United Group Insurance

ITC Midwest Conducting Aerial Patrols of Transmission Lines

News

September 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Cedar Rapids, Iowa (September 16, 2024) – Officials with ITC Midwest says they will be conducting aerial patrols of high-voltage transmission structures and lines throughout its service territory from approximately September 23 – October 1, weather permitting. Helicopter patrols provide an overall status of the overhead transmission system owned and operated by
ITC Midwest. The flights take place across the following areas of the ITC Midwest service territory:

Central zone
The flights will be conducted in the Ames, Ankeny, Boone, Cedar Rapids, Dysart, Gladbrook, Iowa Falls, Marengo, Marion, Marshalltown, Newton, Palo, Perry, Vinton and Williamsburg areas. Iowa counties in the aerial patrol areas include Adair, Benton, Boone, Cass, Dallas, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hardin, Iowa, Jasper, Linn, Marshall, Polk, Story and Tama.

Image via ITC Holdings Corp Facebook page

The company says the patrols are a North American Electrical Reliability Corporation (NERC) requirement for ITC Midwest’s vegetation management program, support proactive maintenance objectives, and align with the company’s model for operational excellence. The flights will include the inspection of vegetation in the vicinity of transmission structures, wood poles, conductors (wires), insulators and other equipment.

The inspection flights are often conducted at low altitudes to facilitate accurate visual inspection of vegetation hazards. This is normal procedure, so there is no cause for alarm if a low-flying helicopter is sighted near transmission lines during the time frame mentioned above.

CAM Volleyball Looks to Bounce Back against Ar-We-Va

Sports

September 16th, 2024 by Christian Adams

The CAM volleyball team will travel to Ar-We-Va on Tuesday and look to pick up their first win of the season. Through their first eight games the Cougars have battled hard. They have kept numerous matches close including a 2-1 loss to Atlantic in which the second set was decided by two points. Not to mention their battle against #9 East Mills in which the first set was decided by 3 points. Despite things not always going CAM’s way, head coach Hilary Zimmerline is proud of the way her team has competed.

The Cougars roster is a young one. Currently, Maddie Richter and Gracie Venteicher are the only seniors on the CAM roster. Richter is tied for sixth in the conference in digs. Zimmerline knows that having a pair of dedicated seniors is a big tool.

Despite only have a pair of the seniors, the CAM roster has a ton of young talent. Junior Krista James leads the Rolling Valley Conference in blocks and solo blocks. Sophomore Courtney Follmann ranks 4th in assists while sophomore Ruthie Rich is tied for sixth in kills.  Zimmerline is not only excited about their talent and dedication but also the future of CAM volleyball.

CAM’s game at Ar-We-Va will start at 7:30pm. Coach Zimmerline says she is “excited to get into conference play”.

Northern Iowa’s Mark Farley previews Hawaii

Sports

September 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley says quarterback Aidan Dunne is probable for Saturday’s game at Hawaii. Dunne was injured late in a 34-3 loss at 22nd ranked Nebraska. Sophomore Matthew Schecklman finished the game and fellow sophomore Jaxon Dailey is also an option if Dunne is unable to play.

Farley has been to adjust the practice schedule this week. The Panthers fly to Hawaii on Wednesday.

Another issue is UNI’s equipment shipped out to Hawaii this (Monday) afternoon.

Farley says a defense that entered the season with a lot of question marks performed well at Nebraska.

Farley says the key will be getting that effort every week.

Council Bluffs Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Meth and Marijuana Convictions

News

September 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa, today (Monday), said a Council Bluffs man, 34-year-old Dereck Meyer, was sentenced last Friday (September 13, 2024), to 144 months (12-years)  in federal prison, for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and marijuana. Meyer pled guilty April 19, 2024, to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. In 2011, Meyer was previously convicted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa for possession with intent to distribute more than 5 grams of methamphetamine within a protected location.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that on November 19, 2022, law enforcement officers in Denison, Iowa stopped a vehicle driven by Meyer. Meyer admitted to being in possession of marijuana, failed to follow officer’s commands and drove off at a high rate of speed initiating a pursuit through Denison, Iowa. Meyer ultimately drove into the alley and was taken into custody.

During a search of the vehicle officers located 55.46 grams of methamphetamine in the rear seat next to Meyer’s wallet. Officers also seized four plastic bags, each containing approximately one ounce (about 28 grams) of marijuana, a clear plastic bag containing 4.4 grams of marijuana, and a clear plastic bag containing 3 grams of suspected cocaine. Meyer intended to distribute some or all of the drugs to another person or persons.

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Meyer was sentenced to 144 months’ imprisonment and must serve an eight-year term of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Meyer remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, Iowa DCI Laboratory, and the Denison Police Department.

Des Moines leaders to vote on rules opponents say criminalize homelessness

News

September 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Des Moines City Council will vote tonight on whether to ban camping in public areas and to cut the notice time before removing tents and shelters on city property from ten days to three. Opponents say the changes would criminalize homelessness and further crowd shelters. Backers say the amendments will push homeless populations to use available resources nearby.

