(Creston, Iowa) – The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports an SUV sustained $4,000 damage, but the driver was not injured, after the vehicle struck a deer Monday night on Highway 25, near 130th Street. The accident happened at around 7:33-p.m.
Officials say a 2018 Chevy Traverse driven by 44-year-old Katherine Whetzell, of Creston, was northbound on the highway, when a deer entered the roadway. Whetzell was unable to avoid striking the animal, which impacted the left front side of the SUV.
The vehicle was able to be driven from the scene following the collision.
JOHN CASALI, 76, of Manning, died Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024, at Manning Regional Healthcare Center, in Manning. Visitation for JOHN CASALI will be held from 5-unntil 7-p.m. Friday, February 2, 2024, at Ohde Funeral Home in Manning.
JOHN CASALI is survived by his son: Cory Casali, of Detroit, MI; and his daughter: Gina Rountree of Detroit, MI.
It took an extra four minutes, but the Exira-EHK Spartans won on Monday night 66-55 over Woodbine. It was a close game for most of the night, so the finish felt right.
The game was tied at the end of the first quarter 9-9 but Woodbine outscored the Spartans 14-9 in the second quarter to lead 23-18 at half. Woodbine maintained a lead up until 4:31 left in the game. Jameson Kilworth hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 36. Both teams exchanged baskets down the stretch and with a minute to go Woodbine tied it at 40-40 thanks to Jax Pryor focus at the line. Neither team could score in the last minute which led to overtime.
The Spartans got a couple key buckets in the lane from Jackson Radcliff in the extra period and held the Tigers in check to grab the win. After the game Head Coach Tony Santisteban noted that his message to the team heading into overtime was have heart and finish at the line.
Cash Emgarten finished with 18 points to lead Exira-EHK, Aiden Flathers added 17 and Jameson Kilworth contributed 10. The Spartans improve to 12-4 on the season.
Woodbine was led by 22 points from Carter Gruver who was electric in the second half scoring 16 and seemed undeterred by Exira-EHK’s defensive adjustments. Brody Pryor added 14 points on the night. The Tigers drop to 13-2 on the season and will face Coon Rapids-Bayard at home on Tuesday.
Exira-EHK will face Paton-Churdan on the road Tuesday night and Coach Santisteban is focusing on keeping the momentum rolling.
The Exira-EHK girls basketball team earned their way to a 66-53 home win over Woodbine on Monday night. The Spartans jumped on top early and were able to fight off any run the Tigers had the rest of the way winning each quarter throughout the evening.
The Spartans opened the game with a 14-4 lead by the end of the first quarter and retained that up to 33-19 before the Tigers fought back. Woodbine eventually clawed back within four early in the second half at 23-19 but the Spartans responded with a 6-0 run to seize control right back.
It was a physical game inside and the Spartans got into the double-bonus before the start of the fourth quarter. Regardless of their efforts, Woodbine could not stop the offensive scoring and physicality from Taryn Petersen who continually caused disrutpion inside the paint. Taryn Petersen led the Spartans with 27 points, Hannah Nelsen added 16 and Jaelynn Petersen scored 10.
Exira-EHK improves to 12-5 on the season and travel to Paton-Churdan on Tuesday.
Woodbine was led by 20 from Charlie Pryor and 12 from Taylor Hoefer. The Tigers fall to 12-4 on the year and they will host Coon Rapids-Bayard on Tuesday.
(Carson, Iowa) – Officials with the East Pottawattamie County Extension Service say a Private Pesticide applicator meeting originally scheduled for February 1, 2024 at the Carson Community building is being moved to the Oakland Community Building. The change is required due to a maintenance issue at the Carson building.
The meeting is still set to begin promptly at 6:30pm. The location has just been changed. For any questions please contact the East Pottawattamie Extension office in Oakland at 712.482.6449.
(Radio Iowa) – A few Johnson County officials are pressuring County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith to drop charges against seven people for a protest in Iowa City. Each was initially charged with disorderly conduct for obstructing the street and for interfering with police in a protest against the appearance of a California activist who speaks against transgender surgery for minors. Supervisor Jon Green says while the interfering may set a bad precedent, it’s a matter of conscience.
“It’s not that they necessarily shouldn’t be pressing charges. It’s that if you are going to charge people, you should charge everybody or nobody. You know, there were upwards of a hundred protesters at the Cole event,” Green says. The Board of Supervisors has budgetary authority over the County Attorney’s Office. Janet Lyness was the Johnson County Attorney before retiring. She didn’t take issue with elected officials expressing their opinions to the county attorney, but she drew the line at them taking action against the county attorney for doing her job.
“The political views of the county attorney or the recorder — they can certainly be supportive of actions taken by people — it doesn’t mean they can ignore their duties and their job. They still have to uphold the law, even if they disagree with it,” Lyness says. Green has also called on the Johnson County Democrats to censure Zimmermann Smith for pursuing charges. They’ll vote on his resolution Thursday. One of the protestors has turned down a plea bargain and will challenge the arrest in court.
(Radio Iowa) – The Department of Education’s 2023 fall enrollment numbers show a drop in the number of public school students, while private enrollment increased. The Education Department’s figures show public school enrollment was down one-half a percent to 483-thousand-699. Non-public school enrollment was up seven-point-four percent to 36-thousand-195 students as a new state law provided Education Savings Account for those attending private schools.
The data shows nearly 66 percent of those using the accounts were already attending private schools. The accounts let Iowa Iowa families apply for around 76-hundred dollars for each student for private school expenses including tuition and fees.
(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – A single-vehicle accident this (Monday) morning in Guthrie County resulted in a woman from Stuart being transported by Stuart EMS to the Adair County Hospital in Greenfield. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says 80-year-old Theresa Glass was traveling west on White Pole Road at around 8:15-a.m., when the 2006 Chrysler Town & Country van she was driving went out of control on the frost covered road.
The van entered the westbound ditch and rolled over. Glass was wearing her seat belt. She suffered possible/unknown injuries (complained of pain). Her vehicles sustained $3,500 damage and was declared a total loss. Authorities say Glass was driving too fast for the road conditions. No citations were issued.
The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports also, there were no injuries following an accident Thursday morning. A 2022 Chevy pickup driven by 25-year-old Lucas Davidson, of Ellsworth (IA) was traveling south on Highway 4 from 190th Street, when the vehicle went out of control on the ice covered road. The pickup entered the south ditch and struck an Iowa DOT sign. The accident happened at around 6:40-a.m.
The pickup sustained $4,000 damage. Damage to the DOT sign/post was estimated at $200.
IRVING, Texas – Audi Crooks has been named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week for the third time this season. It marks the fourth weekly award the freshman center has collected this season following a Player of the Week nod on Jan. 22.
Crooks led Iowa State in scoring and rebounding this week and was top three in the conference in both categories. The Algona, Iowa native posted 25 points at both Kansas and No. 24 West Virginia for her seventh and eighth 20-point games while posting her fourth career double-double against the Mountaineers Saturday with 16 rebounds.
Crooks leads Iowa State this season with 17.4 points per game while shooting a Division I freshman-best 58 percent from the floor. In conference play, she averages 19.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, the best totals by any freshman in the league.
Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum for the first time since Jan. 13 as the Cyclones take on Oklahoma State. Tipoff on Wednesday night is set for 6:30 p.m. in Ames.