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Local 24-Hour Rainfall Totals recorded at 7:00 am on Tuesday, March 10

Ag/Outdoor, Weather

March 10th, 2020 by Jim Field

  • KJAN, Atlantic  .23″
  • 7 miles NNE of Atlantic  .27″
  • Massena  .24″
  • Anita  .45″
  • Carroll  .22″
  • Creston  .21″
  • Denison  .18″
  • Red Oak  .07″
  • Clarinda  .25″

Atlantic Community Protection Committee to meet Wed. evening

News

March 10th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

The City of Atlantic’s Community Protection Committee will meet 5:15-p.m. Wednesday, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. First up on their agenda, is a clarification on the objectives of regulating Atlantic Property Conditions. They will also review Property Regulation Policies as an extension of their meeting on Oct. 9, 2019, including:

The Committee will also discuss and make a recommendation for the full City Council, with regard to which laws should be utilized. Included in the discussion is an Assessment of Resources Required, and a Review of Implementation of Enforcement.

Atlantic School Board meeting set for Wed. evening

News

March 10th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

(Corrects time of meeting to 6-p.m., not 5:30)Members of the Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will hold a regular session 6-p.m. Wednesday, in the High School Media Center. Action items on their agenda include approval of resignations for: Abby Becker, Girls Varsity Assistant Track Coach, and Kami Bruck, Washington Elem. Paraeducator. The Board will also act on contract recommendations for the following:

  • Noah Widrowicz, Industrial Tech. Teacher
  • Derek Hall, Asst. HS Girls Track Coach
  • Brooke Newell & Marty Hobson, Volunteer HS Golf coaches.
  • Josh Rasmussen, Brad Rasmussen and Bruce Henderson, Volunteer HS Track Coaches.
  • Cole Renken and James Northwick, Volunteer Tennis Coaches.
  • Derek Handel, Volunteer Softball Coach.

The Board will also act on approving:

  • The 2020-21 School Calendar
  • An out-of-State trip to Maryville, MO., for the Indoor Track meet March 21st at NW MO State University.
  • Schuler Roof replacement (Accept a bid from McDermott & Son Roofing for $98,937.96 altogether, including replacement of 16 skylights)
  • High School HVAC project ($104, 985 accept a bid from Camblin Mechanical).
  • and Resolutions for: The 2020 Budget Guarantee; 2019-20 Fund Transfer ($7,914 from the General fund to Activity Fund for Protective Equipment (helmet reconditioning & purchase of new helmets/pads); and, the .33-cent per thousand Board Approved PPEL (Physical Plant & Equipment Levy).

The Atlantic School Board will adjourn and then enter into an Exempt Session for the purpose of Strategy Negotiations.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the area: 3/10/20

Weather

March 10th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Today: Partly cloudy-to-cloudy w/sprinkles or light rain possible late. High 49. NW-SE @ 10.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy w/light rain. Low 34. S-NW @ 10.
Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 57. SW @ 10-15.
Thursday: Mo. Cldy w/light rain. High around 50. Friday: P/Cldy to Cldy. High near 40.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 39. Our Low this morning, 23. Precipitation yesterday amounted to .23″ (including .1″ sleet/snow). Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 37 and the Low was 18. The record High for March 10th in Atlantic, was 75 in 2015. The Record Low was -8 in 1948.

Des Moines council steps toward banning racial profiling

News

March 10th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines City Council plans to work on defining racial profiling and collecting data before enacting an ordinance banning it. On Monday the council backed a proposed ordinance that would make racial profiling an “illegal discriminatory municipal practice.” A violation could lead to a city employee being fired. Some of the dozens of people who filled the council chamber held signs that read “Skin color is not a crime” and “Stop the stops.”

The latter referred to pretextual stops in which officers stop someone for one reason but use it as cause to investigate something unrelated.

MERLIN SIEVERS, 93, of Coon Rapids (Svcs. 3/14/20)

Obituaries

March 10th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

MERLIN SIEVERS, 93, of Coon Rapids, died Monday, March 9th, at the Thomas Rest Haven Nursing Home. Funeral services for MERLIN SIEVERS will be held 10:30-a.m. Saturday, March 14th, at the First United Methodist Church in Coon Rapids. Ohde Funeral Home in Coon Rapids has the arrangements.