City Manager Scott Sanders says the intent of the ordinance is not enforcement. “There is language that we have added to be as clear as possible that the intent of this ordinance is get compliance,” Sanders says. “To get to the heart of what we’re trying to do here is to get individuals into safer environments.”

The city’s plan is for Primary Healthcare outreach workers to visit people found camping on public property and help transport them to shelters. Shelby Ridley, director of programs at Primary Healthcare, presented a plan to the city council last week to hire three more outreach workers. “Street outreach is a necessary thing for this community,” Ridley says, “but you won’t see less people experiencing homelessness until we have an increase in housing.”

Someone who fails to comply would be fined $15 and charged with a simple misdemeanor. However, if shelters are full or the person is unable to pay, they would not be held liable. The city first introduced the proposed changes at a meeting in July. Tonight will be the third and final reading.

AP reports group tried to recruit candidates to run against Nun

News

September 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – An Associated Press investigation has found a group called the Patriots Run Project tried to recruit candidates to run as independents in two of Iowa’s competitive congressional districts. Congressman Zach Nunn — the Republican in Iowa’s third district — says he’s outraged to see anyone prey on hardworking Iowans or try to deceive voters. The man from Scranton who was recruited to run against Nunn told the Associated Press he withdrew his name from the ballot after determining his candidacy was intended as a dirty political trick.

The group failed to collect enough petition signatures for a woman it recruited to run against Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks in the first district. Iowa Republican Party chair Jeff Kaufmann says it’s truly despicable that this Democrat-backed group knowingly took advantage of disabled or retired Trump supporters to try to cheat and pull votes away from Republicans.

The Associated Press reports the Patriots Run Project recruited candidates in run for congress in four other states. According ot the A-P, the group is not registered as a business, a non-profit or a political action committee in the United States and the group’s website lists a Post Office Box in Washington, D.C. as its address. Meta took down the group’s Facebook page a few weeks ago and the group’s website cannot be found in a Google search.

Radio Iowa High School Football Poll 9/16/24

Sports

September 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Class 5A
1. Waukee (3-0), LW #2 @ #4 WDM Valley
2. Ankeny Centennial (3-0), LW #3 vs #10 Southeast Polk
3. Dowling Catholic (2-1), LW #1 @ Waukee Northwest
4. WDM Valley (2-1), LW #4 vs #1 Waukee
5. Bettendorf (3-0), LW #7 vs #6 Linn-Mar
6. Linn-Mar (3-0), LW #8 @ #5 Bettendorf
7. Pleasant Valley (2-1), LW (X) @ #9 Prairie
8. Cedar Falls (2-1), LW #6 @ Iowa City Liberty
9. Cedar Rapids Prairie (2-1), LW (X) vs #7 Pleasant Valley
10.Southeast Polk (1-2), LW #5 @ #2 Centennial

Class 4A
1. Lewis Central (3-0), LW #1 vs Bondurant-Farrar
2. North Scott (3-0), LW #2 vs #7 Western Dubuque
3. Gilbert (3-0), LW #4 vs Boone
4. North Polk (3-0), LW #5 @ 3A #6 Humboldt
5. Pella (3-0), LW #8 @ #8 Xavier
6. Decorah (3-0), LW vs 3A #5 Independence
7. Western Dubuque (2-1), LW #9 @ #2 North Scott
8. Cedar Rapids Xavier (2-1), LW #3 vs #5 Pella
9. Indianola (2-1), LW #6 vs Carlisle
10.ADM (Adel) (2-1), LW #10 @ Norwalk

Class 3A
1. Clear Lake (3-0), LW #1 @ Waverly-Shell Rock
2. Williamsburg (2-1), LW #2 vs Fort Madison
3. Algona (3-0), LW #3 vs Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley
4. Solon (3-0), LW #4 vs #8 Mount Vernon
5. Independence (3-0), LW #5 @ 4A #6 Decorah
6. Humboldt (3-0), LW #6 vs 4A #4 North Polk
7. Dubuque Wahlert (3-0), LW #7 @ Assumption
8. Mount Vernon (3-0), LW #9 @ #4 Solon
9. Grinnell (3-0), LW (X) vs Washington
10.Sergeant Bluff-Luton (3-0), LW (X) vs Harlan

Class 2A
1. Spirit Lake (2-1), LW #2 vs Forest City
2. West Lyon (3-0), LW #3 vs Unity Christian
3. PCM (Monroe) (3-0), LW #4 @ Jesup
4. Van Meter (2-1), LW #1 vs Clarinda
5. Carroll Kuemper (2-1), LW #6 vs #8 Roland-Story
6. Northeast (Goose Lake) (3-0), LW #7 @ Camanche
7. Cherokee (3-0), LW #10 @ Western Christian
8. Roland-Story (2-1), LW #8 @ #5 Kuemper
9. Anamosa (3-0), LW #9 @ Monticello
10.Davis County (3-0), LW (X) vs Central Lee

