United Group Insurance

Western/Central IA Hazardous Weather Outlook: Aug. 1st 2013

Weather

August 1st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

AREA COUNTIES: CRAWFORD-CARROLL-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD….

TODAY AND TONIGHT….

THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST TO DEVELOP IN WESTERN IOWA THIS AFTERNOON AND MOVE ACROSS THE REST OF THE STATE TONIGHT. A FEW STORMS COULD BE STRONG TO SEVERE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING…WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE PRIMARY THREATS…MAINLY IN WESTERN IOWA. OVERNIGHT THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL END BUT STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

Gotta’ buy shoes or clothes? Sales tax holiday runs tomorrow & Saturday

News

August 1st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Iowa’s annual Sales Tax Holiday will be held over the next few days, as most purchases of clothing and footwear will be sales tax-free. Victoria Daniels, spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Revenue, says there is a specific purpose to the two-day tax holiday, which runs tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday. “A lot of people like to take advantage of it and get a head start on their back-to-school shopping,” Daniels says. This is the 14th year for the Sales Tax Holiday in Iowa. Daniels says the two days are favored by both shoppers and merchants.

“It’s pretty popular,” Daniels says. “There are limits to what you can buy so it’s not necessarily a free-for-all. One good thing is that you don’t have to be a student to take advantage of it. Anybody who purchases the qualifying items during the sales period is able to purchase them exempt from the sales tax.” Daniels says the items that are eligible for the sales tax-free weekend need to fall under the category of clothing and footwear, but they must also meet certain definitions.

“It doesn’t include things you would think of as accessories, like a watch, jewelry or umbrellas,” she says. “Anything you would not normally wear every day, something designed for athletic activity or protective use, those things are not going to qualify either.” Some examples include tennis shoes — which could be worn for gym class or for everyday — those would qualify for the exemption but football cleats would not qualify.

Learn more about the Iowa Sales Tax Holiday at: www.iowa.gov/tax/educate/holiday1.html

(Radio Iowa)

ANNA MARIE HANSEN, 84, of Elk Horn (Formerly of Audubon) – Svcs. 8/2/13

Obituaries

August 1st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

ANNA MARIE HANSEN, 84, of Elk Horn (Formerly of Audubon), died Tue., July 30th, at the Salem Lutheran Homes in Elk Horn. Funeral services for ANNA HANSEN will be held 2-p.m. Fri., Aug. 2nd, at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Audubon. Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon has the arrangements.

A family visitation will be held at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church from 1-pm until the time of service, Friday.

Burial will be in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery, in Kimballton.

ANNA MARIE HANSEN is survived by:

Her children – Linda Garnett, of Harlan; Coleen Hines, of Audubon, and Tim Hansen (& Special Friend Cindy Baker), of Emmetsburg.

10 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, other relatives & friends.

(Podcast) Skyscan Forecast: Thu., Aug. 1st 2013

Podcasts, Weather

August 1st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

The Freese-Notis (podcast) weather forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area, and weather information for Atlantic.

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NWS forecast for Cass & surrounding Counties in IA

Weather

August 1st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

344 AM CDT THU AUG 1 2013

EARLY THIS MORNING...MOSTLY CLEAR. PATCHY FOG. NORTHWEST WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

TODAY...PARTLY SUNNY. PATCHY FOG THROUGH MID MORNING. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS IN THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE LOWER 80S. SOUTHWEST WIND NEAR 10 MPH. CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS 50 PERCENT.

TONIGHT…THUNDERSTORMS. LOW IN THE MID 60S. SOUTH WIND AROUND 5 MPH. CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS 80 PERCENT.

FRIDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH IN THE LOWER 80S. SOUTHEAST WIND AROUND 5 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE MID 60S. HIGH AROUND 80. NORTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 50S.

SUNDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH IN THE UPPER 70S.

SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. LOW IN THE MID 60S. HIGH IN THE LOWER 80S.

Cardinals place C Molina, OF Robinson on 15-day DL

Sports

August 1st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have placed catcher Yadier Molina and outfielder Shane Robinson on the 15-day disabled list and recalled outfielder Adron Chambers and utility player Brock Peterson from Triple-A Memphis.

