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NWS Forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area

Weather

February 28th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

(3:46-a.m. CST 2/28/13)

Today: Cloudy, with a high near 34. Breezy, with a north northwest wind 13 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Tonight: Cloudy, with a low around 20. North wind 8 to 11 mph.

Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 17. North wind 9 to 14 mph becoming light. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 29. North wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 17.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 34.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25.

Monday: A chance of rain and snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Southern Illinois holds off Northern Iowa 63-57

Sports

February 28th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Desmar Jackson scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, helping Southern Illinois to a 63-57 Senior Night victory over Northern Iowa on Wednesday. Jeff Early, who along with Kendal Brown-Surles and T.J. Lindsay was playing his final home game for the Salukis (13-16, 5-12 Missouri Valley), added 14 points and eight rebounds. The three seniors were honored in a pregame ceremony. Marc Sonnen scored 18 points for the Panthers (17-13, 10-7), and Jake Koch had 12. Northern Iowa outrebounded Southern Illinois 38-30 but committed 16 turnovers, which the Salukis turned into 17 points.

SIU never trailed but saw UNI pull within 48-43 on Marvin Singleton’s 3-pointer with 4:43 left. The Salukis then made nine free throws in the final 2:50 to secure the victory. Northern Iowa likely will be the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament, while Southern Illinois is locked in at No. 10.

Iowa defeats Purdue 58-48

Sports

February 28th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Aaron White had 18 points and nine rebounds and Iowa beat Purdue 58-48 on Wednesday night for its fourth win in five games. Devyn Marble also had 18 for the Hawkeyes (18-10, 7-8 Big Ten), who put an ugly loss at Nebraska behind them ahead of this weekend’s trip to top-ranked Indiana. Iowa never trailed in avenging an overtime defeat at Purdue late last month. The Boilermakers (13-15, 6-9) got as close as 49-43, but poor shooting doomed them to their sixth loss in eight games. Iowa played without freshman starter Mike Gesell, who was out with a right foot injury. Donnie Hale had 13 points to lead Purdue, which dropped a game behind Iowa in the race for seeding for the upcoming Big Ten tournament.

Wednesday/Thursday Girls State Basketball

Sports

February 28th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Class 1-A Semi-Final

  • Newell-Fonda 69, Marquette Catholic 52

Class 4-A First Round

  • Bishop Heelan Catholic 63, Dubuque Wahlert  47
  • Cedar Rapids Xavier 50, Lewis Central 45

Class 5-A First Round

  • Ankeny 66, Cedar Rapids Washington 58
  • Dowling Catholic 47, Des Moines East 41 (OT)
  • Mason City 72, Iowa City West 53
  • Southeast Polk 48, Muscatine 45

Thursday Schedule:

Class 1-A Semi-Final:

  • 10: 00 am — Burlington Notre Dame (22-3) vs. Central Lyon (24-2)

Class 2-A Semi-Finals:

  • 11:45 am — Western Christian (24-1) vs. Aplington-Parkersburg (21-3)
  • 1:30 pm — Lawton-Bronson (25-1) vs. Maquoketa Valley (20-5)

Class 3-A Semi-Finals:

  • 3:15 pm — Davenport Assumption (23-2) vs. Cascade (23-2)
  • 5:00 pm — MOC-Floyd Valley (24-1) vs. Estherville-Lincoln Central (22-3)

Class 4-A Semi-Finals:

  • 6:45 pm – Harlan (22-2) vs. Waverly-Shell Rock (22-2)
  • 8:30 pm – Cedar Rapids Xavier (15-9) vs. Bishop Heelan Catholic (21-3)

Governor honors Iowa Speedway designer, Rusty Wallace

Sports

February 28th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Governor Terry Branstad honored the man who designed and co-owns the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Wednesday, in a ceremony at the state capitol. Branstad signed a proclamation honoring Rusty Wallace during transportation day events.  “As a governor of Iowa, I am very proud to honor Rusty Wallace with this proclamation today. His many contributions to NASCAR racing have earned him a well-deserved induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. And his forward-thinking design of the Iowa Speedway helped to create a destination in central Iowa that benefits every Iowan,” Branstad said. Wallace responded “yes I do” when the governor asked him if he had anything to say.

