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Atlantic School Board to receive comments on Early Start Waiver tonight

News

February 14th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will meet tonight at the High School Media Center, beginning at 7:30. The meeting will begin with a Public Hearing to receive comments on an Early Start Waiver for 2012-13, & 2013-2014. The director of the Department of Education may grant a request made by a board of directors of a school district stating its desire to commence classes for regularly established elementary and secondary schools prior to the earliest starting date specified in the Iowa Code.  The request shall be based upon the determination that a starting date on or after the earliest starting date specified in the Code would have a significant negative educational impact. A Public Hearing is required before the request can be made to the Dept. of Education.

The Board will also hear special presentations tonight, from: the Talented and Gifted (TAG) Program’s Joanne Sandage; Atlantic Parks and Recreation Director Roger Herring – who will discuss the need for school participation in funding repairs to the Sunnyside Tennis Courts; and, Jerry Purdy, with Design Alliance – with an update on the Middle School renovation project.

Action items on their agenda include approval of: A Letter of Understanding for the CCEOC (Cass County Educational Opportunity Center); A fiber optic line contract with United Private Networks; the District Calendars; A lease agreement for classroom space at 1209 Sunnyside Lane (for the Hospital School/EEOC); and, a Late Start Waiver.

Posted in News |

Iowa News Headlines: Tue., Feb. 14th, 2012

News

February 14th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa House has approved a school spending plan that continues a freeze on spending for this school year and leaves in place a 2 percent increase for next school year that’s already been approved. The budget plan was approved 56 to 39 on Monday evening.

NEVADA, Iowa (AP) — An April trial is scheduled for a central Iowa woman accused of killing her newborn twin daughters and hiding their bodies in the trunk of her car last month. The Des Moines Register says court records show 22-year-old Jackie Burkle of Huxley is to stand trial on two counts of first-degree murder beginning April 3. She entered a written plea of not guilty on Jan. 30.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa House panel has approved an eight-cent-a-gallon fuel tax increase and an increase on the tax paid when purchasing a new vehicle. Together they would combine for about $230 million a year to be used on road repairs. A Senate committee approved raising the fuel tax by 10 cents a gallon.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa will host first and second-round games for the women’s NCAA basketball tournament games in 2013. It is the 13th time Carver-Hawkeye Arena has been a host site. Next month, first- and second-round games will be played in Ames’ Hilton Coliseum, and Des Moines will host regional semifinals and finals.

Posted in News |

Latest Nat’l. Weather Service Forecast for Cass & area Counties, 2-14-12

Weather

February 14th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

324 AM CST TUE FEB 14 2012

TODAY…CLOUDY THROUGH MID MORNING THEN BECOMING PARTLY SUNNY. AREAS OF FOG THROUGH MID MORNING. HIGH IN THE MID 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE MID 20S. SOUTH WIND NEAR 10 MPH.

WEDNESDAY…CLOUDY. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN AND LIGHT SLEET IN THE MORNING…THEN A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S. SOUTHEAST WIND NEAR 5 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTHEAST IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 50 PERCENT.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW THROUGH MIDNIGHT…THEN PARTLY CLOUDY AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOW IN THE LOWER 20S. NORTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

THURSDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S. WEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 20S. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S.

Posted in Weather |

Dense Fog Advisory until 10-am for parts of Western/SW IA

News, Weather

February 14th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

COUNTIES: MONTGOMERY-FREMONT-PAGE-MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-

310 AM CST TUE FEB 14 2012

…DENSE FOG ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CST THIS MORNING…

* VISIBILITY…VISIBILITIES OF A QUARTER MILE OR LESS WILL BE COMMON THROUGH THE MORNING DRIVE. PARTS OF EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA WILL SEE VISIBILITIES DROP AS LOW CLOUDS CLEAR TO THE EAST THROUGH SUNRISE.

* IMPACTS…REDUCED VISIBILITIES COULD CAUSE DANGEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. ALSO…TEMPERATURES WILL DROP INTO THE TEENS AND LOWER 20S…SO SOME FREEZING FOG COULD OCCUR ON AREA ROADS AND SIDEWALKS. SLICK CONDITIONS WILL RESULT.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A DENSE FOG ADVISORY MEANS VISIBILITIES WILL FREQUENTLY BE REDUCED TO LESS THAN ONE QUARTER MILE. IF DRIVING…SLOW DOWN…USE YOUR HEADLIGHTS…AND LEAVE PLENTY OF DISTANCE AHEAD OF YOU.

