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Audubon Football is bringing tenacity for the 2024 season

Sports

August 21st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

The start of football season is fast approaching for the Audubon Wheelers, as they already have a three team scrimmage planned for this Friday. The Wheelers will be looking to improve off of last season’s (8-2) efforts which ended in a 33-8 defeat against Lenox. In order to improve, Audubon’s athletes have been staying involved and active in various other sports. This high level of involvement has impressed Wheelers head coach Sean Birks.

That high level of activity should only contribute to the offensive philosophy that Audubon is looking to create. An offense that prides itself on being explosive and looking to take advantage  of every weakness that opposing defenses may show.

In order to cultivate a talented and dynamic offense, coach Birks will be looking to a few familiar Wheeler faces who made an impact last season. Junior quarterback Carson Wessel will be returning as a slick runner who picked up 252 rushing yards and 9 scores a year ago. Audubon also has confidence in their returning quarterback senior Aaron Olsen who threw for 537 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Power on the offensive side of the ball is not the only focus for Coach Birks and the Wheelers as they have a good amount of size on defense. Players like senior Gabe Jensen who racked up 5 sacks and 10 tackles for a loss. On the other side of Jensen is senior Ely Jorgensen with 49 total tackles back in 2023.

Friday’s scrimmage for Audubon will have the Wheelers take on Fremont-Mills and Ar-We-Va. Coach Birks hopes to see physicality and hustle throughout the evening.

Audubon’s first regular season game will take place on August 30th against the CAM Cougars. KJAN will bring you coverage of that matchup next week starting at 6:30pm.

Posted in Sports |

Man charged with vehicular homicide and two OWIs sentenced to probation

News

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa man has been sentenced to probation in a vehicular homicide case. State prosecutors had recommended a 10 year prison sentence or at least two years in jail for 22-year-old Caleb Richard DeBey, of Alvord.

Police say DeBey was driving at least 126 miles an hour when his vehicle left the road and a passenger was killed on July 30th of last year near Rock Valley. The Iowa State Patrol’s report indicates DeBey’s blood alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit. Then, in September of last year, DeBey was charged for a second time with drunk driving. A judge has issued a suspended sentence and ordered DeBey to serve five years of probation. DeBey was sentenced to seven days in the county jail for the two O-W-Is, but he was given credit for the 11 days he previously served.

DeBey has been ordered to complete a substance abuse evaluation and comply with any recommendations.

Posted in News |

JACK ELLIS TYE, 86, of Corning (formerly of Griswold) – Svcs. 8/23/24

Obituaries

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

JACK ELLIS TYE, 86, of Corning (& formerly of Griswold), died Tuesday, August 20, 2024, at the Corning Specialty Care in Corning. Services for JACK TYE will be held 2:30-p.m. Friday, August 23rd, at the Central Church of Christ in Griswold. Rieken Funeral is assisting the family with arrangements.

Visitation at the Central Church of Christ in Griswold from from 1:30-until 2:30-p.m., Friday.

The interment will be at Whipple Cemetery, NW of Griswold.

A memorial is currently being established.

JACK TYE is survived by:

His wife of 62 years – Donna Tye, of Griswold.

His son – Jeffrey Tye,of McCool Junction, NE.

His daughter – Jacquline (Dennis) Jones, of Greenfield.

His sister – Suzanne Horter, of Greenfield.

6 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren; his sister in-law Carol Forsyth of Red Oak, and other relatives.

Posted in Obituaries |

Hawkeyes Set to Host Black and Gold Scrimmage

Sports

August 21st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa volleyball program will host its annual Black and Gold Scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 24, at Xtream Arena in Coralville. The scrimmage is set to begin at 5 p.m. (CT). Admission is free.

The team will host a kid’s clinic that is open to participants sixth grade and younger immediately following the scrimmage.

The Hawkeyes return seven letterwinners and welcome six freshmen and five transfers in 2024. Click here for more roster information.

