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NWS forecast for Cass & area Counties: 5/2/2016

Weather

May 2nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Early This Morning: Mostly cloudy. Patchy fog. Northwest wind near 5 mph.
Today: Partly sunny. Patchy fog through mid morning. A 20 percent chance of showers in the afternoon. Warmer. High in the lower 60s. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low in the lower 40s. West wind near 5 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny. High in the upper 60s. West wind 5 to 15 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy. Low in the upper 40s. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny. High in the mid 60s. North wind 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear. Low in the lower 40s.
Thursday: Sunny. High around 70.

Iowa early News Headlines: Mon., May 2nd 2016

News

May 2nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Drunken driving deaths in Iowa increased to 123 last year, but the number of driver’s license revocations is down. Officials say the decline is likely a result of having fewer officers on the road, so there are fewer arrests. More people may also be taking cabs instead of driving after they have been drinking.

RED OAK, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Charles Grassley will join a national group in southwest Iowa to talk about taxpayer preferences. The National Taxpayer Advocate Service has announced it will hold a public forum at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Red Oak. Those who attend will get the chance to talk about what how the IRS can better help them comply with their tax obligations.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Center for abused children in Sioux City raising $2 million to expand the facility. The project will triple the space at the Mercy Child Advocacy Center and make the facility more confidential and secure.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers put aside philosophical differences to adjourn the legislative session, because at one point their disagreements came down to less than $15 million. There were lengthy private meetings over less than $500,000 given to family planning facilities like Planned Parenthood. Lawmakers were also at odds over $9.7 million for salaries to the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Iowa center for abused children raising $2 million to expand

News

May 1st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A center for abused children in Sioux City is raising $2 million for an expansion project. The Sioux City Journal reports the project will roughly triple the size of the Mercy Child Advocacy Center to 9,000 square feet. The project will create a stand-alone facility and add two more interview rooms and another examination room.

Plus, it will make the facility more secure and give it a separate entrance. Currently families enter the center through the endoscopy unit at the hospital. The facility serves 40 counties in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota and has seen over 15,000 children since it opened in 1989.

Scherzer, homers help Nationals sweep Cardinals, 6-1

Sports

May 1st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Max Scherzer pitched seven strong innings to beat his hometown team for the first time, and the Washington Nationals completed a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 6-1 victory Sunday. Clint Robinson and Danny Espinosa hit back-to-back home runs, providing the power for Washington on a day when NL MVP Bryce Harper struck out all four times up.

Scherzer (3-1), who grew up in suburban St. Louis, struck out nine and scattered four singles. He didn’t allow a runner past first base, earning his first win in five career starts against the Cardinals.

By finishing the weekend sweep, the Nationals emphatically ended years of frustration at Busch Stadium. It was their first series win in St. Louis since May 2007. Washington improved to 17-7 overall, the best start in club history through 24 games.

MARGE PORTER, 93, of Greenfield (Svcs. 5/7/16)

Obituaries

May 1st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

MARGE PORTER, 93, of Greenfield, died March 30th, at the Greenfield Rehabilitation and Health Care Center.  Celebration of Life services for MARGE PORTER will be held 11-a.m. Saturday, May 7th,at the United Methodist Church, in Greenfield. Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield has the arrangements.

Visitation will be held Friday, May 6th, from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield, with the family greeting friends from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Online condolences may be left to the family at www.steenfunerals.com.

Burial will be in the Greenfield Cemetery.  A luncheon will be held following the committal services at the Greenfield United Methodist Church.

Memorials may be directed to the Greenfield United Methodist Church.

MARGE PORTER is survived by:

Her son – Gary (Lois) Roberts of Decorah.

Her step-children: John (Kathy) Porter of Greenfield; Gary (Melissa) Porter of Hudson, WI.

4 grandchildren, 3 step-grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and other relatives.

Atlantic City Park restroom fire under investigation

News

May 1st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Firefighters from Atlantic responded to a report of smoke in the restroom at the Atlantic City Park Shelterhouse/restroom facility, Sunday afternoon. A person in the men’s restroom saw and smelled smoke a little after 2:30-p.m. Firefighters arrived on the scene and saw no visible flames, but a metal trash receptacle in the women’s restroom showed evidence a fire had started there, and that someone used water to try and put it out. The smoke wafted into the adjacent, men’s restroom.

Ric Hanson/photo

Ric Hanson/photo

Atlantic Police Lt. Dave Erickson said they would inspect the trash can to try and determine if the fire was intentionally set, or the result of a carelessly discarded cigarette. Crews were on the scene for about 25 minutes.

Damage to the shelter appeared to have been limited to the trash can.

Iowa drunken driving deaths up but license revocations fall

News

May 1st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The number of drunken driving deaths on Iowa roads has been increasing over the past few years, but the number of driver’s license revocations is down. The Des Moines Register reports there were 123 drunken driving deaths last year. That’s up from 110 the year before and 114 in 2012.

Last year, 13,938 driver’s licenses were revoked for drunken driving in the state. That number has been steadily declining. In 2014, 14,515 licenses were revoked and in 2012, 17,708 licenses were taken.

Officials with the state Transportation Department and law enforcement say the decline is a result of having fewer officers on the road because of budget cuts and fewer arrests. Also, more people may be getting rides home after drinking.

National group, Grassley to talk taxes in southwest Iowa

News

May 1st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

RED OAK, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Charles Grassley will join a national group in southwest Iowa this coming week, to talk about taxpayer preferences. The National Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent organization within the Internal Revenue Service, announced it will hold a public forum at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Red Oak. Those who attend will get the chance to discuss how the IRS can better help them comply with their tax obligations. The forum will be held in the Montgomery County YMCA.

Nina Olson, the national taxpayer advocate, will join Grassley and a panel of small business representatives for the fifth forum in a series held in communities across the country. The forums were created to better understand and reflect taxpayer preferences in a plan that outlines how the IRS will operate in the future.

April 2016 Weather Stats for Atlantic

Weather

May 1st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

The month of April was wetter than normal, in Atlantic, but average, temperature-wise. Statistics compiled at KJAN (the official National Weather Service reporting station for Atlantic) show rainfall for the month amounted to 5.3-inches, which was 1.87-inches more than the average. The most rain fell on the 20th, when we received a 24-hour soaking of 1.16-inches.

The average High temperature of 63-degrees was just one degree warmer than the average of 62. The warmest days in April were on the 3rd and 24th, when we reached 81-degrees.

The average Low for the month was 38, which was about one-degree warmer than normal. The coolest mornings were on the 8th and 9th, when we bottomed out at 14-degrees.

Looking ahead: The month of May typically has Atlantic receiving 4.32-inches of rain. The average High is around 73, while the average Low is 49.

Teens cited for reckless driving in Red Oak after allegedly tearing up City property

News

May 1st, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Two teens were cited Saturday afternoon for reckless driving in Red Oak, after the vehicles they were driving allegedly tore up the mud at the west Coolbaugh Street boat ramp. Red Oak Police say an officer on routine patrol at around 4:45-p.m. came across a 1985 Ford van stuck up to its bumpers in the parking area of the boat ramp. He also saw a Dodge truck in the same area.

17-year old Michael Wade Hamilton, of Stanton, was cited after police determined he had driven the van onto the City-owned property without permission, tearing up the property when he drove into the mud. 16-year old Dawson Wade Culver, of Red Oak, was cited for driving the truck, which he admitted he had driven through the mud, but denied having become stuck in it.

Both teens were given a citation and then released to a parent.