Posted in News, Weather |

No. 9 Baylor beats Iowa State 79-64

Sports

February 14th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

WACO, Texas (AP) — Perry Jones III and Baylor never lost confidence, even while losing consecutive games for the second time in a month. They got back on track in a hurry. Jones rediscovered his shooting touch with 18 points and the ninth-ranked Bears rebounded from two big losses with a 79-64 victory over Iowa State on Monday night, two days after losing at Missouri by the same margin. Jones already had 10 points by halftime, one more than he had combined last week when Baylor (22-4, 9-4 Big 12) lost to No. 4 Kansas and No. 3 Missouri in consecutive games for the second time this season. The Bears are undefeated against the rest of the Big 12 and everybody else they have played, and clearly proven themselves as the league’s third-best team for now. Iowa State (18-8, 8-5) had won four of its previous five games to tie them for third place. Miller, who matched Jones with 8-of-13 shooting, added 16 points for the Bears. Anthony Jones had 12 points and Quincy Acy 11. Melvin Ejim had 17 points to lead the Cyclones. Royce White added 14 points with seven turnovers after scoring a career-high 25 points in a 69-46 win over Texas A&M.

Baylor shot 60 percent (33 of 55) in the game, with 24 assists and only eight turnovers. Even when the Cyclones shot 55 percent (16 of 29) in the second half, Baylor made 72 percent (21 of 29) in that same span — many on dunks while scoring 32 points in the paint Baylor never trailed. The Cyclones have lost six consecutive games in Waco, where they last won in 2000. The teams play again in the regular season finale March 3 at Iowa State.

Posted in Sports |

Area Boys Substate Basketball Scores from Mon., Feb. 13th 2012

Sports

February 14th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

BOYS BASKETBALL
2A District 1 Substate 1
Quarterfinal

Clarinda Academy 66, Shenandoah 38

Neola Tri-Center 51, Missouri Valley 45

2A District 15 Substate 8
Quarterfinal

Jefferson Scranton 67, South Central Calhoun 58

Woodward Academy 85, Gowrie Prairie Valley 83

2A District 16 Substate 8
Quarterfinal

Panora Panorama 69, Osceola Clarke 66, OT

West Central Valley, Stuart 65, Leon Central Decatur 40

2A District 2 Substate 1
Quarterfinal

East Sac County 76, Ridge View 49

Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 86, Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 56

2A District 4 Substate 2
Quarterfinal

Orange City Unity Christian 64, Cherokee, Washington 30

1A District 1 Substate 1
Play In

Council Bluffs St. Albert 76, Heartland Christian 8

Nishnabotna 57, Essex 47, OT

1A District 15 Substate 8
Play In

Afton East Union 73, Diagonal 45

Earlham 54, Orient-Macksburg 46

1A District 16 Substate 8
Play In

Lenox 64, Bedford 52

Stanton 48, College Springs South Page 36

1A District 2 Substate 1
Play In

Mondamin West Harrison 57, Avoca AHST 55

1A District 6 Substate 3
Play In

Audubon 59, Glidden-Ralston 52

Madrid 66, Paton-Churdan 37

POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
2A District 2 Substate 1
Quarterfinal

OA-BCIG vs. Alta/Aurelia, ppd.

1A District 2 Substate 1
Play In

Sloan Westwood vs. Charter Oak-Ute, ppd.

 

Posted in Sports |

Iowa’s progress slowed by poor defense

Sports

February 13th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — With just six games left before the Big Ten tournament, Iowa has clearly made progress under coach Fran McCaffery. The Hawkeyes (13-12, 5-7 Big Ten) have already won more games than they did in each of the previous two seasons, both overall and in the league, and a .500 finish in the Big Ten remains within reach. Iowa might be in position to do even bigger things in McCaffery’s second season if it wasn’t for such a porous defense. The Hawkeyes rank last in the Big Ten in scoring defense by nearly five points a game, and they’re also bringing up the rear in field goal percentage defense. Shoddy defense has been a season-long trend for the Hawkeyes, one that has McCaffery searching for answers as they prepare to play Penn State (11-15, 3-10) on Thursday.

