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JERRY D. McCLAIN, 74, of Exira (Family visitation 3/16/24)

Obituaries

March 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

JERRY D. McCLAIN, 74, of Exira, died Monday, March 11, 2024, at home. A family visitation for JERRY McCLAIN will be held on Saturday, March 16th, from 1-until 3-p.m., at the Kessler Funeral Home in Exira.

Friends may call at the funeral home.

Burial is in the Exira Cemetery.

JERRY McCLAIN is survived by:

His wife – Kristi McClain, of Exira.

His sons – Cheyenne (Michelle) McClain, of Bellevue, NE.; Shawn (Jimmy) McClain, of Waukee.

His daughter – Bridy Shephard, of Ankeny.

His brother – Gordon (Cindi) McClain, of Johnstown, CO.

6 grandchildren, his in-laws, other relatives and friends.

MARIANN NIELSEN, 92, of Elk Horn (IA) – Svcs. 3/19/24

Obituaries

March 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

MARIANN NIELSEN, 92, of Elk Horn, died March 10th, 2024, at the Salem Lutheran Home in Elk Horn. Funeral services for MARIANN NIELSEN will be held 11-a.m. Tuesday, March 19th, at the Altamont Baptist Church in Harlan. Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

The family will greet friends at the funeral home on Monday, March 18th, from 5-until 7-p.m.

Burial is in the Cuppy’s Grove Cemetery in rural Harlan.

MARIANN NIELSEN is survived by:

Her son – Calvin (Diane) Nielsen, of Harlan.

Her daughters – Carrie (Gerry) Greve, of Elk Horn (IA); Colleen (Richard) Cox, of Omaha, and Connie (David) Clark, of Dexter (IA).

7 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Farragut man arrested in Montgomery County

News

March 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop near Highway 34 and G Avenue in Montgomery County, Thursday afternoon, resulted in the arrest of a man from Farragut. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says 37-year-old David Dale Morelock was arrested at around 4:47-p.m., for Driving While License denied or revoked. Morelock was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the Nishna Valley: Friday, March 15, 2024

Weather

March 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Today: Sunny, with a high near 56. North wind around 10 mph.
Tonight: Clear, with a low around 37. West southwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 56. Windy, with a northwest wind 15 to 30 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny & windy, with a high near 43.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 42.
Tuesday: Sunny & breezy, with a high near 59.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 50. The Low was 35. Rainfall in Atlantic was .32″ (for a storm total of .42″). Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 63 and the Low was 35. The Record High for March 15th in Atlantic, was 79 in 2003. The Record Low was 0 in 1944. Sunrise: 7:32. Sunset: 7:26-p.m.

No. 7 Iowa State blasts K-State at Big 12 Tournament

Sports

March 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Seventh ranked Iowa State took control in the second half in Kansas City.

(That’s John Walters and Eric Heft on the Cyclone Network.) ISU used a 14-2 run to take control in a 76-57 win over Kansas State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. The Cyclones led 40-39 before taking command.

That’s ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger. The Cyclones held the Wildcats to 38 percent shooting and forced 20 turnovers.

Cyclone center Rob Jones led the way and tied a season high with 18 points.

Iowa ousted at B1G Tournament

Sports

March 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Another one and done for the Iowa Hawkeye men at the Big Ten Tournament. The Hawkeyes fell behind at the outset 10-2 and never led in a 90-78 loss to Ohio State. Iowa offered little resistance as the Buckeyes shot 52 percent, including 11-of-20 from three point range. The Buckeyes set the tone by making eight of 11 from three point range in the first half.

That’s Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. The Hawkeyes are 18-14 and their NCAA bubble burst with losses in the last two games.

Payton Sandfort led Iowa with 19 points and says defensive breakdowns early were costly.

The Hawkeyes are expected to get a bid to the N-I-T.

Deadline day for filing nominating papers for June Primary

News

March 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – State and federal candidates who want to be included on the June Primary ballots for Republicans and for Democrats face a 5 p.m. deadline today (Friday) to deliver their nomination petitions to the Secretary of State’s office in Des Moines. Christina Bohannan, a Democrat who’s running in Iowa’s first congressional district, has submitted over a thousand more signatures on her nominating petitions than were required.

“We collected these at grocery stores, at soup suppers, at pancake breakfasts and we’ve been talking to people  where they are and so it’s really exciting to have this level of support and, in a lot of ways, it’s really the beginning of the campaign,” Bohannan says. “…What I can tell you is these signatures represent people who have really bought into this campaign.”

Bohannan ran against Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks in 2022 and lost by less than seven points, so this race is destined to be a rematch in the 2024 General Election. Miller-Meeks submitted her nominating petitions on February 26th, the first day in the filing period. Beyond the candidates running for seats in the U-S House of Representatives, candidates for seats in the state legislature must submit their nominating petitions by 5 p.m. today (Friday) as well. House Speaker Pat Grassley says most of the Republicans currently serving in the Iowa House are seeking reelection.

“As we look across the state, there are other opportunities that we continue to have,” Grassley says. “If you look at the last election results (from 2022), there are seats with just a little more time and resources, we could have had an even larger majority.” Republicans hold 64 of the 100 seats in the Iowa House. House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst says Democrats have a good chance of gaining seats because the G-O-P agenda is lacking. “There’s not a bill in there to defend reproductive freedom. There’s not a bill in there to make child care really, boldly different across this state,” Konfrst says. ” There’s not a bill to really address affordable housing.”

In the state senate, Republicans hold a 34-seat super majority. Senate G-O-P Leader Jack Whitver says Republican candidates have been recruited in four senate districts currently held by Democrats, but areas where Governor Kim Reynolds and Donald Trump have done well in the past. “It’s hard to believe when we’re sitting here with 34 that we have a chance in four seats, but depending on how the election goes, those are seats we’re watching very, very closely,” Whitver says.

Senate Democratic Leader Pam Jochum says Democrats can do well in the 2024 election because Republicans are ignoring what’s most important to Iowans. “They’ve asked us to fully fund education,” Jochum says. “They’ve asked us to stop stripping away local control from school boards and cities and counties.”

Jochum has developed a plan she says will help Democrats make progress over the next three elections and regain a majority of state senate seats in the 2030 election. Jochum is not seeking reelection this year after serving in the legislature since 1993.

Democrats call for extended jobless benefits for workers to be laid off once Tyson’s Perry plant closes

News

March 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Senate Democrats are proposing an extension of unemployment benefits for workers at a Perry pork plant who’ll be laid off at the end of June. Tyson announced earlier this week it will close the plant, which employs nearly 13-hundred people and is Perry’s largest employer. Senate Democratic Leader Pam Jochum of Dubuque says she has an inkling of what’s ahead for Perry.

“About 20 years ago Smithfield came in and bought out the Dubuque Packing Company and threw 2000 workers out of work and it took our community many, many years to recover from that plant closing,” Jochum says, “so I do know how difficult this is and how difficult it’s going to be for Perry to overcome the many challenges they’re going to be facing.”

In 2022, Governor Reynolds signed a law that reduced the number of weeks Iowans are eligible for unemployment benefits from 26 to 16 weeks. Jochum and other Senate Democrats are proposing that those who lose their jobs due to a plant closure — like the workers in Perry — should be eligible for up to 39 weeks of unemployment. “We, as Democrats, stand with Perry and the Iowans losing their jobs and their livelihoods because of Tyson’s decision,” Jochum says. “The effects of this closure are going to touch every corner of Dallas County, from schools to city services to Main Streets and beyond and it’s going to all of us working together to meet these challenges and keep Perry strong.”

The Senate’s Republican leader says he can’t comment on Jochum’s proposal because he hasn’t seen it and hasn’t had a chance to review its impact. Tyson is encouraging its employees in Perry to apply for job openings at its other meat packing plants in Iowa.

JAMES “JIM” RICHARD TYLER, 99, of Atlantic (Svcs. 3/19/24)

Obituaries

March 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

JAMES “JIM” RICHARD TYLER, 99, of Atlantic, died Thursday, March 14, 2024, at Heritage House in Atlantic. Funeral services for  JAMES “JIM” TYLER will be held 11-a.m. Tuesday, March 19th, 2024, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Atlantic. Schmidt Family Funeral Home in Atlantic has the arrangements.

Public visitation with the family will be held on Monday, March 18, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Atlantic.

A reception will be held following the funeral service at the Atlantic Golf & Country Club.

Private interment will take place at Atlantic Cemetery.

Memorials may be directed to the Tyler Family in memory of Jim. They will be designated to many of Jim’s local organizations and charities. They may be mailed to the Schmidt Family Funeral Home P.O. Box 523, Atlantic, IA 50022.

JAMES “JIM” RICHARD TYLER is survived by:

His daughters – Jayne Tyler, Lu Ann (Bob) Roby, and Sue (David) Rawlins.

His son – Kirk (Janel) Tyler

10 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and his son-in-law John Deardorff.

Exira-EHK Spartan Boys Track 2023-2024 season preview

Sports

March 14th, 2024 by admin

The Exira-EHK Spartans Boys track team has been preparing for another great track season. They have been practicing for the past couple of weeks. The team is made up of 13 high schoolers and coached by Kevin Brown this season.

Coach Brown recapped how last season went.

Coach Brown said his Spartans team has been working hard throughout the offseason.

Coach Brown Commented how his team’s strong work ethic this year.

Coach Brown says his main goal of the season is get kids to go to state.

The Spartans next meet will be at the Audubon Invitational on Tuesday March 26th. That invite will get underway at 4:30 p.m