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Elliott teen arrested by Red Oak Police

News

August 1st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Police in Red Oak report an Elliott teen has been arrested on forgery and possession of stolen property charges, following an investigation into stolen checks. 17-year-old Cheryl Ann Hallcock was taken into custody Tuesday on  two felony counts of Forgery, and two simple misdemeanor charges of Possession of Stolen Property. The teen was arrested in connection with an investigation to a report by a male victim of the crime that some of his checks had been taken and used without his consent. Hallcock was transported to the Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs. Officials believe others were involved in the crime, and additional arrests are expected, as their investigation continues.

Posted in News |

July goes out as 3rd hottest in Iowa history, 5th driest

Weather

August 1st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

One of Iowa’s hottest-ever Julys is behind us now, but forecasters say the August ahead won’t be much different. State climatologist Harry Hillaker says the prolonged drought of the past several weeks put this July among the stickiest in Iowa’s history, though the wealth of month-end data is still being tabulated. “Generally, you’re looking at probably the third-hottest July on record for the state of Iowa and that’s based on 140 years of records,” Hillaker says. “The last time we would’ve had a hotter July is probably going to be 1936 and the other one that was hotter was way back in 1901.” 

Here in Atlantic, the average High for the month was 94-degrees. The average Low was 66. We had four days when the temperature was 100-degrees or greater. The hottest day was July 25th, when we hit 102-degrees. There were only three days during the month, when the High temp in Atlantic was less than 90-degrees. Some areas of the state will finish off the month being several inches short on rainfall. In Atlantic, we received just a trace of rain last month. 

When the numbers are all in statewide, this July will likely be the fifth-driest July in Iowa history, he says, and the month is among some notorious company. Hillaker says “The top three are: 1886 brought us the driest summer on record, 1936 was our hottest summer on record, and 1894, the third-driest July, ended up being the driest growing season on record.” Just because we’re in a new month doesn’t mean there’ll be a new forecast. Hillaker says it looks like August will be more of the same. “Temperatures, at least in the beginning part of August, I still expect will be averaging well above normal,” he says. “Normal highs right now are about 85 or so so 90s is well above normal.” There’s a chance for a few more rain showers on the horizon but “nothing looks very substantial.”

Temperatures for the next week are expected to be above-normal but not as extreme as the past couple weeks. Forecasters also say another sustained period of 100-degree-plus weather is not likely, at least for the next few weeks.

(Radio Iowa/Ric Hanson-KJAN)

Posted in Weather |

(Podcast) Skyscan Forecast: Wed., Aug. 1st 2012

Podcasts, Weather

August 1st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Here’s the Freese-Notis forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area, along with weather data for Atlantic, from KJAN News Director, Ric Hanson….

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (821.3KB)

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Posted in Podcasts, Weather |

MARY ANN FESER, 93, of Earling (Svcs. 8-3-12)

Obituaries

August 1st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

MARY ANN FESER, 93, of Earling, died Sun., July 29th, at the Little Flower Haven Nursing Home. Funeral services for MARY ANN FESER will be held 10-a.m. Fri., Aug. 3rd, at the Little Flower Haven Nursing Home in Earling. Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

There is no public visitation.

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

MARY ANN FESER is survived by:

Her brothers – Floyd Feser, and Mark Feser, both of Harlan.

Her sisters – Mildred Lang, of Omaha, and Joyce (Leonard) Graeve, of Harlan.

Posted in Obituaries |

DONNA L. (Ruddy) WALP, 70, of Audubon (Svcs. 8-4-12)

Obituaries

August 1st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

DONNA L. (Ruddy) WALP, 70, of Audubon (& formerly of Marble, NC), died Mon., July 30th, at the Exira Care Center. Funeral services for DONNA WALP will be held 10:30-a.m. Sat., Aug. 4th, at the 1st Presbyterian Church in Audubon. Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon has the arrangements.

Friends may call at the funeral home, where a visitation will be held from 9:30-a.m. until the time of service, Saturday.

Burial will be in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Audubon.

DONNA WALP is survived by:

Her husband – Joseph Walp, of Marble, NC.

Her brothers – Michael (Dianna) Ruddy, of Audubon, and Charles (Tammy) Ruddy, of Centennial, CO.

Her sister – Kaye Nowatzke & friend Jim Wiskus, of Audubon.

Other relatives, and many friends.

Posted in Obituaries |

Forecast for Cass & area Counties in Iowa: Wed., Aug. 1st 2012

Weather

August 1st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Today: Mostly sunny. Hot. High in the upper 90s. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Highest heat index readings 100 to 105 in the afternoon.

Tonight: Partly cloudy through midnight…then mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms after midnight. Low in the lower 70s. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday: Hot and humid. Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms. High in the mid 90s. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Highest heat index readings 100 to 102 in the afternoon.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy. Low in the lower 70s. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny. High in the mid 90s. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Highest heat index readings 100 to 102 in the afternoon.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy. Low in the lower 70s.

