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HELEN JOHNSON ALLEN, 94, of Stuart (Svcs 11-10-11)

Obituaries

November 8th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

HELEN JOHNSON ALLEN, 94, of Stuart, died Mon., Nov. 7th, at the Kavanagh House in Des Moines. Funeral services for HELEN ALLEN will be held 10-a.m. Thu., Nov. 10th, at the Panora United Methodist Church. Twigg Funeral Home in Panora has the arrangements.

Visitation is on Wed., Nov. 9th, from 4-7pm at the funeral home, with the family present from 5-7pm.

Burial will be in the Prairie Center Cemtery in rural Yale.

Richter’s father found dead in his Chicago home

News

November 8th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A retired Chicago police detective was found dead outside his rural Iowa home Tuesday, a day after his daughter was convicted of murder in a 2001 shooting death she had claimed was self-defense, a death investigator said. Bernard Richter, 69, was found dead about 11:50 a.m. on his property in Rembrandt by sheriff’s deputies sent to check on him after relatives said they had not heard from him since Sunday morning, according to Buena Vista County death investigator Matt Imming.

Imming said it appeared Richter had died of natural causes, but that the state medical examiner’s office would conduct an autopsy Wednesday. Imming said the discovery of the body a day after his daughter’s conviction appears to be “purely coincidental.” “We’re still trying to piece together the timeline,” he said. “The investigation is still ongoing.”

Sheriff Gary Launderville said investigators on the scene Tuesday could not positively identify the elderly male body as being Richter because of blood pooled around his face and chest and that his office would leave the final determination to the state medical examiner’s autopsy. Launderville said it appeared the body had been where it was found face down on the ground for 24 to 36 hours before deputies arrived. “We are not ruling out anything at this point,” he said. “We’re way too early in this thing.”

A Fort Dodge jury on Monday convicted Tracey Richter of first-degree murder in the Dec. 13, 2001, shooting of Dustin Wehde, 20. Bernard Richter supported his daughter, but family members said he did not attend her murder trial because he been ill in recent months. Tracey Richter had claimed she killed Wehde after he and another man broke into her Early home and choked her with pantyhose. Jurors, however, sided with prosecutors who said she killed Wehde as part of a plot to frame her ex-husband.

During a September interview, Bernard Richter said he had retired after working for 27 years as a homicide detective in Chicago and indicated that the allegations against his daughter were taking a toll. “I see what they put in the paper,” he said. “They don’t put nothing about the poor family.”

Harlan woman nominated to IA Court of Appeals

News

November 8th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Judicial Nominating Commission has named three nominees to the Iowa Court of Appeals. The commission selected the nominees on Tuesday from a pool of 18 applicants who were interviewed earlier in the day. They are District Judge Thomas Bower, of Cedar Falls; District Associate Judge Susan Christensen, of Harlan; and Assistant Attorney General Jeanie Vaudt, of West Des Moines. Gov. Terry Branstad has 30 days to make his selection. The vacancy on the court is being created by the retirement of Chief Judge Rosemary Sackett in January.

Wednesday State Volleyball Schedule

Sports

November 8th, 2011 by Jim Field

@ Cedar Rapids Ice Arena (Click class headings for state tourney brackets)

Class 4-A First Round:

  • Noon — Abraham Lincoln (25-21) vs. #1 Iowa City West (36-6)
  • Noon — #11 Cedar Falls (26-12) vs. #2 Iowa City High (38-3)
  • 1:30 — #7 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (29-9) vs. #4 Dubuque Hempstead (25-8)
  • 1:30 — #8 Waukee (27-7) vs. #3 Ankeny (28-8)

Class 3-A First Round:

  • 6:00 — #6 Charles City (34-7) vs. #5 Bishop Heelan Catholic (44-11)
  • 6:00 — #7 Maquoketa (32-5) vs. #3 Waverly-Shell Rock (45-3)
  • 7:30 — #10 Harlan (31-6) vs. #1 Dubuque Wahlert (29-8)
  • 7:30 — #9 Union (32-7) vs. #2 Solon (32-1)

Atlantic XC Teams Earn Academic Honors

Sports

November 8th, 2011 by Jim Field

Congratulations to the Atlantic girls cross country team which qualified for Academic All State honors.  The average GPA for the 20 team members was 3.43 for the first nine weeks.  Savannah Hoye, Ali Krogman and Karly Monson led the way with 4.0 GPA’s.  Seven other girls had a 3.8 or higher GPA.  Each team member will receive a certificate from the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

Five Atlantic senior cross country runners were awarded Hawkeye 10 Academic All Conference certificates.  Congratulations to Derek VonSeggern, Katie Blake, Ali Krogman, Melanie Nielsen and Malachi Wickman who each received this honor.

