w/ Ric Hanson

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Some residents in western and southwest Iowa and parts of Nebraska will be able to indulge in donuts and coffee offered by a popular national chain, in the coming years. According to a development corporation headed-up by three former Huskers football players, Dunkin’ Donuts will open restaurants in Council Bluffs, Red Oak, Sioux City and Shenandoah. The chain will also offer stores in Omaha, Columbus, Norfolk and South Sioux City, NE. The first restaurant will open in 2013, with the remaining stores set to open by 2020.

Dunkin’ Donuts serves coffee, frozen and iced beverages, an assortment of pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and an all-day menu. The company has more than 10,000 restaurants in 32 countries worldwide, and racked-up more than $6-billion in global sales in 2010.

Officials with the Iowa Lottery say a review of their records for the past year shows there were winners of large lottery prizes in every Iowa county. In Cass County, ThelmaJean Venteicher, of Massena, was the latest big instant/scratch game winner during calendar year 2011, winning$30,000 in the “Crossword” game, with a ticket purchased at the 21st Century Co-Op C-Store, in Massena.

Players in Iowa have up to 365 days from the date of the drawing to claim prizes in Powerball, Mega Millions and Hot Lotto. Players have up to 90 days from the date of the drawing to claim prizes in Iowa’s $100,000 Cash Game and the Iowa Lottery’s Pick 3 and Pick 4 games. If the expiration date falls on a weekend or holiday when the lottery’s offices are closed, the winner has until the close of business on the next business day to turn in the ticket.

Prizes in instant-scratch and pull-tab games must be claimed within 90 days of the end of the game. Scratch-game prizes can be claimed at any Iowa Lottery retailer where the games are sold, while prizes in pull-tab games must be claimed at the location where the tickets were purchased.

Prize money left unclaimed after redemption deadlines is invested in future prize pools. Players may visit an Iowa Lottery retailer or go to one of the lottery’s offices in Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Storm Lake, Mason City or Cedar Rapids to claim prizes. Winning lotto numbers may be checked by visiting the lottery Web site at www.ialottery.com or calling the winning numbers hotline at (515) 323-4633. They may also be checked by visiting a lottery retail outlet or calling the lottery at (515) 725-7900 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Sheriff’s officials in Montgomery County report a Hastings man was arrested Thursday, on a valid warrant for Failure to Pay Child Support. 49-year old John Michael Hudson was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond.

Sheriff’s Officials in Shelby County are expected to release information later this morning about a fatal, fiery crash which occurred last night (Thursday), in Irwin. While no official report has been released as of early this (Friday) morning, according to scanner traffic, Irwin and Defiance Fire and Rescue were dispatched to a location near 300 Front Street, following a report of a motor vehicle accident, with the vehicle fully engulfed in flames. It apparently had come to rest against a pole. The accident was reported at 11:50-p.m., and within about one-half hour layer, officials on the scene had requested a Medical Examiner. We’ll have additional details as they become available.

The families of four motorcyclists who died in a crash with a drunken driver on Interstate 29 near Little Sioux in 2010, have settled a combined lawsuit with the man who was convicted on four counts of vehicular homicide. According to the Omaha World-Herald, the families accepted an offer made late last year by 23-year old Andrew Schlichtemeier. Barring any late developments, the settlement essentially ends the civil case against the man, who was 21-years old when his pickup crossed the center line of I-29 in a construction zone, and collided with four men on motorcycles who were returning home from Sturgis, S.D. The August 9th, 2010, crash claimed the lives of: Jay Bock of Omaha; Steven Benscoter of Pacific Junction, Iowa; and Dale Aspedon and Dennis Chaney, both of Glenwood, Iowa,

Authorities tested Schlichtemeier’s blood and recorded a blood-alcohol content of more than 4½ times the legal limit. The test also turned up traces of the chemical in marijuana. Investigators found two baggies containing marijuana, eight 12-ounce cans of beer, all unopened, along with an empty 40-ounce bottle of beer in the wreckage of Schlichtemeier’s vehicle, which ended-up on its side after the crash. Schlichtemeier pleaded guilty to four counts of motor vehicle homicide in February 2011. He was later sentenced to 50 years. When he pleaded guilty, Schlichtemeier admitted responsibility in court, with many of the motorcyclists’ loved ones in attendance.

The families of the motorcyclists filed separate lawsuits against Schlichtemeier in the months following the crash, but their cases were later combined. It was settled with mediation last Friday, to divide the amount of proceeds from Schlichtemeier’s car insurance policies he carried at the time. Attorneys would not say how much money the estates of the motorcyclists are dividing, citing conditions of the settlement. District Judge Greg Steensland will oversee the mediation in Council Bluffs.

Iowa Congressman Steve King is among the Republicans upset with Democrat President Barack Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone X-L oil pipeline project.  “Well, it’s just a completely illogical decision when you look at a country that needs jobs that needs energy, the price that gas is today compared to the day that Barack Obama took office. All of these things scream for us to build the pipeline down from the oil sands region in Northern Alberta down into the United States,” King says. The president issued a statement saying the decision to reject the pipeline was based on the need to gather more information on the safety of the pipeline. King says the decision is simply politics.

“The president has had difficulty making a decision between his environmental extremist base and his labor union base, he’s decided to side with the environmental extremist base,” King says. “It is not I don’t think, an analytical decision, it’s a political decision on his part. And the American people are going to have to make a political decision next November. If we can have jobs and energy blocked like this, we pretty well know that politics trumps the American people’s best interests.” King says he believes Obama made the decision now so it wouldn’t be hanging over his head before he gives his State of the Union address. The pipeline would extend from Canada to Texas, covering six states. Nebraska is the closest state to Iowa that would be on the pipeline route.

(Dar Danielson/Radio Iowa)

Iowa 5th District Congressman Steve King presented six Air Force medals to Iowa resident and Vietnam War Veteran David Napier today (Thursday).

Vietnam Vet David Napier receives his medals from Congressman Steve King (R-IA)

Napier never received the medals he earned while serving over forty years ago, but he received the medals today after seeing a flyer about retrieving unclaimed medals from the Republican Congressman’s office.

Napier served in the U.S. Air Force from 1961 to 1969 and was honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant. He served 1 year in Da Nang, Vietnam as a musician in a special entertainment unit in the Air Force called the Black Patches. He was acquainted with many famous civilian entertainers who volunteered their services during the war including Martha Ray, Hank Snow, James Garner, Nancy Sinatra and Robert Mitchum. He is a well known local musician who plays saxophone for Rockestra and other local music groups.