United Group Insurance

New Davenport Diocese Bishop installed

News

September 27th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The 10th Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Davenport has been ordained and installed this (Friday) afternoon at a ceremony in Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport. Bishop Dennis Walsh is an Ohio native who has served parishes in Puerto Rico, Baltimore, New York City and — for the past 24 years — in his home state of Ohio.

Cardinal Christoph Pierre, the Vatican’s top envoy to the United States, spoke directly to the new bishop.

The Most Reverend Thomas Zinkula, the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, said it was heartwarming to see so many familiar people in the cathedral.

The archbishop also took a moment to recognize the new bishop’s mother, Marilyn.

Over 83-thousand Catholics attend the 74 parishes in the Davenport Diocese, including the cities of Bloomfield, Ottumwa, Oskaloosa and Iowa City and the Mississippi River cities of Clinton, Burlington and Fort Madison.

Bull Elk found dead near Council Bluffs

News

September 27th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Pottawattamie County) – The Iowa State Patrol said Friday (today) on social media, that a bull elk was discovered dead near Council Bluffs, at around mile-marker 8 off Interstate 80 in Pott County. Authorities say the animal likely died as the result of a collision by a vehicle.

The Patrol reminds motorist to always remain vigilant while driving! Stay safe!!!

Bull Elk found near Council Bluffs (ISP photo)

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said that elk seem to be visiting Iowa more frequently each fall. Originally, elk were native to Iowa, but they left as the state was settled. An elk was spotted earlier this month running through an Iowa City neighborhood.

While there isn’t a population in Iowa, elk are protected by Iowa Code, which includes a $1,000 fine for illegally killing an elk. That does not exclude the right of a person from dispatching an elk that is causing property damage or from causing physical harm, DNR said

 

Iowa State Announces 2024-25 Wrestling Schedule

Sports

September 27th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State, fresh off a Big 12 title and NCAA trophy finish, announced its 2024-25 wrestling schedule Wednesday, which includes home duals against Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Stanford and more.

“We’re really excited about how this season’s schedule came together,” head coach Kevin Dresser said. “I think we have some exciting and challenging matchups for our fans to come see in Hilton and our road schedule should prepare us nicely for March. This squad has the opportunity to build on last season and has the potential to do some special things. We’re excited to get rolling!”

There are 10 teams on Iowa State’s dual schedule that had a top-25 finish at the 2024 NCAA Championships, four of which placed inside the top 10.

Iowa State will open its season with back-to-back duals inside Hilton Coliseum against Stanford (Nov. 8) and Navy (Nov. 15). Five other dates round out the home schedule as ISU hosts the Cyclone Open (Jan. 19) and Oklahoma (Jan. 24), Oklahoma State (Jan. 26), Arizona State (Feb. 7) and Pittsburgh (Feb. 9).

The Cyclones hit the road this season for the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series dual against Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa State will look to defend its Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational team title at the 2024 rendition of the tournament Dec. 6-7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. A week later, Dresser and the Cyclones will return to Humboldt, Iowa for a neutral site dual inside his high school gymnasium against North Dakota State (Dec. 15).

ISU will make its third consecutive appearance at the Collegiate Duals, which returns to Nashville, Tenn. again this season, on Dec. 21. Iowa State will wrestle three duals at the event against Lock Haven, North Carolina and Ohio State.

After a Big 12 dual at West Virginia (Jan. 8), the Cyclones will head farther east to Hampton, Virginia for the Virginia Duals on Jan. 11 where ISU will see Rider and Bucknell.

Following five consecutive home dates, Iowa State will close its regular season with three road duals – at South Dakota State (Feb. 14), Northern Iowa (Feb. 16) and Missouri (Feb. 22).

The 2025 Big 12 Championship (March 8-9) will be held at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., while the NCAA Championships (March 20-22) will take place inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa.

Television and streaming listings for all events will be communicated at a later date. To view the complete Cyclone wrestling schedule, click here.

Iowa State wrestling season tickets are still on sale and are available for purchase at cyclones.com/tickets.

WRESTLE-OFFS
Iowa State will hold two wrestle-off dates once again this season, both of which will be open to the public on the main floor of the Lied Rec Center. Preliminary matches through semifinals will be wrestled Sunday, Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. before the best 2-of-3 finals on Saturday, Oct. 19 at a time to be determined.

More wrestle-off information will be released at a later date.

ISU MEN RACE TO RUNNER-UP FINISH AT NUTTYCOMBE INVITATIONAL

Sports

September 27th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

MADISON, Wis. – The Iowa State men’s cross country team captured the runner-up finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational Friday afternoon. It is the best team finish by the Cyclones in Madison since they won the meet in 2021.

The Cyclones trailed only fellow Big 12 member and second-ranked BYU in the team race.

Robin Kwemoi Bera led the Cyclones with a fifth-place individual finish in 23:18.2 while Said Mechaal and Silas Winders were also top-25 finishers in the championship race. It was the first race of the season for all three Cyclones.

