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Pickup strikes 2 Black Angus cows in Union County, Friday

News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Afton, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Union County say the driver of a pickup escaped injury, Friday evening, after their vehicle struck two Black Angus cows near Afton. Authorities say a 2005 Dodge RAM 1500 pickup driven by 40-year-old Willhun Christopher Lee, of Afton, was traveling south on Creamery Road at around 6:05-p.m., when it struck the cows that were standing in the middle of the road, outside of their fenced-in area.

The pickup was disabled by the collision, sustaining an estimated $15,000, according to the Sheriff’s Department. The cattle, owned by Randal Pettit, of Afton, were valued at $5,000.

 

Posted in News |

Search for lead drinking water pipes nearly over

News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The search for lead water pipes in the state is near the end and some communities are already notifying residents of what they’ve found. Sioux City Utilities Director Brad Peutz (Pitts) says it’s part of a federal program to get rid of lead pipes. “All lead service lines, all galvanized lines requiring replacement, and those lines that are unknown to either be replaced or verified within ten years,” he says. Peutz says residents who have a line that needs attention will soon get a letter.

“Sioux City has roughly 26-thousand service connections. Of those 26-thousand service connections, the city has identified roughly 73-hundred service connections that could potentially need replaced by that November of 2037 date, the focus at this time is outreach,” he says.

The Iowa D-N-R is overseeing the federal program here. A spokesperson for the D-N-R says they are still compiling all the survey results and doesn’t yet have an exact statewide count on how many pipes need to be replaced.

Posted in News |

Project Re-Leaf: Iowa communities can apply for grants to plant trees

Ag/Outdoor, News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – It’s been a tough couple of years for Iowa’s tree canopy, between terrible tornadoes, derechoes, and killer insects like the emerald ash borer wiping out tens of thousands of trees. Chip Murrow, an urban forestry program specialist at the Iowa D-N-R, says the agency’s now offering 900-thousand dollars in competitive grants for Iowa communities to plant trees. “The money is for tree planting, and along with that, they can do staking if needed, mulching, supplemental watering,” Murrow says. “It’s a two-year grant, so the idea is they can do planting both spring and fall of 2025 and 2026.”

The grants do not require matching funds and are being awarded in amounts of between 10- and 30-thousand dollars per community. Murrow says the trees to be planted have to come from the D-N-R’s list of approved species, which is on the agency’s website. He says a group of Iowa foresters created the list of about 85 species, everything from the black maple to the Serbian spruce. “We discussed what ones are still good, what ones are starting to show problems that we haven’t seen before, if there’s any new cultivars, we can add to it, so we update it every so often,” Murrow says. “The idea is that we keep a good list of tree species that do well in the Iowa environment and also in the urban settings where we’re planting trees.”

Iowa’s seen more than its share of severe weather this year, with a record of 127 tornadoes, and many towns still haven’t replaced all the trees they lost during the “land hurricanes” known as derechoes in recent years. “Communities are hurting for tree resources,” he says. “We’re not a highly canopy-covered state, as we put it. We know that our canopy is low. We have a goal of in 2050 to try and increase our canopy growth by three-percent or 3,000,000 trees, but the emerald ash borer, of course, and the derecho has set us back a little bit on that.” The funding for communities comes through the I-R-A Iowa Tree Planting Grant. The deadline to apply is December 30th.

Learn more at the Iowa DNR’s Urban Forestry website: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Conservation/Forestry/Urban-Forestry

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Pollster Ann Selzer retires from election polling

News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa [WHO-TV] — Longtime local pollster J. Ann Selzer announced Sunday morning that she is retiring from election polling.

Selzer has been conducting Iowa polls since 1997, founding Selzer & Company in the late 90’s. The news comes after Selzer’s Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll showed the Vice President in the lead by three points in Iowa over President-elect Donald Trump. Trump ended up winning the state by more than 13%.

Selzer has had plans to retire for over a year and seek out new opportunities. Her work as a pollster was highly respected in the polling industry, with top grades for accuracy. Her 2016 Presidential election poll in Iowa showed Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton, and correctly calling the state again for Trump in 2020.

