![](https://www.kjan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/279298104_358776596276508_3567807456394865113_n-1024x576.jpg)
![](https://www.kjan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/279373804_358776586276509_2559867983953935687_n-1024x576.jpg)
Former Minnesota tight end Ko Kieft of Sioux Center could be a late round N-F-L Draft choice this weekend. Kieft created a name for himself with his ability to run block for a Minnesota team that was one of the top rushing squads in the country in each of the past two years. He has turned heads to the N-F-L scouts because of his dominating run blocking from the tight end position, with one scouting service labeling him the top run-blocking tight end in the nation last season. Kieft had 12 career receptions, including two touchdowns with the Golden Gophers. One of those TDs came against Iowa last year in Iowa City.
If he doesn’t get drafted this weekend, Kieft will certainly get a shot with an N-F-L team as a free agent signing. Since the end of the 2021 football season, Kieft has been working out in Minneapolis in preparation for his shot in pro football. Kieft says his toughness is the result of his upbringing.
Kieft says he visited Sioux Center a couple of months ago.
Kieft says wrestling in high school helped him become a better football player.
In front of family and friends Concordia-St. Paul sophomore Arika Robinson claimed the Drake Relays heptathlon title. Robinson won four of seven events to finish with 5029 points.
Robinson dominated the sprints and jumps. She won the long jump and the high jump.
Offensive tackle Trevor Penning became the first UNI player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft after being taken by the New Orleans Saints with the 19th pick. Penning joined family and friends at a watch party in Clear Lake.
Penning has been known for playing with a nasty streak.
UNI coach Mark Farley on having a first round pick.
Farley on what it means for the program.
Today: Mostly cloudy w/showers ending this morning; P/Cldy to Cldy this afternoon, w/scattered shwrs & tstrms. High 70. SE @ 15-25 mph.
Tonight: Mo. Cldy w/shwrs & tstrms. Low 52. S @ 10-15 mph.
Tomorrow: Shwrs & tstrms ending, becoming P/Cldy. High 58. W @ 20-35 mph.
Sunday: P/Cldy to Cldy. High around 60.
Monday: Mo. Cldy w/shwrs & tstrms. High near 62.
Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 74. Our Low was 50. Rainfall overnight through early this morning amounted to .8″ (8/10 of an inch). Last year on this date the High in Atlantic was 78 and the Low was 35. The Record High was 93 in 1987, and the Record Low was 22, in 1958.
(Radio Iowa) – The snow is finally gone and what’s now being found along many Iowa roadways isn’t pretty. Hamilton County Sheriff Doug Timmons says he’s hearing frequent complaints from residents about garbage dumping in ditches.
“If we are able to figure out who it is, you will be charged,” Sheriff Timmons says. “We’ve also had complaints of people dumping tires out in the ditches. If we’re able to identify who’s doing that, you will be charged criminally, be put in jail, plus a fine and plus landfill fees.” That can be an expensive, embarrassing predicament when there’s a clear, better option to illegal dumping.
“There’s been a big increase in that,” Timmons says. “Go to the landfill. A pickup load, I believe it’s right around $10. You can get rid of a whole pickup load of stuff at the landfill and keep Hamilton County looking good.”
To report illegal dumping in Iowa, call 800-NOLITTR. The Keep Iowa Beautiful hotline offers options to report littering and information on how to adopt a roadway, park, river, lake or other public area.
(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Walleye Challenge — a statewide catch-and-release fishing tournament — starts this Sunday, May 1st. There are weekly prizes over the next two months, but the ultimate catch will be the data entered in a smart phone app. Sean Simmons is president of MyCatch — the app for recording the location where the walleye are caught and a photo of the fish before it’s released it back into the water.
“This is an experiment,” Simmons says. “We’re going to see how well we can collect data across the state and see if this will be a useful tool to help the Iowa DNR to get a better state of the walleye fishery.” One key part of the tournament is taking a photo to show the size of walleye being caught in Iowa. Simmons says participants can use a tape measure or what’s called a bump board.
“It’s like a yard stick with a bump at the zero,” Simmons says. “So you put the nose of the fish against the bump and you take a picture of the fish on the bump board.” A team will review the photos and determine if the fish meets the guidelines of the contest. There will be a live leaderboard on the app, showing who has caught the largest walleye. Simmons stresses that the goal isn’t to pull a lot of walleye out of circulation, however.
