712 Digital Group - top

Man pleads guilty in case of 2 southern Iowa killings

News

January 22nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

CRESTON, Iowa (AP) — A man representing himself in court has pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the December killings of two people in southern Iowa. Union County Attorney Tim Kenyon says 37-year-old Jerry Dillinger represented himself in court Friday and pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of Dillinger’s former sister-in-law, Loretta Dillinger, and another person, whom Dillinger identified as Michael Robinson.

Loretta Dillinger’s body was found Dec. 2 in a farm pond near Lorimor. A second body was found near a house in Thayer. The identity of that body hadn’t been confirmed by DNA testing, but Dillinger said in court it was Robinson, who was in a relationship with a Dillinger family member.

Dillinger asked to be sentenced immediately and received two consecutive life terms.

East Nish & West Nishnabotna Rivers to benefit from flood reduction & water quality funds

News

January 22nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa has received a nearly $97 million federal grant to tackle the state’s water quality and flood challenges. Gov. Terry Branstad, along with state and local leaders, announced Friday that the state was awarded the money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in order to help speed up flood reduction and water quality efforts in Iowa’s key watersheds over the next five years.

Among the identified flood reduction and targeted water quality efforts, is the East Nishnabotna and West Nishnabotna Rivers. Iowa is among 13 states and cities to receive the award, which is a part of the Natural Disaster Resilience Competition. The state was awarded the fourth-largest grant of any applicant.

Dispute over ‘grain leg’ near Carroll airport headed to court

Ag/Outdoor, News

January 22nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

The Carroll Airport Commission is going to court to try to resolve a long-running dispute with a local farmer. Airport officials say the grain handling tower Loren Danner built on his farm south of the Carroll airport is a flight hazard. It’s called a “grain leg” and it’s a permanent, upright tower that funnels corn and soybeans into a bin. Commission member Greg Siemann said “We were not notified and were not aware of its planned construction or construction until after the grain leg was fully constructed,” Siemann says. “That was done in a matter of days.”

The lack of notification is a violation of local ordinances, according to Siemann. Kevin Wittrock, who is also a member of the Carroll Airport Commission, says the structure is obscured under a plane’s left wing as it comes in to land on two of the runways. “If you fly a standard flight pattern to land on the runway, oddly enough you’ll go right over that grain leg,” Wittrock says. “…We feel it’s going to be a hazard.” A trial date has been set for June 28th.

Commission members say they’re not necessarily looking for complete removal of the structure and reducing its height by at least 61 feet would answer their concerns. Danner says the grain leg cost about 300-thousand dollars to build and lowering the system by just 40 feet would cost him 200-thousand dollars because of the conveyors he’d have to install to handle his grain.

Danner obtained a special permit from Carroll County officials for construction of the grain handling tower. In 2013, a county official said the F-A-A had determined the tower could remain if it was properly lit at night.

(Radio Iowa)

Backyard & Beyond 1-22-2016

Backyard and Beyond, Podcasts

January 22nd, 2016 by Jim Field

LaVon Eblen speaks with Jim Field about the KJAN trip to Branson, MO June 14-17, 2016.

Play

John J. Harris Wresting Tournament starts today in Corning

Sports

January 22nd, 2016 by admin

The annual John J. Harris Wrestling Tournament hosted by Southwest Valley gets underway today in Corning.

Teams that  will be competing are Atlantic/CAM, Bedford/Lenox, Central Decatur, Chariton, Clarinda, Clarke, Creston/O-M, East Mills, Griswold, Guthrie Center, Missouri Valley, Mount Ayr, New Hampton, Nodaway Valley, Panorama, Red Oak, Riverside, Shenandoah, Southwest Iowa, Southwest Valley, Tri-Center, Wayne, and Winterset.

Creston/O-M is ranked second in the state and seek their fifth straight team title at the event.  New Hampton is ranked first in the latest dual team polls just released this week.

 

IGHSAU basketball rankings released

Sports

January 22nd, 2016 by admin

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union has released their seventh girls basketball rankings of the season.  Exira-EHK stays at #2 in Class 1A while Harlan is still top ranked in Class 4A.

