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Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the Nishna Valley: Wed., Dec. 13, 2023

Weather

December 13th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 46. S @ 5 mph this afternoon.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 25. South southeast wind around 5 mph.

Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, with a high near 51. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tom. Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy w/a 20% chance of rain. Low around 32.

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 44.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 39. The Low was 16. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 45 and the Low was 28. The Record High on December 13th in Atlantic, was 65 in 1921. The Record Low was -20 in 1961. Sunrise is at 7:37. Sunset at 4:50.

Posted in Weather |

SBA loans to Iowa businesses dropped during 2023

News

December 13th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Small Business Administration is wrapping up the year reporting a significant drop in both the number of loans made to Iowa businesses and the overall dollar amount approved. Jayne Armstrong, district director of the S-B-A in Iowa, attributes the fall to two key elements — bounding interest rates, and the fact so much money was put out during the pandemic years through grants and forgivable loans.

Armstrong says, “There’s just not as much demand in the small business community, but also there’s been a little bit of tightening, particularly in different industry sectors.” The number of S-B-A-guaranteed loan approvals made in Iowa during the past year reached 340, down from 466 loans last year, while the amount approved dropped from more than 242-million dollars last year to 139-million this year. Armstrong notes, that 139-million figure is still a very significant amount of money that was pumped into start-up and expanding Iowa businesses.

“We’re here, we’re advocates. You’re going to have ups and downs and different cycles through different economic periods. You’re not going to increase your dollar volume every single year,” Armstrong says. “Sometimes, a $10,000 loan to one business means as much to one business as a $5 million loan does to another business.” As a direct result of S-B-A loans, she says more than 16-hundred jobs were created in Iowa and nearly 19-hundred more were retained. Armstrong isn’t particularly worried about the year-end figures, as she says the S-B-A continues to play a critical role in helping Iowa small business owners access capital.

“It will get back on track,” Armstrong says. “We went through some ups and downs with the last recession between 2009 and 2013, so it’s just a cycle that will happen.” Of the 340 loans approved in Iowa during the fiscal year, 208 of them went to new business start-ups or to finance changes in ownership, which are considered new businesses by the agency.

sba.gov

Posted in News |

DeSantis accuses Trump of being flip-flopper on abortion issue

News

December 13th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis says former President Trump has an inconsistent record on abortion. During a C-N-N town hall in Des Moines last (Tuesday) night, DeSantis accused Trump of being a flip flopper. DeSantis pointed to Trump’s remarks at a pro-life rally in 2020, when he said all life is a gift from God, then DeSantis cited Trump saying this fall that a six-week abortion ban — like the one Governor DeSantis signed in Florida — was a terrible mistake.

DeSantis also commented on the Texas Supreme Court’s rejection of a woman’s request for an abortion under the medical exception clause to that state’s six-week abortion ban. DeSantis said the woman faced an incredibly difficult medical situation. DeSantis said policymakers have to “approach such issues with compassion.”

DeSantis listed Florida’s abortion ban exceptions if an abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother or in cases when there’s a fatal fetal abnormality.

Posted in News |

CAM Cougars find rhythm in Boyer Valley

Sports

December 12th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

The CAM Cougars boys basketball team shot well in their win Tuesday night  72-59 at Boyer Valley. The Cougars and Bulldogs battled early in the game and exchanging leads 5 times in the first quarter. The Cougars led 19-16 at the end of the first quarter and the margin of points was also similar at halftime. CAM then pushed the lead to 10 by the end of the third and led by as many as 19 down the stretch.

Four Cougars finished in double figures on the night and Head Coach Ian Hunt thought the team moved the ball well on the offensive end.

Chase Jahde led all scorers in the game with 17 points, 14 of those coming in the first half. Coach Hunt thought Jahde had a great game slashing to open spots in the Bulldogs zone and wants to see the high scoring continue for Friday’s home game against Paton-Churdan.

Collin Bower finished with 15 points and Ryan Bower had 13 for the Cougars. CAM improves to 2-2 on the season overall.

The Bulldogs were led by 14 points from Ben Lantz. Boyer Valley slides to 1-4 on the year.

Posted in Sports |

CAM Girls basketball controls Boyer Valley

Sports

December 12th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

The CAM Cougars girls basketball team looked strong with a road win over the Boyer Valley Bulldogs on Tuesday night 66-41. The Cougars used a 7-0 run to start the first quarter followed immediately by an 12-0 run early in the second quarter to blow the game open. CAM led 18-12 at the end of the first and grew the lead to 23 by half at 39-16. The Cougars led by as many as 28 down the stretch.

