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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(updated 5:44-p.m. Saturday) CHANUTE, Kan. (AP) — A small airplane that crashed in southeast Kansas on Friday was carrying five people with connections to Oral Roberts University to a Christian youth rally in Council Bluffs. The Kansas Highway Patrol reported four of the passengers died and one was badly injured. The fatalities are identified as pilot Luke Sheets, of Ephraim, Wis., Austin Anderson, of Ringwood, Okla., Garrett Coble, of Tulsa, Okla., and Stephen Luth, of Muscatine, Iowa.
Hanna Luce, of Garden Valley, Texas, was hospitalized in critical condition. The recent graduate is the daughter of Oral Roberts trustee Ron Luce, founder of Teen Mania Ministries, which was sponsoring this weekend’s Acquire the Fire rally in Council Bluffs.
Oral Roberts President Mark Rutland is asking the university community to pray for Luce and remember those who were killed. He says Luth, Sheets and Anderson were recent graduates, and Coble was a former business instructor at the school.
The National Transportation Safety Board says the twin-engine Cessna 401 went down Friday afternoon northwest of Chanute, Kan., and caught fire. The NTSB says the plane lost contact with air traffic control after getting permission to descend to a lower altitude.
The Tulsa World reports a fifth person, also an Oral Roberts graduate, was badly injured when the twin-engine Cessna crashed about 4:30 p.m. Friday northwest of Chanute. The Kansas Highway Patrol identifies the victims as 23-year-old Luke Sheets of Ephraim, Wis., who was flying the plane; 27-year-old Austin Anderson of Ringwood, Okla.; 29-year-old Garrett Coble of Tulsa, Okla.; and 22-year-old Stephen Luth of Muscatine, Iowa. National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson says the eight-seat plane departed left Tulsa headed to Council Bluffs, and lost contact with air traffic control shortly after getting permission to descend to a lower altitude.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The wife of Vice President Joe Biden says it past time for Iowans to elect a woman to a top post. Jill Biden says 14 Democratic women have run for governor or federal office but none has been elected. She’s says those positions could benefit from a woman’s perspective. Biden spoke Saturday at a private fundraiser in Des Moines for Christie Vilsack, the wife of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
Mrs. Vilsack is challenging Republican incumbent Steve King for the re-organized and expanded 4th Congressional District in 2013. King has served five terms representing the current 5th Congressional District. The Des Moines Register reports that about 320 people attended the event, which also honored Iowa women in politics.
CEDAR RAPIDS (AP) — Authorities say cable barriers on stretches of the interstates in Iowa are helping with highway safety. The barriers began going up about two years ago to stop vehicles from crossing the median into oncoming traffic. The Gazette in Cedar Rapids reports police and highway officials believe the cables are paying off. Cathy Culter, of the Iowa Department of Transportation, says the cables are designed to bring vehicles to a halt in the median. She says cable-barrier collisions tend to be less violent than those involving conventional solid-steel guard rails, with fewer injuries. The department’s five-year plan calls for cables along 210 miles of interstates 80 and 380 by 2015. The project will cost nearly $14 million, or $66,000 a mile.
Officials with what’s called the People’s Garden school pilot project toured 17 locations across Iowa this week, where schoolhouse gardens are being created as a way to improve nutrition and tackle childhood obesity.
One stop was the garden at Sunset Heights Elementary School in Webster City. Janet Toering, with the Iowa State University Extension, complimented the students’ efforts and says there are multiple goals. Toering says, “We’re looking at increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, more physical activities, getting kids outdoors, increasing their STEM skills — science, technology, engineering and math — in the classrooms with lessons, outdoors with gardening and healthy snacks.”
Students in three other states are taking part in the pilot project: Washington, New York and Arkansas. The eventual goal is to go nationwide with the program. Brad Gaolach is director of the Washington State University Extension Service, based in Tacoma. Gaolach says he likes what he’s seeing in Iowa. “We’ve got raised beds planted and stuff growing so it’s looking like a great start to this pilot project,” Gaolach says. “As I’ve seen in other schools, clearly it looks like the teachers and the principals and everybody’s very engaged in this program.”
A total of three-thousand Iowa elementary students are participating in the school garden project. Several southwest Iowa area schools taking also taking part in the project, including the following rural districts: Lenox Community School District in Taylor County; the Afton/East Union District in Union County; Mt. Ayr Community Schools in Ringgold County. And, among the “urban” districts taking part in the program is: Walnut Grove (Council Bluffs), West Pottawattamie County; and Rue (Council Bluffs), in t Pottawattamie County.
Learn more at: “www.extension.iastate.edu/growinginthegarden”
(Radio Iowa/Matt Kelley)
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No injuries were reported following a fire Friday afternoon at the Clarinda McDonald’s restaurant. According to the Omaha World-Herald, the store was closed briefly after a fire scorched the rear of the business at around 12:50-p.m. The store’s employees noticed smoke near the back door. Further investigation revealed smoke coming from an electrical receptacle. When an employee removed the receptacle, smoke began pouring out of the wall, and flames were observed coming from the exterior of the buiding.
