United Group Insurance

KJAN News

KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa,  Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!

Iowa early News Headlines: Friday, Dec. 28th 2018

News

December 28th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

STANHOPE — One person died, three others were injured, during a collision between two passenger vans Thursday evening, in northern Iowa’s Hamilton County. The Iowa State Patrol reports 47-year old Heidi Beisch, of Ft. Dodge died when he Nissan Quest went out of control on Highway 17 at around 4:25-p.m., and spun into the path of Chrysler van. The driver of the Chrysler, 30-year old Emily Loughry, of Webster City, along with three children in her vehicle, suffered non-life threatening injuries and were transported to a hospital.DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The romance of Barack Obama’s surprise victory in Iowa hangs like a championship banner in the minds of Democrats in the state more than a decade after they set him on the road to being the nation’s first African-American president. But as they begin to think about Iowa’s 2020 presidential caucuses _ in which as many as two dozen Democratic candidates may seek their support _ the wistfulness is fading fast.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — John C. Culver, who represented Iowa in Congress during the Vietnam War era, has died at age 86. The Democrat won praise across the political spectrum for his independence and willingness to take tough votes. He was an attorney and former aide to Sen. Ted Kennedy when he was elected to the House in 1964. He was elected to the Senate in 1974 and served one term. He’s also the father of former Iowa Gov. Chet Culver. His family says he died late Wednesday at his home near Washington.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Two men were injured in an explosion at a Sioux City landfill. Assistant Fire Chief Dan Cougill told the Sioux City Journal the men injured Thursday were employees of Gill Hauling, which operates the city-owned landfill. Emergency responders were called to the landfill about noon and found an explosion and fire had damaged an office area of the scale house, where trucks weigh the garbage they’re hauling. Cougill says he didn’t know how seriously the men were injured.

EAST MOLINE, Ill. (AP) — An East Moline alderman has been arrested in Iowa on misdemeanor charges of public intoxication and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Quad City Times reports that Alderman Jose Roberto “JR” Rico was questioned Wednesday night by officers who, in response to a call about a disruptive and intoxicated man at a Davenport bar, found Rico staggering, slurring his words and smelling of alcohol.

Despite ruling, Iowans with health care through the ACA are still covered

News

December 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Iowans who have health insurance through the Affordable Care Act are being reassured their policies are still valid, despite a federal judge’s ruling in Texas that parts of the A-C-A are unconstitutional. Jordan Rasmussen, policy manager at the Center for Rural Affairs, says the mid-December ruling raises concerns, but insurance coverage will continue after January 1st while the case moves forward.

“If you enrolled through the ACA and have insurance, those policies will remain in force,” Rasmussen says. “Also, beyond the ACA and those that acquire insurance through their employer, those protections remain in place. If you’re 26 and can remain on your parents’ insurance, those things will continue to remain because there’s an appeal process that will take place.” Rasmussen says it’s challenging for many farmers to get affordable health insurance and the A-C-A has provided coverage to many who couldn’t get it before.

“There have been a lot of folks who have acquired insurance through the ACA that didn’t previously,” Rasmussen says. “If you look at the statistics, there are a lot of rural residents that have taken on insurance because of the ACA, because it’s more affordable, because it’s been made more accessible, it has improved.” The Center for Rural Affairs, based in Lyons, Nebraska, continues to back the A-C-A and supports any appeal that would be filed to keep it from being repealed.

“While we acknowledge there are imperfections within the program, the number of lives that have been saved, the number of people who have been able to access insurance that previously weren’t able to,” she says. “We have made great strides and this would be a significant step backward.” Rasmussen says it doesn’t make sense to throw out the A-C-A without a replacement.

A report from the Iowa Insurance Division says about one-point-six million Iowans take part in employer-based health insurance plans and another one-point-two million Iowans get benefits through Medicare and Medicaid. This year, about 107,000 Iowans purchased health insurance on their own, while about 39,000 Iowans remain in the individual ACA-compliant market.

John C. Culver, who represented Iowa in Congress, dies at 86

News

December 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — John C. Culver, a Democrat who represented Iowa in Congress during the Vietnam War era, has died at age 86. Culver’s death was confirmed by longtime friend Jim Larew, who said Culver died late Wednesday at his home near Washington after a long bout of chronic illness. Culver was a Cedar Rapids lawyer and former aide to Sen. Ted Kennedy when he was elected to the House in 1964. After a decade in the House, he was elected to an open Senate seat in 1974. He served one term before losing to Sen. Chuck Grassley in the 1980 election.

Culver is the father of former Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, who served from 2007 to 2011. After leaving public service, Culver practiced law and was involved with the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

Tanker overturns in Taylor County Thursday morning

News

December 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Sheriff’s officials in Taylor County say no injuries were reported, after a tanker truck overturned about two-miles north of the Iowa/Missouri state line. The accident happened on Highway 148 at around 2:10-a.m., as a 2018 Peterbilt semi-tractor owner by Big Star Trucking out of Kansas City, MO., was traveling southbound. The rig experienced a mechanical issue that caused the headlights to shut-off.
The semi, driven by 65-year old Robert Tuffin, of Kansas City, MO., left the road and came to a stop, but the weight of the truck on the embankment caused the rig to tip over. The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Bedford Fire Department, Taylor County EMS, Missouri Highway Patrol, Nodaway County Sheriff’s Office, and Kizer Towing.

