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New attendance record set on Saturday at the Iowa State Fair

Ag/Outdoor, News

August 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI] — In 170 years of the Iowa State Fair, no day has drawn more visitors than Saturday. According to the fair, Saturday’s attendance was an all-time single-day record — 128,732. That broke the previous all-time daily record of 128,298 from 2022. It’s also more than 1,500 over the record for the first Saturday and 10,000 more than the same day last year. This year’s total through three days is 329,408, nearly 23,000 ahead of last year’s pace, which became the second-biggest fair ever with 1,133,958 people. The all-time attendance record of 1,170,375 was set in 2019.

This year needs to average 106,398 per day to break that record. Through three days, this year’s fair is averaging 109,803. Friday’s attendance was 109,854. That’s 8,677 more people than Day 2 last year when 101,177 went through the gates — but 5,849 shy of the Day 2 record.

Thursday’s attendance was 90,822. That’s 3,442 more people than Day 1 last year when 87,380 went through the gates — but more than 10,000 shy of the Day 1 record.

47 children will become U.S. citizens today at the Iowa State Fair

News

August 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – America will gain about four dozen new, young citizens this morning (10 AM Monday) at a special ceremony at the Iowa State Fair. Officials from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are holding a citizenship ceremony on the state fair’s MidAmerican Energy Stage. A total of 47 children will be taking the Oath of Allegiance, after which, they’ll be presented with their citizenship certificate.

The children range in age from 10 to 18 and they come from 17 countries around the globe, from Brazil and Burma to Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The ceremony is designed to recognize and celebrate the naturalization of immigrants who have derived citizenship through their naturalized parents or adoption.

Red Oak man arrested for Public Intox. Sunday evening

News

August 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak, Sunday evening, arrested a man for Public Intoxication. 69-year-old Randal Joe Barr, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 5:45-p.m. in the 100 block of E. Oak Street.

Barr was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond.

Authorities in Arizona say teen missing since Aug. 5th may be in Iowa

News

August 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

A missing teen from Arizona flew to Iowa to meet someone she had met online, according to the FBI. Authorities say 17-year-old Liliana Munguia was seen on home security video leaving her father’s home in Bapchule, Arizona, at 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 5. Later that evening, she purchased a plane ticket and flew from Mesa, Arizona, to Des Moines to meet an individual she had met online. Security footage at the Des Moines International Airport showed Munguia arriving on Aug. 5.

The FBI says Munguia was briefly in contact with her family, but has since ceased communication. According to investigators, Munguia was last seen in the Clive and Waukee area on Thursday.

17-year-old Liliana Munguia

According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children website, Munguia may go by the name “Lily” or “Lil.” The website also says she has a mole on the left side of her neck. She is 5’2″ tall, weighs 125 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes.

If you have any information, you’re asked to call 911 or the FBI’s Phoenix Field Office at 623-466-1999.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area: Monday, Aug. 12, 2024

Weather

August 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Today: Cloudy w/scattered showers & thunderstorms this morning & later this afternoon. High near 75. Winds East @ 5-10 mph.
Tonight: Isolated showers this evening. Patchy fog developing after midnight, otherwise mostly cloudy. Low around 59.
Tomorrow: Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. East southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tom. Night: A 70% chance of showers & thunderstorms. Low around 63.
Wednesday: A 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms through mid-day. High near 81.
Wed. Night: A 60% chance of showers & thunderstorms through midnight. Low around 66.
Thursday: Partly sunny w/a slight chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms. High near 82.

Sunday’s High in Atlantic was 75. The Low was 52. We received .44″ rain Sunday night & until 7-a.m. today, at KJAN. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 87 and the Low was 60. The Record High here on Aug. 12th, was 108 in 1936. The Record Low was 42 in 2004. Sunrise today: 6:25-a.m.; Sunset: 8:24-p.m.

Petitions challenge whether Libertarians running for congress qualified for ballot

News

August 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Challenges have been filed with state election officials, claiming the Libertarian candidates running in three of Iowa’s congressional district are not qualified for the 2024 General Election ballot. Residents in the first, third and fourth congressional districts have signed petitions which allege Libertarians did not hold county conventions as required by law, so the three Libertarian congressional candidates were not properly nominated. The Libertarians say they did have county conventions, just not in every county.

Nicholas Gluba of Lone Tree, the Libertarian candidate in the first congressional district, says the challenges show Republicans are terrified of how Libertarians are appealing to voters. “They want to attack our ability to be on the ballot. They want to attack Iowans’ ability to vote for who they choose. We have to fight against that,” Gluba said. “…When the Republicans decided that they needed to take on the Republican Party, that was an admission of fear. They’re afraid that we’re going to take out the death grip that Republicans hold on the State of Iowa.”

Marco Battaglia of Des Moines, the Libertarian candidate in Iowa’s third congressional district, says Libertarians did have county conventions, they just didn’t have one for each of Iowa’s 99 counties because there were no Libertarian delegates in some counties. “Most of our population is in, like 12 counties,” Battaglia says. “What are we supposed to do in a county that’s never voted Democrat in their life? Why do they want to register as anything else if they want Republicans to keep winning?”

Battaglia says the Republican-led legislature and Republican Governor Kim Reynolds have repeatedly changed election laws to put Libertarians at a disadvantage. “If we’ve got to take this up further up the court system, I think we can kind of dismantle this kind of unfair, rigged game that they’ve got going,” Battaglia said.

Charles Aldrich of Clarion, the Libertarian Party’s candidate in the fourth congressional district, says there was county participation — from counties that have Libertarians. “What they’re saying is inaccurate,” Aldrich says.