Class 1A
1. Grundy Center (3-0), LW #2 vs East Marshall
2. Wilton (3-0), LW #3 @ Dyersville Beckman
3. Emmetsburg (3-0), LW #4 @ East Sac County
4. OABCIG (2-1), LW #1 @ MVAOCOU
5. Dike-New Hartford (2-1), LW #5 vs Sumner-Fredricksburg
6. South Hardin (3-0), LW #7 vs Alburnett
7. Iowa City Regina (3-0), LW #6 @ Durant
8. Hinton (3-0), LW #9 @ Ridge View
9. AHSTW (Avoca) (2-1), LW #8 @ Underwood
10.Hudson (3-0), LW (X) @ Waterloo Columbus

Class A
1. Woodbury Central (3-0), LW #1 @ LeMars Gehlen
2. AC-GC (3-0), LW #2 vs South Central Calhoun
3. West Hancock (3-0), LW #3 @ North Union
4. Lisbon (3-0), LW #4 @ Highland
5. Nashua-Plainfield (3-0), LW #7 vs AGWSR
6. Madrid (2-1), LW #6 vs Lynnville-Sully
7. Saint Ansgar (2-1), LW #5 @ Belmond-Klemme
8. Pekin (3-0), LW #10 vs Columbus
9. North Linn (3-0), LW (X) @ North Cedar
10.Earlham (2-1), LW (X) @ Southwest Valley

8-Player
1. Algona Garrigan (3-0), LW #1 @ Northwood-Kensett
2. Lenox (3-0), LW #3 @ Mormon Trail
3. Remsen St. Mary’s (3-0), LW #4 @ Boyer Valley
4. Don Bosco (3-0), LW #5 @ #9 Lansing Kee
5. Audubon (3-0), LW #6 @ St. Edmond
6. Bedford (2-1), LW #2 2 East Union
7. Iowa Valley (4-0), LW #7 vs English Valley’s
8. CAM (Anita) (2-1), LW #9 @ Coon Rapids-Bayard
9. Lansing Kee (3-0), LW (X) vs #4 Don Bosco
10.Southeast Warren (3-0), LW #10 @ Moravia

Red Oak woman arrested on an assault charge Monday morning

News

September 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 10:45-a.m. today (Sept. 16th), of 46-year-old Jill Renee Coddington, from Red Oak. She was taken into custody at her residence in the 1600 block of E. Summit Street, for Domestic Abuse Assault. Coddington was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

Study finds small percentage of private well owners testing their water

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A study from Iowa State University shows that only five to ten percent of the 230-thousand private well owners in the state test their water annually. Iowa State Extension Water Quality Program Manager Catherine DeLong says one of the barriers to testing is a misunderstanding of what quality well water should be. “I think a lot of the time, private well owners think that if you have a private well, it’s a normal thing to have bacteria, but it really isn’t,” She says. “It means there’s something potentially structurally unsound with the well, that there’s a way for things from the surface to get into the well, so it is something to take seriously.”

Bacteria, nitrates, and arsenic are the most common contaminants, and have all been detected in Iowa wells. DeLong says testing regularly is important because the impact of the contaminants don’t immediately show up when people drink the water.  “With things like arsenic, with things like nitrate, we know that those health effects can really take years to have an effect. They’re odorless and tasteless, so if people have them in their water, they wouldn’t necessarily know unless they get it tested,” Delong says.

Nitrates and arsenic in drinking water have been linked to cancers, cardiovascular issues, and birth defects.

Iowa REALTORS® Distribute $600,000 in Relief  to Assist Iowans Displaced By Severe Storms

News

September 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(West Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa REALTORS® distributed more than $609,000 in housing relief grants to 547 households across the state following devastating spring and summer storms this year.  According to the organization, Iowa REALTORS® is dedicated to ensuring Iowans impacted by natural disasters are afforded the resources to rebuild their homes and sense of community through relief grants. Iowa Realtors CEO Gavin Blair said in a press release, “The sense of home for thousands of Iowans was diminished this spring and summer as a result of destructive severe weather events. As Iowans, we know that helping one another is the first line of action. Iowa REALTORS® stand behind our communities and are proud to provide needed support to those who faced the unimaginable.”

Through three separate grant relief campaigns, Iowa REALTORS® distributed $609,373 in funding to 547 Iowans. The funding was available to individuals impacted by storms in April, May and June to assist with mortgage and rental payments or hotel reimbursements.  Recipients received funding through a simple application process, sharing the stories and photos of the devastation they encountered following these deadly storms. IAR

A woman from Minden- identified only as Jennifer – said she and her family experienced the total loss of their home following tornadoes that struck this past May. She said “The shock of this traumatic event still haunts us. Not only did we deal with wind damage, but the rains that followed for the following days made it extremely difficult to salvage anything that remained.” When flood waters filled the basement and five feet of the first floor of their home in Rock Valley, Stacia and her family lost all of the contents on the two floors. Because of the nature of the disaster – flooding – Stacia’s insurance claim was denied. The ability to obtain relief from Iowa REALTORS® will help her family as they begin to pick up the pieces.

In order to provide needed assistance following three major storm events and their subsequent flooding, Iowa REALTORS® received generous grant funding from the National Association of REALTORS’® REALTORS® Relief Foundation.