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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
The broadcast News at 8:07-a.m., with Ric Hanson.
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(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports three arrests took place this week. On Wednesday, 24-year-old Connor Nathaniel Burg, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for OWI 1st and driving under suspension. Berg was transported to Cass County Jail and was later released on his own recognizance. Also arrested Wednesday, was 36-year-old Trevor Kyle Benge, of Stanton, who was taken into custody on a Cass County warrant for violation of probation. Benge was transported to Cass County Jail and is currently being held on bond.
And, on Monday, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 26-year-old Edward Lee Roy Burton, Jr., of Atlantic, on a Cass County warrant for controlled substance violations. Burton was transported to Cass County Jail where he was being held on bond.
Our broadcast news at 7:06-a.m., from Ric Hanson.
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Four young ladies from Audubon were vying for the title of Audubon County Fair Queen. When their scores were tabulated, Kennedy Rohe was crowned Queen. Kennedy is the daughter of Derrick and Jessica Rohe. Runner-Up went to Madi Steckler, the daughter of Toby and Pam Steckler. Abby Brooks and Abigail Zaiger were also in the running for Audubon County Fair Queen.
(Radio Iowa) – Barbara Wilson took office Wednesday as the 22nd president of the University of Iowa, the third woman to hold the position. Wilson replaces Bruce Harreld, who retired after taking the office late in 2015. Wilson is a communications scholar and academic administrator who previously served as the second in command at the University of Illinois system. U-I Undergraduate Student Body President Regan Smock says she hopes campus mental health will be a priority for Wilson. “COVID illuminated a lot of what some people were living in silence about,” Smock says. “I really hope that we can try to push more funding towards mental health services in general. I think, especially for students of color, students of underrepresented and underserved backgrounds.”
Smock said she anticipates one of Wilson’s biggest challenges will be earning trust across a diverse range of constituents on campus. “There are students who will never think about who’s making decisions about stuff, but those who do, do not feel heard in what they need and what they want,” Smock says. “Part of that is that you have constituents with different demands and different things they need and that makes it difficult.”
Wilson has also spoken about her goals to expand diversity, equity and inclusion and improve graduation rates. Reports say Wilson received a five-year contract with an annual salary of 600-thousand dollars as well as a five-year deferred compensation plan with an annual contribution of 400-grand.
(By Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)
(Radio Iowa) – Former Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to visit Des Moines and Sioux Center today (Friday), his first stops in the state since leaving office. Bob Vander Plaats is president and C-E-O of The Family Leader, the organization that’s hosting one of the events where Pence is scheduled to speak. Vander Plaats considers Pence one of a handful of front-runners for the G-O-P’s 2024 presidential nomination — if Donald Trump doesn’t run. “If Trump were to get in and secure the nomination, because he has a very vibrant base, all of a sudden it becomes: ‘Who is going to be the VP?'” Vander Plaats says. “Now you could see a Kristi Noem get raised, a Tim Scott get raised and even people who aren’t running for president, like Governor Kim Reynolds.”
Vander Plaats would NOT expect Trump to offer the V-P slot to Pence again, nor does Vander Plaats think Pence would accept it. A week ago during an appearance on Iowa P-B-S, Vander Plaats was asked if Pence did the right thing in certifying the Electoral College outcome in January. “The question I ask to people who push back on that is…’Do you want Vice President Harris in a few years to be able to do what Mike Pence was asked to do?’ And I think common sense would say: ‘No,'” Vander Plaats said.
Polls show a segment of Republicans, though, believe Pence should have refused to certify Joe Biden as the 2020 victor. At a recent conservative conference in Florida, chants of “traitor” rose from the some in the crowd as Pence started speaking. “He will not be booed at our event,” Vander Plaats says. “I read an article about when he spoke in Orlando…when he got heckled. When he spoke in New Hampshire, it was a sold out crowd and recorded eight standing ovations.” Vander Plaats suggests continuing to focus on the 2020 election outcome is unwise for the G-O-P. “We need to keep our focus on 2022 as well as 2024,” Vander Plaats said.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will also speak at today’s (Friday’s) Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines. Vander Plaats describes both as presidential candidates of the future, although, Noem has said she doesn’t plan to run for president. Pence is due to headline a midday fundraiser in Sioux Center for Congressman Randy Feenstra. Early this (Friday) evening, Pompeo will speak at a fundraiser in Ottumwa for Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
Audubon County Fair
Montgomery County Fair
Pottawattamie County Fair
Shelby County Fair
The Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday, issued a report on recent arrests. Today (Thursday), 28-year-old Jesse Beaman, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 12:10-a.m., on two counts of Harassment in the 1st Degree, and Interference with Official Acts.
On Wednesday, 69-year-old Daniel Jungbuth, of Saint Charles, was arrested at around 11:50-p.m., for Public Intoxication, following an investigation into a Corvette parked on the shoulder of Highway34 near Cherry Avenue. There were two arrests that took place Monday: 28-year-old Deven Heimke, of Corning, was arrested at around 8:40-p.m, for Assault Causing Bodily Injury. And, 55-year-old Steven Wirtz, of Corning, was arrested at around 7:15-p.m., for Assault Causing Bodily Injury.
