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Atlantic Trojans to host former VP Mike Pence

News, Sports

October 2nd, 2023 by Ric Hanson

ATLANTIC, IA – The Atlantic Trojans will host Former Vice President Mike Pence for the coin toss Friday, October 6th, during the Varsity Football pre-game at the Trojan Bowl. Superintendent Dr. Beth Johnson said “To have a former Vice President choose our district is an honor. We have great community pride and facilities to showcase at the game and I’m sure we will have a few additional visitors and media in attendance.”

Pence will arrive prior to the game to greet attendees and will then be escorted to the field for the coin toss. The game will continue in traditional fashion, and according to the Pence staff, the former Vice President will also be available to meet attendees following the pre-game activities.

During the event the district asks that attendees respect any additional security personnel, media and visitors and allow more time for parking, ticket lines, seating, and concession activity. Students and community members are encouraged to wear the color pink for the Pink Out event in support of the October Breast Cancer Awareness month.

According to school administrators, Activity Director Andy Mitchell was contacted earlier this month by the former Vice President’s staff to arrange the visit. “It’s not every day you get a call to discuss a guest of this caliber and host the former Vice President of our country,” Mitchell said. “We want to present our district and community in the most positive light during their visit here and we are excited to give our students the opportunity to be a part of the experience.”

Mills County Sheriff’s report (10/2/23)

News

October 2nd, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports five arrests from the past week. There were three separate arrests on September 27th:

28-year-old Zacheriah James Moulter, of Glenwood, was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia – Bond: $1,300; 32-year-old Tyriel Luc Gordon, of Kearney, NE, was arrested on a warrant for 2 counts of Theft 1st – Bond: $10,000; and, Reginald L. Croom, SR., of Omaha, NE, was arrested for Simulated Public Intoxication. – Bond: $300.00

On the 28th, Mills County Deputies arrested 41-year-old Dustin Eugene Kalkas, of Shenandoah, on a warrant for Violation of Probation – Bond: $10,000; and, 31-year-old Ryan Lee Fabian, of Omaha, NE, was arrested for: OWI 1st offense; Interference with Official Acts; Speeding; Open Container, and Reckless Driving – Bond: $2,200.

CONNIE BURNETT, 65, of Redfield (Formerly of Fontanelle) – Celebration of Life 10/6/23

Obituaries

October 2nd, 2023 by Ric Hanson

CONNIE BURNETT, 65, of Redfield (Formerly of Fontanelle), died Friday, September 29, 2023, at the Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. A Celebration of Life service for CONNIE BURNETT will be held 10:30-a.m. Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, at the Lamb Funeral Home in Fontanelle.

The family will greet friends at the funeral home on Friday, from 9:30-until 10:30-a.m.

Burial is in the Fontanelle Cemetery. 

Memorials may be directed to Connie Burnett memorial fund to be established by the family at a later date.

CONNIE BURNETT is survived by:

Her husband – Ron Burnett, of Redfield.

Her mother – Betty Murphy-Mills, of Fontanelle.

Her son – Travis (Stephanie) Burnett, of Melrose, IA.

Her daughters – Tracie Burnett (& Taylor Kraus), of Bagley, and Tiffany Burnett, of Des Moines.

Her brother – Mike (Myrna) Murphy, of Meridan, KS.

9 grandchildren; other relatives and friends.

Online condolences may be left to the family at www.lambfuneralhomes.com.

Few Iowa dentists are willing to take patients on Medicaid

News

October 2nd, 2023 by admin

The dental director of one of the state’s community health centers says Iowa is seeing a critical gap in dentists who will take patients with Medicaid coverage. Dr. Ashley Huber (HYOO-ber), of the Siouxland Community Health Center in Sioux City, says for the past 18 months, her clinic has been restricting new patients to only children, and it’s hard when they have to turn people away, especially those who are in pain.

(As above) Huber says, “We have patients that come up to our front desk in tears, and they’re like, ‘I just can’t do it, I can’t take it anymore.’” The Iowa Dental Association says dental Medicaid rates have been stagnant for more than 20 years, making it difficult for patients and for dentists. The shortage of dentists who treat Medicaid patients is a widespread issue, but Huber says it’s even more noticeable in western Iowa.

(As above) “It becomes an issue where a patient gets so infected that they end up in the ER,” Huber says, “and they end up with this giant hospital bill, or the state ends up with a giant hospital bill.” Huber says Medicaid doesn’t pay enough to cover overhead costs.

(Siouxland Community Healthcare photo)

She believes a strategically structured increase in reimbursement rates for Iowa Medicaid would be one solution to draw dentists back into the provider pool. She also sees a need for more dental assistants.
(Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)

Cedar Rapids schools closed by online threat

News

October 2nd, 2023 by admin

An eastern Iowa school district is closed today (Monday) after an online threat. Radio Iowa’s Dar Danielson reports.

