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Wind storm removes 550,000 Iowa corn acres from harvest

Ag/Outdoor, Weather

September 15th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is estimating that 550,000 acres of Iowa corn will not be harvested this fall due to damage caused by the Aug. 10 wind storm that swept across the state. That estimate places the value of the lost corn crop based on the yield and price anticipated before the storm at around $344 million. Corn prices have gone up due to the crop losses so farmers will likely get more money for the corn they do harvest. Most farmers also have crop insurance to cover some of the loss and other federal programs may help. The soybean crop was largely unaffected.

 

Stuart Police arrest a man on eluding and numerous other charges

News

September 15th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Police in Stuart today (Tuesday), arrested 43-year old Shane Edwin Davis, of Stuart, on numerous charges. At around 12:30-a.m., Stuart Police Officer Shane Martinson saw a vehicle on East Front Street with a taillight out or very dim. When a traffic stop was attempted, Davis made a U-turn and drove past the officer in the opposite direction. A second U-turn was made and the vehicle headed the opposite direction, again.

A pursuit ensued, with speeds of up to 100-mph. During the chase Davis turned off his lights and drove on the wrong side of the road. When the pursuit ended in Redfield, Davis got out of the vehicle and began to walk away. At that point, Officer Martinson drew his service weapon and ordered Davis to get on the ground. Davis complied and was taken into custody. He told the Officer that he ran because he did not have a driver’s license. Further investigation recovered a broken glass pipe on Davis’ person, and an orange smoking device in his car, along with a pack of cigarettes that contained another glass pipe.

Davis was transported to the Guthrie County Jail and charged with Eluding, Driving while Barred, Reckless Driving, Possession Drug Paraphernalia, and with four traffic citations.  He was being held at the Guthrie County Jail while awaiting his initial appearance.

Missing northern Missouri woman’s disappearance ends with the discovery of her body

News

September 15th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

A tip to the Worth County, Missouri Sheriff’s Department has resulted in the discovery woman’s body. Melissa Chapman, from Grant City, went missing on or about August 23rd.  Her vehicle was found in Mount Ayr, with her cell phone found inside the vehicle. The Creston (Iowa) Police Department has said Chapman was a long-term Creston resident. The Worth County Prosecutor’s Office reports her body was found Monday outside of Grant City, MO., in Worth County, after the tip was received at around 5-p.m., Monday. Authorities say a suspect is in custody, and homicide investigation underway at this time. Chapman had been set to testify against a man who allegedly beat and threatened to kill her.

Chapman was scheduled to testify in a criminal case against Jeremiah Searles, in Harrison County, Missouri. Records show Searles is charged with domestic assault and kidnapping from an incident in March. A Criminal Complaint alleges Searles had grabbed Chapman by the throat during the incident, and threatened to kill her. He also allegedly threw her nine-year old son down and held him down, when the child attempted to get Searles to stop hitting Chapman. Searles is alleged to have held her captive for about three-hours, refusing to give the woman her car keys or phone. He was also said to have blocked the door, preventing her from leaving.

Reports says Searles was released by the court in June, after posting a $1,000 bond. His trial was set for November. Searles…who has at least four convictions on various charges…faces a sex offender registry charge. Searles reportedly led authorities to the woman’s body, He was being held in the Harrison County, MO., Jail.

ABI survey shows good outlook among businesses

News

September 15th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The latest Iowa Association of Business and Industry survey shows a positive outlook for the fourth quarter while concerns about the pandemic still linger. A-B-I president, Mike Ralston, says he was surprised by the continued optimism. “Most A-B-I members expect to have their sales expand or at the very worst stay the same in the fourth quarter. That’s about 90 percent answer that way — almost 50 percent of them expect to see increased sales — so that’s pretty good news,” Ralston says.

He says 53 percent expect the number of employees in their business to stay the same and 37 percent expect that number to grow. Ralston says the confidence comes with the experience they’ve gained in already dealing with the pandemic.  “If we dig deeper into some of these results — people are saying they’ve identified new supply chains, new partners — that’s led to increased markets and they’ve been able to adapt and grow,” according to Ralston. “They didn’t necessarily think that would be the case, but that’s exactly what has happened.”

He says there have been some new issues that come up regarding concern for employees. Ralston says they survey comments say they are worried about their employees in a couple of ways, with the first being the employee health related to the COVID pandemic. A second concern was the stress as employees tried to take care of their families. “Keeping their family healthy. What about their kids in school, how does that work? Childcare issues are something that we continue to see,” Ralston explains.

He says the closing of schools and childcare’s because of the pandemic puts a lot of pressure on workers. “Parents want to make sure their kids are safe and that they are learning — especially if it’s a single-parent home — they really have to decide do I go to work today or do I stay home with my kids. So, it’s a real issue,” Ralston says. He says finding employees to fill jobs continues to be an issue. Another thing Ralston says surprised him in the survey is the lack of mention of the November elections as an issue. “Not a single person raised the election as an issue,” Ralston says. “I think that if you talk to most Iowa business people, they’re concerned with running their business, they’re concerned with keeping production going and getting the product to the customer. So, while they are interested in the election, it’s not their day-to-day focus.”

