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Regional 3A-5A High school Volleyball Scores

Sports

October 19th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

Class 3A – Region 3

Des Moines Christian 3-Van Meter 0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-23)
Red Oak 3-Clarinda 1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 25-16)

Class 4A – Region 2

Indianola 3-Denison-Schleswig 0 (25-9, 25-8, 25-7)
Glenwood 3-Winterset 0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-8)

Class 4A – Region 3

ADM 3-Humboldt 0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-10)
Dallas Center-Grimes 3-Fort Dodge 0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-15)

Class 4A – Region 4

North Polk 3-Boone 2 (25-11, 25-27, 25-11, 24-26, 15-12)
Norwalk 3-Carlisle 1 (25-21, 25-19, 28-30, 25-19)

Class 5A – Region 2

Ankeny Centennial 3-Iowa City West 0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-7)
Council Bluffs Lincoln 3-Sioux City West 0 (25-7, 25-12, 25-16)

Posted in Sports |

JOSEPH PAUL KUCHCINSKI, 49, of Omaha (Mass of Christian Burial 10/24/23)

Obituaries

October 19th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

JOSEPH PAUL KUCHCINSKI, 49, of Omaha, died October 8, 2023, at the Mary Greeley Medical Center, in Ames. A Mass of Christian Burial for JOE KUCHCINSKI will be held 10:30-a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24th, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Council Bluffs. Rieken Vieth Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Visitation will be Monday, October 23, 2023, from  4:30 PM until 7:00 PM, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  A Rosary will be held at the church on Monday at 7:00 PM.  A time of sharing will be at 6:30 PM.

JOE KUCHCINSKI is survived by:

His parents – Ray and Josie Kuchcinski.

His sisters – Rachel (Mike) Podjenski, and Rita (Dean) Schechinger.

Other relatives and friends.

Posted in Obituaries |

Who’s Gonna Win? – Week 9 – 10/20/2023

Podcasts, Trojan Preview/Who’s Gonna Win?

October 19th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

Asa Lucas, Chris Parks, Jim Field, and Matt Mullenix take a look at 8 area high school football games each week throughout the season. We try to provide some insight into the match-ups while competing for top prognosticator and the Whosman Trophy.

Who’s Gonna Win? is brought to you again in 2023 by Rush CPA & Associates and Fareway.

Last Week:

Matt Mullenix 6-2

Asa Lucas 8-0

Jim Field 8-0

Chris Parks 6-2

Overall 2023 Standings:

Matt Mullenix 50-14

Asa Lucas 52-12

Jim Field 45-19

Chris Parks 53-11

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (68.0MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in Podcasts, Trojan Preview/Who’s Gonna Win? |

U-I hires counselor to work with students who have a military connection

News

October 19th, 2023 by admin

The University of Iowa has hired a mental health counselor to work with students who are military veterans. Chuck Xander is a veteran and mental health counselor who will fill the role. He says veterans coming from active duty on a rigid schedule and can struggle with the pace of university life.

Xander says the U-I hopes to create a program that can be a model for other schools.

The University of Iowa has more than 22 hundred students who are veterans or military-connected, such as active duty Iowa National Guard members. And it says they are the first Big 10 school to hire a mental health counselor specifically dedicated to working with student veterans.

Posted in News |

DNR helps Urbandale create a coyote management plan

News

October 19th, 2023 by admin

The central Iowa city of Urbandale is asking residents to look at its coyote management plan to help keep the animals from causing problems. The D-N-R’s Andy Kellner helped the leaders of the Des Moines suburb put together the plan after increased reports of coyotes.

Kellner says one of the key points is to make sure there are no easy food sources around homes.

Birdseed is another food source that could attract the coyotes. Kellner says the plan also give tips for keeping pets from becoming prey.

Kellner says cities like Urbandale that have greenways and river corridors provide the habitat where coyotes can live. He says he hasn’t had calls about coyote populations in other Iowa cities, but says it’s likely there are coyote populations in many other areas. Kellner says people can make the problem worse by treating the coyotes like they are pets.

He says people should do the opposite and take actions that make the coyotes fear being around humans.

Kellner says it’s also important to appreciate the good things coyotes provide to keep our ecosystem balanced.

