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NW Iowa woman sues school district over sexual abuse case

News

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Sac City, Iowa  [KCCI]— An Iowa mother is suing the East Sac County School District school officials for allegedly failing to protect her son from a teacher’s sexual abuse. Former East Sac County Schools special education instructor Stefanie Kelsey was arrested in 2022 and accused of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student. Kelsey was employed by the district at the time of the arrest.

In February 2023, Kelsey pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a teacher and was later sentenced to 10- and five-year sentences in prison to run concurrently. The student’s mother, identified as “Jane Roe” in court documents, alleges that in early 2022, then-East Sac High School Principal Kevin Litterer and then-superintendent Jeffrey Kruse asked Kelsey about rumors involving the teacher and underage student. The lawsuit says that when Kelsey denied those rumors Litterer and Kruse failed to follow up with her son.

The boy admitted to police that he had sexual contact with the teacher after nude photos of Kelsey were found on his phone. Litterer and Kruse are no longer with the East Sac County district. Both are also named in the lawsuit.

PETER GROSS, 63,of Earling (Mass of Christian Burial 2/23/24)

Obituaries

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

PETER GROSS, 63,of Earling, died Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024, at Myrtue Medical Center, in Harlan. A Mass of Christian Burial for PETER GROSS will be held 11-a.m. Friday, Feb. 23rd, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Earling. Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

Visitation at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Earling is on Thursday, Feb. 22nd, from 5-until 7-p.m., with a Rosary at 7-p.m.

Burial is in St. Mary’s Cemetery at Panama.

PETER GROSS is survived by:

His sister – Susie (Bill) Russell, of Denison.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the Nishna Valley: Tue., Feb. 20, 2024

Weather

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Today: Sunny, with a high near 61. S/SW winds 10-20 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 31. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west after midnight.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 61. Light and variable wind becoming east 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. E/NE @ 5-10 becoming north after midnight.
Thursday: Mostly sunny & breezy, with a high near 53.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 30.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 52. Breezy.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 58. The Low was 17. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 49 and the Low was 21. The Record High for Feb. 20th in Atlantic, was 65 in 1925. The Record Low was -19, in 1978. Sunrise today: 7:08. Sunset: 5:59.

No. 6 Iowa State falls at No. 2 Houston

Sports

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

A frigid start proved costly as sixth ranked ranked Iowa State lost at second ranked Houston.

John Walters and Eric Heft on the Cyclone Network. Iowa State scored only four points in the opening 10 minutes and never led in a 73-65 loss in a first place showdown in the Big-12.

That’s ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger. The Cyclones fought back after the slow start and trailed 28-23 at halftime.

The Cyclones are now 9-4 in the Big-12 will will play host to West Virginia on Saturday.

Iowa men visit Michigan State tonight (Tuesday night )

Sports

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Hawkeye men are on the road tonight (Tuesday night) in the Big Ten, to play Michigan State. The Hawkeyes have lost three straight on the road but had their chances down the stretch in all three.

That’s Iowa coach Fran McCaffery who says turnovers are costly against the Spartan.

The Breslin Center is one of the toughest Big Ten venues for visiting teams and experience helps.

The game will feature two coaches known for their longevity. McCaffery is in his 28th year as a head coach and his 14th with the Hawkeyes. Michigan State’s Tom Izzo is 69 and in his 29th season at the helm of the Spartans.

Iowa is 15-11 overall and 7-8 in the Big Ten. Michigan State is 17-9 overall and 9-6 in the league race.

Bill lets state agencies hire private CPAs for audits

News

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has approved a bill that would let the governor and the state executive council bypass the State Auditor’s Office and hire private C-P-As to audit all state agencies. Senator Mike Bousselot, a Republican from Ankeny, is the bill’s sponsor.

“The bottom line is that Iowans deserve better,” Bousselot said. “…Efficiency can occur by leveraging national firms, CPA firms that have extended expertise (and)…independent, non-partisan certified public accountants.” All 31 Republicans present voted for the proposal — the first bill to pass the Senate this year. All 16 Democrats in the Senate voted against it. Senator Tony Bisignano of Des Moines says the bill means State Auditor Rob Sand, the only Democrat serving in statewide office, would not be able to investigate state agency spending.

“He was elected by the people of Iowa, just like your governor,” Bisignano said, “and then you have the audacity to…try to neuter the auditor so the people Iowa cannot see the daylight on the budgets and the expenses that’s happening in this state.”

The bill now goes to the Iowa House for consideration.

Senate OKs extending Iowa Medicaid postpartum coverage

News

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has approved Governor Kim Reynolds’ proposal to extend pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage for 12 months rather than just 60 days after a baby is born. Senator Mark Costello, a Republican from Imogene, says it’s a way to help new mothers in low income households who need care.

“We’ve found that not all the difficulties or medical needs that happen with pregnancy happen within the first two months,” Costello says, “so we want to enable those women to get the coverage for the full year.” The bill got the backing of 31 Republicans and three Democrats. Governor Kim Reynolds says extending postpartum care to 12 months for women with the greatest need helps them recover from childbirth, access family planning services, manage chronic health issues, and address mental health.

Thirteen Democrats opposed the bill because it also would lower income limits for the coverage, so the state would spend about the same amount of money in Medicaid for postpartum care. Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says it means about a thousand Iowa women each month who’d get pregnancy care under current income guidelines won’t get it.

“This is not a time to step backwards on maternal health care,” Petersen says. “…The budget process hasn’t really gotten started yet. There’s still time to do right by pregnant women and their babies in this state.”

The maternal mortality rate represents the number of women who die during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth and that rate has been rising nationally and in Iowa.

JIM GRANT, 82, of Adair (Svcs. 2/23/24)

Obituaries

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

JIM GRANT, 82, of Adair, died Monday, February 19, 2024 at his residence. Funeral services for JIM GRANT will be held 10:30-a.m. Friday, February 23rd (2024), at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Casey. Schmidt Family Funeral Home of Adair has the arrangements.

Open visitation with the family will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 22, 2024, at the Schmidt Family Funeral Home in Adair, IA.

Interment will follow at St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery in Casey. A luncheon will be held following the committal service at the Adair Community Building.

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

JIM GRANT is survived by:

His wife – Karen Grant.

His sons – Jeff Grant (& girl-friend Lisa Wahlert), and Jason Grant.

His daughter – Joanne (Bill) Byars.

His sister – Margaret (Steve) Nelson, of Plymouth, MA.

2 grandchildren, his in-laws, and other relatives.

Exira-EHK Boys basketball team is quite a roll as of late

Sports

February 19th, 2024 by admin

To say that the (19-4) Exira-EHK Spartans boys basketball is on roll is an understatement. The Spartans had a seven game winning streak heading to post season play and currently have two more wins here in the post season with wins over Heartland Christian and Riverside.

The Spartans are led in scoring on the season by a couple of seniors. Senior Cash Emgarten has scored 413 points and is averaging 18 points per game and senior Aiden Flathers has scored 306 points and average 13 points per game this season.

Spartans head coach Tony Sanistaben had this to say about the way his team is playing so well this season.

Coach Sanistaben also talked about the Spartans teams health heading into their game against Woodbine.

 

The Exira-EHK Spartans will take on the Woodbine Tigers in the semi-final round of the Class 1A-Substate 8 on Tuesday night with the game to be in Harlan. Tipoff at 7:00 PM. You can tune into that game online kjan,com.

 

Atlantic Basketball season ends in Adel

Sports

February 19th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

The ADM Tigers shot sharp in a forceful victory over the Atlantic Boys winning 69-49 in the Class 3A Substate 8 Quarterfinal on Monday night.

The Tigers set a sharp tone in the first quarter going on an 8-0 run. Atlantic managed to break the run with a quick two from Colton Rasmussen, but ADM took control once again ending the quarter with a 15-6 lead.

In the second quarter Atlantic’s cold shooting continued to follow them with consecutive runs created by ADM. The Trojans looked flat with Rasmussen being held to only 9 points in the first half and the Tigers took full advantage with their fast court break going up 43-13 at half.

Atlantic picked things up in the second half with multiple triples in the start of the third thanks to the sharp shooting of Gavin McLaren. But, ADM did not relent and kept responding with layups inside to continually push away the hopes of an Atlantic comeback. While Atlantic did fight well, Head Coach Dalton Franken commented that a lack of composure cost them the game.

Atlantic was led by 22 points from Colton Rasmussen and 14 from Gavin McLaren. This senior group was a special one for Coach Franken and one that he will never forget.

The Trojans finish a solid season with a 7-16 record. Atlantic will say goodbye to an competitive senior class of 5: Colton Rasmussen, Nolan Waters, Tyrell Williams, Brock Henderson, and Thomas Leonard.

However, the future for Trojan Basketball is looking promising with the upcoming core of players.

ADM improves to 19-3 and will face Carroll on Thursday night.