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Freeman’s HR helps Braves beat Cards, 10-7

Sports

May 31st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

ATLANTA (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs, wearing his new glasses, to help the Atlanta Braves recover after blowing a five-run lead to beat the Cardinals 10-7 on Wednesday night. Freeman, who had missed four straight starts because of vision problems, was elated about receiving his new sports glasses before the game. He broke out of slump with three hits: his eighth homer in the first, a run-scoring double in the third and run-scoring single in the eighth. The Braves, who snapped an eight-game losing streak on Tuesday night, gave up a 5-0 lead, then scored three runs in the sixth. McCann’s two-run single highlighted the rally. Jonny Venters (3-2) recorded the last out of the sixth. Craig Kimbrel earned his 15th save.

Posted in Sports |

PCL Baseball

Sports

May 31st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Wednesday’s Game

Iowa at Omaha, ppd., rain

Thursday’s Games

Iowa at Omaha, 6:05 p.m., 1st game

Iowa at Omaha, 8:35 p.m., 2nd game

 

Posted in Sports |

Girls State Golf Final Results

Sports

May 30th, 2012 by Jim Field

3-A Team:

  1. Clear Lake  358 – 318 = 676
  2. Charles City  359 – 321 = 680
  3. Grinnell  366 -336 = 702
  4. South Tama  359 – 334 = 703
  5. Wiliamsburg  389 – 353= 742
  6. Atlantic  378 – 366 = 744
  7. ADM  382 – 375 = 754
  8. Central Dewitt  396 – 388 = 784

3-A Individuals:

  1. Jessie Sindlinger, Charles City  79 – 73 = 152
  2. MacKenzie Black, Independence  74 – 79 = 153

Atlantic:

  • 11.  Brooke Fletcher, Atlantic  82 – 85 = 167
  • 21. Kaitlynn Walter  91 – 93 = 184
  • 33. Bailey Walter  102 –  94 = 196
  • 36. Shelby Worth  103 – 94 = 197

Also:

  • 21. Sara Pettitt, Carroll  94 – 90 = 184
  • 31. Courtney Leinen, Harlan  100 – 95 = 195
  • 36. Rachel Van Erdwyk, Carroll  91 – 106 = 197

2-A Teams:

  1. Dyersville Beckman  349 – 339 = 688
  2. Kuemper Catholic  373 – 374 = 747
  3. Cascade  371 – 377 = 748
  4. Alta-Aurelia  387 – 381 = 768
  5. Dike-New Hartford  391 – 385 = 776
  6. Wapello  395 – 382 = 777
  7. Sheldon  400 404 = 804
  8. Clarinda  410 – 415 = 825

2-A Individuals:

  1. Ellie Ament, Beckman  75 – 79 = 154
  2. Brooke Klosterman, Beckman  84 – 81 = 165

Also:

  • 19. Taylor Gardner, Missouri Valley  97 – 92 =189

1-A Teams:

  1. Bishop Garrigan  343 – 351 = 694
  2. Grundy Center  375 – 386 = 761
  3. HLV  392 – 391 = 783
  4. Hinton  391 – 393 = 784
  5. Gehlen Catholic  397 – 388 = 785
  6. Valley  389 – 397 = 786
  7. Audubon  420 – 404 = 824
  8. Lynnville-Sully  417 – 414 = 831

1-A Individuals:

  1. Victoria Grasso, Ankeny Christian  79 – 81 = 160 (3X Champ)
  2. Sheridan Berte, Bishop Garrigan  82 – 86 = 168

Audubon Scores:

  • 8. Susie Bylund  95 – 85 = 180
  • 32. Lexie Thygesen  102 – 106 = 208
  • 34. Rachel Flug  110 – 102 = 212
  • 42. Faith Fliflet  120 – 111 = 231
  • 44. Teagan Albright  113 – 119 = 232
  • 52. Melanie Petersen  134 – 133 = 267

Also:

  • 22. Anna Hildebrand, Riverside  98 – 95 = 193
  • 17. Kaleigh Westlake, Corning  96 – 96 = 192

Posted in Sports |

FRANCES JEAN “JEANIE” CARLSON, 59, of Atlantic (Svcs. 6-2-2012)

Obituaries

May 30th, 2012 by admin

FRANCES JEAN “JEANIE” CARLSON, 59, of Atlantic died Tuesday, May 29 at her home in Atlantic.  Memorial services for “JEANIE” CARLSON will be held 2-p.m. Tuesday, June 5th, at the Hockenberry Family Care Funeral Home in Atlantic.

