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Powerball jackpot $422 million after months without winner

News

July 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot has soared to $422 million thanks to nearly three months without a winner of the big prize. If anyone matches the five balls and red Powerball in Wednesday night’s drawing, it will be the game’s first jackpot winner since May 7th. A jackpot winner could opt for a $422 million annuity paid out over 29 years or a $291 million lump sum. The prize would rank as the nation’s 11th largest.

The chance of winning Powerball is incredibly small, at 292.2 million-to-1. But players have much better odds, of about 1 in 25, of winning smaller prizes ranging from $4 to $1 million. The big Powerball prize comes less than three weeks after a player in Indiana won a $536 million Mega Millions jackpot.

 

(Update) Two Atlantic residents injured in Tue. morning crash

News

July 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports two Atlantic residents suffered serious injuries during an accident Tuesday morning. The crash happened on Highway 83 (Marne Road) at around 7:56-a.m.  just south of Glacier Road.

A 2013 Hyundai Elantra owned by 28-year old Elizabeth Ford, and driven by 35-year old Michael Miller, was southbound on Marne Road approaching the railroad overpass when the vehicle veered into the east ditch, and struck a metal railroad bridge abutment.

Ford, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was airlifted to UNMC in Omaha; Miller was airlifted to Creighton in Omaha. The car was considered a total loss. The crash remains under investigation. The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Atlantic Fire and Rescue, Medivac, and the Atlantic Police Department.

Farm Safety For Just Kids to dissolve at the end of the year.

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

A farm safety organization created three decades ago in the wake of a tragedy in Iowa is going to dissolve at the end of the year. Marilyn Adams created “Farm Safety For Just Kids” one year after her 11-year-old son Keith died in an accident invovling a gravity flow wagon in 1986.  “At that time there were no farm safety programs for 4-H or F-F-A, the organizations that probably should have been carrying the torch at that time, but they just weren’t. There just wasn’t public demand,” Adams says. Adams wanted to prevent other families from having to go through what she went through.

“It was hard to do when I first started it — but you know I didn’t know any better,” Adams says. “I did it without any feasibility study or anything, it was just pulling on my heart strings of something positive to focus on.” Adams was the face of the organization and went to numerous appearances where she talked about farm safety and her story. She says now is a good time to retire from that role.

“I’ve been thinking about the need to wind things down at Farm Safety For Just Kids. There’s a lot of organizations that are doing children’s farm safety. If you take a look at the website you will see it is all over the world. And it wasn’t that way 30 years ago when I first started,” Adams says. Adams says the group has accomplished what she started out to do 30 years ago as the farm safety movement has grown substantially.

“It’s incorporated into the agricultural companies, it’s incorporated into the universities, the health departments, and the list goes on,” Adams says. The Farm Safety For Just Kids organization will continue its work through the Progressive Agriculture Foundation (PAF). Adams started the movement to help her deal with the death of her son — and while it helped her to do something positive — she says thoughts of Keith are always there.

“I think of him when we mow the yard, I think of him when we plant trees, when we harvest — he is just still a part of our lives,” according to Adams. “You know the other kids grew up and left home, he left home and didn’t grow up. So, it is hard, but a lot of good has come out of it, and I am sure he is still out there pointing his mother in the right direction.” Adams has some simple plans for retirement.

“My future holds canning green beans and babysitting, and assisting on the farm and running errands,” Adams says. The assetts of Farm Safety For Just Kids will be donated to the Birmingham, Alabama-based P-A-F. As part of the transition the organization will donate five thousand dollars to both the National 4-H Council and National F-F-A Organization to recognize their advocacy work for youth safety in agriculture.

(Radio Iowa)

KIMBERLY JO (Antisdel) KNAPP, 55, of Walnut (Svcs. 7/30/16)

Obituaries

July 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

KIMBERLY JO (Antisdel) KNAPP, 55, of Walnut, died Sunday, July 24th, at St. Mary’s Hospital, in Rochester, MN. A Celebration of Life service for KIMBERLY JO KNAPP will be held 10:30-a.m. Sat., July 30th, at the Pauley-Jones Funeral Home, in Avoca.

Friends may call at the funeral home from 5-until 8-p.m. Friday, July 29th, with the family present to greet friends from 6-until 8-p.m.

Burial will be in the Layton Township Cemetery at Walnut.

KIMBERLY JO (Antisdel) KNAPP is survived by:

Her father – Gary Antisdel, of Atlantic.

Her mother – Nola Rae (Bengard) Antisdel, of Atlantic.

Her husband – Phillip Knapp, of Walnut.

Her sons – Brandon (Cari) Knapp, of Friendship, WI; Brian (Taryn) Knapp, of Portsmouth; and Brock Knapp (Chantel Scheffler), of Exira.

Her brothers – Mike (Lori) Antisdel, of Des Moines, & Barry (Lisa) Antisdel, of Anita.

Her sister – Cyndi (Kevin) Ferguson, of Atlantic.

Her God-child: Jenna Ferguson, of Atlantic.

Her sister-in-law, Nancy Antisdel, of Greenfield, and 10 grandchildren.

 

ISU grad and former hostage dies

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

An Iowa State University graduate who was held hostage in Lebanon for more than six years has died. Thomas Sutherland died this past weekend at his home in Fort Collins, Colorado, he was 85. Sutherland was a native of Scotland who received his masters and P-H-D in animal breeding at Iowa State University. He began his teaching career at Colorado State, and was serving as the dean of the agriculture faculty at American University in Beirut, Lebanon when he was kidnapped on June 9th of 1985.

