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Southern Illinois holds on to edge Northern Iowa 75-73

Sports

January 3rd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Anthony Beane made six 3-pointers and matched a career-best with 32 points, and Southern Illinois held off Northern Iowa’s late rally for a 75-73 victory on Saturday night. Beane made a 3-pointer and Southern Illinois led 70-59 with 1:35 remaining. Klint Carlson, Matt Bohannon and Paul Jesperson each made 3-pointers as part of a 13-3 run that pulled Northern Iowa to 73-72 with 12 seconds to play.

Beane dunked with three seconds left, sealing the fifth-straight win for Southern Illinois (13-2, 2-0 Missouri Valley). The Salukis led 39-30 before Northern Iowa used a 16-11 spurt to pull to 50-46 with 12 minutes to go. Beane answered with two 3s and Sean O’Brien added four points to stretch Southern Illinois’ lead to 60-48.

The Panthers cut the deficit to six points with 4:28 remaining. Carlson sparked the rally at the 1:10-mark. Wes Washpun led Northern Iowa (9-6, 1-1) with 19 points.

Area basketball scores from Sat., 1/2/16

Sports

January 3rd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

BOYS BASKETBALL

Atlantic 64, St. Albert, Council Bluffs 46
Treynor 55, Red Oak 39
Tri-Center, Neola 58, Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 38

Timberwolves Shootout

Champlin Park, Minn. 76, Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 45
Maple Grove, Minn. 70, Iowa City, West 57

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Panorama, Panora 57, Shenandoah 41
St. Albert, Council Bluffs 84, Atlantic 43
Treynor 72, Red Oak 27
Tri-Center, Neola 47, Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 42

No grand prize winner for $334 million Powerball jackpot

News

January 3rd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lottery officials say there was no grand prize winner in the first Powerball drawing of the year that also offers one of the biggest prizes in the game’s history. The numbers drawn were: 05-06-15-29-42 and the Powerball was 10. The Power Play number was 2.

The jackpot in Saturday’s drawing had grown to $334 million, the 12th largest in Powerball history. The lump-sum cash prize for the winner would have been $205 million. The last time the prize was close to that amount was in March 2013, when a New Jersey man won $338 million.

The next drawing will be held Wednesday. The odds of winning Saturday’s Powerball jackpot were 1 in 292 million.

 

Rose Bowl draws lowest TV rating since 1999

News, Sports

January 2nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Lopsided games and having the College Football Playoff semifinals on New Year’s Eve led to a 13 percent drop in TV ratings for the New Year’s Six Bowls from last year. The Rose Bowl on Friday drew its lowest rating (7.9) since it became part of the BCS in 1999. The overnight ratings for the big New Year’s Day bowls were announced Saturday by ESPN, which broadcasts all the games.

All three of Friday’s major bowls were blowouts. The Fiesta between Ohio State and Notre Dame, earned a 6.2 rating. That was up 35 percent from last season’s Arizona-Boise State game. The Buckeyes won 44-28. Stanford beat Iowa 45-16 in the Rose Bowl. The Sugar Bowl, which Mississippi won 48-20 against Oklahoma State, drew a 5.3 rating.

 

Police: Shoplifting arrests surged in Council Bluffs in 2015

News

January 2nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Council Bluffs police say the city saw a 30 percent increase in shoplifting arrests last year compared to 2014. The Daily Nonpareil says  the police records department reported 1,013 shoplifting arrests as of Dec. 30. During the previous year, Council Bluffs police say they arrested 772 people for the crime.

Anyone who is arrested for allegedly stealing items worth less than $500 is considered a shoplifter. Council Bluffs Police Sgt. Dave Dawson says the opening of a new Walmart store likely played a role in the increase.

Family Fun in the Kitchen 01-02-2015

Podcasts, Family Fun in the Kitchen

January 2nd, 2016 by admin

Lavon and Miss NiNi discuss some of the longest running food brands in America.

