712 Digital Group - top

Noel Named to Paul Hornung Award Watch List

Sports

August 1st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

AMES, Iowa – For the second-straight season, Iowa State wide receiver Jaylin Noel has been named to the Paul Hornung Award Watch List presented by Texas Roadhouse. The award is given annually to the most versatile player in major college football.

A Second Team All-Big 12 selection a season ago, Noel finished with 66 receptions for 820 yards and seven touchdowns. His 66 catches were the seventh-most in a single season in ISU history and the fourth-most among Big 12 players last season.

The Kansas City, Mo. native has a reception in 32 consecutive games, tied for the fourth-longest active streak nationally and the fourth-longest streak in school history, and multiple receptions in 15-straight games.

Noel also handled kick and punt return duties for the Cyclones in 2023 and averaged 8.5 yards per punt return and 27.2 yards per kick return. He is the first FBS player since 2014 to have four 50-plus yard receptions, two 50-yard kick returns and two 30-yard punt returns in a season.

Tickets for the 2024 football season are on sale now with a slate that features Kansas State and a Homecoming showdown with Texas Tech as well as others. Fans can purchase season tickets for as low as $299, while mini-packs, single-game tickets and parking are also on sale.

The Cyclones open the season August 31 against 2023 FCS Playoff qualifier North Dakota.

Posted in Sports |

Higgins Named to Wuerffel Trophy Watch List

Sports

August 1st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior linebacker Jay Higgins has been named to the 2024 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, the Wuerffel Foundation announced Thursday.

Higgins (6-foot-2, 232-pounds) recorded 171 tackles (79 solo, 92 assists) during the 2023 season, which led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally. The total tied the program record for tackles in a single season.

The Indianapolis native is a preseason All-American and Phil Steele Preseason National Defensive Player of the Year. He was also named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List earlier this week.

Now in its 20th season, the Allstate Wuerfel Trophy is college football’s premier award for community service. The trophy is named after Danny Wuerffel, the 1996 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from the University of Florida who parlayed his success on the football field into a lifetime of service and humanitarianism.

Higgins volunteered more than 50 combined hours last year with groups such as Safe Haven Animal Shelter in South Amana, Iowa, the Community Crisis Services and Food Bank, Special Olympics, Dream City and University of Iowa Student-Athlete Academic Services.

The 2024 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy finalists and recipient will be selected by a national voting committee along with a fan vote component. The winner will be announced on ESPN’s Home Depot College Football Awards Show on December 12th. The Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Presentation Gala will take place February 1, 2025, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.

The award recipient will be invited to join Danny Wuerffel in New York City to attend the Heisman Trophy ceremonies, including the press conference, televised announcement show and gala.

The Hawkeyes open the season Aug. 31, hosting Illinois State inside Kinnick Stadium beginning at 11 a.m. (CT).

Posted in Sports |

Robinson Joins Women’s Golf Coaching Staff

Sports

August 1st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Nic Robinson has been named the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of Iowa women’s golf program, it was announced Thursday by head coach Megan Menzel.

Robinson joins the Hawkeyes following three seasons as an assistant coach at Tennessee. He has also coached collegiately at Charlotte and Asbury University.

“I am so excited to have Nic join our staff and to have the opportunity to work alongside him,” said Menzel. “He has great success and experience that he will be bringing to our program. He will be a hard-working and tough recruiter and I love his excitement about helping us to continue to push our program forward. We are thrilled to welcome Nic and his family to the Hawkeye golf family.”

In his three seasons in Knoxville, Robinson coached the Lady Vols to a pair of team NCAA Regional appearances. During the 2021-22 season, he coached Mikayla Bardwell to the NCAA Regionals as an individual.

The Vols had three top five finishes as a team and 13 top 10 individual showings during the 2023-24 season. The team earned runner-up honors at the Collegiate Invitational in the first tournament of the spring and closed out the year by placing sixth (of 12 teams) at the NCAA Bermuda Run Regional.

“I am thrilled to be at Iowa and under the leadership of such a respected coach,” said Robinson. “It’s a special time at Iowa and I can’t wait to hit the ground running and make a splash this upcoming season. The community support, fan base and national brand that is Iowa athletics is truly incredible and I can’t wait to leave our mark on such a historical place.”

Prior to his arrival on Rocky Top, Robinson spent four seasons at Charlotte, serving as the program’s assistant women’s golf coach. Hired prior to the program’s inaugural season in 2017-18, Robinson helped the 49ers claim three top-five finishes during their debut campaign.

In the following year, Charlotte placed second at the Conference USA Championships. The 49ers logged five top-five finishes in 2018-19, had two players earn All-Conference USA honors and sent Cecilie Finne-Ipsen to the NCAA Championships as an individual.