Iowa opens the regular season at the Puerto Rico Classic in San Juan on Aug. 30. The Hawkeyes will take on the Liberty Flames in the tournament opener, before battling the Providence Friars on Aug. 31.

The Hawkeyes’ home opener is Friday, Sept. 6, against San Jose State at Xtream Arena. First serve is at Noon (CT). Tickets can be found here.

Posted in Sports |

Robinson Promoted to Associate Head Coach of Track and Field

Sports

August 21st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody announced the promotion of Ray Robinson to Associate Head Coach of Track and Field on Wednesday afternoon.

“I want to thank Coach Woody for this great opportunity,” Robinson said. “I am truly honored and excited to continue working with our student-athletes to achieve high levels of success both academically and athletically. I appreciate the confidence Coach Woody and his staff have in me to continue building this program. Our family loves being part of Hawkeye Nation. We are extremely blessed to be part of such an outstanding university and athletics department.”

Robinson had primarily been Iowa’s throws coach since he joined the staff in 2021.

“We are very excited to name Ray as our new Associate Head Track and Field Coach,” Woody said. “He has had an incredible impact on our program since he arrived on campus three years ago. As the tide changes in college athletics, with roster limits and NIL, we realize the importance of having an associate head coach to assist with taking on those responsibilities. Coach Robinson is well respected as one of the best throws coaches in the country and brings a wealth of knowledge on how to build championship programs. He is committed to his new role and taking our program to the next level.”

In his time at Iowa, Robinson has coached seven Hawkeyes to All-America status. Under Robinson’s direction in 2024, Mike Stein (javelin) and Jordan Johnson (discus) were Outdoor NCAA All-Americans, while Stein joined Kat Moody (discus) as Outdoor Big Ten Champions in their respective events. In 2023, Robinson coached senior Amanda Howe to second-team All-American status in the hammer throw. In his first season with Iowa, Robinson coached four All-Americans, including three first-team honorees.

Robinson is a two-time graduate of Tiffin University. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in 2010 and his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources in 2015. He previously held the TU school record in the discus throw and is on the top 10 performance list in hammer throw and weight throw. He is a three-time All-GLIAC honoree and was selected to the GLIAC All-Academic team four times while twice earning Academic All-America honors.

Robinson is married to Kristen Robinson, a former All-American shot putter for the Dragons and TU Hall of Fame inductee. Ray and Kristen have three daughters, McKenzie Jo, Jordy Rae and Emileigh James.

Posted in Sports |

Former Glenwood medical director charged with professional incompetency

News

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Four years after he was forced from his job amid a wide-ranging scandal at the state-run Glenwood Resource Center, the facility’s former medical director is facing allegations of incompetence from the state’s own regulators.

According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the Iowa Board of Medicine has charged Dr. Mohammad E. Rehman with professional incompetency – an offense that is defined by the board as including malpractice, negligence, a lack of knowledge or ability to discharge one’s professional duties, or a failure to exercise a degree of care ordinarily exercised by physicians. The board has not publicly disclosed the basis for the charge or publicly stated where or when the offending conduct took place.

The charge against Rehman was filed in June but was only recently made public. A board hearing on the matter has been scheduled for Sept. 18, 2025. Court records indicate that as medical director at Glenwood, a state-run residential treatment center for severely disabled individuals, Rehman was the focus of a unanimous vote of “no confidence” from the medical staff in November 2018. Rehman continued to work at the facility, but resigned in April 2020, with state officials saying the resignation had been submitted in lieu of his termination.

(Photo via Google Earth; seal courtesy the State of Iowa)

His departure followed staff complaints of poor medical care, reports that the death rate at Glenwood had doubled, and that a federal investigation had begun into sexual arousal studies the home was planning to conduct on residents. That same year, Rehman and Glenwood’s former superintendent were among the defendants named in a civil lawsuit filed by six former Glenwood employees, including two physicians and a nurse practitioner. The lawsuit alleged Rehman had criticized doctors for providing residents with “too much” diagnostic care and treatment, and for sending too many patients to area hospitals for treatment rather than providing treatment using Glenwood staff.

The plaintiffs also alleged Rehman hired a physician at the facility to provide neurological care to Glenwood residents, although the doctor did not have any board certifications or experience as a neurologist. In addition, they claimed Rehman directed others to falsify or erase entries in medical records to hide damaging information that Rehman did not want to appear in the regularly audited patient records.

Much of the lawsuit centered on claims of wrongful termination in violation of public policy and on alleged violations of the state’s whistleblower law. A Polk County judge dismissed the case earlier this year after ruling the plaintiffs had failed to show a clearly defined and well-recognized public policy that protected their activities at Glenwood, and that they had failed to show they acted as whistleblowers by reporting their concerns to law enforcement or other public officials. The plaintiffs have appealed that ruling.

Posted in News |

Iowa’s Nick Jackson on the Hawkeye’s veteran defense

Sports

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Iowa linebacker Nick Jackson says the Hawkeye defense feels it has something to prove this season. The former Virginia transfer was named third team All Big Ten in his first season with the Hawkeyes and was one of several players who decided to return for an additional year off a unit that finished fourth in points allowed.

Not only is the Iowa defense experienced it may be the oldest defense in the country.

Jackson on the keys to Iowa’s success on defense.

The Hawkeyes open August 31st at home against Illinois State.

Posted in Sports |

Sac County officials propose replacing Iowa’s second oldest county jail

News

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Sac County’s Jail in Sac City has been in operation for over 80 years and the county’s voters will decide in November whether a new jail should be built. The Sac County Board of Supervisors is proposing that a new county jail be built across the street from the current one, then the old one would be used by the county sheriff’s office. The supervisors have voted to put a nearly 11 million dollar bond referendum on the General Election ballot to finance the two-phase project.

According to the state jail inspector, Sac County has the second oldest jail in Iowa and it does not meet current safety standards, putting staff, inmates and the public at risk. Iowa’s oldest county jail is in Pocahontas. Last November, Pocahontas County voters overwhelmingly approved eight-and-a-half million dollars in bonding for a new 18-bed jail.

Posted in News |

Cedar Rapids asks voters to okay $10M levy for schools

News

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Voters in Iowa’s second largest school district will decide next month on whether to continue a levy for school facility maintenance and equipment. Cedar Rapids Community Schools Superintendent Tawana Grover says for 50 years, the voter-approved Physical Plant and Equipment Levy — or PPEL — has been an important pot of money for the district.

Last year, voters said no to the district’s bond for new buildings. This special election does not include any projects from that plan. Some of the district’s buildings are over a hundred years old. Since the district has already been putting aside the money for 50 years, Grover says re-upping will -not- impact tax rates.

If renewed, PPEL would provide more than 10-million dollars over ten years for facilities, equipment, security and other improvements. Today (Wednesday) is the first day voters in the district can receive absentee ballots or vote early in-person. Special Election Day is September 10th.

Posted in News |

Hawkeye Men’s Golf Announces 2024 Fall Schedule

Sports

August 21st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa –The University of Iowa head men’s golf coach Tyler Stith has announced the 2024 fall schedule on Wednesday, competing in four events in the fall season.

The Hawkeyes open their season September 8-9 where they travel to Independence, Minnesota to compete in the Gopher Invitational. Next, Iowa heads to West Lafayette, Indiana Sept. 22nd-23rd for the Purdue Fall Invitational.

The Hawkeyes then return to Indiana for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Intercollegiate October 6-7. Iowa wraps up their fall season Oct. 19-21 in Biloxi, Miss. for the Fallen Oak Intercollegiate.

2024 Fall Schedule

Sept. 8-9 Gopher Invitational Independence, Minn.

Sept. 22-23 Purdue Fall Invitational West Lafayette, Ind.

Oct. 6-7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Intercollegiate South Bend, Ind.

Oct. 19-21 Fallen Oak Intercollegiate Biloxi, Miss.

Posted in Sports |