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Area basketball scores from Wed., Feb. 19 2014

Sports

February 20th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Class 3A Region 2
Regional Semifinal
MOC-Floyd Valley 91, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 43
Red Oak 57, Shenandoah 46

Class 3A Region 8
Regional Semifinal
Bondurant Farrar 70, PCM, Monroe 47
Nevada 39, Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 38

Class 4A Region 7
Regional First Round
Denison-Schleswig 43, Carroll 35

Class 4A Region 8
Regional First Round
Glenwood 47, Creston 36
Winterset 41, Des Moines, Hoover 28

Class 5A Region 8
Play-In
Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 66, Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 19

Sims, No. 6 Baylor women rout Iowa State 89-51

Sports

February 20th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

WACO, Texas (AP) — Odyssey Sims scored 18 of her 24 points in the first half and 6th ranked Baylor coasted to its ninth straight win, beating Iowa State 89-51 Wednesday night. Sims, the nation’s leading scorer, made nine of 13 from the field and pushed her season total on 3-pointers to 80 by going 6 of 8 from long range.

The Lady Bears (23-3, 13-1 Big 12), who have their highest ranking of the season, took control with a 10-1 run midway through the first half on the way to their 34th straight conference home win.

Freshman Seanna Johnson scored 12 points to lead the Cyclones (17-8, 6-8), who haven’t won two straight games since a 14-0 start capped by a 92-43 win over Texas Tech that put them at 3-0 in the Big 12.

Iowa House panel approves anti-bullying measure

News

February 20th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lawmakers in the Iowa House have approved an anti-bullying measure that would emphasize teacher training standards. The House Education Committee passed the measure 19-4 Wednesday. The bill is now up for debate on the House floor.

The legislation would require parental notification in bullying situations, as well as bullying prevention and response training for educators. School officials would also be granted permission to get involved in certain instances of cyberbullying as they pertain to the school.

Some committee members said they wanted the bill to focus even more on training. Republican Representative Quentin Stanerson of Center Point said future discussions on the measure would flush out those details. The education committee in the Senate passed a similar bill Wednesday.

Most legislators headed home last night, little action at statehouse today

News

February 20th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The forecast of blizzard conditions in parts of the state today (Thursday) prompted many legislators to head home last night. Senator David Johnson of Ocheyedan was among them. “Concerned about how road conditions might be when you live probably closer to International Falls than you do to Des Moines,” Johnson says. Johnson was stranded overnight in a pick-up during a blizzard in 1997.

“I ended up in a ditch, tried digging myself out twice and was soaking wet and knew better than to try to walk to the nearest farmhouse — which was about three-quarters of a mile away — in blizzard conditions,” Johnson says. “I was rescued the next morning after sunrise by a couple of high school students who got into a tractor and decided to go into town to see how bad it was.”

Johnson’s pick-up had two fuel tanks, so he was able to start the engine periodically, run the heater and keep himself warm until that help arrived. There are no events scheduled in the Iowa House today (Thursday) and most House members are out of Des Moines. Four committees in the Senate are scheduled to meet and Democrats say there’ll be enough Democrats who’ve stayed in Des Moines so committee work can be done.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa early News Headlines: Thu., Feb. 20th 2014

News

February 20th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Weather officials are predicting several inches of snow over a large swath of Iowa overnight and through Thursday evening. Meteorologist Kurt Kotenberg says thundersnow — an area of heavy snow with embedded thunder — could occur today. The winter storm system will be largely out of the state by Friday morning as it moves northeast into Wisconsin.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lawmakers in the Democratic-majority Iowa Senate are advancing a bill that would establish a state facility for delinquent girls. The Senate Human Resources Committee approved the bill yesterday in a party-line vote with eight Democrats in favor and five Republicans opposed. The legislation was originally designed to reopen the Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo, but now just says there must be a state-run facility for delinquent girls.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lawmakers in the Iowa House have approved an anti-bullying measure that would emphasize teacher training standards. The House Education Committee passed the measure 19-4 on Wednesday. The bill is now up for debate on the House floor.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State has hired Buffalo defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator Maurice Linguist as its new secondary coach. The Cyclones announced yesterday that Linguist has been hired to replace Troy Douglas, who left for Pittsburgh last week. Coach Paul Rhoads says Linguist is a “dynamic personality” who should also bolster Iowa State’s recruiting efforts.

Atlantic City Council adopts budget, Public hearing set

News

February 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The Atlantic City Council held a shorter than normal session Wednesday evening, due to some items on the agenda being tabled or withdrawn entirely. During the meeting, the Council adopted the proposed Fiscal Year 2015 Budget. City Administrator Doug Harris reminded the Council the budget as submitted amounts to $9,373, 546 (9-million 373-thousand 546 dollars). He said that would generate a 32-cent tax increase or 1.8-percent over the last Fiscal Year.

The Atlantic City Council holds their meeting in the Senior Center while renovations are under way at City Hall.

