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UNI women host Southern Illinois Thursday night

Sports

February 21st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

The Northern Iowa women take a share of fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference race into Thursday night’s home game against Southern Illinois. The Panthers are 9-5 in the Valley while the Salukis are 3-11.

That’s UNI coach Tanya Warren. Despite a rash of injuries this season the Panthers still have shot for a top four finish in the Valley regular season race.

The win at Murray State was the 202nd for Warren in the Missouri Valley making her the all-time leader in conference victories.

Wednesday High School Girl’s Regional Championship Scores

Sports

February 21st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

Class 1A

Region 1 – North Linn 66, Edgewood-Colesburg 34
Region 2 – Newell Fonda 80, Coon Rapids-Bayard 33
Region 3 – Martensdale-St Marys 42, Fremont-Mills 34
Region 4 – Remsen St. Mary’s 52, George-Little Rock 38
Region 5 – St. Albert 61, Woodbine 23
Region 6 – Bishop Garrigan 57, Riceville 41
Region 7 – Calamus-Wheatland 56, Danville 51
Region 8 – Montezuma 60, CAM 47

Class 2A

Region 1 – Dike-New Hartford 63, Aplington-Parkersburg 35
Region 2 – Panorama 59, Denver 55
Region 3 – Westwood 55, Exira-EHK 35
Region 4 – Cascade 50, Regina Catholic 47
Region 5 – Sioux Central 51, Pocahontas Area 32
Region 6 – Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 61, North Mahaska 41
Region 7 – Central Lyon 51, Hilton 43
Region 8 – Grundy Center 55, Nodaway Valley 48

Exira-EHK girls fall in Regional Final to Westwood

Sports

February 21st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

The Exira-EHK Spartans girls basketball team will miss out on a trip to state after a cold night of shooting resulted in a 55-35 loss Wednesday night to the Westwood Rebels.

The Spartans realized quickly that they had their work cut out for them with the size of Westwood’s three forwards all being six feet or over. The Rebels came out of the gate scoring first with a jump shot in the low post. The Spartans responded with a Jaelynn Petersen lay up, but then watched Westwood go on multiple runs in the first to go up 15-7 at the end of the quarter. Then in the second quarter the shooting slowed down for Taryn Petersen as she was limited to six points in the first half, having difficulty scoring around the basket. The Rebels continued to utilize their size and continued to focus on feeding the ball inside and Exira-EHK seemed to have no response as Westwood went into halftime with a 25-14 lead.

At the start of the second half Coach Petersen had the Spartans come out in a new defensive look focusing on a full court press and traps. The new defensive strategy worked forcing turnover after turnover, but on the offensive end of the floor Exira-EHK still couldn’t connect their shots.  So, with a plethora of turnovers and a few made threes, Westwood firmly held on to their lead at the end of the third being up 35-22.

The fourth quarter saw little change for style of play for both teams as the Rebels looked to Addy Johnson and Ashlyn Davis for points inside the paint. Without a player to match up in size and the normally deadly accuracy from Taryn Petersen, Exira-EHK had to watch the clock wind down with Westwood celebrating a 55-35 victory.

When reflecting on the outcome of the game, Spartans Head Coach Tom Petersen was impressed by the defensive grit his team showed in the second half.

Exira-EHK was led the loss by 21 points from Jaelynn Petersen, 13 from Taryn Petersen, and Hannah Nelson chipped in one. This year’s group put in a lot of great effort, but Hannah Nelson is one senior that Coach Petersen looks back on proudly.

Westwood’s leading scorer was Addy Johnson with 19 and second was Ashlyn Davis scoring 15. With the victory, the Rebels improve to 21-0 and will start State Tournament play on Wednesday. When asked about the future, Coach Petersen is optimistic about next year’s team.

The Spartans now finish with a  16-7 record on the season.

Research finds breastmilk can help premature babies

News

February 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa study suggests breast milk donations are helpful and can even provide potentially life-saving benefits, for extremely premature infants. U-I professor and lead researcher, Tara Colaizy tells K-C-R-G T-V that premature infants fed donated breast milk were found to acquire less than half of the life-threatening diseases than those who were fed formula. “It’s an intervention that can be easily provided to every very tiny preterm infant in the United States,” Colaizy says.

Doctor Colaizy says researchers found that extremely preterm infants are at a higher risk for neurodevelopmental impairment that could affect their memory, speech and motor abilities later in life. They are also more vulnerable to life-threatening diseases like necrotizing enterocolitis.

Dr. Colaizy says there are things in breast milk that help infants overcome those issues. ”Antibodies, special sugars that are part of our immune system, little pieces of R-N-A, special fat globules that have particular proteins in them that encourage the gut to grow and develop,” Colaizy says.

The team considers extremely preterm infants to be those born before 29 weeks. Doctor Colaizy says the infants only eat a teaspoon at a time and a breast milk donation as small as three ounces can feed five or six tiny babies. The research project has been going on for more than a decade and has involved data from hospitals around the country.

Atlantic City Council passes Splash Pad bid letting Resolution

News

February 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The SplashPad Project in Atlantic is another step closer to becoming a reality. The Atlantic City Council, this (Wednesday) evening unanimously passed a Resolution authorizing the bid letting and setting the date for public hearing, as March 20, 2024. Dave Sturm,with Snyder and Associates Engineers in Atlantic, spoke on behalf of Project Manager Mike Jorgensen, with regard to the final plans and specifications for the project.

Sturm said the tentative completion date for the project is just before Labor Day, 2024, but some contractors feel that may be too soon, and it might reflect poorly on the bids.