The Cougars were led by 29 points from Eva Steffensen. Two other players finished in double figures with Meredith Rich dropping down 14 and Kiera Nichols chipped in 10 points.

Boyer Valley got 15 points from Lauren Malone in the loss. CAM Head Coach Joe Wollum liked the effort and accuracy from Eva Steffensen on Tuesday night.

CAM improves to 5-1 on the early season and will host Paton-Churdan on Friday Night. With their return home, Coach Wollum noted that he would like to see the same offensive ability Friday.

Boyer Valley falls drops to 1-6 and will host Glidden-Ralston-Ralston on the 15th.

Posted in Sports |

Tuesday’s Area High School Boy’s Basketball Scoreboard

Sports

December 12th, 2023 by admin

Hawkeye Ten Conference:
Glenwood 56, Harlan Community 46
Norwalk @ Lewis Central
East Mills @ Red Oak
Kuemper Catholic @ Atlantic

Western Iowa Conference:
Underwood 77, Logan-Magnolia 34
Treynor 75, Tri-Center 53
Audubon 64, Riverside 49
Missouri Valley @ AHSTW

Rolling Valley Conference:
West Harrison 75, Paton-Churdan 56
CAM 72, Boyer Valley 59
Woodbine 62, Glidden-Ralston 48
Coon Rapids-Bayard @ Exira-EHK

Corner Conference:
Griswold 45, Hamburg 39
Stanton 95, Essex 65
Sidney @ Fremont-Mills

Raccoon River Conference:
Ballard 50, Carlisle 40
Bondurant-Farrar 50, Boone 29
Carroll 50, Winterset 42
North Polk @ ADM

Pride of Iowa Conference:
Bedford 72, Southwest Valley 48
Central Decatur 56, Martensdale-St Marys 55
Lenox 65, Nodaway Valley 42
Southeast Warren 69, Wayne 67
Twin Cedars @ East Union

West Central Conference:
Van Meter 67, Madrid 66
Des Moines Christian 72, Woodward-Granger 29
Ogden 60, Pleasantville 49
Panorama 85, Interstate-35  48
Earlham 59, West Central Valley 54

Posted in Sports |

Tuesday’s Area High School Girl’s Basketball Scores

Sports

December 12th, 2023 by admin

Hawkeye Ten Conference:
Lewis Central 65, #3 Norwalk 58
#14 Kuemper Catholic 61, Atlantic 51
#7 Harlan Community 66, Glenwood 44
Clarinda 67, Grand View Christian 34
Creston @ Shenandoah

Western Iowa Conference:
Underwood 57, Logan-Magnolia 37
#14 Treynor 56, Tri-Center 33
Missouri Valley @ AHSTW

Rolling Valley Conference:
West Harrison 42, Paton-Churdan 27
#11 CAM 66, Boyer Valley 41
#15 Exira-EHK 48, #9 Coon Rapids-Bayard 42
#5 Woodbine @ Glidden-Ralston

Corner Conference:
Fremont-Mills 61, Sidney 18
Griswold 50, Hamburg 38
Stanton 70, Essex 22

Raccoon River Conference:
#5 North Polk 49, ADM 20
Carlisle 59, Ballard 39
Bondurant-Farrar 62, Boone 26
Winterset 47, Carroll 36

Pride of Iowa Conference:
Bedford 38, Southwest Valley 34
#3 Martensdale-St Marys 79, Central Decatur 41
#5 Nodaway Valley 81, Lenox 48
Wayne 39, Southeast Warren 32

West Central Conference:
Van Meter 59, Madrid 17
#3 Des Moines Christian 52, Woodward-Granger 23
#3 Panorama 58, Interstate-35  20
#10 Earlham 37, West Central Valley 31
ACGC 44, IKM-Manning 23
Pleasantville @ Ogden

Posted in Sports |

Timberwolves come up short on the road at Bedford

Sports

December 12th, 2023 by admin

Bedford defeated Southwest Valley in a back and forth game 38-34 in Bedford Tuesday night. The teams were tied at 8 after 1 quarter, Bedford led by 4 at half, Southwest Valley led by 2 after 3 quarters and Bedford ended up prevailing by 4. There were 5 lead changes in the game.

