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Charges pending in an Omaha crash that killed a Council Bluffs man and 2 children

News

September 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Omaha, Nebraska) – Police in Council Bluffs have identified one of the victims of Friday’s early morning crash that killed an adult male and two juveniles, and resulted in three others, including a juvenile, being critically injured. Authorities say 70-year-old Michael Sales, of Council Bluffs, died in the crash that happened a little before 1:30-a.m., Friday, near the Gene Leahy Mall at around 10th and Douglas streets.

The crash involved a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by 33-year-old Rachel Bickerstaff, and a 2017 Subaru Outback driven by Sales. Investigators said Bickerstaff was driving east on Douglas Street when her vehicle hit the Subaru from behind, pushing both cars to the east. The accident occurred as Sales had just completed a left turn onto Douglas Street from southbound 10th Street. After the impact, the Subaru hit a light pole. Authorities said the Jeep hit a tree and then rolled. The force of the crash caused both SUVs to hit barriers and catch on fire.

Two children were found dead inside the Jeep, Omaha police said. A 38-year-old man who was in the front seat and a child from the Jeep were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for initial treatment, and then were taken out of state to a specialized burn unit at another hospital, according to authorities.

Omaha police said crash investigators are consulting with the Douglas County attorney’s office on pending charges for Bickerstaff. Speed and alcohol are factors being investigated in the crash, according to Omaha Police.

Posted in News |

Baylor’s Dave Aranda on No. 16 Iowa State

Sports

September 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Baylor coach Dave Aranda admits this season has gotten off to a frustrating start. The Bears are 2-3 overall and opened Big 12 play with close losses to Colorado and BYU. They visit unbeaten and 16th ranked Iowa State Saturday night.

Aranda says several key players who missed the last couple of games due to injury have returned to practice.

Aranda says the Bears face a big challenge on both sides of the ball.

Aranda says the Cyclones combine a ball control offense with a defense that wants to prevent big plays.

Posted in Sports |

Northern Iowa’s Mark Farley previews No. 1 South Dakota State

Sports

September 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley says the bye week came at the perfect time for the Panthers. UNI followed up a loss at Nebraska with a 36-7 loss at Hawaii on September 21st. They open the Missouri Valley race at home on Saturday against FCS top ranked and two-time defending national champion South Dakota State.

Farley has not named a starting quarterback for this week. Aidan Dunne started the first four games but sophomore Matthew Schecklman also played in the loss at Hawaii and completed four of eight passes for 23 yards.

UNI is 2-2 and Farley says there are several areas that need to improve as conference play begins.

South Dakota State is 3-1 with the lone loss at Oklahoma State.

Farley says South Dakota State has talent and confidence.

The goal for the Panther defense is to slow down South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski. He was the FCS player of the year on offense as a junior.

Gronowski leads a team that Farley is dominant at the line of scrimmage.

Posted in Sports |

Verizon customers nationwide report phone service outage

News

September 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Verizon customers across the United States reported a phone service outage today (Monday). At one point mid-day, Downdetector noted more than 103, 540 Verizon customers had reported an issue with phone service. By 2-p.m., that number was down to 47, 475. Metro areas most affected include Chicago, Phoenix, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Omaha and Las Vegas. Users on X, formerly known as Twitter, expressed issues to Verizon Support. Many users reported having the SOS setting on their phones.

“We are aware of an issue impacting service for some customers,” Ilya Hemlin, a representative for the company, said. “Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue.” The cause is not yet known.

Communities hit by Hurricane Helene have been experiencing cellphone outages due to the aftermath of the storm. Verizon assured it was prepared for the storm, saying on X, “Verizon is ready for Hurricane Helene with 550 portable network assets and 1,000 mobile generators, ensuring communities, businesses and first responders stay connected. Verizon also has resources in place to support affected employees.”

Posted in News |

Iowa Volleyball’s Garcia Named B1G Freshman of the Week

Sports

September 30th, 2024 by Christian Adams

University of Iowa outside hitter Malu Garcia was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.

Garcia is Iowa’s first Big Ten Freshman of the Week since Brie Orr earned the honor in September of 2017. It is Iowa’s first weekly conference recognition since Courtney Buzzerio was the Big Ten Player of the Week in the spring of 2021.

Garcia, a native of Hilo, Hawaii, combined for 28 kills and 14 blocks in Iowa’s wins at Rutgers and Maryland. Against the Scarlet Knights, Garcia matched her career high with 17 kills, while also tallying nine blocks and eight digs.

