Wednesday, November 9
UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls
1:00—Newell-Fonda (10-1) vs. WACO, Wayland (12-0)
4:00—Lenox (11-0) vs. St. Mary’s, Remsen (11-0)
Wednesday, November 9
UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls
1:00—Newell-Fonda (10-1) vs. WACO, Wayland (12-0)
4:00—Lenox (11-0) vs. St. Mary’s, Remsen (11-0)
(Radio Iowa) – Parts of western Iowa could get snow late tonight (Friday) and into Saturday, with some forecast models showing the potential for several inches of accumulation. Conditions can change quickly and Iowa Department of Transportation spokesman Pete Hjelmstad says if there’s frost or snow covering your vehicle’s windows, it should be a no-brainer that you clear them off before trying to drive. “Unfortunately, many times, when I’m driving to work at 6:45 in the morning and I see people driving down the road and I really don’t know how they can see when I see their windshields,” Hjelmstad says. “You also see reports on social media a lot of times of the State Patrol or Motor Vehicle Enforcement or county sheriff’s or local city police departments pulling people over because their windows are not cleaned off.”
Hjelmstad says Iowans may need to brush up on their winter driving skills. No matter what the weather, drivers need to slow down, which is something he says hasn’t changed since the early days of the pandemic. “The theory is that there was so little traffic on the roads, and the roads were wide open, that people just felt they could drive fast and they have not changed their habits. There’s a lot of crashes because of speeding,” Hjelmstad says. “You are seeing a lot of times law enforcement posting pictures of somebody pulled over and their radar, and the radar is triple-digits. It’s beyond ridiculous.” 
He says motorists would be wise to look before they leap into the driver’s seat. “Know what you’re getting into, check the weather forecast, check the 511 app,” he says. “Being prepared is knowing what’s out there.” Hjelmstad also suggests Iowans keep a winter survival kit in their vehicles.
(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Police Investigators in Council Bluffs report an arrest was made Thursday in connection with an August injury accident on Interstate 29 southbound. Authorities say 20-year-old Evaristo Javier Garcia – who was wanted for two counts of Serious Injury by Motor Vehicle – turned himself-in to the Pottawattamie County Jail. Thursday (11/4/22). His next court date was set for November 10, 2022.
In our report following the Aug. 21, 2022 crash, authorities said the driver of a Dodge Challenger – now identified as Garcia – was operating the vehicle at speeds of more than 150-mph in a 70-mph speed zone when the car read-ended a Chevy S-10 pickup truck driven by 51-year-old Dorothy Drelicharz. The woman suffered multiple injuries during the crash. and was transported to the hospital by medical helicopter.
The passengers of the Dodge were transported to area hospitals by ambulance to be treated for non-life threatening injuries. Authorities said Garcia was being investigated for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
Jim Field visits with Hillside Hope Assembly Pastor Dave Beroth about the Thanks + Giving give away event Saturday, November 4, 2022 from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm at the Hillside Hope Assembly. Food, drinks, socks, cleaning supplies and more will be available for those in need. This is a cooperative effort with Hillside Hope Assembly, New Life Church, First Church of Christ and Convoy of Hope.
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The Creston Police Department reports a traffic stop at around 2:50-a.m. today (Friday), resulted in the arrest of 30-year-old Taylor Parker, from Creston. Parker was taken into custody at Prairie Street and Sumner Avenue, on a charge of OWI/2nd offense. His bond was set at $2,000. And, at around 11:30-p.m. Thursday, 62-year-old John Edgar Dickerson, Jr., of Creston, was arrested at his residence for Possession of Controlled Substance – Marijuana 1st Offense, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Domestic Abuse Assault – 1st Offense. Dickerson was being held without bond in the Union County Jail until seen by a Judge.
(Des Moines, Iowa) – The latest drought monitor released Thursday morning, shows just how badly Iowa could use rain. Right now, the entire state remains in some type of drought. Nearly 89% of Iowa is moderately dry with nearly 11% in extreme drought, that latter of which is showing up in northwest and western areas, and is up from seven-percent just last week. Cass and most contiguous Counties are shown to be in a Moderate drought, with parts of Shelby and Montgomery in a severe drought, along with Harrison, Mills, Fremont and Page Counties. 
(Radio Iowa) – At the height of the pandemic, many Iowa drugs stores cut hours or closed a few days a week due to staff shortages, and pharmacists and pharm techs remain in very high demand. Liz Davis, director of admissions at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, says pharmacists play an exceptionally crucial role, as they’re arguably the state’s most accessible healthcare providers. “You can just walk into your community pharmacy and chat with a healthcare provider about ailments that you might be having versus calling your doctor, making an appointment, trying to travel to that appointment, and getting in to see a physician,” Davis says. “Our community pharmacists are so important in building those relationships and keeping our community safe and expanding that access to health care, especially in rural parts of the state of Iowa.”
