The AHSTW Boys Basketball Team is primed and ready for a bounce-back season after a disappointing showing a year ago. Although they finished near the bottom of the conference last season, the Vikings return a vast majority of their roster. This includes their top three scorers. Head Coach G.G Harris is excited to get the season underway and believes he has a great squad of young men.
Part of the strong returning group are seniors Luke Sternberg and Camden Soukup. Last season both were in the top 3 in scoring with Sternberg leading the way averaging 15.6 points and 3.5 steals per game. Soukup averaged 8.5 points per game and was their most efficient shooter, leading the team in field goal and 3-point efficiency. You also can’t forget junior Colin Harder who finished second on the team in scoring. Harris, in addition to his praise of Harder, said he is happy to have Sternberg and Soukup as senior leaders for his group.
Finishing with a 5-15 record a season ago, there are plenty of improvements to be made. However, with five of their losses came by 6 points or less, closing out games in the fourth quarter is at the top of Harris’ list.
An extra year of experience can make a massive difference in the play of a team, and Harris is planning on moving up the conference ladder and using his team experience to play better away from AHSTW.
With the season just a few weeks away, Harris and the team are excited. However, there might be a little more than normal as the Vikings open with a conference foe.
ASHTW’s season opener is scheduled for December 6th at 7:30 pm.
Basketball is now back for the Atlantic Trojans girls basketball team who finished the 2023 season with a 9-14 record and second round postseason loss to Cherokee Washington. Last year’s team leaned on the younger side with only one senior, Claire Pellet in the starting five. In order to achieve more and go further into the postseason Atlantic head coach Dan Vargason explained that his team has been taking this year’s offseason very seriously and that gives him confidence in his program.
The way that the Trojans have been attacking the offseason has not been the only positive sign with Atlantic basketball. This more seasoned core returning four starters from last year have also shown a hunger to improve and ability that follows.
As a team last year, the Trojans were shooting at 37.9% from the floor and 55% from the charity stripe. That concise shooting on the floor came from the sharp passes by junior Zoey Kirchoff who led the team in assists last season with 60. Joining Kirchoff for another year of basketball is junior Katrina Williams who tabbed four blocks and 67 rebounds last year. Athletes like Williams and Kirchoff returning adds another layer of experience that coach Vargason is counting on.
Helping lead the Trojans this year will be the lone starting senior and statistical leader in almost all categories, Paytn Harter. Harter last season was the leading scorer with 373 total points, led in blocks with 14, steals at 52, rebounds at 259, and field goal percentage at 63.8% Harter will have high expectations heading into the 2024 season, but coach Vargason believes in Harter’s dynamic ability.
Coming up for Atlantic is their first game of the season at home against a talented Pella Dutch squad. Last year when these two met, Pella won handily 70-43. This year coach Vargason is counting on creating a different outcome and making sure to establish depth for his team.
KJANTV will bring you the coverage of Atlantic’s game against Pella with the pregame show slated to begin at 5:45 p.m.
(Radio Iowa) – Record travel is predicted in Iowa and nationwide for the Thanksgiving holiday, and those who are flying somewhere else for the long weekend have likely already bought their tickets. Last-minute fliers might still be able to find some deals, and Gunnar Olson with Thrifty Traveler-dot-com says the best way to save money and time at this point is to avoid flying on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. “No matter what time of year, flying on Sunday is always where the pain is,” Olson says. “It’s going to be the most expensive to fly on Sunday, and everybody wants to be there at the same time, so the airports are going to be more busy, passengers tend to be more tense on Sundays. Everybody’s trying to get home. Flights are overbooked. I try to avoid Sundays like the plague.”
Olson says now is a good time to shop for Christmas airfares. He says if you look around, there’s still some value out there, even if you want to head to warmer places like Orlando and Los Angeles.”Because Christmas is in the middle of the week this year, it’s actually helping keep some fares low, travelers are not all traveling on the same days for Christmas this year,” Olson says. “So it’s going to make for a much more competitive flight pricing environment.” If you’re wanting to think even further ahead, he says the best travel deals right now could be for the summer of 2025. Olson says this past summer was disappointing for some of the airlines, so they’re testing the waters with cheaper airfares for next summer. “They haven’t pulled back yet and some fares for July, August, September of 2025 are really cheap right now, especially in the U.S.,” he says.
