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Shelby County Supervisors meeting recap

News

November 9th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Board of Supervisors met in a regular session Tuesday morning (Nov. 7, 2023). According to the meeting minutes provided by Shelby County Auditor Mark Maxwell, the Supervisors reported current activities on the Boards and committees that they are members of, representing Shelby County. Board Chair Steve Kenkel noted that the Iowa Utility Board has resumed their business with the Carbon Capture Pipeline. Next week they plan to finish the current testimonies that they are permitting to hear.

Todd Valline reported on the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Industry to the Supervisors. The report included many events that have recently taken place on the Harlan Square. Organizers were pleased with the great attendance at the recent art show. Activities are also on tap for this weekends Veterans Day activities. Chamber involvement is being scheduled with the holiday events coming up in the coming months.

Brandon Burmeister asked the Supervisors to approve a Utility Permit (numbered 2023-11-3) for West Central Iowa Rural Water Association. Parkhurst made a motion to approve the permit, Schaben seconded the motion the motion passed. Burmeister also gave a Secondary Roads report and progress being made on projects throughout Shelby County including bridge crew activities and some department-wide projects.

Chairperson Kenkel then noted that the employee performance evaluations will be due in early December and that employees using the county provided health insurance had enough participation to warrant the full 5% discount on next year’s health insurance policies. November 14th is a special Supervisor meeting to Canvass the first part of the City/School election. Before concluding the special meeting on the 14th an initial budget workshop will be held with Taryn Knapp the new Shelby County Budget Director.

Mark Maxwell, auditor reminded the Board that the Farm Rent Bids will be opened at the next regular meeting November 21st and the deadline for submission to the Auditors office for the bids for both farms is November 17th.

Posted in News |

Water Summary Update: October rainfall breaks streak of dry months

News, Weather

November 9th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES – October’s above-normal precipitation broke a streak of drier-than-normal months that began in March, according to the latest Water Summary Update.

October’s statewide average precipitation was 3.12 inches, or 0.43 inches above normal. The heavy rainfall in northwest Iowa led to an improvement to “normal” conditions according to the Iowa Drought Plan.

“The wetter-than-normal October was certainly very welcome in Iowa,” said Tim Hall, the DNR’s Hydrology Resources Coordinator. “Despite the above-normal rainfall in October, the state is still more than 7 inches short of moisture for this year, which is concerning as we wind down the fall and head into the winter months. We continue to need normal to above normal rainfall across nearly all of the state to get us into better shape headed into next spring.”

October rains resulted in some improvement in drought conditions for most of the state. However, southwest Iowa moved into the “drought warning” category due to a combination of precipitation deficits and streamflow, along with the current U.S. Drought Monitor designation of moderate to severe drought.

A small area of eastern Jackson, Clinton and Scott counties is the only part of Iowa currently not designated with any classification of dryness or drought.

For a thorough review of Iowa’s water resource trends, visit www.iowadnr.gov/watersummaryupdate.

The report is prepared by technical staff from Iowa DNR, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering, and the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department.

Posted in News, Weather |

Coon Rapids & Woodbine among 10 Iowa communities receiving a total of $925,000 in Main Street Iowa Challenge Grants

News

November 9th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

November 9, 2023 (DES MOINES) — The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) today awarded $925,000 in Main Street Iowa Challenge Grants to 10 communities around the state. The grants help redevelop or rehabilitate underused buildings as a way to stimulate economic growth and further investment in Iowa’s historic main streets.

Among the cities receiving grants, is Coon Rapids, which is receiving $100,000 to expand Chuck’s Bar & Grill into the adjacent 514 Main Street building, enabling them to offer a quality family dining experience. The local match is $141,000, for a total project cost of $241,000. And, in Woodbine, the Bothwell Building Project is receiving a $100,000 grant toward the total cost of $234,379, to address urgent structural needs to save the 145-year-old building, which is in a National Register Brick Street Historic District. The project requires a local match of $134,379.

