United Group Insurance

Pott. County “Freedom Rock” finds a home in Oakland

News

January 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

A large boulder painted with a patriotic theme by Adair County artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II, of Greenfield, will be found in the Pottawattamie County city of Oakland, thanks to the efforts of a local coffee clatch. The Daily NonPareil reports a “Freedom Rock” for Pott. County was approved by the mayor and city council, after the Oakland Coffee Ladies – a six-member group – approached Mayor Michael O’Brien about bringing it to Oakland.

LaDonna Applegate, a member of the Oakland Friday Coffee Ladies, said the rock will be placed in the Spring near Chautauqua Park. The rock is part of a statewide program that places a patriotic rock in each Iowa county. The rock will serve as a marker to attract tourists and also honor southwest Iowa veterans. Many counties have contracted with Sorensen to have Freedom Rocks painted, while four others (Shelby, Adair, Adams and Ringgold) already have their rocks in place and completed.

The original Freedom Rock is located just south of Interstate 80 on Highway 25 in Adair County, attracts about 14,000 people each year. Sorensen paints a different theme on it every year during the late Spring or Summer. The rock in Oakland is a pink granite and will be highly visible for drivers because of U.S. Highways 6 and 59 that pass through the town. The city paid $1,000 in fees to obtain the rock for Pottawattamie County.

Posted in News |

NWS Forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area: 1/30/14

Weather

January 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Today: A slight chance of snow and sleet between 7am and 8am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 37. Windy, with a south southwest wind 14 to 22 mph becoming north in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of snow, mainly after 4am. Increasing clouds, with a low around 12. Wind chill values as low as 5. North wind 7 to 11 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Friday: Snow likely, mainly before noon. Cloudy, with a high near 23. Wind chill values as low as zero. Northeast wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
Friday Night: A 50 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 12. East northeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Saturday: A 30 percent chance of snow before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 27. Light north wind becoming northwest 8 to 13 mph in the morning. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 21.

Posted in Weather |

NE man gets 2 life terms for the murder of a former western IA woman

News

January 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

A Nebraska man convicted of killing a former western Iowa woman and her husband was sentenced Wednesday to two life terms in prison. The Daily NonPareil reports 34-year old Matthew Hinrichsen, of Ewing, NE, will serve two life sentences for murdering newlyweds Victoria Lee Vargas and her husband Alex, in December 2012. Victoria Vargas was a former Missouri Valley city councilwoman. Their murders took place in northeast Nebraska’s Antelope County.

Hinrichsen – who was convicted in Antelope County District Court in October 2013 – received a life sentence for each of two counts of first-degree murder, 25 to 30 years for one count of possessing a firearm while committing a felony and 40 to 50 years for one count of using a firearm to commit a felony. His sentences will be served consecutively.

The bodies of the couple he killed were discovered in a burned-out mobile home on Dec. 8th, 2012. The Nebraska Attorney General said autopsies showed Alex Vargas was shot three times in his midsection, while his wife suffered traumatic blunt force trauma to the head before their home was torched.

Hinrichsen, an ex-boyfriend of Victoria’s, was arrested the same day at a family member’s home.

Posted in News |

Iowa early News Headlines: Thu., Jan. 30th 2014

News

January 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Acclaimed opera singer Simon Estes joined forces with fine arts lobbyists to advocate for arts education. Estes, along with members of the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education, urged lawmakers to add fine arts to the Iowa Core Curriculum in a presentation Wednesday before the Senate Education Committee.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governor Terry Branstad has appointed former U.S. Representative Leonard Boswell to the Iowa Department of Transportation Commission. Branstad announced the appointment yesterday. Boswell, a Democrat, will take over a seat vacated by former Democratic state Senator Tom Rielly, who resigned due to a professional conflict of interest.

MARENGO, Iowa (AP) — A former county treasurer in eastern Iowa has been accused of stealing more than $62,000 from the county over several years. The Iowa County Sheriff’s Office says Kimberly Tanke has been charged with felony first-degree theft in connection with missing funds. A private auditing firm and Iowa County officials say the money was taken between 2006 and 2010, when Tanke served as treasurer. They gave their findings to authorities, including the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

BOONE, Iowa (AP) — Boone police say autopsies are complete on the bodies of two people found dead in their home last week, but it’s still unclear how they died. KCCI-TV reports the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s report showed no apparent injury or trauma to the bodies of 47-year-old Lisa Kurth and 56-year-old David Morrison. They were found in a Boone home on Friday.

Posted in News |

Governor appoints former Congresman Boswell to transportation commission

News

January 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has appointed former Congressman Leonard Boswell to the state transportation commission. The governor announced he appointed Boswell to fill out the term of Tom Rielly, who resigned from the commission due to a business related conflict of interest. Boswell served in Congress from 1997 to 2013 and prior to that was a state legislator and a decorated veteran of the Army who served in Vietnam.

