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IA Transportation Commission approves funding for area projects

News

January 11th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Transportation Commission, Tuesday, approved more than $1.5-million in funding for Safe Routes to School Program projects, nearly $5.3-million for 11 statewide Transportation Enhancement Program (TEP) projects, and more than $1.2-million for six Recreational Trail Program projects. The appropriations were approved during the Commission’s meeting in Ames, Tuesday. In our area, the I-DOT Commission approved $236,000 for the Shenandoah Safe Routes to School Program. The program was created in Iowa in 2005, using federal transportation funds. Its purpose is to increase the number of children safely walking and bicycling to school.

The I-DOT Commission also approved a $530,000 award to the Iowa Department of Natural Resource and Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, for the “Great River Road Scenic Byway” and “Loess Hills Byway” projects, and $554,000 to Golden Hills Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D), for the “Interpreting Iowa’s Byways” project, which involves the development and implementation of an Interpretive Master plan. Funds for the projects come from the Statewide TEP.

And, the DOT Commission, Tuesday, approved a $300,000 Recreational Trails Program award to Coon Rapids and Creating Great Places, for the Herndon to Coon Rapids segment of the American Discovery Trail.

 

Posted in News |

(Podcast) Skyscan Forecast for Wed., Jan. 11 2012

Podcasts, Weather

January 11th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Here’s the forecast for Atlantic, and the KJAN listening area…

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Posted in Podcasts, Weather |

Iowa lawmakers likely to revisit lead shot / dove hunting issue

Ag/Outdoor, News, Sports

January 11th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Legislators are likely to engage in a spirited debate over what kind of bullets may be fired at doves. Last year, in uncharacteristically speedy fashion, lawmakers voted to legalize dove hunting in Iowa. But Senator Dick Dearden of Des Moines and others are upset with the Iowa Natural Resources Commission’s decision to forbid hunters from using lead shot when firing at doves. “People talk about the legislature sneaking this (law) through and the reality is they snuck through that (restriction),” Dearden says. “They came through at the last minute and made the rule.” The rule requires the use of steel shot for dove hunting, but a resolution that would nullify that rule is pending in both the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate. Representative Henry Rayhons, of Garner, stopped by a local gun shop last week and heard lots of complaints about steel shot.

“It’s not as accurate,” Rayhons says. “It’s harder on the guns and it’s darned near twice as expensive.” Critics say animals, like ducks and eagles, die after eating the lead shot lying on the ground that didn’t wind up in a bird. Dearden, a life-long hunter, accuses those opponents of using the lead-shot issue as a smoke-screen to try to derail the entire dove hunting law. “It’s all about doves,” Dearden says. “It has nothing to do with eagles or anything else.” Dearden says he got plenty of hate mail after spearheading passage of the dove hunting law last year.

“My favorite was a woman who said: ‘You’re a sick old man. I hope you die while hunting mourning doves,'” Dearden says. “I emailed her back and said: ‘So do I.'” Critics of lead shot say it’s a danger to humans, too, who eat bird meat that’s riddled with lead fragments. One study suggested lead particles have been found up to a foot and a half away, causing a greater risk of lead poisoning to humans than previously thought.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News, Sports |

Vilsack addresses concerns of USDA office closings, including 1 on SW IA

Ag/Outdoor, News

January 11th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is addressing concerns about his agency’s plan to close 259 U-S-D-A offices, labs and other facilities. Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, told reporters in a teleconference Tuesday, that the closures are in response to Congressional budget cuts. The goal is to trim USDA expenses by $150 million a year. Vilsack said the plan involves $90 million in savings through reduced travel and supplies. The office and lab closures would account for the remaining $60 million in savings. Vilsack does not anticipate widespread layoffs as nearly 7,000 USDA employees took early retirement last year and many workers will be given the opportunity to transfer to other offices. Critics of the plan have raised concerns about the possible effect on food safety.

“I want to be very clear about this – the office closings we announced in the food safety area are about administrative personnel. They are not about inspectors,” Vilsack said. “We did not deal with the inspector issue at all. We’re still going to be in every single plant. The inspectors will continue to do the work that they’re doing in those plants and it will have no impact whatsoever on our responsibility to ensure the safety of the food supply in the United States.” In Iowa, the so-called “Blueprint for Stronger Service” would close three Farm Service Agency offices in Appanoose, Decatur and Union Counties. In addition, a Natural Resource Conservation Service office in Jefferson County would be shut down. Vilsack said public hearings will be held within 90 days in the counties where offices are to be closed.

(Pat Curtis/Radio Iowa)

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Fatal ATV accident near Shenandoah – victim identified

News

January 11th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Authorities have identified a southwest Iowa man who died following an ATV accident Tuesday afternoon, north of Shenandoah. According to officials, 63-year old Lyle Green was riding the all-terrain vehicle on family property about a mile and half north of Shenandoah when the accident occured at around 4:30-p.m.  At about that same time, the Shenandoah Fire Department was called to a field fire, and, while details concerning the accident are not available, sources say the ATV accident was the cause of the fire.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in their investigation of the incident, by the Iowa State Patrol, DNR, the Fremont County Coroner’s Office and Shenandoah Fire/Rescue.

