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Wolf, Brewers Beat Cards for 13th Win in 14 Games

Sports

August 11th, 2011 by Jim Field

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Randy Wolf pitched eight sharp innings and the Milwaukee Brewers jumped on Jake Westbrook early to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 Wednesday night, giving the NL Central leaders their 13th win in 14 games.  Prince Fielder had a sacrifice fly in the first inning and an RBI double in the third to help the Brewers open a five-game cushion on the second-place Cardinals.  Milwaukee clinched only its fifth road series win of the season and will try for a sweep Thursday night. The Brewers have taken four of five from St. Louis this month.  The Brewers are 41-15 at home and just 26-35 on the road, but are one win away from a perfect 6-0 trip.

Iowa Content Being Out From Spotlight in 2011

Sports

August 11th, 2011 by Jim Field

     IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A year ago, Iowa tumbled from a preseason top-10 ranking to a .500 finish in the Big Ten.  The Hawkeyes earned a trip to the Insight Bowl, but they went without their top running back and wide receiver after December arrests.  The glow over a comeback win over Missouri was sullied by an offseason workout gone awry. It left 13 players hospitalized, and coach Kirk Ferentz was forced to defend his program.  All that drama, coupled with the departure of a celebrated senior class led by Adrian Clayborn and Ricky Stanzi, has significantly lowered expectations for Iowa in 2011.

Pioli: Chiefs Are Making Progress During Odd Camp

Sports

August 11th, 2011 by Jim Field

     ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli believes significant progress has been made during the first two weeks of a most unusual training camp.  Speaking after Kansas City’s walkthrough Wednesday morning, Pioli says he’s been “encouraged” by several new players and the ground that’s been covered by Todd Haley and the rest of the coaching staff after the lockout.  The defending AFC West champs wrap up their first leg of training camp with a practice under the lights Wednesday night in St. Joseph, Mo. They head home to Arrowhead Stadium for their preseason opener Friday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

UNI’s Ahelegbe To Play In Germany

Sports

August 11th, 2011 by Jim Field

     CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – Former Northern Iowa point guard Kwadzo (ka-JOE) Ahelegbe (ah-HEL-eg-bah) will play in Germany next season.  The school says Ahelegbe has signed with BG G Jottingen (GO-ti-gen).  Ahelegbe led the Panthers with 14.1 points per game last year and was a first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference pick.  Ahelegbe finished his Northern Iowa career ranked ninth on the school’s career scoring list with 1,329 points.  Former Panthers John Little and Ben Jacobson also played BG
G Jottingen.

Cyclones Search For QB Will Define Upcoming Season

Sports

August 11th, 2011 by Jim Field

AMES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa State’s defensive line appears to be its strongest in years. its linebackers and defensive backs are skilled and experienced. The Cyclones have intriguing options at wide receiver and running back and three starters back in the trenches.  None of that will matter if they can’t find a quarterback.  How Iowa State replaces three-year starter Austen Arnaud will likely define its third season under coach Paul Rhoads. Junior Jerome Tiller, junior college transfer Steele Jantz and redshirt freshman Jared Barnett are all in contention for the job.  Iowa State finished 5-7 (3-5 Big 12) in 2010, missing out of postseason eligibility after a 14-0 home loss to Missouri in its finale.

2011 Iowa corn crop could equal record set in 2009

Ag/Outdoor, News

August 11th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Federal authorities are forecasting a 2011 Iowa corn harvest of 2.43 billion bushels, a figure that would match the Iowa record set in 2009. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the estimate is based on Aug. 1 conditions. Last year, 2.15 billion bushels were harvested in Iowa. The area expected to be harvested for grain is up to 13.75 million acres, compared with 13.05 million acres in 2010. The expected yield for 2011 is 177 bushels an acre. That’s 12 bushels higher than last year’s production but 5 bushels under the record set in 2009.