Other Projects include:

  • Removing a metal slipcover from a historic building in downtown Spencer to unmask its original façade and reveal historic window openings, which allows for future upper-floor development.
  • Giving new life to a vacant, derecho-damaged building in uptown Marion to accommodate a growing business and upper-floor housing.
  • Transforming a vacant historic building in downtown Burlington into an old-fashioned ice cream shop.

“The Main Street Iowa Challenge grants help us revitalize and reinvest in our traditional commercial districts, which is good business,” said IEDA and Iowa Finance Authority Director Debi Durham. “It’s good for our economy and good for our state. These projects will bring new businesses and new residents to our downtown districts.”

The grants are administered through IEDA’s Iowa Downtown Resource Center and Main Street Iowa programs. The funding will be distributed in the form of matching grants to the selected Main Street programs. The estimated total cost of these 10 projects is over $3.5 million.

“Each of these projects represents growing momentum for downtown and community revitalization,” said Michael Wagler, state coordinator for the Main Street Iowa program. “This investment in catalytic projects across Iowa will have a significant economic impact and help strengthen local creative placemaking efforts.”

Since the first Challenge Grants were awarded in 2002, about $14.6 million in funds have leveraged more than $68.3 million in further investment.

Posted in News |

Return-to-prison ‘recidivism’ rate in Iowa on the decline for third consecutive year

News

November 9th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Department of Corrections director Beth Skinner says the recidivism rate among individuals who’ve been released from prison has dropped for a third straight year — meaning there’s a decline in the number of people violating the terms of their parole or commuting a crime that sends them back to prison.

“We are moving and trending in the right direction in terms of our recidivism reduction efforts,” Skinner says. Skinner says there are several reasons the rate is declining, like focusing on getting substance abuse or mental health treatment for those who are at highest risk and improving the skills of those who’ve been sentenced to prison.

“Our apprenticeship program, we actually did a research study on that, and we found out among those who completed the apprenticeship program the recidivism rate was 16.3% compared to non-completers, which was 32.7%,” Skinner says, “so we want to really double down on our apprenticeship program and our post-secondary education.” There are 30 different registered apprenticeship programs in the Department of Corrections, including training to be plumbers, welders and electricians.

“What’s great about these apprenticeships programs is it’s really preparing people for when they get out, because we know 90% of people are going to be leaving prison,” Skinner says. “They have to show up to work, they get evaluated, they get paid — all of those things. We look at it as a way for preparing them for when they come out.” Sometimes up to half the people who ENTER Iowa’s prison system each year do not have a high school diploma. Skinner says among those who are released, 60 percent have completed high school.

“We want to help them get jobs when they get out, maybe a higher earning base,” Skinner says, “so we here at the Department of Corrections really emphasize the importance of education and apprenticeship programs and work skills.” Due to the government reorganization plan the governor signed into law this spring, Iowa’s community-based corrections system is now part of the Iowa Department of Corrections. Skinner says that may have prevent people released from one of the state’s nine prisons from re-offending.

“We want to improve release plans. We want more of a seamless comprehensive hand-off, continuity of services — so there’s a lot of communication going on now between the counselors and the work release facilities or parole officers,” Skinner says. “Not only are the parole officer and the counselor working together in the prison, they’re working with this individual that’s coming out, so this alignment’s going to have a lot of positive impact on our public safety outcomes.”

The rate at which released offenders were being sent back to prison had been climbing — to as high as 40 percent four years go — but Skinner says she’s confident the recidivism rate in Iowa’s correctional system will continue to decline because of the buy-in from prison employees. “If you don’t have the qualified staff who are committed to public safety outcomes who are committed to this work, it would not be possible,” Skinner says.

Skinner has been the director of the Iowa Department of Corrections since June of 2019. There are nearly 41-thousand people in Iowa’s correctional system today — only a fifth of whom are in a state prison. The rest are under direct supervision in a community setting, like a work release program or halfway house.