Iowa State at Oklahoma Football Nov. 26 an 11 am Start on FSN or FX

Sports

November 8th, 2011 by Jim Field

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State’s Big 12 Conference football game at Oklahoma on Nov. 26 will have an 11 a.m. CST kickoff and be televised by either FX or Fox Sports Net. A decision on the telecast carrier is expected next week.

Kickoff for Iowa State’s Friday, Nov. 18 Big 12 Conference game vs. Oklahoma State in Jack Trice Stadium will be at  7 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

2011 Iowa State Football Schedule

DATE  TEAM                                  Time/Score      TV
S3           NORTHERN IOWA            W, 20-19
S10         IOWA                                    W, 44-41 (3OT)  FSN
S16         at Connecticut                   W, 24-20              ESPN2
O1          TEXAS* (FW)                      L, 14-37                 FX
O8          at Baylor*                            L, 26-49                 FSN
O15        at Missouri*                       L, 17-52
O22        TEXAS A&M (HC)*           L, 17-33                ABC-TV
O29        at Texas Tech*                  W, 41-7                FSN
N5          KANSAS*                             W, 13-10              FCS
N18        OKLAHOMA STATE*       7 p.m.                   ESPN
N26        at Oklahoma*                   11 a.m.                  FX or FSN
D3           at Kansas State*             11:30 a.m.             FSN
HOMES GAMES IN CAPS
*Big 12 Conference Game
(FW) Family Weekend
(HC) Homecoming
All times Central

Burn Ban Lifted in Cass County

News

November 8th, 2011 by admin

A ban on opening burning which had been in place in Cass County since October 7th, was lifted Tuesday afternoon. The ban was issued due to dry and windy conditions, and the danger of seemingly controlled, open burning, getting out of control.  Recent rains and a light dusting of snow last week has helped to lessen the fire danger.

Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon announced that at the request of area fire departments, the ban burn was lifted at 3-p.m. Tuesday.

Across Oceans Across Time 11-08-2011

Across Oceans Across Time, Podcasts

November 8th, 2011 by admin

Michelle McNabb talks about Peter Hansen’s stories.

Play

Fall Trout Stockings Coming to Council Bluffs, Spencer, Fort Dodge, Sioux City, Ames, Mason City

Ag/Outdoor, News, Sports

November 8th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will stock trout in Council Bluffs on Nov. 9, near Spencer on Nov. 12, near Fort Dodge on Nov. 16, in Sioux City on Nov. 17, in Ames on Nov. 18 and in Mason City on Nov. 23. The DNR will release 1,000 rainbow trout in Big Lake at Council Bluffs, 1,500 in Scharnberg Park Pond at Spencer, 1,500 in Mooreland Pond at Fort Dodge, 1,500 in Bacon Creek at Sioux City, 2,200 in Ada Hayden at Ames, and 1,500 in Blue Pit at Mason City. 

The stockings are part of the DNR’s cool weather trout program that brings trout to areas that cannot support them during the summer months.  Trout will be released at 2 p.m. in Big Lake, between 12 and 1 p.m. at Scharnberg Park, 1 p.m. at Moreland Pond, 1 p.m. at Bacon Creek, noon at Ada Hayden and 11 a.m. at Blue Pit.

Anglers will need to have a valid fishing license and pay the trout fee to fish for or possess trout.  The daily limit is five trout per licensed angler with a possession limit of 10. Children age 15 or younger can fish for trout with a properly licensed adult, but they must limit their catch to one daily limit.  The child can purchase a trout fee which will allow them to catch their own limit.

(DNR Press Release)

Attorney: Murder verdict a win for public safety

News

November 8th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Chicago attorney says a jury verdict finding a former western Iowa woman guilty of murdering a man in 2001 is a victory for public safety. Stephen Komie on Tuesday praised Sac County Attorney Ben Smith and state investigators for securing Monday’s conviction of Tracey Richter, of Omaha, in the death of 20-year-old Dustin Wehde at her home in Early, Iowa. Komie represented Richter’s first husband, John Pitman III, in a bitter divorce and custody proceeding in the 1990s. Prosecutors say Richter tried to frame Pitman and Komie in a murder-for-hire-scheme in which she had Wehde write in a pink notebook they’d hired him to kill her and her son. Komie says he was surprised to learn last month he’d been framed and he’s “thrilled” Richter had been convicted.