Friends may call at the the funeral home on Friday, March 13th, from 4-until 8-p.m. Visitation will resume from 9:30-a.m. until the time of service Saturday, at the 1st UMC in Coon Rapids.

Burial is in the Orange Township Cemetery near Coon Rapids.

MERLIN SIEVERS is survived by:

His Wife – Claribel Sievers, of Coon Rapids.

His sons – Thomas (Debbie) Sievers, of Coon Rapids, and Joseph (Lisa) Sievers, of Taos, NM.

His daughters – Cindy (Michael) Hagan, of Carroll, and Nancy (Scott) Taylor, of Estherville.

Numerous grandchildren & great-grandchildren, and his in-laws: Eunice Herron & Max Olsen, both of Coon Rapids, and Maryann Olson, of Vail.

Two Democrats cite Covid-19 concerns, urge quick finish to 2020 session

News

March 10th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Two eastern Iowa legislators — both Democrats — have urged leaders to take more precautions in the state capitol to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Senator Bill Dotzler of Waterloo suggests the legislature complete its work as quickly as possible and adjourn for the year.

“Our capitol is certainly a place where different viruses and colds are spread easily because people come from all over the state of Iowa, meet with us…and it’s very easy quite often stuff is transmitted through this capitol,” Dotzler says. Dotzler has suggested hand sanitizer dispensers be placed throughout the statehouse.

“It might help remind some of the individuals that are out there to shake our hands that, I guess, we should probably work more toward fist bumps or elbow bumps,” Dotzler says. Senator Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City says getting the 2020 legislative session concluded quickly makes some sense.

“I know across the state businesses are preparing,” Bolkcom says. “I know our universities are preparing for classes not to continue and figuring out how to finish the semester online.” Bolkcom made his comments late last week, BEFORE state officials revealed there are SEVEN presumptive positive cases of Covid-19 in Johnson County.

“The capitol is a place where people from all over the state visit on a daily basis. It’s kind of an incumbator for colds and flus and potentially the spread of Covid-19,” Bolkcom says. “I hope we don’t have to deal with it.” The top Republican in the Iowa Senate says legislative leaders are talking with the governor on a regular basis and prepared to follow her recommendations.

Midwest Sports Headlines: 3/10/20

Sports

March 10th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Iowa center Luka Garza is the Big Ten Player of the Year while Wisconsin’s Greg Gard took Coach of the Year honors. Garza, Maryland’s Jalen Smith, Michigan State’s Cassius Winston and Penn State’s Lamar Stevens were first-team, all-conference picks by both the media and coaches. Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu was chosen by the media and Maryland’s Anthony Cowan Jr. was selected by the coaches. Gard led Wisconsin to a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship, along with Maryland and Michigan State. Michigan State’s Xavier Tillman was selected Defensive Player of the Year. Maryland’s Aaron Wiggins took Sixth Man of the Year honors and Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn was chosen Freshman of the Year.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha women’s basketball coach Brittany Lange has been fired after seven seasons. Athletic director Trev Alberts announced the move after the Mavericks finished 7-23 overall and 2-14 and in eighth place in the nine-team Summit League. Lange became the Mavericks’ head coach prior to the 2013-14 and guided the program to a record of 80-124 overall and 31-77 in the Summit League. The team’s best finish came in 2016-17 when it finished 16-15 and fifth in the Summit.

UNDATED (AP) — As conference tournaments get into full swing ahead of Selection Sunday, here is a look at teams teetering on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Among them are UCLA, Texas and a handful of teams from the Atlantic 10, which is fighting to get more than just Dayton into the dance.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Marcus Zegarowski probably will miss seventh-ranked Creighton’s first game in the Big East Tournament because of an injury to his right knee. The athletic department announced the sophomore guard has a meniscus injury and listed him as doubtful for the Bluejays’ game Thursday against Georgetown or St. John’s. Zegarowski was hurt late in the Bluejays’ win over Seton Hall on Saturday. He left the arena on crutches and had a noticeable limp at practice Monday. Creighton (24-7) is the top seed in the conference tournament. Zegarowski averages 16.1 points per game and was named to the All-Big East second team.

UNDATED (AP) — Kansas maintained its grip on the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. The Jayhawks received all 65 first-place votes to remain at the top for a third straight week. The past two weeks they have been the unanimous choice ahead of Gonzaga and Dayton. Florida State climbed three spots to No. 4 after winning its first Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title. This is FSU’s highest ranking since sitting at No. 2 in December 1972. West Virginia and Butler were the week’s new additions. Michigan and Penn State fell out of the poll.