Posted in News |

UI dedicates new Veterans Plaza on Friday with seven granite monuments

News

November 9th, 2023 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) -In advance of Veterans Day on Saturday, the University of Iowa will hold a ceremony on Friday afternoon to dedicate a new area of campus to remember those who served our country in uniform. Bill Nelson, executive director of the Iowa Memorial Union, says the 2 P-M service to officially open the new Veterans Plaza will include comments by several dignitaries, including U-I President Barbara Wilson and the head of the U-I’s new student-veteran support program.

“We’ll be presenting and raising the flag for the first time,” Nelson says. “That will be presented and raised by our students with the University of Iowa Veterans Association. There’ll be a playing of the National Anthem. The flag will fly and wave in perpetuity and it will be managed by our UIVA program and it will be illuminated, again, in perpetuity.” The plaza is located near the banks of the Iowa River and is flanked by trees and a green space.

Veterans Plaza (UI photo)

“The plaza is directly north of the Iowa Memorial Union. There are seven granite monuments, one monument for each branch of the armed services and then the seventh monument is a descriptor of the plaza,” Nelson says, “and there are four benches that create a backdrop.” Those six branches are: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Space Force. Nelson says this new plaza will be used for decades to come to remember and honor veterans among the U-I’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

“It certainly will be featured during our Memorial Day program, some of our Veterans Day activities,” Nelson says. “We have a well-established Hawkeye Distinguished Veterans Awards program which is, frankly, this evening and we will tie that program in.” The location for the new plaza was special and deliberate.

“The Iowa Memorial Union was built in 1924, built for and dedicated at that time to our World War One veterans,” Nelson says, “and so it’s completely fitting that this space be adjacent to our building.” An unnamed donor is making the project possible with a final price tag between 80- and 90-thousand dollars.

Posted in News |

Big 12 Announces 2024 Conference Schedule

Sports

November 9th, 2023 by admin

IRVING, Texas – The 2024 Big 12 Conference announced the 2024 softball schedule on Thursday afternoon. Each team will play every league opponent in a three-game series and will total 27 conference games.

Iowa State will host 15 Big 12 competitions at the Cyclone Sports Complex in the spring while playing 12 league games on the road.

Conference play begins March 8, as the Cyclones open Big 12 play with the defending national champion, Oklahoma, in Norman. It’s the second straight season that the Cyclones will open league play with Oklahoma.

Following its opening weekend on the road, ISU returns to the CSC for back-to-back home series, welcoming both Houston and Texas Tech to Ames. Big 12 newcomer Houston will visit Ames for the first time on March 15, while the Red Raiders make their way north for a series starting on March 22.

Following its pair of home series, the Cyclones head to Waco for an Easter weekend meeting with the Baylor Bears. The Baylor series will begin on a Thursday and conclude on Saturday to accommodate the Easter holiday on Sunday.

The Cyclones will return from their Texas trip to host another pair of back-to-back home series. Kansas comes to town on April 5 before Oklahoma State arrives in Ames a week later on April 12.

Iowa State follows up a home stretch with back-to-back away series, beginning with a trip to Provo, Utah for its first Big 12 meeting with the BYU Cougars on April 18. The BYU series will also be a Thursday-Saturday format. After a westward trip, ISU heads to Austin to match up with the Longhorns in what could be the teams’ final meeting on April 26.

ISU wraps its Big 12 regular season schedule by hosting UCF on May 3. UCF and Iowa State will meet for the first time as conference opponents but have previously met five times, all away from Ames.

The Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship returns to Oklahoma City’s USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium at OGE Energy Field, the home of the Women’s College World Series, from May 8-11. All ten teams will compete in the single-elimination format, with the top six finishing regular season teams receiving a first-round bye.

Big 12 Schedule

March 8-10             @ Oklahoma

March 15-17           vs. Houston

March 22-24           vs. Texas Tech

March 28-30           @ Baylor (Easter weekend, Thurs.-Sat.)