Boswell is a Democrat who has worked with the Republican governor recently on the initiative to recruit veterans to come and live in Iowa when they leave the military. Boswell’s appointment must be confirmed by the Iowa Senate and the term runs through April of 2017. The seven-member commission set transportation policy and state law requires the commission be balanced by gender and party affiliation.

(Radio Iowa)

Posted in News |

Hawkeye women win at Minnesota

Sports

January 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Hawkeye women pulled away in the second half for another road victory as they beat Minnesota 64-56 to improve to 5-3 in the Big Ten.The Hawkeyes dominated the glass in the second half. Iowa improves to 17-5 overall and will be at home on Saturday to host Nebraska.
Ally Disterhoft led Iowa with 13 points.

Posted in Sports |

No. 6 Kansas beats Iowa St. 92-81

Sports

January 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Andrew Wiggins has finally started to live up to the hype. The superstar freshman scored a career-high 29 points, including six straight late in the game, to lead Number 6 Kansas to a 92-81 victory over Iowa State on Wednesday night and help push the Jayhawks’ winning streak to seven straight games.

Wiggins, the nation’s top recruit, has caught fire after a slow start to his college career. He had 27 points in Saturday’s win at TCU, and matched that with an emphatic dunk that gave Kansas an 81-72 lead with just under 3 minutes remaining in the game.

The Jayhawks (16-4, 7-0 Big 12) put away the Cyclones (15-4, 3-4) from there, something they failed to do after building a 16-point first-half lead and a 13-point second-half cushion. Perry Ellis added 20 points for Kansas, which has won five straight over the Cyclones.

Georges Niang led the Cyclones with 24 points and DeAndre Kane added 22.

Posted in Sports |

No. 20 West Virginia tops No. 23 Iowa State 67-56

Sports

January 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Asya Bussie scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Number 20 West Virginia to a 67-56 win over Number 23 Iowa State on Wednesday. The Mountaineers (18-3, 7-2 Big 12), who won by 14 at Iowa State two weeks ago, held the Cyclones (15-5, 4-5) to 28 percent shooting. Bria Holmes had 16 points for West Virginia with Averee Fields adding 12 and Christal Caldwell 11. Hallie Christofferson had 20 for ISU.

After Iowa State pulled within 22-19 with 7:33 left in the first half before Holmes knocked down 3-pointers on consecutive possessions. Nikki Moody made two free throws at 4:14 for Iowa State to make it 28-21 but the Mountaineers then closed the half on a 14-0 run.

Bussie had seven points and Holmes another 3 during the surge for a 42-21 lead. The lead never dipped below eight in the second half.

Posted in Sports |

Drake knocks off Missouri State 84-74

Sports

January 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Richard Carter scored 23 points and Jordan Daniels added 22 as Drake’s second half comeback topped Missouri State 84-74 on Wednesday. Drake (12-9, 3-6 Missouri Valley) raced to a 13-4 lead, fueled by a pair of 3-pointers by Chris Caird. Missouri State (14-7, 4-5) came back to go up 30-29 with 3:13 in the first, but Drake countered to lead 38-35 at the break.

Missouri State went up five on Gavin Thurman’s jumper with 7:21 left in the game. Drake coach Ray Giacoletti immediately called time, and his Bulldogs scored 15 of the next 17 points to wrest control of the game. Drake shot 52 percent from the floor, including 14 of 24 from beyond the arc. Daniels had five 3-pointers, and Caird added 18 points, hitting 6 of 8 3-point attempts.

Austin Ruder led Missouri State with 20 points. Ron Mvouika added 13 points while Jarmar Gulley had 12.

Posted in Sports |

Northern Iowa beats Evansville 95-81

Sports

January 30th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Deon Mitchell scored 20 points with six assists and grabbed six rebounds as Northern Iowa posted a 95-81 victory over Evansville Wednesday night. Seth Tuttle also had 20 points for the Panthers (11-10, 5-4 Missouri Valley Conference). Matt Bohannon scored 19 and Wes Washpun had 11.

D.J. Balentine nearly doubled his season average with a career-high 43 points for the Aces (10-12, 3-6), outperforming the rest of the Evansville team combined. He was 10 of 19 from the field, 19 of 21 from the line, and sank four from beyond the arc during the contest.

But Balentine’s stellar performance could not compensate for a lackluster showing from the remainder of the Evansville team. The Panthers had a 54-43 lead at the break and never looked back, extending their advantage in the second period to 22 points, 90-68, on a Mitchell 3-pointer with 7:05 remaining.

Posted in Sports |