GARY GENE RUHL, 64, of rural Griswold, died Tue., March 1st, at home. A visitation for GARY RUHL will be held from 2-until 4-p.m. Saturday, March 5th, at the Rieken Duhn Funeral Home in Griswold.
Interment will be at a later date.
GARY RUHL is survived by:
His wife – Zoe Ruhl.
His daughter – Misty (Brandon) Adams.
His brother – Lyle Ruhl.
4 grandchildren, other relatives, man friends and his brother- and sister-in-law.
A dreadful offensive performance spoiled Senior Night at Iowa State. Oklahoma State closed the game on a 23-6 run to beat the Cyclones 53-36. The 36 points were the fewest ever for an ISU team in Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones made only 15 of 52 shots.
That’s Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger who says they struggled with the Cowboy’s zone.
The loss snapped ISU’s four game win streak. The Cyclones travel to third ranked Baylor on Saturday to close the regular season.
Iowa State drops to 7-10 in the Big 12.
Shots wouldn’t fall and the Exira-EHK Spartans saw their season come to an end in the Class 1A Quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon. MMCRU won the rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game 50-39.
An early 13-0 run in the first quarter put the Royals out front and Exira-EHK would never get closer than 7 points the rest of the game. The Royals led 28-14 at half and 43-25 by the end of the third. MMCRU made it difficult for the Spartans to get any paint touches for much of the game and they settled for a lot of outside shots. It was a rough go of it from outside with the Spartans going just 4-32 from three and only 15-51 from the field in the game. Spartan junior Quinn Grubbs said their defense wasn’t good enough early either.
The Royals were able to get their offense going a little bit better and also gained an edge by dominating the glass. The Royals outrebounded the Spartans 44-21, limiting the Spartans to only 4 second chance opportunities in the game. Emily Dreckmann scored 18 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots. Ellie Hilbrands added 8 points and 13 reboounds for the Royals. MMCRU pick up their first ever state tournament win as a merged district and improved to 24-1. They’ll advance to take on defending champion Newell-Fonda on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
The Spartans were led by 11 points each from Quinn Grubbs and Mollie Rasmussen. Exira-EHK finishes another impressive season with a 23-2 record. The Spartans said goodbye to seniors Alisa Partridge, Mollie Rasmussen, and Macy Emgarten. After the game Rasmussen talked about the accomplishments she can be proud of.
Grubbs was thankful for the time she has had with a good group of seniors and knows it will be a tough act to follow for the next guard.
It wasn’t the finish the Spartans had in mind, but they sure do have a lot to be proud of again.
Class 2A Quarterfinals:
#2 Denver 58, #7 Underwood 51
Denver sophomore Macy Matthias knocked down two 3-pointers to put her team ahead to stay late in the third quarter and the second-seeded Cyclones went on to beat seventh-seeded Underwood 58-51 to start Day 3 of the 2022 state tournament. Denver improved 24-2 with the victory. The Cyclones also got a big lift from senior starter Sydney Eggena, who was averaging a modest 6.5 points. She finished with 18 on 7-for-12 shooting to lead all scorers and grabbed six rebounds. Teammate Reese Johnson filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Grace Hennessy added 10 points, six rebounds and two steals. Underwood (22-3) reached the state tournament for the first time since IGHSAU Hall of Famer Jamie Boyd led the Eagles to consecutive state titles in 2003 and 2004. And with only one senior, they have a promising future. That senior, Kendra Kuck, led Underwood with 13 points. She also made three steals, blocked a shot and handed out an assist. Juniors Aliya Humphrey and Leah Hall each scored 10 points for the Eagles and Humphrey added five assists. Alizabeth Jacobsen, a 6-foot-3 sophomore who has star potential, grabbed 13 rebounds, blocked two shots and scored nine points on 4-for-5 shooting.