April 5-7                  vs. Kansas

April 12-14              vs. Oklahoma State
April 18-20              @ BYU (Thurs.-Sat.)
April 26-28              @ Texas

May 3-5                  vs. UCF

May 8                     Big 12 Championship Play Starts

Posted in Sports |

Iowa Men’s Golf Signs 3

Sports

November 9th, 2023 by admin

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Three prep student-athletes – Jack McCarty, Chance Rinkol and Ryan Shellberg — have signed National Letters of Intent with the University of Iowa men’s golf program, it was announced Thursday by head coach Tyler Stith.

 

Jack McCarty | Solon, Iowa | Solon High School

– Three-time Iowa Junior Open champion (2021, 2022, 2023)

– Attended Solon High School for four years, leading his team to three top-five finishes at the state tournament

– As a senior, finished third at the state tournament in Class 3A

– Won the Principal Charity Classic Jr. Open (-1)

– Started as a safety for Solon football team in the state semifinals

 – Father, Sean McCarty, was a member of the Iowa men’s golf team from 1992-95.

 

Tyler Stith on Jack McCarty 

“Jack is a multi-sport athlete with a ton of potential. He has a lot of speed and great touch around the greens. Once he develops the other parts of his game, he will be a strong competitor in the Big Ten. I expect Jack to be very competitive and pushing to get into the lineup next season.”

 

Chance Rinkol | Leawood, Kansas | Blue Valley High School

– 2021 Kansas 6A Individual State Champion

– Scoring average of 70.8 in 2023

– Ranked No. 46 on the Rolex Class of 2024 rankings

– Led team to two state tournament victories

– Winner of the 2023 AJGA Joplin Junior Championship & 2023 Midwest PGA Junior Championship

 

Tyler Stith on Chance Rinkol

“Chance is coming off of a great 2023. He improved his stroke average by nearly four shots per round and won two national tournaments. He is an extremely hard worker and will make a positive impact on the team.”

 

Ryan Shellberg | Prosper, Texas | Rock Hill High School

– Three-time all-district and two-time all-region selection

– Set school record for low score, carding a 63

– Posted a 71.1 scoring average as a senior

– Won the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational (-2)

– Placed second at the AJGA Mizuno Junior Championship

– No. 71 on Rolex Class of 2024 rankings

 

Tyler Stith on Ryan Shellberg

“Ryan is an outstanding player who has established himself as one of the best players in Texas. He’s a consistent performer and has a well-balanced game. He showed a lot of improvement this year and will be ready to step in and contribute next fall.

Posted in Sports |

Atlantic Trojans Girls Basketball looking for repeat of last season

Sports

November 9th, 2023 by admin

The Atlantic Trojans Girls basketball team had their best season in over a decade last year and the Trojans are looking to build off that success in 2023-24. The Trojans were 18-5 last year and tied for the Hawkeye Ten Conference Championship with Glenwood as both teams were 10-3 in conference play. This came after the Trojans had three consecutive seasons going 9-14 and just a few winning seasons in the last 10+ years. Head Coach of the Trojans Dan Vargason hopes his team can build off their breakthrough season and continue that success heading into the new campaign.

The Trojans did lose a lot off of last seasons team as they lost their second, third, and fourth leading scorers so the Trojans team has some big holes to fill. The Trojans got a lot of their success down low inside the paint as they were able to use their height to the teams advantage and do most of their scoring from down low. That will look a lot different this year as Coach Vargason said this years team is much smaller, but the team is quicker and will look to try and score more from the perimeter line.

With official practice for the new season starting this past Monday the Trojans are eager to get started and find out how some of the new pieces will play together. The Trojans with the speed and quickness will look to use that on both ends of the floor to wear opponents down. Coach Vargason said he has loved the energy and enthusiasm through the first week and said that girls energy is very consistent on both ends of the floor and he and his coaching staff love that.