Posted in News |

Expanding outreach to Iowa caregivers during Alzheimer’s Awareness Month

News

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Iowa News Service) – The Iowa Alzheimer’s Association chapter is making new resources available to caregivers during November, a month set aside to educate and help people with the disease and those who care for them. Nearly 100,000 Iowans are family caregivers, helping more than 62,000 people living with this form of dementia.

Erica Eikern – program manager with the Alzheimer’s Association, Iowa chapter – said the group is making a huge effort this month in particular to get resources to those caregivers, letting them know they are not alone. “We have approximately 50 local caregiver support groups, in many communities across the state of Iowa,” said Eikern. “We also have a virtual support group that we just started for young adult caregivers who are taking care of a parent or older family member.”

Nationally, nearly half of all caregivers who provide help to older adults are doing so for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, according to data on the association’s facts and figures website.  Eikern said the association is working at the state level to give those caregivers some respite options.

Eikern said caring for a person with Alzheimer’s can take a heavy physical and emotional toll. So, she said the association is trying to make sure they know help is available. “At our Iowa chapter, we’re averaging about 30 programs that we’re doing per month, out in various communities throughout the state,” said Eikern. “We have a goal of trying to reach everyone in all 99 counties through our awareness presentations, through support services.”

Those resources are also available on the association’s website.  More than 11 million people in the U.S. are providing unpaid care to a person living with Alzheimer’s or other form of dementia. Last year alone, that care was valued at more than $346 billion.

Posted in News |

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area: Monday, Nov. 18, 2024

Weather

November 18th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Today: Cloudy w/showers & possible thunderstorms this afternoon. High near 61. Winds East @ 15-to 35 mph. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.
Tonight: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 41. SE winds 15-35 becoming Westerly after midnight. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tomorrow: Sunny & windy, with a high near 49. W @ 15-30 mph.
Tom. Night: Partly cloudy & breezy, with a low around 29.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny & windy, with a high near 41.
Thursday: Mostly sunny & breezy, with a high near 39.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 54. Our Low was 35. Last year on this date, the High was 65 and the Low was 21. The Record High in Atlantic on Nov. 18th was 72 in 1999. The Record Low was 0 in 1891. Sunrise: 7:12. Sunset: 4:58.

Posted in Weather |

DINNEBIER POURS IN CAREER HIGH 40 AS DRAKE’S WOMEN PROGRAM CAP MILESTONE CELEBRATION IN DEFEAT

Sports

November 17th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

DES MOINES, Iowa – Katie Dinnebier celebrated Drake’s recognition of 50 years of intercollegiate women’s basketball with a career game. It just wasn’t enough. Iowa offset Dinnebier’s 40 points with balance and strong inside play and beat the Bulldogs 86-73 in front of a packed house at the Knapp Center on Sunday afternoon.

Dinnebier did all she could to keep her team afloat, scoring 28 of Drake’s 38 points in the second half and finishing one point short of the single-game high for an NCAA Division I player this season. She went 8-for-17 from the field, including 7-of-15 from 3-point range, and made 17 of her 20 free throws while drawing 13 fouls.

The 3-pointers and free throws also were career highs, with the 17 free throws matching the third-best total in Drake history and tying the Division I high for the season.  Her previous best had been 32 points against Murray State last February.

It’s the first 40-point game for a Drake player since Lizzy Wendell scored 43 against Missouri State on Jan. 30, 2015.

No other Drake player scored more than seven points, however, and the Hawkeyes never trailed after running off the final 10 points of the first half to take a 45-35 lead into the break. Courtney Becker had seven points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs (2-2), while Abbie Aalsma, Grace Kuntson and Anna Miller each scored six. Miller grabbed 10 rebounds but endured a tough afternoon shooting the ball, finishing 1-for-17.

Drake scored 26 points off Iowa’s season-high 17 turnovers, but the Bulldogs were outscored 46-10 in the paint and shot a season-low 28.6 percent from the field.

Drake, which lost at Creighton last Monday, will continue a challenging stretch of the schedule with a game at Iowa State next Sunday. The Bulldogs then play three games in San Juan, Puerto Rico and won’t play at home again until meeting North Dakota on Thursday, Dec. 12.

