United Group Insurance

Iowa backlog of autopsies delaying release of remains

News

December 21st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A backlog of autopsies at the Iowa Medical Examiner’s Office has been delaying the return of remains to family members.  It usually takes the office a day or two to complete an autopsy. But a spokeswoman for the office told The Des Moines Register that in the past month, a 12 percent surge in cases coupled with an understaffed office has caused delays.

Polly Carver-Kimm, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Health, says that at one point in the past month, the office had 32 bodies awaiting autopsy and it took up to two weeks to release remains to funeral homes. She says the situation is “not typical.” The office is budgeted for 11 full-time positions, but one position is open. It is expected to be filled.

Iowa home sales and prices rise in November

News

December 21st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

A new report shows more Iowans bought homes in November compared to one year ago. The Housing Trends Report from the Iowa Association of Realtors (IAR) shows 3,012 homes were sold across the state last month, a nearly 15-percent increase over November 2015. I-A-R president Cindy Miller of Burlington gives credit to the unusually mild weather across the state this fall.

Despite all the snow and extreme cold THIS month, Miller expects housing sales for December will be up as well. She notes it takes roughly 45 days to close on a home, so sales completed this month started with offers in October or November. Miller says another reason home sales continue to rise in Iowa is mortgage rates remain at relatively low levels. “There still running at 4.0 or 4.25 percent, so that’s still great,” Miller said.

The median sale price of a home sold in Iowa last month was $148,000. That compares to $140,000 in November 2015.

(Radio Iowa)

MARY E. DENTLINGER, 88, of Manning & formerly of Audubon (Svcs. 12/22/16)

Obituaries

December 21st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

MARY E. DENTLINGER, 88, of Manning (& formerly of Audubon), died Monday, Dec. 19th, at the Manning Plaza Nursing Home, in Manning. Funeral services for  MARY DENTLINGER will be held 1-p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22nd, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, in Audubon. Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon has the arrangements.

Friends may call at the funeral home, where the family visitation is today (Wed., Dec. 21st), beginning at 3-p.m.  A Rosary will be held today at 4-p.m. and a Scripture Service at 7-p.m., also at the Kessler Funeral Home.

Burial will be in the St. Patrick’s Catholic Cemetery south of Audubon.

MARY DENTLINGER is survived by:

Her children – Vicki (Clark) Tibben, of Audubon; Donna (James) Grossman, of Glidden; Lori (Dale) Willenborg, of Dedham; Kevin (Peggy) Dentlinger, of Guthrie Center; Bruce, of Audubon & Connie, of Red Oak.

Her sisters – Catherine Pelfresne, of Otsego, MI., & Dorothy (Frank) Youngblood, of Snohomish, WA.

15 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, her in-laws, other relatives & friends.

Marshalltown hospital files for bankruptcy

News

December 21st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

After suffering financial problems for some time, Central Iowa Healthcare in Marshalltown has filed for bankruptcy. As part of the filing, C-I-H asked the court to approve a plan to sell substantially all of the C-I-H assets to UnityPoint Health – Waterloo, an affiliate of UnityPoint Health. Under the plan, all of C-I-H’s healthcare operations including the acute care hospital, emergency department, four primary care clinics, and outpatient center will operate without interruption during this time and after completion of the proposed sale transaction.

C-I-H has asked the court to approve a financing arrangement where UnityPoint Health of Waterloo has offered to support C-I-H’s operations during the bankruptcy proceeding and pending the sales transaction which is targeted for the late first quarter of 2017.

(Radio Iowa)

NWS forecast for the KJAN listening area: 12/21/16

Weather

December 21st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Early this morning: Mostly cloudy. South wind near 10 mph.
Today: Partly sunny. High around 40. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph shifting to the northwest around 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight: Mostly clear. Low around 20. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph.
Thursday: Sunny. High in the upper 30s. West wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy. Low in the mid 20s. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny. A 20 percent chance of light snow in the morning. High in the upper 30s.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy. Low in the lower 20s.
Saturday: Partly sunny. A 20 percent chance of light rain possibly mixed with snow in the afternoon. High around 40.

Area high school basketball scores from Tue., 12/20/16

Sports

December 21st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

BOYS BASKETBALL

A-H-S-T-W, Avoca 63, IKM-Manning 55

ADM, Adel 74, Carroll 60

Audubon 61, Missouri Valley 58

CAM, Anita 71, Boyer Valley, Dunlap 70

Charter Oak-Ute 59, Woodbine 27

Coon Rapids-Bayard 59, Paton-Churdan 56

Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 60, Harlan 48

East Mills 77, Essex 41

Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 66, West Harrison, Mondamin 33

Glenwood 76, Red Oak 39

Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 77, Atlantic 66

Lenox 64, Bedford 62, OT

Logan-Magnolia 49, Treynor 46

Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 57, South Central Calhoun 50

Mount Ayr 57, Southwest Valley 45

Nodaway Valley 56, East Union, Afton 53

Perry 58, Winterset 46

Shenandoah 65, South Page, College Springs -Clarinda 46

Stanton 60, Sidney 41

Tri-Center, Neola 66, Griswold 27

Underwood 77, Riverside, Oakland 49

Woodward Academy 64, West Central Valley, Stuart 61

GIRLS BASKETBALL

ADM, Adel 64, Carroll 45

Audubon 59, Missouri Valley 44

Bedford 38, Lenox 33

Boyer Valley, Dunlap 70, CAM, Anita 55

Charter Oak-Ute 53, Woodbine 40

Coon Rapids-Bayard 47, Paton-Churdan 23

Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 59, Harlan 58

Essex 50, East Mills 28

Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 71, West Harrison, Mondamin 15

