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White Pole Road designated as an official Iowa Byway

News

October 11th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Officials with the Iowa DOT’s Iowa Byways Advisory Council have selected the 26-mile long White Pole Road as one of three new Iowa Byways. The route was praised for its historic sense of place and for its unique experience that provides many opportunities for exploration and engagement. John Fisher, President of the White Pole Road Corporation, says “It’s very encouraging to receive such great feedback on our efforts. They believe our byway has great potential to impact even more visitor experiences as well as the economic benefits for each of our communities along the White Pole Road.”

The WPR joins the Bridges Byway in Madison County which connects the iconic covered bridges and the Jefferson Highway Heritage Byway between Northwood and Lamoni as a 2016 designation.White Pole Road The Iowa DOT will work with the new byway applicants over the next several months to assist with finalizing their route signage which will be installed by the 2018 tourist season.

The White Pole Road is a tribute to the original dirt road that once connected the five communities of Adair, Casey, Menlo, Stuart and Dexter. This particular stretch of road is important because it served as the nucleus to Iowa’s first certified route which stretched statewide from Davenport to Council Bluffs in 1914.

For more information on the White Pole Road Development Corporation, visit www.whitepoleroad.com and to learn more about Iowa Byways, visit www.iowabyways.org .

Area Volleyball Scores from Monday, 10/10/16

Sports

October 11th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Western Iowa Conference Tournament

(3-0) Audubon 25-25-25, Missouri Valley 18-19-19
(3-0) Griswold 25-25-26, Riverside 13-21-24
(3-2) IKM-Manning 25-25-18-23-17, Underwood 20-22-25-25-15
(3-0) Treynor 25-25-25, Griswold 19-21-12
(3-0) Logan-Magnolia 25-27-25, AHSTW 18-25-11
(3-0) Tri-Center 25-25-25, Logan-Magnolia 17-14-11

Semifinals 10/11 at Griswold
Tri-Center vs. Audubon 6:00pm
Treynor vs. IKM-Manning (following first match)

Pride of Iowa Conference Tournament

Central Decatur Region
(2-0) Pleasantville 25-25, East Union 19-23
(2-0) Central Decatur 25-25, East Union 16-16Central Decatur def Pleasantville

Southwest Valley Region
(2-0) Lenox 28-25, Southeast Warren 26-18
(2-0) Southwest Valley 25-27, Lenox 18-25
(2-0) Southwest Valley 25-25, Southeast Warren 21-17

Interstate-35 Region
(2-1) Wayne 23-25-15, Nodaway Valley 25-23-12
(2-0) I-35 26-25, Nodaway Valley 24-23
(2-0) I-35 27-26, Wayne 25-24

Mount Ayr Region
(2-1) Bedford def Martensdale St. Marys
(2-0) Mount Ayr def Bedford(2-0) Mount Ayr def Martensdale St. Marys

Semi-Finals 10/11
Central Decatur vs. Southwest Valley
I-35 vs. Mount Ayr

Corner Conference
(2-0) Essex 25-25, West Central Valley 19-18
(2-1) Essex 23-25-15, East Mills 25-19-11
(2-0) East Mills 25-25, West Central Valley 15-13

Iowans to choose cover of next Iowa Travel Guide

News

October 11th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Voting is underway to determine the cover of the next Iowa Travel Guide. This marks the fifth year that followers of the Iowa Tourism Office on Facebook are choosing the photo. Iowa Tourism Office spokesperson Jessica O’Riley says voting for the 2017 Iowa Travel Guide cover started Monday and will continue through next Tuesday (October 18th) morning.

“This year there are four different options to choose from; the world’s crookedest street in Burlington, family fun along the Turkey River in Elkader, a thrilling roller coaster – the new one at Adventureland, or art at the Art Museum in Sioux City,” O’Riley says. The winning cover will be announced on Wednesday, October 19th.