A maintenance worker used a fire extinguisher to control the flames until the fire department could arrive on the scene. The assistant fire chief said later, that the fire appeared to have started on the outside of the building and climbed the wall near the back door. The damage, he said was minimal. The cause remained under investigation.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A 41-year-old woman who had previously been teaching chemistry at a Cedar Rapids high school has been charged with having sex with a student. Authorities say Heather Adams was arrested on Sunday night after police say Adams and the 18-year-old student were found having sex in a car. Adams faces one charge of sexual exploitation by a school employee.
MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — A 42-year-old woman who’d been working as a caretaker for an ailing Marshalltown man has been accused of stealing from him. The Marshalltown Times-Republican reports Kimberly Pepper has been charged with theft, two counts of forgery and two counts of identity theft. She’s accused of stealing more than $25,000 from Calvin Goecke and his wife in 2011.
LA MOTTE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a 7-year-old boy has been fatally injured in the crash of a four-wheeler on an eastern Iowa farm. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office says the boy was driving the four-wheeler when it rolled. He’d been using it for doing chores shortly before 7:30 p.m. Thursday on the farm near La Motte.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A Waterloo woman has been sentenced to almost two years in federal prison for trying to sell and deliver counterfeit bills in a sting operation run by the Secret Service. The U.S. attorney’s office says 38-year-old Rena Kirk was sentenced to 21 months in prison on Thursday in Davenport federal court. She has pleaded guilty.
Officials in Harrison County say free popcorn, wine-tasting, and a demonstration of the new Smartphone interpretation are just a few of the activities planned for the Saturday, May 19th Grand Opening celebration for the Lincoln Highway/Loess Hills Interpretive Center located at the Harrison County Welcome Center near Missouri Valley.
The new Lincoln Highway/Loess Hills Interpretive Center, which opened in September along Highway 30 in west central Iowa, provides informative displays on both the historic Lincoln Highway and the Loess Hills. (photo Courtesy IA Div. of Tourism)
To officially open the new center, a “rope” cutting ceremony will be held at 10:45 am. The “rope” will actually be made of colored-yarn signifying the six school districts represented by Harrison County communities. At the conclusion of the short ceremony in the center’s large shelter, free hot dogs, chips and cherry drink – a tradition of the village since the 1930’s – will be sponsored by the Harrison County Historical Society for as long as it lasts.
Also occurring between 10:30 and 1:00 pm, will be Western Iowa wine-tasting including a new Lincoln Highway variety, an animal tracks scavenger hunt on the hard-surfaced portion of the new trail, and a sample of the upcoming Welcome Center Farmers Market. A few of the vendors for the 2012 season will share their wares as well as a listing of what crops and crafts can be expected from all of this year’s vendors.
From noon to 1:00 pm May 19th, the Harrison County Conservation staff will be offering demonstrations on the new Smartphone interpretation for the Lincoln Highway Road bed demonstration area, and explain the new “Smart Trail” interpretation available in some Harrison County Parks.
Throughout the day, free popcorn will be available for all those watching the Loess Hills and Lincoln Highway movies in the auditorium. All attendees are also invited to register for the chance to win a cabin stay at the new King Cabin being built at Willow Lake Recreation Area near Woodbine or a $100 Welcome Center Gift Certificate. Special discounts in the gift shop will also be available. May 19th is also the first day of the Living Loess third Saturday of the month tour season. There will be a special table available for those wanting to learn more about Living Loess, get a passport stamped, and receive a free Harrison County Log Cabin ornament.
The Harrison County Historical Village and Iowa Welcome Center is located between Missouri Valley and Logan, Iowa on Highway 30. For further information, please call 712-642-2114 or visit Harrison County Iowa Welcome Center on Facebook. http://harrisoncountyparks.org/welcome/
“Fly Iowa” Chairman Garry Pellet Friday, announced the theme for the September 15th Atlantic “Fly Iowa” air show event, to be “Homecoming & Heritage.”
"Homecoming & Heritage" Fly Iowa logo for Atlantic event
In a Press Release, Pellet said “We have a strong history of individuals in aviation in the greater Atlantic area. Our mission with this air show is to recognize those people and anyone who has touched aviation in some way during their life, and along the way, we plan to present some pretty phenomenal family entertainment.”
A subcommittee of the Fly Iowa event continues to work on collecting contact information for area pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, instructors, airport managers, military and others who have touched aviation and have roots in southwest Iowa.
Pellet said “We have a fantastic facility right here in Atlantic, and many have gotten their start locally,” Pellet said. “We also have several local businesses who utilize the Atlantic Airport on a regular basis.” According to the Atlantic Municipal Airport operator and Airworks owner Barry Reid more than 50 commercial planes utilize the facilities and more than 200 local pilots.
Pellet said not everyone visits the airport regularly, so the Atlantic Fly Iowa event will provide the opportunity to see some local planes as well as unique displays including a hot air balloon, aerobatic demonstration, World War II aircrafts, skydivers and more. He said “We are very excited about this first-time ever event for the Atlantic area, which we expect will bring in thousands of people.” Pellet added that the committee is planning a memorable presentation which will appeal to all age levels and be accessible to all because the sponsors have made it possible for free admission.
The Fly Iowa air shows are located in one Iowa community each year and sponsored in part by the Iowa Aviation promotion Group. Atlantic, Iowa is the 2012 host and co-sponsor. For more information contact Fly Iowa Chair Garry Pellet 712.250.0128 or Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Megan Roberts at 712-243-3017.
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