United Group Insurance

Iowa State Fair officials say “Hairball” is the first confirmed Grandstand act in 2025

News

December 4th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa State Fair has announced its first Grandstand act of the 2025 fair. “Hairball,” a rock tribute band, will perform Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025 at the Grandstand. The show is part of Hairball’s Silver Anniversary Tour marking their 25th anniversary. Hairball performed during the RAGBRAI® stop in Atlantic in 2019.

Additional entertainment announcements at the 2025 Iowa State Fair are expected to follow in the coming months. The fair will not host a February Hairball concert in 2025, according to the announcement.

Tickets go on sale at the Iowa State Fair website at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 6th.

Caitlin Clark named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 list

News

December 4th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Former Hawkeye superstar Caitlin Clark has been named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list. The 22-year-old Indiana Fever guard is fresh off a historic rookie season in the WNBA, where she was named the Rookie of the Year. Clark also set records for scoring and assists and became the first rookie in the WNBA to record a triple-double.

KCRG reports the Forbes article said “The first overall pick in 2024’s WNBA draft, Caitlin Clark led the resurgent Indiana Fever to their first playoff appearance in eight years while breaking the league’s single-season assists record and earning Rookie of the Year honors. She also led WNBA All-Star Game voting with more than 700,000 ballots and has been credited with pushing up league viewership and attendance.”

Photo credit: Hawkeye Nation

At Iowa, Clark set the NCAA’s all-time scoring record and was twice named the National Player of the Year. She also led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back national title appearances. Clark was the only WNBA player selected to the list and the fourth youngest.

John Deere announces more layoffs in Waterloo

Ag/Outdoor, News

December 4th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

WATERLOO, Iowa (KCRG)—More than 100 John Deere workers in Waterloo were told Tuesday (Dec. 4, 2024) morning that they will be without a job after the holiday season. It comes two weeks after Deere announced a net income of seven billion dollars last year. That’s a 16% decrease from the year before. Over 1,700 John Deere employees across Iowa have been laid off since the beginning of 2024. Waterloo has taken the brunt of the layoffs. Tuesday morning 112 employees at John Deere Waterloo Works were told their last day would be January 3. This brings the total layoffs in Waterloo alone to more than 1,000.

KCRG reports that in Davenport, 80 workers will also be losing their jobs after the new year. Those layoffs were announced back in October and will take effect on January 3rd. A John Deere plant in Des Moines laid off 166 employees earlier this year and Deere in Dubuque has lost 133. The company said it has seen declining demand for its products because of challenging market conditions. It cited the USDA expecting falling commodity prices for things like corn and soybeans.

John Deere gave the following reasons for why orders are down:

  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts major row-crop cash receipts to be down another 18% in 2024, following a 5% decline last year.
  • The USDA also forecasts marketing year average prices for the new crop (crops harvested this fall) to continue to decline from last year and to be down over 30% compared to a couple of years ago (compared to 2022: corn -37%, soybeans -24%, and wheat -35%).

The company also says its construction division is impacted by fewer new homes being built. The company said:

  • In the construction industry, compared to its peak in 2021, single-family home sales are down 30%, single-family housing starts are down 10%, and multi-family housing starts are down 40%.
  • Despite some interest rate reductions, the current interest rate level is still elevated compared to recent history.

Laid off employees will receive monetary and health care benefits for a period after their end date.

ISU will pay DsM PD for a medical error that resulted in the death of a police K-9

News

December 4th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Iowa State University will have to pay the Des Moines Police Department for the 2023 death of a police K-9. According to the Iowa State Appeals Board, DMPD K-9 Hobbs was taken to the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine for surgery after a sudden illness last December. Hobbs did not survive the procedure. A veterinarian from Iowa State said a medical error caused the dog to become septic and die.

Photo from the Des Moines Police Department’s Facebook page

Iowa State must now pay $43,000 to the Des Moines Police Department for the cost of the department to buy and train Hobbs.

