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Audubon School Board rejects building project bids: Back to the drawing board

News

January 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

It’s “Back to the drawing board” for the Audubon School Board, when it comes to the district’s building project, which came in $4-million over budget. Superintendent Eric Trager says they started the project with a feasibility study in the fall of 2019. The price tag came in at $7.5-million dollars, but the bids came in at $11.5-million, or 53% higher than the original estimate.

That, he says, will unfortunately result in a delay of the work, and that some construction will need to take place during the school year. The idea he said it still to get the project done, and get it done right. Trager said the board was shocked and disappointed in the way things have turned out, to-date.

He says it’s too late to play the blame game, “We just need to figure out how do we move forward.”

In other business, the Audubon School Board approved trading-in three old Dodge Minivans for three new, locally purchased Chevy Traverse’s with the same passenger capacity. And, they approved a renewed Sharing Agreement with the Coon Rapids-Bayard School District. Those positions include Superintendent, H-R and Transportation Directors, Elementary Counselor, and Social Worker.

The Audubon School Board also approved the resignation – effective at the end of the school year – of Special Education Teacher Tyler Tassel. The Board thanks him for his service to the district.

Pair of recent arrests in Adams County

News

January 19th, 2021 by admin

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports a pair of recent arrests.

On Friday, January 15th at about 8:35 p.m. Adams County Deputies arrested 32-year-old Shawn Crouch of Corning was arrested and charged with Criminal Mischief 4th Degree. The arrests stems from an investigation on January 13th when his neighbor’s car window and bedroom window were shot out with a BB gun. Crouch was taken to the Adams County Jail and booked in.

On Saturday, January 16th at about 2:14 a.m. Deputies arrested 36-year-old Kimberly Bloom of Corning on charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Bloom was taken to the Adams County Jail and booked in.

Creston man arrested on a warrant, Monday

News

January 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Police in Creston, Monday, arrested a man wanted on a Union County warrant for Failure to serve his sentence on an original – Possession of Marijuana/1st offense – charge. 40-year old Justin Robertson, of Creston, was taken into custody at his residence and was being held in the Union County Jail until the remainder of his court-ordered time is served.

Griswold School Board votes to require (most) remote learners to return to school

News

January 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

The Griswold School Board, Monday night, voted to require Remote Learners to return to on-site (in-person) learning on or before Feb. 15th, with some exceptions. Superintendent Dave Henrichs tells KJAN News….

Dave Henrichs said the district has been fortunate to have had little impact from COVID-19. To-date, he said, there have been four elementary students, 11 middle school/high school students, and 11 staff, who have tested positive for COVID-19. ALL have recovered. In other business, the Board, following a public hearing (during which there were no comments), approved the 2021-22 School Calendar. Henrichs said it essentially mirrors the current calendar, with some exceptions.

The Griswold School Board also voted 7-0 NOT to terminate the contract of an employee, following a closed session.

(Podcast) KJAN 8-a.m. News, 1/19/21

News, Podcasts

January 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Bill Gates now biggest farmland owner in US

Ag/Outdoor, News

January 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The world’s third-richest man is now reportedly the biggest farmland owner in America and he’s also among the largest in Iowa. Billionaire Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, now holds claim on some 269-thousand acres of land across the country, including 242-thousand acres of farmland in 19 states. A story in The Land Report magazine says Gates owns more than 500 acres of farmland in Iowa, though most of his tracts are in Arkansas and Louisiana.

The most expensive purchase was reportedly of 14-thousand-500 acres in Washington state for almost 171-million dollars. Not a biggie for Gates though, as his net worth is pegged at 132-billion.

Fatal hit & run in Davenport

News

January 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A deadly hit and run is under investigation in eastern Iowa. Davenport police say a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle shortly after 7 on Monday night. It appears the unidentified man was dragged for more than a half mile. His body was found by a passerby in the street and the vehicle was long gone.

It happened in the city’s Five Points area and based on the information from police, the vehicle would’ve passed Genesis Medical Center — where the man was later pronounced dead. Police are asking for witnesses to come forward.

(Podcast) KJAN Morning News & Funeral report, 1/19/21

News, Podcasts

January 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Iowa COVID-19 update for 1/19/21: eight more deaths; 954 new cases

News

January 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Iowa’s Coronavirus dashboard today (Tuesday, 10-a.m.), shows there are 954 new cases of COVID-19, for a total to-date of 306,233, and eight additional deaths, for a total of 4,332. The 14-day positivity rate is down from 12.9% Monday to 12% today. Hospitalizations are up from 483 yesterday to 490 today. There are 85 COVID patients in an ICU, 56 were admitted since 10-a.m. Monday, and 36 are on ventilators. In RMCC Region 4 (western/southwest Iowa hospitals), 37 are hospitalized with COVID symptoms, 12 are in an ICU, two people were admitted, and six are on a ventilator.

The IDPH says 1.426-million Iowans have been tested for the virus, and 268,882 have recovered. Officials say underlying causes account for 3,959 deaths, while COVID was a contributing factor in 373 deaths. Lont-Term Care (LTC) facility deaths amount of 1,777. Long-Term Care facility data show outbreaks are down from 76 Monday to 72, today. The number of patients and staff who have tested positive is down from 1,938 Monday to 1,825 today.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

  • Cass, 1,128 cases; {+2}; 41 deaths
  • Adair, 688; {+2}; 20
  • Adams, 295; {+0}; 3
  • Audubon, 416; {+4}; 8
  • Guthrie, 1,030 {+3}; 24
  • Harrison County, 1,548; {+1}; 62
  • Madison County, 1,199; {+11}; 9
  • Mills County, 1,362; {+2}; 16
  • Montgomery, 848; {+8}; 22
  • Pottawattamie County, 8,959; {+17}; 112
  • Shelby County, 1020; {+7}; 26
  • Union County,  1,082; {+1}; 22

ISU researcher creates model to track COVID-19’s spread more realistically

News

January 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa State University mathematician is developing a way to track the spread of COVID-19 that factors in people’s social interactions more realistically. I-S-U researcher Claus Kadelka says he noticed early in the pandemic that many models assume people engage in random social interactions. Kadelka says most people practice homophily, or the tendency to associate with people who share the same opinions or beliefs. Kadleka says, “You and I, we have our friends, we have our family, we have our co-workers that we’re much more likely to interact with than a random stranger in our community.”

Based on his model, he says it may make sense to vaccinate younger, lower-risk people first, because they have substantially more social contacts and tend to spread the virus far more than older high-risk people. According to his model, Kadelka says there will likely be clusters of people who won’t want to get the vaccine, meaning, government officials may need to aim to vaccinate more than 60- to 70-percent of the population. “It shows you that these numbers that are being floated around by a lot of researchers, essentially that just, base things on simple models, they’re probably an underestimate,” he says.

He says policymakers should focus on getting more data on people’s social interactions during the pandemic before making key decisions.

(By Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)