Despite only participating in six tournaments during the 2019-20 season to COVID-19, Robinson’s Charlotte squad earned two team titles at the Yale Invitational and the Idle Hour Collegiate — the first two tournament wins in the young program’s history — while adding three additional top-five finishes for a shortened-season total of five.

By Charlotte’s third varsity season, Robinson had helped guide Charlotte to a No. 27 national ranking by Golfweek and assisted in developing five eventual All-Conference USA performers.

Preceding his time in Charlotte, Robinson had a three-year tenure as the head coach of Asbury University. By 2017, the Eagles achieved a national ranking of No. 49. He also served as the Connemara Golf Course Head Golf Pro from 2015-17.

Robinson’s coaching career began at Lexington Christian Academy in Kentucky as the school’s head golf coach from 2012-14. He earned his degree in biomedical science from Southeast Missouri State in 2010.

Posted in Sports |

Collection of vintage aircraft makes stop at Iowa airport

News

August 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A squadron of rare airplanes from the World War Two era has landed in central Iowa, all of which are open for tours as well as for flights — though many rides are already sold out.

Cheryl Hilvert, tour leader for the Air Power History Tour, says the largest aircraft in the collection is a heavy bomber, a B-29 Superfortress. Nicknamed “Fifi,” it’s one of just two B-29s in the world that’s still flying — that’s out of nearly four-thousand that were built between 1943 and ’46.

“The B-29 is really the queen of the fleet here,” Hilvert says. “She is available for tours through Friday. We also have a T-6 Texan, a Stearman biplane, and a C-45 Expediter that are available for rides, and this weekend we’ll also be having a P-51 Mustang join us.”

The tour’s only Iowa stop this year is at the Des Moines International Airport. Hilvert says they’re keeping history alive, and they have a three-fold goal: to educate, honor and inspire.

“So, educate the public about the tremendous contributions of our greatest generation,” Hilvert says. “Honor those people who would fly on these airplanes, as well as stay behind and build them. And then inspire our younger generation to want to know a little bit about the contributions that happened back in the ’40s.”

The B-29 Fifi and the P-51 Gunfighter (Commemorative Air Force photo)

The late Air Force Colonel Paul Tibbets, who spent part of his childhood in both Davenport and Des Moines, is best known for piloting another B-29 — named the Enola Gay, after his mother — on a key mission that helped bring about a swift end to World War Two.

“That was the type of airplane that dropped the two atomic weapons on Japan,” Hilvert says. “So, Colonel Tibbets certainly was a big part of that history. He has actually flown with us on Fifi and his grandson has flown her as a pilot. So we’ve actually got a good connection into both Iowa and the Enola Gay.”

There is a fee to tour the airplanes on the ground, and a much larger fee to take a ride in one. It’s a steep price, but Hilvert says it costs between 10- and 12-thousand dollars per hour of flight to keep just the B-29 operational.

The squadron will be in Des Moines through Sunday.

Posted in News |

St. Ambrose to become owner of Mount Mercy

News

August 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Officials say St. Ambrose University in Davenport will become the non-profit owner of the Mount Mercy University campus in Cedar Rapids within the next two years. The presidents of the two Catholic universities held a news conference to discuss the merger and sign the agreement. Federal officials and the commission that reviews U-S college and university academic standards have to review the merger plan and approve it.

After the merger, the Cedar Rapids school will become the Mount Mercy Campus of St. Ambrose University and classes will be held on both campuses. Mount Mercy’s president says it’s a very challenging time for higher education in the U-S, especially for small private institutions like his. Since 2011, student enrollment in U-S colleges and universities has dropped each year. Fifteen non-profit colleges in the U-S closed last year, including Iowa Wesleyan in Mount Pleasant.

Saint Ambrose president Amy Novak and Mount Mercy president Todd Olson sign merger agreement in Cedar Rapids. (St. Ambrose University photo)

Last spring over 27-hundred students were enrolled at St. Ambrose and about 14-hundred students were enrolled at Mount Mercy. Three months ago, the presidents of the two institutions announced students could enroll in a range of in-person or online classes at either school for the fall semester. The Davenport Catholic Diocese founded St. Ambrose in 1882. The Sisters of Mercy founed Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids in 1928.

Posted in News |

Myers closing Iowa rotomolding plant, tire distribution sites to ‘reduce our footprint’

News

August 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Myers Industries, Inc., today announced the consolidation of their rotational molding facility in Atlantic with company facilities in Indiana, as part of an effort to reduce costs. Myers Industries said they expect the closures to be completed in 2025 and deliver approximately $5 million in cost savings in 2025.