———————————————

Memorials may be directed to the family.

JEANIE CARLSON is survived by:

Husband: William Carlson of Atlantic

Son: Shane (Amy) Kelly of Norfolk, VA

Sister: Susie (Stan) Kinzie of Anita

Brother: Steve McClure of Anita

Posted in Obituaries |

Cass County Supervisors to act on resolution honoring 2 fallen troopers

News

May 30th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Thursday (May 31st), are expected to act on a Resolution in support of naming two US Highway 6 bridges to commemorate two ‘fallen’ Iowa state troopers: Lance Dietsch and Stan Gerling. Trooper Pilot Lance Dietsch and Trooper Stanley Gerling were killed in an airplane accident on June 30th, 1989, near Atlantic. The pair had been searching for an elderly man who had wandered off, and were about to call off the search when they troopers located him in a soybean field. They began to circle the area when the plane made a sudden turn and crashed vertically into the ground. Troopers Dietsch and Gerling were the first aircraft fatalities since the addition of the Patrol Airwing in 1956.

Trooper Pilot Lance Dietsch

Trooper Dietsch, who lived in Council Bluffs, had served with the Iowa State Patrol for six years.

Trooper Gerling, who lived in Atlantic,  had served with the Patrol for one-year.

Trooper Stan Gerling

Posted in News |

BILL WOLFE, 89, of Greenfield (Svcs. 6-2-12)

Obituaries

May 30th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

BILL WOLFE, 89, of Greenfield, died Wed., May 30th,  at the Mercy Medical Center–West Lakes, in West Des Moines. Funeral and Masonic Services for BILL WOLFE will be held 10-a.m. Sat.,  June 2nd, at the First Presbyterian Church in Greenfield. Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield has the arrangements.

Visitation will be held on Friday, June 1st, from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with the family greeting friends from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield. Online condolences may be left to the family at www.steenfunerals.com.

Memorials may be directed to the Bill Wolfe memorial fund to be established by the family.

Burial will be in the Greenfield Cemetery.

BILL WOLFE is survived by:

His daughter – Robin (Chad) Wyllie, of Grimes.

His sisters – Ethelyn Rhodes, or Irvine, CA, & Mildred Harrs, of Greenfield.

& 2 grandchildren.

Posted in Obituaries |

Iowa seeks payment plan options at farmers markets

Ag/Outdoor, News

May 30th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is scrambling to develop a plan for spending federal money to expand payment options at its 200 farmers markets. An appropriations bill provides $4 million in funding to increase farmers markets participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. Iowa is to receive about $161,000. The Gazette in Cedar Rapids says the money has to be obligated by Sept. 30. The funds are to expand the availability of wireless point-of-sale equipment in farmers markets not currently participating in SNAP. Tracy Penick of the Iowa Department of Human Services says the challenge is that vendors use individual devices to run SNAP cards, while the funding is designed to go to farmers markets as a whole.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Ag Sec Vilsack approves closing of FSA office in Union County

Ag/Outdoor, News

May 30th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

John R. Whitaker, Iowa State Executive Director for the Farm Service Agency (FSA), today (Wednesday),  announced that USDA Secretary Thomas A. Vilsack has approved the closure of three FSA county offices in Iowa, including those in Union County, Decatur and Appanoose Counties. The process will begin immediately.  After the required notifications have been provided to producers, FSA employees and office landlords, closure dates will be established and made publically available.  

