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Receiver Jarriett Buie on Iowa’s new offense

Sports

August 8th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Iowa redshirt freshman receiver Jarrett Buie likes the balance Iowa’s new offense features. New coordinator Tim Lester is trying to fix an offense that was one of the worst in the nation.

Buie says it was a big adjustment to the new offense during spring drills.

Buie says installing a new offense gives everyone a chance to step up.

The Hawkeyes host Media Day Friday afternoon in Iowa City. They open August 31st at home against Illinois State.

Anita Mobile Food Pantry set for August 14, 2024

News

August 8th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The next Cass County (IA) mobile food pantry distribution will be held August 14, 2024. Anita’s Mobile Food Pantry is located at the Anita Mobile Food Pantry. The mobile pantries are hosted by community partners across Cass County.

A mobile pantry is a traveling food pantry that delivers food directly to families in need for a one-day distribution. People from surrounding towns and communities are welcome. Mobile food pantries are available free of charge. Anyone in need is welcome, and no documentation is required. Each car can take food for up to two households at a time. For any additional information or questions please contact Grace McAfee, Community Wellness Coordinator, at (712) 250-8170 or by email at mcage@casshealth.org.

Additional mobile food pantries have been scheduled for Atlantic, Anita, Griswold, and Massena. (See below for details)

 Atlantic 2024 Mobile Food Pantries

Where: Cass County Fairgrounds (1000 Fair Ave. Atlantic, IA 50022)

2024 Dates: September 11, October 9

Time: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Anita 2024 Mobile Food Pantries

Where: Anita Food Pantry (208 Chestnut St. Anita, IA 50020)

2024 Dates: August 14, October 16

Time: 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Griswold 2024 Mobile Food Pantries

Where: Central Church of Christ (51 Harrison St. Griswold, IA 51535)

2024 Dates: November 2

Time:  10:00 am – 11:30 am

Massena 2024 Mobile Food Pantries

Where: East Side of Massena’s City Park (500 5th St, Massena, IA 50853)

Dates: September 11, October 9

Time: 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Mobile pantry dates, times, and locations are subject to change. For the latest information on mobile pantries in the county, visit https://foodbankheartland.org/food-resources/find-food/. For information on local food, farmers markets, and food access, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood.

$25 million project to restore Iowa State Fair’s livestock barns

Ag/Outdoor, News

August 8th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A 25 million dollar project to restore the historic livestock barns Iowa State Fairgrounds is being celebrated on the first day of this year’s fair. Peter Cownie, executive director of Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation, says work on the Sheep Barn is nearly complete and the Horse Barn is next on the list. “The livestock barns represent the culture and the agricultural heritage of the Iowa State Fair and we’re so proud to continue that, as that is the backbone of the Iowa State Fair,” Cownie said. The opening ceremonies for this year’s Iowa State Fair were staged in front of the Sheep Barn, where sheep shows were already underway. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig wished the exhibitors who’ve brought their livestock to the fair good luck.

“There are so many life lessons that a young person especially can learn from planning and preparing and working hard and competing and then, well, you have to deal with the results of the competition and do so with grace and know that you put it all out there,” Naig said, “or maybe you didn’t and you can do better next year.”

Brick work on the east façade of the Iowa State Fair’s Sheep Barn to be finished after the 2024 Fair. (RI photo)

Darwin Gaudian, president of the Iowa State Fair Board, says this year’s Fair may provide a welcome distraction for Iowans who’ve been dealing with damage from this year’s severe storms. “With the tornadoes, the floods, so this Fair, I hope we can bring those people here,” he said, “and forget those problems at home and relax.”

The Big Boar competition at the State Fair is on today’s (Thursday) calendar. Last year’s winner weighed in at just over a thousand pounds.

Cass County Sheriff’s Office warns residents/businesses about a payroll scam

News

August 8th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa)-  Officials with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday (Today), that they have been made aware of yet another scam making the rounds, including here in Atlantic. Authorities say the scammers are posing as employees of legitimate businesses, asking their employers via email, to change their direct deposit accounts into a new account. This “new account” is falsely set up with different numbers having nothing to do with the ACTUAL employee.
The Sheriff’s Office says “Please be aware and fact check information before taking any action. Many times, these emails are coming from email addresses clearly not linked to the actual employee. This scam could largely impact employees receiving their hard-earned paychecks and businesses losing thousands of dollars. Please take caution!”

