The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.0MB)
Subscribe: RSS
The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.0MB)
Subscribe: RSS
The president of the North Carolina based company that’s building a pork processing plant in north-central Iowa is providing an update on the $240 million project. Ron Prestage says a lot of work this summer was done “below ground” on the site in southern Wright County. “We’ve already dug one of the two wells,” Prestage said. “That well is almost 2,000 feet deep and will produce 2,000 gallons of water a minute. So, it’s a big well. We’re going to do another one this winter, primarily as a backup.”
Just over a year ago, the Prestage Foods project near Eagle Grove was awarded $11.5 million in state tax credits. Construction of the actual buildings on the site is now underway. Prestage expects the buildings will be done and equipment installed by NEXT fall, but the processing of animals won’t happen right away. “As you can imagine, having to train a new workforce, get all the equipment fine tuned – there’s a lot of computerization that’s going to be in this plant,” Prestage said. “It’s going to take a lot of work and coordination to get all of those things operating smoothly.”
The first hogs to be killed in the plant will likely come in November of 2018, according to Prestage. The facility will be one of the larger employers in the area. “There are going to be 1,000 employees working directly for us, but that doesn’t include a lot of other supportive roles that’ll be played by truck drivers and a lot of other people,” Prestage said.
Prestage chose to locate the pork plant near Eagle Grove after Mason City officials rejected plans for the plant in their city.
(Radio Iowa)
A grant writing workshop is scheduled to be presented in Red Oak September 13th for representatives of nonprofits, local government, and schools. Participants across Southwest Iowa are encouraged to attend.
Grant Writing 101, a workshop sponsored by ISU Extension and Outreach – Montgomery County, will provide hands-on training in seeking and writing successful grant applications. The workshop will be presented from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 13, at Wilson Performing Arts Center, 300 Commerce Drive, Red Oak.
The cost of the workshop is $15, which includes a light meal that will be served at the start of the program. Registration is required by noon, September 11; call the Montgomery County Extension office at 623-2592 to register.
Participants are asked to bring a laptop computer or iPad/tablet device, if possible, to use to search online for grants and other resources during the workshop. The training will be presented by Jane Nolan Goeken, a Community and Economic Development program specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Goeken has more than 29 years of experience working with federal, state, local and foundation grant programs. In addition to writing successful grant applications, she has served as a grant application reviewer and administrator, and has helped set up grant award and review programs.
Goeken will assist workshop participants in exploring various public and private funding sources, and provide instruction and tips on planning projects and writing successful grant applications. For more information about the workshop, contact Jane Goeken at jngoeken@iastate.edu or 712/240-2504; or Rachel Bergren, Montgomery County Extension Program Coordinator, at rbergren@iastate.edu or 623-2592.
A John Deere executive says expanding U.S. trade is not just important for manufacturers, it’s important for consumers around the globe. “Today, about 15 or 16 percent of the world population relies on trade to solve their food needs. By 2050, that’s estimated to be north of 50 percent.”
Jim Field is president of John Deere’s Agriculture and Turf Division. He says it’s “vital” to enhance trade relationships. “If you look at the U.S. and you say there’s about 325 million acres of stable cropland and you project forward what is going to be the productivity enhancements and improvements that we would suggest we should see over the next 40 years and then you project forward what’s going to happen with domestic consumption here in the U.S., export has got to be part of the game,” Field says, “because we’re going to overproduce.”
Field says expanding exports of U.S. ag commodities is a security issue as well, since hunger and famine spawn instability. The U.S. currently has “free trade” agreements with 20 of the world’s 195 counties.
(Radio Iowa)
Labor Day (Today): Partly cloudy. NW @ 10-20. High near 80.
Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 48. NW @ 10-20 diminishing late.
Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High around 70. NW winds @ 15-25.
Wednesday: Mostly Sunny. High 68.
Thursday: P/Cldy. High 70
Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 84. Our (24-hour) Low at 7-a.m. will be 53. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 79 and the low was 64. The Record High in Atlantic on this date was 101 in 1918. The Record Low for this date was 33 in 1891.
An Anamosa police officer was killed in a crash this weekend. 40-year old Mitchell Kelchen, of Bellevue, died when the SUV he was riding in was struck head-on by a mini-van.The accident happened Saturday morning around 7:30 am on Highway 62 in Jackson County. The Iowa State Patrol says Kelchen’s wife, 40-year old Tina Kelchen, was driving their SUV southbound when the northbound mini-van, driven by 60-year old Marjorie Hendrickson of Bellevue, crossed the centerline and struck them head-on. Officer Kelchen was killed.
Tina Kelchen and Hendrickson were both injured and airlifted to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Mitchell Kelchen had been with the Anamosa Police Department for about a year, having served with the Dyersville Police Department prior to that. He was a 1994 graduate of Western Dubuque High School. Numerous law enforcement agencies across the state have expressed their sympathy.
The Anamosa Police Department posted a Facebook photo Saturday of a police squad vehicle with a blue stripe on the windshield parked in front of the police station, where the community has been laying flowers in honor of their fallen officer.
(Radio Iowa)
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — When a major tech company announced recently it planned to build two data centers in Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds saw it as a clear win. She touted the deal with Apple Inc. as one that will create jobs, spur economic growth and elevate Iowa’s status. Yet the project includes a price tag of $208 million in state and local tax breaks, a detail that has Reynolds facing criticism for backing it amid a state budget crunch. It’s become political fodder for next year’s gubernatorial race.
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Equipment manufacturer John Deere has hired about 250 workers in Dubuque since last fall thanks to surging demand for new products. The Telegraph Herald reports that the John Deere Dubuque Works facility employs 1,300 production workers, its highest total since 2000. There are another 1,300 employees at the plant who work in other capacities such as engineering, sales and marketing. General Manager Mark Dickson says he predicts adding another 50 workers by October.
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former West Des Moines preschool employee convicted for showing up to work drunk is back behind bars after officials say she showed up drunk to her sentencing. The Des Moines Register reports that at 43-year-old Angela Hircock’s sentencing Thursday, a breath test showed her blood alcohol level at .178. The legal limit to drive is .08. Her probation sentence was then set aside and she was arrested.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Police are investigating after officials at a Waterloo mosque say four people were found setting fires in the mosque’s parking lot. Ibrahim Shehata, president of the Islamic Foundation of Iowa in Waterloo, told the Courier that four people _two adults and two children _ were found Wednesday night using an accelerant to light cans on fire in the parking lot, including near the entrance door and some vehicles. No one was injured and no damage was reported.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The owner of the Kansas City Chiefs is being accused in a lawsuit of improperly receiving hundreds of millions in state investment money through a kickback deal with New Mexico officials.
The Kansas City Star reports Sunday the New Mexico State Investment Council filed the lawsuit late last month against Clark Hunt and HFV Asset Management over the politically influenced investment deals. Hunt didn’t comment to the newspaper on the lawsuit Sunday morning. Hunt’s father, Lamar, founded the Chiefs franchise and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The lawsuit says Hunt made a deal 12 years ago with two men with political connections who promised to steer New Mexico investment money to a hedge fund in exchange for payments. Hunt was a partner in the hedge fund.
New Mexico awarded $300 million to the hedge fund and paid millions in management fees. The lawsuit said one of the investment funds lost $13 million during the period. “Hunt sought to gain unfair advantage by paying for influence over the process,” New Mexico officials said in the lawsuit.
The accusations are tied to the pay-to-play scandal that took place during administration of former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. New Mexico has already negotiated more than $30 million in settlements related to the pay-to-play investment scandal.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Harrison Bader hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the sixth after Madison Bumgarner homered in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants 7-3 on Sunday to gain ground again in the wild-card race.
Paul DeJong hit a solo homer in the fourth for the first St. Louis hit and Jose Martinez followed with a drive to nearly the same spot over the left-field fence. It was the seventh time the Cardinals hit consecutive homers this year.
Luke Weaver (4-1) struck out nine over seven innings to just miss a third straight start with double-digit Ks, helping St. Louis move within three games of Colorado for the NL’s second wild card.
The Denison-Schleswig girls and Thomas Jefferson boys took titles at the Abraham Lincoln 49th Annual Lynx Cross Country Invitational on Saturday in Council Bluffs.
Girls Individual
Girls Team
Boys Individual
Boys Team