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House fire in Oakland, Monday

News

December 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

No injuries were reported following a house fire late Monday morning, in Oakland. Authorities say a firefighter saw smoke and discovered the fire at 410 Center Street. No one was home at the time the blaze broke out. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Oakland Firefighters were assisted by crews with the Carson Fire Department in handling the blaze.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4th

Trading Post

December 4th, 2018 by Jim Field

FOR SALE:  Polar insulated duck pants 34-w 30-l dk.brown,no hole,tears or stains, $20.00.  Berne insulated bibs 34-w 30-l, dk. brown, zipper leg, no tears or holes, small stain on one knee, $30.00. Call 712-249-9041.

FOR SALE: Craftsman snow thrower, 21″, very good condition. Can be seen at 510 E. 22nd St., Atlantic. $250 firm.

WANTED: 5 bales of straw. 789-9168.

FOR SALE: Beautiful dark chocolate couch, 88″ long, matching cushion chair, nice wood in front, hardly used. $150 obo for all. 249-0463.

Police say woman nearly hit kids at school drop-off spot

News

December 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a woman suspected of driving drunk narrowly missed students getting off a bus as she pulled into a Des Moines school drop-off spot. Station KCCI reports that the woman was dropping off her 5-year-old daughter Monday morning at Garton Elementary School when she hit a curb that kept her from plowing into the students. Police say the bus driver, the school principal and the dean of students wouldn’t let the woman leave the scene.

Polk County court records say 43-year-old Heather Mapes is charged with failure to use child restraint device and reckless driving. Jail records say she remained in custody this (Tuesday) morning.

November drier than normal

Weather

December 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa/KJAN) — The dry fall weather farmers were looking for finally came in November — much later than they’d hoped. State Climatologist Justin Glisan tracked the numbers for November.  “Our statewide precipitation averaged around one-point-six-two inches — which is about four-point-three inches below normal,” Glisan says. “We typically see about two inches of precipitation during November.”

In Atlantic, precipitation for the month (including rain and melted snow), amounted to 1.28 inches, which was 57-hundredths (or nearly six-tenths) of an inch below average. We received a total of Seven-tenths (.7”) an inch of snow in November.

The below-normal November came on the heels of the seventh wettest October on record that was about two-inches above normal for precipitation — and the third wettest September — which saw statewide average rainfall about four-and-a-half inches above normal.  Glisan says a late winter storm on the 25th and 26th of November boosted the total a little. “And that brought heavy snowfall, blizzard conditions. We had wind gusts up to 45 miles-an-hour. Osceola reported the month’s highest snowfall total, almost a foot of snow,” according to Glisan.

Statewide, it was the coolest November since 2014 with the temperature six degrees below normal. In Atlantic, the Average High last month was 40.1 degrees, and the Average Low was 19.9. That’s 6.2 degrees cooler than the norm for the High, and 6.6 degrees colder than normal.

With Christmas now about three weeks away Glisan says it has an early indication of the day will be white or not. “What we’re seeing right now in the outlooks is above average temperatures for Christmas — and then below average chances for precipitation. So, as of right now it looks like a white Christmas might not occur,” Glisan says.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the area, 12/4/2018

Weather

December 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Today: Partly-to-Mostly cloudy w/a few flurries. High 28. W @ 10-15.

Tonight: Decreasing cloudiness. Low 14. W @ 5-10.

Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 35. W @ 10-15.

Thursday: Mo. Cldy w/flurries. High 27.

Friday: P/Cldy. High 28.

Yesterday’s High in Atlantic was 28. Our Low this morning 23. We receivd a Trace of snow yesterday and early this morning. Last year on this date our High was 65 and the Low was 22. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 66 in 1995. The Record Low was -8 in 1905.

Young will conduct ‘forensic audit’ of election results before deciding next step

News

December 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Republican David Young of Van Meter plans to review all the data he can from the 2018 election results before deciding whether to run again for congress. Last month Democrat Cindy Axne of West Des Moines defeated Young’s bid for a third term, finishing about 77-hundred votes ahead of Young in the third congressional district balloting. “Anybody anywhere in the country who was just defeated should do a forensic audit, look at the numbers, look at what happened and not make any kind of emotional decision right away, but take some time and also just see what other kind of opportunities are out there,” Young told Radio Iowa. “No doors are closed.”

Young is still a voting member of congress until the end of the year. “The work is not over and so I need to get back to DC and finish out the session strong,” Young told Radio Iowa. Young says votes on the Farm Bill and federal spending are at the top of the docket when congress returns. This week’s congressional votes were postponed, due to observances in the capitol to honor former President George H.W. Bush. Young’s first job in politics was as one of two paid staffers working on Bush’s 1992 reelection campaign in Iowa.

“That’s where I kind of cut my teeth on politics and ever since then have been motivated to stay involved in the service aspect of it, really,” Young told Radio Iowa. “Campaigns are necessary, very necessary because you want to make sure people have a choice in who serves them, but I like the public policy angle. I’m kind of a wonk in that sense.”

Young has never missed a vote in a House committee or on the House floor. Three bills sponsored by Young have become law, including one which dealt with deficiencies in the suicide prevention hotline for veterans.

