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Late 3 gives Iowa win over mistake-prone No. 11 Wisconsin

Sports

March 2nd, 2017 by Ric Hanson

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Jordan Bohannon hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 9 seconds left, and Iowa capitalized on No. 22 Wisconsin’s sloppy final few minutes with a 7-0 run to beat the Badgers 59-57 on Thursday night.

After Ethan Happ missed two free throws that could have sealed the win for Wisconsin, Iowa’s Peter Jok missed a jumper in the lane. But Cordell Pemsl corralled the offensive rebound and Bohannon hit the 3 from the left wing, stunning the crowd at the Kohl Center after Wisconsin led by nine with 4:15 left.

The Hawkeyes (17-13, 9-8 Big Ten) have won two straight road games as they try to improve their postseason resume.

The Badgers (22-8, 11-6) lost their third straight game, going scoreless for the final 3:12. Iowa forced turnovers on consecutive Wisconsin inbounds passes in that stretch, converting each mistake into baskets to set up Bohannon’s game-winner. Bohannon finished with 11 points. Bronson Koenig led the Badgers with 19 points.

Girls State Basketball Scoreboard 03/02/2017

Sports

March 2nd, 2017 by Jim Field

Class 1A Semifinals

Springville 61, Kingsley-Pierson 43
Turkey Valley 48, Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 44 (OT)

Class 2A Semifinals

Western Christian 71, Iowa City Regina 49
Treynor 43, Cascade 41

Class 3A Semifinals

Sioux Center 81, Cherokee 56
Pocahontas Area-LM 80, Center Point-Urbana 59

Spartans fall short against Turkey Valley in OT

Sports

March 2nd, 2017 by Jim Field

The rematch is set in Class 1A. For the second straight year, it’s Springville against Turkey Valley for the state championship.

Second-ranked Turkey Valley completed that pairing by pulling out a 48-46 overtime victory over Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton. The Trojans will take a 23-2 record against No. 1 Springville at 6 p.m.

Springville edged Turkey Valley 48-47 in last year’s title game and beat the Trojans 40-27 earlier this season. The Orioles advanced with a 61-43 victory over Kingsley-Pierson.

Elli Winter and Kayla Gebel led Turkey Valley with 13 points each. Gebel scored 11 of her points in the second half, including three key buckets in the third quarter to bring the Trojans back with a seven-point halftime deficit. Winter grabbed 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double.

Shelby Reicks added 10 points, six steals and four assists for Turkey Valley, including two free throws that broke the game’s final tie. Morgen Kuennen scored eight for the Trojans.

Exira/EHK got most of its scoring from its strong inside duo of Sophia Peppers and Kealey Nelson. Peppers finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Nelson had 12 points and 11 rebounds. The two were especially strong on the offensive boards, helping the Spartans put up 18 second-chance points.

Peppers scored on a putback to tie it at 42-all with 18 seconds left in regulation, then blocked a shot at the other end to force overtime.

Her two free throws tied it at 44 with 2:33 left in the extra session, but Reicks was fouled 11 seconds later and made both shots for a 46-44 lead. Three turnovers hurt the Spartans in the final two minutes and Gebel sank two free throws for the final points.

Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton played at state for the third straight year and finishes 24-2.

LOIS SIBENALLER, 84, of Earling (Svcs. 03/04/2017)

Obituaries

March 2nd, 2017 by Jim Field

LOIS SIBENALLER, 84, of Earling died Wednesday, March 1st at Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs. A Mass of Christian Burial for LOIS SIBENALLER will be held Saturday, March 4th at 2:00pm at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Earling. Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

Visitation will be held Friday, March 3rd from 5:00pm-8:00pm at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Earling.  Family will greet friends from 6:00pm-8:00pm at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Earling with a Catholic Daughters Rosary at 7:00pm.

Burial will be in the St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Earling.

LOIS SIBENALLER is survived by:

Daughters: Kay (Tom) Schechinger, of Westphalia, and Rhonda (Frank) Powers of Defiance, Tammy (Toby) Hastert of Westphalia.

Son: Perry (Susie) Sibenaller of Overland Park, KS.

Brother: Darryl (Janet) Brinker of Champlin, MN.

Sisters: Jerrine Brinker of Weston, WI. Mary Jo Brinker of Weston, WI.

Sisters-in-law: Angie Brinker of Carroll, IA. Gayle Brinker of Santa Rosa, CA.

10 Grandchildren

5 Great-Grandchildren

Commissioner appoints top aide as chief of Iowa State Patrol

News

March 2nd, 2017 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Public Safety Commissioner Roxann Ryan is appointing her top aide to be the new chief of the Iowa State Patrol. Ryan announced Thursday that her executive officer, Jeff Ritzman, will be the patrol’s next colonel effective immediately. He replaces Michael Van Berkum, whose retirement takes effect Friday.

Ryan says in a note to troopers that Ritzman “is the right person for the job at this point in time.” She says Ritzman’s experience makes him “uniquely qualified” to address challenges in law enforcement and lead the force during a time of tight budgets.

