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Hawkeyes Set to Host Black and Gold Scrimmage

Sports

August 21st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa volleyball program will host its annual Black and Gold Scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 24, at Xtream Arena in Coralville. The scrimmage is set to begin at 5 p.m. (CT). Admission is free.

The team will host a kid’s clinic that is open to participants sixth grade and younger immediately following the scrimmage.

The Hawkeyes return seven letterwinners and welcome six freshmen and five transfers in 2024. Click here for more roster information.

Iowa opens the regular season at the Puerto Rico Classic in San Juan on Aug. 30. The Hawkeyes will take on the Liberty Flames in the tournament opener, before battling the Providence Friars on Aug. 31.

The Hawkeyes’ home opener is Friday, Sept. 6, against San Jose State at Xtream Arena. First serve is at Noon (CT). Tickets can be found here.

Robinson Promoted to Associate Head Coach of Track and Field

Sports

August 21st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa Director of Track and Field Joey Woody announced the promotion of Ray Robinson to Associate Head Coach of Track and Field on Wednesday afternoon.

“I want to thank Coach Woody for this great opportunity,” Robinson said. “I am truly honored and excited to continue working with our student-athletes to achieve high levels of success both academically and athletically. I appreciate the confidence Coach Woody and his staff have in me to continue building this program. Our family loves being part of Hawkeye Nation. We are extremely blessed to be part of such an outstanding university and athletics department.”

Robinson had primarily been Iowa’s throws coach since he joined the staff in 2021.

“We are very excited to name Ray as our new Associate Head Track and Field Coach,” Woody said. “He has had an incredible impact on our program since he arrived on campus three years ago. As the tide changes in college athletics, with roster limits and NIL, we realize the importance of having an associate head coach to assist with taking on those responsibilities. Coach Robinson is well respected as one of the best throws coaches in the country and brings a wealth of knowledge on how to build championship programs. He is committed to his new role and taking our program to the next level.”

In his time at Iowa, Robinson has coached seven Hawkeyes to All-America status. Under Robinson’s direction in 2024, Mike Stein (javelin) and Jordan Johnson (discus) were Outdoor NCAA All-Americans, while Stein joined Kat Moody (discus) as Outdoor Big Ten Champions in their respective events. In 2023, Robinson coached senior Amanda Howe to second-team All-American status in the hammer throw. In his first season with Iowa, Robinson coached four All-Americans, including three first-team honorees.

Robinson is a two-time graduate of Tiffin University. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in 2010 and his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources in 2015. He previously held the TU school record in the discus throw and is on the top 10 performance list in hammer throw and weight throw. He is a three-time All-GLIAC honoree and was selected to the GLIAC All-Academic team four times while twice earning Academic All-America honors.

Robinson is married to Kristen Robinson, a former All-American shot putter for the Dragons and TU Hall of Fame inductee. Ray and Kristen have three daughters, McKenzie Jo, Jordy Rae and Emileigh James.

Former Glenwood medical director charged with professional incompetency

News

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Four years after he was forced from his job amid a wide-ranging scandal at the state-run Glenwood Resource Center, the facility’s former medical director is facing allegations of incompetence from the state’s own regulators.

According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the Iowa Board of Medicine has charged Dr. Mohammad E. Rehman with professional incompetency – an offense that is defined by the board as including malpractice, negligence, a lack of knowledge or ability to discharge one’s professional duties, or a failure to exercise a degree of care ordinarily exercised by physicians. The board has not publicly disclosed the basis for the charge or publicly stated where or when the offending conduct took place.

The charge against Rehman was filed in June but was only recently made public. A board hearing on the matter has been scheduled for Sept. 18, 2025. Court records indicate that as medical director at Glenwood, a state-run residential treatment center for severely disabled individuals, Rehman was the focus of a unanimous vote of “no confidence” from the medical staff in November 2018. Rehman continued to work at the facility, but resigned in April 2020, with state officials saying the resignation had been submitted in lieu of his termination.

