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Atty. for Bluffs teen involved in fatal fight wants a punishment hearing

News

October 4th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The lawyer for a Council Bluffs teen suspended from school following a fight on September 25th that turned deadly, and is being required by the district to attend an alternative school, says he’s asking for a formal hearing before the Council Bluffs School District’s Board of Education. According to Omaha television station KETV, 16-year old Gregary Teer’s attorney made the request Friday, in a letter sent to district officials.

The attorney is asking for a formal hearing before the school board to discuss Teer’s punishment. He claims Teer’s 14th amendment rights for due process were violated. The attorney also said he plans to seek an injunction to have Teer return to class at Abraham Lincoln High School, if they don’t get a formal hearing. He said also they’d be willing to negotiate if there was a way to gradually have Teer turn to the school this year.

The Council Bluffs School District said it’s consulting with its attorney and didn’t have an immediate response. Earlier in the week, school officials said Teer wouldn’t be suspended, and charges of assault were dropped, after video-taped evidence of his fight with 17-year old Dakota Escritt,  indicated Teer was not the aggressor, and was trying to defend himself. Escritt died last weekend from injuries to his skull that occurred when he fell to the floor and struck his head.

(Podcast) 8-a.m. News, Sat. 10/4/14

News, Podcasts

October 4th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Play

Family Fun in the Kitchen 10-03-2014

Podcasts, Family Fun in the Kitchen

October 4th, 2014 by admin

Lavon and Miss NiNi discuss Kitchen Aprons.

Play

(Podcast) Saturday Sports, Oct. 4th 2014

Podcasts, Sports

October 4th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

With KJAN’s Chris Parks.

Play

(Podcast) 7:06-a.m. Area News & funeral report, Sat. 10/4/2014

News, Podcasts

October 4th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Play

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic – Sat., Oct. 4 2014

Weather

October 4th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

A FREEZE WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8-a.m.

Today: Sunny & breezy. High near 51. W/NW wind @ 15-25.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. SW wind around 5 mph.

Sunday: Mo. Sunny & breezy w/a slight chance of afternoon shwrs. High 64.W/NW @ 15-25.
Sun. Night: Mo. Cldy w/a slight chance of shwrs thru midnight. Low 46. W @ 5-10.

Monday: Mostly sunny & breezy. High near 64. W @ 10-20mph w/gusts to 25.
Mon. Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 46.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 68.

*********

Friday’s High in Atlantic was 48. Our Low this morning (as of 7-a.m. & 24-hour low), was 32.  Last year was reached 79 for a High on this date, the Low was 42. All-time record High in Atlantic for Oct. 4th was 90 in 1938 & 2005. The all-time Low was 20, in 1961.

Sunrise today is at 7:19. Sunset is 6:57.

Stanton man arrested Fri. night in Red Oak

News

October 4th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

A traffic stop for speeding late Friday night in Red Oak resulted in the arrest of a Stanton man. According to Red Oak Police, following the traffic stop and a brief investigation, 25-year old Janssen Shadow Ludwigs, of Stanton, was arrested for OWI/2nd offense, an aggravated misdemeanor. Ludwigs was being held Saturday in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 cash only bond.

Bridge linking Mills Co, IA & Sarpy Co., NE to open Oct. 22nd

News

October 4th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Economic development officials say a new $140 million bridge that spans the Missouri River and connects Mills County, Iowa with Sarpy County, Nebraska, should be open in three weeks. The Omaha World-Herald reports an opening ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 22nd, just before traffic is allowed on the bridge that will extend U.S. Highway 34 from Interstate 29 west of Glenwood toward Platteview Road and U.S. Highway 75 in Bellevue.

Larry Winum, president of the Mills County Economic Development Foundation, told the paper the opening of the bridge will be the catalyst for development along the Highway 34 corridor on the Iowa and Nebraska sides. There are an estimated 3,000 acres of buildable land on each side of the river.

