United Group Insurance

Ottumwa John Deere facility to shut down temporarily again amid ‘reduced demand’

Ag/Outdoor, News

November 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

OTTUMWA, Iowa (KCRG) – John Deere says it plans to suspend production at its Ottumwa plant for a month due to reduced demand for its products. John Deere Ottumwa Works manufactures hay and forage equipment. The facility had a three-week shutdown earlier this year, with production resuming in September though November. However, Deere says the factory is planning another of what it calls a “temporary inventory adjustment shutdown” from early December through early January, due to reduced demand for AG equipment.

The shutdowns come after numerous rounds of layoffs from the company’s workforce at plants across eastern Iowa, including the Quad Cities, earlier this year. Deere has been moving parts of its manufacturing from its various facilities to Mexico. In a statement to KCRG-TV, Deere said each of its factories balances its work schedule with the projected demand for the products it builds.

The Des Moines Register reports the employees at the facility are expected to receive close to their normal pay while the plant is idled.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

NWS confirms and EF-0 tornado hit near Bloomfield on Nov. 5th; Record number of twisters in IA this year

News, Weather

November 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Des Moines, Iowa (Via KCCI and KCRG) — The National Weather Service in Des Moines has confirmed an EF-0 tornado that struck at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5 near the town of Bloomfield. Damage was reported to the National Weather Service and it was determined that a tornado had touched down at 11 a.m. and lasted for around one minute with an overall path length of one-third of a mile. The cell associated with the storm was said to have no lightning. Tornadoes can occur any time of the year.

According to the Weather Service, since January 1st Iowa has broken the record for the most tornadoes touching down in the state in a year, with 122 having been confirmed- and the year isn’t over yet, of course. The previous record was set in 2004. Several different events have contributed to this year’s high number of tornadoes. A Weather Service meteorologist said four of the largest tornadoes occurred April 16th and 26th, and were followed-up by an active weather pattern, in May. Storms on the 21st and 24th of May produced between 18 to 23 tornadoes each.

In addition to a strong jet stream, meteorologists also noted several additional features that helped strengthen storms this year. Dr. Bill Gallus, a professor of Meteorology at ISU told KCRG, “In the spring, the southern part of the United States got very hot, record hot and the Gulf of Mexico warmed up quickly and became warmer than average, which also helps more humidity to enter the atmosphere and then the south winds that came up ahead of these storm systems could bring that higher humidity up to Iowa and that acts as the fuel as the instability for the thunderstorms.”

2024 isn’t the only year we’ve dealt with a high number of tornadoes. In the last 20 years, five years have had more than 100 tornadoes statewide. Scientists don’t think climate change is causing an increase in the number of tornadoes we see. However, experts are considering the possibility that climate change is causing more large scale severe weather events. Officials say learning from this year’s storms will help to prepare for twisters in the years to come.

As for the upcoming Winter months, the Climate Prediction Center – which specializes in long-range, seasonal forecasts – says developing La Niña conditions are expected through the winter. What does that mean for Iowa? The influence of La Niña is most impactful in northern and southern states and along the east coast. Towards the central US, La Niña has less of a signal making it difficult to draw conclusions about what to expect this year. Recent La Niña patterns have generally favored a warmer start to the winter season for our area, followed by colder and snowier conditions over the second half of winter with a later onset of spring.

Posted in News, Weather |

Alleged hazing incident results in the suspension of a U-of-I fraternity

News

November 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa – One person has been arrested and a University of Iowa fraternity chapter has been suspended as authorities investigate a potential hazing incident, university leaders said Friday. KCRG-TV reports, according to a statement from the university, the arrest and suspension came after first responders were called to the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity house early Friday morning for a fire alarm, and they found several dozen pledges blindfolded in the basement.

One person was arrested and charged with interference with official acts. That person was NOT a student, and does not live at the house where the incident took place. Their name has not been released at this time. University leaders did not say how they were involved in the incident.

The University of Iowa’s Office of Student Accountability has suspended the operations of Alpha Delta Phi, pending the outcome of the investigation. The fraternity’s national chapter has also suspended the charter until further notice. The university released a statement saying it is committed to protecting the health and safety of its students and will address any behavior that puts student safety at risk.

The university has also reached out to the students involved in the incident to offer counseling resources. The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.

Posted in News |

2 killed, 2 injured in separate accidents Friday, in northern & southern Iowa

News

November 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(State News) – Two people died and two others were injured in separate collions on opposite sides of the State, Friday. The Iowa State Patrol reports a pedestrian died when she was struck by a pickup truck a little after 6-p.m. Fort Madison, which is in southern Iowa’s Lee County.

According to the report, a 2009 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck driven by 70-year-old Jeffrey Stephen Jordan, of Argyle, was traveling westbound on Highway 2 in Fort Madison, when the pedestrian – 70-year-old Nancy Lynne Kuhljuergen, of Ft. Madison – attempted to cross the roadway from the Fort Colonies Restaurant, and was struck by the pickup. Kuhljuergen died from her injuries.