State Fair opens with unveiling of butter sculpture

Ag/Outdoor, News

August 11th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

Duffy tribute - Butter Sculpture

A massive sculpture made of more than 12-hundred (1,200) pounds of butter was unveiled this (Thursday) morning as part of the opening ceremonies for the 2011 Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. It’s located in the Ag Building near the famous life-sized butter cow which has now been part of the Fair for 100 years. The Fair’s “butter cow lady,” Sarah Pratt, also created the surprise sculpture which includes a cow and a young boy teaching a calf to nurse. It’s placed on a turntable so the entire sculpture rotates 360 degrees.

“Some people might know, but I’ll let out the secret, the other cow isn’t completely finished all the way around. It’s only finished on the parts that you can see from outside. So, I was excited to be able to do a sculpture that everyone could see from all sides,” Pratt said. The sculpture, located behind glass in a 42-degree cooler, pays tribute to Norma “Duffy” Lyon – who served as the Fair’s “butter cow lady” for 45 years. Lyon passed away earlier this year at the age of 81. Pratt says she was inspired by a story about how Norma met her husband Joe. Their first meeting involved a minor argument about Norma chasing a butterfly. The sculpture includes a young Norma Lyon with a butterfly in her hand.

“To me, it signifies her curious spirit and her love of all living things. But also, just that spirit that embodies the Fair of curiousity and learning and exploring,” Pratt said. “So, I hope when people are on the fairgrounds and they see a butterfly they might remember Norma.” The 34-year-old Pratt, who’s from Norwalk, learned the art of butter sculpting from Lyon and took over the role of the Fair’s “butter cow lady” in 2006. She spent three weeks working on the sculpture revealed this morning.

“Because it rotates and people can see it from all different angles, there was a lot of consideration taken into all the angles. And because it was all done in secrecy, it made it difficult to come outside and view the sculpture,” Pratt said. “Now that I can see it from outside, I think there are some things I might go in and fix up a little bit.” A long line of people stretched throughout the Ag Building this morning as fairgoers waited to see the butter cow and Pratt’s sculpture of Lyon.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa State Fair seeks Omaha customers

News

August 11th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

Midway rides at the IA State Fair

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The Iowa State Fair is spending more money to draw Omaha customers than the Nebraska State Fair as organizers continue their efforts to attract more Omaha-area fairgoers. The Iowa State Fair is spending $125,000 to advertise in Omaha this year, which represents about 20 percent of its total advertising and production budget. Iowa’s campaign includes print and broadcast advertising, seven Omaha billboards and another in Council Bluffs. Officials say their efforts, which began in 2010, are paying off.

Iowa fair marketing director Lori Chappell says roughly 15 percent of Iowa fairgoers came from the Omaha area last year. The Iowa State Fair kicks off today (Thursday) and runs through Aug.21st.

Backyard and Beyond 08-11-2011

Backyard and Beyond, Podcasts

August 11th, 2011 by admin

Lavon speaks about what to do with plants in August.

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Griswold man wins top prize in the IA lottery’s “MONOPOLY” instant-scratch game

News

August 11th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

Craig Leighton, of Griswold

Officials with the Iowa Lottery say a Cass County man has claimed the top prize in the “Monopoly” instant-scratch ticket game. Craig Leighton, from Griswold, claimed his $50,000 prize last Friday at the Iowa Lottery’s regional office in Council Bluffs. He’d purchased his winning ticket at a convenience store in Council Bluffs.

MONOPOLY is a $5 scratch game. Players win a prize by matching any of “your numbers” to any of the “winning numbers.” If they find the “top hat” symbol they win double the prize shown. There are also three bonus areas where players can win $10, $25 or $50 instantly. Seventeen top prizes are still up for grabs in MONOPOLY as well as 266 prizes of $1,000, more than 1,060 prizes of $200 and more than 2,650 prizes of $100.

Since the lottery’s start in 1985, its players have won more than $2.7 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.3 billion for the state programs that benefit all Iowans.

Lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for veterans, help for a variety of significant projects through the state General Fund, and backing for the Vision Iowa program.