SplashPad Fundraising Committee Chair Jeremy Butler said the project can be started sooner, but it would affect the CAT grant application that’s been applied for.

Butler said the original estimated project cost was $673,000, but they Committee is working to par down some features to try and make the estimate come-in closer to $600,000. Dave Sturm said one of the cost saving measures is through generous, in-kind donations.

Snyders will send out the plans and specs to prospective bidders. Their bids will be due-in by March 15th.

Cass County (IA) Naturalist awarded REAP Scholarship

Ag/Outdoor, News

February 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Lewis, Iowa) – Cass County Conservation officials, today (Wednesday) acknowledged a scholarship was awarded to Naturalist, Lora Kanning, by the Resource Enhancement and Protection Conservation Education Program (REAP-CEP), ICCS and Iowa Association of Naturalists.

The scholarship will assist Kanning in attending the 2024 National Association of Interpretation, Heartland Region workshop in Council Bluffs, Iowa this April. The scholarship was funded by REAP-CEP. The Resource Enhancement and Protection Program (REAP): Invest in Iowa, our outdoors, our heritage, our people.

REAP is supported by the state of Iowa, providing funding to public and private partners for natural and cultural resources projects, including water quality, wildlife habitat, soil conservation, parks, trails, historic preservation and more.

Teen killed in Howard County farm accident

Ag/Outdoor, News

February 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A fourteen year old boy has died in a north Iowa farm accident. Howard County Sheriff Tim Beckman says the incident occurred at about 5 p-m Tuesday about 10 miles west of Elma.

Initial reports indicated that a juvenile boy had been pinned underneath a tractor, but Beckman says it appears the family was taking a large steel wheel off the tractor when the steel wheel tipped over on the teen.

The Howard County medical examiner determined his death was accidental.

Des Moines Man—Owner of Wicked Imagery—Arrested on Federal Complaint for Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Possession of Child Pornography; Investigators Request Public’s Assistanc

News

February 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines man was arrested on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, and made his initial appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Jeffrey Walter Gray, 61, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Iowa with Sexual Exploitation of a Child (and Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child) and Possession of Child Pornography.

According to the allegations in the unsealed complaint, Gray, from as early as approximately 2005 to at least approximately 2016, used minors to produce child sexual abuse material. Some of this material was allegedly created at the photography business Gray owned and operated in the Des Moines area—Wicked Imagery. The material included images from hidden cameras placed in the changing rooms at Wicked Imagery to capture videos and/or images of minor children undressing. In November 2023, investigators recovered from Gray’s residence a hard drive which was later determined to contain child sexual abuse material.

To date, investigators have identified approximately fifteen minor victims depicted in child sexual abuse material seized from Gray’s residence. Investigators request the public’s assistance in identifying other minors. If you believe that you or your minor children may have been victimized by Gray, or if you have information relevant to this investigation, please  visit www.fbi.gov/JeffreyGray.WickedImagery or email WickedImagery@fbi.gov.

This case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa. United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case with the assistance of the Des Moines Police Department.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc. For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the resources tab.

A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Atlantic Senior Scholarship Foundation to award 5 $2k scholarships in 2024

News

February 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Senior Alumni Scholarship Foundation (SASF) recently held their annual meeting and welcomed new members Melanie Petty and Steve Wallingford. The SASF was created by Atlantic alumni with the goal of providing need-based scholarships to graduating seniors of AHS.

Funding for the foundation is provided by donations from Atlantic alumni. Generous donations from individuals and previous classes have allowed the foundation to grow. The first $500 scholarship was given out in 2003, and this year is being expanded again to reach as many students as possible.

The SASF will award five, $2,000 scholarships to the Class of 2024. Students must have a GPA of 2.5 and higher to qualify. Applications are online at the Atlantic High School website and are due April 8th of this year. Students are encouraged to apply and contact Gina Honke for more information.

Photo L to R Front Row: Deb Schuler-Secretary, C.J. Heitoff- President, Billie Hoover
Back Row Mark McNees, Cathy Baragary- Executive Director, Melanie Petty, Linda Robinson- Executive Director, Cathy Hansen, J.C. Van Ginkle, Steve Wallingford, and Jackie Sampson. Not pictured are Ted Robinson- Vice President, Tammy Wickman, Mark Smith- Treasurer and Denise Masker.

Alumi, or friends of the Atlantic High School, who would like more information on donating to the 501c3 foundation are encouraged to visit the website at atlanticsasf.org or visit the Atlantic High School Senior Alumni Foundation Facebook page.

(Photo & info. courtesy Mark McNees)

Treehouse Village attraction to open soon at Iowa Arboretum

News

February 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Arboretum in Boone County will debut a first-in-the-Midwest feature at its facility this spring, according to spokesman Mark Schnieder. “We’re going to be opening Treehouse Village, which is an all-inclusive tree house suspension bridge and outdoor nature play area,” Schnieder says, “and it will give people elevated and ground level experiences in tree houses and in a really neat play area.”

He says the Treehouse Village will be a welcome addition to the arboretum near Madrid, with several features just for people in wheelchairs, including a swing and a zip-line.

A portion of the Treehouse Village (Iowa Arboretum photo)

“The whole project is located in our woodland area across from our main campus, so we’re still about gardens, which is very important to us, and growing trees,” Schnieder says. “This is a new element that will bring families, bring people, bring grandparents with their grandchildren to the arboretum to experience nature and be outdoors.”

Almost $1.7 million dollars has been raised for the Treehouse Village project, with a fundraising goal of $2-million.