western and The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil. Team members include:
Large School Boys:
Small School Boys:
Large School Girls:
Small School Girls:
If you don’t already have plans for dinner this (Thursday) evening, consider attending the Cass County 4-H Endowment committee’s annual 4-H Endowment Pancake Supper. The supper takes place from 5- to 7-pm at the Cass County Community Center in Atlantic. Chris Cakes will be dishing up fresh pancakes, 4-H members serve juice, coffee and more. Supporters can enjoy all you can eat pancakes for $6. Proceeds from the 4-H Pancake Supper directly benefit Cass County.
The money raised goes to the Cass County 4-H Endowment, a fund to defray the 4-H Program Development Fee, support scholarships to send Cass County 4-H’ers to camps and conferences, start up dollars for programs like Clover Kids.
The Program Development Fee is 30 dollars, and that goes to the support the overall state program. The Cass County Extension Council chose not to pass that expense on to the individual 4-H’er and families, although many counties have. Instead, the Cass County Extension Council and the 4-H Endowment Committee pick up this expense.
Susan M. Oliver, county youth coordinator, says “Eventually, the goal is to have the Endowment pay for the fee entirely,but they cannot do that without a great deal of support from the community. That is why we continue this annual pancake supper.”
There is also a silent auction during the supper. Each of the 15 clubs in Cass County plan to donate an item, as well as some additional friends of 4-H. For more information on the Pancake Supper, Endowment or 4-H contact Susan M. Oliver, Cass County Youth Coordinator, at 243-1132 or xcass@iastate.edu.
A new report on county-by-county health in Iowa shows Cass County is ranked 92ndout of 99 in overall health.
Counties shown in white are among the top 25 healthiest in Iowa; Those shown in gray rank 26th-50th; Those in a light shade of green rank 51st-74th, and those counties shown in dark green rank 75th to 99th, or least healthiest.
The findings are in the “2013 County Health Rankings” study conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The study compares the health of counties in every state across the nation, measured by overall health and factors that influence health. Of Iowa’s 99 counties, Sioux County ranked highest in overall health outcomes; Johnson County was ranked highest for all factors that influence health.
In the immediate KJAN listening area, Shelby County ranked highest on the list, in 23rd place, followed by Guthrie County in 34th, and Adair County, which was ranked 49th. On the upper end of the rankings, Audubon County placed 72nd, Pottawattamie County 88th, Cass County 92nd, Montgomery County ranked 94th, and Adams County was near the bottom of the list, in 97th place.
More specifically, Cass County has a higher rate of mortality/premature deaths than the statewide average. We also are higher in the number of obese residents as compared to the statewide average, but lower in excessive drinking and sexually transmitted diseases. Conversely, Cass County was higher than the statewide average, in the areas of teen births, and motor vehicle fatalities. Twelve percent of the residents in Cass County do not have medical insurance, which is slightly more than the statewide average, and there is a higher number of children living in poverty, than across the state.
The County Health Rankings were compiled taking into account a wide range of health factors, including healthy behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and physical environment. For a county-by-county breakdown of the factors and rankings, go to www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/iowa/2013/rankings/outcomes/overall/by-rank
An environmental group used the first day of Spring Wednesday to push for more federal funding to help purchase private land to protect it from development. Amelia Schoeneman of Environment Iowa spoke at Gray’s Lake in Des Moines, calling for full funding of the federal “Land and Water Conservation Fund . Mark Ackelson, president of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, says the fund does more than preserve land. He said “The Land and Water Conservation Fund also funds wetland protection and restoration in Iowa.
The foundation in the process of buying land in the Loess Hills, and in central Iowa’s Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Ackelson says they are currently working on buying 840 acres at the Smith Refuge. Ackelson says “In the Loess Hills the National Parks Service identified 12 special landscape areas that constitute roughly a hundred thousand acres total. And those 12 sites are distributed along the seven counties along the Loess Hills in western Iowa.”
The cost of Iowa farmland was recently reported at an all-time high, but Ackelson says the cost of buying private land for conservation varies widely. He says they find a lot of landowners “Have a lot of conservation in their heart. And many times they are willing to donate as least a part of the value. That helps them offset some of the taxes that they may have due, but it also helps them perpetuate their family legacy as well.” So, he says “This really is a partnership.”
Ackelson says the federal money is paired with state money and private donations to make the land purchases. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin has introduced a bill to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Schoeneman urged Senator Chuck Grassley to do the same. Congress is expected to vote on funding levels for the Land and Water Conservation Fund as well as the National Parks budget this week as a part of the 2014 fiscal year budget.
(Radio Iowa)
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