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YouTube personality/meteorologist raises $93k for Greenfield tornado victims

News

May 26th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (WHO-TV] – Ryan Hall is a YouTuber and Meteorologist who live-streams severe storms. He and his team were live-streaming Tuesday (May 21st), when an EF4 tornado hit the town of Greenfield in Iowa.

Andy Hill, one of the storm chasers part of Hall’s team was on the ground Tuesday and said that they started raising money as soon as they saw the damage to the town. The non-profit Y’all Squad stream was activated following the Greenfield tornado event, and made available to everyone watching. In the next few hours, they raised $93,000 from those people watching the stream and talking about it.

The Y’all Squad is a charity that Ryan Hall created to help support victims of tornadoes and other severe storms. Caleb Beacham, the Y’all Squad Field Coordinator, said that the charity was formed about 17-months ago for severe storm events, to make it possible for live-stream viewers to donate.

The Y’all Squad arrived hours after the tornado stuck Greenfield and provided critical supplies and meals. They also gave one of the families whose home was destroyed by the tornado $30,000 to help recover.

To learn more about the Y’all Squad, visit the charity’s website.

Posted in News |

7 Cyclone men advance to NCAA Track & Field Championships in OR

Sports

May 26th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas (Via Cyclones.Com)– Cyclones had a dominant day, Friday, as seven men booked their trips to NCAA Championships in the third day of NCAA West Prelims. The No. 17 Iowa State men end action totaling nine in seven events to move on to nationals.

Kevin Sakson is set to make his second appearance at NCAA Championships, qualifying in the discus finishing 10th. Sakson threw 190-5 (58.05m) on his first attempt and fouled on his next two, but that mark would remain among the top 12 to move on to Eugene. The Cyclones then secured multiple national entries in the 1,500m as Peter Smith and Ezekiel Rop took to the track. Smith raced in the first heat, remaining in the lead pack throughout to finish fifth and grab the last auto-qualifying slot. The senior turned in a personal best of 3:40.80 to move up a spot to ninth in ISU history.

Rop then booked a return trip to nationals in the third heat as he took the lead in the final turn to cross the line first in 3:39.70, beating out 2023 national champ Nathan Green and runner-up Joe Waskom from Washington. Rop clocked a final 400 meters of 54.14 to seal the win.

Gable Sieperda advanced to NCAA Championships for the first time as he dominated the 3,000m steeplechase. Racing in the second heat, Sieperda traded the lead with Oklahoma State’s Victor Shitsama throughout the race. With Sieperda in an automatically qualifying position in the lead pack of three, the steeplechaser comfortably crossed the finish line third in 8:39.99 in the humid 80-degree weather. Sieperda is the first ISU men’s steeplechaser to advance to nationals since 2021.

The next qualifiers came in the 800m, where another pair of Cyclones advanced to nationals. Racing alongside each other in the third and final heat, Finley Mclear worked his way from fourth to the front to win in 1:47.74 while Darius Kipyego also auto qualified in third with 1:48.03.

Said Mechaal was the seventh Cyclone of the day to advance as he grabbed fifth in the second heat of the 5,000m, securing an automatic qualifying spot with 13:54.97. Mechaal, who qualified for nationals in the 5K in indoor season, will race at outdoor nationals for the first time of his career. Sophomore Jack Latham capped his season in the regional 110m hurdles quarterfinal, once again going sub-14 seconds with 13.90w at a wind reading of 2.4 m/s. Latham finished 19th overall and fifth in his heat racing in lane nine. In the high jump, redshirt freshman Braden Goellner cleared his first two bars, ending competition in 28th with 6-10 1/4 (2.09m).

Posted in Sports |

4 ISU women advance to NCAA Championships

Sports

May 26th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas (Via Cyclones.com) – Four more women solidified their spot at NCAA Championships, Saturday, in the fourth and final day of NCAA West Prelims. The Cyclones will send 14 to NCAA Championships, nine men in seven events and five women in five events. The total is the largest amount of outdoor entries in program history. In recent years, Iowa State totaled 11 entries in 2021 and six in 2023 and 2022.

Janette Schraft booked a return trip to outdoor nationals in the steeplechase. In the second heat, the senior took the lead in the fifth lap and after remaining in auto-qualifying position out of the final water jump, Schraft comfortably crossed the finish line second to move on to Eugene.

For the third time this outdoor season alone, sophomore Rachel Joseph broke the 400m program record. Joseph clocked 51.38, a major time cut of .22 seconds from her previous record set at Big 12 Championships. Not only does the time set an all-time ISU best, it sends the 400m star to nationals as Joseph notched the ninth-fastest time in the region. Joseph made her first appearance at NCAA Championships this indoor season, earning Second Team All-America honors.

Sophomore Makayla Clark will keep her outstanding season rolling as she moves onto nationals for the first time. The 800m specialist grabbed an automatic qualifier in her heat crossing third in 2:04.30.

The Cyclones then raced under the lights, while Maelle Porcher punched her ticket to Eugene in the 5,000m. The sophomore clocked the ninth-fastest time in the elite West region while automatically qualifying in her heat with 16:02.07 to set the stage for her first NCAA Championships.

