United Group Insurance

Senator Grassley says President Biden’s budget is DOA

News

March 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley predicts President Biden’s just-released budget for fiscal year 2025 will need to be rejected in order to, in Grassley’s words, “rescue future generations from even greater economic harm.”

“It’s dead on arrival, D-O-A,” Grassley says. “It’ll never get a majority vote. I just think that it’s an outline that we start with, and presidents propose and Congress disposes.”

Grassley, a Republican, calls the administration’s fiscal and regulatory record “irresponsible,” saying it’s “wreaked havoc on our economy.” Were it to be approved, he says the Biden budget would be sure to yield severe long-term consequences.

“Its contents can be summed up in a single word, let’s say two words: very, very costly,” Grassley says, “three words, I guess.”

Grassley says the president’s spending plan will bring trillions of dollars in tax hikes, saying Biden is planning to let the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expire next year.

Sen. Grassley (Radio Iowa photo)

“This would hike taxes for Americans who make less than $400,000 a year, a direct violation of the president’s pledge not to increase taxes on the middle class,” Grassley says. “In fact, you know, this would be the biggest tax increase in the history of the country.”

Grassley says the country needs to reverse course and address the ballooning national debt, though he says the Biden budget would drive up that debt by $16 trillion over the next decade.

“Somebody’s going to be asking me down the road here, ‘Grassley, what are you doing about the $50 trillion national debt we have?’” he says. “Well, we can’t let that happen, but it would happen if this president’s budget went into effect.”

According to Grassley, “thanks to Bidenomics, families will pay thousands of dollars more every year just to cover higher costs of living,” and he says the budget offers “crumbs” for the Pentagon by limiting defense spending so it won’t even keep up with inflation.

CAM School Board approves Mowing Bids, Natural Gas Agreement

News

March 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Anita, Iowa) – The CAM School Board, Monday night, acted on approving various Board Policies to come before them for review, along with an AEA Purchasing Agreement for 2024-25, with regard to the Nutrition Program. Superintendent Paul Croghan said they also approved a mowing bid from A & B Construction.

Afterward, they held more discussion with regard to CAM School District facilities.

The CAM School District has gone from three buildings to two and is waiting for a final decision to go to one facility for all grades.

Croghan brought-up the topic of the FY25 School Calendar, but much of the information they need to come up with a plan is dependent on the Iowa Legislature, otherwise it’s in limbo.

 

Drake women prepare for the MVC Tournament

Sports

March 12th, 2024 by admin

The Drake women will begin a quest for a second straight Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title in the Quad Cities Friday afternoon. The top seeded and regular season champion Bulldogs will play the winner of Thursday’s game between Indiana State and Southern Illinois.

 

That’s Drake coach Allison Pohlman. One of the strengths for the Bulldogs is depth and that will be a plus when needing to win three games in three days.

 

Pohlman says the Bulldogs are focused on their first game and not the entire bracket.

 

Pohlman says one of their preseason goals was to win the tournament and return to the NCAA Tournament.

 

Drake is 26-5 overall and finished 19-1 in the Valley regular season race.

Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson talks roster management

Sports

March 12th, 2024 by admin

In the age of the transfer portal in college basketball Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson will be spending the next couple of weeks finding out who will be returning. Nearly the entire roster could return from a team that finished 19-14 after a loss to Indiana State in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

 

Jacobson says it may take a few weeks to determine what next season’s roster will look like.

 

Freeman Named B1G Freshman of the Year; 5 Hawkeyes Honored

Sports

March 12th, 2024 by admin

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa forward Owen Freeman was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a total of five Hawkeyes earned All-Big Ten honors, it was announced Tuesday by the league office.

Freeman was named the Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the league coaches along with Indiana’s Mackenzie Mgbako (Freeman was the sole honoree by the league media). The Moline, Illinois, native is the second Hawkeye in program history to earn the distinction, joining Jess Settles in 1994.

Senior Tony Perkins earned second-team All-Big Ten laurels by the coaches (and was honorable mention by the media) and junior Payton Sandfort was a third-team selection by both the media and coaches.  Sophomore Josh Dix (media), Freeman (coaches, media) and graduate Ben Krikke (media) earned honorable mention all-conference accolades.

Freeman was also selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team — Iowa’s first honoree since 2020 and seventh in the Fran McCaffery era — and Krikke was tabbed as Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient.

Freeman has been the Big Ten’s best rookie, leading the league in rebounds (203), blocks (56) and double-doubles (5), while ranking second in steals (30) and field goal percentage (.636) and third in scoring. Freeman is averaging 10.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He has been in double figures in 15 games with two 20-point contests.

Over the course of the season, Freeman earned nine Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, which are the second-most all-time in Big Ten Conference history.

Perkins has enjoyed a breakout senior season, ranking in the top 17 in the league in scoring (14.5), assists (4.9) and steals (1.7). He is one of seven players nationally to have 450+ points, 140+ assists, 130+ rebounds and 50+ steals. The Indianapolis native has scored in double figures in 27 games with eight 20-point games.