Given the added stresses of the job during COVID, the state lost several dozen pharmacists due to burnout. While the U-I program graduates about one-hundred new pharmacists every year, that’s still not enough to meet demand from drug stores and hospitals statewide. “We are needing pharmacists in the pediatrics unit, in the emergency department, in the psychiatric units,” Davis says. “Over at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, there are probably 220 different pharmacists working there. They are all doing about 220 different jobs because they’re so unique in what they’re specializing in.” Davis says the U-I’s Assured Admission Program is designed to create a direct path for high school seniors to start a pharmacy education, headed for the Pharm-D, or Doctorate of Pharmacy degree. 
“If students are a part of the program, their spot in our PharmD program two years down the road from when they start at Iowa is theirs, as long as they pass all of their prereqs and dot all their Is and cross their Ts, that spot is theirs,” Davis says. “So it gives students that comfort, knowing, ‘Hey, as long as I do the things that they’re asking me to do, I can start the PharmD program.'” The U-I and Drake University in Des Moines offer the state’s only pharmacy programs. Davis says pharmacy technicians are also vital to keeping operations running smoothly, and they’re in high demand as well. “Anyone who wants to be a pharm tech, you just have to be 18 and have a high school diploma in the state of Iowa,” Davis says. “That’s a really great job for anyone in college or who’s wanting even just a part-time position to be a pharm tech. Also, most companies will help you pay to become a certified pharm tech, which is also really nice.”
Davis says U-I College of Pharmacy graduates are now practicing in 94 of Iowa’s 99 counties, while five in every ten pharmacists in Iowa were trained at the U-I.
(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Department of Agriculture announced that Carroll-based Region 12 Council of Governments had been selected to receive a 15 million-dollar grant from the new Meat and Poultry Intermediary Lending Program. Region Executive Director Rick Hunsaker says the goal is to increase capacity. “As we saw during the pandemic, you’d have these big plants that would close down or that would make decisions that would impact everybody in the supply chain. The goal I think is not only to increase capacity so that there are more people making products and more places making them so that it can be a little more resilient,” Hunsaker says. He says more producers also means is increased competition and more markets for producers.
He adds the top four processing companies are excluded from the program to achieve those goals. Iowa joins Minnesota and North Carolina as the only states selected for this first round of funding. Hunsaker says the grant will be used as capital to start a revolving loan program for Iowa businesses involved in the meat packing supply chain. “We’ve heard rumors here and there of start-up lockers, interest in lockers expanding, and certainly we have a lot of producers in this region that could benefit from the increased competition where they might have more markets for their animals or ones that are closer so it’s cheaper to get their product to a producer,” He says.
Region 12 primarily includes west central Iowa, but this program is different, as it will be available to eligible applicants throughout the state. Hunsaker says initial funding targets kill facilities or secondary processors, but the program will open further within a few years. “That would include anybody that is U-S-D-A-inspected — so it’s going to be big meat packing plants — but not one of the big four. It could also be anybody that is custom-exempt, which as I understand it a lot of county lockers would be that way,” Hunsaker says. “They would be eligible for the funds. Once the moneys are revolved and come back in, it could be anybody in the middle part of that supply chain like wholesaling and aggregators and transportation companies.”
Hunsaker says they are already working with U-S-D-A to get Region 12’s staff trained on program administration, but it could be after the start of the new year before they are ready to begin accepting applications. Applicants interested in the program are encouraged to contact Region 12 directly for information.
This morning: A 50 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a steady temperature around 44. North wind around 11 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Today: Rain and possibly a thunderstorm before 4pm, then showers, mainly after 4pm. Temperature falling to around 40 by 1pm. North wind 11 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tonight: Showers. Low around 33. North wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Saturday: Rain and snow likely before 11am, then a slight chance of rain between 11am and noon. Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 47. Breezy, with a northwest wind 11 to 16 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 56.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54. Breezy.
Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 73. Our Low this morning, 40. As of 7-a.m. (the end of a 24-hour cycle) we had received .04″ of rain. Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 55 and the Low was 36. The Record High on this date was 75 in 1909 & 1978. The Record Low was -1 in 1991.
Class 1A second ranked Underwood will be at home against eighth ranked Pella Christian tonight (Friday night), in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. Underwood enters with a record of 10-1.
That’s Underwood coach Nate Mechaelsen. This game will feature two outstanding quarterbacks in Underwood’s Alex Ravlin and Pella Christian’s Isaac Kacmarynski.
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