Madelynn Hill ended her outstanding Iowa State career with a 42nd-place 5,000m finish of 17:27.98. In the discus, Betty Rosvold ended her strong season with a 24th-place mark of 176-9 (53.89m).

With NCAA West Prelims now in the books, all sights are set on NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon June 5-8.

Posted in Sports |

2 Hawkeye men advance to NCAA Track & Field Championship in OR

Sports

May 26th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (Via HawkeyeSports.com) – The University of Iowa’s track and field team, Friday, advanced two men’s student-athletes to the NCAA Championships set for June 5th in Eugene, Oregon.

Junior Rivaldo Marshall punched his ticket to outdoor nationals with an automatic bid in the 800 meters. The native of Kingston, Jamaica, raced 1:46.96 for third overall in the quarterfinal event.  This indoor season, Marshall became Iowa’s first 800-meter national champion. He owns the program records both outdoors (1:45.86) and indoors (1:46.86) in the event.

Senior Jordan Johnson qualified for the NCAA Championships with a 58.22-meter (191’ 0”) toss in the discus. Johnson, who entered the event seeded 22nd, placed ninth overall with the season-best mark.  Johnson was a first-team All-American in the event in 2022, placing eighth at outdoor nationals with a career best of 59.52 meters (195’ 3”). Now Johnson has the opportunity to run things back at the finals in Eugene, Oregon.

Freshman Precious Irivi finished 15th in the triple jump and punched a ticket of his own to the World Athletics U20 Championships. The rookie from Nigeria jumped 15.57 meters (51’ 1”), good for seventh in program history at Iowa.  He credits jump coach Hadrien Choukron for helping him build that confidence and composure.

Irivi beat his own personal best on the first jump before setting another best on the third attempt. The jump also ranks 20th in the world for U20 athletes.

Posted in Sports |

Softball & Baseball Scores from Saturday, May 25, 2024

Sports

May 26th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

SOFTBALL  SCORES

Clarinda Tournament

POOL 1

Missouri Valley 11 Essex 1

Missouri Valley 11 Earlham 10

Earlham 13 Essex 0

POOL 2

Clarinda 21 IKM-Manning 4

Clarinda 16 West Central Valley 4

West Central Valley 7 IKM-Manning 2

PLACEMENT GAMES

Championship: Clarinda 7 Missouri Valley 5

5th Place: IKM-Manning 8 Essex 6

MVAOCOU Tournament

Logan-Magnolia 9 MVAOCOU 0

Hinton 7 Harlan 0

Championship: Hinton 6 Logan-Magnolia 5

3rd Place: MVAOCOU 12 Harlan 5

Ogden Tournament

Boone 12 Kuemper Catholic 0

Des Moines Christian 7 Kuemper Catholic 2

Bishop Heelan Classic

Underwood 9 Spirit Lake 8

Underwood 8 Lawton-Bronson 4

Heelan 4 Spencer 1

Heelan 3 MOC-Floyd Valley 2

Spirit Lake 3 LeMars 1

LeMars 5 Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley 0

BASEBALL SCORES

Missouri River Conference 

Sioux City East 7 Thomas Jefferson 6

Sioux City East 14 Thomas Jefferson 6

NON-CONFERENCE

Interstate 35 15 Wayne 5

Southeast Polk 12 Abraham Lincoln 2

Southeast Polk 11 Abraham Lincoln 5

Sioux City North 6 Dowling Catholic 4

Iowa City Liberty 9 Sioux City North 8

Posted in Sports |

GORDY HUTCHINSON, 86, of Greenfield (No Svcs.)

Obituaries

May 26th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

GORDY HUTCHINSON, 86, of Greenfield, died Saturday, May 25, 2024, at his home in Greenfield.  Per the wishes of GORDY HUTCHINSON, there will be no services. Lamb Funeral Home in Greenfield is assisting the family.

A private burial will be held in the Fenton Township Cemetery, in Lone Rock, IA.

Memorials may be made to the Gordon Hutchinson Memorial Fund to be established by the family at a later date.

GORDY HUTCHINSON is survived by:

His wife – Lila Hutchinson, of Greenfield.

His children – Tony (Carol) Hutchinson, of Greenfield, Lynn Hutchinson, and Julie (Brent) Allred, all of Wichita, KS.

His brothers – Bobby, of Lone Rock; Donnie, of West Des Moines; Eugene, of Queens Creek, AZ; Roger, of Troy, MO; Duane, of Garner, Dennis, of Cedar Falls, and James, of Fruit Heights, UT.

His sisters – Judy, of Woodbridge, VA, and Kay, of Jefferson, GA.,

6 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

Online condolences may be left to the family at www.lambfuneralhomes.com.