The other accident happened on Highway 69 between 180th and 190th Streets in northern Iowa’s Hamilton County, at around 6:30-a.m., Friday. The State Patrol says the driver of an SUV died during a multi-vehicle collision north of Blairsburg, and the drivers of a pickup truck and a semi were hurt.

Officials say a 2021 Jeep Renegade driven by 27-year-old Cole Lantz, of Williams (IA) was traveling north on Highway 69 and was attempting to pass another vehicle traveling northbound. A 2011 Dodge RAM 2500 pickup driven by 51-year-old Carlos Vielman Castillo, of Postville, was southbound on Highway 69  and collided head-on with the Jeep in the southbound lanes. Both vehicles came to rest on the roadway.

32-year-old Justin Norton, of Belmond (IA), was traveling south on Highway 69 in 2024 Freightliner semi. He swerved to the center-line of the road to avoid striking the pickup truck but collided with the vehicle on the way through the debris. a fourth vehicle that was involved lightly struck the Jeep. Officials say weather appeared to play a factor. A dense fog advisory was in effect at the time.

The Patrol says Cole Lantz died at the scene. Carlos Castillo and has passenger, 28-year-old Jilmer Vielman Monroy, of Belmond, were injured, and transported to a hospital in Webster City. All of the crash victims were wearing their seat belts. The road was closed for several hours as a result of the wreck.

Posted in News |

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area: Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024

Weather

November 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Today
Isolated showers after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 60. Windy, with a south southeast wind 15 to 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight
Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 38. South wind 5 to 13 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph.
Sunday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 53. West wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable in the afternoon.
Sunday Night
A 20 percent chance of rain after midnight. Increasing clouds, with a low around 36. Calm wind becoming east southeast around 6 mph after midnight.
Monday
Rain. The rain could be heavy at times. High near 57. Windy, with an east wind 7 to 12 mph increasing to 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.
Monday Night
Rain before 9pm, then rain and possibly a thunderstorm between 9pm and midnight. Low around 41. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 51. Breezy.
Friday’s High in Atlantic was 65. The 24-hour Low ending at 7-a.m. today was 27. Last year on this date, the High was 67 and the Low was 23. The Record High in Atlantic on Nov. 16th was 73 in 2001. The Record Low was 1 in 1955. Sunrise: 7:11. Sunset: 4:59.

Posted in Weather |

Southwest Valley Girls Basketball Poised for a Rebound Season

Sports

November 15th, 2024 by Christian Adams

The Southwest Valley Girls Basketball team is looking to rebound after a disappointing season a year ago. Despite finishing with a 2-17 regular season record, the Timberwolves were competitive last season. Out of their 18 losses, five of them were by five points or less. They were also able to win their regional quarterfinal game against Central Decatur before falling in the semi-final to Nodaway Valley. Couple this with a young roster that had only had seniors, it’s a team that has room to grow. Head Coach Mike Cormack is hopeful about the coming season and proud of the work his players have put in during the offseason.

The Timberwolves do return both of the top scorers from a year ago. Hailey Randall put up 12 points per game and 2.8 steals while Mackenzie Fast averaged 8 points a game with 8.3 rebounds per contest. In addition to Fast and Randall, Cormack is also looking forward to watching the continued development of some of his depth players that he knows will need to contribute.

Cormack thinks the biggest improvement his team can make this year is closing out games in the fourth quarter.

Southwest Valley is a team with a lot of room to grow. Returning two top scorers plus adding another year of experience and continuity to a young team can do nothing but help. Cormack is very excited to start the season and to watch his team grow and compete.

Their first scrimmage of the season will be on Saturday.

Posted in Sports |

Porcher Qualifies for NCAA Championships, ISU Women Fourth at Regionals

Sports

November 15th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

PEORIA, Ill. – Iowa State junior Maelle Porcher qualified for the 2024 NCAA Championships and the Iowa State women picked up two Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series points at the 2024 NCAA Midwest Regional cross country meet.

“I was very pleased to see our women have their best race of the year at the Midwest Regional!” said director of track & field/cross country Jeremy Sudbury. “This group had a lot of heart and grit and although the season has not gone the way they would have wanted it to, their resilience and effort was on full display today.”

The Cyclones finished fourth as a team, led by Porcher’s podium finish, to best their in-state foe as the Hawkeyes finished 17th. Porcher started the race strong, running with the front pack early and was tied for sixth through the first 2K mark. She improved to fifth at the 3K mark and jumped again to fourth at the 4K and 5K marks. The junior made her final push into third ahead of the finish and earned the second individual automatic qualifying spot with her time of 19:52.8.

Porcher will run at her third straight NCAA Championships, after qualifying as an individual for CBU in 2022 before running as part of Iowa State’s qualifying team last season. It will mark the 16th consecutive season and the Cyclone women will have a representative running at the national championship meet.

