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Creston man arrested for Criminal Mischief; Creston woman arrested on a drug charge

News

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston are reporting two recent arrests. Monday night (8:44-p.m.), 24-year-old Jeffrey Allen Arnold, of Creston, was arrested at his residence on a charge of Criminal Mischief in the 2nd Degree (Damage $1,500-$10,000). Arnold was transported to the Union County Jail and later released on a $5,000 cash or surety bond.

Early today (Tuesday, 12:05-a.m.), 27-year-old Heather Marie Madison, of Creston, was arrested at the intersection of Adams and Division Streets. She  was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance 1st Offense. Heather Madison later released from the Union County Jail on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

February 19th High School Boy’s Basketball Substate Tournament Scores

Sports

February 20th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

Class 3A: Region 1
MOC-Floyd Valley 62, LeMars 51
Glenwood 71, Lewis Central 68
Bishop Heelan 57, Sioux Center 54
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 68, Storm Lake 64

Class 3A: Region 2
North Polk 60, Algona 50
Ballard 67, Webster City 46
Humboldt 81, Spencer 65
Clear Lake 71 Boone, 39

Class 3A: Region 7
Winterset 64, Des Moines Hoover 47
Newton 70, Knoxville 61
Pella 67, Carlisle 45
Clarke 67 Chariton, 51

Class 3A: Region 8
ADM 70, Atlantic 49
Carroll 78, Denison-Schleswig 59
Bondurant-Farrar 88, Perry 57
Creston 56, Harlan 51

Iowa DCI is investigating Page County Jail inmate death

News

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Clarinda, Iowa) –  The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is investigating the death of a Page County Jail inmate. Authorities say an adult male inmate was found unresponsive in his jail cell, Monday afternoon. Jail staff performed life-saving measures, and the Clarinda Ambulance Service transported him to the Clarinda Regional Health Center, where the inmate was pronounced dead.

Policy requires the DCI to investigate the death. The name of the deceased inmate was being withheld pending the notification of family, and the completion of the investigation.

NW Iowa woman sues school district over sexual abuse case

News

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Sac City, Iowa  [KCCI]— An Iowa mother is suing the East Sac County School District school officials for allegedly failing to protect her son from a teacher’s sexual abuse. Former East Sac County Schools special education instructor Stefanie Kelsey was arrested in 2022 and accused of having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student. Kelsey was employed by the district at the time of the arrest.

In February 2023, Kelsey pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a teacher and was later sentenced to 10- and five-year sentences in prison to run concurrently. The student’s mother, identified as “Jane Roe” in court documents, alleges that in early 2022, then-East Sac High School Principal Kevin Litterer and then-superintendent Jeffrey Kruse asked Kelsey about rumors involving the teacher and underage student. The lawsuit says that when Kelsey denied those rumors Litterer and Kruse failed to follow up with her son.

The boy admitted to police that he had sexual contact with the teacher after nude photos of Kelsey were found on his phone. Litterer and Kruse are no longer with the East Sac County district. Both are also named in the lawsuit.

PETER GROSS, 63,of Earling (Mass of Christian Burial 2/23/24)

Obituaries

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

PETER GROSS, 63,of Earling, died Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024, at Myrtue Medical Center, in Harlan. A Mass of Christian Burial for PETER GROSS will be held 11-a.m. Friday, Feb. 23rd, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Earling. Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

Visitation at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Earling is on Thursday, Feb. 22nd, from 5-until 7-p.m., with a Rosary at 7-p.m.

Burial is in St. Mary’s Cemetery at Panama.

PETER GROSS is survived by:

His sister – Susie (Bill) Russell, of Denison.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the Nishna Valley: Tue., Feb. 20, 2024

Weather

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Today: Sunny, with a high near 61. S/SW winds 10-20 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 31. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west after midnight.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 61. Light and variable wind becoming east 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. E/NE @ 5-10 becoming north after midnight.
Thursday: Mostly sunny & breezy, with a high near 53.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 30.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 52. Breezy.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 58. The Low was 17. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 49 and the Low was 21. The Record High for Feb. 20th in Atlantic, was 65 in 1925. The Record Low was -19, in 1978. Sunrise today: 7:08. Sunset: 5:59.

No. 6 Iowa State falls at No. 2 Houston

Sports

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

A frigid start proved costly as sixth ranked ranked Iowa State lost at second ranked Houston.

John Walters and Eric Heft on the Cyclone Network. Iowa State scored only four points in the opening 10 minutes and never led in a 73-65 loss in a first place showdown in the Big-12.

That’s ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger. The Cyclones fought back after the slow start and trailed 28-23 at halftime.

The Cyclones are now 9-4 in the Big-12 will will play host to West Virginia on Saturday.

Iowa men visit Michigan State tonight (Tuesday night )

Sports

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Hawkeye men are on the road tonight (Tuesday night) in the Big Ten, to play Michigan State. The Hawkeyes have lost three straight on the road but had their chances down the stretch in all three.

That’s Iowa coach Fran McCaffery who says turnovers are costly against the Spartan.

The Breslin Center is one of the toughest Big Ten venues for visiting teams and experience helps.

The game will feature two coaches known for their longevity. McCaffery is in his 28th year as a head coach and his 14th with the Hawkeyes. Michigan State’s Tom Izzo is 69 and in his 29th season at the helm of the Spartans.

Iowa is 15-11 overall and 7-8 in the Big Ten. Michigan State is 17-9 overall and 9-6 in the league race.

Bill lets state agencies hire private CPAs for audits

News

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has approved a bill that would let the governor and the state executive council bypass the State Auditor’s Office and hire private C-P-As to audit all state agencies. Senator Mike Bousselot, a Republican from Ankeny, is the bill’s sponsor.

“The bottom line is that Iowans deserve better,” Bousselot said. “…Efficiency can occur by leveraging national firms, CPA firms that have extended expertise (and)…independent, non-partisan certified public accountants.” All 31 Republicans present voted for the proposal — the first bill to pass the Senate this year. All 16 Democrats in the Senate voted against it. Senator Tony Bisignano of Des Moines says the bill means State Auditor Rob Sand, the only Democrat serving in statewide office, would not be able to investigate state agency spending.

“He was elected by the people of Iowa, just like your governor,” Bisignano said, “and then you have the audacity to…try to neuter the auditor so the people Iowa cannot see the daylight on the budgets and the expenses that’s happening in this state.”

The bill now goes to the Iowa House for consideration.

Senate OKs extending Iowa Medicaid postpartum coverage

News

February 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has approved Governor Kim Reynolds’ proposal to extend pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage for 12 months rather than just 60 days after a baby is born. Senator Mark Costello, a Republican from Imogene, says it’s a way to help new mothers in low income households who need care.

“We’ve found that not all the difficulties or medical needs that happen with pregnancy happen within the first two months,” Costello says, “so we want to enable those women to get the coverage for the full year.” The bill got the backing of 31 Republicans and three Democrats. Governor Kim Reynolds says extending postpartum care to 12 months for women with the greatest need helps them recover from childbirth, access family planning services, manage chronic health issues, and address mental health.

Thirteen Democrats opposed the bill because it also would lower income limits for the coverage, so the state would spend about the same amount of money in Medicaid for postpartum care. Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says it means about a thousand Iowa women each month who’d get pregnancy care under current income guidelines won’t get it.

“This is not a time to step backwards on maternal health care,” Petersen says. “…The budget process hasn’t really gotten started yet. There’s still time to do right by pregnant women and their babies in this state.”

The maternal mortality rate represents the number of women who die during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth and that rate has been rising nationally and in Iowa.