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Iowa early News Headlines: Sunday, 4/16/17

News

April 16th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:00 a.m. CDT

WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) — An iconic Madison County, Iowa, covered bridge _ pictured on the cover of the best-selling novel “The Bridges of Madison County” _ has been destroyed by fire, and authorities say they suspect it was intentionally set. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office tells the Des Moines Register that the fire at the Cedar Bridge was reported around 6 a.m. Saturday. Officials say the bridge was fully engulfed by the time firefighters got to the bridge near Winterset in south-central Iowa.

WAVERLY, Iowa (AP) — A day-care center where the director was arrested on drug charges is closing. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the owner of the Little Learners Preschool and Daycare on Technology Place in Waverly said the business was closing at 6 p.m. Tuesday due to recent events. Police arrested 44-year-old Kelly Raney Hampton, of Waverly, on April 6 for misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine and marijuana and other charges.

SIBLEY, Iowa (AP) — A former Sibley-Ocheyedan football coach and middle school teacher fired in 2015 after the superintendent found him sleeping in his classroom next to a middle school boy has been charged with sexual assault. The Sioux City Journal reports that 38-year-old Kyle Thomas Ewinger, of West Burlington, was fired after he was found with a 10-year-old boy sleeping on an air mattress. The boy later said he had been sexually assaulted that night.

CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) — State prosecutors have taken the rare step of asking the Iowa Supreme Court to reverse the conviction of a man sentenced last year to up to 10 years for sexually abusing a teenage boy. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that Iowa Attorney General’s Office says in a new filing that Doug Lindaman, of Charles City, was allowed to represent himself at his trial without knowingly waiving his right to have an attorney.

Ex-Iowa football coach charged with sex assault of boy

News, Sports

April 15th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

SIBLEY, Iowa (AP) – A former Sibley-Ocheyedan football coach and middle school teacher fired in 2015 after the superintendent found him sleeping in his classroom next to a middle school boy has been charged with sexual assault.

The Sioux City Journal reports 38-year-old Kyle Thomas Ewinger, of West Burlington, was fired after he was found with a 10-year-old boy sleeping on an air mattress. The newspaper says the boy at the time denied anything sexual had happened, but later said that Ewinger had performed a sex act on him, according to a March criminal complaint.

Ewinger was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree sexual assault. He’s free on $10,000 bond.

GLORIA ARDELLE GLEAVES, 84, of Oakland (Svcs. 4/18/17)

Obituaries

April 15th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

GLORIA ARDELLE GLEAVES, 84, of Oakland, died Friday, April 14th, at the Oakland Manor Nursing Home in Oakland. Funeral services for GLORIA GLEAVES will be held 10:30-a.m. Tue., April 18th, at the Oakland United Methodist Church. Rieken-Vieth Funeral Home in Oakland has the arrangements.

Visitation with her family is on Monday, from 5-until 7-p.m., at the Oakland United Methodist Church.

Interment will be in the Oaklawn Cemetery.

Memorials may be directed to the Oakland UMC. the Nishna Heritage Museum, or the Eckle’s Memorial Library.

GLORIA GLEAVES is survived by:

Her husband – Gene, of Oakland.

Her sons – Mike Gleaves, of Avoca; Jeff (Jean) Gleaves, of Kelseyville, CA; Terry (Amy) Gleaves, of Oakland.

Her sister – Doris Eyler, of Carson.

Her brother – Delford “Jeep” Miller & wife Ruth, of Oakland.

7 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, other relatives, her daughter-in-law Leslie Gleaves, of Council Bluffs, and many friends.

LYLE SCHRUM, 91, of Urbandale (Svcs. 4/22/17)

Obituaries

April 15th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

LYLE SCHRUM, 91, of Urbandale, died Saturday, April 15th, at Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. Funeral services for LYLE SCHRUM will be held 11-a.m. Saturday, April 22nd, at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in West Des Moines. Ohde Funeral Home in Manning is in charge of the arrangements.

Friends may call at the funeral home from 5-until 7-p.m. Friday, April 21st, and again at the Covenant Presbyterian Church on Saturday, from 10-a.m. until the time of service.

Burial, with military honors, will be in the Manning Cemetery 3-p.m. Saturday.

LYLE SCHRUM is survived by:

His daughters – Nancy Schrum, of Urbandale, and Susan Davis, of Adel.

His brother – John Burton Schrum, of Norton, KS.

5 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Martinez crazy wild, Yanks top Cards 3-2 for 6th win in row

Sports

April 15th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

NEW YORK (AP) — Cardinals ace Carlos Martinez put on a historically uneven performance, walking a career-high eight while striking out 11 and handing CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees a 3-2 win Saturday. The Yankees won their sixth straight despite tying a team record by fanning 17 times. They got plenty of help from sloppy St. Louis, which at 3-8 is off to its worst start in 20 years and has the poorest record in the NL.

