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Despite law changes lottery winners will face big tax bills

News

January 5th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — With Powerball and Mega Millions lottery games offering huge jackpots, some winners will also soon face enormous tax bills. Lowered federal income tax rates offer some relief, as the top rate would drop from 39.6 percent to 37 percent. But in most states, those changes are offset by limits on deducting state tax from federal taxes.

As Steven Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Tax Policy Center, puts it, “The new tax bill will not give any benefit to most lottery winners.” There are exceptions, as 10 states don’t tax lottery winnings. But in the others, the newly rich won’t get much of a break. The jackpot in tonight’s (Friday night’s) Mega Millions drawing is $445 million. The Powerball game’s top prize has reached $550 million for Saturday night’s drawing.

JAMES “JIM” H. THOMAS, 84, of Atlantic (Svcs. 01/10/2018)

Obituaries

January 5th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

JAMES “JIM” H. THOMAS, 84, of Atlantic, died Thursday, Jan. 4th at the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic. Memorial services for JAMES THOMAS will be held Wednesday, January 10th at 11:00am at the Hockenberry Family Care Funeral Home in Atlantic.

Visitation with the family will be held Wednesday, January 10th from 10:00am-11:00am prior to services at Hockenberry Family Care Funeral Home in Atlantic.

Burial will be in the Oakwood Cemetery in Lewis.

JIM THOMAS is survived by:

Wife: Gladys Thomas of Atlantic.

Children: Rodney Thomas. Gregory (Marsha) Thomas. Kerri (Jayson) Waller.

Step-Daughters: Linda (Brett) Fay. Brenda Buboltz.

7 Grandchildren

11 Great-Grandchildren

Iowa freshman Spencer Lee to compete against Michigan State

Sports

January 5th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The redshirt is coming off of Spencer Lee and he will compete at 125-pounds tonight (Friday night), when the Iowa wrestling team hosts Michigan State. Iowa’s prize recruit had ACL surgery on his right knee in March and has yet to compete in a varsity match. (click on the left side of the audio bar to hear comments)

That’s Iowa coach Tom Brands who says decisions like this are made all the time but they don’t get as much attention.

Brands says Lee will be able to handle all the added attention.

(Learfield Sports)

Area high school basketball scores from Thu., 1/4/18

Sports

January 5th, 2018 by admin

BOYS BASKETBALL

Hawkeye Ten Conference

Clarinda 62, Essex 38
Red Oak 66, Underwood 60
Winterset 68, Creston 53

Western Iowa Conference

Audubon 73, Griswold 57

Corner Conference

Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 46, Sidney 35
Nebraska City Lourdes, Neb. 70, Fremont-Mills 27

Pride of Iowa Conference

Ankeny Christian Academy 77, Martensdale St. Marys 69
Central Decatur 63, Wayne 36
Diagonal 46, Lenox 37
Murray 60, East Union, Afton 43

 

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Hawkeye Ten Conference

Clarinda 60, Essex 37
Creston 63, I-35 23
St. Albert, Council Bluffs 70, Tri-Center, Neola 26
Underwood 60, Red Oak 54

Western Iowa Conference

Griswold 45, Audubon 36

Corner Conference

Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 61, Sidney 51
Nebraska City Lourdes, Neb. 38, Fremont Mills 22

Pride of Iowa Conference

Central Decatur 71, Wayne 18
Murray 39, East Union 27

Midwest Sports Headlines, 1/5/2018

Sports

January 5th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

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

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Keita Bates-Diop scored 27 points with 13 rebounds, Jae’Sean Tate had 18 points and Ohio State cruised past Iowa 92-81 on Thursday night, its seventh win in its last eight games. Kam Williams scored 13 points for the surging Buckeyes (12-4, 3-0 Big Ten), who also notched their sixth road win in their last eight tries at Iowa.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Alize Johnson had 24 points and 20 rebounds and J.T. Miller scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting to help Missouri State beat Northern Iowa 62-55. Johnson has two of the nation’s five games this season with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs and Missouri Western State University agreed to a deal that will keep the NFL franchise on the school’s campus for training camp next season and potentially beyond. Their contract expired after training camp this past fall.

Police arrest man stuck in Sioux City home’s window well

News

January 5th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Police say a man suspected of threatening a Sioux City resident and trying to break into the victim’s house had to be rescued from a window well in the home.

Television station KCAU reports that police were called to the house after 1 a.m. Thursday and arrested 51-year-old Levin Nichols on a charge of attempted burglary. Police say Nichols had threatened to kill a resident of the home, then kicked out a basement window to the bedroom of the person he had threatened. Police say when he tried to enter through the broken window, he became stuck in the window well.

Police say Nichols was still stuck when officers arrived, and firefighters had to remove him. He’s being held in the Woodbury County Jail on $52,000 bond.

