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Tried and Tested Tigers team ready for Audubon

Sports

October 31st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

The (8-1) Woodbine Tigers football team are coming off a 50-14 first round win over the Collins-Maxwell Spartans last Friday. Woodbine had no issues taking control early on in the game as the Tigers led 44-0 at halftime, thanks in part to an impressive passing performance by junior quarterback Brody Pryor throwing three touchdowns and rushing for two. Woodbine head coach Dustin Crook was pleased with his team’s execution last week.

The Tiger defense has smothered opponents all year with 22 turnovers and the most points given up in a victory being at 20. Still, Woodbine’s lone loss on the year was a teaching moment as the Tigers slipped 46-30 against a talented Remsen St. Mary’s squad.

The response for Woodbine after that tough loss to the Hawks was double down on their offensive trio in Micah Moores, Brodie Ludwig, and Pryor.

Moores, Ludwig, and Pryor have all rushed for a combined 1,617 yards and 32 touchdowns. Woodbine will need all the offensive production they can get as they prepare to face an experienced and well coached undefeated (9-0) Audubon team. This is another matchup for coach Crook that he will not tell his team to take lightly.

A large focus for coach Crook heading into Friday will be the battle in the trenches between both sides. He knows that whichever team can control the line of scrimmage, will have the ultimate edge in such a physical matchup.

KJAN has the coverage for Friday’s contest beginning with the pregame show at 6:30 p.m.

Posted in Sports |

Iowa works to recruit 20-somethings to take up hunting

Ag/Outdoor, News

October 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is exploring ways to address a national decline in the number of hunters, and to prevent the drop from happening here. D-N-R wildlife biologist Matt Dollison says Iowa has seen its number of pheasant hunters -rise- by almost 20-thousand in the past few seasons, and they now number 83-thousand, but he says national hunter figures have been falling for decades.

“Back in the ’80s, we had about 9% of the population that was hunters and now they say it’s less than 4%, so we’ve lost a ton of hunters overall,” Dollison says. “It is nice to see a few more pheasant hunters taking advantage of the resource here in Iowa this past few years.” Dollison says several factors have likely contributed to the overall decline in hunter numbers nationwide.

“The high number that we had back in the ’80s was really driven by the Baby Boomers getting into hunting, so unfortunately, we’re losing a lot of them from the ranks of hunters,” Dollison says. “It seems like there’s a lot more activities for kids these days to be involved with and there’s way less free time for parents especially, and the kids also have more things to do themselves.”

Dollison says game populations and the availability of public land are also likely factors in the decline. That’s why he says positions like his exist — to manage habitats, spur population numbers in public areas, and to help organize hunting programs. He notes hunting-related expenses provide the bulk of the money for conservation efforts. “A huge portion of the funding for conservation comes from hunting license sales and hunter dollars in the form of excise tax on firearms and ammunition — 90% of the funding for conservation comes from that,” he says. “So, if hunters go away, we don’t have that anymore and that pays all of our salaries in the wildlife bureau, and our management budget is paid by that.”

The focus in the past was on hosting youth hunting events across the state, but Dollison says they’ve started turning to young adults in recent years.  “Now there’s a focus to encourage more adults to get into hunting, especially the 20-year-olds that are getting out of school, have available income and time, and aren’t loaded down yet by a bunch of kids and events to attend. The idea is to get those people into hunting, expose them to it, then they’ll eventually have kids, they’ll take their kids out, and then those kids will become hunters.”

Dollison encourages hunters to invite friends who are interested in outdoor recreation to go along, and to point them toward educational events in their area.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Iowa election official sued over directive on possible non-citizen voters

News

October 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Secretary of State Paul Pate is being sued for directing election workers to challenge the ballots of over two-thousand people who he says got a driver’s license when they were legal residents, but may not be U-S citizens. The lawsuit has been filed in federal court on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens and a group of naturalized citizens. Orcun Selcuckor, a political science professor at Luther College in Decorah, is a native of Turkey. He became a U-S citizen in 2023 and then voted in two previous Iowa elections.

Selcuckor says he’s concerned about other Iowans who are new citizens and may not have the time to return to the county auditor’s office and prove they are citizens, as he did — or may be discouraged from voting altogether. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says she’ll defend the effort to ensure non-citizens do not vote.

The lawsuit alleges the secretary of state’s order discriminates against voters based on their natural origin and their status as naturalized citizens and violates a person’s constitutional right to vote. Secretary of State Pate says none of the people on his list are barred from voting since their voter registration has not been revoked and they will be able to vote if they show proof of citizenship.

Posted in News |

No. 5 Iowa State men prepare for Monday’s opener

Sports

October 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

A highly anticipated season is approaching for the Iowa State men’s basketball team. Ranked fifth in the AP preseason poll, the Cyclones open at home Monday night against Mississippi Valley State. ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger says the Cyclones are focused on what it takes to be successful on game day.

Otzelberger says a key for every team is how it handles success and deals with adversity.

Otzelberger says adversity is coming and how the Cyclones handle it will have a lot to say about their season.

The Cyclones have their top four scores back from last year’s team that made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

Posted in Sports |

Rylan Barnes steps up at Iowa State

Sports

October 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Rylan Barnes bet on himself and it is paying off. The linebacker walked on at Iowa State after a standout career at West Hancock High School and is eighth on the team in tackles as a redshirt freshman.

