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Lemon Meringue Cake (2-2-2023)

Mom's Tips

February 2nd, 2023 by Jim Field

  • 1 package (18.25 oz.) lemon or yellow cake mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil

FILLING:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 4 egg yolks, beaten
  • 4 teaspoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

MERINGUE:

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 3/4 cup sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, water and oil.  Beat on low until moistened.  Beat on high for 2 minutes or until blended.  pour into two greased and floured 9″ round baking pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for ten minutes; remove from pans to wire racks.

For filling, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan.  Stir in water and juice until smooth.  Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to pan, stirring constantly.  Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for two minutes.  Remove from heat; stir in butter and lemon peel.  Cool completely.

For meringue, in a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy.  Gradually beat in sugar on high until stiff peaks form.

To assemble, split each cake into two layers.  Place bottom layer on an ovenproof serving plate; spread with a third of the filling.  Repeat layer twice.  Top with fourth cake layer.  Spread meringue over top and sides.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned.  Store in the refrigerator.

YIELD:  12-14 servings

Posted in Mom's Tips |

Cass County Compensation Board to meet Wednesday night

News

February 2nd, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The seven member Cass County Compensation Board will meet 7-p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, in the basement meeting room at the Cass County Courthouse, in Atlantic. The Board will elect officers for their Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary.

Afterward, they will discuss compensation of elected officials, followed by consideration and action on compensation recommendations to the Board of Supervisors.

Posted in News |

Drake takes 2OT thriller over UNI

Sports

February 2nd, 2023 by admin

The Drake Men’s Basketball team came out on top of a two overtime thriller over UNI 88-81 on Wednesday night at the Knapp Center.

Bowen Born hit a three-pointer to send it to overtime and to the second overtime but he ended up fouling out in the second OT.

Roman Penn led the Bulldogs with 28 points and 6 assists. Darnell Brodie, DJ Wilkins, and Garrett Sturtz each added 12 points. Drake improved to 19-6 on the season.

Born led UNI with 30 points and Landon Wolf added 15. The Panthers fall to 12-12 on the season.

 

Posted in Sports |

UNI tops Drake women

Sports

February 2nd, 2023 by admin

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa. –UNI downed Drake in a contest eerily similar to the first matchup of the season between the Panthers and Bulldogs. UNI was able to outlast Drake in a defensive battle and earn a 49-47 win sealed by another last-second floater by Johnston, Iowa native Maya McDermott.

The loss dropped Drake to 12-7 overall and 7-4 in MVC play while UNI improved to 14-6 on the season and 9-2 in conference action.

Forwards Anna Miller and Maggie Bair led the Bulldogs with 15 points and 12 points, respectively. Both Miller and Bair also grabbed 10 rebounds apiece, adding to their double-double count this season.

Elsewhere, Grace Berg added six points and nine rebounds while Taylor McAulay tied Miller with a team-high four assists.

On the other side, McDermott led UNI with 12 points followed by Emerson Green with 11. Grace Boffeli had a game-high 11 rebounds for the Panthers.

Posted in Sports |

ISU women fall at K-State

Sports

February 2nd, 2023 by admin

The Iowa State women fell 78-77 at Kansas State on Wednesday night.

Gabby Gregory hit two free-throws with 2 seconds left to seal the Wildcat win. Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw made a three at the buzzer to provide the final margin.

Lexi Donarski had 18 points, Ashley Joens scored 17, Nyamer Diew 14, and Denae Fritz 12 for Iowa State.

The Cyclones drop to 15-5 and will face Baylor on Saturday.

Posted in Sports |

Starting a backyard flock costs more than, well, chicken feed

Ag/Outdoor, News

February 2nd, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – As egg prices bound, backyard chicken flocks are gaining in popularity, but the practice of chicken keeping demands plenty of planning and patience before it pays off. Christa Hartsook, the small farms program coordinator for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, says the amount of money you have to invest to get started depends on how large an operation you want to launch. “Your basic costs are going to be in a little bit of equipment,” Hartsook says. “You’re going to need specific waterers and feeders for baby chicks. You’re going to need a specific area to keep them in that you can keep them nice and enclosed, and definitely very warm while they are in that early stage of life. Your biggest costs are going to be in the chick itself and in the feed.”

Most chicks range from three to six dollars each, but before you start counting your chickens, Hartsook says you’ll need to make sure you can legally keep the birds in the backyard.  “I always recommend that folks check with their community first and foremost, so that they can determine what particular regulations are guiding their community,” Hartsook says. “It may be in terms of the overall number, a community may not allow roosters, you may have property setback limits, so definitely check and read your community ordinances.” There are all sorts of breeds from which to choose, and you’ll also need to decide if you want chickens for eggs or for meat. Plus, if you’re going to be raising them in Iowa, certain heavier breeds are better able to withstand the state’s frigid winters.

Hartsook says she’s getting a lot of calls lately about backyard chickens, as spring will arrive March 20th. “People are just very concerned about the rising costs and we use eggs a lot in our daily diets,” Hartsook says. “Another great thing about chickens is it’s a relatively easy enterprise to get started with. It doesn’t cost a whole lot, then it’s a great way for folks to make that connection back to their own food source, and then maybe even provide some responsibility for kids.” For the same reasons egg prices are inflated, supply chain issues are pushing up the cost of chicken feed — and the cost of chicks, too.