A-B-I has 15-hundred member companies in all 99 counties and those companies have more than 330-thousand employees.

SHIFT ATL to Host Second Annual Turkey Trot

News

September 15th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Atlantic, IA – SHIFT ATL, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, will host their second annual Turkey Trot in Atlantic on Thursday, November 26th, beginning at 8:00 a.m. This year’s event will have both an
in-person and virtual option to participate.

The in-person event will include a 5K route and 1-mile route option, both leaving the The Depot, Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, at 8:00 a.m. sharp. Attendees can grab some warm eats and drinks from inside the Chamber meeting room post-race.  Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place for both male and female runners for the 5K. Additionally, each adult participant and each child participant will be placed into a drawing to win a free pair of shoes from Brown Shoe Fit in Atlantic.

The virtual event will be held Wednesday, November 25 – Saturday, November 28, 2020. Participants can go run a 5K route of their choice, and then submit their time results to SHIFT
ATL via their Facebook page (facebook.com/shiftatl) or through the results form on their website at shiftatl.org/turkeytrot.

Cost to register is $15, with the option to add on various race-day gear including a t-shirt, long-sleeve shirt, sweatshirt and/or stocking hat. Orders including any of these items need to be
submitted by Friday, October 30th. Registration for just the race will continue until the day of the event. SHIFT ATL hopes to have a few shirts and hats left over for purchase the day of, but no
guarantees. To get registered, visit getmeregistered.com/AtlanticTurkeyTrot or shiftatl.org/turkeytrot to view full event details.

Funds raised during the event will be directed towards SHIFT ATL’s overall goal of community and economic development for the Atlantic area.

Backyard & Beyond 9-15-2020

Backyard and Beyond, Podcasts

September 15th, 2020 by Jim Field

LaVon Eblen visits about a program on Sunday at the Atlantic American Legion Memorial Building featuring stories from the Civil War.

Play

Iowa man suspected of killing woman pleads not guilty

News

September 15th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — A man charged in the killing of his girlfriend’s mother in Fort Dodge earlier this year has pleaded not guilty. The Messenger reports that 29-year-old Mark Russell, of Fort Dodge, pleaded not guilty on Monday to first-degree murder in the January beating death of 45-year-old Angela McLeod. Police were called to McLeod’s home on Jan. 20 for a domestic dispute report and found her gravely injured. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators say in court documents that they believe Russell used a golf club to beat McLeod. Russell was found competent to stand trial in May following treatment for mental illness. Russell’s lawyer says his client has a history of schizophrenia.

 

Guidelines for attendance at Atlantic vs. Clarinda football game at Glenwood released

Sports

September 15th, 2020 by admin

The Atlantic Activities Department has released details on attendance to the Atlantic vs. Clarinda football game this Friday that is now being played in Glenwood. There will be no limitations on number of fans and tickets will be sold at the gate. There will be some seating requirements and other protocols in place and you can see all the details in the document below.

Glen FB Mitigations

Adair County BOS meeting preview

News

September 15th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

The Adair County Board of Supervisors are set to meet 9-a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16th, in an electronic session (See meeting access details below). On their agenda, in addition to regular discussion with regard to the Manure Management Plan (MMP) and COVID-19, is a presentation by Kimberly Dickey and Bo McGee, with NextEra Energy. They’re expected to provide the Board with an update on the Heartland Divide Phase II Transmission Line.

Officials have said once completed, up to 71 GE wind turbines will be capable of generating up to 200 megawatts of renewable energy. It comes with a 42 mile transmission line that would transmit the power from the wind farm in Audubon County, to a substation located in Adair. Subject to local and state approvals, the project is scheduled to begin operations by the end of 2021. Phase I of the Heartland Divide wind project was a 103 megawatt farm that went into commercial operation in December 2018.

Conservation Director Dominic Johnson will provide the Board with an Annual Report along with Conservation updates and plans.

And Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman will present the Adair County Supervisors with an agreement to purchase a motor grader, along with various project updates.

Meeting access information:

Dial in Number: (605) 313-6157         

Access Code: 526272#

Exira-EHK at Woodbine football cancelled for Friday

Sports

September 15th, 2020 by admin

The Exira-EHK Spartans football team was scheduled to head to Woodbine this Friday night but that game has now been cancelled.

A letter from Superintendent Trevor Miller says, “The Exira-EHK Community School District has learned that there are four individuals in our school district that have been exposed to COVID-19 and have been placed in quarantine for 14 days. Our administrative team and nurses have done an amazing job of reaching out to Local Public Health with contact tracing and have notified the individuals we know who have been exposed and are using the 14 days quarantine guidance from Public Health for exposure. We are constantly in communication with public health and are following their guidance.”

The Spartans believe that they will be able to be back in action for their September 25th game at West Harrison/Whiting. Woodbine has found another opponent for this week. The Tigers will now host Newell-Fonda.