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Iowa T&F | Hawkeyes Close 2023-24 Season

Sports

July 2nd, 2024 by Asa Lucas

Hawkeyes Close 2023-24 Season

University of Iowa track and field concluded its outdoor season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 7. Five Hawkeyes qualified for the final stage in Eugene, Oregon.

  • Sophomore Mike Stein became a first-team All-American in the men’s javelin. Stein threw 72.81 meters (238′ 10″) to place seventh in his debut at Hayward Field.
  • Senior Paige Magee qualified in the women’s 100 hurdles, finishing 13th with a personal-best and Iowa program record of 12.88 in the finals. With the second-team finish, Magee closes her outdoor career as a six-time All-American.
  • Senior Jordan Johnson closed his Hawkeye career as a second-team All-American, placing 16th with a toss of 56.74 meters (186′ 2″) in the men’s discus.
  • Junior Rivaldo Marshall qualified in the men’s 800 meters with a third-place time of 1:46.96 at the NCAA Regionals in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
  • Senior Austin West was an NCAA qualifier in the men’s decathlon for the fourth time in his career.
  • Seven Hawkeyes returned to Eugene, Oregon, for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials from June 21-30. That delegation included Magee (women’s 100 hurdles), Stein (men’s javelin), West (men’s decathlon), senior Gratt Reed (men’s 110 hurdles), senior Kat Moody (women’s discus) and senior Kalen Walker (men’s 100 meters).

HAWKEYES AT THE OLYMPICS

Fourteen Hawkeyes competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials, including seven members of this year’s roster.

  • Brittany Brown (’18) qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 21.90 personal best in the women’s 200 meters. Brown is Iowa’s 26th Olympian.
  • Other top finishes included senior Austin West taking sixth in the men’s decathlon, a 12th-place showing in the women’s discus for senior Kat Moody and seniors Paige Magee (100 hurdles) and Kalen Walker (100 meters) reaching the semifinals.
  • Abroad, senior Austin Kresley became Mexico’s national champion in the men’s 100 meters. Freshman Daniela Wamokpego took eighth in the women’s triple jump at the French trials.

UP NEXT

Athletics events at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be held between Thursday, Aug. 1, and Sunday, Aug. 11.

Practice rounds continue at the John Deere Classic

Sports

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Practice rounds continue at the TPC at Deere Run heading into Thursday’s start of the John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities. Defending champion Sepp Straka says it is a market that takes great pride in hosting a PGA Tour event.

Straka says it will take a low score to successfully defend his title.

Red Oak woman arrested on a Theft charge

News

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report 68-year-old Sheryl Lynn Franzen, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 10:22-a.m. today (Tuesday), for Theft in the 5th Degree. Franzen was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $300 bond.

Nate Heise on his transfer from UNI to Iowa State

Sports

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Nate Heise says the chance to play on a bigger stage is why he decided to transfer to Iowa State. Heise spent the past four years at Northern Iowa and led the Panthers in scoring at 13-and-a-half points per game this past season before making the decision to enter the transfer portal.

Summer workouts are underway in Ames and Heise is trying to carve out a roll on a team that has its top four scorers returning from a team that made it to the Sweet-16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Heise says his experience has helped with the transition.

Heise says the chance to join a team that will likely be top five in the preseason polls was intriguing.

Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger felt Heise was a good fit for the program.

Otzelberger feels Heise will be a factor at both ends of the court.

Sioux City residents express frustration with how flooding was handled

News

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Residents of the Riverside neighborhood in Sioux City expressed frustration with the city’s flood response at the city council meeting. Susan Bart was the first to speak at Monday’s meeting. “Where we’re our city leaders when we’re in time of need? I am flooded out I got three lots along the Big Sioux in my backyard,” She says. “I’m flooded out and I had a sewer leak prior to the flooding. On Sunday, MidAmerican turned off my gas, so they were well aware of what was going on. Yet no sirens, no nothing.” Steve Kurally was awake and started warning neighbors as the floodwaters rose. He says they could have used more warning from the city.

“I don’t know who is in charge of that, but that really could have been used some improvement. I’m not here to, by no means to criticize anybody I think in the city, they came a long way through that flood. I mean they were working diligently trying to build the temporary levees and man and the pumps and all of that,” he says. Bonnie Whitlock was emotional as she talked about he flood damage. “I’ve lost two cars. I’ve lost my babies pictures and everything if I would have had some warning, I could have gotten that stuff up,” Whitlock says. “I’ve lost everything in my home. All my drywall is gone. All my flooring is gone. My furniture, my appliances, everything is gone. My husband and I are just retired.”

Mayor Bob Scott says he will meet soon with City Manager Bob Padmore to discuss what happened in Riverside and how they can move forward. “Let’s just say that I’ve told Bob that after this quiets down with his staff in a couple of weeks we need to have a real sit down and talk about what we did,”Scott says. “I think we were in denial that river was going to go as high as what did unfortunately it just kept rising and rising.”

Scott said he expected to be back out at the flood scene today (Tuesday)

Montgomery County Board of Supervisors meeting recap

News

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, today (Tuesday) received a regular weekly report from County Engineer Karen Albert. She said Secondary Roads Department crews have been cold patching roads along the RAGBRAI® Route in the County.

The Board heard also, from West Township resident Jan Norris, with regard to the (former) Iowa Utilities Board ruling last week, granting Summit Carbon Solutions unanimous approval of their 682 mile project, and the use of Eminent Domain, allowing the company to seize 853 parcels of land if the property owner does not grant them an easement. The IUB changed its name Monday to the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC).