To close out the road trip, Garcia registered 11 kills and five blocks in the Hawkeyes’ five-set win against Maryland.

Garcia’s 138 total kills are the most among Big Ten freshmen. She averages 2.76 kills per set and is hitting .225 in her rookie campaign. Defensively, Garcia is third on the team with 43 blocks.

The Hawkeyes (8-6, 2-0 B1G) are back in action on Friday, Oct. 4, hosting No. 25 Washington (12-0, 2-0 B1G) in Iowa’s Gold Out match at Xtream Arena. First serve is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. (CT) and will be televised on the Big Ten Network and broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network.

Posted in Sports |

Radio Iowa High School Football Poll 9/30/24

Sports

September 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Class 5A
1. Dowling Catholic (4-1), LW #1 vs #6 Centennial
2. WDM Valley (4-1), LW #2 @ Waukee Northwest
3. Bettendorf (5-0), LW #3 vs Cedar Rapids Kennedy
4. Pleasant Valley (4-1), LW #5 @ Cedar Falls
5. Southeast Polk (3-2), LW #6 @ #9 Johnston
6. Ankeny Centennial (4-1), LW #7 @ #1 Dowling
7. Linn-Mar (4-1), LW #8 @ Muscatine
8. Iowa City Liberty (4-1), LW #9 @ Cedar Rapids Washington
9. Johnston (3-2), LW (X) vs #5 S.E. Polk
10.Waukee (3-2), LW #4 @ DSM Lincoln (Thur)

Class 4A
1. Lewis Central (5-0), LW #1 vs Council Bluffs Jefferson
2. Gilbert (5-0), LW #2 @ Carlisle
3. Pella (5-0), LW #3 vs #10 Newton
4. North Polk (5-0), LW #4 vs Ballard
5. Decorah (5-0), LW #5 vs #9 Waverly-Shell Rock
6. North Scott (4-1), LW #7 vs #7 Xavier
7. Cedar Rapids Xavier (3-2), LW #9 @ #6 North Scott
8. ADM (Adel) (4-1), LW #10 vs DSM North
9. Waverly-Shell Rock (3-2), LW (X) @ #5 Decorah
10.Newton (4-1), LW (X) @ #3 Pella

Class 3A
1. Algona (5-0), LW #1 vs #5 Clear Lake
2. Williamsburg (4-1), LW #2 vs Fairfield
3. Solon (5-0), LW #3 @ Benton
4. Dubuque Wahlert (5-0), LW #4 vs #6 Independence
5. Clear Lake (4-1), LW #5 @ #1 Algona
6. Independence (4-1), LW #6 @ #4 Wahlert
7. Humboldt (4-1), LW #7 vs Charles City
8. Sergeant Bluff-Luton (5-0), LW #8 vs MOC-Floyd Valley
9. Mount Vernon (4-1), LW #10 @ Assumption
10.Carroll (4-1), LW (X) vs Sioux City Heelan

Class 2A
1. Spirit Lake (4-1), LW #1 vs Estherville Lincoln Central
2. West Lyon (5-0), LW #2 @ #9 Cherokee
3. PCM (Monroe) (5-0), LW #3 vs Vinton-Shellsburg
4. Van Meter (4-1), LW #4 @ Chariton
5. Carroll Kuemper (4-1), LW #5 @ #8 DSM Christian
6. Northeast (Goose Lake) (5-0), LW #6 @ West Liberty
7. North Fayette Valley (4-1), LW #9 vs New Hampton
8. DSM Christian (4-1), LW (X) vs #5 Kuemper
9. Cherokee (4-1), LW (X) vs #2 West Lyon
10.Roland-Story (3-2), LW (X) @ Greene County

Class 1A
1. Grundy Center (5-0), LW #1 @ #6 South Hardin
2. Wilton (5-0), LW #2 vs Cascade
3. Emettsburg (5-0), LW #3 @ Pocahontas Area
4. OABCIG (4-1), LW #4 @ West Sioux
5. Dike-New Hartford (4-1), LW #5 @ MFL MarMac
6. South Hardin (5-0), LW #6 vs #1 Grundy Center
7. Iowa City Regina (5-0), LW #7 vs West Branch
8. Sigourney-Keota (4-1), LW #10 @ Pella Christian
9. Treynor (4-1), LW (X) @ Underwood
10.Hinton (4-1), LW (X) vs MVAOCOU