Posted in News |

Weather Forecast for Cass & surrounding counties, Jan. 11 2012

Weather

January 11th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

411 AM CST WED JAN 11 2012

WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST THURSDAY…

TODAY…MOSTLY SUNNY IN THE MORNING…THEN MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW EARLY IN THE AFTERNOON. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. WINDY…COLDER. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S. TEMPERATURE STEADY OR SLOWLY FALLING IN THE AFTERNOON. WEST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 35 MPH INCREASING TO NORTHWEST 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 45 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF SNOW 50 PERCENT.

TONIGHT…CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SNOW THROUGH MIDNIGHT…THEN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT.  WINDY…COLDER. LOW AROUND 15. NORTHWEST WIND 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW 50 PERCENT.

THURSDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. WINDY. MUCH COLDER. HIGH 15 TO 20. NORTHWEST WIND 20 TO 30 MPH.

THURSDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY THROUGH MIDNIGHT THEN BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY. LOW AROUND 10. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 25 MPH.

FRIDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 20S. NORTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH. GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH IN THE MORNING.

FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. NOT AS COOL. LOW 15 TO 20. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S.

Posted in Weather |

Wind Advisory issued for western & central IA from Noon Wed to 6pm Thursday

News, Weather

January 11th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

410 AM CST WED JAN 11 2012

Counties included in the Advisory: CRAWFORD-CARROLL-GREENE-AUDUBON-GUTHRIE-DALLAS-POLK-CASS-ADAIR-MADISON-ADAMS-UNION-TAYLOR-RINGGOLD

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DES MOINES HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST THURSDAY. THE COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON WITH WINDS INCREASING BETWEEN NOON AND 3 PM AND WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THURSDAY. NORTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS APPROACHING 45 MPH ARE POSSIBLE.

A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINDS OF 30 MPH ARE EXPECTED. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT…ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION.

Posted in News, Weather |

Drake beats Bradley 82-74

Sports

January 11th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ben Simons scored 21 points to lead four Drake players in double figures, and the Bulldogs defeated Bradley 82-74 on Tuesday night, handing the Braves their eighth loss in a row. Rayvonte Rice had 19 points, Kurt Alexander scored 17 before fouling out and Jeremy Jeffers had 11 points for Drake (9-7, 2-3 Missouri Valley). Kraidon Woods grabbed 14 rebounds for the winners. Taylor Brown led all players with 28 points for Bradley (5-12, 0-5). He also had 12 rebounds. Walt Lemon Jr. scored 16 and Dyricus Harris-Edwards added 15 points for the Braves, who led by 10 early before Drake trimmed Bradley’s lead to 34-33 at halftime. There were 53 fouls called in the game, 29 on Bradley. Drake was 28 for 40 at the free-throw line, led by Rice’s 13 of 18, while Bradley made 24 of its 35 foul shots.

Posted in Sports |

Northern Iowa loses 63-60 to No. 23 Creighton

Sports

January 11th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Northern Iowa kept Creighton star Doug McDermott under control, and the Panthers started the game making 3-pointers in rapid succession. Then came an 11½-minute stretch in which they couldn’t score a field goal, and they ended up with a 63-60 loss to the 23rd-ranked Bluejays on Tuesday night. After scoring 31 points the first 13 minutes, the Panthers managed only 29 in the final 27. The Panthers held McDermott, the nation’s second-leading scorer at 25.2 points a game, to 14. But all the attention they gave to McDermott allowed Antoine Young to score a season-high 21 points for the Bluejays. Young, shooting 39 percent for the season, made 9 of 14 shots, with his only 3-pointer giving the Bluejays a five-point lead with 2 minutes left. The Bluejays (14-2, 4-1 Missouri Valley Conference) could never build a safe lead despite shutting down the Panthers (12-5, 2-3) for such a long stretch over the first and second halves. Marc Sonnen scored a season-high 15 points for Northern Iowa — all in the first half — and Anthony James added 10. The Panthers went 8 of 12 from 3-point range in the first half to build a double-digit lead and finished with a season-high 12 3s.

Posted in Sports |

Tuesday Boys High School Basketball Results

Sports

January 11th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Hawkeye 10:

  • Atlantic 55, Creston 52
  • Nebraska City, Neb. 59, Shenandoah 19

Western Iowa:

  • Audubon 62, A-H-S-T 50
  • Tri-Center 64, Missouri Valley 50
  • Riverside 65, Griswold 38

Rolling Hills

  • CAM 55, Orient-Macksburg 48
  • Exira-EHK 74, Glidden-Ralston 43
  • Walnut 69, Adair-Casey 58

Others:

  • Clarinda Academy 69, Fremont-Mills 66
  • Corning 69, East Union 53
  • Des Moines Christian 66, Coon Rapids-Bayard 35
  • Boyer Valley 67, Charter Oak-Ute 42
  • East Mills 56, Villisca 48
  • Nodaway Valley 75, Bedford 33
  • Guthrie Center 51, Earlham 37
  • IKM-Manning 78, West Harrison 26
  • Mount Ayr 81, Lenox 46
  • Nishnabotna 57, Stanton 49
  • Panorama 52, Van Meter 47
  • Sidney 44, Essex 30
  • Sioux City East 82, Abraham Lincoln 34
  • Sioux City North 69, Thomas Jefferson 43

Posted in Sports |