The Cedar Rapids Community School District sent a message to parents and students it was closing all schools after becoming aware of a social media threat made by an unidentified person. The district says the closure is for the safety of all students and staff and they have been working with the Cedar Rapids Police, state public safety and the F-B-I to investigate the situation. No other details about the threat were released.

NORMA KOHLSCHEEN SPENCER, 77 of Simi Valley, CA, formerly of Avoca (Graveside Svc 10/7/2023)

Obituaries

October 2nd, 2023 by Lori Murphy

NORMA KOHLSCHEEN SPENCER, 77 of Simi Valley California and formerly of Avoca died July 1, 2021. Graveside service for NORMA SPENCER will be held on Saturday, October 7 at 11:00am at the Graceland Cemetery in Avoca.

Pauley Jones Funeral Home in Avoca has the arrangements.

NORMA KOHLSCHEEN SPENCER is survived by

Her Husband: Ray Spencer of Simi Valley, CA

2023 RANKINGS & STANDINGS

Sports

October 2nd, 2023 by admin

The latest edition of the IHSAA’s inaugural football rankings are available below. The rankings for Class 2A, Class 1A, Class A, and Eight-Player will be determined throughout the 2022-23 regular season by official rankings committees, as announced in November.

Available for the first time Oct. 2 are weekly Ratings Percentage Index lists for Class 5A, Class 4A, Class 3A. District standings for all classes except 5A are also available below.

The committee rankings for 2A, 1A, A, and 8P will feature a top 10 consensus-built list as compiled by a six-person group: Two former head coaches and one media member, each representing different state regions, and three IHSAA staff members.

The IHSAA will use the rankings as a primary tool for postseason assignments, while maintaining school and geographic considerations. Previously used postseason hosting and district finish criteria are unchanged for 2023.

Rankings and RPI will be released weekly on the following Mondays: Sept. 25, Oct. 2, Oct. 9, and Oct. 16. Ratings from previous weeks can be found at the bottom of this page. The final edition will be following the release of first round playoff matchups.

Records cited in the rankings are as of Monday, Oct. 2 via the IHSAA school and statistics database on Bound.

CLASS 2A

 

Rank School W L
1 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock 6 0
2 Van Meter 6 0
3 West Lyon 6 0
4 Monticello 5 1
5 Western Christian, Hull 5 1
6 Spirit Lake 5 1
7 Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 4 2
8 Clarinda 4 2
9 PCM 4 2
10 Mediapolis 4 2

 

CLASS 1A

 

Rank School W L
1 Grundy Center 6 0
2 Underwood 5 1
3 Sumner-Fredericksburg 5 1
4 MFL MarMac 5 1
5 Denver 5 1
6 Wilton 6 0
7 West Branch 4 2
8 Regina, Iowa City 5 1
9 Sigourney/Keota 5 1
10 Columbus Catholic, Waterloo 4 2

CLASS A

 

Rank School W L
1 Saint Ansgar 6 0
2 Woodbury Central 6 0
3 West Hancock 5 1
4 Madrid 6 0
5 Lisbon 6 0
6 Wapsie Valley 5 1
7 ACGC 6 0
8 Lynnville-Sully 5 1
9 Lake Mills 6 0
10 Akron-Westfield 5 1

 

EIGHT-PLAYER

 

Rank School W L
1 Winfield-Mount Union 6 0
2 Gladbrook-Reinbeck 6 0
3 Bedford 6 0
4 CAM, Anita 6 0
5 St. Mary’s, Remsen 6 0
6 Don Bosco, Gilbertville 5 1
7 Central City 5 1
8 Lenox 5 1
9 Clarksville 7 0
10 WACO 5 1

Big Ten Football Release – Week 6

Sports

October 2nd, 2023 by admin

• Conference action continues this week, with five Big Ten contests highlighted by a trio of divisional matchups. Action kicks off on Friday at 8 p.m. ET when Nebraska travels to Illinois. Indiana, Michigan State and Penn State will enjoy byes this week, with the complete schedule appearing to the right.

• Three Big Ten teams appear in the AP Poll this week. Michigan leads the conference at No. 2, followed by No. 4 Ohio State and No. 6 Penn State. Maryland and Wisconsin are both receiving votes.

• Four Big Ten teams remain undefeated on the season, as Maryland, Michigan and Penn State are all 5-0, while Ohio State is 4-0.

• Maryland and Penn State currently rank among the top 20 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Nittany Lions rank No. 3 nationally in scoring defense (9.6 points per game), while ranking 12th in scoring offense (40.6 points per game). The Terrapins rank No. 15 nationally in scoring offense (38.6 points per game), while ranking 16th in scoring defense (13.2 points per game).