Posted in Sports |

3 Hawkeyes Win Grand View Open; 6 Hawkeyes Finish Top Three

Sports

November 17th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

GRIMES, Iowa – The University of Iowa wrestling program won three titles on Saturday at the Grand View Open. All six Hawkeyes finished in the top three and had a combined record of 33-3.

Junior Caleb Rathjen won the 149-pound division while freshman Angelo Ferrari won the 184-pound division in his collegiate debut and freshman Miguel Estrada won the Freshman/Sophomore 149-pound division.

Three other Hawkeyes found the podium on Friday afternoon. Freshman Kael Voinovich (149) finished second after falling to Rathjen in the finals. Sophomore Joey Cruz finished third at 125 pounds and freshman Dru Ayala was second in the 125-pound Freshman/Sophomore division.

Complete results from the Grand View Open are available at Trackwrestling.com.

The Hawkeyes return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on November 23 for the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series against Iowa State. The dual is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on B1G+ ($).

Posted in Sports |

Iowa Women’s Wrestling: Hawkeyes Sweep Trailblazer Duals

Sports

November 17th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The top-ranked University of Iowa women’s wrestling team dominated in its Carver-Hawkeye Arena season debut against Cornell College and No. 25 William Jewell on Saturday afternoon.
The Hawkeyes opened the Iowa Duals versus Cornell winning, 47-0, with eight pins and three tech. falls. Top-ranked Rianne Murphy and Valarie Solorio accepted forfeits at 103 and 110 pounds, respectively, handing Iowa an early 10-0 lead. At 117 pounds, No. 1 ranked Brianna Gonzalez came out aggressive, finishing off Cheyenne Mulford, 10-0, in the first period.
Cali Leng followed at 124 pounds and earned Iowa’s first fall of the day, pinning Addison Thrash in 1:01.Emmily Patneaud then earned a 49-second fall over Kyla Andrew at 131, and fourth-ranked Nanea Estrella pinned Ciara Gomez-Bryant in 2:30 at 138 pounds to put the Hawkeyes up, 29-0. Reese Larramendy earned a, 10-0, first period tech. fall over Jasmine McCaskel at 145 pounds to improve to 11-0 on the season.
No. 8 ranked Rose Cassioppi and No. 9 ranked Naomi Simon made their Carver debuts at 160 and 180 pounds, respectively. Cassioppi beat Emily Grassham, 10-0, before Simon pinned Camryn Aikanoff in 27 seconds. Seventh-ranked Katja Osteen finished off Iowa’s dual against Cornell with a speedy 17-second pin.
To end the day, Iowa downed No. 25 William Jewell, recording one decision, five tech. falls and two pins en route to a 43-3 victory.
Murphy and Emilie Gonzalez each accepted forfeits at 103 and 110 pounds, respectively, to start the dual. Brianna Gonzalez shined in the lone ranked matchup of the day, defeating No. 9 Alex Waitsman, 12-2.
Leng trailed Emarie Bolosan, 4-2, in the 124-pound bout but rallied back to win, 5-4, behind loud cheers from Hawkeye fans. At 138, Estrella recorded her second win of the day with an 11-0 tech. fall over Alanis Cedeno. Macey Kilty continued a dominating day for the Hawkeyes with a 10-0 win against Paige Barber.
Olympic silver-medalist and second-ranked Kennedy Blades made her highly-anticipated Carver debut and defeated Nylease Yzagere, 12-1, at 160. Top-ranked Kylie Welker only needed 59 seconds to defeat Athena Willden, 11-0, at 180, and No. 1 Jaycee Foeller finished the meet at 207 pounds with a pin over Peyton Welt in 1:06.
NOTABLES
• The Hawkeyes earned 90 total team points, allowing only three team points scored against them.
• Iowa posted a 20-0 record on the day.
• Iowa led all three squads with 157 total match points.
• The Hawkeyes totaled seven pins in 11:10 and 10 tech. falls in 12:43.
• Fifth-year Emmily Patneaud recorded the fastest pin of the day in 17 seconds.
• Redshirt freshman Rose Cassioppi recorded the fastest tech. fall of the day in 21 seconds.
• Brianna Gonzalez and Kennedy Blades led Iowa in single match points with 12 each.