#3 Central Lyon 42, #6 Cascade 40
A dramatic finish ended the Class 2A quarterfinals and sent third-seeded Central Lyon into the next round. Sophomore Desta Hoogendoorn took a bounce pass from Regan Van Wyhe and hit a short jumper in the lane at the buzzer to give Central Lyon a 42-40 victory over Cascade. Hoogendoorn finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lions (23-2), who’ll face second-seeded Denver in a semifinal at 11:45 a.m. Friday. She also had three assists and two steals and blocked four shots. Addison Klosterbuer added 14 points with four 3-pointers and nine rebounds for Central Lyon, while Kaylee Davis had six points and seven rebounds. Ally Hoffman led Cascade with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Alyssa Lux added eight points, three assists and three steals for the Cougars (20-4), who made the tournament for the eighth time in 10 seasons.
CLASS 1A Quarterfinals
#1 Newell-Fonda 77, #8 North Mahaska 44
The top-seeded Mustangs swept past eighth-seeded North Mahaska 77-44 to open the Class 1A quarterfinals and now sit just two victories from a record-tying fourth consecutive state championship. They did it the usual way – with swarming defense that produced fastbreak layups and points in bunches. Newell-Fonda came up with 29 steals in this one and forced 40 turnovers in all. The Mustangs (24-1) weren’t perfect. They had 23 turnovers themselves. But they shot 53 percent in the second and 50.8 percent for the game and amassed 46 points off turnovers. All 15 players saw action for coach Dick Jungers and 11 scored. Macy Sievers, the lone senior who starts for the Mustangs, led with 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting – mostly layups after steals. She also grabbed four rebounds, handed out three assists and made six steals. Sophomore Kierra Jungers, the coach’s daughter, had 15 points, five rebounds, five blocks and five steals and Mary Walker scored 11. Freshman Kinzee Hinders came off the bench to get nine points, three rebounds and four steals. Sophomore Isabel Bartek was the only starter who didn’t score, but she contributed five assists, four rebounds and four steals. Ten Newell-Fonda players recorded at least one steal.
#4 MMCRU 50, #5 Exira-EHK 39
In a repeat pairing from last year’s Class 1A quarterfinals, fourth-seeded MMCRU jumped out early and beat fifth-seeded Exira-EHK 50-39 to move on to Friday’s semifinal round. The Royals (25-1) turned the tables after losing to the Spartans 60-55 in the quarterfinal round a year ago. A fast start did the trick. MMCRU made six of its first eight shots, including three 3-pointers, in bolting to a 15-2 lead less than 4 minutes into the game. The Royals were up 17-7 at the end of the quarter and the Spartans never found enough office to cut into that lead. Exira-EHK managed only six field goals in the first half and shot 29.4 percent for the game. Emily Dreckman led the winners with 18 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Taylor Harpenau and Mya Holmes each scored nine points and Ellie Hilbrands added eight points to go with 13 rebounds. Holmes complemented her scoring with six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Quinn Grubbs and Mollie Rasmussen led Exira-EHK (22-2) with 11 points each. Macy Emgarten added eight points and eight rebounds for the Spartans, whose only other loss was to Class 2A semifinalist Panorama in late January. This was Exira-EHK’s sixth trip to state in the last eight years and only the second time the Spartans failed to reach the semifinals in that span.
#2 Bishop Garrigan 77, #7 Burlington Notre Dame 42
6-3 junior Audi Crooks poured in 32 points as Bishop Garrigan raced past previously unbeaten Burlington Notre Dame 77-42 and into the Class 1A semifinals for the third straight year. Crooks scored mainly on lob passes from her teammates in making 15-of-18 shots. And two of those misses didn’t matter because she grabbed the rebound and went right back up to score. College coaches have been impressed by how deftly she catches the ball and that was apparent when she easily snared a long pass from point guard Molly Joyce and banked in a layup. Joyce also was a big factor, scoring 25 points to go with six assists, five rebounds and seven steals. Abbie Capesius added 12 points and eight rebounds for the second-seeded Golden Bears, who shot 55 percent and will take a 23-3 record into the semifinals at 3:15 p.m. Friday. Win that one and Bishop Garrigan would be in the championship game for the third straight year. The Golden Bears lost to Newell-Fonda in their two previous appearances. Bishop Garrigan has won 20 straight since a 3-3 start against a rigorous schedule that included games with Class 5A Iowa City West, 3A tournament semifinalist West Lyon and Newell-Fonda, which beat the Golden Bears 74-70.