Winum said officials would like to see the areas around the bridge become development sites for potential business parks or commercial projects. The bridge is expected carry 2,000 cars every day. More traffic also means more people who might spend money in Mills County, which relies heavily on residential owners and farmers to generate tax revenue.

The bridge also is the start of road project for southwest Iowa. Mills County officials are pushing to expand U.S. Highway 34 to a four-lane highway to Interstate 35 in Osceola.

Iowa maid services line up to offer free house cleaning to women cancer patients

News

October 4th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

More than a dozen house cleaning companies in Iowa are now affiliated with a program that offers free services to women who are fighting cancer. Debbie Sardone runs a residential cleaning service in Texas and in 2006, launched the non-profit venture called “Cleaning for a Reason” (CleaningForAReason.org.) which now has a nationwide reach.  “Several years ago, I took a call from a woman who was inquiring about service,” Sardone says. “I gave her the price and she said, ‘I can’t afford that right now, I’m battling cancer and I’m not working,’ and she hung up. I decided that day, the next time any woman called our office and said she had cancer, we’d give her the cleaning for free.”

Sardone’s idea of “paying it forward” now enlists more than 11-hundred maid services across the country in all 50 states and in Iowa communities like Ames, Clinton, Council Bluffs and Waterloo. “Cleaning for a Reason is for any woman battling any type of cancer, not just breast cancer,” Sardone says. “They can go to cleaningforareason.org, click on the ‘cancer patient’ tab and fill out the contact information either for themselves or for a loved one and we will match them with a local participating maid service.” That service will provide free monthly cleanings for four months.

The professionals who work for the cleaning services have said they truly enjoy being able to give back and use their skill to make the life of a woman a little bit easier,” she says. Since its launch eight years ago, the program has provided free services to more than 15-thousand women with cancer. “Battling cancer is difficult enough but sometimes pushing a broom or a mop or a vacuum cleaner is just out of the question,” Sardone says. “That’s when Cleaning for a Reason comes in with this very practical everyday help.” October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Locally, companies involved in the program include:

  • Council Bluffs: Simply Cleaner;
  • Red Oak: Missy’s Cleaning Service

(Radio Iowa)

 

State Health officials says Legionella bacteria commonly found everywhere

News

October 4th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

State epidemiologist, Patricia Quinlisk, says the Legionella bacteria recently found in Iowa City’s Veteran’s Administration hospital is common in most water supplies and throughout the environment. The bacteria can lead to a type of pneumonia known as Legionaire’s Disease. Doctor Quinlisk says she’s not worried about the discovery. “In fact, we tell people not to look for it. Because if you look for it hard enough, you’re going to find it. It’s basically, probably in the water of my house and in the water of your house, etcetera,” she says.

Quinlisk says there’s no reason to worry about the bacteria being around. “Ninety-nine-point-nine-percent of the time when it’s out there it’s just living in our environment not causing anybody any harm. And that’s why we tell people don’t really test for this bacteria unless you have a reason why you need to test,” Quinlisk says. “And there are some places where they do do routine testing, for example, hospitals, but I would not anybody to test their own water in their house or places like that because there’s no reason to.”

Quinlisk says most people have immune system resistance. “Once in a while when it gets into the lungs of a susceptible person, it can actually cause that person to have a pneumonia,” according to Quinlisk. Quinlisk says the bacteria is spread by breathing a water mist into the respiratory system, and not from drinking the water. “What I would tell people to do in Iowa if they wanted to reduce their risk of getting Legionella, we know that hot tubs are one of the highest risks. And just make sure that your hot tub in good condition. Make sure that you keep it clean. Make sure you use the right kind of chlorine or other disinfectant system,” Quinlisk says, “and that’s probably going to lower your risk of getting Legionella more than anything else you do.”

Quinlisk says persons with compromised immune systems are at greatest risk for pneumonia caused by the bacteria. The bacteria first gained attention from an outbreak among those attending a convention of the American Legion in Philadelphia in 1976. The cooling system in the hotel they were staying in caused the outbreak of Legionaire’s Disease.

(Radio Iowa)