Weekly Page County Attorney’s report, 12/4/24

News

December 4th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Clarinda, Iowa) – Page County Attorney Carl M. Sonksen, Tuesday (12/3) issued a report on activities that took place in the Iowa District Court for Page County, during the week of November 25th. The following cases were presided over by the Honorable Amy Zacharias, 4th Judicial District Judge (All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law):

Traffic Pattern Change on I-29 at Iowa 141 in Sloan begins on Friday night, Dec. 6

News

December 4th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa –  Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation say if you drive on Interstate 29 near Sloan (in northwest Iowa), you need to be aware of an upcoming traffic pattern change that may affect your trip. Beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6 until 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8, weather permitting, traffic in both directions of I-29 will be routed onto the ramps at the interchange with Iowa 141 (exit 127) in Sloan so crews can demolish and remove the old bridge over I-29. You will follow a marked route using the entrance and exit ramps to I-29 to safely travel around the work zone.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

The latest traveler information is available anytime through the 511 system. Visit 511ia.org; call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide); stay connected with 511 on Facebook or X (find links at https://iowadot.gov/511/511-social-media-sites); or download the free app to your mobile device.

Atlantic Boys Drop Season Opener to North Polk

Sports

December 4th, 2024 by Christian Adams

The Atlantic Trojans boys basketball team fell to the North Polk Comets in their season opener on Tuesday. It was the first game of the season for both programs and both teams stumbled out of the gate.  Early on, North Polk earned opportunities but couldn’t cash in. However, as the game progressed, the Comets started to connect and took over the game, pulling away in the second quarter. Although the Trojans’ play improved in the second, it would not be enough as they fell by a final score of 50-22.

In the first quarter both teams had to shake off some rust, as there was little offense in the opening four minutes. Despite the lack of scoring, the North Polk defense played tough and made it extremely difficult for Atlantic to find space. Almost everything the Trojans did was contested. Atlantic was only able to manage two field goals in the first half: a basket in the paint from Grant Petty and a late 3-pointer from Hunter Nelson. On the flip side, once the Comets got into a rhythm, baskets started falling. Jayson Slings led the way for North Polk with four first half 3-pointers as the Comets went to the locker room with a 22-6 lead.

Atlantic did improve in the second half. The Trojans were more aggressive and were able to find a little more success in the paint. Reed Flaisek came off the bench and knocked down a pair of field goals while Nelson, Conner Johnson, and Shelton Mualia all chipped in baskets. Grant Petty knocked down the lone 3-pointer of the half. However, The Trojans were not able to slow down the Comets offense. Eli Pedersen led the way in the second half and finished with 15 points tying Sling for the game lead.

Head Coach Dalton Franken liked that his team was more aggressive in the second half and said that some of his team’s errors in the first half could be attributed to the slow start.

However, there were positives to take away from Tuesday’s loss including Atlantic’s bench.

Franken also stated that the result was not for lack of effort.

The Trojans are back in action for their home opener Friday against Glennwood. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

 

Boys Basketball Scoreboard from Tuesday Dec. 3

Sports

December 4th, 2024 by Christian Adams

Hawkeye Ten Conference 

  • Clarinda – 68 vs Red Oak – 60

Western Iowa Conference 

  • Audubon – 56 vs Underwood – 48
  • Riverside – 69 vs Missouri Valley – 59
  • Tri-Center – 80 vs IKM-Manning – 76 (2OT)
  • Treynor – 68 vs Logan-Magnolia – 55

Corner Conference 

  • Griswold – 68 vs Fremont-Mills – 39
  • Sidney – 76 vs Essex – 33
  • Bedford – 73 vs Stanton – 41

Pride of Iowa Conference 

  • Mount Ayr – 62 vs Nodaway Valley – 37
  • Southwest Valley – 67 vs East Union – 25
  • Martensdale-St. Marys – 60 vs Southeast Warren – 57
  • Central Decatur – 46 vs Wayne – 35

Rolling Valley Conference 

  • Woodbine – 68 vs Exira-EHK – 28
  • Boyer Valley – 79 vs Paton-Churdan – 41
  • Coon Rapids-Bayard – 54 vs Ar-We-Va – 42
  • Glidden-Ralston – 52 vs West Harrison – 13