The Iowa Tourism Office distributes more than 100,000 copies of the Iowa Travel Guide each year. It can be found at Iowa’s welcome centers or ordered online: http://www.traveliowa.com/aspx/cms/SVContactForm.aspx?formid=1

(Radio Iowa)

LINK TO VOTE ON FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/IowaTourism/app/303561899745219?brandloc=DISABLE&app_data=chk-57fbfdfd67f88

LINK TO COVER OPTIONS:
https://iowa.webdamdb.com/bp/#/downloadqueue/hz1SkQBKOTMECyIA/source/0

Iowa State plagued by fourth-quarter collapses

Sports

October 11th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Rookie Iowa State coach Matt Campbell has often implored his team to “trust in the process.” The process has been agonizing so far. The Cyclones (1-5, 0-3 Big 12) have taken double-digit leads into the fourth quarter of their last two games against teams they were expected to lose to by double digits. What happened in those final 15 minutes is a painful reminder that there’s a big difference between improving and winning.

Iowa State was outscored 17-0 by both Baylor and Oklahoma State in the fourth quarter, turning what seemed like near-certain victories into devastating defeats. Campbell admits he’s ticked and says he hopes his players are, too, as they prepare for a visit to Texas (2-3, 0-2) on Saturday.

Iowa State’s recent meltdowns have obscured the fact that the program, especially on offense, is trending in the right direction — averaging more than 42 points over its last three games and scoring on all 18 chances inside the red zone, including 14 touchdowns.

Iowa early News Headlines: Tue., Oct. 11th 2016

News

October 11th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds are hitting the campaign trail in hopes of giving Republican legislative candidates a boost. Branstad and Reynolds are campaigning on Tuesday and Thursday.

GARNER, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa company is recalling the cookie dough it sold to Blue Bell Creameries and other food companies because it may be contaminated with listeria bacteria. Dough-maker Aspen Hills notified customers about the recall Sunday. The Garner, Iowa, based company doesn’t sell directly to consumers. Aspen Hills did not say the companies or states where the dough was sold.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — This year will go down in the Iowa history books as the third wettest among 144 years of records. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources in its monthly Water Summary Update says the statewide average precipitation in Iowa was 45 inches, nearly 10 inches more than normal for the 2016 water year, which is measured from Oct. 1, 2015, through Sept. 30, 2016.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A fraternal organization in Davenport is handing out 1,300 dictionaries to third-grade students throughout the local school district. The Quad-City Times reports that the dictionaries from Davenport Elks Lodge 298 also come with a coloring book and bookmark. Longtime Elks member Earl Oelerich visits the schools, telling the students to stay in school, avoid drugs and use scholarships to fund their college education. The project has continued for 15 years so far.

Ernst ‘not fighting’ for Trump, but will vote for GOP ticket

News

October 10th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Iowa’s Joni Ernst is now the only Republican woman serving in the U.S. Senate who has not called for Donald Trump to step aside or vowed not to vote for him. Ernst says it’s because she’ll be voting for the entire 2016 Republican ticket. “I am voting for my Republican Party and I’ve told others I’m not fighting for Donald Trump,” Ernst told Radio Iowa. “I am fighting for my country.” Ernst sent a tweet Saturday morning, denouncing the contents of a vulgar 2005 recording of Trump that was published this past Friday. Today (Monday), Ernst repeated her criticism.

“I will not condone Donald Trump’s actions. I do not excuse them,” Ernst said. “But this is bigger than Donald Trump and it is about the direction of the country.” Ernst says she “will not advise anybody to vote for Hillary Clinton.” “And I will not support her and I feel that my party, regardless right now of who’s at the top of the ticket…has better ideas and a better direction for our country than those of the Democrats,” Ernst told Radio Iowa.

The Republican candidate in Iowa’s second congressional district announced today (Monday) that he will NOT vote for Trump OR Clinton. Chris Peters, the Republican running against Democratic Congressman Dave Loebsack, has run in previous elections under the Libertarian Party’s banner.