Montgomery County BOS mtg 7-2-24

Norris said the Board’s approval affects 18-miles of western Montgomery County, where the pipeline route could run north and south, parallel to the County line. The entire Phase 1 route includes 3,035 parcels.

Norris said the project is a go, but there are still several steps ahead, including the likelihood those opposed to the pipeline will file for reconsideration by the IUC.

Norris said a meeting will be held at the Corning Opera House August 26th at 6-p.m., with regard to Summit’s Phase II project. Another meeting will be held in Red Oak at the Red Coach Inn August 27th, at Noon.

The Supervisors took no action on Norris’ renewed request for an ordinance dealing with the pipeline.

Cass Health Welcomes Weight Loss Surgeon Dr. William Rizk

News

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass Health in Atlantic have announced General and Weight Loss Surgeon, Dr. William Rizk, will be providing care to patients starting this month. Dr. Rizk is a board-certified general and bariatric surgeon who specializes in weight loss surgery, and he has been performing laparoscopic weight loss surgeries since 2002. The Doctor says “People with obesity, particularly severe obesity, face a number of medical concerns that can be improved with weight loss surgery. It’s not an easy decision to make, and it takes commitment and lifestyle change to see long-term success. Weight loss surgery is a great tool, and I’m very excited to offer this surgery to patients in southwest Iowa.”

Iowa ranks 12th in states impacted by obesity, with more than 37% of the state’s adult population being impacted by obesity. According to Iowa Health and Human Services, 42.5% of adults in Cass County have an unhealthy body weight, which is classified as a BMI of 30 or higher. Dr. Rizk will perform sleeve gastrectomies, also known as gastric sleeve surgeries, at Cass Health beginning this fall.

Dr. William Rizek

“Our program will utilize a multidisciplinary approach,” said Dr. Rizk. “This will include several clinic appointments, nutritional counseling and behavior modification classes.  This education will help ensure the most successful outcome for patients.”

Patients interested in learning more are invited to come to a free educational class on the surgery on Tuesday, July 9th at 6:00 at Cass Health. Reservations are required; sign up online at casshealth.org/weightloss. Questions can be directed to our Program Coordinator at 712-243-7535; patients are also encouraged to talk with their primary care provider about the surgery and referrals.

Iowa’s ag secretary comments on Deere’s latest job cuts

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Ag equipment maker John Deere is announcing plans to eliminate some 800 jobs at plants in Iowa and Illinois over the coming weeks. It follows word last month the company would shift production of its skid steer loaders and compact track loaders from Dubuque to Mexico by the end of 2026. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig is reacting to the news. “Anytime that you’re hearing about roll backs, layoffs, moving things outside of the state of Iowa or the United States,” Naig says, “you’re concerned about those things, you want to understand them.”

In a statement, the company cited rising manufacturing costs as a key factor, while lower crop prices have also caused a slowdown in new ag equipment sales. Some forecasters predict a 25-percent drop in farm income this year over last. Naig says the agricultural economy in general is experiencing what he called “softness” due to a number of factors. “The announcements that you’ve heard made of late are indicators of very much some softness in the ag economy,” Naig says. “Given the effects of inflation, high input prices, the cost of capital interest rates remaining where they are, all those things are contributing in the ag space to delaying decisions if you can — let’s just go sideways for a little bit.”

Deere is eliminating more than 200 jobs at its Davenport plant and another 99 in Dubuque at the end of August, and more than 500 in East Moline, Illinois at the end of September. Deere announced earlier this year it’s cutting more than 800 jobs at facilities in Waterloo, Ottumwa and the Des Moines metro. Naig says the souring economic effects aren’t just limited to the ag equipment sector. “That’s also playing out now in some of these announcements that you’re hearing made about even meat processing or manufacturing,” he says. “So, you try to take all that in and look at it holistically, but I do think that it’s certainly sending some signals about a softening in the economy or at least a lack of confidence in the economy, and those are things what we need to be addressing as a country.”

Secretary Naig says it’s imperative for the state to do everything it can to help agriculture and manufacturing continue to thrive, as they are key economic drivers in the state. His comments came Monday as he was in Davis County to tour a local parts fabrication business.

Cass County Supervisors approve ARPA funds for Vision Atlantic; Set RAGBRAI courthouse hours

News

July 2nd, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday morning, unanimously passed a Resolution (2024-21) allocating ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) Funds to a Childcare Facility project in Atlantic.

(That’s Board Vice-Chair Mark O’Brien). The Board also discussed and approved courthouse hours in advance of the RAGBRAI ® event in Atlantic on July 22nd and 23rd. Vice Chair Mark O’Brien summarized the Board’s decision…

Cass County BOS mtg 7-2-24

The Supervisors received a 3rd Quarter report from Cass County Veterans Affairs Director Mitch Holmes.

Among the paperwork issues he helped veterans with, were those associated with federal burial benefits. The Supervisors received a regular report from Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken. Wolken said crews were out checking the roads, following the heavy rain that fell over the area Monday night into Tuesday morning. He said as of Tuesday morning, there were no reports of water over the road.

Wolken also discussed the Safety Action Plan.

Cass County’s Safety Action Plan workshop is scheduled for August 27th in the courthouse basement meeting room. EMS, Police and other County Agency representatives are being invited to attend, including the Board of Supervisors.

Heartbeat Today 7-2-2024

Heartbeat Today, Podcasts

July 2nd, 2024 by Jim Field

Jim Field visits with Greg & Char Bintner, who have been parade announcers for many years and are the grand marshals for the Exira July 4th parade this year.  They help to preview the celebration.

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