And, on July 4th at around 8:40-p.m., Adams County Deputies arrested 35-year-old Brandon Clayton, of Clearfield, for Violation of a No Contact Order.
(Radio Iowa) -Iowa’s state-licensed casinos saw a post-pandemic surge and set a record for the fiscal year that ended in June. Racing and Gaming Administrator Brian Ohorilko says gross revenue was more than one-point-five BILLION dollars. (1,575,410,919) The adjusted gross receipts this last fiscal year was our highest to date,” he says. Ohorilko says with many entertainment venues still not open — people visited one of the 19 casinos. “We have seen record numbers at all of the casinos. Attendance still hasn’t bounced back completely — but the folks that are attending are spending their discretionary income” according to Ohorilko.
The gross revenue is 412 million dollars more than the previous fiscal year, and attendance was up by more than 860-thousand compared to the previous year when there were pandemic shutdowns. “It really has been a very interesting time to be in this industry, no different than other industries. Prior to the pandemic the casino business had been growing slightly — but had fairly stabilized — it was a very predictable market,” Ohorilko says. He says the last five or six years had seen some modest increases or decreases in casino revenue. “Attendance numbers had continued to decline and that was the trend we were seeing prior to the pandemic. Obviously, with the pandemic, it really impacted the casinos. A few of them even had to take advantage of some of the federal assistance that was available. A number of employees were furloughed during this period of time,” Ohorilko says. And then coming out of the pandemic, there is no doubt some pent-up demand.”
Ohorilko believes the post-pandemic surge is not a new upward trend. “I think most people in the industry are cautiously optimistic that things will continue to be good and that there won’t be too much leveling off,” he says, “but I do think most people expect at some point that we will have some stabilization.” The casino news comes on the heels of the news by the Iowa Lottery that they had set a revenue record through may with the June numbers still remaining to be tallied for their fiscal year.
Here are the comparisons of gross revenue for this fiscal year and last:
Ameristar II (2020 FY) $125,069,899 (2021 FY) $165,813,532
Casino Queen – Marquette (2020 FY) $16,774,521 (2021 FY) $18,122,047
Catfish Bend Casino (2020 FY) $32,120,253 (2021 FY) $43,312,686
Diamond Jo -Dubuque (2020 FY) $56,288,403 (2021 FY) $68,075,215
Diamond Jo -Worth (2020 FY) $66,176,954 (2021 FY) $95,879,440
Grand Falls Casino Resort (2020 FY) $51,068,556 (2021 FY) $77,985,618
Hard Rock Casino (2020 FY) $61,131,382 (2021 FY) $87,071,790
Harrah’s Council Bluffs (2020 FY) $52,346,691 (2021 FY) $58,119,156
Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs (2020 FY) $141,079,667 2021 FY $180,348,582
Isle of Capri -Bettendorf (2020 FY) $51,185,660 (2021 FY) $68,543,830
Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo (2020 FY) $65,610,428 (2021 FY) $88,403,509
Lakeside Casino (2020 FY) $40,140,089 2021 FY $47,606,985
Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino (2020 FY) $157,183,728(2021 FY) $206,650,185
Q Casino (2020 FY) $39,695,531 (2021 FY) $50,257,313
Rhythm City Casino (2020 FY) $64,095,082 (2021 FY) $110,258,958
Riverside Casino (2020 FY) $76,697,150 (2021 FY) $116,284,366
Wild Rose – Clinton (2020 FY) $23,962,022 (2021 FY) $32,920,515
Wild Rose – Emmetsburg (2020 FY) $20,300,642 (2021 FY) $27,418,527
Wild Rose – Jefferson (2020 FY) $22,489,579 (2021 FY) $32,338,665
(Radio Iowa) – A judge says he’ll rule by Friday on whether the defense attorneys for the man convicted of murdering Mollie Tibbetts should have access to state investigation records in two other cases. The attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera say they learned hours after a jury convicted Bahena that another man was claiming he killed Tibbetts. Attorney Jennifer Frese suggests there may be a link with the case of a missing 11-year-old boy from Montezuma. “Three people have vanished out of thin air in this small rural county: Mollie Tibbetts, Xavior Harrelson and the woman that reported being abducted in May of 2018 and being sex trafficked,” Frese said.
Scott Brown, the lead prosecutor on the case, says Bahena’s attorneys are on a fishing expedition. “This whole issue that they raised with Xavior Harrelson. That is a pending investigation. The fact that they would put this information in a public document, which we did try to get ahead of, is unconscionable in my mind.” Brown says he offered to stop the trial in May after learning two people had claimed to have heard another man confess he was the one who killed Tibbetts, but Bahena’s attorneys declined. Brown says the account Bahena’s lawyers presented in court today was confusing. “No evidence supports it. None,” Brown said “Zero!”
Bahena was to be sentenced today (Thursday), but the trial judge granted a delay to consider the request to pursue new leads in the case. Chad Frese, one of Bahena’s attorneys, suggests prosecutors sat on information about a woman who says she was kidnapped in Brooklyn two months before Tibbetts was abducted. “There’s evidence here that 10 kids in this area have gone missing. We’ve provided that,” Frese said. “There’s something rotten in this area.”
The judge plans to hold a hearing July 27th to consider defense motions for a new trial.