FSA Administrator, Bruce Nelson said in a Press Release, “FSA places the utmost priority on ensuring that our services to producers remain strong as this consolidation process begins.”  The agency will provide farmers and ranchers affected by closures an opportunity to choose the most convenient neighboring county office with which to conduct their future business with the agency.  In addition, all employees in the closing office will be provided in opportunity to continue to work with FSA.  

Officials say as a federal agency, FSA has been affected by widespread budget reductions made by Congress.  Since 2011, the Agency has lost 1,230 permanent employees through voluntary early separation and normal retirement.  In addition, FSA has been forced to reduce discretionary administrative expense by over 30 percent in the last fiscal year alone. For a complete list of FSA county offices affected by the decision, go to:  http://www.fsa.usda.gov/officeconsolidations

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

REFERENDUM TO INCREASE THE CORN CHECKOFF TO BE HELD JULY 10

Ag/Outdoor

May 30th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board today (Wednesday) announced plans to conduct a referendum on July 10, 2012 to increase the corn checkoff by ¼ cent per bushel.  The checkoff is currently ¾ of a cent per bushel and if the increase is approved would be 1 cent per bushel. Any producer who raised and marketed at least 250 bushels of corn from September 1, 2010 to August 31, 2011 is eligible to vote at any county extension office in the crop reporting district where they live from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on July 10. Growers who wish to vote by absentee ballot may do so by contacting the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.  Producers may call 515-281-5321, email cornvote@IowaAgriculture.gov or visit the Henry Wallace Building, 502 E 9th St., Des Moines, IA 50319 to solicit an Absentee Ballot Request Form. The Absentee Ballot Request Form must be signed and returned to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.  The producer will then be mailed an Absentee Ballot. Absentee Ballot Request Forms must be postmarked by June 27, 2012 and Absentee Ballots must be postmarked by July 10, 2012. 

The corn checkoff was last increased in 2008 to the current rate of ¾ cent per bushel marketed.  The checkoff is collected on corn that enters commercial channels but not on grain used on-farm.  Producers are able to request a refund of their checkoff contribution and that will not be affected by the vote. The Iowa Corn Checkoff was established by producer referendum in 1977.  The Iowa Corn Promotion Board, made up of farmers elected by their peers, invests checkoff dollars for research, education, promotion, and market development.  The maximum checkoff allowed under Iowa code is 1 cent per bushel.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor |

Drought concerns emerge

Ag/Outdoor, News, Weather

May 30th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Warm, windy weather — and a lack of rain — are raising drought concerns in Iowa. The latest U-S-D-A report indicates about half of Iowa farm fields are short or very short of topsoil moisture. Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey says it’s worrysome. “Ironically northwest Iowa was probably our driest area going into spring and they’ve gotten rains,” Northey says. “But the balance of the state is really short of moisture and normally we don’t expect that dry weather until later in the season.” Dry conditions in late May and early June put a “unique kind of stress” on crops, according to Northey.

Corn, for example, is showing inadequate root growth.”When the crop is so short of moisture in that top soil, it actually is hard for those roots to find moisture and, therefore, to grow,” Northey says. “You would think normally…dry weather will cause those roots to go down and try to find moisture, but in some of our areas it’s so dry, if it’s not finding moisture, it actually stops those roots from growing.” While corn in some areas has weak root systems, some soybeans are just sitting in the ground and haven’t sprouted. “We do plant soybeans shallower. We plant them later and if you do a little bit of tillage, it dries out the top, especially since some of our areas of the state haven’t had rain for three weeks or at least any sizable rain and some very dry weather in the last three or four weeks as well.” The other problem is the soybean sprouts, but then dies because of lack of moisture.

Fifty-one percent of Iowa farm fields are “short” or “very short” of topsoil moisture according to the latest U-S-D-A report. The rating for subsoil moisture is 42 percent “short” or “very short.” The driest section of the state is south central Iowa, where 83 percent of the topsoil is “short” or “very short” of moisture.

Link to the U-S Drought Monitor website: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News, Weather |