Non-Conference 

  • North Polk – 50 vs Atlantic – 22
  • Earlham – 68 vs CAM – 53
  • OABCIG – 67 vs Denison-Schleswig – 24
  • Kuemper Catholic – 89 vs Carroll – 65
  • Glenwood – 92 vs Thomas Jefferson – 59
  • Van Meter – 51 vs St. Albert – 34

Girls Basketball Scoreboard From Tuesday Dec. 3

Sports

December 4th, 2024 by Christian Adams

Hawkeye Ten Conference 

  • Clarinda – 57 vs Red Oak – 21
  • St. Albert – 71 vs Harlan – 58

Western Iowa Conference 

  • Missouri Valley – 29 vs Riverside – 27
  • IKM-Manning – 55 vs Tri-Center – 52
  • Treynor – 66 vsLogan-Magnolia – 26

Corner Conference 

  • Fremont-Mills – 55 vs Griswold – 36
  • Stanton 62 vs Bedford – 49
  • Sidney – 70 vs Essex – 15

Rolling Valley Conference 

  • Woodbine – 55 vs Exira-EHK – 39
  • Coon Rapids-Bayard – 63 vs Ar-We-Va – 14
  • Boyer Valley – 68 vs Paton-Churdan – 17

Pride of Iowa Conference 

  • Mount Ayr – 65 vs Nodaway Valley – 31
  • Southwest Valley – 59 vs East Union – 39
  • Martensdale-St. Marys – 60 vs Southeast Warren – 29
  • Wayne – 51 vs Central Decatur – 38

Non-Conference 

  • Earlham – 44 vs CAM – 37
  • Abraham Lincoln – 46 vs Glenwood – 32
  • Denison-Schleswig – 53 vs OABCIG – 41
  • Carroll – 53 vs Kuemper Catholic – 38
  • Bishop Heelan Catholic – 51 vs Lewis Central – 39

FAFSA now available for sign up

News

December 4th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Free Application for Federal Student Aid known as FAFSA is now open for the next academic year. FAFSA has had issues since an effort to upgrade the process and forms were delayed last year, but U-N-I Financial Aid director Tim Bakula it is now ready for this year. “It’s still at the studentaid.gov website, as usual, and students and families can go and complete that soon as they’d like, listing the schools where they’d want their FAFSA to be sent,” he says. The process in past years has had some bugs in it, but Bakula says so far he hasn’t heard any major issues.

” That’s not to say it’s perfect, or that everyone will go through it without a question, but they’ve built in various prompts and edits that are hopefully making the user experience better for families and completing it more direct and clear in instructions on how to complete it,” he says, “and hopefully allowing schools to then receive the most accurate information that they can about the students that are applying to their schools.” He says the process is key in finding out if you our your child qualifies for financial help. “Families that complete the fast forward putting themselves out there to be eligible for federal student loans, federal grants for instance. Many colleges and universities will use the FAFSA results to determine some scholarship eligibility, although that’s not the fastest primary focus. The FAFSA possible allows a family or student, I should say, to qualify for federal work study dollars,” Bakula says.

Workstudy allows a student to get a campus job to earn a little bit of extra money to help them pay for different things at college. “It really is the number one step to beginning the aid process to receive a financial aid offer from a from a college or university,” he says. Bakula says there are varying deadlines for completing FAFSA and he advises you do it as soon as you can. “The public universities in the state are all within early February as a priority deadline date. I can’t speak to every college in the state of Iowa or nationally, I would recommend, probably the best thing to do for a student would be to go out and look at the colleges that they’re kind of considering and see what dates exist,” he says.

“To complete the FAFSA families would need their 2023 tax information,” he says. “And one of the nice things about the FAFSA anymore is that it will accurately bring in federal tax information directly from the I-R-S once the family provides consent, both the student and the parent, in most cases.” Bakula says filling out the FAFSA should take at most 45 minutes to an hour.