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STEPHEN WILLIAMS, 71, of Grant (Celebration of Life 6/21/24)

Obituaries

June 11th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

STEPHEN WILLIAMS, 71, of Grant, died May 22, 2024 at Greater Regional Health Center in Creston. A Celebration of Life Memorial service for STEPHEN WILLIAMS will be held 3-p.m. June 21st, at the Massena Baptist Church. Roland Funeral Service in Atlantic has the arrangements.

Visitation  at the church is on June 21st, from 2-until 3-p.m.

There will be a light lunch following the service.

Burial is in the Grant Cemetery at Noon on the 21st.

Memorials may be designated to the Massena Baptist Church.

STEPHEN WILLIAMS is survived by:

His brother – Lee (Jeanie) Williams, of Atlantic.

His sisters – Jorene Williams, of Kalispell, Montana and Sheri (Ralph) Lindblad, of Fountain Inn, South Carolina.

Condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com.

Posted in Obituaries |

Higgins Named Phil Steele DPOY; 12 Hawkeyes Earn Preseason Honors

Sports

June 11th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa fifth-year linebacker Jay Higgins has been named Phil Steele’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, it was announced Tuesday by the college football publication.  The Hawkeyes had three players garner preseason All-America honors and 12 earn preseason All-Big Ten laurels.

Higgins was also tabbed as a preseason first-team All-American, senior center Logan Jones was named to the third team, and graduate linebacker Nick Jackson was a fourth-team All-American.  Each of the three players were also named preseason first-team All-Big Ten.

Iowa also had two preseason second-team All-Big Ten honorees in senior offensive tackle Mason Richman and graduate safety Sebastian Castro.

Four players – graduate Nick DeJong (guard), senior Yahya Black (defensive tackle), senior Deontae Craig (defensive end) and junior Drew Stevens (placekicker) – were named preseason third-team All-Big Ten, while senior Luke Lachey (tight end), senior Connor Colby (guard) and senior Luke Elkin (long snapper) were named to the fourth team.

Higgins earned the top defensive honor after having a breakout senior season. He finished the year with 171 tackles, tying the Iowa record, while leading the Big Ten and ranking third nationally.  The Indianapolis native was a first-team All-American by FWAA, Phil Steele and Sports Illustrated and second-team accolades by AFCA, CBS, Walter Camp, Associated Press and Sporting News.

Jones started 13 games at center for the 2023 Hawkeyes and he earned third-team All-Big Ten honors by the league coaches and Phil Steele.  He was one of six juniors named to the Iowa Player Council.

Jackson finished second on the team with 110 tackles, a mark that ranked fourth in the Big Ten.  The Atlanta native earned third-team All-Big Ten honors by the league media and honorable mention by the league coaches.  Jackson enters his final collegiate season with 464 tackles – the most among active players nationally.

Richman garnered honorable mention All-Big Ten honors by the coaches and media in 2023 after starting all 14 games for a 10-win team.  Castro earned Pro Football Focus first-team All-America and Associated Press third-team honors after finishing with 67 tackles, three interceptions and eight pass breakups.

DeJong was a third-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches after being a super utility on Iowa’s offensive line in 2023.  He played in 11 games, starting games at three different positions.   Black started 14 games in his first season as a starter, accumulating 51 tackles and five tackles for loss, while Craig was honorable mention All-Big Ten after making 54 tackles, including five tackles for loss, three sacks and seven quarterback hurries.  Stevens earned third-team All-Big Ten honors and was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist after making 18 field goals and leading the team with 73 points.

Lachey missed all but three games in 2023 because of injury.  He finished with 10 receptions for 131 yards before sustaining a season-ending injury in Week 3.  Colby started all 13 games at right guard a season ago en route to third-team All-Big Ten recognition, while Elkin was the long snapper for the Hawkeye special teams – one of the top units in the nation.

The Hawkeyes open the 2024 season Aug. 31, hosting Illinois State at 11 a.m. (CT) inside Kinnick Stadium.

Phil Steele Preseason Defensive Player of the Year

Jay Higgins

Phil Steele Preseason All-America Teams

Jay Higgins, first team

Logan Jones, third team

Nick Jackson, fourth team

Phil Steele Preseason All-Big Ten Teams

First Team: Logan Jones (center), Jay Higgins (LB), Nick Jackson (LB)

Second Team: Mason Richman (OT), Sebastian Castro (S),

Third Team: Nick DeJong (OG), Yahya Black (DT), Deontae Craig (DE), Drew Stevens (PK)

Fourth Team: Luke Lachey (TE), Connor Colby (OG), Luke Elkin (LS)

Posted in Sports |

Naig seeking federal aid for dairy operations hit by bird flu

Ag/Outdoor, News

June 11th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – State Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig is asking the U-S-D-A to compensate dairy operations struck by bird flu. Naig says it’s a typical move when there’s an animal disease outbreak that leads to the loss of livestock or production. “You see a loss of milk production when a herd is affected, so we think it’s right that those producers, kind of like a crop insurance type concept, would be compensated for those losses,” Naig says, “and we are finding that some animals do have to be culled or sold off of the farm.”