Posted in Sports |

No. 11 Iowa State Beats Navy 29-9 for First Victory

Sports

November 17th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

AMES, Iowa – No. 11 Iowa State (1-1, 0-0 Big 12) picked up its first win of the season, defeating Navy (1-3, 0-1 EIWA) 29-9 Friday night at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones won seven of the 10 matches, including five by bonus points.

At 125 pounds, freshman Adrian Meza earned a pair of takedowns in the first period and a takedown and four-point nearfall in the second en route to a 19-7 major decision over Garrett Totten. It was the first collegiate match for Meza, as he earned a victory by forfeit last week against Stanford. No. 5 Evan Frost gave up a first period takedown to Brendan Ferretti at 133 pounds, but bounced back for a 14-7 victory. Frost recorded a takedown in each period, including two in the final period, for the win.

Navy’s No. 9 Josh Koderhandt picked up a 3-2 victory over Zach Redding at 141, needing the point for riding time for the victory. The Cyclones got back on the winning track at 149 pounds, as No. 9 Anthony Echemendia beat Kaemen Smith 22-7 (6:02). Echemendia recorded four takedowns in the first period, one in the second and two more in the third for the technical fall. It was the 10th career technical fall for Echemendia.

Kane Naaktgeboren gave up a first period takedown, as he dropped a 4-2 decision to Navy’s Johnathan Ley at 157 pounds. Connor Euton notched five takedowns in the first five minutes of the match, as he beat Charlie Evans 20-5 at 157 pounds. It was the first victory of the year for Euton and the 10th technical fall of his career. At 174 pounds, No. 23 Danny Wask used a takedown in the each of the first two periods, as he beat Aiden Riggins 8-3.

In the marquee match of the night, No. 16 Evan Bockman used a takedown in the first period and one in the final :30 to beat No. 30 Daniel Williams at 184 pounds. Bockman improved to 2-0 this year with the 8-3 victory, while it was the 60th win of his career.

The reigning Big 12 Wrestler of the Week, No. 20 Christian Carroll earned a 14-6 victory at 197 pounds. Carroll finished with four takedowns in the match, including two in the second period, for the major decision. Freshman Daniel Herrera continued to put on a show in his young career, picking up his second technical fall at heavyweight in his two collegiate matches. Herrera had three takedowns in the first two periods en route to his 23-6 (6:31) major decision over Alistair Larson. He added four more takedowns in the third period.

The Cyclones held a 34-5 advantage in takedowns.

Up Next
No. 11 Iowa State is back in action Saturday, Nov. 23 at Iowa in an Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series showdown. First whistle from Carver-Hawkeye Arena is set for 6 p.m. on BIG+.

Match-By-Match Results

No. 11 Iowa State 29, Navy 9
125: Adrian Meza (ISU) Maj. Dec. Garrett Totten (NAVY), 19-7
133: #5 Evan Frost (ISU) Dec. Brendan Ferretti (NAVY), 14-7
141: #9 Josh Koderhandt (NAVY) Dec. Zach Redding (ISU), 3-2
149: #7 Anthony Echemendia (ISU) Tech. Fall Kaemen Smith (NAVY), 22-7 (6:02)
157: Jonathan Ley (NAVY) Dec. Kane Naaktgeboren (ISU), 4-2
165: Connor Euton (ISU) Tech. Fall Charlie Evans (NAVY), 20-5 (4:49)
174: #23 Danny Wask (NAVY) Dec. Aiden Riggins (ISU), 8-3
184: #16 Evan Bockman (ISU) Dec. #30 Daniel Williams (NAVY), 8-3
197: #20 Christian Carroll (ISU) Maj. Dec. Payton Thomas (NAVY), 14-6
285: Daniel Herrera (ISU) Tech. Fall Alistair Larson (NAVY), 23-6 (6:31)

Posted in Sports |