• Four additional Big Ten teams rank in the top 25 in terms of scoring defense: Michigan (1st, 6.0 points per game), Ohio State (2nd, 8.5 points per game), Rutgers (12th, 12.8 points per game) and Iowa (21st, 16.8 points per game).

• Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa accounted for six touchdowns in a 44-17 win over Indiana to move the Terrapins to 5-0 on the season on Saturday. The senior completed 24-of-34 passes for 352 yards and threw five touchdowns, while also rushing for 15 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Tagovailoa also became the first Maryland quarterback ever to eclipse the 9,000 career passing yards mark in the win over the Hoosiers. He currently ranks 13th all-time in Big Ten history with 9,343 career passing yards.

• Michigan extended several streaks with a 45-7 victory against Nebraska last weekend. The Wolverines have won 17 straight games against Big Ten teams, the second-longest streak in school history. The Wolverines are averaging a scoring margin of +28.4 across their five wins this season, the fourth-highest figure in the country, the best in the Big Ten and the best scoring margin to start the season since 1904. They’ve won 25 straight games against unranked teams for the third-longest active win streak nationally. They also didn’t commit a penalty in a game for the first time this century.

• Iowa recorded its’ 19th consecutive game holding opponents under 400 yards, marking the longest active streak in the FBS, with a 26-16 victory against Michigan State last weekend. The Hawkeyes had two interceptions in the game for the first time, improving to a 27-17 advantage in points off turnovers this season. Hawkeye junior Cooper DeJean returned a 70-yard punt which is the 15th longest return in program history. It marked the first punt return of his career and the longest play of the season for Iowa.

• The Penn State defense fueled the 41-13 win against Northwestern on Saturday. The Nittany Lions recorded posted six sacks, an interception, two forced turnovers, 12 tackles for loss and held the Wildcats to 175 total yards. It’s the fifth time in the last two seasons that Penn State held a Big Ten team to fewer than 200 total yards with all five of those coming in their last seven conference games. Penn State joins UCLA as the only FBS teams to allow fewer than four yards per play.

• Twelve Big Ten Conference students are among the 201 semifinalists for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy. Now in its 34th year, the Campbell Trophy is presented annually to the nation’s top football scholar-athlete. Representing the Big Ten as this year’s Campbell Trophy semifinalists are Illinois’ Isaiah Williams, Indiana’s Trey Walker, Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa, Michigan’s Zak Zinter, Michigan State’s Maverick Hansen, Nebraska’s Brian Buschini, Northwestern’s Bryce Gallagher, Ohio State’s Cody Simon, Penn State’s Olu Fashanu, Purdue’s Gus Hartwig, Rutgers’ Mayan Ahanotu and Wisconsin’s Maema Njongmeta.

• The 2023 campaign will feature 99 All-Big Ten honorees (first-, second-, third-team or honorable mention) selected by either the coaches or the media last season, with Ohio State leading the way with 16 all-conference returnees. The East Division welcomes back 56 all-conference players, while the West returns 43. Illinois is the only West team with double-digit all-conference returnees with 10, while each team has at least one All-Big Ten performer returning.

• Last season, the Big Ten posted the fifth-highest single-season attendance total in conference history with 6,333,196 fans attending home games. Excluding 2020, this marked the ninth consecutive season and 10th time in 11 seasons that more than six million fans have attended Big Ten home football games.

• This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Monday, January 1, 2024, at the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl. Houston will host the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 8, 2024, at NRG Stadium. The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game.

Hawkeyes Host Drake in Exhibition this Weekend

Sports

October 2nd, 2023 by admin

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa rowing team opens up its 2023-24 season on Saturday, Oct. 7, on the Iowa River in a scrimmage against the Drake Bulldogs.

The Hawkeyes will compete in eight and four boats, consisting of 1-kilometer sprints on the Iowa River at 8 a.m. (CT).

The Hawkeyes finished 20th in the CRCA Pocock Final Poll for the first time since 2019 a season ago, and tallied 17 outright victories. Iowa spent four weeks in the top-20 which was also the best since 2021.

The Hawkeyes look to build off of last season’s fifth place finish at the Big Ten Championships for the second consecutive season earning 90 points, 15 more points from the previous year.

The head-to-head races will be on the Iowa River designed to pass by the university’s Iowa Memorial Union building to Park Road. Fans can watch from either Hancher Bridge or along the riverbanks near Hancher Auditorium. Hawkeye fans can also stay up to date on all things Iowa Rowing on hawkeyesports.com.

Quoting Head Coach Jeff Garbutt

“I am excited to have the opportunity to show the Hawkeye fanbase what our sport does. Having a home event on Homecoming is a special opportunity for our athletes to showcase their abilities.”

Radio Iowa High School Football Poll 10/2/23

Sports

October 2nd, 2023 by admin

The top ranked teams remain the same in the latest Radio Iowa High School Football Poll. Todd Kimm reports.