The Libertarians were among six congressional candidates who appeared this weekend on the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair. Democratic candidate Ryan Melton of Nevada, who’s running in the fourth congressional district, says voters deserve as many choices as possible and the G-O-P attempt to toss Libertarians off the November ballot is awful.

Nunn says ‘America First’ should be top priority of congress

News

August 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congressman Zach Nunn of Bondurant says he’s running for a second term in the U-S House to ensure congress has an “America First” mindset. “One that really puts our priorities at the top of the line,” Nunn said. Nunn, who represents Iowa’s third congressional district, says there is no greater threat to the U-S than the situation at the southern border.

“Too many in Washington are treating it like this is every day business,” Nunn said. “…Eight million illegals coming into our country is a direct threat to our nation. In fact I don’t think there’s a more direct threat to our country…We have to secure our border before we can talk about any kind of immigration reform.” Nunn says he’ll have three priorities if he wins reelection: securing the border, lowering taxes and opposing changes to Social Security and Medicare.

“Let’s keep our momentum in Washington with real leaders out there and not move backwards to the way that we’ve been,” Nunn said. “This is doing to be a competitive election year…This is an opportunity for each of us to stand up for things that are important.” Nunn made his comments on The Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair.

Nunn is facing Democratic challenger Lanon Baccam, who’s scheduled to speak at the fair late this (Monday) afternoon.

Iowa State Fair dairy cattle entries stable amid bird flu concerns

Ag/Outdoor, News

August 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The number of exhibitors in dairy cattle shows at this year’s Iowa State Fair is nearly identical to last year — despite new bird flu testing requirements for milking cows entered in the contests. Mike Eilers is the superintendent for dairy cattle at the Iowa State Fair. “There was definitely an increased number of heifers. At some of the farms, their heifers happened to be on a different location didn’t have to be tested if they didn’t have cows in that location,” Eilers say, “but there still was roughly 120 to 130 cows here at the show which is pretty good given all they had to go through with the testing and stuff.”

Eilers grew up on a dairy farm and showed Guernsey cattle, but has what he describes as an office job now. Eilers says for the past decade he’s been managing the State Fair dairy shows to stay connected to the industry and make sure kids, in particular, have a place to showcase their work. “Just to be able to come here and compete to see the quality of the animals they have and compare it to everybody else in the state and the other animals, and just to meet and hang out,” Eilers says. “There’s a lot of families and kids from all over the state that get to become friends just because they come to the fair.”

2024 Iowa State Fair Youth Dairy Show (RI photo)

Mike and Rhonda Guy of Newton were in the State Fair Livestock Pavilion this weekend, watching their granddaughter show her Brown Swiss heifer in the youth dairy show. “The value of this is tremendous. It teaches them a work ethic,” Guy said. “It’s nice to see them do things that we did as well — carry on a tradition, to some extent.” Rhonda Guy grew up on a dairy farm and showed Brown Swiss cattle as a kid. Watching her granddaughter in the show ring was a thrill. “It’s fun to be at the top of the class,” she says, “but just to be in the class at the Iowa State Fair is a big deal.” Mike Guy and his brother shut down their milking operation about 20 years after deciding they either had to expand or get out of the dairy business.

According to the latest data from the U-S-D-A, there were about a thousand dairy farms in Iowa in 2022.

Iowa mints new disability advocacy leaders

News

August 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Iowa News Service) – Thirteen students, ranging in age from 14 to 21, have just graduated from the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council Youth Leadership Academy. The program’s goal is to develop young leaders who learn skills that build their confidence.  A dozen students from Iowa welcomed one from Illinois who is attending school in Iowa. Together, they learned during the weeklong academy how to be more effective advocates for their communities.

That’s exactly what 21-year-old Andrew Allen, who has been diagnosed with ADHD, autism and severe separation anxiety, was looking for when he applied.

The annual academy teaches students ways to advocate for themselves, become more civically engaged and to be of service in their communities. 19-year-old University of Iowa student Jackie Corless, who said she has an intellectual learning
disability, also took part in the Youth Leadership Academy. She said the topics ranged from advocacy to communicating, and lots of useful skills in between.

The Youth Leadership Academy is a partnership between the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council, Disability Rights Iowa, ASK Resource Center, the University of Iowa Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, and Access to Independence.

Kennedy Blades Earns Olympic Silver

Sports

August 11th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

PARIS –University of Iowa women’s wrester Kennedy Blades won a silver medal Sunday at the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the first Hawkeye women’s wrestler in school history to medal at the Olympic Games.
Blades fell to second-seeded Yuka Kagamiof Japan in the gold medal match, 3-1. Blades went down by one after being put on an early shot clock and failed to score. She tied the bout at one after securing a step out point. Kagamiof took a shot and secured a takedown in the second period to take the lead, 3-1.
The Chicago, native cruised through the round of 16 winning by technical superiority, 11-0, over fourth-seeded Catalina Axente of Romania. Blades scored an early takedown followed by a four-point throw to give her the lead, 6-0, at the break. She closed out the match with a massive back souplesse for five points to win, 11-0.
Blades defeated fifth-seeded Milaimys Marin Portillo of Cuba via decision in a scrappy quarterfinal match. Blades went into the break with the lead, 1-0, after Marin Portillo was put on the shot clock and was unable to score. Blades retook the lead after the pair traded step outs. Blades was able to get an exposure for two points and held off the late comeback to win, 4-3.
Blades faced the top-seeded Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan in the semifinal. After being put on the shot clock, Blades hit a blast double to take the lead and was countered with a takedown by Medet Kyzy to tie the match at two. Blades was able to secure a step out to take the lead into the break. In the second period, Blades capitalized with two takedowns and a failed challenge by Kyrgyzstan to extend her lead, 8-2. Medet Kyzy secured a takedown and exposure, but the time ran out as Blades won, 8-6, to secure her spot in the gold medal match.