Iowa early News Headlines: Friday, Jan. 5th 2018

News

January 5th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — With Powerball and Mega Millions lottery games offering huge jackpots, some winners will face enormous tax bills. Lowered federal income tax rates offer some relief, as the top rate would drop from 39.6 percent to 37 percent. But in most states, that is offset by new limits on deducting state taxes from federal taxes. There are exceptions, as 10 states don’t tax lottery winnings. Friday’s Mega Millions game has a $445 million jackpot. The Powerball game’s top prize Saturday is $550 million.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Arizona man who was arrested, transported cross-country and jailed for a robbery that he didn’t commit filed a lawsuit against the Iowa county and prosecutor responsible for charging him. Joseph McBride spent two months in custody after authorities arrested in Phoenix in August. McBride was among three people charged for a home invasion in his former hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, even though he had proof he was far away. Investigators never spoke with him before his arrest.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds says she followed the law when she tapped emergency funds last year to offset a budget shortfall. Reynolds said “yes” to reporters Thursday when asked if she followed the law in transferring $13 million from a reserve fund. Democratic Rep. Chris Hall claims in a lawsuit the Republican governor illegally transferred the money because certain conditions weren’t met. Reynolds says the suit is politically motivated. She spoke at a legislative forum hosted by The Associated Press.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — The trial of a Dubuque man accused of stabbing to death his girlfriend is scheduled to begin Monday. Court records say 25-year-old Fontae Buelow has pleaded not guilty to charges of cocaine possession and first-degree murder. He’s accused of killing 21-year-old Samantha Link on March 31 at a home in Dubuque. He’s told officers she assaulted him as they argued on March 31 and then stabbed herself in the stomach.

Bedford woman injured in Page County collision

News

January 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

One person was injured and charges are pending, in connection with an accident that occurred just before 8-a.m. Thursday, in Page County. Sheriff’s officials say the accident happened at the intersection of 2nd Street and Highway 71, in Shambaugh. The investigation determined 16-year old Jozey K McCoy, of Shambaugh, was driving a 2003 Chevy Cavalier eastbound on 2nd Street, and had pulled onto Highway 71 to turn north on 71. 37-year old Casey L Riedel, of Bedford, was driving a 2001 Ford Taurus southbound on Highway 71, just north of the intersection with 2nd Street.

McCoy said that she didn’t see Riedel when she pulled onto Highway 71. Riedel said that she saw McCoy, applied the brakes, and tried to steer to the shoulder, but McCoy and Riedel’s vehicle’s side swiped each other, causing disabling damage to both vehicles.

McCoy was uninjured.  Riedel was transported to Clarinda Regional Health Center by Clarinda Ambulance Service with undisclosed injuries. Charges are pending at this time. The Page County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Clarinda Fire Department, Clarinda Police Department, and the Clarinda Ambulance service.

Pott. County Sheriff warns of more phone scam calls

News

January 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker issued a statement Thursday afternoon, saying his department has received additional complaints about a slight variation of a phone scam we told you about last Friday. Danker says during the scam, someone calls stating that they are a Deputy and will tell you that there is a warrant for your arrest and unless you buy gift or I Tunes cards, then give them the information on the back, they will have a Deputy come arrest you.

The Sheriff says “Please do not fall for the scam, do not give the callers personal information and especially do not give them access to any money in any way. We urge anyone with questions to call their local law enforcement agency.”

Last week, Danker said the Pott. County Communications Center and the Sheriff’s Office had received multiple calls from citizens, who reported they had been contacted by a person who said they were with the Sheriff’s Department, and that a resident had missed a court appearance. The caller said that unless the resident paid a fine, a Deputy would come to their residence and arrest them.

Danker says the Sheriff’s Office will NEVER call you and demand any type of payment for a fine or warrant, in lieu of arrest.

Red Oak and Urbandale Kmart stores to close soon

News

January 4th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Sears Holdings, the parent company of Sears and Kmart stores, announced Thursday they will be closing more than 100 more stores, including two in Iowa. One is located in Red Oak, the other in Urbandale, leaving the store in Council Bluffs as the only Kmart in the area.  According to officials in Red Oak, about 30-people working at the Kmart Store there will lose their jobs. A total of 64 Kmart locations and 39 Sears stores are affected, nationwide, including the Sears store in Waterloo. Sears stores in Atlantic, Carroll and Clarinda are not affected. The closings are scheduled to occur between early March and April of this year, with liquidation sales at some stores set to begin as early at January 12th.

The announcement comes after Sears Holdings announced the closing of 45 Kmart stores and and 18 Sears stores after the 2017 holiday shopping season. The company announced in early November that closures would affect employees in 26 states, and that the stores would remain open until late January 2018. Prior to that, Sears Holdings had announced closures at 308 Kmart and Sears stores, with Sears CEO Eddie Lampert saying, “This is part of a strategy both to address losses from unprofitable stores and to reduce the square footage of other stores because many of them are simply too big for our current needs.”

In a statement regarding the current closures, Sears Holding said, “We will continue to close some unprofitable stores as we transform our business model so that our physical store footprint and our digital capabilities match the needs and preferences of our members.” Sears did not say how many of its employees would be impacted by the latest round of store closings, but they said most of those lost would be part-time positions.