2016 SEVENTH Iowa Girls High School Basketball Rankings

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 21, 2016

Class 1A

School Record LW
1 Turkey Valley 15-0 1
2 Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton 14-0 2
3 Springville 12-1 3
4 Burlington Notre Dame 14-0 4
5 Kingsley-Pierson 13-1 5
6 Newell-Fonda 11-4 7
7 Kee 13-2 7
8 Grand View Christian 11-0 8
9 Adair-Casey 14-1 9
10 Lynnville-Sully 16-0 10
11 Westwood 13-2 13
12 Bedford 12-2 12
13 Rockford 11-2 14
14 Nodaway Valley 10-3 11
15 Montezuma 15-1 NR

Dropped Out: Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn (15)

Class 2A

School Record LW
1 Western Christian 12-2 5
2 Iowa City Regina 13-0 2
3 Pekin 15-0 3
4 Unity Christian 14-1 1
5 Okoboji 15-0 6
6 Manson-NW Webster 9-3 8
7 West Branch 15-2 4
8 Central Decatur 13-1 9
9 Des Moines Christian 13-1 10
10 Treynor 12-0 11
11 Interstate-35 13-2 7
12 Van Meter 13-2 12
13 Lawton-Bronson 10-3 13
14 Grundy Center 14-1 14
15 Durant 11-5 15

Dropped Out: None

Class 3A

School Record LW
1 Pocahontas Area 13-0 1
2 Center Point-Urbana 15-0 2
3 Nevada 12-3 3
4 Cherokee 13-1 4
5 Union 14-1 6
6 Sioux Center 12-2 5
7 Hampton-Dumont 10-2 12
8 Spirit Lake 9-5 7
9 Forest City 12-2 8
10 Osage 11-3 14
11 Mount Vernon 9-5 10
12 West Marshall 12-1 15
13 Monticello 9-4 9
14 Central Lee 12-2 NR
15 Mid-Prairie 8-5 13

Dropped Out: Cascade (11)

Class 4A

School Record LW
1 Harlan 12-1 1
2 Western Dubuque 14-0 2
3 Lewis Central 11-1 3
4 Keokuk 11-1 4
5 Ballard 13-1 6
6 North Scott 11-3 10
7 Marion 10-4 7
8 Pella 11-2 8
9 Fairfield 10-5 9
10 Mason City 8-7 5
11 Grinnell 11-3 11
12 Waverly-Shell Rock 13-3 12
13 Dallas Center-Grimes 10-3 13
14 Boone 11-2 14
15 Carlisle 8-5 NR

Dropped Out: Central DeWitt (15)

Class 5A

School Record LW
1 Cedar Rapids Kennedy 14-1 1
2 Indianola 14-0 2
3 Ankeny Centennial 11-2 3
4 Waukee 10-2 4
5 Johnston 10-3 5
6 Dowling Catholic 10-3 8
7 Southeast Polk 11-2 9
8 Iowa City High 11-2 6
9 Davenport North 12-2 10
10 Cedar Falls 12-1 10
11 West Des Moines Valley 9-4 8
12 Pleasant Valley 10-4 15
13 Linn-Mar 9-4 12
14 Iowa City West 9-4 13
15 Davenport West 11-2 NR

Dropped Out: Ames (14)

Wrestling Regional Dual sites announced

Sports

January 22nd, 2016 by admin

The Iowa High School Athletic Association announced regional dual sites for wrestling on Thursday.  Class 1A and 2A host sites were announced while in Class 3A sites and assignments were announced.

High School Wrestling scoreboard Thursday 01/22/2016

Sports

January 22nd, 2016 by admin

Double Dual at Shenandoah

Shenandoah 45 Red Oak 24
Creston/Orient-Macksburg 58 Shenandoah 9
Creston/Orient-Macksburg 67 Red Oak 12

Quad at Woodbine

Treynor 54 Woodbine 30
Underwood 45 Treynor 36
Underwood 60 Woodbine 24
Woodbine 60 St. Albert 18

Double Dual at Clarinda Academy

Clarinda Academy 36 Martensdale-St. Mary’s 27
Wayne 57 Clarinda Academy 10
Wayne 60 Martensdale-St. Mary’s 12

Dual at Sioux City North

Lewis Central 52, Sioux City North 24

Study finds 800,000 Iowans have diabetes or are at risk

News

January 22nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

More than one-third of Iowa’s population is either diabetic or prediabetic and a new campaign is being launched here in hopes of reversing a dangerous trend. Dr. David Grayson Marrero, past-president of the American Diabetes Association, says they’re focusing on the several hundred-thousand Iowans who are prediabetic with the goal of getting them to make a few key changes that could mean saving their lives.

