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Student group offers ideas for Iowa education

News

March 14th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A group of students in high school and college want education officials in Iowa to recruit qualified teachers and improve testing standards. The Iowa Learning Council presented those recommendations and others during a meeting Thursday with state leaders. Other ideas included a push for schools to encourage careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The state Department of Education leads the council of young people, which formed last year to draft an agenda of education reforms. Other recommendations included raising teacher salaries and creating a diploma seal that signifies a student is college and career ready. Branstad supports such measures under his education reform plan. Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass says the agency plans to keep the council in the future.

Posted in News |

Semi’s collide in Cass County – No injuries

News

March 14th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following a collision between two semi’s Wednesday evening. The accident happened on Highway 92 at the intersection with Highway 71, at around 5:10-p.m. Officials say a 2006 Freightliner driven by 33-year old Brandon Jay Frank, of Griswold, was eastbound on Highway 92 when it struck a 2005 Freightliner driven by 24-year old Stefan Dimoski, of Woodridge, IL, as Dimoski was traveling northbound on Highway 71.

Damage to the semi’s totaled $50,000. The Sheriff’s Departmetn says Frank was cited for Failure to Obey Stop Sign and Failure to Yield Right of Way.

Posted in News |

Drake fires coach Mark Phelps

Sports

March 14th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Drake has not retained basketball coach Mark Phelps after five seasons. Athletic director Sandy Hatfield Clubb announced the move Thursday, a week after the Bulldogs were knocked out of the Missouri Valley tournament. Phelps was hired to replace Keno Davis, who led the Bulldogs to the Valley title in 2008. But Phelps couldn’t keep Drake near the top of the league standings.

Bulldogs star Rayvonte Rice transferred to Illinois before the season, and Drake stumbled to a 15-17 finish. Phelps leaves Drake with a record of 77-86. The Bulldogs never posted 20 wins under Phelps and only twice finished above .500 overall.

Drake has always been one of the tougher jobs in the country, combining high academic standards with a spotty history in basketball. Phelps is just the latest in a long line of Drake coaches who failed to overcome those challenges. Phelps, who spent 12 seasons as an assistant under Herb Sendek at N.C. State and Arizona State, was hired to replace Davis in the spring of 2008 after the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance in 37 years.

Davis, now the coach at Central Michigan, parlayed a spectacular one-year run that included The Associated Press Coach of the Year award into the job at Providence. Many believed Davis’s heroics in squeezing 28 wins out of the Bulldogs would prove to be fleeting. Those critics proved to be right. Phelps’s teams finished 7-11 in the Valley four times, save for a 9-9 record in 2011-12 behind Rice.

Drake showed flashes of improvement this season, beating league champion Creighton at home and winning at Indiana State. But the Bulldogs were very inconsistent as well, losing by 30 on the road at Northern Iowa and against the Bluejays.

Posted in Sports |

NWS changes severe weather warnings

News, Weather

March 14th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

The way severe weather warnings are issued in Iowa will be changing a bit this spring. Jeff Johnson, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in metro Des Moines, says watches and warnings will be accompanied by what he calls a tag, or a more descriptive statement. “The tornado tag will have an option between ‘radar indicated’ and actually a ‘tornado observed’ tag,” Johnson says. “With the damage threat tags, we’ll be able to say in terms of a large catastrophic tornado moving toward a metropolitan area, we’ll put that into the warning itself, that way decision makers can make quicker responses.”

The changes come, in part, following the fact 2011 was a historic year in terms of tornado deaths nationwide. Recent studies found some people don’t always understand what severe weather warnings mean, so the tags aim to make it more clear what’s coming down the road. “Nothing’s changing with our watches and warnings, all the coding will be the same, what a Tornado Warning means will be the same, and a watch,” Johnson says. “It will add a little more information on the bottom of the warning so if you just picked it up and saw the warning, you can quickly ascertain what the overall threat of that warning is.”

The changes in the warnings may seem minor, but Johnson says it’s hoped the slight differences may provide vital information that could ultimately save lives. “You might hear a sense of urgency in the announcer’s voice if it’s a ‘catastrophic’ tag, because it’s going to give that person knowledge that this is a significant, major tornado event and to go all out on the dissemination,” Johnson says. “Each tag has a corresponding call to action statement which will be placed in the warning for weather radio listeners.”

The new series of “impact-based” warnings were tested last year in Missouri and Kansas. Now, starting April 1st, they’ll be rolled out in Iowa and ten other states across the Midwest, encompassing 38 National Weather Service offices. Learn more at www.weather.gov.