“Chicks are a little higher because we are seeing a lot of interest in getting started with backyard chickens, so you’re definitely not going to get chicks tomorrow and then see eggs the next week,” Hartsook says. “You’re not going to see any kind of return really on chicks until fall. It’s five to five-and-a-half months before a chick is mature enough to have egg production.” If you’re considering starting a backyard flock, there’s a free online course through the I-S-U Extension: https://store.extension.iastate.edu/product/15129

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

January weather went against the norms

News, Weather

February 2nd, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa/KJAN) – January is usually the coldest and driest month of the year, but State Climatologist Justin Glisan says the numbers went against the averages this year. “Little over 24 degrees is the average temperature for the state and that’s about five degrees above average so top 30 warmest Januarys on record,” he says.

KJAN weather records for the month of January in Atlantic, show that we were on average, 4-degrees warmer than normal, 8-degrees warmer on the Low side of the thermometer, and thanks to rainfall and four days of snowfall, we ended-up slightly more than six-tenths of an inch wetter than normal. The Average High for Jan. 2023 in Atlantic was 33.6 degrees (the norm is 29.4). The Low averaged out to 15.5degrees (9.3 is the norm), and we received 1.47-inches of precipitation (rain/melted frozen precip.). We would normally be much drier, at .84-inches. Snowfall amounted to 1.9 inches. The warmest day was January 10th (49-degrees). The coldest day (24-hour Low) was Jan. 30th, at -5 degrees. The snowiest day was January 27th (.8″).

Justin Glisan says January in Iowa saw more rain and snow than normal. “We’re about an inch above average — we came in at just under two inches of precipitation snowfall in any rainfall that fell — and preliminarily in the top 10 wettest Januarys on record.”He says half the state saw more snowfall than normal. “As January is the driest month it doesn’t take a lot to be above average, but definitely above average snowpack across the northern half of the state anywhere from five to 10 inches above average. You look at southern Iowa in a snow drought so below average snowfall for that portion of the state,” Glisan says.

The severe weather in January was not limited to snow and blizzards, as two tornadoes touched down in eastern Iowa. “Very weak tornadoes, E-F-zero, E-F-one, on the ground for 10 minutes five mile track. Some damage along that path, but nothing catastrophic,” he says. The tornadoes were rare and record-breaking. “The earliest calendar day tornado for the state of Iowa. So we broke a record there. And it was these were the first tornadoes that we’ve seen across the state since January 24 1967, when we saw 13 tornadoes in eastern Iowa, which was a part of a larger tornado outbreak across Missouri, Illinois and Iowa,” Glisan says.

Glisan says the early short-term outlook for February is slightly warmer and wetter.

Posted in News, Weather |

NO coaching changes for Iowa Football

Sports

February 2nd, 2023 by Ric Hanson

Those hoping for big changes in the offense of the Hawkeye football team will be disappointed after head coach Kirk Ferentz addressed the issue Thursday.

The Iowa offense was one of the worst in the country last season and relied heaving on the defense in its wins. Ferentz’s son Brian — who is the offensive coordinator — has been a big focus of the criticism. But Ferentz says the program’s history has not been to fire coordinators, and that is not going to change.

Ferentz says the program has had some down time, but they always bounce back. And he says they had eight wins last year and 10 wins the year before despite the low scoring offense.

Hawkeye Athletic Director, Gary Barta, also met with the media and backed up his coach.

Under the U-I system, Barta personally evaluates Brian Ferentz since he is Kirk’s son.

Barta also indicated changes in the players will make a difference this coming season.

The Hawkeye offense finished 130 out of 131 F-B-S programs and had the worst average yardage per game since 1978.

Posted in Sports |

Girls wrestling tournament opens today

Sports

February 2nd, 2023 by Ric Hanson

Iowa girls will make history today (Thursday) in Iowa City. More than 400 girls will take to the mats in the first ever state wrestling tournament sanctioned by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. Participation numbers have rapidly increased the past several years and the officials and coaches association held a state tournament. The numbers more doubled after the Girls Union announced it would sanction the tournament. The girls will compete in 13 weight classes, with the tournament wrapping up Friday.

Listen for live reports from KJAN’s Jim Field throughout the event.

Posted in Sports |

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the Nishna Valley, Thursday – Feb. 2nd, 2023

Weather

February 2nd, 2023 by Ric Hanson

Today: Partly cloudy. High 27. SW-N @ 15-25 mph.
Tonight: Fair to P/Cldy. Low -5. N @ 5-10.
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. High 22. SE @ 5-10.
Saturday: P/Cldy, windy & warmer. High 44.
Sunday: P/Cldy. High 46.

Wednesday’s High in Atlantic was 41. The Low was 13. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 16 and the Low was -4. The Record High on this date was 66 in 1992. The Record Low was -36 in 1905.

Posted in Weather |