United Group Insurance

Seven Big 12 Teams Selected To NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament

Sports

March 18th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

Seven Big 12 women’s basketball teams were selected to compete in the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, the most teams from the league selected since 2013 and tied for the second-most in Big 12 history. It is the third consecutive year at least six Big 12 teams have been invited to the Big Dance.

Texas, who won the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, was picked as the No. 1 seed in Portland 4 Region, facing No. 16-seed Drexel at the Moody Center to begin its 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament run. No. 4-seeded Kansas State, making its second appearance in March Madness in three seasons, earned the right to host first-and-second round games, facing No. 13-seeded Portland to open the Albany 2 Region.

Big 12 regular season champion Oklahoma is in the field for the third consecutive March, picked as the No. 5-seed in the Albany 1 Region, facing No. 12-seed Florida Gulf Coast in Bloomington, Indiana. Additionally, Baylor earned a No. 5 seed, facing the First Four winner of Columbia and Vanderbilt in Blacksburg, Virginia. It is Baylor’s 20th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

Making their 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance, and fifth consecutive, No. 7-seed Iowa State faces No. 10-seed Maryland in Stanford, California as a part of the Portland 4 Region. Kansas and West Virginia each earned No. 8 seeds, with the Jayhawks facing Michigan at USC’s Galen Center in Los Angeles, California and the Mountaineers playing Princeton in Iowa City, Iowa. It is West Virginia’s second consecutive appearance while the Jayhawks return to the field after winning the 2023 WNIT.

The Big 12 has had at least five selections for the 23rd time in 27 tournaments. In total, the Conference has amassed 160 appearances in the Championship since the league’s inception in 1996-97.

Additionally, BYU and TCU were selected to the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT). Cincinnati accepted a bid to the WNIT.

Report: More than half of Iowa’s tested streams and lakes are ‘impaired’

News

March 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) –  The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports there are at least 721 water body segments in Iowa that do not meet water quality standards for  recreation, public water supplies and the protection of aquatic life, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

The DNR has drafted its latest list of “impaired” waters that it is required to submit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency every two years. The list is based on data collected by the department and numerous other entities between 2020 and 2022, and it is used to guide restrictions for stream pollution for sources such as wastewater treatment systems.

The number of impaired water body segments — which can be lakes, wetlands and parts of streams — declined about 4% from the last report in 2022. But just 24% of stream segments and 30% of lakes that were sampled were deemed healthy. Elevated bacteria concentrations were the most-cited cause of impairment.

The DNR assessed more than 1,400 segments for the latest report, which is a little more than half of the total segments identified by the state. The 387 segments deemed “healthy” by the DNR are mostly composed of waters that meet some quality standards but lack sufficient data to determine that all the standards are met. Only 24 water body segments had proof they met all the standards, up from 15 in the last report two years ago.

The DNR noted 47 fish kills during the monitoring period. Animal waste, fertilizers and pesticides accounted for more than half of them. The causes of a third of the kills were unknown.

WEEK OF MARCH 18, 2024

Trading Post

March 18th, 2024 by Jim Field

FOR SALE:  Old records that are quite large with radio advertising, 3 coolers (1 yeti) that have never been used, and a treadmill with arms. Make an offer at 243-4308.

FOR SALE:  Really nice walnut coffee table. Hand crafted. $420 or 2 payments of $200. Call Tim at 712-249-9242.

FOR SALE: 5-7 gallon air tank………..$25.00.  2500 lb. winch with a remote. Works great, only used twice. ……$50.00 firm.  Heavy duty engine stand on cast iron wheels………$75.00.  Call 417-876-7103 (Kimballton area).

WANTED: Looking to haul old appliances like furnaces & more off your property. Within a 50 mile radius of Griswold area. call 712-406-6455

FOR SALE: Mainstays toaster oven from Walmart. Used twice. Pd. $69 for it, selling for $50. Call 712-249-7699.

FOR SALE:  Pro Form Elliptical, Model PPEII0. Barely used in excellent condition. Retails for $1,500 new. Asking $650.  Located in Marne.  712-249-1983.

FOR SALE: 1 shed…new in box. 6×10×6.5 tall Shelter Logic shed- $225. Grass Seeder to pull behind a UTV – $200. Gas Operated 60 gallon weed sprayer with 3.5 hp Briggs & Stratton engine – $250. call 712-355-1566.

FOR SALE:  1953 NAA Ford Jubilee Tractor.  New points, plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor, and distributor.  Good rubber.  Runs well.  $2,500. (712) 249-1512SOLD!

FOR SALE:  Frigidaire Gallery Electric stove…..used very little.  Oven has steam clean or regular Self Clean.  $275.  In Elk Horn, 531-530-9492.

FOR SALE: Compact Hoover Carpet Cleaner.  One and a half bottles of cleaner too.  Selling because I no longer have Carpet.  Bought new in 2023.  $75.  In Elk Horn, 531-530-9492.