The Trojans season starts a few days earlier than usual as they tip their season off on Friday November 17th but the Trojans have two scrimmage games before to help prepare the team and see where they currently are. Coach Vargason said the biggest thing about the scrimmage games is wanting to get the girls comfortable playing with each other and building the chemistry.

The Trojans girl teams will start their year for the first official game on November 17th when they travel to Pella to take on the Dutch for a 6pm tipoff.

You can listen to the full interview with Head Coach Dan Vargason below.

 

 

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Griswold Girls Basketball is focusing on “Competitiveness” for 2023 Season

Sports

November 9th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

With one year under his belt, Griswold Girls Basketball Head Coach Ryan Lockwood to make this Tiger’s basketball team even more competitive. Griswold is coming off a (2-21) season that saw the Tigers at the bottom of the Corner Conference. It was a year and team that had growing pains. Coach Lockwood noted the youth and inexperience resulted in a modest amount of wins last year.

This offseason for Coach Lockwood and the Tigers has been focused on becoming more cohesive and learning how to play quicker. Over the summer the team traveled to Okoboji for a three-day basketball camp. There the team grew, and Coach Lockwood took away quite a few positives from Okoboji.

Now with their season starting in a few weeks, the Tigers are looking to a few familiar faces to help bring more leadership and a fierce nature to their team. Seniors like Karly Millikan and Madison Rush. Millikan had 147 rebounds, 23 steals, and 5 blocks in her sophomore campaign, but sat out her junior year due to an injury. Rush last year had 13 completed 3-pointers, 25 rebounds, with 7 assists, and 7 steals.

In Coach Lockwood’s eyes one of the measuring sticks for a successful season is how aggressive and competitive his girls play. He knows that if they focus on hanging on late into the games, pushing themselves and consistently driving towards the basket. This Tigers team will have opportunities to win.

Griswold travels to the Atlantic High School Gym Saturday November 11th to take on Boyer Valley in a IGCA Scrimmage/Clinic starting at 8:40am.

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Air National Guard Named Official Armed Services Partner of Big Ten Conference

Sports

November 9th, 2023 by Asa Lucas

CHICAGO, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference and Big Ten Network (BTN) today announced the addition of Air National Guard as an official partner of the Big Ten Conference. Air National Guard becomes the Official Armed Services Partner of the Big Ten Conference, as well as the presenting sponsor of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships and On The Mat, BTN’s multi-platform storytelling franchise focused on Big Ten wrestling.

“In welcoming Air National Guard as the Official Armed Services Partner of the Big Ten Conference, we are proud to associate with an organization committed to leadership and service as we work together to highlight Big Ten wrestling and basketball,” said Big Ten Chief Operating Officer Kerry Kenny.

Beginning next week, the Air National Guard will present the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Player of The Week and Freshman of the Week awards. In addition to their sponsorship of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, Air National Guard will also have a significant presence at the Big Ten Football Championship Game Fan Fest and the Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, including in-arena and television visible signage, as well as media assets on BTN.

As the primary combat-ready reserve of the Air Force, the Air National Guard provides mission-ready Airmen to safeguard the homeland, serve communities and execute global operations.

“The partnership with the Big Ten Network represents a significant step in broadening the Air National Guard’s recruiting outreach,” said Lt. Col. Robert Fore, Air National Guard director of marketing at the Air Force Recruiting Service. “By partnering with Big Ten Conference and the Big Ten Network, the ANG is positioned to connect and engaged with a loyal audience, furthering our mission of recruiting the next generation of ANG Airmen. This initiative is more than just about brand visibility; it’s about building a connection with future Airmen of the Air National Guard.”

“As interest and viewership in Big Ten wrestling continues to grow, as seen by audience records the past two seasons, we are looking forward to working with Air National Guard to cover the conference’s attempt at a 17th consecutive national championship,” said BTN President François McGillicuddy.

Posted in Sports |