“Risk factors would be: excess weight or obesity; it would be family history of type 2 diabetes, a first-degree relative, mother, father, sister, brother,” Dr. Marrero says. “It could be age. Older people are more likely to have prediabetes. It can be a woman who’s had gestational diabetes or diabetes during pregnancy.”

The website, Do I Have Prediabetes-dot-org (doihaveprediabetes.org), features a simple test people can take to determine if they might have the condition. He says prediabetes can be headed off before it worsens. “Very modest changes in your lifestyle,” Marrero says. “Losing five to ten-percent of your body weight and increasing your physical activity to the equivalent of 150 minutes a week of walking, that’s 30 minutes a day. It can really make a huge difference and reduce your risk between 60 to 70-percent.”

Studies find about 300-thousand Iowans, or about 12-percent of the population, has diabetes and perhaps 20-percent of them don’t know it as they haven’t been diagnosed. There are several long-term risks of prediabetes, including stroke, heart attacks, blindness and amputation. Research suggests once people are aware of their condition, they’re more likely to make the lifestyle changes necessary to prevent or delay progression to type 2 diabetes. Marrero is director of the Diabetes Translational Research Center at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

(Radio Iowa)

IA Ag Sec. Northey: Grants available to help promote specialty crops

Ag/Outdoor

January 22nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today (Friday) announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is accepting applications for grant funding through the Specialty Crop Block Grant program. The grants are available to support projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops grown in Iowa. The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, which administers the program, has reported that Iowa will receive $244,352.23 in funding this year.

Grant funds can be used for projects that solely enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops that benefit the specialty crop industry as a whole and will not be awarded for projects that directly benefit a particular product or provide a profit to a single organization, institution, or individual.

Iowa agencies, universities, institutions, and producer, industry, and community based organizations are all eligible to apply for funding to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. In addition, single organizations, institutions, and individuals are encouraged to participate as project partners.

Grant awards will be considered up to a maximum of $24,000 and projects can have a duration of up to 30 months (2 ½ years). “Specialty Crops” that are eligible under this program are fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. Both fresh and processed specialty crops are eligible.

Proposals must be received by IDALS on or before 4:00 p.m. on Monday, May 2, 2016. For more information visit the IDALS Specialty Crop Block Grant program at the Department’s web site at www.IowaAgriculture.gov/Horticulture_and_FarmersMarkets/specialtyCropGrant.asp.

The Department is again establishing a Review Committee to help review, evaluate, and make recommendations on grant proposals submitted to the Department. Those interested in participating in the Review Committee should have knowledge of specialty crops, and/or grant writing or grant management experience, and the ability to devote the necessary time to complete the review process. Additional information about reviewer responsibilities, meeting dates and an application form can also be found at www.IowaAgriculture.gov/Horticulture_and_FarmersMarkets/specialtyCropGrant.asp.

Applications to participate in the Reviewer Committee are due Friday, March 25, 2016 by 4 p.m. In addition, to ensure that funds are used in the most efficient manner possible, the Department is asking specialty crop stakeholders and organizations to submit public comments on program priorities. The comments will help the Department identify priorities; establish the criteria used to evaluate the projects proposed for funding, and to determine how the reviews are conducted.

Iowans interested in submitting comments about the program can do so online by emailing HorticultureAndFarmersMarkets@IowaAgriculture.gov or by mail to Horticulture and Farmers Market Bureau, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, 502 East 9th, Des Moines, Iowa, 50319. Comments received by May 2, 2016 will be presented to the review committee to assist in prioritizing projects.