Posted in Obituaries |

Property damage accident in Creston Saturday night

News

May 26th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report the driver of a 1999 Chevy Suburban was cited for Driving without a valid license and arrested for OWI, following a property damage accident Saturday night. Authorities say the vehicle driven by 34-year-old Christopher Roland Bird, of Creston, was traveling south on Spruce Street near the intersection of Prairie and Spruce, when Bird turned left off of Spruce to continue east on Prairie. As the Suburban was turning east, it struck a legally parked 2008 Chevy pickup and trailer. The trailer was loaded with two UTV’s. The truck, trailer and both UTV’s were damaged. The damage to those items were estimated at $10,000 altogether, according to Police.

The accident happened at around 10:17-p.m. Police say Bird was unable to provide proof of financial liability (Insurance). His vehicle sustained $5,000 damage. No injuries were reported. Authorities said contributing factors in the crash included “Operating [a] vehicle in a reckless, erratic, careless [or] negligent manner.”

Posted in News |

24-hour rainfall reports (ending 7-a.m. 5/26/24)

Weather

May 26th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

These are 24-hour rainfall totals (7-a.m. Saturday, May 25th through 7-a.m. Sunday, May 26th), from around the listening area:

KJAN, .4″

Anita, .20″

Audubon, .52″*

Carroll, .01″

Clarinda Airport, .43″*

Corning, .34″

Creston Municipal Airort, .32″*

Denison, .56″

Elk Horn, .25″

Harlan, .15″

Massena, .35″

Red Oak, .23″

Shenandoah Municipal Airport, .08″

Stanton, .12″

Wiota, .21″

Greenfield, 3.00″

  • *indicates precipitation recorded at an Automated Weather Observation Site (AWOS)

Posted in Weather |

Another Derecho hits the Midwest, packing winds around 70-mph

News, Weather

May 26th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI] — The line of severe storms that swept across Iowa Friday morning was in fact a derecho (pronounced “duh-RAY-cho”). That confirmation came from the Storm Prediction Center, which determined the powerful system met its criteria after plowing through the Midwest from Nebraska all the way to Illinois.

In simple terms, a derecho is a complex of thunderstorms that produces straight-line wind damage over a very long path. That damage path has to exceed 400 miles in length and must be at least 60 miles wide. Wind gusts have to exceed 58 mph (severe thunderstorm criteria) over most of the path, with occasional gusts above 75 mph.

The derecho that walloped Iowa Friday morning checked all those boxes. Reports of 60-70 mph gusts first came out of southwest Nebraska Thursday night. By 3 a.m. Friday, severe winds had arrived in western Iowa and would persist all the way into Illinois.

In Iowa, gusts above the 58 mph threshold were reported as far north as Estherville, and as far south as Highway 92, making the damage swath well over 100 miles wide. Finally, the system produced multiple high-end wind gusts (75+ mph) along its path, including an 83 mph gust in Monona County, 75 mph winds in Greenfield, and an 84 mph gust recorded near Newton.

Many Iowans hadn’t heard of derechos until a particularly powerful one struck Aug. 10, 2020.

Derechos actually happen with some regularity but are rarely as strong as the 2020 storm.

Historically, part of Iowa experiences a derecho every 1-2 years. Since 2010, a total of 14 derechos have hit somewhere in the state.

  • May 24, 2024
  • June 29, 2023 (southern Iowa)
  • July 5, 2022 (northern Iowa)
  • May 12, 2022 (northwest Iowa)
  • Dec. 15, 2021
  • Aug. 10, 2020
  • July 20, 2019 (northern Iowa)
  • June 28, 2018
  • July 19, 2017 (northeast Iowa)
  • June 22, 2015
  • June 30, 2014
  • June 24, 2013
  • July 11, 2011
  • June 18, 2010

Posted in News, Weather |

2 people arrested following an incident involving gunfire, in Des Moines

News

May 26th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa — Two people are in custody following a shooting Saturday evening outside of the Knapp Center in Des Moines. KCCI report Police said officers heard gunfire and recovered one firearm. No one was injured. Several officers with the Des Moines Police Department were already at the Knapp Center due to Roosevelt High School’s graduation ceremony, which was going on inside. Des Moines police said officers heard gunfire around 5:35 p.m. outside of the Knapp Center.

Investigators say a handgun was found on one suspect, while a second one was found in one of their vehicles. Police said they were able to lock down the area quickly, thanks to the police already present. Following the gunshots, Des Moines police said a fight involving more than five individuals broke out inside the arena. Pepper spray was used to break up the fight.

Des Moines Public Schools released the following statement on the incident:

“Late this [Saturday] afternoon, while honoring Roosevelt High School’s graduating class, a number of people ran into Drake University’s Knapp Center and began telling attendees there had been a shooting outside. This caused commotion and a brief disruption to the ceremony while Des Moines Police and Drake Public Safety responded quickly to the scene to ensure everyone inside was safe.

Superintendent Ian Roberts was informed there was no immediate threat to the commencement, shared with the crowd that it was safe inside the arena, and the ceremony resumed so that every graduate present was able to walk across the stage and receive their diploma.

While the incident is not believed to have any direct connection to the Roosevelt commencement ceremony, Principal Steven Schappaugh informed Roosevelt families of changes to [Saturday night’s] Senior Night celebration were made as a precaution and the school district would have additional security in place for two commencement ceremonies on Sunday.”

Posted in News |