Coach Sudbury was elated that Porcher will have the chance to compete next weekend after a great race Friday morning, saying “Maelle was brilliant in her individual race and I couldn’t be more excited for her to get to race next week at NCAAs!”

Redshirt-juniors Riley Beach and Bella Heikes also finished in the top 25 to help the Iowa State effort and earned All-Midwest Region honors along with Porcher. Beach was 18th in 20:20.75 while Heikes finished 21st less than a few seconds later in 20:22.50. The young Cyclones gained great experience at the regional meet as well, as freshmen Ruby Hughes (42nd, 20:47.53) and sophomore Sheridan Wheeler (55th, 20:57.67) rounded out ISU’s top five.

“Coach Wallace is going to build off this finish and have his team ready to get back to NCAAs next year,” said Sudbury.

Up Next
Porcher will prepare for the 2024 NCAA Championships next Saturday, November 23. Start time for the women’s 6K in Madison is set for 9:20 a.m. CT at the Zimmer Championships Cross Country Course.

Team Results
1. No. 19 Oklahoma State, 61; 2. No. 23 Minnesota, 76; 3. Northwestern, 103; 4. Iowa State, 139; 5. Nebraska, 181; 6. Bradley, 203; 7. Oklahoma, 222; 8. Illinois, 261; 9. Loyola (Ill.), 261; 10. Tulsa, 303; 11. Missouri, 316; 12. South Dakota State, 392; 13. Kansas, 404; 14. Kansas State, 427; 15. UNI, 435; 16. Drake, 439; 17. Iowa, 478; 18. North Dakota State, 485; 19. Illinois State, 532; 20. DePaul, 567; 21. North Dakota, 576; 22. South Dakota, 595; 23. Saint Louis, 619; 24. Wichita State, 654; 25. Eastern Illinois, 681; 26. Missouri State, 701; 27. Oral Roberts, 767; 28. SE Missouri, 769; 29. Illinois-Chicago, 779; 30. Omaha, 820; 31. Creighton, 825; 32. Southern Illinois, 993; 33. SIU Edwardsville, 1025

Individual Results
1. Leah Jeruto, Oklahoma, 19:42.87; 3. Maelle Porcher, Iowa State, 19:52.8; 18. Riley Beach, Iowa State, 20:20.8; 21. Bella Heikes, Iowa State, 20:22.5; 42. Ruby Hughes, Iowa State, 20:47.5; 55. Sheridan Wheeler, Iowa State 20:57.7; 58. Taylor Briggs, Iowa State, 20:58.8; 67. Kiki Connell, Iowa State, 21:11.20

Posted in Sports |

Forester urges Iowans rethink planting any more maple trees

Ag/Outdoor, News

November 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – It’s a bit late in the year to be planting trees, but the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is urging homeowners and city leaders to plan ahead and consider any of about 85 different species of trees to plant in the spring. However, if they’re thinking about maples, think again. Chip Murrow, an urban forestry program specialist at the D-N-R, says maples are beautiful, sturdy trees, but they’ve become too poplar, or rather popular, in Iowa.

There are all sorts of maples, including black, sugar, Norway, Japanese, silverleaf and paperbark, but he says diversity is a good thing when it comes to trees. Murrow fears what our state’s tree canopy would look like if an infestation of insects or some sort of tree disease sweeps in, as has happened many times before.

The D-N-R is now offering an online publication which makes a case for cultivating a different sort of diversified canopy in the state.

The online document lists dozens of other trees that do well in Iowa under a long list of categories, including: vibrant fall color, fast growing, spring flowers, good for shade and storm resistant. Murrow says if Iowans help by planting a wide variety of species that are well suited for their sites, they’ll be helping ensure a community’s tree canopy is a valuable resource for the future.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Congresswoman Hinson says election may lead to more negotiation

News

November 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says she is excited to win another term and return to Washington knowing the Republicans retain control of the House.

Hinson who is from Marion won her third term in Congress. She says Republicans should be able to get things done after winning the Senate as well and the landslide win of Donald Trump.

She expects fixing the Biden border crisis is going to be one of the first issues.

Hinson says she has always tried to work in a bipartisan manner, and that may be more possible now in the lame duck session.

Hinson defeated Democrat Sarah Corkery of Cedar Falls in the recent election to win her third term in the Second Congressional District.

Posted in News |

North Dakota approves Summit pipeline permit

Ag/Outdoor, News

November 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – State regulators in North Dakota approved a pipeline route permit today (Friday) for the Summit Carbon Solutions proposed carbon capture pipeline. The route approved by the North Dakota Public Service Commission is part of a 25-hundred mile proposed project covering five states, including Iowa.
Summit C-E-O Lee Blank says it’s an important step.

The approval is important for Iowa, as construction in Iowa cannot begin until the project is fully approved in North and South Dakota. The Sierra Club of Iowa’s Jessica Mazour says pipeline opponents are disappointed in the permit decision but that the fight is far from over.

Summit plans to reapply for a route permit in South Dakota on Tuesday (Nov. 19).

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |