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Iowa House OKs bill to support veterans

News

March 26th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Veterans would receive various tax and job benefits under a bill overwhelmingly approved by the Iowa House. In a 94-2 vote Wednesday, the House passed a measure that combines several of Gov. Terry Branstad’s initiatives intended to attract veterans to Iowa and to support those already in the state. The legislation now goes to the Senate.

The bill exempts military pensions from state income tax, permits companies to offer preferential treatment to veterans in hiring decisions, and gives veterans credit for military experience when obtaining an occupational license. All provisions had been considered separately at the committee level.

Republican Rep. Matt Windschitl, of Missouri Valley, says moving forward with these efforts is a small step to better support those who have served the country.

Rollover accident in Atlantic Wed. afternoon

News

March 26th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

(Updated 7-p.m.)

An Atlantic teen suffered minor injuries during an accident Wednesday afternoon just south of the intersection of 10th and Chestnut Streets.

Ric Hanson photos

Ric Hanson photos

Atlantic Police said 16-year old Caleb Kelly lost control of the 2 door Saturn his was driving at around 2:18-p.m. The accident happened as he was traveling south on Chestnut. A medical condition is thought to have been the cause of the crash.

The vehicle hit a telephone pole guy wire before flipping onto its top, coming to rest facing west on Chestnut. Kelly, who managed to crawl out of the car on his own, was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital by Medivac Ambulance, to be checked out.IMG_20140326_144342_007

Large Grass fire east of Atlantic Wed. afternoon

News

March 26th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Firefighters from Atlantic, Anita and Wiota were on the scene Wednesday afternoon of a large grass fire east of Atlantic. Marne Fire was also asked to respond. The fire was reported to have occurred near 63930 Hamburg Road at around 2:30-p.m.. The flames spread quickly during the extremely dry and windy conditions and at one point reportedly jumped Highway 71. Authorities reported smoke so thick across Highway 6/71 for a time, they stopped traffic to try and avoid any accidents. Traffic was allowed to resume on Highway 6/71 at around 3:50-p.m., once the fire was brought under control.

A train that was heading west out of Anita was stopped on the tracks about 5-to 6-miles away from the burning area, because the flames were threatening to jump the tracks heading into Atlantic.

No other details are currently available. Earlier in the afternoon, the National Weather Service had warned of an Enhanced Fire Danger due to the dry and windy conditions.

Federal Agency Says College Athletes Can Unionize

Sports

March 26th, 2014 by Jim Field

CHICAGO (AP) — In a ruling that could revolutionize college sports, a federal agency has given football players at Northwestern University the green light to unionize.

Wednesday’s landmark ruling by a regional director of National Labor Relations Board means the players are deemed employees under federal law and so can create the nation’s first college athletes’ union.

Union lawyers argued the Big Ten school’s football players are part of a commercial enterprise that generates hefty profits through their labor.

The NCAA, Big Ten Conference and the private school vehemently opposed the union drive. Northwestern argued that college athletes are students and can’t be put in the same category as factory workers.

The ruling in Chicago by director Peter Ohr can be appealed to the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26th

Trading Post

March 26th, 2014 by Jim Field

FOR SALE:  One pair of Hankook tires. Size 225/55R16. Low mileage. $75.00.  One Eagle tire, 225/55R16. $25.00. 712-249-4789.

FOR SALE: Powercraft 30″ wood turning lathe, 3rd horse motor; Sears & Roebuck 20″ wood turning lathe, 1/4 horse motor; Sears & Roebuck 6″ jointer, 1/2 horse motor. $30 each obo. 243-1066

WANTED: Micowave, doesn’t matter what size as long as it’s free, in the Atlantic area. 712-326-4990.

 

Man arrested in Fla. in connection to western Iowa death

News

March 26th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

ORANGE PARK, Fla. (AP) – A man in Florida has been arrested in connection to the death of an Iowa man whose remains were discovered in 2012.  The Sac City Police Department says 54-year-old John Green was arrested Tuesday in northern Florida in connection to the death of Mark Koster, of Sac City. He is awaiting extradition back to Iowa.  Green is charged with felony first-degree murder. A judge on Wednesday ordered he be held without bond.

