DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A ticket sold at a grocery store in Cedar Rapids has matched the Powerball numbers and won someone a jackpot of $241 million. Iowa Lottery officials say the ticket was sold at a Hy-Vee on Edgewood Road in Cedar Rapids. The person or people holding the ticket have yet to step forward to claim the prize from Wednesday’s drawing. The ticket matched the numbers of 7, 10, 14, 33 and 57, plus the Powerball number of 18. 
 
Iowa Lottery Chief Executive Officer Terry Rich says lottery officials encourage jackpot winners to consult financial or legal advisers before claiming such a big prize. If the ticket holder chooses to take a lump sum payout, the total is $160.3 million before taxes. After taxes, a little more than $112 million.

Heat and humidity can make for a dangerous — even deadly — combination. Today (Thursday) is Heat Awareness Day in Iowa. Jeff Johnson, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service, says Iowans can benefit from a refresher course on the risks of hot weather. “It’s intended to remind folks that in the summertime in Iowa, particularly in late June, July and early August, that we can have periods of extreme heat and humidity,” Johnson says. “That is actually a public health concern.” Johnson has some simple advice for beating the heat.

“Drinking plenty of water, avoid alcohol, slow down during the day in the heat and do your exercise early in the morning or late in the evening, and dress in light-colored clothes,” he says. “If you know of an elderly person or someone in bad health who doesn’t have air conditioning, be sure and check on them, maybe even encourage them to get to somewhere that does have air conditioning.” We’re coming off one of the warmest winters –and springs — in Iowa history, so the summer ahead could be steamy. Johnson says last summer wasn’t too brutal.

“We didn’t hit 100 in Des Moines but I think we did elsewhere in the state,” he says. “We did have some heat events. One week in July of last year, we had heat advisories out every day for a week. We did have kind of a heat wave. It wasn’t extreme like in ’95 or ’88, but we did have some heat last year.” The first day of summer is next Wednesday, June 20th. Learn more about Heat Awareness Day at www.weather.gov/dmx

(Radio Iowa)

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Heartland Cooperative Wednesday, announced he will be retiring at the end of this year. Larry Petersen informed the Co-Op Board of his decision earlier this week. Petersen has spent the last 31-years with the Heartland combined companies, and his served in the agricultural-related industries for more than 42-years. He became the General Manager of the Panora Farmers Cooperative in 1981, and is the first and only CEO of the Heartland Co-Op since its inception in 1987.

During his tenure, Heartland has grown to become one of the largest local cooperatives in the nation, according to Board President Art Churchill.  Churchill says the Heartland Board of Directors has begun the process to secure a replacement for Petersen, and they fully expect to have a new CEO in-place before Petersen’s departure on December 31st.

The Heartland Co-Op has corporate offices located in West Des Moines, and consists of a total of 51 locations in Central and Eastern Iowa. The organizations serves more than 4,500 members with operations in grain handling and marketing, fertilizer and application, Ag chemicals and application, livestock feed and processing, agricultural products, and propane.

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Police in Bedford are asking for your help in locating a red, 4-door pickup believed to be involved in an alleged abduction attempt. According to Bedford Police Chief Jeremy Holben, the driver of the pickup is wanted for questioning in connection with Wednesday’s incident.

Holben says an “older looking” male tried to entice a child to his vehicle by offering candy. The child’s mother was nearby, and escorted her child away from the scene. Chief  Holben says since the man’s intentions are unclear, authorities  want to question him about the incident. He was last seen driving the pickup in the 1100 block of Bent Street in Bedford. No other description of the vehicle is available. Anyone with information about this person in-question, is asked to phone the Bedford Police Department at 523-2128.

Other attempted child abductions were reported over the past couple of weeks in the Union County communities of Lorimor and Afton. In those instances, a man in a white van stopped children and attempted to lure them into his vehicle by asking the kids if they would like to buy a puppy, or help him locate a lost dog. A man whose vehicle matched the description given by the children was questioned, but denied any wrongdoing.

Attempts to abduct children were also reported to have occurred last month, in Perry, and Pleasant Hill.

Two Council Bluffs residents were injured when the motorcycle they were riding collided with a car Wednesday night in Council Bluffs. A passenger on the cycle, 26-year old Kristine Freeman, suffered life-threatening injuries. She, along with the driver of the 2006 Suzuki, 39-year old Jeramy McCollum, were transported to the Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, by Council Bluffs Fire and Rescue. McCollum’s injuries were not considered to be life-threatening. Officials say neither of the riders were wearing a helmet.

According to Council Bluffs Police, the accident happened just after 9:45-p.m., when a 2000 Dodge Intrepid driven by 23-year old Joshua Ourada, of Omaha, attempted to turn left onto MidAmerican Drive from northbound South 24th Street. Investigators say when he turned in front of the southbound motorcycle, the vehicles collided. Ourada was not injured.

McCollum and Freeman were ejected from the cycle. Speed and alcohol were NOT believed to be factors in the crash. Citations were being withheld, pending completion of the accident investigation.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A new study suggests cougars are again spreading across the Midwest a century after the generally reclusive predators were hunted to near extinction in much of the region. The findings by a University of Minnesota doctoral student, a Southern Illinois University wildlife ecologist and the Cougar Network are detailed in the latest Journal of Wildlife Management. The study showed 178 cougar confirmations in the Midwest and as far south of Texas between 1990 and 2008. Confirmed sightings of Midwest cougars were sporadic before 1990, when there were only a couple of big cats spotted. The study shows that number spiked to more than 30 by 2008. Sixty-seven confirmations were in Nebraska, 31 in North Dakota, 12 each in Oklahoma and Texas, 11 in South Dakota and 10 in Missouri. Other states had single-digit tallies.

Students in at least three Iowa swimming pools will be taking part in today’s (Thursday’s) attempt to set a new record for the world’s largest swimming lesson. Pools in Algona, Altoona and Harlan are among those in 46 states and 24 countries on five continents taking part in the world’s record attempt. They’ll be holding simultaneous lessons at 10 A-M. Debbi Cooper, an environmental specialist at the state health department, says the half-hour lesson will cover the basics. “For beginners, all the way down to blowing bubbles to how to stay safe in the water, never swim alone,” Cooper says. “They’ll be doing front floats, back floats and maybe even get into the crawl and back stroke and things like that.” The goal, she says, is to convince parents learning to swim is important.

Cooper says, “Drowning is the leading cause of death for children between the ages of one and five and it’s shown that if a child does not participate in swimming lessons by third grade, chances are, they never will learn to swim.”  A study from the Archive of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine showed participation in formal swimming lessons was associated with an 88-percent reduction in the risk of drowning in children between one and four. Learn more at: www.worldslargestswimminglesson.org

(Radio Iowa)

Only minor injuries were reported following a rollover accident Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 80, in Adair County. The Iowa State Patrol says 61-year old Timothy Turk, of Adair, was driving a 2003 Pontiac Sunfire eastbound on the interstate, when he reportedly blacked-out for a moment. His car entered the median and crossed into the westbound lanes of travel before Turk over-corrected. The action caused his vehicle re-enter the median and cross both eastbound lanes of traffic before it rolled over and slid into the south ditch. The accident happened at around 3:55-p.m.