According to a statement released by the company, production at the site will end in 2024 and the Atlantic plant will officially close December 31, 2025. Approximately 60 full-time employees are based in Atlantic, which was acquired by Myers with its purchase of Elkhart Plastics in 2020. Nearly all the positions will be eliminated by the end of this year. Employees will be given the opportunity to apply for opportunities with other Myers facilities. Current Atlantic customers will be serviced from Myers plants located in Indiana, Ohio, Colorado, or Washington.

Myers Industries President and CEO Mike McGaugh said in a press release:

“Our second-quarter results reflect the Company’s first full quarter with Signature Systems. This business is benefiting from worldwide investments in Infrastructure and helped drive both sequential and year-over-year revenue growth and margin expansion. Signature’s performance outpaced the demand headwinds in the Recreational Vehicle (RV), Marine, and Automotive Aftermarket end markets.

“We continue to focus on growing our Storage, Handling & Protection portfolio, most notably our four power brands: Akro-Mils, Buckhorn, Scepter, and Signature Systems. We believe our increased participation in the Military and Infrastructure end markets will provide meaningful growth for our Company over the next several years.

“At the same time, we are taking actions to reduce costs and increase productivity in the Engineered Solutions and Automotive Aftermarket portfolios. These actions include the consolidation of three distribution centers in our Myers Tire Supply business, as well as today’s announcement of the consolidation of our Atlantic, Iowa, rotational molding facility (Elkhart plastics) into our other rotational molding plants in Indiana. We are able to reduce our footprint and reduce our cost structure, due to the productivity gains we’ve achieved. We expect these closures to be completed in 2025 and deliver approximately $5 million in cost savings in 2025 as well.”

Elkhart Plastics/Myers Industries – Atlantic, Iowa

McGaugh concluded, “As a result of continued trough-like demand conditions in these end markets, we believe it is prudent to lower our full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance to a range of $1.05 to $1.20.”

Posted in News |

Dairy entries down at some county fairs due to bird flu concern

Ag/Outdoor, News

August 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A dairy specialist with I-S-U Extension says the number of dairy entries at county fairs has been down in areas of northwest Iowa due to bird flu outbreaks. Fred Hall says entries in Sioux County, for example, fell 30 percent.  “Absolutely, it’s a concern. Probably the biggest reason is it can go from a bird to a cow to a human. Now, fortunately, cows get sick, and they go off production, but they don’t die. You don’t have to euthanize them,” he says. Every competitor must show proof of a negative test to allow their cow in.  “If they’re coming from a premise where there are lactating cows, has to have a bulk tank test and has to then have a sick pin test, and they all have to be negative,” he says.

Hall also stresses that pasteurized milk is safe to drink. “The high-path virus is not very durable. So, once it’s been exposed to the traditional pasteurization temperatures, it’s dead,” Hall says. “You may find particles and pieces, but there’s no virus that can cause the contamination to spread.”

The Iowa State Fair is one week away and Hall says officials with the Fair also expect fewer dairy cow competitors due to the bird flu.

(By Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Union leader calls for retention bonuses for prison staff

News

August 1st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The leader of the union that represents state prison employees says higher pay for new prison workers is a good start, but the state should offer incentives to keep veteran prison staff from leaving. Todd Copley is president of AFSCME Council 61. “As the union, we’re all for getting people paid what they should be, but there are employees that have worked here for 10 years, 15 years, 20 years that should be getting paid more than what they are getting paid right now also,” Copley says. “…Corrections officers are grossly underpaid.” Copley says the starting pay for new workers should be the new base wage or salary for employees who work in similar positions.

“You have employees that have worked at these penitentiaries for four years that are now making a shade over what a new employee has got,” Copley says. His other concern is the signing bonuses for new employees in the Department of Corrections. Copley isn’t calling for ending those bonuses, but he says there should be a requirement that the employee stay on the job for some period of time.

“There is no ‘you have to work here for five years,'” Copley says. “…There’s no stipulation to that whatsoever, so theoretically the state is stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime. It makes no sense.” And Copley says retention bonuses should be considered for correctional officers with years of experience, so they don’t leave for a better paying job or choose to retire early. Copley worked in Polk County government for nearly 32 years. He was elected president of AFSCME Council 61 last July.