#6 North Linn 58, #3 Springville 56
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The latest addition to the Atlantic Police force was sworn-in Wednesday evening, by Mayor Grace Garrett. Garrett administered the Oath of Office to Officer Jimmy James.
Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett congratulates Office James after he is sworn-in. (3/2/22)
He replaces Officer Dustin Gelner, who left to serve with the Iowa State Patrol. City Administrator John Lund says this was the second of four openings for the Atlantic Police Department, a full third of the department. Officer James previously served as a Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy, and is returning to Atlantic from Polk County.
In other business, the Atlantic City Council passed a Resolution on setting the Maximum Property Tax Dollars for those levies. John Lund says “The City’s proposed debt service levy of $4 is completely hidden from [the published] notice. On the property tax statements of properties where no changes in assessed or taxable value have occurred, the City will show an increase of 2.92%, not the 3.86% shown on the notice.” Lund says also, “While 2.92% is the increase in dollars generated, it is not going to be reflective of the impact on the property taxes levied against individual properties. There is no way to know, what the impact will be in the year-to-year impact on individual taxpayers.”
The Council also passed a Resolution “Adopting the Preliminary FY 2023 Budget,” and setting the date of March 16th for Adopt the FY 2023 Budget. John Lund says “A few non-substantive changes were made to correct unbalanced transfers,” resulting in an updated budget for FY23 that totals a little more $14.7-million, which is a decrease from FY 2022 of 1.78%, or $266,800. The bottom line, according to Administrator Lund, is the “The City’s combined property tax levy shall remain at the level set in the FY 2021 and FY 2022 Budget.”
In the final order of business, the Council passed a Resolution setting March 16, 2022, as the date for a public hearing on adopting the FY 2023 10-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).
Council Bluffs (March 2, 2022) — Local officials have been notified of a confirmed positive case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that had infected a non-commercial backyard poultry flock in rural Pottawattamie County. The site is not part of the commercial food supply chain and according to the Centers for Disease Control, poses a low risk of transmission to humans.
Officials from Emergency Management, Pottawattamie County Public Health, and the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office were briefed by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) earlier today. IDALS has worked directly with the site to mitigate potential spread of the virus and will continue monitoring the site and area.
Pott. County EMA
The Iowa Department of Public Health and Pottawattamie County Public Health will monitor those individuals who were in contact with the flock to rule out any potential of bird to human transmission regarding this case. The CDC reports that there have been no detected human cases from HPAI in the United States.
“Local, state, and federal plans developed to respond to these kinds of incidents are being implemented and there is no immediate public health or food-related safety concern at this time,” commented Doug Reed, director of emergency management.” IDALS is the lead agency for HPAI and other foreign animal disease responses. Local officials will provide
support to the state-led event, as needed, or requested.
Poultry producers, residents with backyard poultry or bird flocks, and the public can find more information, updates, and resources at https://pcema-ia.org/hpai
WIC Girls Basketball
MVP: Aleah Hermanson, Audubon.
First Team: *Aleah Hermansen (Audubon, sr.); *Clara Tiegland (Treynor, jr.); Kendra Kuck (Underwood, sr.); *Jaci Christensen (Audubon, sr.); Maya Moss (Lo-Ma, jr.); Aliyah Humphery (Underwood, jr.); Delaney Goshorn (AHSTW, soph.). *Unanimous Selection
Second Team: Alizabeth Jacobsen (Underwood, soph.); Macanna Guritz (Lo-Ma, jr.); Alexa Schwartz (Treynor, soph.); Greylan Hornbeck (Lo-Ma, jr.); Taylor Kenkel (Tri-Center, soph.); Bianca Cadwell (IKM-Manning, sr.); Elly Henderson (Riverside, fr.).
