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CLARA L. SUNDERMAN, 98, of Atlantic (Svcs. 3-19-12)

Obituaries

March 16th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

CLARA L. SUNDERMAN, 98, of Atlantic, died Thu., March 15th, at the Heritage House in Atlantic. Funeral services for CLARA SUNDERMAN will be held 10:30-a.m. Mon., March 19th,  at the Hockenberry Family Care Funeral Home in Atlantic.

Visitation with the family will be from 3-5pm Sun., March 18th, at the funeral home.

Memorials may be directed to the family.

Burial will be in the Atlantic Cemetery.

Clara Sunderman is survived by:

Her sons – Kenneth (Sharon) Sunderman, of Bella Vista, AR; DeWayne Sunderman, of Colorado Springs, CO; Dale (Sheryl) Sunderman, of Atlantic; & David Sunderman, of Bentonville, AR.

Her daughter – Barbara (Jim) Waters, of Cumberland.

Her sister – Darlene Petersen, of Atlantic.

13 grandchildren, & 40 great-grandchildren.

Posted in Obituaries |

EVELYN “TOOTIE” LYDON, 77, of Fontanelle (Graveside Svcs. 3-19-12)

Obituaries

March 16th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

EVELYN “TOOTIE” LYDON, 77, of Fontanelle, died Thu., March 15th, at home. Graveside services for EVELYN LYDON will be held 2:30-p.m. Mon., March 19th, in the Fontanelle Cemetery. Steen Funeral Home in Fontanelle has the arrangements.

Visitation at the funeral home is on Sunday, March 18th, from 4-8pm, with the family meeting friends from 6-8pm. Online condolences may be left to the family at www.steenfunerals.com

Memorials may be directed to the Evelyn “Tootie” Lydon Memorial Fund to be established by the family at a later date.

TOOTIE LYDON is survived by:

Her son – Brad (Jana) Lydon, of Kimballton.

Her daughter – Christi Raasch of Corning.

Her brother – Bill (Peggy) Eggen, of Salt Lake City, UT.

7 grandchildren; 4 great grandchildren; other relatives and friends.

Posted in Obituaries |

WAYNE TIBBEN, 91, of Audubon (Svcs. 3-16-12)

Obituaries

March 16th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

WAYNE TIBBEN, 91, of Audubon, died Thu., March 15th, at the Manning Plaza Nursing Home. Funeral services for Wayne Tibben will be held 1-p.m. Sat., March 17th, at Zion Lutheran Church in Manning. Johnson & Woodhouse Funeral Home in Manning has the arrangements.

Visitation at Zion Lutheran Church in Manning will be held from 4:30-pm Fri., March 16th.

Burial will be in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Audubon.

Wayne Tibben is survived by:

His sons – Gale (Doris) Tibben, of Spirit Lake, & Clark (Vickie) Tibben, of Audubon.

His brother – Eldon (Delilah) Tibben, of Fairfield, NE.

6 grandchildren & 6 great-grandchildren.

Posted in Obituaries |

Paddlers Warned: Iowa Waterways Ice Cold Despite Recent Warm Spell

Ag/Outdoor, News, Sports

March 16th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

The record warm temperatures in recent days have likely spurred water enthusiasts to break out their boating or canoe gear.

Todd Robertson

Todd Robertson, river programs outreach coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, is reminding paddlers to dress for the water, not the air. “Even though air temperatures are nice and warm and all cozy, the water is a completely different story,” Robertson says. “The water temperatures are in the low 40s, which mean it is ice cold.” The general rule, according to Robertson, is that if the water and air temperatures do not equal 120 degrees, anyone dumped in the water is at risk for hyperthermia.

 

“I have already seen quite a few people going out paddling who don’t have a lot of experience. I’ve seen people on Gray’s Lake (in Des Moines) without life jackets and in cotton sweat shirts and jeans,” Robertson says. “I mean, God forbid if they were to ever dump their boat in the water, they’d run into a lot of trouble.” He says dry suits or wet suits are recommended for all paddling until the water temperatures hit safer levels in late April or early May.

Robertson also suggests taking a bag with plenty of dry clothing. A properly fitted lifejacket is always important, regardless of the water temperatures, but Robertson notes hypothermia causes the loss of coordination and movement becomes limited – so a lifejacket is necessary to stay afloat and keep the head above water.

(Pat Curtis/Radio Iowa)

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News, Sports |

Forecast for Cass & area Counties in IA: 3-16-12

Weather

March 16th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

402 AM CDT FRI MAR 16 2012/NWS Des Moines

…RECORD HIGHS TODAY…

…NEAR RECORD HIGHS SATURDAY...

EARLY THIS MORNING…PARTLY CLOUDY. WARMER. AREAS OF FOG. SOUTH WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

TODAY…PARTLY SUNNY. AREAS OF FOG THROUGH MID MORNING. HIGH AROUND 80. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH. GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH MIDNIGHT…THEN MOSTLY CLOUDY AFTER MIDNIGHT. AREAS OF FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOW AROUND 60. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

SATURDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. BREEZY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 70S. SOUTH WIND 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY. LOW AROUND 60. HIGH IN THE MID 70S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH.

SUNDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY. LOW AROUND 60.

MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT…THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY. BREEZY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 70S. LOW IN THE UPPER 50S. CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS 70 PERCENT.

Posted in Weather |

Iowa State Beats Defending Champs in NCAA Tournament

Sports

March 15th, 2012 by admin

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Chris Allen led four Cyclones in double figures with 20 points, and Iowa State scored their final 14 at the free throw line Thursday night to beat Connecticut 77-64.