(Photo via Google Earth; seal courtesy the State of Iowa)

His departure followed staff complaints of poor medical care, reports that the death rate at Glenwood had doubled, and that a federal investigation had begun into sexual arousal studies the home was planning to conduct on residents. That same year, Rehman and Glenwood’s former superintendent were among the defendants named in a civil lawsuit filed by six former Glenwood employees, including two physicians and a nurse practitioner. The lawsuit alleged Rehman had criticized doctors for providing residents with “too much” diagnostic care and treatment, and for sending too many patients to area hospitals for treatment rather than providing treatment using Glenwood staff.

The plaintiffs also alleged Rehman hired a physician at the facility to provide neurological care to Glenwood residents, although the doctor did not have any board certifications or experience as a neurologist. In addition, they claimed Rehman directed others to falsify or erase entries in medical records to hide damaging information that Rehman did not want to appear in the regularly audited patient records.

Much of the lawsuit centered on claims of wrongful termination in violation of public policy and on alleged violations of the state’s whistleblower law. A Polk County judge dismissed the case earlier this year after ruling the plaintiffs had failed to show a clearly defined and well-recognized public policy that protected their activities at Glenwood, and that they had failed to show they acted as whistleblowers by reporting their concerns to law enforcement or other public officials. The plaintiffs have appealed that ruling.

Iowa’s Nick Jackson on the Hawkeye’s veteran defense

Sports

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Iowa linebacker Nick Jackson says the Hawkeye defense feels it has something to prove this season. The former Virginia transfer was named third team All Big Ten in his first season with the Hawkeyes and was one of several players who decided to return for an additional year off a unit that finished fourth in points allowed.

Not only is the Iowa defense experienced it may be the oldest defense in the country.

Jackson on the keys to Iowa’s success on defense.

The Hawkeyes open August 31st at home against Illinois State.

Sac County officials propose replacing Iowa’s second oldest county jail

News

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Sac County’s Jail in Sac City has been in operation for over 80 years and the county’s voters will decide in November whether a new jail should be built. The Sac County Board of Supervisors is proposing that a new county jail be built across the street from the current one, then the old one would be used by the county sheriff’s office. The supervisors have voted to put a nearly 11 million dollar bond referendum on the General Election ballot to finance the two-phase project.

According to the state jail inspector, Sac County has the second oldest jail in Iowa and it does not meet current safety standards, putting staff, inmates and the public at risk. Iowa’s oldest county jail is in Pocahontas. Last November, Pocahontas County voters overwhelmingly approved eight-and-a-half million dollars in bonding for a new 18-bed jail.

Cedar Rapids asks voters to okay $10M levy for schools

News

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Voters in Iowa’s second largest school district will decide next month on whether to continue a levy for school facility maintenance and equipment. Cedar Rapids Community Schools Superintendent Tawana Grover says for 50 years, the voter-approved Physical Plant and Equipment Levy — or PPEL — has been an important pot of money for the district.

Last year, voters said no to the district’s bond for new buildings. This special election does not include any projects from that plan. Some of the district’s buildings are over a hundred years old. Since the district has already been putting aside the money for 50 years, Grover says re-upping will -not- impact tax rates.

If renewed, PPEL would provide more than 10-million dollars over ten years for facilities, equipment, security and other improvements. Today (Wednesday) is the first day voters in the district can receive absentee ballots or vote early in-person. Special Election Day is September 10th.

Hawkeye Men’s Golf Announces 2024 Fall Schedule

Sports

August 21st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa –The University of Iowa head men’s golf coach Tyler Stith has announced the 2024 fall schedule on Wednesday, competing in four events in the fall season.

The Hawkeyes open their season September 8-9 where they travel to Independence, Minnesota to compete in the Gopher Invitational. Next, Iowa heads to West Lafayette, Indiana Sept. 22nd-23rd for the Purdue Fall Invitational.

The Hawkeyes then return to Indiana for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Intercollegiate October 6-7. Iowa wraps up their fall season Oct. 19-21 in Biloxi, Miss. for the Fallen Oak Intercollegiate.

2024 Fall Schedule

Sept. 8-9 Gopher Invitational Independence, Minn.

Sept. 22-23 Purdue Fall Invitational West Lafayette, Ind.

Oct. 6-7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Intercollegiate South Bend, Ind.

Oct. 19-21 Fallen Oak Intercollegiate Biloxi, Miss.