(UPDATE) – 4 grain railroad cars derail in Red Oak

News

August 8th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – In an update to an earlier post, Montgomery County Emergency Management Director Brian Hamman says one-person suffered minor injuries, when a Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad train derailed a little after 6-a.m. today (Thursday), in Red Oak. The train derailed in the area of Bluegrass Road and East Nuckols St., in Red Oak. Emergency crews arrived on scene and found a BNSF train with (4) grain cars derailed in the south ditch, with one grain car on top of a parked Railcrew Xpress transportation vehicle.

The driver of the transportation vehicle was able to self-extricate from the vehicle under his own power. He was transported to Montgomery County Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.(Photos courtesy Brian Hamman/MC EMA)

Hamman said “There is no current threat or hazard to the public at this time. East Nuckols Street and Bluegrass Rd will be closed for an extended period of time for cleanup.”

Agencies assisting on scene include:

  • Red Oak Fire & Rescue
  • Red Oak Police Department
  • Red Oak Public Works
  • Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
  • Montgomery County Emergency Management
  • Montgomery County 9-1-1 Communications
  • Montgomery County Secondary Roads
  • Mid American Energy
  • BNSF

2 injured in a collision that occurred in an eastern IA roundabout

News

August 8th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Clinton County, Iowa) – A collision this (Thursday) morning in an eastern Iowa roundabout caused two people to be transported to the hospital. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2008 BMW X3 SUV was traveling north on Highway 67 in Camanche just before 5-a.m., and approaching the roundabout with 7th Avenue. A 2007 Toyota Camry was in the roundabout heading toward Camanche/7th Avenue exit.

Both vehicles collided in a broadside fashion, causing the SUV to roll several times before coming to rest north of the roundabout. The Patrol’s report said two people were injured, but their names were not immediately released. The victims were transported to the University of Iowa Hospital by MedForce and Comanche EMS.

The crash remains under investigation. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office and Camanche Police.

Ernst to NCAA: Keep Men Out of Women’s Sports

Sports

August 8th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and 22 of her colleagues sent a letter urging the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) President Charlie Baker to update its student-athlete policy to ensure only biological female students can participate in women’s sports.

“Amid the Biden—Harris administration’s unprecedented assault on Title IX, we write to urge the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to update your student-athlete participation policy to require that only biologically female students participate in women’s sports. The 2024 Summer Olympics are upon us, and the NCAA has boasted about its athletes’ participation. Yet the NCAA has still taken no steps to protect a critical portion of these athletes,” said the senators.

Riley Gaines, Concerned Women for America, Heritage Action, the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, Independent Women’s Forum, the Independent Women’s Law Center, Champion Women, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and the Our Bodies, Our Sports Coalition have endorsed this letter.

Click here to read the letter.

Background:

Ernst supports the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which bans recipients of federal funding from operating, sponsoring, or facilitating athletic programs that permit a male to participate in a women’s sporting event.

Successful “Pots and Popsicles” event held on August 6, 2024

Ag/Outdoor, News

August 8th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Community Wellness Coordinator Grace McAfee reports the Cass County Grow Another Row Committee hosted a free potting event at Mollett Park on August 6th (2024). The weather was great, McAfee says and there were 28 participants who attended the event, which taught community members how to plant late-season patio plants. Participants planted herbs, radishes, peas, lettuce, and spinach. Those crops grow in cooler temperatures, making them perfect patio plants in the early fall months.

Participants also had the opportunity to plant extra pots to donate to the local food pantry. A total of 15 patio pots will be donated to the Atlantic Food Pantry. The Grow Another Row Committee will care for these plants until they are distributed at The Atlantic Food Pantry. (Photos courtesy Grace McAfee)

Thrivent Funding, Atlantic Parks and Rec, and The Grow Another Row Committee made the event possible. Grace McAfee said “We are looking forward to planning more events, such as sharing gardening tips and promoting local foods.” If you are interested in learning more about local food, workshops, and Grow Another Row events, check out the monthly Grow Another Row Newsletter.