Olson says you can find cheap airfares for the summer on both coasts, and even normally expensive places like Nantucket Island in Massachusetts.
(Radio Iowa) – A recent Iowa Farm Bureau report shows the Iowa ag economy has seen a down trend from 2023 into 2024 that lead to farm incomes dropping by nearly 25 percent. I-F-B’s economics and research manager Christopher Pudenz says there are some things that could turn the farm economy around. He says getting away from Farm Bill extensions to passing a new five-year bill is one. “One of those aspects that is in that farm bill that’s really important for farmers here in the state of Iowa is the crop insurance programs that are funded in part by the Farm Bill,” he says. Pudenz says the safety net it provides takes some of the uncertainty out for farmers.
“The vast majority of acres for both corn and soybean farmers here in the state of Iowa are covered under crop insurance. That you know really does help during a year like this, when prices are depressed compared to previous years, or like when those folks up in northwest Iowa had all the flooding this spring and wiped out all those acres,” Pudenz says. He says there are some bright spots going forward, including the international export market. “We are looking to have a pretty strong here in terms of corn exports, the beef market remains strong. Iowa is fourth for cattle on feed, and it’s looking like some of those revenues in that in that industry might be shifting to some of those cow calf folks,” he says. “The hog industry, after having a pretty rough stretch there 18 months or so has had a better summer and fall and is looking to have a better 2025.” Pudenz says some of those areas could get farm incomes up a again.
“If farmers have, you know, higher incomes, they can, they can start buying machinery again. And then those manufacturers can start buying, you know, tires from their tire suppliers. Just kind of kick start the whole ag and ag adjacent economy,” Pudenz says. Republicans took back the White House and the Senate in the recent election and that can also impact the Ag economy. Pudenz can’t say yet what that impact will be. “It’s just too early to tell. We don’t know who is going to be the U-S-D-A Secretary yet. We don’t have an announcement about U-S-T-R (US Trade Representative), eagerly awaiting those announcements as we go forward here,” he says.
Pudenz says these factors are all important as the I-F-B analysis shows the negative impact on the state’s economy from the downturn is more than one- and-a-half-billion-dollars.
(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced the last seven agricultural drainage wells in the state have been closed, which represents the end of about 30 years of research and management around the wells that negatively impacted water quality in Iowa.
Following the establishment of the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act in 1987, IDALS developed an inventory of ag drainage wells in the state and found there were 300, with a majority in Humboldt, Pocahontas and Wright counties. Per the groundwater protection law, the department conducted research on ag drainage wells and in-field nutrient management plans that, according to IDALS had “statewide application in dealing with the water quality concerns about nitrogen and herbicide movement from cropped lands to Iowa’s streams and lakes.”
A schematic showing how agricultural drainage wells operated. (Graphic courtesy of Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship)
Another element of this research found that wetlands could remove up to 90% of nitrogen and herbicides from tile drainage. Drainage from the last seven ag drainage wells, all near Gilmore City, will be redirected to a 137-acre wetland to help manage water quality of the runoff. “Improving water quality takes time, commitment, and dedicated funding, but this demonstrates that when there is a strategy and funding in place, this impactful work can get done successfully,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said in a news release.
Closed agricultural drainage wells have a cover like this. (Photo courtesy of Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship)
Michael Schmidt, staff attorney for the Iowa Environmental Council, said the issue of ag drainage wells has been part of the council’s priorities since it started in 1995 and advocated for the 1997 law that required the closure of the wells. In areas prone to excess water, cropland will have tile, or underground drainage structures, to help drain water out of the fields and into ditches or streams. Ag drainage wells would funnel water from the tile down into bedrock aquifers, meaning any ag chemical or excess nutrients from that field would flow down into aquifers, many of which were also used for drinking water.