“Thank you very much governor, I really appreciate this,” Wallace said. “I love the state of Iowa, I consider it like a second home of mine. I spent a lot of time up here, I’ve been able to have a lot of great friends and meet a lot of cool people — including you today.” Wallace talked with reporters after the public ceremony. “When I heard what the governor wanted to do I was really excited about it. I meant what I said, it’s like a second home to me,” Wallace said. “And to see the track be so successful and to have so many people show up all the time is a really good feeling. And to see the governor kind of honor me for that — and to honor the speedway for that — makes you feel good. And coming fresh out of being in the Hall of Fame with NASCAR, fresh out of a real successful speed week down in Daytona, and to come up here and get this proclamation — it’s just kind of like icing on the cake.”

Wallace was born in Missouri and now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. He says he doesn’t have a home in Iowa yet, but wouldn’t rule out that possibility some day.  “I could see a second home in Newton, a second home in the state of Iowa. Whether it’s in Des Moines or Newton, absolutely I could,” he said. The Iowa Speedway opened in 2007 and Wallace said it is very popular with drivers and he believes the track will get the chance to host a NASCAR cup race sometime in the next three to five year.

“I think that’s very realistic, I think that’s very realistic, I’d be disappointed if that didn’t happen. So, I will tell you there’s not a day goes by that we don’t actively work on that,” according the Wallace. “It’s a real tough deal because everybody knows NASCAR made a major announcement many years ago — it said we are only going to go 36 races — so if there’s going to be an additional race somebody’s go to get one from some other racetrack. So we are constantly working with other racetracks… and trying to get one of the events over here at Iowa Speedway.” Wallace went into broadcasting after retiring from racing, and works in television when not at the Newton track.

(Radio Iowa)

ISU investigating threatening tweets sent by students following basketball loss

Sports

February 28th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

A couple of students at Iowa State University could be in trouble for sending some inflammatory messages via Twitter following the I-S-U men’s basketball team’s loss to sixth-ranked Kansas Monday night. The names of the two students are not being released, but ISU Dean of Students Pamela Anthony says the matter is being addressed. “We are initiating an investigation,” Anthony told Radio Iowa. “I am not at liberty to discuss any actions that have or would be taken against the students.”

Following the Cyclone’s loss in overtime, a tweet said the students were going to take a gun to the K-U bus. Additional tweets used the N-word and threatened Kansas guard Elijah Johnson, who scored a career high 39 points. “The language is not only derogatory and certainly goes against the values of Iowa State, but it’s threatening,” Anthony said. “We live in a society today where all threats have to be taken seriously.” Many Cyclone fans were upset with the officiating of the game and the Big 12 Conference issued a statement Tuesday admitting “officiating errors” were made at the end of regulation. Other fans booed when Johnson dunked the basketball for K-U’s final points in the lopsided overtime session. But, Anthony said the Twitter messages of the two ISU students went too far.

“I mean, it’s an athletic competition, so on some level you have to say, ‘wow, this is just athletics,'” Anthony said. “I understand school spirit and of course we all want to win, but I think to take it as far as to make a threat to another individual is quite serious and we take it as such.” It’s unclear what, if any, action has been or will be taken against the two students who sent the Twitter messages.

(Radio Iowa)

Drake downs Indiana State 67-56, wins 3rd in row

Sports

February 28th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — Richard Carter scored 15 points and Seth VanDeest had 14 as Drake won its third straight game, defeating Indiana State 67-56 on Wednesday night. Jordan Clarke added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (14-15, 7-10 Missouri Valley), and Ben Simons had 10 points and seven rebounds in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Indiana State (17-12, 9-8) got 13 points from Jake Odum, 12 from RJ Mahurin and 10 from Dawon Cummings. The Sycamores, who have a pair of wins this season over Top-25 programs (Wichita State and Creighton) and had been 7-1 at home in conference play, have lost four of their last five games.