The Atlantic City Council holds their meeting in the Senior Center while renovations are under way at City Hall.

After adopting the Budget, the Council set  March 12th at 5:30-p.m. as the date and time for a public hearing on the budget. After the hearing, the Council may decrease the budget, but cannot increase it. And, because the budget must be filed with the State and County Auditor’s Office by March 15th, the Council will hold back-to-back Wednesday meetings on March 5th and 12th instead the 5th and 19th as would normally be the case.

In other business, Doug Harris recommended the Council table action on approving a Resolution accepting Public Improvements to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. He said the final bills for the plant are in, and it turns out Hawkins Construction owes the City $5,361 net. Harris said before the City settles with the Contractor, they still have leverage with liquidated damage it could assess, and/or go after the Performance Bond.

The issue the City has with the company was over the matter of defective work on the blower building caused by settling ground, which was due to improper compaction of fill materials. In his report to the Council Harris said he has held discussions with CGI Communications, Inc. in Rochester, NY. (www.cgi.com). The discussion centers around a proposal to add a video feature to the City, Chamber and CADCO websites.

It’s meant to showcase Atlantic to visitors, help retain and attract residents and businesses. The National League of Cities is promoting the feature, and about one-dozen towns in Iowa are looking into signing-on. Harris said there would be no cost to the City. There would be two or three one-minute video clips highlighting education, housing and recreational opportunities.

Harris said he’s expecting a call from CGI next week to continue discussions.

Several inches of snow predicted over Iowa

News, Weather

February 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Weather officials are predicting several inches of snow over a large swath of Iowa, with blizzard conditions hitting the northern half of the state. The National Weather Service says anywhere from 3 to 9 inches of snow could fall in central and northern Iowa from the early hours of Thursday into the evening hours.

Meteorologist Kurt Kotenberg says the wintry mix of sleet and snow will develop Thursday morning for northern Iowa. Rain will fall in central Iowa until it transitions into snow. Heavy snow will fall from Thursday morning into the afternoon.

Kotenberg says thundersnow — an area of heavy snow with embedded thunder — could occur Thursday. The winter storm system will be largely out of the state by Friday morning as it moves northeast into Wisconsin.

Iowa State hires Linguist as secondary coach

Sports

February 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State has hired Buffalo defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator Maurice Linguist as its new secondary coach. The Cyclones announced Wednesday that Linguist has been hired to replace Troy Douglas, who left for Pittsburgh last week. Linguist was also the co-defensive coordinator for two seasons at Buffalo. The Dallas native played and later coached at Baylor, where he was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection.

Coach Paul Rhoads says Linguist is a “dynamic personality” who should also bolster Iowa State’s recruiting efforts.

Various winter weather watches and warnings issued

Weather

February 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Precipitation will begin to push into southern Iowa through the evening hours. Showers and thunderstorms are possible, with some thunderstorms capable of producing heavy rainfall.1795738_600696773341855_1861838228_n The precipitation will begin to switch to snow over northwest Iowa late tonight with the transition gradually shifting southeast Thursday, a brief mix of wintry precipitation is possible before rain changes to snow. Winds will be light initially Thursday but will increase significantly by the afternoon. The combination of several inches of snow and wind gusts approaching 50 mph will produce blizzard conditions over portions of northern Iowa.

Winter Storm Warning in effect for Guthrie & area Counties

News, Weather

February 19th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

3:43-P.M. 2/19/2014…COUNTIES: SAC-CRAWFORD-CARROLL-GUTHRIE-DALLAS

WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THURSDAY TO 6 AM CST FRIDAY… THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND SIGNIFICANT BLOWING SNOW…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THURSDAY TO 6 AM CST FRIDAY. THE BLIZZARD WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

TIMING...A WINTRY MIX IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT TONIGHT AND TRANSITION TO SNOW THURSDAY DURING THE MID TO LATE MORNING. THE SNOW MAY BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES DURING THE DAY THURSDAY. STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND PERSIST INTO THE EVENING HOURS… POTENTIALLY CREATING BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AT TIMES. WITH LITTLE TO NO SNOW CURRENTLY ON THE GROUND…THE CHANCE FOR WIDESPREAD BLIZZARD CONDITIONS IS LOW.

* STORM TOTAL SNOW/ICE ACCUMULATIONS…3 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW IS EXPECTED. MINOR ICE AND SLEET ACCUMULATIONS MAY ALSO OCCUR.

* WINDS/VISIBILITY…WINDS WILL SHIFT NORTHWEST AND QUICKLY STRENGTHEN TO 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO NEAR 50 MPH POSSIBLE BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

* IMPACTS…THE BAND OF WET AND HEAVY SNOW AND VERY STRONG WINDS MAY LEAD TO VERY LOW VISIBILITY AND AS WELL AS QUICKLY COVER ROADS MAKING TRAVEL HAZARDOUS TO NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE AT TIMES.