Most of these wells were constructed in the early to mid-1900s, and according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency more than 95% of all agricultural drainage wells in the country were in Iowa, Idaho, Ohio, Minnesota and Texas. To date, IDALS has made use of $25 million in state appropriations and an additional $12 million in landowner and partner contributions to close nearly 200 of these wells. The other third of the 300 identified wells were closed by landowners or were non-functioning. Landowners were also eligible for assistance to close the wells from the Watershed Improvement Review Board.
The final seven wells were closed on Tuesday, following six years of planning and construction around the closures, which according to IDALS, involved eight properties and 13 landowners. Schmidt called the effort a “big step forward” in addressing some of the major ground water pollution issues in the state.
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 43. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm this afternoon. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, with a high near 50. S/SE winds 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Tom. Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 36. S/SE wind 5 to 10 mph. Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 54. Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 38. Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36.
Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 40. Our Low this morning, 21. Last year on this date, the High was 51 and the Low was 18. The Record High in Atlantic on Nov. 22nd was 69 in 1966. The Record Low was -10 in 1937. Sunrise: 7:16. Sunset: 4:55.
(Radio Iowa) – There’s an Education Committee in the Iowa House, but the House Speaker says a comprehensive review of the state’s colleges and universities is long overdue — and he’s establishing a new committee to do it. Republican Representative Taylor Collins of Mediapolis will be chairman of the House Higher Education Committee.
“It’s no secret that we have a workforce shortage in this state and I think many people have seen the fact that our institutions have been distracted by ideological agendas rather than actually filling the needs of Iowa’s workforce,” Collins says, “so we’ll be looking at a comprehensive review of Iowa’s higher education system.”
Collins led the effort to force the recent closure of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices at the three state-supported universities. Collins say there’s been great progress on that front, but the panel may push for the elimination of some courses or majors. “I think when you’re looking at some programs, for example when they focus on teaching literally a major in Social Justice, I think there is a question that needs to be asked: ‘What is the return on investment for the taxpayer and should our constituents be paying for those kinds of academic programs?” Collins asked rhetorically.
“…We have a lot of members in the House Republican Caucus that are passionate about reforming our system and making sure that we’re not wasting taxpayer money on initiatives or agendas that do not benefit Iowans. We have to make sure that Iowans are getting a return on their investment when it comes to these institutions.”
Collins says the focus will not just be on the three public universities in Ames, Cedar Falls and Iowa City, but on Iowa’s community colleges AND the state’s private colleges and universities. Taxpayer money is used to provide Iowa Tuition Grants to students at those private institutions who are Iowa residents. “Last year we looked at what kind of course offerings and what return on investment Iowa taxpayers are getting with the Iowa Tuition Grant,” Collins says. “I think there is work in the future where we could look on ensuring when we are providing dollars to these institutions that they are focused on those high demand fields.”
In recent years bills to eliminate tenure at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa were introduced in the legislature, but Collins does not expect that policy to become law. “That issue’s been considered in the past. I don’t think it’s something that that legislature’s serious about, though,” Collins says. “There is a value to tenure and making sure the individuals are able to freely teach ideas.”
Collins was just reelected to a second term in the Iowa House. Collins earned a degree in business management from Iowa State University. He also has a master’s in public administration from Drake University. House Speaker Pat Grassley has announced all House committee leaders for the 2025 legislative session. Next year’s list of Senate committee chairs has not been released.
In a game where the offenses were supposed to be the main feature, it was the defense that stepped up when it mattered most and lifted the Tri-Center Trojans Football team to their first ever state championship. Defeating the West Hancock Eagles 14-10, the Trojan defense held firm at every turn limiting the Eagles to just 240 yards while making multiple red zone stands en route to their first state title victory.
Although the game was dominated by the defenses, the Trojan’s offense came right out of the gates. On the opening drive, Tri-Center drove 80 yards on nine plays that was capped off by a 38-yard AJ Harder strike to Carter Kunze. Down 7-0, the West Hancock offense went to work methodically driving the ball down the field. However, inside the red zone and looking to convert on fourth and short, the Eagles took a false start penalty, forcing them to attempt a pass that would fall incomplete.