Hailey Randall scored 11 points as the Timberwolves top scorer. MacKenzie Fast nearly had a double double with 9 points and 10 rebounds. Ada Lund had 7 points and 6 steals. Natalia Zimmerman had 3 points, with 2 points from Sierra Pearson and Maddie Bevington. Bevington added 8 rebounds and 7 steals. Also playing for the Timberwolves were Alyssa Randall and Lydia Forsythe.
“This was a tight game that went back and forth all night. We put up 61 shots tonight and had good looks at the basket but only made 12 of them. We did a lot of things right in this game but needed to make baskets when we had the opportunity. We will shoot better as this season continues,” said Coach Mike Cormack. Coach Kristin Fast added the team did a nice job of interior defense.
The Timberwolves fall to 1-4 on the season and 0-3 in the Pride of Iowa while Bedford improves to 4-3 on the season.
The Timberwolves Junior Varsity lost 20-18 to Bedford. Trailing 10-0 at half, they made a furious run back in the second half to close the gap to the final 2 point margin.
Next up the Timberwolves Varsity is a home conference game against East Union at 6 pm at the Southwest Valley Middle School in Villisca. This is their last game before break. The Junior Varsity plays next Monday at 5 pm against East Mills at home in Corning at the Activity Center for their final action of the season.

Posted in Sports |

The Wheelers Roll On Past Riverside

Sports

December 12th, 2023 by admin

The Audubon Wheelers showed up big time Tuesday night as they defeated the Riverside Bulldogs 64-49 in a Western Iowa Conference matchup. The Wheelers set the tone for the night on the defensive end of the floor. Riversides Grady Jeppesen was averaging 28 points per game going into Tuesday night, but the Wheelers wouldn’t let him get anywhere near that average. Sophomore forward Carson Wessel got the assignment of guarding Jeppesen, but head coach Darran Miller made the decision to run a box and one defensively to make sure the Wheelers wouldn’t allow Jeppesen to get anything going offensively and the Bulldogs paid for it. Wessel held Jeppesen to zero field goals in the first half and just one point coming on a free throw. Coach Darran Miller gave high praise to his sophomore defender but also stated it was a team effort tonight.

The Bulldogs made a run to start the second half and cut the lead down to just two points, but the Wheelers responded with a run of their own to push the lead back to double figures thanks to Aaron Olsen and Edward Miller who both scored 15+ to lead all scorers tonight. But potentially the two biggest shots in the quarter came from Mason Steckler who buried back-to-back threes and pushed the lead all the way up to 16 points late in the third quarter. The Wheelers would go on to take a 15-point win as they beat the Bulldogs 64-49 and held one of the top scorers in the state to just five points and only one made field goal that came with 1:25 left in the game.

This is the first conference win of the season for Audubon and their fourth straight victory over Riverside. Head Coach Darran Miller said this is a huge confidence booster for his team.

The Wheelers improve to 2-4 on the season and will be back in action Thursday night as they travel to Boyer Valley. The Bulldogs drop to 4-2 on the season and will be back in action on next Tuesday night the 19th when they travel to Treynor.

Posted in Sports |

Gov. Reynolds Announces Additional Investment in Iowa’s Child Care Providers

News

December 12th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES – Today (Tuesday), Governor Reynolds announced the final round of Covid-era stipends for  licensed and registered child care providers, including Child Care Centers and Child Development Homes. The application period begins today through January 12, 2024.

“Child care is the catalyst that drives economic growth,” said Governor Reynolds. “At a time when most parents work outside the home, access to reliable, safe, and affordable child care allows parents to pursue their careers and contribute to the productivity and growth of our economy.”

Award amounts will range from $10,000 to $50,000 based on program size and number of applications received.  Funds can be used for one-time expenses related to employee recruitment and retention, minor renovations, or upgrading equipment. Stipend application and more information about the funding can be found on the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website.

Iowa is committed to multi-faceted solutions to child care challenges to provide quality care for children, keep parents working, and drive economic development.  In addition to issuing more than $218 million in Stabilization Grants directly to child care providers during the pandemic, HHS has launched programs to fund recruitment and retention bonuses, allow child care workforce to qualify for Child Care Assistance, and to promote partnerships between child care centers and local businesses to support wage enhancements for child care providers.

HHS has also partnered with Iowa Workforce Development to improve access to quality child care options. More than $35 million in Child Care Challenge grants have been awarded to regional and community projects to create more than 4,880 new child care slots across the state. In addition, the Child Care Business Incentive grant program encourages employers to offer child care as part of their benefits package. Funds support infrastructure investments to build or expand child care capacity, or support arrangements between employers and child care providers to expand and reserve slots for their employees’ children. To date, the $27 million in grant awards has generated a $58 million total investment and more than 1,860 new child care slots.

For more information about child care programs, visit the HHS website.

Posted in News |