Iowa Credit Union Foundation Announces $50,000 in Grants to Increase Financial Inclusion in Iowa

News

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES – As part of a new three-year, $150,000 “Financial Inclusion Grant Program” addressing barriers to financial well-being for minority populations in Iowa, the Iowa Credit Union Foundation (ICUF) has announced the organizations receiving the first $50,000 in grant funding. The new program was launched in response to the findings of the recent ICUF statewide report “Economic Realities of Communities of Color,” which identified challenges faced by Iowa’s most vulnerable communities.

Financial Inclusion Grants direct funding to organizations serving minority populations in policy areas covered by the report: affordable housing, business ownership, childcare, education, employment, and health access and outcomes.

After announcing the program last Fall, ICUF collaborated with credit union partners across Iowa to identify qualifying organizations working in their communities. Credit unions were able to nominate mission-aligned nonprofits this Spring, who were then invited to apply for grants ranging from $5,000-$10,000. Eight nonprofit organizations were selected from the proposals received, for a total of $50,000 in first cycle of Financial Inclusion Grant funding. These organizations serve minority communities in a variety of geographic regions in Iowa, representing both urban and rural parts of the state.

Ena Babic Barnes, Executive Director, ICUF said “The Iowa Credit Union Foundation is excited to announce the first grant recipients in the Financial Inclusion Grant Program. These selected organizations represent the critical work required to tackle barriers to financial well-being for all Iowans. We take pride in supporting their impactful work and believe that highlighting their contributions will significantly advance economic equity and foster greater financial inclusion across our State.”

The recipients of the first round of ICUF Financial Inclusion Grant funding include:

  • $10,000 to the Multicultural Development Center of Iowa in Iowa City, addressing Business Ownership
  • $10,000 to Athletics for Education and Success in Fort Dodge, addressing Childcare and Education
  • $5,000 to 24/7 BLAC in Waterloo, addressing Affordable Housing and Business Ownership
  • $5,000 to The Academy for Scholastic and Personal Success in Cedar Rapids, addressing Education and Health Access &Outcomes
  • $5,000 to the Four Mounds Foundation in Dubuque, addressing Affordable Housing, Education, and Employment
  • $5,000 to One Economy Financial Development Corporation in Des Moines addressing Business Ownership
  • $5,000 to Knock & Drop Iowa in Des Moines, addressing Health Access &Outcomes
  • $5,000 to Boys & Girls Club of Siouxland in Sioux City, addressing Childcare & Education

Founded in 1995 as the philanthropic arm of the Iowa Credit Union League (ICUL), ICUF’s mission is guided by the credit union philosophy of ‘people helping people’. Guided by this philosophy ICUF works to champions financial wellbeing for all. For more information, visit www.IowaCreditUnionFoundation.org.

Algona man sentenced to life in prison for the murder of an Algona Police Officer

News

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

[UPDATED](Radio Iowa) – The man convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram in September of 2023 received a sentence of life in prison this (Wednesday) morning in Kossuth County District Court. Forty-four-year-old Kyle Lou Ricke was found guilty following a four-day trial in Dickinson County last month. Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown prosecuted the case and said prior to the sentencing that Ricke earned the mandatory sentence of life with no parole.

Ricke took his opportunity to make a statement before his sentencing.

Several of Officer Cram’s family members read victim impact statements before Judge Nancy Whittenburg handed out the sentence of life without parole. Ricke will be transferred to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center at Oakdale for further processing by the Department of Corrections.

Ottumwa man denied appeal in double murder conviction

News

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Court of Appeals has denied an Ottumwa man’s request for a new murder trial. Christopher Yenger was found guilty two counts of first-degree murder for throwing a Molotov cocktail at a rural Wappello County house after getting his nose bloodied in a fight there in 2006. Two men died in the fire. Yenger appealed the convictions, saying his attorneys were ineffective for not calling an expert witness to challenge the state’s arson investigation.

The Appeals Court ruling says his attorneys made a strategic decision to not call the expert witness because there was no reasonable likelihood that the outcome of the trial would have been different if the expert testified.

Yenger was not arrested and convicted until ten years after the fire when a witness came forward to tell what happened. He is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole in the deaths of Nathan Messer and Seth Anderson.