In the “B” race, Seth Clevenger led ISU with a seventh-place finish in 24:40.3 while Quinton Orr was 13th in 24:59.3.

Up Next
The Cyclones will take three weeks to prepare for Pre-Nationals, also held in Madison this season. The women’s “A” race will begin at 10 a.m. with the men’s “A” race to follow at 10:40 a.m.

Championship Individual Results
1. Parker Wolfe, North Carolina, 23:04.0; 5. Robin Kwemoi Bera, Iowa State, 23:18.2; 19. Said Mechaal, Iowa State, 23:53.5; 22. Silas Winders, Iowa State, 23:57.7; 29. Gable Sieperda, Iowa State, 23:59.7; 33. Devan Kipyego, Iowa State, 24:01.6; 44. Ryan Watts, Iowa State, 24:09.5; 52. Hanibal Haile, Iowa State, 24:13.6

Championship Team Results
1. No. 2 BYU, 44; 2. No. 5 Iowa State, 107; 3. No. 20 Wake Forest, 148; 4. No. 6 North Carolina, 194; 5. No. 27 Washington, 243; 6. No. 26 Michigan, 258; 7. No. 14 Eastern Kentucky, 260; 8. No. 21 Colorado, 270; 9. No. 18 Princeton, 271; 10. No. 17 Villanova, 309; 11. No. 15 Virginia, 313; 12. No. 19 Syracuse, 325; 13. Georgetown, 342; 14. No. 16 Portland, 349; 15. Florida State, 356; 16. No. 30 Air Force, 372; 17. Gonzaga, 389; 18. No. 25 Montana State, 397; 19. No. 29 Tulsa, 412; 20. No. 23 Iona, 419; 21. Furman, 455; 22. Illinois, 562; 23. Texas A&M, 616; 24. Providence, 654

“B” Race Individual Results
1. Berkley Nance, BYU, 24:21.4; 7. Seth Clevenger, Iowa State, 24:40.3; 13. Quinton Orr, Iowa State, 24:59.3; 21. Allen Bonnessen, Iowa State, 25:30.8; 28. Emanuel Galdino, Iowa State, 26:05.0

Atlantic School Resource Officer fundraiser receives donation from Camblin Mechanical

News

September 27th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Efforts to raise money for the proposed School Resource Officer (SRO) position in the Atlantic School District, received a boost today (Friday), from Randy Watts, owner of Camblin Mechanical, in Atlantic. Watts presented a check in the amount of $5,000 to Atlantic Police Chief Devin Hogue at the Police Department, this (Friday) afternoon. The funds will go toward equipment for the SRO, including a vehicle, portable radios, a uniform and vest. Watts said donating for SRO equipment and position was never in question.

In June of 2024, the Atlantic P-D applied for a federal grant that would help with funding for the SRO position. Chief Hogue says once they know the status of the grant application, they can move forward with posting an opening for the position. Until then, donations like the one from Randy Watts, are very much appreciated.

The ultimate goal, he says, is to have an officer hired for this position and placed upon returning from Christmas break.

The Atlantic Rotary is also helping to raise funds to assist the APD in its fundraising efforts to purchase equipment to support the school resource officer position. The Rotary is holding a raffle with prizes ranging from $500-to $1,500 dollars. The drawing will be held November 23rd. For more information and a way to purchase your raffle tickets, see the Atlantic Police Department’s Facebook page, or to contact any member of the Atlantic Rotary Club.

Randy Watts (Center) presents a check for $5,000 to Atlantic Police Chief Devin Hogue.

This past June, the City of Atlantic and the Atlantic Community School District agreed to collaborate on hiring a School Resource Officer. The School Resource Officer will be an employee of the City and a member of the Atlantic Police Department and will work in all of the school district’s buildings.

Floodwaters rose quickly in NW Iowa but the rebuilding is still slow going

News

September 27th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Northwest Iowans still face a long road to recovery three months after devastating flooding hit the region. The Big Sioux River forced dozens of people from their homes in the Riverside neighborhood of Sioux City, including Deanna Mercure. “It was rough, and it still is. It’s been the longest three months of my life,” Mercure says. “I was just devastated, thinking, ‘What am I going to do? I don’t want to leave this house.’ It just all fell in place with everybody that stepped up.”

Mercure says she received 26-thousand dollars from FEMA to help with home repairs and is hoping to secure another 50-thousand in state funding. However, she admits that isn’t enough and she still needed to take out a home equity loan. Jeanne Derby’s home, also in the Riverside neighborhood, was heavily damaged when the Big Sioux River poured out of its banks. Even though it will still take some time before she can move back in, Derby is thankful for help from the federal government, the state, and local organizations.