Saturday: Partly sunny with a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms. High in the upper 80s.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms. Low in the lower 60s.

Sunday And Sunday Night: Mostly clear. High in the mid 80s. Low in the mid 60s.

Posted in Weather |

Layoffs at largest employer in Woodward

News

August 1st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Officials say the shift away from round-the-clock institutional care for people with disabilities has led to layoffs at the largest employer in the Dallas County town of Woodward. Twenty-seven jobs at the Woodward Resource Center were eliminated Tuesday. Roger Munns, a spokesman for the state agency that manages the facility, says that adjusts staffing levels to the reduced number of disabled residents.”Both of our facilities, at Woodward and Glenwood, have worked very hard, vigorously, to try to find community or home-based placements for people with disabilities and we’ve been very successful, averaging about a dozen new placements from both places,” Munns says. “As a result of this, budgets and staff have been reduced.”

In the past five years, there’s been a 25 percent reduction in the number of full-time residents in the Woodward facility. “There are fewer people to care for,” Munns says, “and, obviously, you need fewer staff.” On Monday, nearly 700 people were employed to care for 181 disabled residents. A total of 27 staff positions were eliminated Tuesday, but some union workers who got layoff notices will be able to take the position of an employee in a similar job who has less seniority. As the number of Woodward residents declined in recent years, layoffs had been avoided through staff turnover.

“Normal attrition — people leaving for other positions — but there wasn’t very much turnover at Woodward,” Munns says. “There were very few people who left for the incentive for early retirement a couple of years ago. As a result, there are more people (on staff) than the budget can support.” The Glenwood Resource Center in western Iowa is the permanent home for 263 disabled residents. Managers of that facility say they’ll be able to manage reduced budgets without layoffs this year.

(Radio Iowa)

Posted in News |

HAROLD ADAMSON, 102, of Greenfield (Svcs. 8-4-12)

Obituaries

August 1st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

HAROLD ADAMSON, 102, of Greenfield, died Tue., July 31st, at the Greenfield Manor. Funeral services for HAROLD ADAMSON will be held 3:30-p.m. Sat. Aug. 4th, at the United Methodist Church in Greenfield. Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield has the arrangements.

Visitation will be held at the funeral home from 3-6pm Friday, Aug. 3rd., with a family visitation from 2:30-p.m. until 3:30-p.m. Saturday, at the church. Online condolences may be left to the family at www.steenfunerals.com.

Memorials may be directed to the family.

Burial will be in the Greenfield Cemetery. A luncheon will be held following the committal services at the church.

HAROLD ADAMSON is survived by:

His daughter Sharon Daut and husband Bob, of Greenfield.

2 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren, other relatives and friends.

Posted in Obituaries |

Cardinals Acquire Mujica for Former No. 1 Pick

Sports

August 1st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals acquired bullpen help at the trade deadline, getting right-hander Edward Mujica from the Miami Marlins for 2010 first-round draft pick Zack Cox. The 28-year-old Mujica is 0-3 with a 4.38 ERA and two saves in 41 games and has held right-handed hitters to a .211 average. Last year he was 9-6 with a 2.96 ERA.

“We think he’s going to be a nice fit,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said before Tuesday night’s game at Colorado. “He’s going to bring some experience and he’s going to be able to help out some of our young pitchers. He’s got a good arm and a good split. That split really works well for right-handed and left-handed hitters. He’s coming off a strong year last year. He just has that reputation as being a guy who can come in and fill a few different roles for you at the back end of your bullpen. So, he’s an exciting pickup for us and everybody is anxious for him to get here.”

More than likely, Mujica will be used in the seventh or eighth inning as a setup man. “That wouldn’t be anything new for him,” Matheny said. “That’s what he’s been doing. He’s had quite a few holds in his career. He knows how to pitch with a lead.” The 23-year-old Cox was batting .254 with nine homers and 30 RBIs at Triple-A Memphis. He was the 25th overall pick in the 2010 amateur draft out of Arkansas and jumped from Class A Palm Beach to Double-A Springfield last season.

The Cardinals will announce a corresponding roster move after Mujica joins his new team in Colorado. Matheny said Mujica was expected to arrive in time for Wednesday night’s game against the Rockies.

Posted in Sports |

Holliday has 4 RBIs to Lead Cardinals Past Rockies

Sports

August 1st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

DENVER (AP) — Matt Holliday homered, doubled and drove in four runs, and Kyle Lohse worked through an erratic outing to win his fifth consecutive decision and lift the St. Louis Cardinals over the Colorado Rockies 11-6 on Tuesday night. Carlos Beltran and David Freese also homered and Allen Craig went 3-for-3 with two walks and three RBIs to help the Cardinals rebound from successive losses. The Rockies dropped to 0-4 on their homestand and have lost seven of eight overall. Lohse (11-2), who also beat the Rockies three weeks ago in St. Louis, gave up nine hits and five runs in six innings, breaking a string of 10 consecutive quality starts. He struck out five and walked two.

Posted in Sports |