At this point in the game, the defense started to take over. The line a scrimmage was a war for most of the contest, with neither team able to assert their full will on the other. Like a game of tug-of-war, both team’s defensive and offensive lines had their moments. However, after neither side could get much going, at 5:32 of the second quarter, the Eagles broke through on a 49-yard touchdown run by Gustavo Gomez. The Eagles’ only touchdown of the game was marked by controversy as an apparent holding penalty was picked up leaving the game tied at 7-7.
Now tied, Tri-Center’s offense needed a response to retake the lead before the half, and they would get one. Harder would lead the Trojan offense on a perfectly called and perfectly executed 12-play 73-yard drive. This included a huge fourth-down conversion reception from Zach Nelson, who finished the game with seven receptions and 78 yards. Kunze would cap off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown touchdown run that left little time for West Hancock to respond.
Down 14-7 and with the ball out of the half, the Eagles came out on a mission, going on a long extended drive. However, it was the Tri-Center’s defense that would come out on top. Despite some isolated explosive plays, West Hancock could not get anything going on offense. The Trojans’ defense allowed just twelve first downs and forced the Eagles to go o-for-3 in the red zone. They also forced West Hancock to punt multiple times in a game for the first time this season. After some big plays for Kunze and the defense, the Trojans came up with a goal-line stand forcing a field goal to push the score to 14-10 with 7:59 remaining in the third quarter. It would be the last score of the game.
Although Tri-Center’s offense couldn’t get much going either, they didn’t need to. With under four minutes to play, Harder punted the ball back to West Hancock and let the defense go to work one last time. After allowing a first down, the Trojans were able to halt the running attack of the Eagles once again. After a false start penalty made 4th & 15 West Hancock was forced to attempt a throw, which would ultimately fall incomplete all but sealing the game. After a first-down run by Kunze and a pair kneel downs by Harder, theb Tri-Center Trojans were Class A State Champions.
From going 3-6 a year ago to state champs, Head Coach Ryan Schroder was beyond pleased at reaching the top of the mountain.
For Tri-Center’s seniors, they will go out Champions. For a team that has barely gotten over .500 in the last five seasons, Kunze says that the championship mindset went all te way back to the beginning of the year.
Winning a championship can mean the world to a community and this one is no different as Kunze and the Trojans were proud to make the dream a reality.
Despite all the weapons at the Skill positions, it was the defense that was the star of the game for the Trojans. Schroder and his players credited their success to their preparation.
Although it might be way too early to start thinking about the future, don’t be surprised to see Tri-Center in the mix going forward. In addition to quarterback AJ Harder, the Trojans will return both of their top two receivers in Zach Nelson and Cael Witt. Harder is excited for what’s to come.
Regardless of what is to come, the celebration in Neola is here and now as the Tri-Center Trojans are the 2024 Class A State Champions
(Rural Creston, Iowa) – A collision between a semi and a pickup truck Thursday evening (11/21) in Union County resulted in a law enforcement estimated $2,800, but no one was injured and there were no citations issued. The Union County Sheriff’s Office says the collision happened on a gravel road at the crest of a hill, at around 6:43-p.m.
Authorities say a 1997 Freightliner semi driven by 26-year-old Grant M. Miller, of Redding, was traveling west on 205th Street, at approximately 4-to 5-miles per hour, pulling a grain hopper-style trailer. A 2019 Toyota Tacoma pickup driven by 25-year-old Marti Rae Sutton, of Corning, was also westbound and attempted to pass the semi when the rig began to turn into a driveway. Sutton told Deputies she didn’t know the semi was about to turn, because it wasn’t signaling to do so. Miller said he couldn’t remember whether he had flipped-on his turn signal, and that the sun was making it difficult to see.
The semi struck the pickup on the right front side. An investigation was unable to determine if the semi’s turn signal was on.
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