Molina has been dealing with a right knee sprain for more than a month. He left a 6-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night after the third inning and flew to St. Louis on Wednesday for further examination. Molina is third in the National League with a .330 batting average. The All-Star said late Tuesday he tried to play through the pain but believes rest is a better option.

The injury comes at a difficult time for the Cardinals, who have lost a season-high six straight to fall 1½ games behind Pittsburgh in the NL Central.

Iowa early News Headlines: Thu., Aug. 1st 2013

News

August 1st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

(Lenox) — An ATV accident in Adams County has claimed the life of a Lenox man, and injured a child. The Iowa State Patrol reports a volunteer firefighter found 41-year old Carey Ishikawa and an unidentified 9-year old boy were found underneath an overturned 1987 Honda ATV. The machine was located in a ditch near an intersection northwest of Lenox, at around 5:30-p.m., Wednesday.

WAVERLY, Iowa (AP) — A jury has awarded more than $80,000 to a former paralegal after finding that Floyd County didn’t respond appropriately to her repeated complaints about sexual harassment in the county attorney’s office. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that jurors returned their verdict yesterday afternoon, finding that Theresa Farmer was sexually harassed by fired County Attorney Jesse Marzen.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines police lieutenant who pleaded guilty to a mortgage scheme has been sentenced to six month of home confinement and three years of probation. The Des Moines Register reports U.S. District Judge James Gritzner signed a sentencing order yesterday for Lieutenant Wade Wojewoda of Grimes requiring home confinement except for employment. Wojewoda’s lawyer says his police officer certification will likely be revoked.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A Waterloo man who failed to register as a sex offender has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports 41-year-old Dana Curry received the sentence Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. Curry pleaded guilty to the charge in March. Prosecutors say he did not properly update his sex offender registration in Iowa from mid-2010 through end of 2012.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials are still trying to figure out how to remove excessive algae from a popular pond in Des Moines. Des Moines television station KCCI reports city officials added aerators to the pond at Greenwood Park in an effort to help circulate the water.

State Baseball Tournament: scores from Wed., 7/31/13

Sports

August 1st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

CLASS 4-A Quarter-finals:

Clinton 10, Ankeny 8
Des Moines East 7, Davenport North 6 (9)
Johnston 2, Linn-Mar 0
Sioux City East 1, Cedar Rapids Xavier  0

Thursday’s Schedule at Principal Park in Des Moines:

CLASS 1-A Semi-finals:
12:00-p.m. – Newman Catholic vs. Twin Cedars
2:00-p.m. – Van Meter vs. Van Buren

CLASS 2-A Semi-finals:
6:00-p.m. – Beckman Catholic vs. Roland-Story
8:00-p.m. – North Polk vs. Kuemper Catholic

Pirates slip by Cardinals 5-4 for 4th straight win

Sports

July 31st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Russell Martin drove home Neal Walker with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 on Wednesday night. Martin’s sharp grounder off Trevor Rosenthal (1-2) rolled into left field, giving Walker enough time to score from second. The Pirates’ fourth straight win over the Cardinals gave Pittsburgh a 2½-game lead in the NL Central.

St. Louis left 11 runners on base and dropped its seventh consecutive game. The Cardinals led 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 but couldn’t hold on. Tony Watson (3-1) worked two shutout innings in relief. Mark Melancon pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save. Matt Holliday had three hits and drove in two runs, and the Cardinals’ struggling offense put together 13 hits.

ATV accident claims the life of a SW IA man

News

July 31st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

An ATV accident in Adams County has claimed the life of a Lenox man, and injured a child. The Iowa State Patrol reports a volunteer firefighter found 41-year old Carey Ishikawa and an unidentified 9-year old boy underneath an overturned 1987 Honda ATV. The machine was located in a ditch near an intersection northwest of Lenox, at around 5:30-p.m., Wednesday.

Ishikawa was pronounced dead at the scene. The boy was transported by helicopter to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. Officials say the accident remains under investigation.