Adair County Sheriff’s report (12/4/18)

News

December 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater, late Monday night, released a report on one recent arrest. The Sheriff says Greenfield Police arrested 48-year old Daniel Paul Ringer, of Greenfield, on Nov. 29th, for OWI/1st offense. Ringer was taken into custody after his pickup truck was pulled over in the area of SE 4th and Noble Streets, in Greenfield, at around 7:15-p.m. last Thursday. He was released the following day on his Own Recognizance.

Area High School Basketball Scores from Monday, 12/3/18

Sports

December 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Boys Basketball

Bondurant Farrar 66, Creston 62

Boyer Valley, Dunlap 62, West Monona, Onawa 38

Girls Basketball

AC/GC 64, Grand View Christian 30

West Monona, Onawa 61, Boyer Valley, Dunlap 39

Whiting 56, Boys Town, Neb. 45

Midwest Sports Headlines: 12/4/2018

Sports

December 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

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

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Nick Ward made all 10 of his shots, scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead No. 10 Michigan State to a 90-68 win over No. 18 Iowa. The Spartans trailed for more than six minutes in the first half and were behind by as much as six before a Ward-led surge gave them a 43-33 lead at halftime. The Hawkeyes had no hope for a comeback because they missed 18 of 19 shots to open the second half.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Marial Shayok scored 20 points, Michael Jacobson had 15 with 10 rebounds and Iowa State rolled past North Dakota State 81-59 for its fourth straight win. Nick Weiler-Babb scored 11 points with eight rebounds for the Cyclones (7-1), who shot 50 percent from the floor.

UNDATED (AP) — The NFL’s handling of violence accusations against Kareem Hunt shows the league still reacts heavily based on public perception. The league and Chiefs quickly changed their approach toward the star running back after video was released showing Hunt pushing and kicking a woman at a Cleveland hotel. The league has tried to shift following its mishandling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case in 2014.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kareem Hunt went unclaimed on NFL waivers three days after he was released by the Kansas City Chiefs. The star running back was cut Friday after TMZ released a video showing him pushing and kicking a woman during a February incident at a Cleveland hotel. Police did not charge Hunt with a crime, but the Chiefs released him for being untruthful with them about what happened.

UNDATED (AP) — The NFL took a break from record-breaking offensive explosions and soaring television ratings with a speedbump of bad officiating and bad looks in Week 13. Numerous bad calls affected several games. And the league had to defend itself and its investigation after TMZ released video of Kareem Hunt hitting a woman.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Michigan’s impressive wins against ranked opponents have pushed the Wolverines to No. 5 in the latest AP Top 25 poll. The top four of the poll remained unchanged with Gonzaga at the top, followed by Kansas, Duke and Virginia. The poll also added three new teams in No. 20 Arizona State, No. 24 Nebraska and No. 25 Furman. It is Furman’s first appearance in the AP poll.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs could have been sidetracked by the controversy that engulfed now-departed running back Kareem Hunt. Instead, they seemed galvanized in a 40-33 victory in Oakland that kept them in the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. Spencer Ware and a host of others filled in admirably as the Chiefs hardly missed an offensive beat.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens are still fighting to end a three-year playoff drought even though they are riding their longest winning streak of the season. The Ravens hold a one-game lead for the sixth and final postseason spot in the AFC. Baltimore is within a half-game of the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers and rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson has emerged as a playmaker. He has led Baltimore to three straight victories since taking over for injured starter Joe Flacco.

Iowa early News Headlines: Tuesday, 12/4/2018

News

December 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Two deep-pocketed Democrats are set to travel to early presidential primary states, stoking speculation about whether they will run for president. The billionaire former mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, is set to visit three towns in Iowa on Tuesday, while billionaire investor and activist Tom Steyer will host a town hall in Charleston, South Carolina. The Iowa caucuses are traditionally the first voting for presidential nominees. South Carolina’s primary is usually the first in the South.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A complaint alleging that employees at Iowa’s workplace safety agency used a toy banana to make sexual jokes triggered the investigation that led to the removal of two top officials. The complaint was sent anonymously in July to Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Department of Administrative Services. It threatened that the allegations would be released to the media if the “disgusting” behavior wasn’t addressed. Two accused employees say the complaint was unfounded and that the toy was a stress ball.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Democratic candidate for a northeast Iowa House seat who is trailing by nine votes has won a court ruling that gives her the right to determine whether 33 absentee ballots were mailed on time. The judge did not rule Monday on whether the ballots will be counted, saying that issue could be argued in court later. Democrat Kayla Koether sued election officials who refused to count the ballots, saying they lacked a postmark that would indicate when they were mailed.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — More than 60 percent of Iowa voters cast ballots in last month’s election, the highest percentage for a midterm election in 24 years. Secretary of State Paul Pate released election details Monday showing a voter turnout of 61.55 percent. That’s the highest for a midterm election since 1994. Pate says 1,334,279 people voted, setting a state record for voters in a midterm election. The highest turnout was in southern Iowa’s Ringgold County, where 71.49 percent voted.