Injuries forced Barnes into the lineup early this season and he has been a key part of Iowa State’s second 7-0 start in program history.

Barnes says coming into the season he did not expect to play such a pivotal role.

The 11th ranked Cyclones host Texas Tech Saturday afternoon.

Posted in Sports |

UI plans to purchase remaining portion of downtown mall

News

October 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The University of Iowa is seeking approval from the Board of Regents for a purchase that would give it full ownership of a downtown Iowa City mall. The purchase would cover 45 percent of Old Capitol Town Center, which the school does not own, at a cost of nearly 21 million dollars. The mall is two blocks from the center of the main the U-I campus. The university has been using the portion of the building it owns for what it calls a U-I student and staff transaction hub.

The information for next week’s board meeting says the school would continue developing the mall spaces to serve student and operational needs. the university plans to continue to maintain the retail space to help offset the costs.

Posted in News |

2024 All Corner Conference Volleyball Team

Sports

October 31st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

First Team All-Conference
Gabi Jacobs*-Sidney-Junior
Lauren Johnson*-Stanton-Senior
Evelyn Stoakes*-East Mills-Senior
Addy Haning*-Sidney-Senior
Kyla Hart*-Stanton-Senior
Bella Gute-Fremont-Mills-Senior
Loycee Palmer-East Mills-Junior
Gabbie Greiman-Griswold-Senior

(* Denotes Unanimous Selection)

Second Team All-Conference
Carlie Chambers-Fremont-Mills-Senior
Addy Foster-Sidney-Sophomore
Marissa Askeland-Griswold-Senior
Ellie Hagen-East Mills-Freshman
Hayleigh Mattox-Fremont-Mills-Junior
Brooke Jones-East Mills-Junior
Venna Sayers-East Mills-Junior
Lana Alley-Fremont-Mills-Junior

Honorable Mention

Macy Musich-Bedford-Junior
Hilda Thompson-Hamburg-Junior
Kirsten Kalkas-Essex-Senior
Keyana Haggerty-Sidney-Freshman
Bree Mitchell-Stanton-Senior

Posted in Sports |

ISU to Honor Olympic Gold Medalist Tyrese Haliburton

Sports

October 31st, 2024 by Asa Lucas

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State will honor former Cyclone and Olympic Gold Medalist Tyrese Haliburton on Saturday, March 1, during Iowa State’s game against Arizona. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. at sold-out Hilton Coliseum.

With Haliburton and his family in attendance, Iowa State will honor him with a halftime ceremony that will include his banner being dropped as an Olympic Gold Medalist. Haliburton is the eighth Cyclone to win a Gold Medal at the Olympics and the first in men’s basketball.

The first two-time NBA All-Star in Iowa State history, Haliburton was one of five Cyclones who played men’s basketball in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The five Cyclones playing in the Olympics was the second-most of any program in the country.

Haliburton and Team USA earned the eighth Gold Medal of the professional era for the United States, while it was the fifth-straight Olympic Games that Team USA brought home the gold.

Playing in just 22 games before suffering a season-ending injury in 2019-20, Haliburton earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors. He also earned all-district honors from USBWA and NABC, while being named a finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award. When his season ended, he was sixth in the Big 12 in scoring (15.2), second in FG percentage (50.4), first in assists (6.5), first in steals (2.5), second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3), third in 3FG percentage (41.9) and 13th in rebounding (5.9).

Haliburton is in his fifth NBA season, including his third with the Indiana Pacers. He finished third in NBA Rookie of the Year voting in 2021 and was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2024. He led the league in assists with 10.9 per game last season.

Posted in Sports |

Grinnell Mutual seeks approval for reorganization

News

October 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A Grinnell-based insurance company is asking Iowa’s insurance commissioner to approve a restructuring plan so it can sell stock. The company was founded in 1909 in Greenfield as the Iowa Farmers Reinsurance Association, it moved to Grinnell in 1938 and has been called Grinnell Mutual for the past six decades. It’s currently owned by policyholders, but Grinnell Mutual is asking state regulators to allow it to reorganize as a company owned by shareholders.

Iowa’s Insurance Commissioner held a hearing on the request yesterday (Wednesday). The Des Moines Register reports the company’s surplus has declined 31 percent since 2021, due to escalating insurance claims related to severe weather events.

Grinnell Mutual operates in 17 states and had over 700 employees.

Posted in News |

Anchor stores, movie theaters reopening in Spencer mall hit by June’s floods

News

October 31st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Businesses have begun reopening this month at the shopping mall in Spencer that was hit by flooding that rushed through the community in June. Southpark Mall manager Kathy Anderson says the Palms Movie Theaters will reopen tomorrow (Friday). “Hobby Lobby’s been open for a couple of weeks,” she says. “Dunham’s is open…JC Penney’s is planning to be open on Friday…so we’re getting back there.” Hours of operation vary from store to store.

“Each store will probably be doing things on their own right now until they get all back and settled in,” Anderson says.

Flood levels in the mall reached 16 inches four months ago. Anderson says new flooring is yet to be installed in some areas, but she expects those projects to be completed by December. In July, Spencer officials estimated that 80 percent of the homes, businesses and other structures in the city were hit by flooding or sewer backup.

Posted in News |