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July 30, 2024 western IA storm report

Weather

July 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

1:50-a.m.: Emergency management officials in Audubon County reported estimated wind gusts of 55-to 60-mph, along with heavy rain, in Hamlin.

1:35-a.m.: Winds at the airport in Atlantic were gusting from 38-to 52-mph; heavy rain was occurring at around 2-a.m.

1:27-a.m.: A personal weather station 2 miles south of Willey (Carroll) County recorded a 60-mph wind gust.

1:12-a.m.: A public weather station recorded a thunderstorm wind gust of 61 mph in Neola (Pottawattamie County).

12:05-a.m.: The DOT reported a thunderstorm wind gust of 61 mph 5 miles NW of Whiting (Monona County).

Reynolds is co-chair of national School Choice campaign

News

July 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says Iowa’s state-funded Education Savings Accounts for private school students are part of an education revolution happening across the country.  “(It’s) one of the proudest things I’ve done as governor to really work with the legislature and get that done,” Reynolds says, “and the impact that is going to have on our kids.”

Reynolds made her comments at the annual convention of the American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC, a conservative think thank that proposes bills for state legislatures. ALEC C-E-O Linda B. Nelson was on stage with Reynolds to discuss what Nelson calls universal education freedom. “You hear this word coming out of Silicon Valley — disrupting. ‘We’re going disrupt this, we’re going to disrupt that.’ I keep thinking the education system needs to be disrupted,” Nelson said. Reynolds replied: “Oh, very much so.” Nelson continued: “And universal (education) freedom is that disruption.”

Reynolds is now co-chair of the “Education Freedom Alliance,” an American Legislative Exchange Council effort to get state-funded education savings accounts set up in 25 states by 2025. Reynolds says an important part of the effort is advertising — like the radio and T-V ads that ran in Iowa back in 2023 before the Iowa legislature passed her proposal. “To really again provide cover for our lawmakers that are working hard,” Reynolds said, “…but you just stay strong, have the resolve to follow it through.”

After two years of failing to get enough Republicans in the legislature to back the concept, Governor Reynolds campaigned against Republican lawmakers who opposed her bill in 2022. “I didn’t take it lightly. I thought about it for a long time before I did it and I was not willing to give up on it,” Reynolds said. “I felt that strongly about it.”

Reynolds influence led to the defeat of four Republicans in G-O-P primaries in 2022 and school choice was her top priority as Reynolds won reelection that November with 58 percent of the vote. “Literally what we did really was we put education freedom on the ballot and I am telling you Iowans responded in a really strong way by large majorities,” Reynolds said.

The governor says her nearly 20 percent margin of victory in 2022 prompted her to abandon the more limited school choice proposals she’d made before. “I was sitting there thinking: ‘Where do we start?’ We started here and…I thought: ‘You know what? We’re going to go for it,'” Reynolds said. “‘We’re not going to get another opportunity like this.'”

The governor’s “Students First Act” was the first bill the Iowa legislature passed in 2023. Over 30-thousand private school students in Iowa have qualified for Education Savings Accounts this year. When fully implemented next fall, Iowa will be among eight states where all private school students are eligible for state funding to cover tuition and other expenses.

Train derailment Monday evening in Carroll County: No injuries

News

July 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(UPDATED by Radio Iowa) – Union Pacific crews are cleaning up the site of a train derailment in Carroll County. A U-P spokesman says about 36 cars derailed last (Monday) night, some two miles east of Glidden. No injuries are reported and an investigation into the incident is underway. Rural Glidden resident Connie Bock says she and her husband have lived about a quarter-mile from the tracks for more than 40 years, so they’re used to hearing all different kinds of train noise, but this was something else entirely.

“We were just watching the Olympics and usually we’ve got a lot of semis and water trailers going by for spring. They make a lot of noise, but this noise kept going and getting louder and then we could feel it in the house,” Bock says. “I decided to go out and look and I came running in and I said, ‘Should I call the police? The train has derailed.'” Bock says the noise of the derailment persisted, lasting for over a minute.

