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Midwest Sports Headlines: 9/3/2019

Sports

September 3rd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — It’s going on a decade since Nebraska and Colorado went their separate ways because of conference realignment, and current players weren’t born yet or can’t remember when the series was one of the most competitive in the old Big Eight and Big 12. The vibe in Lincoln this week is that the rivalry is still alive heading into Saturday’s game in Boulder, Colorado. Nebraska is still seething from last year’s loss and what the Huskers believe was an intentional injury to quarterback Adrian Martinez.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright tossed seven scoreless innings and Kolten Wong delivered a run-scoring triple to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants. Paul DeJong had an RBI single for the Cardinals, who have won 10 of 12. They remain three games ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. Mauricio Dubon hit his first major league homer for San Francisco, which has lost six of seven.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs announced the signing of two-time All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy, two days after he was released by Buffalo and quickly reached an agreement with Kansas City. The Chiefs signed Carlos Hyde in the offseason with the hope he could provide a veteran presence in a young backfield. But he was unproductive in the preseason and was traded to Houston, and Chiefs general manager Brett Veach moved quickly to sign McCoy to a $4 million contract for this season.

Iowa early News Headlines: Tuesday, 9/3/2019

News

September 3rd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:30 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa police say a 19-year-old is expected to recover after being accidentally shot in the head in Des Moines. Des Moines police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek told the Des Moines Register that the man will be fine, and it’s “kind of remarkable.” Police responded to reports of a shooting Saturday at a house party south of Drake University. Parizek says charges likely will be filed.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg are taking a no-compromise approach on overhauling the nation’s gun laws after the latest spate of mass shootings. The former vice president and the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, say Democrats must push universal background checks, red flag laws and a renewed ban on military-style weaponry. Their comments come two days after a gunman went on a rampage in Odessa, Texas, killing seven people before being gunned down by police.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is building up his organization in Iowa this month, with an eye on the state’s early caucus. The South Bend, Indiana, mayor plans to use the last quarter’s nearly $25 million in campaign contributions to create an army of peer-to-peer foot soldiers. Buttigieg is racing to catch his better-known 2020 rivals, who have spent months building organizations in the state that marks the first test for the Democratic presidential nomination.

INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) — One person is dead after fire broke out an apartment complex in Indianola. KCCI-TV reports that the fire was reported at 6:37 a.m. Sunday at Foxwood Apartments. The apartment belonged to a 64-year-old woman. An autopsy will be conducted to determine if she was the person killed in the blaze. The cause of the fire has not been determined, but authorities say foul play is not suspected.

Adair County Sheriff’s report (9/2/19)

News

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports two people from central Iowa were arrested on Burglary charges, Aug. 25th. 36-year old Shannon Kay Keeney, of Des Moines, was charged with Burglary in the 3rd Degree-Vehicle related; Burglary in the 3rd Degree, and Theft in the 2nd Degree. 47-year old Matthew Em Jones, of Indianola, was also charged with Burglary in the 3rd Degree-Vehicle and Burglary in the 3rd. He was also charged with Possession of Burglary Tools, Theft in the 3rd Degree, and Possession of a Controlled Substance. Keeney was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $12,000 cash or surety bond. Jones was released the following day on a $19,000 cash or surety bond.

Authorities say Keeney and Jones entered a property and took a vehicle, then entered another property and stole items valued at around $3,000. Jones was found to be in possession of numerous tools used to commit a Burglary, along with a face mask, bug spray and a flashlight. He also had a backpack that contained syringes and a substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine.

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports also, 34-year old Sherrece Patricia Kilgore, of Bridgewater, was arrested Aug. 30th in Creston, on an Adair County warrant for a Controlled Substance Violation. She was transferred to the custody of Adair County and released later that same day on a $25,000 cash or surety bond. 38-year old Jason A. Lampman, of Des Moines, was arrested Aug. 30th, on a No Bond warrant out of Lancaster County, Nebraska.

And, 41-year old Jeremias Reyna, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was arrested Aug. 31st in Adair County, after he allegedly made loud, raucous noises at around 2-a.m., while on a westbound bus to Omaha on Interstate 80, causing unreasonable distress to the other riders. A Sheriff’s deputy spoke with the Burlington Trailways bus driver while the bus was at the Adair Rest Area. The driver said Reyna was intoxicated and had been arguing and yelling with a passenger in the back of the bus. He said the man had been acting up since he boarded the bus in Des Moines.

He also allegedly tried to hit the other passenger. Reyna was warned three times by the driver to calm down and stop causing trouble. He was subsequently escorted off the bus and transported to the Adair County Jail, and released later that same day on his Own Recognizance.

