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Statewide event next week aims to get kids walking, biking to school

News

May 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – National Walk, Bike, and Roll to School Day is one week from today (Wednesday) on May 8th and organizers in Iowa say this year’s event promises to be the biggest yet. Matt Burkey, the Iowa Safe Routes to School manager for the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, says they’re working to get more schools registered statewide to take part. “Even though it’s just a week away, there’s still time to get your school signed up,” Burkey says. “All you have to do is not drive to school that day, have you and your students walk, bike, roll any way you want to get the school that gets you outside gets you moving.” This is the 13th year Iowa will be taking part in the effort and Burkey says more than 40 schools will be joining in, including Ottumwa.

“The entire school district is on board. Every school in Ottumwa has signed up and is participating,” Burkey says. “In Dubuque, we have four elementary schools participating, and then in a few other schools around the state, it’s only a few families that are doing an event. Maybe they don’t want to get the whole school involved, maybe they just want to try it the first time and see if walking or biking to school is a great option for them.” Burkey says the annual event is dedicated to promoting healthier, more sustainable communities.

“A 30-minute walk is about all the exercise you need in a day, and so you and your student walking to and from school together gets you the daily amount of exercise you need, gets you outside in the sunshine — or the rain,” Burkey says. “We’ve seen other schools have such good turnout that they do it every Wednesday in May. I’ve met students that say, ‘This was so much fun, can I do it again tomorrow?'” Schools and districts across Iowa are taking part in the event on a variety of levels.

“I understand, especially in rural Iowa, not everyone lives within an easy walking or biking distance to their school,” Burkey says, “and rural Iowa school districts are participating by walking or biking part of the way and that’s still fine.” He says the benefits of walking, biking, and rolling to school include reduced traffic congestion and pollution, enhanced community connections, and improved health and well-being for students and families.

2 arrested in Red Oak, Tuesday

News

May 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A man and a woman were arrested on separate charges Tuesday evening, in Red Oak. According to Red Oak Police, 40-year-old Jill Renee Coddington, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 7:45-p.m. for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense – Marijuana, and Disorderly Conduct/fighting or violence. Her cash-only bond was set at $1,000. Coddington was being held in the Montgomery County Jail.

And, at around 6:20-p.m., Red Oak Police arrested 21-year-old Samuel Lehr Hummel, of Riverton, was taken into custody in the 600 block of Miller Avenue, for Harassment in the 3rd Degree. His bond at the Montgomery County Jail, was set at $300.

Missouri man arrested in Montgomery County Tue. evening

News

May 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop at Highway 71 and High Street Tuesday evening in Villisca, resulted in the arrest of a man from Missouri. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 39-year-old Jasiel Garzon, of St. Joseph, MO., was arrested for providing false information to law enforcement. Garzon was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond.

Storm report for April 30, 2024

News, Weather

May 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

The National Weather Service in Des Moines reports several locations in southwest Iowa were hit by severe storms that caused some damage, Tuesday. In the KJAN listening area, egg-size hail (2 inches in diameter) was reported six-miles southwest of Massena in CASS COUNTY at around 4:37-p.m. Other hail reports show Quarter-size hail (1″ in diameter) fell near in or near Orient and Cromwell, while hail the size of pennies fell in Corning, lasting about 20-minutes, and causing some minor tree damage.

Other reports:

  • ADAIR COUNTY: 1/4″ hail 3 miles S. of Bridgewater; 2-miles E/SE of Orient; 2-miles E/NE of Orient; 3 miles W/NW of Orient & in the City of Orient.
  • UNION COUNTY: Half-dollar size hail (1.25″) fell 2 miles S of Lorimor, 3 miles W. of Lorimor; Golf-ball size hail (1.75″) fell in near Creston (Green Valley Lake); hail that fell in Lorimor caused leaves to be shredded; 1″ diameter hail fell S. of Macksburg near Rea & Creamery roads; Trees and a house were damaged by thunderstorms in Creston.
  • MADISON COUNTY: Ping Pong ball size hail (1.5″) fell 3 miles SE of Macksburg; 1″ hail fell near Truro.
  • GUTHRIE COUNTY: 1″ hail fell in Bagley;
  • DALLAS COUNTY: 1″ hail reported near Perry.
  • CRAWFORD COUNTY: 1/4-1″ hail fell in Manilla.
  • FREMONT COUNTY: 1″ diameter hail 5-miles SE of Riverton.

Large hail was reported from Council Bluffs to Indianola, as well as north of the metro from Carroll to Ames. One confirmed tornado was reported near Millerton, south of Chariton.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the Nishna Valley: Wed. May 1st, 2024

Weather

May 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Today: Partly sunny w/just a slight chance of showers & thunderstorms this afternoon. High near 70. West wind 5 to 15 mph becoming east in the afternoon.
Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Low around 52. E winds @ 15-25.
Tomorrow: Showers and thunderstorms. High near 66. E/SE winds 15-25 shifting to the West Thursday afternoon.
Tom. A chance of showers and thunderstorms, otherwise P/Cldy. Low around 42.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 71.
Saturday: A 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm; Partly sunny, with a high near 66.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 75. Our Low this morning, 43. We received just .08″ rain Tuesday. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 64 and the Low was 35. The All-time Record High on May 1st was 90, in 1965. The Record Low was 24, in 1909. Sunrise: 6:17; Sunset: 8:17.