Martinez’s misadventures on the mound — he also airmailed a tapper to the backstop and threw a wild pitch — stood in sharp contrast to Sabathia (2-0), who took a shutout into the eighth. Jedd Gyorko and Stephen Piscotty homered late for St. Louis.

Martinez (0-2) couldn’t be touched at the start, and not always to his benefit. Of the first 12 batters, none put the ball in play. The All-Star righty became the first pitcher in 60 years with at least six strikeouts and six walks through two innings, the Elias Sports Bureau said.

 

Iconic Iowa covered bridge destroyed by fire Saturday

News

April 15th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) — An iconic Madison County, Iowa, covered bridge — pictured on the cover of the best-selling novel “The Bridges of Madison County” — has been destroyed by fire. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office tells the Des Moines Register that the fire at the Cedar Bridge was reported around 6 a.m. Saturday.

Officials say the bridge was fully engulfed by the time firefighters got to the bridge near Winterset in south-central Iowa. The original Cedar Bridge was built in 1883 before it burned in 2002. Investigators determined the fire to be arson, but no arrests were ever made. It was rebuilt and reopened in 2004.

The bridge was featured in the movie adaptation of “The Bridges of Madison County.” The novel was written by Robert Waller, who died in March.

Prescription med collection event set for Council Bluffs

News

April 15th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Law enforcement officials in western Iowa will be collecting unused prescription medications later this month. The public will have the opportunity to drop off prescription drugs with no questions asked through the “Operation Medicine Cabinet” event on April 29. The event is being held by the Council Bluffs Police Department and is sponsored by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

The Daily Nonpareil reports that people can drop off prescription and over-the-counter drugs from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m. at Walgreens in Council Bluffs. Past events have collected more than 4,200 pounds of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, with more than 2,300 residents participating anonymously since 2010.

Clarinda beats Griswold in boys golf Friday 4/17/2017

Sports

April 15th, 2017 by admin

Clarinda beat Griswold in a boys golf meet at the Clarinda Country Club on Friday.
Clarinda 156, Griswold 180.
Medalist: Carlton Rahn, Clarinda, 32.
Runner-Up: Marty Pelzer, Griswold, 39.

Morel mushroom season is getting underway

Ag/Outdoor, News

April 15th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

The warmer weather has people itching to get outside — especially those who like to hunt what some consider an Iowa delicacy. Iowa State University plant pathology professor, Mark Gleason, says morel mushrooms will start to pop out as the ground warms. “I don’t know if there’s a specific temperature, but this is about the time right now. Some people say when you get bud break on certain types of plants — it depends on the year — this year we’ve been warm and cool,” Gleason says.

The warm weather is key along with some rain. “We also have enough soil moisture to push them out of the ground,” Gleason says, “so in dry years we tend to have poor morel stands. In moister, wetter years with more rainfall, we tend to have more.” The temperatures so far this spring have fluctuated, but Gleason says once a warm day pops the mushrooms out, they are there until found or they dry up.

“It’s a one way trip. Once they are out they don’t go back in. They’ll enlarge a bit as they come out of the ground and reach their standard size,” Gleason says. “There’s five species of morels in the state and each of those has its own characteristic size The smallest one is probably the gray — which is the first to come out of the ground — and the largest is the last one which kind of a golden color and can be six or eight inches, even larger.”

Leaves popping out of the ground are a key signal the morels are there for the picking. Gleason says many people look for dead elm trees as the prime growing spot, but that’s not the only place they flourish. “But also other trees, and that area around the root zone of other trees can work, alive or dead. So looking in woodlands is good, but they will grow in meadows and things like that. But more often they are in association with some decayed wood or buried wood. So, it might be a decayed root or something like that,” Gleason says.

You might think asking veteran morel hunters for the best places to find them — but he says the people that are most successful don’t like to share their hot spots. “Most people are very reluctant to do that,” he says. “Unless you are related to them or they like you, it might be hard information to get.”

There are a lot of stories or tales about how to help the morels flourish. One is to use a mesh bag that allows the morel spores to drop out as you hike through the woods — providing seed for a new generation. “Well, there are people who strongly believe that. I’m skeptical of that,” Gleason says. “Because, when morels are picked they are very, very young and the spores haven’t formed yet. If you are waiting for a morel to form spores, it’s probably well beyond the age where you’d want to eat it.”

If you do decide to give mushroom hunting a try, Gleason says you have to remember they can easily blend into the surroundings.  “You kind of have to train your eye to them a bit. They are easy to overlook,” Gleason explains. “It’s possible to walk through a wooded area and just overlook the morels. But once your eye gets trained to what a morel looks like amongst other spring plants — then it’s easier to spot.”

Gleason says the morel season can vary across the state depending the weather conditions.

(Radio Iowa)

(Podcast) KJAN Morning Sports report, 4/15/2017

Podcasts, Sports

April 15th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Ric Hanson.

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