IKM-Manning 63, A-H-S-T-W, Avoca 26

Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 59, Atlantic 39

Mount Ayr 65, Southwest Valley 39

Nodaway Valley 49, East Union, Afton 12

Panorama, Panora 57, Woodward-Granger 26

Perry 55, Winterset 54, OT

Red Oak 59, Glenwood 53

Shenandoah 75, Clarinda 41

Sidney 64, Stanton 33

Sioux City, East 63, West Monona, Onawa 48

Sioux City, West 62, Westwood, Sloan 59

South Central Calhoun 48, Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 28

St. Albert, Council Bluffs 58, Interstate 35,Truro 55

Treynor 68, Logan-Magnolia 52

Tri-Center, Neola 62, Griswold 30

Underwood 74, Riverside, Oakland 25

Bohannon, Jok lead Iowa over North Dakota 84-73

Sports

December 21st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Jordan Bohannon and Peter Jok each scored 18 points and Iowa held on for an 84-73 win over North Dakota on Tuesday night. Cordell Pemsl had nine points and a career-high 11 rebounds to help the Hawkeyes (7-5) win their fourth straight.

Iowa pulled away with a 16-0 run in the middle of the first half when North Dakota went six minutes without scoring. The Hawkeyes forced eight turnovers during that stretch. North Dakota (5-5) got the deficit as close as seven in the second half, but Iowa always had an answer.

Quinton Hooker scored 18 points to lead the Fighting Hawks. Conner Avants added 17 points and Drick Bernstine had 10 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Jok, the top scorer in the Big Ten, shot only 4 of 15 from the floor. But he made all 10 of his foul shots. Iowa’s bench outscored North Dakota 29-9.

Thomas leads Iowa State past MVSU 88-60

Sports

December 21st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Senior Matt Thomas scored a career-high 23 points to lead Iowa State past Mississippi Valley State 88-60 on Tuesday, helping the Cyclones post back-to-back wins for the first time in a month. Naz Mitrou-Long had 19 points and Monte Morris scored 13 for the Cyclones (8-3), who shot 50 percent from 3-point range.

But Iowa State, plagued by turnovers, let winless Mississippi Valley State (0-12) rip off a 16-3 run in the first half and trailed the winless Delta Devils 25-24 at one point. The Cyclones eventually overwhelmed MVSU, jumping ahead 78-53 on a Thomas layup with just over six minutes left. Isaac Williams and Darrell Riley each scored 18 for the Delta Devils. They were outrebounded 43-28.

Iowa early News Headlines: Wed., Dec. 21st 2016

News

December 21st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

DELHI, Iowa (AP) — A former town clerk in the small Iowa community of Delhi has been arrested and charged with theft after a state audit that found nearly $247,000 in improper and unsupported municipal spending. Delaware County Attorney John Bernau said Tuesday that the former clerk, Angie Billings, was arrested and charged with three counts of theft. Billings remains jailed.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska’s population exceeds 1.9 million for first time ever, and growth rate exceeds neighboring Iowa. New Census data shows the Nebraska population grew 0.7 percent to reach 1,907,116 on July 1. Iowa’s population grew 0.41 percent to hit 3,134,693. Nebraska’s growth rate matched the national rate between last July and this July.

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — State authorities are helping Bettendorf police investigate an officer’s shooting of a 19-year-old man holding a toy gun. The authorities say Bettendorf officers who were sent to a Home Depot store around 11:30 p.m. Monday to check a disturbance confronted a man with what appeared to be a handgun. One of the officers shot the man, identified as Joshua Price, of Bettendorf, who remained hospitalized Tuesday.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa State Patrol supervisor who pleaded guilty to stealing prescription painkillers seized during criminal investigations has been sentenced to a suspended two-year prison sentence. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that 32-year-old Michael Haugen, of Forest City, was also fined $625, plus court costs, on Monday. Court records say Haugen acknowledged removing pills from evidence bags about 18 times in up to eight different cases between late 2014 and April.

Kuemper Catholic makes second half plays to beat Atlantic Boys Tuesday

Sports

December 20th, 2016 by admin

The Kuemper Catholic Knights made more plays in the second half than Atlantic and came away with a 73-66 win on Tuesday night.  It was a very well played game from the onset as the two top 10 ranked teams traded baskets throughout.

The Knights led by 1 at the intermission 40-39 after the half ended with a missed shot by Chase Mullenix that was put back in by Scott Leonard but officials ruled it came after the horn.  Atlantic’s shooting went a bit cold at the start of the second half which allowed Kuemper to extend the lead. But the Trojans would rally and tie it up later in the quarter before the Knights got a couple buckets from Matt Dentlinger to lead 55-49 at the end of the 3rd.  The Trojans tried to play catch up the rest of the way but couldn’t make up enough ground. Atlantic Head Coach Alan Jenkins thought depth was a difference as the Trojans expended a lot of energy playing catch-up.

Garrett Franken was fouled on a three and knocked down three free throws to cut the lead to 4 with a couple of minutes left but they wouldn’t get closer. Franken missed a three in traffic on the next possession and Kuemper headed to the free throw line to ice it down the stretch. Coach Jenkins thought his team played well, they just ran into a tough opponent.

The Knights were led by Matt Dentlinger with 23 points that included some big shots and free throws late. Parker Badding finished with 16 as the Knights improve to 5-1 heading into the Christmas break.

Atlantic was led by Garrett Franken with 31 points as the Trojans suffer their first loss of the season and are now 6-1.  The Trojans travel to face St. Albert on Thursday before the break. Coach Jenkins says the loss will help them grow as a team.