“The community came together. When I didn’t have clothes, people dropped clothes off, people dropped shoes off,” Derby says. “People I didn’t know showed up to help tear my walls off. It was amazing.” A local Long Term Recovery Group was formed to help flood victims connect with much-needed services. So far, FEMA has approved more than three-million dollars for 325 households in Woodbury County. The deadline to apply for individual assistance from FEMA ends on October 22nd for Woodbury and several other Iowa counties impacted by natural disasters this summer.

File photo of this summer’s flooding in Sioux City’s Riverside neighborhood. (KSCJ photo)

Counties included: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Humboldt, Lyon, Monona, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pottawattamie, Scott, Sioux, and Woodbury.

Iowa Central Community College consolidating Storm Lake classes in one building

News

September 27th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Central Community College will be consolidating classes in Storm Lake in a new, 10 MILLION dollar facility. The community college has offered courses and certification programs in Storm Lake, but out of three different locations in the community. Jesse Ulrich, the president of Iowa Central Community College, hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the college’s Training Center in Storm Lake. “Our purpose at Iowa Central is very simple. We want students to come to Iowa Central. We want them to finish their degrees and their certifications in the shortest amount of time possible with the least amount of student debt so they can go on and have a better life,” Ulrich says. “This building represents a lot of that.”

The two-story building has 16 classrooms, an academic resource center, and a testing center. Ulrich says new programs for certified nurse assistants, welders and electricians will be added on the Storm Lake campus. It will also serve as a career academy for students in local high schools (those school districts are Storm Lake, Alta-Aurelia, Sioux Central in Sioux Rapids, Newell-Fonda and Pocahontas Area and St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Storm Lake). “These schools really came together as a consortium to talk about what the needs were in this building,” Ulrich says. The building will host community education and classes for English language learners at night. Governor Kim Reynolds says community colleges like Iowa Central are key to developing well-trained, capable workers.

Gov. Reynolds listens as Iowa Central Community College president Ulrich addresses crowd at building’s grand opening. (KAYL photo)

“Each of those jobs reflect the incredible power of these institutions to transform lives,” Reynolds said. Iowa Central’s main campus is in Fort Dodge. It operates a satellite campus in Webster City as well as the courses offered in Storm Lake.

Food Bank of Iowa golf event raises nearly $170,000 to fight childhood hunger

News

September 27th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (Sept. 27, 2024) — Food Bank of Iowa’s second Drive Away Childhood Hunger golf tournament, held Sept. 26 and presented by Nationwide, raised $169,588 to help Iowa kids facing food insecurity. The private Talons Golf in Ankeny welcomed 124 golfers, who enjoyed lunch donated by Fareway and the rare opportunity to tour Dennis Albaugh’s vintage car collection. Lou Sipolt served as master of ceremonies and auctioneer at the evening reception, sponsored by the Murphy Family Foundation. Funds raised will support Food Bank of Iowa’s 162 school pantries (and counting!) and its BackPack Program, which serves 4,100 elementary students at 103 schools every week during the school year.

More than 15% of Iowa children face hunger, and 42% rely on free and reduced-price school meals. Children who live in poverty and lack proper nutrition face delayed development, impaired coping skills, behavioral problems and learning difficulties. Food Bank of Iowa CEO Michelle Book says “Thanks to the generosity of Dennis Albaugh and his team, our tremendous sponsors and golfers, we raised enough to provide more than 282,000 meals for Iowa kids who don’t know where they’ll find their next meal. We are incredibly grateful to all who contributed to this successful day.”

In addition to Nationwide, Talons Golf, Fareway and the Murphy Family Foundation, other sponsors included Advanced Automation, Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Bank Iowa, Casey’s, ClaimDOC, Doll Distributing, Elder Corp., Innovative Communication Technologies, the Iowa Barbecue Store, Iowa Wild, John Deere, Foster Group, KRM Custom Homes, Mom’s Meals, NCMIC, Peterson Financial Group, the Pork Checkoff, Prairie Meadows, Ruan, Sammons, Sigler, Simonson, Sysco, Top Gun Contractors, the Underwood Family Foundation, Waldinger, Warehouse Barbecue Co. and Willis Automotive.

No. 18 Iowa State visits Houston

Sports

September 27th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

The 18th ranked Iowa State Cyclones open Big 12 play at Houston Saturday night. ISU is favored by nearly two touchdowns against a Houston team that is 1-3 after a 34-0 loss at Cincinnati. Cyclone coach Matt Campbell is more focused on the Cougars’ near upset of Oklahoma.

After turning around the Tulane program Willie Fritz is in his first season rebuilding Houston.

Campbell says the Cougars have potential.

Red Oak woman arrested on a Theft charge

News

September 27th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak have arrested a woman on a Theft charge. 35-year-old Brynn Elizabeth Hudson, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 10:30-a.m. Friday (today), in the 100 block of W. Coolbaugh Street. Hudson was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and charged with Theft in the 4th Degree/Theft from a building (a Serious Misdemeanor). Her bond was set at $1,000.