Posted in News |

AUGUST 2024 BIRTHDAY CLUB

Birthday Club

August 1st, 2024 by Lori Murphy

August 1:

  • Roger Lyons of Atlantic (winner)

August 2:

  • Judy McClure of Atlantic (winner)
  • Tobey Thomas of Atlantic
  • Perry Kelley of Harlan

August 3:

  • Tracey Marshall of Atlantic (winner)

August 4:

  • Rita Rohde of Atlantic (winner)
  • Chis Parks of Atlantic

August 5:

  • Pastor Dan Wiebesieck of Atlantic
  • Camryn Jean Nelson of Creston
  • Eric Wilson
  • Melanie Heinrichs

August 6:

  • Wendell Weideman of Atlantic (winner)
  • Jim Finnell of Atlantic
  • Roger Steffens of Atlantic
  • Laura (Lola) Juhl of Atlantic
  • Mike Blevins of Atlantic
  • Vicki Ericksen of Atlantic
  • Jonathan Sothman of Cumberland
  • Dwain Thompson of Exira

August 7:

  • Linda Marek of Anita (winner)
  • Condo Karen Bock of Atlantic
  • Chuck Sorensen of Exira
  • Mike Carley of Carroll
  • John Eichelberger of Council Bluffs

August 8:

  • Carter Griffin of Atlantic (winner)

August 9:

  • Peter Grey of Atlantic (winner)
  • Linda Eilts of Massena
  • Doug Weston of Audubon
  • Ann Martin of Exira

August 10:

  • Hudson of Atlantic (winner)
  • Marilyn Bennett of Atlantic
  • Jana Lambert of Atlantic

August 11:

  • Sharon Hansen of Atlantic (winner)

August 12:

  • Michael D Murphy of Atlantic (winner)

August 13:

  • Bonnie Orfield of Atlantic (winner)
  • Dianna Williams of Lewis
  • Herb Wahlert of Exira

August 14:

  • Denise Lowrey of Atlantic (winner)
  • Dave Auerbach of Atlantic
  • Linda Reisberg of Exira
  • Jean Voege of Manning
  • Finn Sothman of Cumberland

August 15:

  • John Ehrman of Anita (winner)
  • Michael E Murphy of Lewis
  • Betty Wieman of Exira
  • Braxton Androy of Elk Horn

August 16:

  • Hannah Housh of Atlantic (winner)
  • Bobbie Davis of Atlantic

August 17:

  • Janice Peterson of Atlantic (winner)
  • Margo Wolfe of Atlantic

August 18:

  • John Oliphant of Atlantic (winner)
  • Colby Madsen of Kimballton

August 19:

  • Jeanie Klindt of Atlantic (winner)
  • Brady Wayne Erickson of Gallup, NM
  • Joyce Hanson of Wisconsen

August 20:

  • Caty Rothfusz of Atlantic (winner)
  • Amber Smith-Pattee of Vinton
  • Carol Van Bemmel of Massena
  • Meredith Fanton of Griswold

August 21:

  • Erin Smouse of Exira (winner)
  • Craig Parmley of Brayton
  • Jeff Lowary of Atlantic

August 22:

  • Norma Wise of Atlantic (winner)
  • Grace Garrett of Atlantic

August 23:

  • Tatum Santisteban of Exira (winner)
  • Jovie Richter of Atlantic
  • Michael Winston of Walnut
  • Justin Waters of Sunset Beach, NC

August 24:

  • Charlie Wheeler of Exira (winner)
  • Claire Asberry of Exira
  • Sandy Kniesel of Griswold
  • Linda Waters of Atlantic

August 25:

  • Margo Chester of Massena (winner)
  • Andi Crane of Exira
  • Jacque Miesinger of Atlantic

August 26:

  • Janice Kinnison of Atlantic (winner)
  • Fred Muhr of Exira

August 27:

  • Chance Lauritsen of Exira (winner)
  • Milo Sager of Atlantic

August 28:

  • Isabella Davis (winner)
  • Charlee Hockenberry of Anita
  • Barbara Lamp of Atlantic
  • MaDonna Nisson of Atlantic
  • April Ortiz of Atlantic
  • Traci Schlueter of Atlantic
  • Miss Toni Moore of Atlantic

August 29:

  • Marilyn Munch of Exira (winner)
  • Melanie Larsen of Audubon

August 30:

  • Fern Linvall of Atlantic (winner)
  • Donnie Schlater of Exira

August 31:

  • Becky Ray of Anita (winner)
  • Scott Damon of Cumberland
  • Shelby McKinley of Cumberland

Posted in Birthday Club |

KAREN SUE CHADWICK DORSEY, 84, of Bedford, TX, formerly of Anita (Graveside Svcs. 8/31/24)

Obituaries

August 1st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

KAREN SUE CHADWICK DORSEY, 84, of Bedford, TX (formerly of Anita), died July 8, 2024.  Graveside service for KAREN DORSEY will be held Aug. 31st at 11-a.m., in the Evergreen Cemetery in Anita. A luncheon at the Anita Congregational Church will follow the graveside service.

(Visitation for KAREN SUE CHADWICK DORSEY was held July 18, 2024, in Texas)

Posted in Obituaries |