Sandfort has emerged as Iowa’s go-to scorer, leading the team in scoring (16.2 points) and rebounds (6.5). The forward has made a Big Ten-best 83 3-point field goals, while shooting 37.1 percent from distance. Sandfort made Iowa history in February, recording the first triple-double in program history, finishing with 26 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks against Penn State. He has been in double figures in 25 games with a team-best 10 20-point games and four double-doubles.

Dix garnered honorable mention honors after averaging 8.9 points on 56.6 percent shooting and 44.1 percent from 3-point range. The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native came on down the stretch, pouring in three 20-point games at the end of the regular season.

Krikke also earned honorable mention accolades after averaging 13.5 points and 4.7 rebounds during his first Big Ten season. The Valparaiso transfer has reached double figures in 21 games, including seven 20-point contest and has three double-doubles.

Iowa (18-13) heads to Minneapolis as the No. 7 seed for the TIAA Big Ten Tournament. The Hawkeyes open play Thursday, facing 10th-seeded Ohio State at 5:30 p.m. (CT) at the Target Center. The game will be televised live on BTN.

Iowa vs. Michigan Marks Most-Watched Women’s Athletic Event in Network History

Sports

March 12th, 2024 by admin

CHICAGO, Ill. – For the first time in network history, the Big Ten Network had two women’s athletic events bring in over one million viewers. On Saturday, March 9, the semifinal matchup between Iowa and Michigan delivered 1,075,000 viewers, making it the most-watched women’s athletic event in BTN history. The game between Iowa and Penn State on Friday, March 8, saw 1,040,000 viewers tune in to the quarterfinal matchup.

The two tournament games rank as the second and third most-watched basketball games in BTN history. The all-time record of 1.2 million viewers was set during the 2022 men’s tournament in a game between Michigan State and Wisconsin on March 11, 2022.

The previous record for a women’s athletic event of 657,000 viewers was set earlier this year on Feb. 8, 2024, in a women’s basketball matchup between Iowa and Penn State.

For the third consecutive season, Big Ten regular season women’s basketball and the TIAA Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament were the most watched in Big Ten Network history. Viewership of the TIAA Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament on BTN was up +141% year-over-year, averaging 361,000 viewers per game.

2023-24 regular season women’s basketball coverage on the Big Ten Network averaged 101,000 viewers per broadcast, a year-over-year increase of +46%.

All viewership data is attributed to Nielsen Media Research.

Ames gun dealership broken into this (Tuesday) morning

News

March 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Ames, Iowa) – Police in Ames report a gun dealership was broken into this (Tuesday) morning (March 12, 2024). Authorities say at approximately 5:07-a.m., the Ames Public Safety Communication – 911 Center received a call from Per Mar Security, regarding the front store motion alarm being activated at Theisen’s, 1315 S Dayton Avenue.
Officers arrived on scene and found the front doors were smashed. Access was gained into the store and an undisclosed number of firearms were stolen.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Ames Police Department at (515) 239-5133 or the anonymous tip line (515) 239-5533. You may also contact Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa at (515) 223-1400. Online anonymous tips may be submitted to www.crimestoppersofcentraliowa.com.

John Deere announces production worker lay-offs

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – John Deere says it will lay off almost 150 production workers in Ankeny in the coming months. On Friday, 150 production employees were placed on ‘indefinite layoff.’ This will take place through April and May.

Around 17-hundred total employees work at the Ankeny site. Most of them perform maintenance or production jobs.

Atlantic Chamber announces July 22nd RAGBRAI featured band

News

March 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic) The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce has announced the featured band for ® RAGBRAI event in July. Pork Tornadoes are an Iowa-based band that’s been called the number one party band in Iowa, and a RAGBRAI favorite. Pork Tornadoes will take to the stage from 9-until 11-p.m. during RAGBRAI’s overnight stay in town on July 22nd.

Pork Tornadoes (from their Facebook page)

In addition, there will be live music the entire day. In the coming weeks, the Atlantic RAGBRAI committee will announce a new band each day on the RAGBRAI Atlantic Facebook page.

Montgomery County Auditor reminder about property tax statements

News

March 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Montgomery County Auditor Jill Ozuna reminds resident/business property owners that a recent law change (HF-718) requires county auditors to mail a statement to county taxpayers by March 20 with state-specified information related to proposed local government budgets and proposed property tax rates. (Iowa Code 24.2A) The information is for taxes payable in September 2024 and March 2025.

Ozuna says you should receive a statement if you expect to receive a property tax bill in September. The statement is not a property tax bill. It includes data for proposed city, school district and county budgets but does not include proposed budgets for smaller taxing authorities, such as the community college, assessor’s office, townships, and agricultural extension service.
The budget statement will include information regarding school, county, and city proposed tax rates as well as information about scheduled public hearings regarding the proposed tax rates.

The budget statement will include the following information:
• Date, time, and location of public hearings to consider proposed property tax rates for next fiscal year
• Phone number and website (if applicable) for each associated taxing authority
• Current, effective, and proposed tax rate information
• Comparison of current, effective, and proposed tax rates
• How current taxes levied by the school, county and city are distributed
• Comparison of how taxes would be distributed in the current and proposed budget years

Montgomery County Courthouse (Iowa)

Additional information regarding the budget statement will be made available online at https://dom.iowa.gov/property-taxes on or after March 20, 2024.