Police say their investigation led to Green, who briefly lived with Koster in 2009. Koster was reported missing in 2010, though his family says they last saw him in 2009. He was declared dead in 2011, and his skeletal remains were found buried in the basement of his home in 2012.

MO. woman arrested on burglary & other charges in Audubon County

News

March 26th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports a Missouri woman was arrested Tuesday afternoon in Montgomery County on an outstanding Audubon County warrant for Burglary in the 3rd degree and Ongoing Criminal Conduct. 33-year old Tabatha Roseann Holste, of Clearmont, MO, was arrested at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

Her arrest stems from an investigation into a burglary that occurred in rural, southern Audubon County in February or March of 2013. Several thousand dollars worth of items were allegedly stolen while the residents were on vacation. The investigation has been ongoing and involves multiple jurisdictions in Iowa.

Holste was being held in the Audubon County Jail on $25,000 bond. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 3rd. The incident remains under investigation, and additional charges are pending.

Minor injuries reported after Wed. morning crash in Red Oak

News

March 26th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Authorities in Montgomery County report two people suffered minor injuries during a collision this (Wednesday) morning, in Red Oak. Officials say the accident happened at around 8-a.m.,  at the intersection of North 8th Street and Highway 34, when a 2006 Chevy Cobalt driven by 23-year old Levi Triplett, of Red Oak, stopped, but then proceeded into the intersection. His car was hit broadside by a 2011 Chevy Traverse, driven by 33-year old Corrine Jenkins, of Red Oak.

Officials say Jenkins had tried, but was unable to avoid the crash. Following the collision, Jenkins’ vehicle veered off to the left and impacted hard in a ditch before continuing into an open, grassy area and coming to rest. A 2008 Chevy Silverado pickup pulling  a cattle trailer was traveling east on Highway 34, and was hit by the Cobalt after it was struck by the Traverse.  The driver of the pickup, 28-year old Andrew Herzberg, of Villisca, was not hurt.

Triplett had to be extricated from his car by Red Oak Fire and Rescue. He and Jenkins were transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The car and the SUV were totaled in the crash, while the pickup sustained $500 damage. Authorities say Triplett was cited for Failure to remain stopped at a stop sign.

Deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and crews with the Red Oak Fire Department assisted Red Oak Police at the scene.

Three Iowans charged in Missouri bank robbery, money found stashed in a tree

News

March 26th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Three Iowans are jailed in a bank robbery last week in Burlington Junction, Missouri, and the stolen money was recovered from inside a tree in southern Iowa. Nodaway County, Missouri Sheriff Darren White says perseverance paid off for investigators who finally recovered the stolen cash on Monday morning.

“Originally, when the three guys were arrested, one of them did talk when he was interviewed, but really didn’t give up any information,” Sheriff White says. “We’ve re-interviewed him several times and one of my deputies has been working with him and he’s finally just this morning led them to the location where they had actually hidden the money.” White says the money was actually in a tree at a location he described as the “middle of nowhere.”

The exact amount of the cash has not been disclosed, but authorities have indicated that between 10- and 12-thousand dollars was taken in the heist. The three suspects, all from Iowa were captured in a wooded area in northwest Missouri just a few yards south of Taylor County, Iowa. In custody are 26-year-old Joseph O’Neill, 26-year-old Donald Kestner both of Mt. Pleasant and 27-year-old Travis Davis of Fort Dodge. They are being held in the Nodaway County jail on $100,000 cash only bond.

(Radio Iowa)

ELSIE MURPHY, 98, or Littleton, CO, formerly of Atlantic (4-1-14)

Obituaries

March 26th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

ELSIE MURPHY, 98, of Littleton, CO (formerly of Atlantic) died March 24th at the West Lake Care Center in Lakewood, CO.  A Mass of Christian Burial service for ELSIE MURPHY will be held on Tuesday, April 1st at 1:00 pm in the Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Atlantic.  Roland Funeral Home in Atlantic has the arrangements.

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Visitation is open at the funeral home from 8-a.m. Monday until 8-p.m., and again on Tuesday from 8-am until Noon. A prayer service will be held on Monday at 6:00 pm at the Roland Funeral Home.  Online condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com.

Burial will be in the St. Patrick’s Catholic Cemetery in Walnut.

ELSIE MURPHY is survived by:

Son:  Gerry (Sandy) Murphy of Colorado

& 2 grandchildren.