“We’re not against harvesting, but because we’re running this across the state and encouraging people to report as many fish as they can catch, we don’t want to unnecessarily deplete the resource,” Simmons says. “so the idea is to promote the release of the fish shortly after you catch them.” Staff in state-run fisheries stock walleye in lakes across the state and conduct surveys in a handful of lakes and rivers to try to estimate the walleye population. Simmons is providing his app to the State of Iowa to not only collect data on the size of walleye that are caught over the next two months — but anglers are being asked to type in where they caught their fish. Simmons says secret fishing spots will stay secret.
“We will identify which water body it’s in, like the Des Moines River or the Rathbun Reservoir,” he says, “but the exact location is never revealed publicly.” Simmons says the important part of the tournament is collecting as much information as possible, so prizes aren’t necessarily going to go to the person who catches the largest fish — and there will be prizes for people who don’t catch ANY fish. The MyCatch app has been used for several competitive fishing tournaments in Canada and at a few locations in the United States.
“Ran the Ontario Ice Fishing Challenge where towns across Ontario competed to see who would be the ice fishing capital of Ontario,” Simmons says. The MyCatch app handled over 700 participants who caught-and-released 12-thousand striped bass in the Miramachi Cup in New Brunswick last October.
You can find information about the Iowa Walleye Challenge on www.radioiowa.com.
(Radio Iowa) – There will be a change in command at Sioux City’s 185th Air National Guard Refueling Wing. Colonel Mark Muckey, the wing’s commander, has been selected to be the next leader of the Iowa Air National Guard. “I’ll just tell you it’s a truly unbelievable opportunity and I guess most importantly it is a result of the outstanding performance of the Airmen of the 185th,” he says. “It has truly been my privilege to lead this team over the last three years.”
Colonel Muckey will take over as Adjutant General of the Iowa Air National Guard and will be reassigned to the Guard’s headquarters in Johnston. Colonel Sonya Morrison, an Osceola native, will be his successor in Sioux City as the 185th Refueling Wing’s commander. A change of command ceremony is tentatively scheduled in August.
(Radio Iowa) – The only Democrat in this year’s race for governor has adopted a tool former Iowa Senator Tom Harkin used in his campaigns. Harkin, for example, kicked off his 1992 presidential run in New Hampshire with a “work day” at a factory. This February, Deidre DeJear launched what she calls “Workday Wednesdays.”
“If I’m really going to meet Iowans where they are, I’ve got to connect with them in the communities and spaces in which they reside,” DeJear says. This past week, DeJear served lunch, helped with P-E and read to students in a Storm Lake elementary school.
“We’re hearing challenges related to resources in our education system,” DeJear says. “I mean, they want to keep class size small in this class, so the students can have a meaningful experience.” Last week, DeJear worked on a greenhouse on a farm near Carlisle. In early March, she stocked shelves at a bookstore in Ames. DeJear says wherever she goes, she hears similar stories.
“We want parents to get back to work,” DeJear says. “They’re having to make decisions right now and it’s challenging to find access to child care.” DeJear will be in a different setting tomorrow (Saturday) night. She’s among the candidates scheduled to speak at an Iowa Democratic Party fundraiser in Des Moines.
“We started back in August. That’s when we launched and we had small crowds of people that were joining, but now people are really getting into it and really excited about what can happen in November,” DeJear says. “I mean, I had my first overflow crowd in Audubon County, an incredible experience.” The three Democrats who’re running for the U-S Senate are also scheduled to speak Saturday night at the party fundraiser.
The St. Louis Cardinals opened up their four game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks with an 8-3 win on Thursday night. The Cardinals scored 2 in the first and 3 in the second to grab the advantage early.
Paul Goldschmidt had 3 hits, 1 run, and 3 RBI to lead the Redbird offense. Dakota Hudson picked up the win on the hill, going 6 innings with 4 strikeouts and allowed just 1 hit.
The Cardinals improved to 11-7 on the season. Game 2 of the series is Friday night at 7:15 p.m. We’ll have coverage on KJAN starting at 6:20 p.m.