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Glenwood H.S. Principal resigns

News

March 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The Principal of the Glenwood Community High School has resigned. The Omaha World-Herald says Principal Shane Stephens cited a decline in personal health and failure to meet goals as his reasons. His resignation was announced during a special school board meeting earlier this week. Stephens is the second principal in less than a year to resign from the high school.

Superintendent Devin Embray said Thursday that Stephens will work through the end of the year. The Glenwood Community School District has begun an internal and external search for a new principal. Embray said school officials hope to find a new candidate by mid- to late April. Applicants will be narrowed to three to five finalists.

Stephens, who was hired in April 2013, replaced former principal Kerry Newman who resigned after reaching an agreement with the school district. As part of that agreement, the district stopped Newman’s termination, paid her $40,000 and allowed her to obtain copies of some of her work. The Glenwood school board considered terminating her contract because of several allegations, including an inappropriate relation with a district employee. The school board later voted to accept Newman’s resignation.

Posted in News |

Car crashes into Bluffs home then drives away

News

March 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Police in Council Bluffs are looking for a vehicle that crashed into a home and then left the scene, early Thursday morning.  Authorities says at around 12:20 a.m., Council Bluffs Police Department officers were called to 803 south 13th St., where an unidentified vehicle struck the side of a home, causing $10-thousand damage.

Police said the driver had attempted to turn left onto Eighth Avenue from South 13th Street and lost control, left the roadway and struck the home. A witness said the vehicle then drove away. Police said the vehicle is described as a small, two-door, dark-colored car that has heavy front-end damage. Part of the driver’s side headlight was left at the scene of the collision.

Posted in News |

Mills County Atty. won’t run for re-election due to family concerns

News

March 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Citing the need to spend more time with his family, Mills County Attorney Eric Hansen has announced with will not be seeking re-election this year. The Omaha World-Herald says Hansen’s daughter was very ill last year, and had to undergo a bone marrow transplant. Hansen said that experience left him emotionally drained to the point where he didn’t have the energy to participate in a contested election.  Hansen was hired as an assistant county attorney in February 2003. He was promoted to full-time assistant in 2006 and became county attorney in 2011.

In Mills County, Patricia McSorley – an assistant county attorney – and Ashley Kissel, both Republicans, are running for Hansen’s position.

 

 

Posted in News |

New census data shows loss of population in s.w. Iowa

News

March 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

A report in the Daily NonPareil says every southwest Iowa county has lost population since the 2010 Census. The paper cited new data released Thursday morning by the U.S. Census Bureau. Pottawattamie and Harrison counties were also among the counties estimated to have lost the largest number of residents over the past three years. Most of the state’s growth was centered around urban areas, primarily in central and eastern Iowa.

As a whole, Iowa saw its population increase 43,559 people since 2010, and it remained the 30th-most-populous state. However, only 29 of Iowa’s 99 counties gained population during the three-year span. Pottawattamie County joined Woodbury County as the only two of Iowa’s 10 largest counties to lose population since 2010. Those two counties also contain principal cities for the state’s only two metropolitan areas west of the Interstate 35 corridor.

Dallas County, which contains many of the booming suburbs just west of Des Moines, was once again Iowa’s fastest-growing county, seeing its population increase by 12.9 percent – from 66,135 to 74,641 residents – since 2010. It ranked 17th among all counties nationwide.

The entire Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area gained 29,801 people (3.4 percent growth) since the 2010 Census, making it the nation’s 60th-largest with 895,151 residents. By and large, growth was associated with urban areas and neighboring counties.

On the western side of the state, only a handful of rural counties – including Ida, Crawford, Union and Sioux – saw population growth.

Posted in News |

OLLIVENE LINN, 93, of Audubon (Svcs. private)

Obituaries

March 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

OLLIVENE LINN, 93, of Audubon, died Wed., March 26th, at the Friendship Home in Audubon. Private family services are planned for OLLIVENE LINN. Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon has the arrangements.