Photo by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office

“Our dogs started barking and they usually don’t bother with the trains too much,” she says, “but they barked at this.” The derailed cars were not carrying any hazardous materials, but that was not immediately apparent to the Bocks, so they were concerned. The focus now for Union Pacific is to get the mainline operational as quickly as possible. It is not clear how long that may take, but U-P typically has blocked lines up and running within a few days.

Iowa’s Lee Prepares for bigger role

Sports

July 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Iowa sophomore corner DeShaun Lee credits defensive coordinator Phil Parker for his early success. Lee started six games last season as a red-shirt freshman and says Parker is preparing him for an even bigger role this season.

Lee says Parker does a lot of his teaching in the film room.

The Hawkeyes open the season on August 31st against Illinois State.

SWIPCO Awarded Iowa West Foundation Housing Repair Grant

News

July 29th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Atlantic, IA – The Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund (SWIHTF), a non-profit administered by Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO), was recently awarded a $125,000 grant from the Iowa West Foundation for 2024, to be used for housing repairs. Officials says SWIPCO was able to leverage the grant funds along with other grant monies, to complete wide ranging housing repairs across the region.

As an example, projects completed in the past year have included a bathroom remodel and plumbing fix, new air conditioning unit and installation, and a foundation repair, just to name a few. Sixteen projects were completed in 2023 with Iowa West funds and SWIPCO has completed or is finishing 44 home repair projects from 2023 funding. The repairs are completed for income qualified recipients and can address both long term and urgent needs.

SWIPCO Community Development Director Erin Hudson described the importance of the funding, saying “Iowa West Foundation grants make immediate differences. They are owner centered, so SWIPCO places the needs of the homeowner first and foremost. We work with the homeowner and contractors to assure everything works out to everyone’s satisfaction. Iowa West Foundation monies assist SWIPCO to help in home repairs that we may not otherwise be able to accomplish.”

Photos of the completed bathroom project and of the resident; Cynthia Samuel in the updated room. (Photos & info. courtesy SWIPCO Communications Coordinator Chris Parks)

The mission of the Iowa West Foundation is to improve lives and strengthen communities for current and future generations. Partnerships with local casinos Ameristar, Harrah’s, and Horseshoe make it possible for the Foundation to continuously award outcome-focused grants in southwest Iowa communities. Fees from gaming and income from Foundation investments provide funding for programs and projects that benefit the residents of 14 counties in southwest Iowa.

SWIPCO is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

No impacted expected on Iowa’s quail population from the wet weather

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 29th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The wet spring is expected to impact the pheasant population in some areas of the state, but D-N-R wildlife biologist Todd Bogenshutz says Iowa’s quail should be okay. “I’m getting pretty positive reports on quail and so it could be that our quail numbers will go up,” he says. “I mean you know we’re on the northern fringe of the range so winter really affects our quail numbers probably more than anything and it was a pretty mild winter.”

Bogenschutz says that’s due in part to their background. “You know quail actually are native to the state and so they’re more adapted to our climate here than peasants,” Bogenschutz says.

bobwhite quail

He’ll find out more about both quail and pheasants during the annual roadside counts in August.

Governor says Rock Valley’s portable classrooms have ‘dual purpose’

News

July 29th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says portable classrooms being set up for students in Rock Valley will have a different use once repairs to the community’s flood damaged schools are completed. “The entire schools, both public and private, were wiped out — the K-12 — so we found a temporary classroom that we believe, when we’re done, we’ll be able to set up and use them for child care facilities in some of our rural areas, too,” Reynolds says, “so we found a dual purpose.”

The governor was asked about Iowa’s string of severe weather during her appearance at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conference in Colorado. She said Iowa Department of Transportation dump trucks have made several thousand trips to haul away debris from flood-ravaged neighborhoods. “People’s belongings that were on the curb,” Reynolds said, “and that brought some hope to them because they had to stare at that every day.”

Governor Reynolds, on right, with ALEC CEO Lisa B. Nelson at the group’s annual convention in Colorado. (ALEC photo)

While the vast majority of direct government assistance for Iowa flood victims is coming from the federal government, Reynolds says an agreement among states is filling a few gaps. It’s called the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. “We’ve had electricians come in from some of the states just to help,” the governor said.

At least 5000 Iowa homes have been damaged by tornadoes and flooding this spring and summer and state officials say 2000 homes have been completely destroyed.