Ritzman joined the Department of Public Safety as a trooper in 1982 and has served in several roles, including homeland security coordinator in the intelligence-gathering Fusion Center. Ryan also announced that she was appointing Lt. Randy Olmstead to replace Ritzman as executive officer.

Personhood bill fails deadline to move ahead in Iowa

News

March 2nd, 2017 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A legislative effort by Iowa Republicans to outlaw abortion in the state has failed to advance past a legislative procedural deadline. The so-called personhood bill was kept off the agenda of a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Thursday. The committee needed to vote on the measure for it to survive a deadline that requires certain legislative action on policy bills.

Republican Sen. Brad Zaun, committee chairman and co-sponsor of the bill, says he didn’t have enough votes to advance the legislation. Anti-abortion rights groups had rallied around the personhood bill this session amid new GOP control of the Legislature.

Republican lawmakers are still considering a separate bill that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. A House committee was meeting Thursday to vote on that bill.

Libertarian Party earns political party status in Iowa

News

March 2nd, 2017 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says the Libertarian Party has obtained official political party status in Iowa. Pate says the status began effective Wednesday after state election officials determined the party’s presidential nominee, Gary Johnson, received 59,186 votes — or 3.8 percent of the vote — in the November 2016 general election.

That surpassed the 2 percent threshold required by Iowa law to obtain official political party status. The new status gives the Libertarian Party the ability to participate in primary elections in 2018. “Libertarian” will be included as an option for Iowa residents on voter registration forms.

The last time a third part gained political party status in Iowa was in 2000, when Green Party nominee Ralph Nader received 2.2 percent of the votes cast for president.

Iowa Girls State Basketball Tournament Schedule/Scores: 3/3/17

Sports

March 2nd, 2017 by Ric Hanson

CLASS 4A Semifinals

(Winners advances to Saturday’s Championship game at 6-p.m)

10:00-a.m. North Scott 58, Cedar Rapids Xavier 49

11:45-a.m. Marion 33, Pella 24

CLASS 5A Semifinals

(Winners advances to Saturday’s Championship game at 8-p.m)

1:30-p.m. Cedar Falls 48, Indianola 44

3:15-p.m. West Des Moines/Valley vs. Iowa City West

CLASS 1A CHAMPIONSHIP –Friday, March 3rd

6:00-p.m. Springville vs. Turkey Valley

CLASS 2A CHAMPIONSHIP – Friday, March 3rd

8:00-p.m. Western Christian vs. Treynor

CLASS 3A CHAMPIONSHIP – Saturday, March 4th

4:00-p.m. Sioux Center vs. Pocahontas Area Community (PAC) Schools

CLASS 4A CHAMPIONSHIP – Saturday, March 4th

6:00-p.m. North Scott vs. Marion

CLASS 5A CHAMPIONSHIP – Saturday, March 4th

8:00-p.m. Cedar Falls vs. Iowa City West/WDM Valley winner

Iowa lawmaker says business degree was Sizzler certificate

News

March 2nd, 2017 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa state lawmaker says he didn’t mean to mislead anyone by claiming he had a business degree from a company that had actually awarded him a certificate for participating in a training program when he worked at Sizzler.

State Sen. Mark Chelgren’s biography on an Iowa Senate Republican website had noted he had a business management degree from Forbco Management school. The information was removed Wednesday after NBC News reported Forbco Management is a California company that operated a Sizzler franchise.

Iowa Senate Republicans spokesman Ed Failor confirmed Thursday that Chelgren’s biography was updated after the NBC report. He said Chelgren doesn’t have a college degree, but Chelgren later said he earned an associate’s degree from a community college.

Coffey’s 34, Douglas ices Northwestern women’s win over Iowa

Sports

March 2nd, 2017 by Ric Hanson

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Nia Coffey scored a season-high 34 points, Lauren Douglas added 17 — including four free throws in the last 10 seconds — and ninth-seeded Northwestern edged eighth-seeded Iowa 78-73 in the second round of the Big Ten tournament on Thursday.

Coffey had 15 points in the second quarter as the Wildcats erased a five-point deficit to lead 41-32 at the half. Iowa’s Megan Gustafson had 13 of her 27 in the third quarter, including the last five to help the Hawkeyes cut a 12-point deficit to 60-55 entering the fourth quarter.

Back-to-back baskets by Gustafson and Kathleen Doyle put Iowa up 69-68 with 3:45 to play but Christen Inman quickly answered for Northwestern. The Wildcats were clinging to a one-point lead when Ashley Deary made two free throws with 14.8 seconds left. Douglas rebounded an Iowa miss and made two from the line at 6.7 and after a Gustafson layup, Douglas iced it with four seconds to go.

The Wildcats (20-10) face top-seeded and ninth-ranked Ohio State in the quarterfinals on Friday. Coffey, who had the fourth-highest point total in tournament history, and Douglas both had eight rebounds while Deary had nine points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals.

Iowa (17-13) also got 18 points from Ally Disterhoft.