Drake took control of the game with 11 straight points to close the first half, giving it a 27-21 lead at the break. Carter extended the margin to eight points with a layup to start the second half and the Bulldogs stretched the lead to as many as 15 points down the stretch.

Iowa early News Headlines: Thu., Feb. 28th 2013

News

February 28th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Cedar Rapids police have arrested four men in connection with the shooting death of a former women’s basketball standout last September. Police announced the arrests yesterday — five months after the death of 19-year-old Latasha Roundtree. She was shot a few blocks west of Interstate 380 on 16th Avenue. Roundtree played basketball for Cedar Rapids Washington.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Two days after withdrawing his resignation, the Cedar Falls school superintendent has quit. KWWL reports that Mike Wells resigned at a school board meeting last night after several board members tried to fire him. Wells asked the board to let him resign at the end of the school year after board members made a motion to terminate his contract, and the board agreed. On Monday, Wells submitted a resignation letter, but reconsidered after talking with school board members.

CLINTON, Iowa (AP) — The superintendent of Clinton schools is crediting a school nurse for reviving an employee who was found unresponsive outside. Superintendent Deb Olson says a parent arriving yesterday morning at Eagle Heights Elementary found the employee on a sidewalk. That’s when Emily Randolph used an external defibrillator to revive the man, who was rushed to a hospital.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — Richard Carter scored 15 points and Seth VanDeest had 14 as Drake won its third straight game, defeating Indiana State 67-56 last night. Jordan Clarke added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs in Terre Haute (TEHR’-uh HOHT), Indiana.

No. 23 Iowa State women roll past Kansas 83-68

Sports

February 28th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Chelsea Poppens had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Nikki Moody added 12 points and 10 assists, and No. 23 Iowa State rolled to an 83-68 victory over Kansas on Wednesday night. Hallie Christofferson scored 20 points and Anna Prins had 19 for the Cyclones (20-6, 11-5 Big 12), who used a 13-0 second-half run to break open a close game. Iowa State outrebounded Kansas 43-29. Angel Goodrich had 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Jayhawks (16-11, 7-9), and Monica Engelman scored 20 points.

The Jayhawks pulled within 60-57 on Asia Boyd’s layup with 11:04 to play, but Christofferson hit a 3-pointer to spark Iowa State’s 13-0 run and put the game out of reach. Poppens capped the run with two free throws, and Kansas never got closer than seven points down after that. Kansas still holds a 45-29 edge in the all-time series between the schools.

Report says most wind energy goes to distant cities

Ag/Outdoor, News

February 27th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

A report from the Center for Rural Affairs finds those giant wind turbines that dot the farmland skyline are helping power distant cities, not rural homes. Johnathan Hladik, the center’s energy policy advocate, says major power lines are -not- connected to the areas where the wind power is generated. Hladik says, “We’re finding that all of the important, big transmission lines that can move a lot of capacity, the kind of capacity we need, are far away from the rural areas that are home to all of our wind turbines.”

Iowa ranks third in the nation for wind energy production, behind Texas and California. Under the old model of generation, power plants were located close to the population areas they serve. Now, utilities are finding it difficult to locate new plants in heavily-populated areas. Hladik says the study found only a few miles of the modern, major power lines are located close to the wind turbines. “Only 6% of the lines 400 kilovolts and above are located in the top ten states for wind energy potential and most of those states are in the upper Midwest and the Great Plains areas,” Hladik says. “But even more importantly, less than 1% of the lines over 600 kilovolts are located in these areas. That’s only nine miles.”

Hladik says making a more efficient use of infrastructure now in place is a critical first step, and to make major improvements, it will take some creative partnerships. “It’s not only the job of individual utilities and public utility commissions in each state to recognize the problem and to recognize what we need to do to tap our wind resources, but the onus also falls on states working together, on regional collaboratives,” he says. The utilities need to come up with plans to move more power over a more efficient energy grid, he says, to insure a clean energy future and more jobs. The Center for Rural Affairs is based in Lyons, Nebraska. Learn more about the report at: www.cfra.org

(Radio Iowa)