Image from blacktie-colorado.com

Thomas Sutherland (Image from blacktie-colorado.com)

Sutherland was held with fellow Iowa State graduate Terry Anderson, a reporter who had also been kidnapped, until they were released in 1991. Sutherland is survived by his wife Jean, who is the daughter of the late William Murray, an I-S-U professor who help create Living History Farms.

(Radio Iowa)

Mills County accident report – 2 motorcycles collide

News

July 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County say one person was transported to the hospital following an accident Saturday afternoon on Jesup Avenue. Gary Fichter, of Council Bluffs, was transported by Glenwood Rescue to Creighton Medical Center, after his motorcycle collided with another motorcycle.

The accident happened at around 3:25-p.m., as Bradley Osler, of Council Bluffs, was making a u-turn while driving a 2014 BMW motorcycle. Osler told deputies he made the turn after his hat blew off. In the process of the turn, his cycle was struck by Fichter’s 2007 Harley Davidson. Both drivers fell off their machines after the impact.

Mills County Sheriff’s report (7/26/16)

News

July 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday), issued a report on arrests made over the past week. Today (Tuesday), 41-year old Jonathan Adam Ray, of Council Bluffs, was arrested following a traffic stop on Highway 34, for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $5,300.

Sunday evening, deputies arrested 21-year old Matthew Omar Davis, of Shenandoah, at Highway 34 & 295th Street, for Possession of a Controlled Substance. His bond was set at $1,000. That same day, 56-year old Duane Kelsey Boege, of Malvern, was arrested for OWI/1st offense (bond $1,000), and 36-year old Helen Elaine Tuper, of Malvern, was arrested for Public Intoxication (Bond $300).

On Saturday, 33-year old Joshua Calvin Anderson, of Highland Ranch, CO., was arrested on Main Street in Glenwood, for Public Intoxication. His bond was set at $2,000.  And, on July 21st 51-year old Edwin Joe Isham, Jr. (no address given) was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on a warrant for Sex Offender Registry Violation. His bond was set at $2,000.

Central Iowa woman arrested on Theft & drug charges in Pott. County

News

July 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County report a central Iowa woman was arrested early this (Tuesday) morning on drug and theft charges, after authorities investigated a vehicle in the ditch off Interstate 80, at the 24 mile-marker. Authorities say 23-year old Leslie Rodriguez, of Pleasant Hill, was subsequently arrested at around 12:23-a.m., for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, and Theft in the 2nd degree (for possessing a vehicle that was reported stolen).

Deputies recovered a black 2006 Acura TL at the scene, along with a half-gram of marijuana.

Iowa crops weathered extreme heat wave well

Ag/Outdoor, News

July 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Cooler, more seasonable weather is in Iowa’s forecast this week as last week’s extreme high temperatures in the upper 90s are giving way to the 80s and even the upper 70s. Iowa’s crops appear to have weathered the triple-digit heat indices well, according to Brad Rippey, a meteorologist with the U-S-D-A. “It looks like the Midwest goes right back to nearly ideal temperatures,” Rippey says. “Just a little blip in this path towards what has been a pretty good crop year overal for corn and soybeans.”

There’s been fairly timely rain across much of the state throughout the growing season, he says, so there should not be fears of a crop disaster. Rippey adds, last week’s heat wave can’t be blamed on the La Nina weather pattern because it hasn’t really formed yet. “Years that we see El Nino quickly die out in the spring or early summer, it’s quite common to see mid- to late summer heat and that certainly seems to be the case,” Rippey says. “We got through the early part of the summer without extreme heat. Now, we’re looking at an expansion of heat but again, it doesn’t look like a major, summer-long event here for the Midwest.”

Looking back, Rippey says there have been three recent heat waves where crops in the region did very well: 2000, 2004 and 2014. “All three of those turned out to be reasonably good overall crop years for corn,” Rippey says. “2014, that is the existing all-time record corn yield, 171 bushels per acre.”

As rain moves in late on Wednesday and into Thursday, forecasters say parts of Iowa may see highs only in the upper-70s by the end of this week.

(Radio Iowa)

EDRIS D. NIELSEN, 90, of Council Bluffs & formerly of the Oakland area (Svcs. 7/30/16)

Obituaries

July 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

EDRIS D. NIELSEN, 90, of Council Bluffs (& formerly of the Oakland area), died Tuesday, July 26th. Funeral services for EDRIS NIELSEN will be held 10:30-a.m. Saturday, July 30th, at the Congregational Church of Christ, in Oakland. Rieken Vieth Funeral Home in Oakland has the arrangements.

Visitation will be Friday, July 29, 2016 from 5:30 until 7:30 PM at the Oakland Congregational Church in Oakland.

Interment will be at the Oak Wood Cemetery in Lewis, IA. A Lunch will follow at the Lewis Community Building in Lewis.

EDRIS NIELSEN is survived by:

Her daughters – Becky Wetenkamp (special friend Dale Haines), of Plattsmouth, NE, and Jo (Larry) Peters, of Council Bluffs.

Her sons – Robert (Linda) Zimmerman II, of Walnut, and Tim (Shelly) Zimmerman, of Ponder, TX.

Her brother – William Simm, of Paulina.

6 grandchildren; 17 great grandchildren, 4 great great grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews and other relatives.