(Radio Iowa)

Posted in News, Weather |

Ejim leads Iowa State past Oklahoma 73-66

Sports

March 14th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Melvin Ejim had a double-double and Will Clyburn fueled a 12-0 second-half run, helping Iowa State survive an uncharacteristic 3-point drought to beat Oklahoma 73-66 on Thursday and end a seven-year losing streak in the Big 12 tournament. The Cyclones, who led the country and set a school record with 309 3-pointers, missed 11 of their first 12 from behind the arc and fell 14 points behind. But they found the range in the second half and hit six 3-pointers while chalking up their first conference tournament win since 2005.

On Friday, the fifth-seeded Cyclones (22-10) will meet either top-seeded Kansas or No. 9 seed Texas Tech. Ejim had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Clyburn had 17 points, and Georges Niang and Chris Babb each had 10. Oklahoma (20-10) was led by Romero Osby’s 18 points. Cameron Clark had 17.

Posted in Sports |

EUGENE N. HANSEN, 79, of Exira (Svcs. 3-18-2013)

Obituaries

March 14th, 2013 by admin

EUGENE N. HANSEN, 79, of Exira died Wed., Mar., 13th at the Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. Funeral services for EUGENE HANSEN will be held at 10:30 AM Mon., Mar., 18th in the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Kimballton. Kessler Funeral Home in Exira has the arrangments.

Interment will be in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in Kimballton.

Family visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 PM Sun., Mar., 17th at the Kessler Funeral Funeral Home in Exira.

EUGENE HANSEN is survived by:

his children, Julie and husband Allan Nissen, Thomas e. Hansen and Linda Hansen all of Exira; Mary and husband Burt Blom of Marshalltown, and Todd Hansen and special friend Tonia Lozano, both of Elk Horn.

Brothers, Leon and wife Cheryl Hansen of Jacksonville and Jerry and wife Sherry Hansen of Harlan.

Brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Robert and wife Betty Andersen of Des Moines, Richard and wife Margaret Andersen of Brayton, Dorothy Jespersen of Rogers, AR, Harvey and wife Carol Andersen of Palestine, TX and Bertha and husband Darrell Schroeter of Exira.

Six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and one step great-grandson and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and many other relatives and good friends.

Posted in Obituaries |

THURSDAY, MARCH 14th

Trading Post

March 14th, 2013 by admin

FOR SALE: desktop computer w/ webcam – Dell, printer, sound system, desk & chair. $475. 712-647-4042

FREE: Dorm refrigerator, still works well. FREE 243-3073

FOR SALE: Tree cutting service, nothing over 2 feet wide, open areas are preferred, if it is next to a building it depends on the situation. Can’t cut down trees in Atlantic because of city ordinance but anywhere else is fine. Call 778-4672

 

Posted in Trading Post |

Census shows population dips in 65 Iowa counties

News

March 14th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Nearly two-thirds of Iowa’s counties lost population between 2011 and 2012 even as the state gained 10,089 overall. The latest U.S. Census estimates show that Iowa had 3,074,186 residents last year, but the population of 65 of the state’s 99 counties declined between 2011 and 2012.

Many of the population declines were in rural areas where aging populations are dying off while younger residents move to urban areas in search of work. Fifty-five Iowa counties had more deaths than births in 2012.

The biggest population gains in the state were reported in Polk, Johnson, Dallas, Scott and Linn counties, which are home to Des Moines, Iowa City, Davenport and Cedar Rapids.

Posted in News |

Chiefs Cut Matt Cassel with 2 Years Left on Deal

Sports

March 14th, 2013 by Jim Field

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have cut ties with quarterback Matt Cassel, who lost his starting job to Brady Quinn last season and then watched Kansas City trade for Alex Smith to be his replacement.

The move Thursday came less than 24 hours after Smith was introduced at Arrowhead Stadium.

Cassel was the first major acquisition by the Chiefs under previous general manager Scott Pioli, and he was quickly given a six-year, $63 million contract. But after leading the Chiefs to the playoffs in 2010, Cassel struggled to live up to the same expectations.

He sustained a season-ending hand injury two years ago, and then lost his job to Quinn after sustaining a concussion last season, spending the rest of the year as the backup.

Cassel had two years remaining on his contract.

Posted in Sports |

Matheny Returns to Cards After Back Surgery

Sports

March 14th, 2013 by Jim Field

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — Cardinals manager Mike Matheny returned to the club Thursday after undergoing back surgery Monday in St. Louis.

Matheny dealt with severe pain for several days stemming from a ruptured disc in his back that caused particles to come on contact with a nerve. Surgeons found and removed four particles during the 90-minute procedure, known as a microdiscectomy.

The second-year Cardinals manager missed games on Monday and Tuesday before returning Wednesday evening.

Matheny doesn’t expect to miss any additional time but said he was told not to lift anything heavier than five pounds for the next eight weeks. It’s unclear whether or not he’ll be able to throw batting practice in the near future.

Posted in Sports |