FOR SALE: Boys 27 1/2″ Schwinn bicycle. Asking $125. Call 712-254-0837

FOR SALE: A 5 Piece Fireplace set on a stand. gold in color. Used for cleaning out fireplaces. Collection of wind-up small toys. Old Mirror on a wood frame for a dresser. Call 243-4308

FOR SALE: Double Well Stainless sink w/faucet. Good condition. $25. 712-304-4998. Located in Hamlin.

FREE: Baby items….white baby crib with mattress. High chair that attaches to a chair. Baby toys. All free. Call 712-249-6774 Leave a message if no answer.

FOR SALE: 2018 Polaris General UTV. Comes with some spare parts. Asking $17,500 obo. Call 712-249-5730

FOR SALE:  Working hot and cold water dispenser. $20.  Call (712) 249-1512.

FOR SALE:  FrigidAire electric stove, glass top, blackish color, $300. Also selling a compact hoover carpet cleaner with one and a half bottles of cleaner for $75. Call 531-530-9492.

WANTED:  Box unit oxygen maker, call 712-404-4034 or 712-549-2272.

FOR SALE: Cut, dried, stacked and stored firewood. great for fireplace or wood burner. Call 712-249-3730

FOR SALE:  2000  Sea Ray 185 Boat, V6, 259 hours, like new, new cover, stored inside, $11,900. Call 712-249-0662.

FOR SALE:  Instant Pot and Smokeless Grill. Each used very little. Asking $25.00 for each. Call 712-249-2905.

WANTED:  Semi retired and looking for a few lawns to mow. Newer John Deere mower.  712-249-7363.

FOR SALE:  Entertainment center. Good condition. 17”deep x 50”wide x 30”high. Asking $50. Kimballton area, text 712-249-0186.

Feenstra introduces bill to protect long-term solvency of Social Security

News

March 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) -Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra of Iowa has introduced a bill looking to protect long term solvency of social security. The “Save Our Seniors Act” would require the Congressional Budget Office to include the honest projection of Social Security’s financial health in its 10-year economic outlook. Feenstra said this is to ensure the funds are made available for seniors.

“We have to protect and preserve our social security system. And thoroughly, the federal government sees that there’s an endless supply of dollars, this isn’t true,” Feenstra said. “That’s what my bill addresses is that the Congressional Budget Office have to understand that with eight in eight years, we’re going to run out of money for Social Security.”

Feenstra said spending is out of control and he wants to make smart economic decisions.

NASA engineer who helped build Mars rovers chats about the next challenge

News

March 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A Midwestern kid who loved “Star Trek” grew up to be a principal mechanical engineer for NASA who’s worked on every Mars mission since Pathfinder, which took the first rover to the Red Planet in 1996. Kobie Boykins will be in central Iowa this week to tell his personal story, and to discuss the next big project for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a lecture he’s calling: “Beyond Earth: The Quest for Life on an Icy Moon.”

Graphic provided by Des Moines Performing Arts

“A mission that we’re going to launch later this year called Europa Clipper, to Jupiter, and while we’re at Jupiter, we’re going to be exploring the icy moon of Jupiter called Europa,” Boykins says. “Mostly, we’re going to be talking about the engineering that went into building this vehicle, some of the decisions that went on, and talk about some of the problems and how we fixed them.” As a boy in Omaha, Boykins says he used to sit on his rooftop and gaze up at the stars. He adored “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” particularly the character Geordi La Forge, chief engineer on the starship, Enterprise. Boykins says he always wanted to be the person who was asked to fix things.

“I thought it was very interesting to figure out how things work and then be asked, ‘Hey, how does that work and what would you do? How would you make it better? How would you build that?'” Boykins says. “I think it was probably in fifth grade where I had a teacher that sort of connected with me in some way — magic, I don’t know — that put me on a path to say, ‘Hey, you could be whatever you want,’ and at that time, I wanted to be Geordi La Forge.” In addition to the Pathfinder mission, Kobie designed the solar arrays that powered the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. He also helped build the seven-foot-tall rover Curiosity, which carried 10 different tools, 17 cameras and a laser. While placing robotic rovers on the Martian surface is a tremendous accomplishment, many others (including a few billionaires) are focused on landing -humans- on that dusty red planet, 140-million miles away. Does he see that happening anytime soon?

“We have the technology to send a human being to Mars today. The bigger problem is that the technology is not there to make sure that the human beings stay alive. That’s part of the struggle,” Boykins says. “Will it happen within the next decade or the next two? I think that’s approximately the scale that we’re talking about.” Boykins is chief engineer on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, and he’s been awarded NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal, one of the highest honors given to NASA employees and contractors. Still, after all his successes with rovers on Mars, Boykins says his biggest thrill is when he learns he’s inspired someone else.

“That’s sort of the legacy for me,” Boykins says, “that I have people that were students or individuals that were looking for what their career might be, and they heard me give a talk about how much I love being able to do this work and this job and they decided, ‘Yeah, this is the path I want to be on,’ and they ended up in the same path, or in the same place that I am. Those are amazing stories to me.” Boykins will appear Thursday as part of the Explorer Series at the Des Moines Civic Center.