Modern dairy operations have all sorts of ways to monitor cows, including how much they eat and how much milk is produced daily. Naig says those sick cattle are then isolated from the rest of the herd. “Their milk, then, is also captured and siphoned off and so that milk, from the sick pen, does not make it into normal production,” Naig says. “I think this is the good news is that there were already very well established food safety protocols on dairy farms and those certainly serve us well in normal times, but in times like this where there’s a developing situation with an animal disease, those protocols really are important.”

Bird flu has been confirmed among cows at dairy operations in Sioux and O’Brien Counties. A team of U-S-D-A veterinarians is in Iowa this week, trying to determine what might be the connection among poultry and dairy operations that recently have been hit by bird flu.  “We requested those resources,” Naig says. “We’re going to probably request some additional resources to really, really run down these leads and really figure this out.” Naig says it will hopefully identify how the virus is moving and help develop new biosecurity strategies for poultry and dairy operations.

When bird flu was first confirmed at poultry farms and in backyard flocks nine years ago, testing was done in nearby poultry operations to try to contain the virus. Now, both dairy farms and poultry operations near a bird flu outbreak are included in testing protocols. “What you’re trying to do, again, is to prevent the spread,” Naig says. “You’re trying to identify early whether there may have been a connection between farms.”

Dr. Jeff Kaisand — the State Veterinarian — says they don’t yet know how bird flu is transmitted from cow to cow within a herd, but there is a key sign a dairy operation has cows infected with the virus.  “In certain animals, they’ll see very serious drops in milk production. The milk may have a yellowish color or colostrum like color to it…but it does not usually cause major issues in the dairy farm,” Kaisand says. “We have had some reports that there is for a period time, about four or five days, a marked decrease in milk production.”

Kaisand briefed a state legislative committee at the Iowa Capitol Tuesday. The state vet says once bird flu has been confirmed in a dairy operation, workers are advised to wear protective gear, like face masks and public health officials ask the owner of the dairy to monitor the health of their employees. “We don’t know for sure how it’s being transmitted to people,” Kaisand said. “We don’t know whether it’s milk or other body secretions from the animals.”

While no cases of bird flu in humans have been reported IN IOWA, three dairy workers in other states recently have been infected with the virus after working around sick cows.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

U-S Appeals court hears arguments over law keeping some books out of school libraries

News

June 11th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A U-S Appeals Court heard arguments today (Tuesday) for lifting the injunction against a state law the prevents some books from being in school libraries. The state argues the law keeps sexually explicit books out of schools and inappropriate lessons out of school curriculum’s. The Iowa State Education Association teacher union is one of the groups that seeks to block the law, saying it is unconstitutional. I-S-E-A attorney, Christy Hickman, says it is too vague for schools and school boards to interpret.

“They have been tasked with trying to carry out a law that prohibits school libraries to include books with, quote, descriptions and depictions of sex acts without any additional meaningful guidance,” she says. Hickman says the penalties for violating the law have made teachers hesitant to take action. “Loss of employment licensure complaints that could lead to loss of license licensure the inability to you know practice as a public educator for a certain period of time,” Hickman says.

One of the judges asked why they should act if the book was available through other sources outside the school.  “Public school libraries are intended to provide access to books to all children, regardless of whether or not they can buy it at the bookstore,” she says. “So, such an argument, while it might make sense in other contexts, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense in the context of of our K-12 Public Schools.”

A judge also questioned why the law should be declared unconstitutional and where it was a better tactic to sue individuals school over the issue. Hickman says the law has already had an impact with reports that thousands of more books than needed being removed from school libraries. “It seems like an obvious chilling effect across the state and I don’t see that changing unless we get some acknowledgment from the Department of Education that there needs to be some additional guidance,” Hickman says.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird issued a statement after the arguments that says, inappropriate books do not belong in the hands of school children and “they made the case in court to defend Iowa’s law that protects kids, families, and parental rights. It is common sense.”

Posted in News |

Iowans who are planning a summer vacation shouldn’t boast online

News

June 11th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are being warned to prune their social media friends lists and to be careful of who sees their posts about activities, especially summer vacations. Consumer protection expert Michelle Reinen says crooks have been using AI to doctor people’s videos, crafting elaborate scams against their loved ones. Reinen says, “What we’ve learned is it can just be as little as three seconds of your voice being cloned online.”