WIC Boys Basketball
MVP: Raydden Grobe, AHSTW
First Team: *Raydden Grobe (AHSTW, sr.); *Brayden Lund (AHSTW, jr.); *Kyle Sternberg (AHSTW, jr.); Thomas Schwartz (Treynor, sr.); Grady Jeppersen (Riverside, soph.); Jack VanFossen (Underwood, soph.); Michael Turner (Tri-Center, jr.); Jace Tams (Treynor, soph.). *Unanimous Selections.
Second Team: Mason Boothby (Underwood, soph.); Carson Bauer (Audubon, jr.); Cole Staska (Missouri Valley, sr.); Cole Scheffler (AHSTW, jr.); Ayden Salais (Riverside, jr.); Kent Elliott (Tri-Center, jr.); Aiden Bell (Riverside, jr.).
WIC Academic All-Conference honors (Must maintin a 3.25 cumularive grade point average; Must be a Senior)
Wrestling
Girls Basketball
Boys Basketball
Des Moines, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today (Wednesday), confirmed a positive case of highly pathogenic bird flu in Pottawattamie County. The Iowa Department of Ag reports the virus was found in a non-commercial, backyard poultry flock. 
The recent bird flu detections in birds do not present an immediate public health concern, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a news release, Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig said “We recognize the threat HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) and other foreign animal diseases pose to Iowa agriculture. We have been working with USDA, livestock producers and other stakeholders to develop, test and strengthen our foreign animal disease preparedness and response plans since the 2015 HPAI outbreak. While a case like this is not unexpected, we are working with USDA and other partners to implement our plans and protect the health of poultry flocks in Iowa.”
The Ag department said biosecurity resources and best practices are available at iowaagriculture.gov/biosecurity.
(Radio Iowa) – The union that represents park rangers is calling on the governor and the legislature to overrule the eviction notices sent to state employees who live in state-owned homes inside 23 state parks. Iowa Department of Natural Resources officials say it’s too expensive to do repairs and maintenance on the housing where park rangers and some other park staff have been living, so the employees have been told they must move out by November 30th. The Iowa State Police Officers Council is the union that represents park rangers and, according to the union, the D-N-R has ended negotiations over the evictions. The union’s president says it’s ironic that the D-N-R decided there’s a “business need” to maintain state-owned housing for staff who work at the state fisheries, but is on the verge of doing just the opposite for park rangers.
According to a timeline released by the union, on March3rd of last year the affected staff were told they had to start paying rent or find a document showing the D-N-R required them to live in the home. The union says that’s a violation of the workers’ contracts, because that housing subsidy was part of their pay. A spokesperson for the agency has said the decision to evict the park rangers is about the future of the state park system and two-thirds of the state parks, forests and preserves do not have staff living on the property.
[Here’s the list of area parks where on-site housing is to be vacated by DNR staffers by November 30th: Green Valley (Creston); Lake Manawa (Council Bluffs); Lake of Three Fires (Bedford); and Viking Lake (Stanton).]
(Radio Iowa) – The Sioux City metro area ranks as the nation’s top spot for economic development for populations under 200-thousand, according to Site Selection magazine’s annual rankings. Chris McGowan, of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, says it’s the third straight year and the tenth time overall Siouxland has ranked first in the nation since 2007. “This is a manifestation of the commitment that business has to the tri-state region of Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota,” McGowan says. “Clearly, these results speak to local companies who have options to go anywhere in the country but they make the determination to grow right here in Siouxland.”
McGowan says Siouxland hopes to keep that streak going in 2022. Multiple companies have recently pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars on opening new facilities or expanding existing ones, bringing hundreds of jobs. McGowan says, “If we can maintain the momentum that we’ve had in the past, it’s certainly possible that we could repeat.”
Adam Bruns, managing editor of Site Selection magazine, says Siouxland continues to attract new development. “I’ve had the pleasure of coming here, it must be half a dozen times by now,” Bruns says. “It’s just an amazingly consistent track record of facility investment by your employers.”
The announcement followed an event on the riverfront in South Sioux City which was keynoted by Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts.
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