2 from Council Bluffs arrested on drug charges Wed.

News

December 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a man and woman from Pottawattamie County were arrested Wednesday, on drug charges. At around 10:05-a.m., 34-year old Mandolin Maree Blackbird, of Council Bluffs, was arrested following a traffic stop on Highway 34. She was taken into custody for a Controlled Substance Violation, Possession with the Intent to Deliver, and Possession of a Controlled Substance. Bond was set at $56,000.

And, just before Noon, Wednesday, 39-year old Shawn Paul Cook, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on Highway 34, for Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. His bond was set at $1,300.

New Office Coordinator for Guthrie County Extension

News

December 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Iowa State Extension and Outreach in Guthrie County has named their new Office Coordinator, Megan Van Houten, of Yale. Megan began her work as the Guthrie County Office Coordinator on December 19, 2018. As Office Coordinator, Megan will have the responsibility of managing the office in Guthrie County. Megan comes to the position with strong financial experience and excellent customer service skills. She will oversee the coordination of the day-to-day operations, bookkeeping, and assist in various program plans.

Megan Van Houten

ISU Extension and Outreach’s core purpose is to engage citizens through research-based education, accomplishing these goals by developing diverse and meaningful partnerships. Through these goals, Extension and Outreach is able to increase the ability of Iowans to make informed decisions by applying relevant, needs-driven resources. Please stop by the Guthrie County Extension Office at 212 State Street in Guthrie Center and welcome Megan to her new position. Feel free to contact her with any questions, as well as any suggestions you have.

Heavy snow, whiteout conditions reported in Nebraska

News, Weather

December 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Heavy snowfall and blizzardlike conditions are being reported as a powerful winter storm moves through the middle of Nebraska. The Nebraska Transportation Department closed Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 30 in both directions Thursday morning, from Lexington to North Platte. It cited whiteout and other weather factors. The National Weather Service has posted blizzard or winter storm warnings for several counties. Most of the warnings are scheduled to expire by Friday morning. Six inches of snow was reported in Cozad and Elwood.

Judge blocks city’s plan for rail crossing near Iowa mall

News

December 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — A judge has rejected the city of Coralville’s request to build a new railroad crossing to accommodate future development near the Coral Ridge Mall. Administrative Law Judge Jonathan Gallagher sided with the Iowa Interstate Railroad, which opposed Coralville’s plan to establish the crossing near Lowe’s west of Coral Ridge Avenue. The city requested permission to build the crossing after negotiations with the railroad failed.

Coralville says the crossing would provide a second access point for emergency vehicles into land that’s expected to be developed commercially in the future. The railroad argued the plan would be challenging from an engineering perspective and that the city has several nearby crossings. In a Dec. 18 ruling, Gallagher says the city’s request to use eminent domain is premature. He says the city has no specific development plans or details on the infrastructure changes and costs that building a crossing would require.

Griswold Child Care survey deadline approaches

News

December 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

A final reminder for those of you in the Griswold area: you have until Dec. 30th to fill out an online Child Care Center Survey. (http:www.quia.com/sv/891022.html) Steve Baier, one of the organizers of the effort to get people participating in the survey, said families with young children in the Griswold area are being asked to fill-out the survey to gauge the need for child care. The initiative was made possible, thanks to a gift of $65,000 from the Noble Center Church, which is disbanding.

Those funds are being matched by Griswold Communications.

An Ad-Hoc committee was established to govern the project, which is expected to be run by a non-profit organization.

The survey may be answered anonymously, with names being optional. Baier says the information they’ve received so far from this survey and others, has been very useful.

He said about two-thirds of the respondants so far said they would use a non-profit run child care center, if it were offered. The deadline to fill-out the survey, which takes about 10-to 15-minutes, is December 30th. It asks you very basic questions, and some that are time-specific.

If you have questions or would like to complete a survey, but do not have internet access, call Steve or Barb Baier at 712-778-4452. The next step, after the results are compiled, is to find a facility to lease rather than build something new, with the hope of having ready by next summer, and a fee structure that would not be a burden on working families. In the meantime, organizers will be writing grant applications and looking for financial partners. They will also accept donations.

Federal offices in Iowa forced to shut down or scale back

News

December 27th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Federal operations in Iowa are scaling back services as a partial government shutdown continues. Those federal workers who are considered essential are still on the job, including law enforcement. National Monuments and wildlife refuges only have minimal staffing, but are open to visitors and hunters. Chuck Traxler is a regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “At most of our national wildlife refuges, we follow state hunting seasons, so if there is a legal hunting season going on and that refuge is open to that hunting, it’s open to the public to use,” Traxler says. “I would add, we do have law enforcement folks that are all on duty.”

Those federal facilities in Iowa have not been vacated, he assures. “There will be staff at every refuge, just doing the essential stuff to make sure public equipment is safe and secure,” Traxler says, “just to make sure in case something breaks or there’s any kind of emergency maintenance needed.”

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch is closed due to the government shutdown, and National Weather Service offices in Iowa will keep forecasting, but social media updates are limited. Funding for parts of the federal government ran out at midnight Friday as President Donald Trump and members of Congress bicker over building a wall along the southern U-S border.