The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson
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The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.1MB)
Subscribe: RSS
Monday was Media Day as John Deere celebrates 20 years as the title sponsor of the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic near the Quad Cities. Ryan Moore is the defending champion of the John Deere Classic. He has two top ten finishes this season, including a tie for ninth at The Masters. Last year’s win was his fifth on tour but says it is not something he dwells on.
This year’s John Deere Classic is July 13-16.
(Learfield Sports)
Iowa baseball coach Rick Heller believes the Hawkeyes will need to win the Big Ten Tournament to advance to an NCAA Regional. The Hawkeyes are 34-19 and tied for fourth place in the Big Ten. They open the conference tournament Wednesday night in Bloomington, Indiana, against Maryland.
Heller says the Hawkeyes’ schedule is not strong enough to secure an at-large bid. He believes at least four Big Ten teams will play in a regional. Heller says the depth in the Big Ten has improved to the point that the tournament should expand.
Regular season champion Nebraska is the top seed.
(Learfield Sports)
The Iowa State University Extension Department has released the results of its first horticulture survey since 2000. Arlene Enderton with the extension Outreach Local Foods Program, says the survey includes crops that can be eaten that are grown to sell to others. “It would include sweet corn, any fruits or vegetables, also it included nuts. And it included pumpkins, even though people don’t usually eat them, you could eat them. We also included honey and maple syrup — which are not horticultural products — but they are specialty crops,” according to Enderton.
The top five crops were tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, green beans, and winter squash. Sweet corn was the top crop in the last survey in 2000, followed by tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, and sweet peppers. Enderton says the survey gives them a picture of the types of growers. “We found that the vast majority of them had been growing horticultural crops for less than ten years. So according to the U-S-D-A that would make them beginning farmers, assuming they hadn’t been growing other types of things prior to growing horticulture type crops,” Enderton says. “The median farm size was two acres, which means that half of them are farming on less than two acres and half of them are growing on more than two acres. The largest was eight acres.”
She says grower retirements appear to have impacted the industry. “The average acreage per farmer went down, so we are getting the impression that our farms are smaller today and it appears that some of our larger horticultural farmers may have retired or gone out of business since 2000. We saw a lot fewer of the really large farms — which would be farms that had 20 acres or more,” Enderton says.
She says while farmers are retiring, there appears to be many people stepping in to take over. “One thing that I thought was really encouraging is there is a lot of new farmers. There’s a lot of interest in growing horticultural crops, “Enderton says. “I think that’s a really good thing. I think there’s a potential for a lot of growth.”
About half the growers market their products exclusively through direct-to-consumer markets including farmers markets, farm stands, community supported agriculture, you-pick, and online sales. You can see the full survey on the Iowa Department of Agriculture’s website under the “Hot Topics” section.
(Radio Iowa)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – State regulators say an Iowa insurance brokerage accused of a deceptive practice has agreed to repay more than $1.3 million to local governments. The Des Moines Register reports Two Rivers Insurance Co., which is based in Burlington, was accused in 2014 of inflating the amount it spent on premiums for health coverage purchased from Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield. Documents release Monday say Wellmark complained to state regulators that the brokerage had improperly included up to 7 percent in its own fees in “premium” costs that it billed to local governments for insurance for 10,500 public employees.
Two Rivers President Todd Ackerman says the brokerage still denies any wrongdoing but is settling the dispute to avoid “an extremely costly and burdensome legal process.”
Today: Partly cloudy to cloudy w/scattered showers & thunderstorms. High 60. NW @ 15-25.
Tonight: Showers ending. Becoming P/Ckdy. Low 42. NW @ 5-10.
Tomorrow: P/Cldy to Cldy. High 64. N @ 10-15.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. High 75.
Friday: P/Cldy to Cldy w/scattered showers & tstrms. High 72.
Monday’s High in Atlantic was 71. We received .03” of rain here at the KJAN studios. Our Low this morning (as of 5:25-a.m.) was 47. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 77 and the low was 58. The Record High in Atlantic on this date was 97 in 1939. The Record Low was 26 in 1963.
Police in Creston said Monday night, that four vehicles were heavily damaged during an accident that took place early Sunday morning. The incident happened at around 12:25-a.m., as a 2012 Dodge Ram pickup driven by 15-year old Dillon Wyatt Weis, of Afton, was traveling east on W. Adams Street in downtown Creston. The pickup drifted toward a row of legally parked vehicles and struck a 1990 Chevy pickup.
Weis’ vehicle also collided with a 2006 Toyota Tundra, and a 1996 Oldsmobile Cutless Supreme. Damage to all the vehicles amounted to $16,000 ($4,000 each). According to the report, excessive speed was a contributing factor to the accident. No citations were issued.
A man from Missouri was arrested Monday evening in Red Oak, on drug and weapon charges. Red Oak Police report 25-year old Dillon Ray McCracken, of Hale, MO., was taken into custody at around 7:40-p.m. in the 500 block of W. Coolbaugh Street, for Carrying Weapons, felony Possession of Meth with the Intent to Deliver, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. McCracken was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $25,000 bond.
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has voted to confirm Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad to serve as U.S. ambassador to China. The 70-year-old Republican says he intends to use his decades-long relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping (shee jihn-peeng) to advance U.S. and international interests. The two met in 1985 when Xi, then a provincial official, led an agricultural trade delegation to Iowa.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Republican Gov. Terry Branstad’s upcoming departure marks the end of a career in state politics that spans several decades. The 70-year-old Branstad was confirmed Monday as the U.S. ambassador to China. Branstad says he’s leaving Iowa with a low unemployment rate and renewable energy investments in wind farms and ethanol. Critics point to legislation he approved this year that weakened public unions, restricted minimum hourly wage increases and added a voter identification requirement.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police have announced a nearly $50,000 fund to pay for tips that help solve open homicide cases. The Des Moines Register reports police announced the fund Monday, saying the money came from unnamed private donors. Police will decide on a case-by-case basis how much a tip is worth. The fund was created at a time when Des Moines police are working on 12 unsolved homicides from the past two years. There have been 15 homicides so far this year, compared to 13 in all of 2016.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge who has already authorized a contempt of court action against one reporter is setting strict rules for journalists covering the trial of “The Bachelor” star Chris Soules. Judge Kellyann Lekar warned Monday that violations may result in contempt proceedings or a ban from the courtroom. She says reporters must give 24 hours’ notice to attend proceedings and cannot enter or leave court except during breaks, among many rules aimed at protecting Soules’ right to a fair trial.
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