Kellner says some wildlife species adjust a little bit better than others to the humans who have moved into their territories. He says coyotes, deer, turkeys, foxes, rabbits, and squirrels are among those that have found ways to adapt.

Posted in News |

Two day youth pheasant hunting season in Iowa this weekend

News

October 19th, 2023 by admin

Iowa has an annual two-day pheasant hunting season for residents of the state who are 15 or younger and it’s coming up this weekend. The young hunters do not have to buy a state hunting license, but they must hunt under the direct supervision of an adult who has one. The Pheasants Forever chapter in Delaware County is sponsoring a hunt for rooster pheasants this Saturday for kids who are 12, 13, 14 or 15. Kevin Lamphier who’s from Delhi, is a member of the chapter. He says the day will start with a gun safety talk, followed by a trap shoot.

State law allows a youth hunter during this special season to bag just one bird per day.

The Delaware County Pheasants Forever chapter provides the shells, but does not provide the guns for the the hunt. It will be held on a farm near Ryan and Lamphier says up to 25 kids can participate.

Posted in News |

Kirk Ferentz Named To Dodd Trophy Midseason List

Sports

October 19th, 2023 by admin

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa Moon Family head football coach Kirk Ferentz is one of 20 head coaches named to the 2023 Dodd Trophy Midseason Watch List. The announcement was made Thursday by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc.

The Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted national coaching award, celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity — the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy.

The watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc., taking into consideration each program’s graduation rate, commitment to service and charity in the community, on-field success thus far for the 2023 season and Academic Progress Rate (APR).

Ferentz is in his 25th season as Iowa’s head coach, the longest tenured head coach in college football. Ferentz has coached 13 individual national award winners and 85 NFL Draft selections during his tenure. He became Iowa’s winningest head coach on Sept. 1, 2018, and earned his 200th victory as a college head coach at Iowa State earlier this season.

Ferentz has led the Hawkeyes to 20 bowl invitations, including 12 January bowl game appearances. Iowa is bowl eligible once again in 2023, having won six of its first seven games to start the season. The Hawkeyes have won 10 or more games seven times under his direction and have been ranked in the final Top 25 rankings four of the previous five seasons.

Ferentz has led the Hawkeyes to a 192-116 overall record, including a 118-84 Big Ten Conference record. Ferentz is third in the Big Ten Conference for league wins and ranks fourth in total victories.

Ferentz was named the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year in 2015. He has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year four times (2002, 2004, 2009, 2015) and was named the Woody Hayes and Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year in 2015, as well.

The 20 coaches joining Ferentz on the midseason list represent Air Force, Alabama, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, James Madison, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Texas, Tulane, USC, Utah and Washington.

No. 24 Iowa (6-1, 3-1) will host Minnesota (3-3, 1-2) on Saturday on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City (2:33 p.m. CT, NBC).

Posted in Sports |

Exira-EHK Poised for Playoffs

Sports

October 19th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

This Friday the (5-3) Exira-EHK Spartans are at home against the (6-2) Glidden-Ralston Wildcats for the first round of 8-Player playoff football. This first year of coaching for Exira-EHK Head Coach Drew Buckholdt has had its ups and downs. He’s learned a lot about his team and noticed their resiliency in one particular game this season. The hard fought 28-22 win against Fremont-Mills.

The offensive has been clicking for Exira-EHK in their last three games, riding a three-game winning streak and scoring 134 points. Quarterback Jameson Kilworth has seemed to find a rhythm throwing for 823 yards and 10 touchdowns. On the ground his numbers are nearly identical scrambling for 842 yards and 12 scores.

Kilworth has been helped out by running back Alex Hansen with close to 500 yards rushing and 11 scores. His favorite target on the year has been Cash Emgarten with 26 grabs, 412 yards, and 6 touchdowns. But if you ask Coach Buckholdt the unspoken reason for his offensive success is the effort from the offensive line.

The offensive line will have their work cut out for them with a tough nosed Glidden-Ralston team on Friday. The Wildcats defense has forced 11 interceptions and amassed 65 tackles for loss on the year.

On the other side of the ball the Glidden-Ralston offense loves to pound the rock. They have accumulated over 2000 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns. Quarterback Colby Wallace has over 1000 yards rushing and 24 touchdowns.