She suggests doing a sweep of your friends list to make sure you know everyone, and that only those friends can see your posts. Reinen says it’s not a good idea to broadcast your summer plans to the entire internet. “If you post that you have this upcoming vacation a few weeks later, well, you’ve set yourself up to have an opportunity to have things stolen from you,” Reinen says, “because people know that you’re not in your home and they know where your home is.”

For people who have hundreds of social media friends or followers, it may be laborious to wade through the entire list, but Reinen says it’s important to do so and limit who sees your posts. “Keep the private things private,” she says. “Not everybody needs to know everything that’s going on.”

On Facebook, for example, set the parameters on your posts to just “friends” and only on very rare occasions to “public” if you’re intentionally trying to reach a wider audience.

Posted in News |

City of Atlantic Beautification Committee & City Council meetings are set for Wednesday, June 12th

News

June 11th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic’s Beautification Committee and City Council will hold separate meetings, Wednesday. The Beautification Committee meeting gets underway at 10:30-a.m. in the City Council’s Chambers at City Hall. Here’s their agenda:

  • Call To Order
  • Approval of the Agenda
  • Discussion, Review, and Recommendation Regarding Proposals from the RAGBRAI® Welcome Committee
  • Discussion, Review, and Recommendation Regarding Proposals from the RAGBRAI Entertainment Committee
  • Review of Robinson Landscaping Plan for Downtown
  • Review and Recommendation on Designs and Prices from JJ Design for Wraps to Enhance Existing Entrance Signs
  • Update, Review and Recommendation on Flagpoles and other Enhancements for the Primary Entrance Sign on the Corner of Highway 6 and Highway 71
  • Update, Review, and Recommendation on the FY 2024 and FY 2025 Beautification Budget
  • Other Business
  • Adjournment

A City Council Work Session will take place at 4-p.m., Wednesday. During the meeting, the Council will receive consultation and engage in discussion with Buddy Johnson, a County manager from Georgia, on Strategic Planning.

Posted in News |

Brecht and Tello Earn ABCA/Rawlings All-Midwest Region Honors

Sports

June 11th, 2024 by admin

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Junior Brody Brecht and redshirt junior Raider Tello earned American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-Midwest Region honors, it was announced Tuesday by the organization.

Brecht earned first team recognition, moving him into consideration for ABCA/Rawlings All-America honors that will be announced Friday. Tello was a second-team all-region selection.

It is the fourth straight year the Hawkeyes have had multiple all-region honorees and the sixth time under head coach Rick Heller that Iowa has had two or more players recognized.

Brecht earned first-team All-Region honors after going 4-3 with a 3.33 ERA in 15 starts. The right-hander posted five quality starts and fanned 128 batters over 78.1 innings. The Ankeny, Iowa native ranked fourth in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (14.71) and seventh in total strikeouts.

Tello earned second-team honors after hitting .357 with 60 RBIs, 51 runs scored and tallying 30 extra base hits (19 doubles, seven home runs and four triples) during the regular season. The El Monte, California, native led the team in hits, runs, doubles, triples, and RBIs.

Posted in Sports |

NASCAR driver Christopher Bell previews the Iowa Corn 350

Sports

June 11th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

After winning back-to-back years at the Iowa Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Christopher Bell hopes to win the first Cup Series race at the track in Sunday night’s Iowa Corn 350. Bell won at the Iowa Speedway in 2018 and 2019.

Bell was happy when the Iowa Speedway was added to the Cup schedule.

Bell says a quick sell out of Saturday and Sunday is proof Iowa Speedway was ready for a Cup race.

Bell has two wins this season and is currently ninth in Cup Series points.

Posted in Sports |

Former Iowa star Micah Hyde contemplates his future

Sports

June 11th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Former Iowa star Micah Hyde is taking his time to decide if he will return to the Buffalo Bills for his 12th NFL season or call it a career. The 33-year-old safety has spent the past seven seasons with the Bills and struggled last season with neck stingers.

Hyde says he will re-sign with Buffalo or retire. He will return to the field only if he is all in.

Hyde says he does not want to start training camp and find out he does not want to be there.

Hyde spent his first four seasons in the NFL in Green Bay.

Posted in Sports |

Cass County Engineer’s report to the Board of Supervisors

News

June 11th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken, Tuesday (June 11th), reported to the County Board of Supervisors, the Secondary Roads Department has been busy the past couple of weeks.

A contractor was working on the bridge seven-miles north of Cumberland on N-28.

On Wednesday, work will begin on lining two 42-inch culverts under the pavement on G-43, with a fiberglass liner. The work may continue into the day on Thursday.

Posted in News |