OLLIVENE LINN is survived by:

Her children – Larry G. (Barbara) Linn, of Atlantic, and Jackie (Donald) Hembry, of Glenwood.

5 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, other relatives and friends,  & “Her special family at the Friendship Home.”

Posted in Obituaries |

JEFF G. RIESBERG, 47, of Audubon (Svcs. 3/31/14)

Obituaries

March 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

JEFF G. RIESBERG, 47, of Audubon, died Thu., March 27th, at home. A Mass of Christian Burial service for JEFF RIESBERG will be held 10:30-a.m. Mon., March 31st, at the St. Augustine Catholic Church in Halbur, IA. Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon has the arrangements.

Friends may call at the funeral home, where the family visitation is from 4-to 8-pm Sunday (3/30).

Burial will be in the St. Augustine Catholic Cemetery in Halbur.

JEFF RIESBERG is survived by:

His fiance’ – Donna Parrish, of Audubon ( as well as her brothers & sisters and her children).

His mother – Illa Mae Riesberg, of Halbur.

His sisters and brothers – Becky (Bill) Ocker, of Lincoln, NE; Barb (Steve) Willenberg, of Manning; Janet (Lee) Wiederien, of Des Moines; Joe (Kim) Riesberg, of Pocatello, ID, and Jay (Carrie) Riesberg, of Carroll.

6 grandchildren, other relatives and friends.

Posted in Obituaries |

NIELS C. JUEL, 94, of Omaha (Formerly of Audubon) – Svcs. 3/31/14

Obituaries

March 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

NIELS C. JUEL, 94, of Omaha (& Formerly of Audubon), died Wed., March 26th, at the Waterford Assisted Living facility in Omaha. Funeral services for NIELS JUEL will be held 2-p.m. Mon., March 31st, at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Audubon. Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon has the arrangements.

Visitation, with the family present, is from Noon until the time of service Monday, at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church.

Burial will be in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Audubon.

NIELS JUEL is survived by:

His wife – Wilma Juel, of Pella.

His children – Twila Juel, and Merlin (Dee) Juel, all of Omaha.

His step-children: Bonnie (Carlos) Chase, of Pella; Marcia Laub, of Buffalo, NY; and Mark Christensen, of Los Angeles, CA.

6 grandchildren, his step-grandchildren and step great-grandchildren, other relatives & friends.

Posted in Obituaries |

MRS. MICKEY JOLENE COFFMAN, 62, of Panora (Svcs. 3/29/14)

Obituaries

March 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

MRS. MICKEY JOLENE COFFMAN, 62, of Panora, died Thu., March 27th, at the Panora Nursing & Rehab Center. A Celebration of Life Gathering for MRS. MICKEY COFFMAN will be held 7-pm Sat., March 29th, at the Owl’s Nest, in Panora. Twigg Funeral Home in Guthrie Center has the arrangements.

There is no visitation.

Posted in Obituaries |

SW IA man charged with the theft & sale of grain

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Authorities in Fremont County report one person was recently arrested on a felony theft charge associated with the theft and sale of grain. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office says 41-year old Kelley Ryan Roof, of Tabor, was charged with 1st degree theft, a Class-C felony, following the execution of a search warrant at his residence.  His cash bond was set at $40-thousand.

His arrest was the result of an investigation into a tip from a concerned citizen authorities received on March 13th. The individual told authorities about a possible theft of grain from the Fremont County area. During the investigation, it was discovered Roof allegedly took without permission, 2,230-bushels of soybeans from a Randolph area farmer. Roof is alleged to have sold the beans for more than $31-thousand.

During the search of his property, authorized seized a 2014 Polaris RZR purchased with the proceeds of the alleged theft. Roof remains in the Fremont County Jail.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

NWS forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area: 3/28/2014

Weather

March 28th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 46. North wind 5 to 8 mph.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. North northeast wind 5 to 7 mph.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 59. Northeast wind 5 to 14 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 41. South wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 72. Windy.

Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. Windy.

Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 55. Windy.

Posted in Weather |