The struggles came to a head — again — in an 83-64 loss last week to Northwestern, a game in which the Wildcats led by as many as 24 points. Northwestern attacked Iowa’s soft defense right away, shooting 15 of 27 from the floor in the first half, and the Wildcats also got open enough to sink 13 3s on 25 tries. What bothered McCaffery the most was Iowa was struggling defensively even before Northwestern made adjustments on offense. “We had breakdowns early in that game, and I think that’s one of the things that would concern any coach,” McCaffery said. “The breakdowns that we had shouldn’t have been occurring as early as they did in that game, and that was what was disappointing to me.” It was frustrating, too, because the Hawkeyes were coming off a pair of encouraging defensive efforts that led to victories. Iowa rallied from a 10-point deficit and beat Minnesota 63-59 on Feb. 1 in large part because it held the Gophers scoreless over the final 3:24. The Hawkeyes then held Penn State to 26.7 percent shooting on Feb. 4, en route to a 17-point halftime lead and an easy 77-64 victory.Of course, those two wins came after a defensive performance that was even worse than the one Iowa put on in Evanston. The Hawkeyes allowed Indiana to grab 20 offensive rebounds and score 58 points in the paint in a 103-89 loss in Bloomington on Jan. 29. Iowa shot 79 percent in the second half against the Hoosiers and still lost by 14 because of spotty defense. If the Hawkeyes can’t quickly make major improvements, they’ll likely be headed for their fifth straight losing season.

 

Posted in Sports |

NCAA tourney returns to Iowa City in 2013

Sports

February 13th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa will host first and second-round NCAA tournament games in women’s basketball in 2013. The NCAA announced Monday that Iowa City will serve as one of 16 sites for early-round games next spring. This will be the 13th time that Carver-Hawkeye Arena has served as an NCAA tournament host. Hilton Coliseum in Ames will host first and second-round games next month, and Des Moines will host regional semifinals and finals.

Posted in Sports |

FINAL 3A/4A IGHSAU Basketball Rankings

Sports

February 13th, 2012 by Jim Field

Class 3-A
School
Record
LW
1
Benton
21-0
1
2
MOC-Floyd Valley
22-0
3
3
Sioux City Bishop Heelan
20-1
4
4
Davenport Assumption
19-2
2
5
Glenwood
19-1
5
6
Dubuque Wahlert
17-4
7
7
South Tama
20-2
6
8
Union
19-2
9
9
Bondurant-Farrar
19-2
11
10
Williamsburg
18-4
8
11
Washington
17-4
15
12
Sergeant Bluff-Luton
15-6
13
13
Denison-Schleswig
13-8
12
14
Keokuk
15-6
NR
15
Waverly-Shell Rock
16-5
10
Dropped Out: Ballard (14)
Class 4-A
School
Record
LW
1
Southeast Polk
21-1
1
2
Iowa City West
20-1
2
3
Mason City
19-2
4
4
Ankeny
18-3
3
5
Cedar Rapids Xavier
16-5
5
6
Waukee
17-5
6
7
Iowa City High
15-6
9
8
Muscatine
18-3
11
9
Lewis Central
19-2
14
10
Dowling Catholic
13-8
8
11
West Des Moines Valley
13-8
13
12
Cedar Rapids Kennedy
12-9
7
13
Cedar Rapids Washington
13-7
10
14
Des Moines East
15-6
NR
15
Cedar Falls
12-9
15
Dropped Out: Cedar Rapids Prairie (12)

Posted in Sports |

Terry Peak reports second ski death

News

February 13th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

LEAD, S.D. (AP) — Officials at Terry Peak resort in western South Dakota’s Black Hills say a second person died at the resort over the weekend. President and General Manager Tom Marsing says a 46-year-old man collapsed in the Nevada Gulch Day Lodge early Sunday afternoon and died on the scene. Authorities earlier said 24-year-old Tina Heilman, of Orange City, hit a ski lift tower Saturday as she was skiing down a beginner’s slope at the resort and died. Marsing says the woman was a novice skier and she wasn’t wearing a helmet.

A family friend says Heilman worked as a nurse in Sioux Falls. She was a graduate of Dordt College, a Christian college in Sioux Center, Iowa.

Posted in News |