Play

7AM Sportscast 01-02-2016

Podcasts, Sports

January 2nd, 2016 by admin

w/ Chris Parks

Play

7AM Newscast 01-02-2015

News, Podcasts

January 2nd, 2016 by admin

w/ Chris Parks

Play

Iowa to offer record number of beekeeping classes in 2016

Ag/Outdoor, News

January 2nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Iowans who are considering taking up a new hobby in the new year might consider taking a course in beekeeping. A record number of beekeeping classes will be offered in the state this winter at locations all over Iowa. State apiarist Andrew Joseph says the courses are starting as soon as January 9th, just over a week from now.

“Wintertime is a good time to learn about all of the basic information you need to get started with a hive of bees,” Joseph says. “You’ll get this knowledge in your mind, you’ll know where to get things, how to order your equipment and put it together and what to expect over your first season. That’ll prepare you well for springtime, which is when beekeepers will start their new colonies.”

It can be a profitable hobby, Joseph says, and the number of beekeepers is growing.  “They’re just skyrocketing and this is definitely true for Iowa and it’s true for pretty much everywhere in the U.S.,” Joseph says. “We’ve jumped over the last ten years from around 3,000 or 3,500 beekeepers across the state to an estimated 4,500 now today.”

Iowa’s 4,500 beekeepers manage more than 45,000 colonies of honey bees. Those bees produce about 4-million pounds of honey annually, valued at over $8-million. Honey bees are also responsible for the pollination of many Iowa crops, as well as home gardens and plants eaten by wildlife. The economic value of honey bees as crop pollinators in Iowa is estimated at $92 million a year. Joseph says the classes being offered by the state will be of help for those who are just starting out.

“Most of the people that would be interested in these classes are new hobbyists, beekeepers with a couple of hives in their back yard,” he says. “It’s a great way to start, just two or three hives, get a taste for it and let it go from there. If you get a passion for it, build up your numbers.”

The state’s offering some 27 classes in beekeeping in a host of sites, included at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, on Thursday evenings from March 31st to April 14th. Another class will be held in Glenwood. The date and times for the classes have not yet been set. The full list of class sites and dates is at: www.abuzzaboutbees.com

Iowa DNR to stock 17 urban lakes with trout this winter

Ag/Outdoor, News

January 2nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is planning to place trout in 17 different urban lakes over the next four months. Biologist Joe Larscheid is in charge of the agency’s fisheries. “Trout are a cold water species and they generally are confined in Iowa into the northeast corner of Iowa naturally, but when the water turns cold in the late fall and winter, we can stock these fish in other parts of Iowa,” he says. “We do that to bring trout closer, especially to urban areas, and make these family-friendly events and just really create some excitement about fishing.”

Larscheid says trout are easy to catch and once D-N-R staff put the fish in one of these urban lakes, it doesn’t take long for all the trout to be caught. “It doesn’t take sophisticated equipment. Usually a biologist is there on hand and some local partners there on hand to help people be successful, so if you have young kids, these are really good events to go to,” Larscheid says. “The odds of catching fish are pretty high.”

There are a lot of “anglers” out there in the state according to Larscheid, and thousands of Iowans are angling to catch trout. “We’ve sold more trout stamps in 2015 than ever before and they continue to increase every year,” Larscheid says, “so trout fishing is extremely popular in Iowa.” In addition to a state fishing license, anglers need a trout stamp to legally catch trout — and more than 44-thousand trout stamps have been sold this year.

The D-N-R’s first urban “trout stocking” event is scheduled fpr January 9th at the Scharnberg Pond in Spencer.  “I’d just like to encourage people when these events are in your area get your plans together, get your family together and really make an effort to get there,” Larscheid says. “A lot of these trout are caught very quickly one we put them in the system, so the fastest action is usually the day of, right when we stock them.”

In addition to the event planned in Spencer, trout will be stocked at lakes in 16 other cities from January through April, including Big Lake (plus Gilbert’s Pond) in Council Bluffs, at 4-p.m., on Jan. 22nd.

(Radio Iowa)