UNDATED (AP) — The unpredictability of the college basketball season has made for a murky race for national player of the year honors. There’s no one like Duke’s Zion Williamson, who was a runaway choice as The Associated Press national player of the year. Now there’s a top tier of worthy candidates. The list includes Kansas point guard Devon Dotson as the floor leader for the No. 1-ranked Jayhawks. Dayton’s Obi Toppin has been dominant in the Atlantic 10. The list also includes Iowa’s Luka Garza, Marquette’s Markus Howard, Seton Hall’s Myles Powell and Oregon’s Payton Pritchard.

UNDATED (AP) — A Missouri judge has overturned the 1997 burglary and assault convictions of a man whose case has been championed by WNBA star Maya Moore. Jonathon Irons is a family friend of Moore and she has helped draw attention to his attorneys’ efforts to get the case another look. A judge agreed there is enough evidence to prove he was wrongfully convicted in the non-fatal shooting of a homeowner in the St. Louis area. He could be released in a month unless prosecutors decide to retry him. Moore says Irons was “over the moon” when she and others told him the good news.

Iowa early News Headlines: Tuesday, March 10, 2020

News

March 10th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Five more Iowa residents have tested positive for new coronavirus, including a restaurant worker in Council Bluffs. Officials said Monday that besides the Council Bluff case, all of the other people infected are from Johnson County in eastern Iowa and all were on an Egyptian cruise. The new cases bring the total number of Iowa infections to eight. On Sunday, officials announced Iowa’s first COVID-19 cases, as three individuals from Johnson County who had been on the cruise tested positive .For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness.

SIDNEY, Iowa (AP) — The wife of a man accused of pushing his wife’s alleged lover off the top of a grain bin in Hamburg, Iowa, has been arrested trying to return from Mexico. Authorities say Anahi Andrade was taken into custody in El Paso, Texas. She’s accused of helping her husband, Pedro Andrade, flee. A court document says Pedro Andrade’s co-worker survived his 60-foot fall. He told an investigator that Pedro Andrade had found out that Anahi Andrade and the co-worker were having an affair. The court records don’t list an attorney for Anahi Andrade. Pedro Andrade’s attorney didn’t immediately return a call Monday.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The former top judge at Iowa Workforce Development says he’s pleased to settle a long-running lawsuit alleging that his 2013 layoff was retaliatory and unlawful. Joseph Walsh said the $99,000 payment recently approved by the state to settle his lawsuit could have been higher had he not been able to return to state employment shortly after his layoff. Iowa Workforce Development eliminated Walsh’s job shortly after he opposed an attempt to make his position a political appointment. Walsh contended, correctly, that federal law required his position to be merit-based and insulated from politics. The agency’s then-director Teresa Wahlert withdrew that plan but then abruptly laid him Walsh weeks later.

MAQUOKETA, Iowa (AP) — Federal authorities are taking over monitoring of contamination from a carcinogenic chemical that’s spread from a factory site in the eastern Iowa city of Maquoketa. The Telegraph Herald reported that the contamination stems from the operations of Clinton Machine Co., which built small engines in Maquoketa from 1950 into the 1990s. The factory used trichloroethene, commonly known as TCE, as a degreasing agent. Federal authorities have since determined that TCE is carcinogenic. Authorities have said TCE in groundwater also creates the potential for indoor contamination.

Boys State Basketball Schedule Tuesday 03/10/2020

Sports

March 9th, 2020 by admin

Class 2A Quarterfinal

9:30 a.m.—#4 Camanche (21-3) vs. #5 Monticello (21-2)

Class 3A Quarterfinals

11:15 a.m.—#1 Norwalk (21-3) vs. #8 Harlan (18-6)

1:00 p.m.—#4 Center Point-Urbana (18-6) vs. #5 Ballard (18-6)

2:45 p.m.—#2 Mount Vernon (22-2) vs. #7 Clear Creek-Amana (19-5)

4:30 p.m.—#3 Pella (19-5) vs. #6 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (14-10)

Class 4A Quarterfinals

6:30 p.m.—#4 Waukee (21-2) vs. #5 North Scott, Eldridge (22-1)

8:15 p.m.—#1 Ankeny Centennial (23-1) vs. #8 Davenport, North (16-8)