Contact Grace McAfee at mcage@casshealth.org to get signed up.

Unique ’71 Ford Mustang prototype to be spotlighted at weekend car show

News

August 8th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Hundreds of rare horses from all over the U-S will be racing into central Iowa this weekend, but it has nothing to do with the livestock shows at the Iowa State Fair. The Mustang Club of America’s National Mustang Show is being held in Des Moines where some 300 gleaming cars will be on display. Greg Huyser, of Indianola, says he adores all incarnations of Ford’s famous coupe and he’s thrilled the Mustang Club of Central Iowa is hosting this national event. “We will see Mustangs from across the country,” Huyser says. “We’ve got 60 years of Mustangs celebrated this year, and we’ll have everything from original cars that have never been restored to cars that were just built a few months ago.”

While some of the cars that’ll be on display are so-called daily drivers, he says most of the others will be showroom quality, including a Mustang that’s a genuine one-of-a-kind, and some that are extremely valuable. “We will have a prototype 1971 Boss 302. They actually didn’t end up making that car, but they did make one prototype,” Huyser says. “We’ll also have some Boss 429s, there. They typically, at auction, sell for $250- $300,000 a piece.” There isn’t this type of convention being held for the Ford Taurus, so what is it about the Mustang that’s so desirable and enduring that the nameplate has been around for six decades with a very loyal following?

“They were kind of a phenomenon when they first came out, back in April of ’64. They weren’t really expected to be the big sales success that they were, but they sold like two-million of them in the first two years,” Huyser says. “I was just a three-year-old kid when the Mustang came out, but yet I still remember when it came out and have loved Mustangs ever since.” Huyser will be showing off his 2014 Mustang G-T at the show, which is his ninth Mustang. His first was a 1976 Mustang Two, which is a body style some Mustang purists may mock. Everyone has a favorite, he says, though many critics are quick to blast the new electric Mustang that’s now on the road as not being a “real” Mustang.

Photo by the Mustang Club of Central Iowa

“And I kind of feel the same way, too. On the other hand, I think from Ford Motor Company’s perspective, it’s some pretty smart marketing. They put a name like a Mustang on it, people are going to become a lot more aware of it. Even now, we’re talking about their electric car versus if they called it an electric Taurus, nobody would be talking anything about it.” The show runs Friday through Sunday at the Holiday Inn Airport in Des Moines. Admission is free.

mustangclubofcentraliowa.org

‘Festival of Ideas’ planned for Des Moines this weekend

Ag/Outdoor, News

August 8th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A century ago, Iowans in the know attended events called “chautauquas,” summer festivals filled with food, culture and interesting speakers on topics like history, art, and philosophy. The second annual effort to revive the spirit of those gatherings is planned for this weekend in central Iowa. Nathan Beacom is founder of the Lyceum Movement, which is sponsoring “Tallgrass: The Des Moines Festival of Ideas.”  “What the Tallgrass Festival is — it’s kind of a revival of something that used to exist long ago in Des Moines, which is a celebration of ideas and culture,” Beacom says. “So we have scientists, philosophers, thinkers coming in to talk about some really important things in America today, including the mental health crisis and the decline of community life.”

It’s not just a “sage on the stage,” one speaker droning on about a topic, as he says these events are designed to inspire those in the audience to discuss the topics and actually talk to one another face to face. “They’re participatory. They’re conversational,” Beacom says. “So often we just talk online. What we do is try to build community, bring people back together, people who come from different perspectives and different backgrounds, to overcome those differences and get to know our neighbors better, and get to have really meaningful conversations with them that we might not have anywhere else.” Yes, the looming presidential election may come up at some point, but Beacom says they strive to stay away from any hot button issues, so everyone can feel welcome and at ease.

He says they’re focused on eliminating confrontations — by having conversations. “We just create an environment of listening to one another, and hearing one another out, and thinking of ourselves as all on a common exploration — to understand these things, rather than to just have an argument and win or lose,” Beacom says. “Generally people, even if people might not think that it’s their cup of tea, people come out really energized.”

The festival opens Friday evening and resumes on Saturday afternoon.