Class A
1. AC/GC (5-0), LW #1 @ IKM-Manning
2. West Hancock (5-0), LW #2 vs South Central Calhoun
3. Lisbon (5-0), LW #4 @ Wapello
4, Saint Ansgar (4-1), LW #6 vs Mason City Newman
5. Woodbury Central (4-1), LW #7 vs Kingsley-Pierson
6. Earlham (4-1), LW #10 vs Panorama
7. North Linn (5-0), LW #9 @ Clayton Ridge
8. Tri-Center (4-1), LW (X) @ St. Albert
9. LeMars Gehlen (4-1), LW (X) vs Sibley-Ocheyedan
10.Nashua-Plainfield (4-1), LW #3 @ South Winneshiek

8-Player
1. Algona Garrigan (5-0), LW #1 @ Siouxland Christian
2. Lenox (5-0), LW #2 @ Murray
3. Remsen St. Mary’s (5-0), LW #3 @ AR-WE-VA
4. Don Bosco (5-0), LW #4 @ Midland
5. Audubon (5-0), LW #5 @ Glidden-Ralston
6. Iowa Valley (5-0), LW #6 @ Winfield-Mount Union
7. Bedford (4-1), LW #7 vs Stanton
8. CAM (Anita) (4-1), LW #8 @ Sidney
9. Belle Plaine (5-0), LW #9 @ Montezuma
10.Southeast Warren (5-0), LW #10 @ Lamoni

Posted in Sports |

Iowa Red Cross volunteers offer shelter, hot meals in hurricane-damaged states

News

September 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – More than a dozen American Red Cross volunteers from Iowa are now on duty in several southern states that saw destruction from the powerful winds, heavy rain and flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. Josh Murray, spokesman for the agency’s Nebraska-Iowa region, says they’ve dispatched 15 people to a list of sites were they’re needed the most.

Murray says the Iowa volunteers will be performing a series of valuable tasks while they’re deployed, including those driving the big white emergency response vehicle, or ERV.

Once it’s safe, others will be doing damage assessments in neighborhoods to determine the extent of the storm’s fury and what Red Cross resources will be needed.

The storm’s death toll is expected to top one-hundred while hundreds of thousands of people remain without power. Murray says there are several ways in which Iowans can help the Red Cross to help storm survivors.

The Red Cross deployed more than 45 emergency response vehicles across the southeast with another two dozen ERVs enroute. Murray says some 1,400 agency disaster workers are already helping, with more on the way.

Posted in News |

Hinson quizzes USPS head about absentee ballot delivery concerns

News

September 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is among a bipartisan group of lawmakers airing concerns about the delivery of absentee ballots for this year’s election. Hinson and other members of a House subcommittee quizzed the head of the U-S Postal Service during a hearing late last week.

Hinson mentioned the letter election officials from around the country sent Postmaster General Louis DeJoy earlier this month. The letter cited concerns the Postal Service had not made improvements to address the late delivery of absentee ballots that prevented those votes from being counted in 2022 and 2023 elections.

DeJoy says a year-round task force in the Postal Service has been focused on delivering mail-in ballots and he’s having meetings with Postal Service executives twice a week to review progress. Hinson asked DeJoy how complaints about ballot delivery issues will be handled.

DeJoy told lawmakers the Postal Service is pausing its consolidation of mail processing centers in October and the first half of November, to accommodate absentee ballot deliveries. The Republican who led the committee said those changes have caused broad problems with the delivery of all mail. Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says those are major systematic changes and Iowans want delivery problems fixed.

DeJoy says nearly all mail-in ballots in the last presidential election were delivered within seven days, which he describes as the commonsense and recommended time frame for processing and delivering mail.

Posted in News |

DAWN GOOD, 65, of Fontanelle (Svcs. Pending)

Obituaries

September 30th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DAWN GOOD, 65, of Fontanelle, died Sunday, September 29, 2024, at her home.  Funeral services for DAWN GOOD are pending at the Lamb Funeral Home in Fontanelle.

Online condolences may be left to the family at www.lambfuneralhomes.com.

Posted in Obituaries |

JENNIFER HOLTZ, 45, of Fort Dodge (10-10-2024)

Obituaries

September 30th, 2024 by Lori Murphy

JENNIFER HOLTZ, 45, of Fort Dodge died September 25, 2024 at University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.  The family of JENNIFER HOLTZ will greet friends at the Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Avoca, on Thursday, October 10, 2024 from 5-until 7-p.m.m with a time of family sharing at 7-p.m.

JENNIFER HOLTZ is survived by:

Mother:  Debra Holtz of Walnut

Sister:  Jamie Holtz

Brother:  Justin Holtz

Special friend Gary Eddington and a nephew.

Posted in Obituaries |