Coach Buckholdt knows about the tenacity Glidden-Ralston brings.

The game plan for Friday is to be ready for intense physical play that the Wildcats are known for and to control the line of scrimmage.

The game will be covered on KJAN and the pregame starts at 6:30pm.

Posted in Sports |

State unemployment rate inches up as students leave jobs for college

News

October 19th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s unemployment rate inched up one-tenth of a percent to three percent in September, while the labor participation rate dropped by one-tenth of a percent. Iowa Workforce Development spokesperson, Jesse Dougherty, says the slight change is seasonal. He says the primary reason for the change is college students who left the workforce to go back to school. Dougherty says they are the same workers that made an impact on employment earlier in the year.

“Iowa did have an influx of new hiring in the spring, particularly in leisure and hospitality, and arts, entertainment and recreation, a lot of those industries, you’d expect to see a lot of hiring,” he says. “And so we think that’s reflective of the fact that employers were, you know, pulling from a lot of that younger population to help fill jobs. But now that we’re heading back into the fall, we’re seeing that kind of drop off with those students leaving those jobs and headed back into the classroom.”

He says some of the students will get part-time jobs while at college, but many won’t be in the workforce again until school is out. Dougherty says there were some areas that saw increases. “Construction lead all industries in September with 18-hundred jobs added, that was definitely a good sign, as it showed more employers are either hiring or extending their projects to get to get more done, while the weather has still been good in the state,” he says. “Our largest industry, manufacturing didn’t have a large game, but it did add 200 jobs, so that was positive.”

He says the national economy continues to cause apprehension in some other industries, with banking and finance, losing 800 jobs and professional business services, lost one-thousand jobs. Dougherty says those industries try to keep a good handle on costs. “Some of that belt tightening that employers might do, to cut back on things that really happens a lot within professional business services because of those extraneous services to buildings and things like that. And, and, of course, leisure and hospitality as well,” he says.

He says businesses are keeping an eye on increases in the cost of materials. Mortgage rates recently went up, and that’s another issue that can have an impact on businesses. “The mortgage demand I think, has fallen to the lowest level since 1995. And so, we are seeing some apprehension from some employers in this in those types of industries. And so what we’re really focused on in the face of those national headwinds is our focus is really having the most responsive reemployment system as we possibly can,” Dougherty says.

The uptick in the unemployment rate still leaves it below the three-point-one percent rate from last September. The U-S unemployment rate remained at 3.8 percent in September.

Posted in News |

Gov. Reynolds Awards Community Colleges New Grants to Modernize, Expand CDL Training

News

October 19th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES – Governor Kim Reynolds has announced new grant awards for Iowa’s community colleges that will help expand the use of modernized infrastructure needed for programs that help individuals obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL). The new grants come as part of the state’s collective effort over the past two years to expand training opportunities and widen pathways to Iowa’s high-demand jobs.  The Iowa CDL Infrastructure Grant program is awarding $4,844,092 to 10 of Iowa’s community colleges, which will support new equipment and the creation/remodeling of driver training facilities. With these new investments, the colleges’ CDL programs will be able to support an estimated total increase of 1,305 program participants in their annual class size. 

“The pathway to finding a job as a truck driver, one of our most-needed occupations, runs through getting a CDL license,” said Governor Reynolds. “It’s important that we do everything we can to not only make it easier for individuals to obtain these licenses, but also to support the long-term viability of the programs that made it possible to gain that experience right here in Iowa.”

Grant funds will help support the building, purchasing, or remodeling of training infrastructure that prepares drivers for meeting CDL requirements. Funds will be administered as reimbursement, and programs must offer competency-based training courses and/or a training course that would allow someone to complete training and take the licensing exam within a 30-day window. Colleges receiving grant funds also have agreed to a 5-year tuition freeze for their CDL programs once the project from this award is complete. 
 
“Increasing the CDL pipeline is crucial to sustaining and improving our economy. We are chronically short of drivers and Governor Reynolds’ continued investment in our community colleges should help accomplish this goal,” said Beth Townsend, Executive Director of Iowa Workforce Development. “This investment today will also give Iowa employers a leg up in recruiting more individuals in our state who have a CDL and are workforce ready.” 

For more information on the grant program and for a list of awardees, visit this link. 

Posted in News |