Sierra Club asks EPA to revoke Iowa DNR’s power to enforce Clean Water Act

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 29th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club is petitioning the EPA to remove a state agency’s authority to enforce the Clean Water Act. The group claims the Department of Natural Resources has failed to enforce the federal law for years. The petition says over 450 Iowa cattle feeding and industrial operations are dumping waste into waterways, despite expired permits.

Wally Taylor, the chapter’s legal chair, says the DNR has also failed to prioritize protecting the state’s highest-quality rivers and streams. “Many of the streams that should be top priority are down in levels three and four, which are the lowest priority,” Taylor says. “That includes ‘Outstanding Iowa Waters,’ which include trout streams in northeast Iowa.”

Waste permits must be renewed every five years, though he says some haven’t been renewed since the early 2000s. Taylor says while DNR funding has gone down over the years, he believes failure to enforce the Clean Water Act has been deliberate. “Over the years it’s been a lack of will,” he says, “and in the past few years, it’s been – I think – a definite intent not to enforce the Clean Water Act.”

Taylor adds that the Sierra Club has supported additional funding for the DNR in the past to make clean water enforcement more feasible.

(contributed by Grant Winterer, Iowa Public Radio)

WEEK OF JULY 29, 2024

Trading Post

July 29th, 2024 by Jim Field

FOR SALE: Disney movies for sale…Princess & the Frog and Tangled on DVD/Blu Ray and Moana on DVD. $10 for all 3. Can delivered in Atlantic, Elk Horn and Audubon. Call 712-304-7830

FOR SALE:  52” ceiling fan $50,  SOLD! 42” ceiling fan $45, 42” hugger ceiling fan $40 SOLD! All in working order. Newer condition. If interested please call 712-249-2823.

FOR SALE: Puppies. Pug/German Shepherd mix. 3 female and one male. Call 515-537-3913 for more information and pictures.

FOR SALE: Quilting frame. Has four stands to support it. Asking $15. Call 712-784-3452

FOR SALE: 2005 Chevy Colorado pickup…$4,000. Also a small utility trailer. Measures 4×6 with a metal frame. Asking $400. Call 712-249-9573

FOR SALE:  LG -14,000BTU AC.  Has Wi-Fi and remote.  Quiet compared to other AC’S, $295.  ROKU Streambar-  $40.  Call 531-530-9492.

 

FOR SALE: Prices reduced, (2) ALL PRO adjustable ankle weights with 20 lb capacity each   –  $40.00 each.  New men’s size 14 Nike Revolution running shoes – $45.00.  Vintage Hobart Mfg. Co. 3 lb. candy scale – serial # 1197896  Style 100  –  $200.00.  Phone : 641-745-7505.

FOR SALE: A Huffy bike, gold-colored fireplace set, and 2 wooden roller carts for microwaves. Best offer. Call 243-4308.

FOR SALE: 6 drawer dresser, $5;   SOLD! 3 1/2 horsepower Briggs & Stratten lawn mower engine, $20; 2 door cabinet, $3. SOLD! Call 712-304-4556.

WANTED: A small pickup to buy or trade for a 2002 Ford Explorer. Also looking for an owners manual for a Deluxe brand scooter. Call Fred 712-243-4016

ROBERT L. DIERKING, 90, of Atlantic (& formerly of Walnut) – Svcs. 8/1/24

Obituaries

July 29th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

ROBERT L. DIERKING, 90, of Atlantic (& formerly of Walnut), died Monday, July 29, 2024, at the Allen Place in Atlantic. Funeral services for ROBERT DIERKING will be held 11-a.m. Thursday, August 1st, 2024, at the Calvary Baptist Church in Walnut. Schmidt Family Funeral Home of Atlantic has the arrangements.

Visitation will be held from 10 am till the time of services at the church on Thursday.

A luncheon will take place at the church, following the service.

Burial will be held at 2:30 pm Thursday, in the Scranton Township Cemetery near Scranton, IA.

ROBERT DIERKING is survived by:

His wife of 69 years – Izetta.

His daughters – Jody (Dan) Jackson, and Deb (Mike) Martin.

5 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, 5 great-great-grandchildren, other relatives and friends.

Condolences can be sent at: schmidtfamilyfh.com