State Auditor touts non-profit’s report about ‘paper ceiling’ in state government

News

May 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand says he’s worked with a non-profit group and identified more than two dozen state job classifications that could be rewritten to widen the pool of applicants. Sand, a Democrat, says Opportunity at Work did a similar analysis for Republican Larry Hogan when he was the governor of Maryland. The number of state jobs in Maryland requiring a college degree was cut in half as a result.

“There are all kinds of jobs in the public sector where the job description states that a four-year college degree is required or it states that a four-year college degree is preferred,” Sand says. “That ‘paper ceiling’ stops a lot of really well qualified people from applying for those jobs or getting those jobs.” Sand says 60 percent of Iowa’s working age population has the skills necessary for government jobs through alternative routes, like military service, a community college degree or work experience.

“The bottom line is that there are a lot of jobs in the public sector, in public service in Iowa that are not getting filled on a timely basis,” Sand says. “There’s work to be done and we need more people to feel qualified and welcome to apply for those jobs.” Sand says the non-profit’s report identified 28 job DESCRIPTIONS in state government that could be rewritten to include people who did not have a college degree, but Sand did not have a specific number of actual jobs or employees that would be impacted. Two years ago, Sand eliminated the requirement that auditors in the state auditor’s office have a four year degree, so those who have a two-year degree in accounting are eligible to apply.

“There’s lot of smart, practical, hardworking Iowans who go get those degrees. They look at the situation and they say: ‘Well, I can get a degree in the same field in half the time, for less than half the money,” Sand said. “It’s a wonderful, value oriented mindset that we certainly want to encourage people to have if they are working for the taxpayer’s watchdog.”

Sand held a news conference in his statehouse office to discuss the non-profit’s report about reclassifying other jobs in the state government. Sand indicated the Department of Administrative Services is the agency that would rewrite job classifications for other areas of state government, but Sand has not yet forwarded the non-profit’s analysis to that department.

Hawkeyes Rally Past Redbirds

Sports

April 30th, 2024 by admin

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa baseball team defeated Illinois State, 8-7, on Tuesday night at Duane Banks Field.
After five innings of play the Redbirds led 4-2 and after six innings led 5-4, before the Hawkeyes would take the lead in the seventh. Gable Mitchell singled with the bases loaded and would come all the way around to score on a throwing error by the catcher on the “little league grand slam.”
Illinois State would plate two runs in the ninth, but the Hawkeyes stifled the comeback attempt.
“It is always good to find a way to get the win,” said head coach Rick Heller. “It didn’t look good for a while, and finally got a rally going in the seventh. Got a big hit out of Gable and had a few free bases and the error ended up giving us what we needed to hold on.”
Ganon Archer started for the Hawkeyes. He threw two innings and struck out three without allowing a hit or a run.
Six Hawkeyes saw action on the mound with Ben DeTaeye having the longest outing. He earned the win closing out the game with 2 2/3 innings of work allowing two earned runs and striking out four.
Davis Cop and Mitchell each had two hits for Iowa and Mitchell tallied two RBIs. Reese Moore scored three runs and had a solo home run.
Illinois State stranded 14 runners on base to Iowa’s four.
“It was an okay performance in all areas,” said Heller. “Wasn’t great offensively, but we found a way to score enough. It got dicey but we held on and hopefully we play better tomorrow.”
The Hawkeyes return to action tomorrow at 4:05 p.m. (CT) at Duane Banks Field against North Dakota State.

DCI assisting Oelwein PD with death investigation

News

April 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Mrs. CAROL BROWN, 86, of Exira (Memorial Svc. 5/11/24)

Obituaries

April 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Mrs. CAROL BROWN, 86, of Exira, died Monday, April 29, 2024, at Cass Health in Atlantic. A Memorial service for Mrs. CAROL BROWN will take place 11-a.m. Saturday, May 11th, at the Exira Christian Church. Kessler Funeral Home in Exira has the arrangements.

Interment is in the Exira Cemetery. Following the committal service, the family will greet friends with a luncheon in the fellowship hall of the Exira Christian Church.

Memorials may be directed to the Carol Brown family, and sent to the funeral home, at P.O. Box 523, Atlantic, IA, 50022.

CAROL BROWN is survived by:

Her husband Todd Brown.

Her son – Michael Brown, of Exira.

Her daughters – Kim, and Teresa, both of Atlantic.

5 grandchildren, her in-laws, and other relatives.

Northern Iowa softball hosts Iowa Wednesday night

Sports

April 30th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

The Northern Iowa softball takes a nine-game winning streak into the final week of the regular season which begins Wednesday night at home against Iowa. The Panthers are 28-15 overall.

That’s UNI coach Ryan Jacobs. The Panthers last played a nonconference game back on April second at Iowa State. Jacobs used three different pitchers in an 8-3 loss to the Cyclones. UNI closes Missouri Valley Conference play beginning Friday with the start of a three-game series at Valparaiso.