(Radio Iowa)

SW Iowa factory marks milestone in the production process

News

October 10th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

A southwest Iowa manufacturer is celebrating a milestone. Johnson Controls is announcing it produced its 15-billionth PowerFrame grid at its Red Oak production facility. Lee Fellers is controller at the plant and says the grids are an essential part of the automotive batteries, which are made elsewhere by the company. “The PowerFrame grid is the lead grid that goes inside a car battery, or rather an automotive battery, that really provides most of the power to the battery,” Fellers says. “The grids that we make here is a process that was pioneered by Johnson Controls about 13 years ago, for this plant when this plant opened up.”

Powerfram grid manufactured at Johnson Controls Red Oak plant

Powerfram grid manufactured at Johnson Controls Red Oak plant

Fellers says company officials recently discovered the Red Oak facility was nearing the landmark. “We keep track of what we produce constantly,” Fellers says, “and we keep track over time how we’re doing production-wise. So, we’ve just been monitoring this. A few months ago, we realized we were going to be hitting 15-billion grids for this plant very soon. So, we really started dialing in and figuring out when this would happen and were able to identify the grid as it came off the line the other day.”

He says it’s a big occasion because you don’t often see that type of number in most manufacturing settings. Fellers says the milestone is a testament to the company’s production process, as well as its workers. “We’ve got good engineering staff, good quality staff, great operators that really understand our equipment, understand what we’re all about and what we’re trying to achieve in producing these grips for automotive batteries,” Fellers says. “So, it really comes down a lot to the people and the dedication they’ve shown to making a good quality product while continuously improving our ability to output in higher quantities and increasing quality.”

Company officials say the PowerFrame grid is 66% more durable and more corrosion-resistant than other grid designs and provides 70% better electrical flow and other grid technologies. The grid’s manufacturing process also uses 20% less energy and produces 20% fewer greenhouse gases than other manufacturing methods. Opened in 2003, Johnson Controls’ Red Oak operations currently employees 60 people.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa company recalls cookie dough sold to other firms

News

October 10th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

GARNER, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa company is recalling the cookie dough it sold to other companies because it may be contaminated with listeria bacteria. Aspen Hills notified customers about the recall on Sunday, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether any of the cookie dough had reached consumers because the Garner, Iowa, based company doesn’t sell directly to consumers.

Aspen Hills’ cookie dough was implicated in last month’s recall of Blue Bell ice cream. Aspen Hills spokesman Jon Austin says no illnesses have been linked to the company’s products and none have tested positive for listeria.

Austin says the cookie dough was recalled because the company found lapses in its food safety system — such as inadequate documentation and failure to wear proper uniforms — that could have allowed the product to become contaminated.

Iowa ending 2016 with third wettest in 144 years of records

News, Weather

October 10th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — This year will go down in the Iowa history books as the third wettest among 144 years of records. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources in its monthly Water Summary Update says the statewide average precipitation in Iowa was 45 inches, nearly 10 inches more than normal for the 2016 water year, which is measured from Oct. 1, 2015, through Sept. 30, 2016.

Excessive rain in September over north-central and northeast Iowa resulted in flooding and a record crest on the Shell Rock River and the second highest crest on record on the Cedar River. September rain totals varied from just under an inch at Fairfield to over 17 inches near Nora Springs.

The statewide average for the month was 6.29 inches making it the wettest September since 1986.

State Fire Marshal Division Investigates Explosion, Fire at Bluffs ethanol plant

News

October 10th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Officials with the State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating last Friday afternoon’s explosion and fire at the Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) plant, located at 10868 189th Street in rural Council Bluffs. The explosion and fire happened at around 3:30-p.m., while a fuel tanker truck was being loaded with fuel. The driver of the truck was severely injured by the explosion and was flown by LifeFlight to the University of Nebraska Hospital’s Burn Unit. The victim is in critical but stable condition and continues to be treated at this time. The name of the victim will be released by his company (CHS) when all family members have been notified.

The Lewis Township Fire Department, along with fire departments from Council Bluffs, Treynor, Offutt Air Force Base, and approximately seven (7) other fire departments responded to the explosion.Fire Marshal

Authorities say this is an on-going investigation by the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) State Fire Marshal Division (SFM), the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department, and the Council Bluffs Fire Department.

Currently, there is no specific cause has been determined for the explosion/fire.