On the web at DMPA.org

DMU professor studying saw marks to help investigators

News

March 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A professor at Des Moines University is doing a national research project that at first glance seems like a segment of This Old House. Anatomy professor, Heather Garvin, is studying the cutting characteristics of saws, but her focus is how the saws cut through human bones, not wood. “And the reason we’re looking at this is that we do get cases of dismemberment in the forensic anthropology, world,” she says. “And what we try to do for law enforcement and for investigators, is to give them as much information as we can about the tool that was used.” Garvin is the only board certified forensic anthropologist in the state of Iowa and one of only about 120 of us throughout the country. Garvin says the work focuses on identifying the type of saw used in a crime to help investigators.

“We can’t say that it is this one specific saw, the saw that was used, but we can say what type of saw and the characteristics of a saw,” Garvin says. “So for example, powered saws will leave lighter, wider cuts in the bone than hand saws.” Garvin says they can’t be like ballistic experts who can link a bullet to the specific gun it was fired from, but they hope to identify different marks left by the teeth of saw blades. “If anyone works in carpentry, they’ll realize there’s there’s a large variation of saws out there where you have different teeth per inch different size teeth, different materials, whether they’re cutting like a knife, or if they’re ripping through the material,” Garvin says. “And so we’re trying to figure out what characteristics those marks in the bone correlate with.” She says other individuals in the project will be collecting data blindly so they won’t know what saws made the cuts and they can do a statistical analyses to see if they can use the marks on the bone to identify the type of saw. Garvin says dismembering a corpse after a murder isn’t something that’s all that common in Iowa.

“But in other areas of the country where you have very urban areas and it’s harder to dispose of a body during a criminal act, you do get a higher number of dismemberment’s, because that makes it easier for them to hide and then dispose of human remains,” she says. Garvin won a grant from the National Institute of Justice to do the saw research. She says they use a microscope with a camera to study the cut marks, and may eventually use micro C-T scan that can put together x-rays in a sort of 3-D model.

“It’s a little harder with cut marks, because what we’re dealing with really doesn’t have much relief. You know, these are tiny scratches in the bone that we’re looking at,” Garvin says. “But I think as technology advances and it becomes more sensitive with that micro C-T, that might be an avenue as well.” It might seem kind of gruesome to do this research on human bones, but Garvin says she can block that out and see it as important scientific work.

“The thing is, someone has to do it and by doing it, you’re helping loved ones have a family member right? They may have a missing family member, they don’t know where they are, you’re able to identify those remains and bring some closure to that family,” Garvin says. She says it can also help with providing the evidence that brings justice for the person who was killed.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the Nishna Valley: Monday, March 18, 2024

Weather

March 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Today: Sunny & windy, with a high near 41. N/NW winds 15-20 mph. Wind chill values as low as 5.
Tonight: Mostly clear & windy, with a low around 29. SW @ 10-25 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny & breezy, with a high near 61. NW @ 10-25 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 44.
Thursday: Partly sunny w/a 30% chance of rain and snow before 1pm, then a chance of rain. High near 52.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 38. The Low was 14. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 26 and the Low was 8. The Record High for March 18th in Atlantic, was 81 in 2012. The Record Low was -1 in 1893. Sunrise: 7:27. Sunset: 7:30-p.m.

Senate GOP plan for AEA’s ‘vastly different’ from others

News

March 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A key lawmaker says the Senate may soon debate what has turned out to be the central issue of the 2024 legislative session. Three weeks ago, the Iowa House passed a bill to maintain Area Education Agency special education services for students with disabilities, but make changes in other A-E-A functions. The governor has called for giving schools the option of keeping A-E-A services for students with disabilities or, instead, hiring private companies or local staff to do it. Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver says Senate Republicans are close to unveiling their own plan.

The plan House Republicans passed calls for a study of the A-E-As. That’s not part of the plan Senate Republicans are developing.

Whitver says Senate Republicans will draft a bill about A-E-A changes that includes an increase in the minimum salary for first year teachers. That was the governor’s approach. Last month, a House bill raising teacher salaries and pay for other school staff passed 93-to-one.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver (Iowa PBS photo)

House Speaker Pat Grassley says because of budget implications, the decisions on teacher pay and the general level of state spending on public and private schools as well as the future of A-E-As are all related.

A recent Des Moines Register/Mediacom “Iowa Poll” found 56 percent of Iowans have a favorable view of Area Education Agencies. That rating goes a bit higher — to 59 percent — among Iowa parents with school-aged children.

Iowa’s Lisa Bluder on Hawkeyes’ NCAA Tournament draw

Sports

March 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Hawkeye women are the top seed in the Albany two region and opens Saturday at home against the winner of the first four game between Holy Cross and UT Martin.

That’s Iowa coach Lisa Bluder. The other game in Iowa City on Saturday will match West Virginia against Princeton.

Drake women edge Missouri State at the buzzer to win MVC Tournament

Sports

March 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Anna Miller’s lunging shot in the lane beat the buzzer as the Drake women edged Missouri State 76-75 to win a second straight Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title. Miller’s game winner came after the Bulldogs squandered a 14-point fourth quarter lead.

Drake set up the winning play after Lacy Stokes gave Missouri State a one point lead with two-point-six seconds remaining.

The Drake coach Allison Pohlman. The Bulldogs will play Colorado in Manhattan, Kansas in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.