It’s the first time since UCLA in 1996 that the defending champs have lost in the opening game and only the second time the Huskies have lost their first game of the NCAA tournament. UConn coach Jim Calhoun was already on his feet before the final buzzer, walking to congratulate Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg.

Scott Christopherson tallied 15 and Melvin Ejim scored 11 for the Cyclones.  Royce White finished with a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Iowa State will now play overall #1 seed Kentucky on Saturday in Louisville, KY.

Posted in Sports |

Bard Hit Hard, Cardinals Beat Boston

Sports

March 15th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Daniel Bard was hit hard, with Shane Robinson’s bases-loaded triple in the eighth inning chasing the Boston pitcher Thursday as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Red Sox 9-6. Bard allowed seven earned runs in 2 2-3 innings. Dustin Pedroia and Darnell McDonald hit home runs that gave Boston a 4-1 lead going into the sixth, and Bard took over. Red Sox starter Alfredo Aceves struck out four in four innings while allowing one run. St. Louis starter Kyle Lohse gave up three earned runs in 3 2-3 innings. Rafael Furcal had two hits for St. Louis. Jacoby Ellsbury had two hits for the Red Sox.

Posted in Sports |

Cass County Supervisors approve amended budget and compensation board recommendations

News

March 15th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

The Cass County Board of Supervisors this week approved a proposed amendment to the Fiscal Year 2011-2012 Cass County Budget. The appropriation adjustments (or, changes in spending authority) for Fiscal Year 2012 included – General Basic Fund: increase Local Health by $62,340 (for flow thru of revenues for grants, etc); Increase Non-departmental by $44,150 (for Public Safety Communications); Decrease Local Option Sales Tax capital projects function by $199,372 and increase LOST debt service function by $199,372; Increase General Basic non-departmental by $520,000 (for return of appropriation borrowed for URA Amaizing Energy capital projects expenditures 8/31/11); and, increase URA Amaizing Energy Debt Service Fund by $520,000.

The Supervisors also unanimously approved Cass County Compensation Board recommendations for a 2.5-percent across the board compensation increase for all elected officials. They voted 3-to 2 in favor of the compensation boards’ recommendation the Board of Supervisor members also receive a 2.5% salary increase, with Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors receive $1,000 above the normal compensation. Frank Waters, Chuck Rieken and Duane McFadden voted in favor of the recommendation, Gaylord Schelling and Mark Wedemeyer voted against it.

Approval of the Compensation Boards’ recommendations means for FY 2013: The Cass County Attorney’s annual salary will be $87,468 (an increase of $2,133 over FY 2012); Auditor, Recorder and Treasurers annual salaries will be $50,198 (an increase of $1,224); Sheriff, $62,683 (an increase of $1,529); and, each Supervisor will be paid $26,202 (an increase of $639), with $1,000 additional for the Board Chair.

The Board Wednesday morning approved adoption of the proposed FY2013 Cass County budget, and the Secondary Roads/Iowa Department of Transportation expense budget for FY 2013. And, they unanimously approved the use of County Road N-28 as an official detour route (beginning at Iowa Highway 83, south for 10-miles to Iowa Highway 92), while work is being done on Iowa Highway 148 from Anita south, to Highway 92.

Posted in News |

SEVERE WEATHER AWARENESS WEEK – POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY

News, Weather

March 15th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

The Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency, National Weather Service and other preparedness partners will conduct a Severe Weather Awareness Week to promote severe weather safety to citizens the week of March 19-23, 2012. The National Weather Service will promote weather safety by issuing informative daily Public Information Statements. Citizens can also get this information by following the Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency on Facebook. Topics will include: Severe Weather Terminology, Severe Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Tornado Drill, Lightning, Flooding and Social Media.

The annual TORNADO DRILL DAY will be Wednesday, March 21st. (In case of severe weather, the drill will be postponed to Thursday March 22nd) The drill sequence will begin at 10a.m. with sirens sounding at approximately 10:10a.m. The test warning will be valid for 20 minutes. All citizens, businesses, schools, healthcare facilities and public facilities are encouraged to participate in this drill by practicing what you would do in a real tornado warning.

The County 911 Center will activate outdoor warning sirens for the communities of Avoca, Carson, Carter Lake, Council Bluffs, Crescent, Macedonia, McClelland, Neola, Oakland and Underwood. Citizens in other Pottawattamie County communities are encouraged to contact their City Hall or local Fire Department to see if sirens will sound during the drill.

The Emergency Management Agency would like to remind all citizens that outdoor warning sirens have limited to no effectiveness when you are in your home or traveling in your vehicle. Pottawattamie County residents and residents of our communities are strongly encouraged to sign up for the Code Red Emergency Notification System. The service is free of charge and you will receive a phone call (home and/or cell) when severe weather threatens.

This is a very important, potentially life-saving tool, especially where there are no sirens or you are in a place where sirens would be ineffective in warning you and your family. Residents should sign up for the service, free of charge at www.pottcounty.com.

Posted in News, Weather |

Rural economy appears strong in 10 states

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 15th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Higher fuel prices haven’t slowed the economy much in rural areas of 10 Midwest and Plains states. A monthly survey of rural bankers showed no change in March. The overall economic index registered 59.6 again this month, and any score above 50 suggests the economy will grow. The bankers appear quite optimistic about the next six months because the confidence index rose to 63 in March from February’s 60.3. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says there is still a fair amount of uncertainty about the economy, so many farmers and businesses are reluctant to expand. The hiring index rose to 60 in March from February’s 53.7, suggesting businesses are hiring. The survey covers Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |