712 Digital Group - top

No charges to be filed over improper district disbursements

News

June 27th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — No criminal charges will be filed over more than $2.1 million in improper payments by the Mason City Community School District. The Cerro Gordo County attorney’s office said in a news release Wednesday that it was determined after consultations with the Iowa attorney general’s office that there was “insufficient evidence to support any criminal charges.”

A state audit that covered July 20009 through August 2017 says more than $1.3 million was salary to 66 mainly administrative employees that exceeded the authorized pay and increases. The improper payments also included other monetary benefits, such as vehicle and cellphone allowances given to some employees. The audit report released in December also said hundreds of thousands more in improper disbursements covered district contributions to retirement and annuity accounts.

Posted in News |

Be prepared for a 100+ degree Heat Index on Saturday

Weather

June 27th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Get ready for the heat and humidity later this week into the upcoming weekend!! The National Weather Service in Des Moines says temperatures will warm from upper 80s today (Thursday) into the lower to middle 90s by this weekend. These temperatures combined with tropical humidity levels will result in heat index values rising into the 95°F to 105°F range! The Heat Index Saturday in Atlantic, Council Bluffs and Des Moines will be around 101 degrees, with Sioux City coming in at 104, and Ames at 103! Be HEAT SMART if you have outdoor plans late this week into the weekend.

Posted in Weather |

Congresswoman Axne talks about migrant bill

News

June 27th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne was among the supporters of a bill providing humanitarian aid to migrants crossing the U-S southern border.
The U-S House approved the four-point-five-BILLION dollar ($4.5) emergency aid bill 230-195 Tuesday. House Democrats pushed the bill in response to concern over the treatment of children separated from parents at the border as part of the detention of immigrants coming into the country illegally. Axne says the bill addresses the humanitarian crisis at the border.
“I think that we can all agree that we want families and children to be treated appropriately,” Axne says. “So, this is a lot of assistance through refugees at the state licensed shelters, to help folks expand capacities in the small and medium-scale state licensed facilities to reduce reliance and the influx of shelters for children.”

She says it also helps with legal services, and advocates, and then post-release services. It puts some money toward the Office of Inspector General, and federal field specialists and case management services. The West Des Moines Democrat says the bill included provisions for the U-S Department of Homeland Security to boost border security measures. “U.S. Customs and Border Protection got another one-point-three billion,” she says. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement, over 128 million, and federal emergency management money, as well, to assist with all of the migrants coming in, and giving them the capacity to work with that.”

Axne says funding is also included oversight and migrant safety. The congresswoman hopes Congress moves forward in protecting the border, and keeping the country safe–but in a humane way. “We don’t ever want to see children who are supervising other young children, who don’t get an opportunity for a change of diapers. Children that are denied basic things like brushing their teeth. Certainly, these things need to be addressed,” according to Axne.

Iowa Democrats Abby Finkenauer and Dave Loebsack voted for the bill — while Republican Congressman Steve King voted against the bill.

Posted in News |

The deadline is Monday for Iowans to apply for flood aid through FEMA

News

June 27th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — People in nine Iowa counties hit hardest by spring flooding have just a few days to register for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Registering with FEMA helps the agency determine if people are eligible for grants to help repair their flood-damaged homes or pay for temporary housing. FEMA’s Deanna Frazier says many Iowans who are eligible still haven’t requested help. Frazier says, “They want to make sure that there is enough funding to go around to other survivors who were more highly impacted than they were.”

More than 24-hundred Iowa households and families have registered with FEMA so far, and the agency has already approved more than 13-million dollars for Iowans. Once a homeowner registers with FEMA, the agency works to get an inspector to their home to survey the damage.  “We are receiving more registrations that are kind of trickling in rather than busting down our doors right now, however, we do believe that there are people out there that have not registered with FEMA for assistance.”

The U.S. Small Business Administration also offers low-interest loans for homeowners. The deadline to register is July 1st — Monday. Seven of the eligible counties are in western Iowa: Woodbury, Monona, Harrison, Pottawattmie, Shelby, Fremont and Mills, while the remaining two are in eastern Iowa: Scott and Louisa. For information, call 800-621-FEMA or visit disasterassistance.gov.

Posted in News |

Skyscan Forecast – Thursday, June 27 2019

Weather

June 27th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Today: Partly cloudy. High around 90. S @ 10-15.

Tonight: P/Cldy w/isolated thundershowers. Low 72. S @ 5-10.

Tomorrow: P/Cldy w/isolated morning showers. High near 90. S @ 10-15.

Saturday: P/Cldy. High 92.

Sunday: P/Cldy w/isolated thundershowers. High again around 92.

Yesterday’s High in Atlantic was 84. We received .02” rain. Our Low was 64. Last year on this date our High was 88 and the Low was 61. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 103 in 1934. The Record Low was 43 in 1938, 1958 & 1968.

Posted in Weather |

Area baseball scores from 6/26/2019

Sports

June 27th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Ar-We-Va, Westside 3, West Harrison, Mondamin 0
Boone 18, Carroll 2
Coon Rapids-Bayard 6, Woodbine 1
Creston 8, Red Oak 2
Glidden-Ralston 8, Boyer Valley, Dunlap 3
Harlan 10, Sioux City, West 7
Lamoni 10, Central Decatur, Leon 3
Lewis Central 11, Atlantic 3
Southeast Warren, Liberty Center 19, West Central Valley, Stuart 1
Treynor 3, Logan-Magnolia 0 (WIC Tournament)

Posted in Sports |

Area softball scores from Wed., 6/26/19

Sports

June 27th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Ballard 12, Winterset 6
Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 11, MOC-Floyd Valley 10
Carroll 12, Boone 11
Central Decatur 6, Lamoni 0
Creston 14, Red Oak 10
Denison-Schleswig 13, Lewis Central 1
East Sac County 18, Pocahontas Area 8
Glenwood 12, Council Bluffs Lincoln 3
IKM-Manning 10, Griswold 8 (9)
Lenox 5, Bedford 0
Murray 9, Martensdale-St Marys 7
Nodaway Valley 5, Exira-EHK 3
OABCIG 11, MVAOCOU 5
Shenandoah 12, Southwest Valley 2
Sioux City East 2, Harlan 1
West Harrison 7, Ar-We-Va 5
West Monona 10, Lawton-Bronson 0
Westwood 9, OABCIG 1
Woodbine 10, Coon Rapids-Bayard 7

Posted in Sports |

Red Oak man arrested early this (Thursday) morning

News

June 27th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 12:55-a.m. today (Thursday), of 32-year old Benjamin William Hrabik. The Red Oak man was taken into custody for Public Intoxication, and was being held in the Montgomery County Jail, on a $300 bond.

Posted in News |

Cubs to add Kimbrel to major league roster Thursday (today)

Sports

June 27th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

CHICAGO (AP) — Craig Kimbrel will be added to the Chicago Cubs’ roster today (Thursday), before their series finale against Atlanta at Wrigley Field. The team made the announcement following Wednesday night’s 5-3 loss to the Braves.

Kimbrel, a seven-time All-Star closer, completed his minor league assignment Tuesday and traveled to Chicago on Wednesday. He pitched in four games for Triple-A Iowa, allowing one run and two hits in 3 2/3 innings. The right-hander worked a clean ninth with two strikeouts Tuesday in Iowa’s 5-1 win over Omaha, throwing 16 pitches.

Kimbrel and the Cubs finalized a $43 million, three-year contract on June 7. The 31-year-old reliever has 333 career saves, including 42 last season for World Series champion Boston.

To make room on the 25-man roster, right-hander Tony Barnette was optioned to Iowa.

Posted in Sports |

Midwest Sports Headlines: 6/27/2019

Sports

June 27th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

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

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Mason Hickman and Jake Eder combined for 14 strikeouts, Vanderbilt knocked out Michigan ace Karl Kauffmann in the fourth inning, and the Commodores won the national championship with an 8-2 victory in Game 3 of the College World Series finals. Vandy won its second title in its four CWS appearances, all since 2011. The loss ended a surprising postseason run for Michigan, which was the first Big Ten team to play in the finals since Ohio State in 1966.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Beau Taylor and Matt Chapman homered, and Daniel Mengden pitched six scoreless innings to lead the Oakland Athletics to a 2-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Mengden gave up four hits and struck out five for his first win since May 18 at Detroit.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Trevor Bauer struck out a season-high 12 in 6 2/3 innings, and the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 5-3. Bauer had the 23rd double-figure strikeout game of his career and his fourth this season. The right-hander gave up one run and didn’t allow a hit until rookie Humberto Arteaga singled with two outs in the fifth. Bauer matched a career high by throwing 127 pitches and held the Royals to three hits.

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Kansas City Royals have reinstated Eric Skoglund after the left-hander served an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use. Skoglund was optioned to Triple-A Omaha. The 26-year-old was suspended in January after his positive drug test. Skoglund was 1-6 with a 5.14 ERA in 14 games with the Royals last season.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Blues are coming off the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. They did it behind coach Craig Berube, who took over in November and led a slow turnaround that included a spot at the bottom of the NHL standings in January. In the end, the Blues beat Boston in seven games to win the championship. General manager Doug Armstrong says he and Berube agreed at the end of the season but held off on negotiations until after the playoffs. Berube now has a three-year deal.

DETROIT (AP) — Gary Woodland is making his first start since winning the U.S. Open. He is hoping to keep his game sharp at the Rocket Mortgage Classic three weeks before the British Open. The event is the PGA Tour’s first even in the city of Detroit. It also marks the return of the tour to the state of Michigan, which hasn’t been a regular stop for the world’s best golfers since Buick ended its sponsorship of an annual tournament in 2009.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas City Chiefs player and now businessman who has served on local and state government boards is running for the U.S. Senate in Kansas. Dave Lindstrom, of the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, plans to launch his bid for the Republican nomination with an event Thursday in Goodland in northwestern Kansas. Four-term GOP Sen. Pat Roberts is not seeking re-election in 2020. At least 15 potential candidates have expressed an interest in running.

Posted in Sports |