Man arrested for kidnapping in Adair County: Bond set at more than $1-million

News

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Stuart Police, along with Deputies from Adair and Guthrie County, responded at around 1-p.m. Saturday, to the reported assault of a kidnapping victim.  Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater said Monday, the suspect, 32-year old James Scott Smith, Jr., of Mexico, NY, was being held in the Adair County Jail on $1-million, $10,000 bond ($1,010,000.00), on charges that include Domestic Assault with a weapon/1st offense, Harassment in the 1st Degree, Kidnapping in the 1st Degree, and Obstruction of Emergency Communication.

Vandewater says at around 12:44-p.m., Saturday, Guthrie County Dispatch notified Stuart Police Officer Katherine Guisinger, that a female, Amber Leigh Garrison, of Smyrna, NY,  was inside the Stuart Casey’s Store. Garrison said she had been assaulted and held by Smith in a Peterbilt semi-truck cab, since approximately July 20th. She said Smith picked her up at a truck stop in Pennsylvania, after the two made contact on a dating site (Plenty of Fish). The woman said once she got in the semi’s cab, she was not allowed to leave.

Garrison said she was also not allowed to use her cellphone or contact her family, until Smith realized she was listed as a missing person through the State of New York. After he saw her missing person flyers on Facebook, Smith told Garrison to call her mother, and tell her Garrison was not missing. Smith also ordered Garrison to e-mail a New York Trooper, Vincent Rinaldo, and tell him the same thing.

The morning of Aug. 31st, Garrison called 911 and put the cellphone under the seat, so Smith wouldn’t know she was calling. After the third 911 call, Smith realized what was going on, and terminated the call. He then allegedly held her in the cab against her will for about an hour, beat her and held a knife towards her. Garrison said Smith threatened to kill her and himself.

Adair County Dispatch 911 records show there were numerous 911 calls placed Saturday morning, beginning at around 9:50-a.m., where a female voice could be heard, asking someone to “drop the knife.” Due to the fact the female caller never spoke with dispatch, they were unable to get an exact location where she was.

When Officer Guisinger arrived at the Stuart Casey’s Store, she made contact with Garrison, who identified the truck she had been held in. She said also, that Smith let her go only after she promised him he wouldn’t call police. The Officer noted Garrison had visible injuries on numerous location of her upper body, including blood coming from her nose. She also complained about a possible infection caused by Smith allegedly having forced her to be tattooed. Garrison was transported to the Adair County Hospital in Greenfield, for treatment of her injuries.

Smith said their relationship was consensual. Authorities say the case remains an open and ongoing investigation, which involves several alleged crimes in multiple states.

Wainwright leads surging Cardinals to 3-1 win over Giants

Sports

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright tossed seven scoreless innings and Kolten Wong delivered a run-scoring triple to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Monday. Paul DeJong had an RBI single for the Cardinals, who have won 10 of 12. They stretched their lead over the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central 3½ games. Mauricio Dubon hit his first major league homer for San Francisco, which has lost six of seven.

Wainwright (10-9) allowed four hits. He struck out one and did not walk a batter in a 96-pitch stint. Wainwright lowered his home ERA to 2.43 in 13 starts this season. Carlos Martínez recorded four outs to pick up his 18th save in 21 chances. He leads the NL with 14 saves since the All-Star break. St. Louis scored twice in the first off Tyler Beede (3-9), who gave up three runs on five hits over four innings. He struck out two and walked one. Dexter Fowler led off with a single and scored on Wong’s triple down the right field-line. Paul Goldschmidt brought in Wong with a groundout. DeJong pushed the lead to a 3-0 with his 200th career RBI in the third.

St. Louis is an NL-best 33-16 since the All-Star break. The Cardinals also improved to a league-best 12-2 on Mondays.
BUSY TIME
The Cardinals, thanks to back-to-back doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, played five games in a span of 51 hours, 44 minutes.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: C Matt Wieters received a cortisone shot for a mild calf strain. There is no timetable for his return. “He’s in a very optimistic place,” manager Mike Shildt said.
UP NEXT
San Francisco RHP Dereck Rodríguez (5-7, 5.49) will face RHP Jack Flaherty (8-8, 3.71) in the second game of the four-game series on Tuesday. The Giants are 5-8 in games Rodríguez has started this season. Flaherty had a career-best four-game winning streak stopped in a 4-1 loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Chiefs announce signing of McCoy to 1-year contract

Sports

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have announced the signing of two-time All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy, two days after he was released by Buffalo. The Chiefs signed Carlos Hyde in the offseason with the hope he could provide a veteran presence in a young backfield. But he was unproductive in the preseason and was traded to Houston, and Chiefs general manager Brett Veach moved quickly to sign McCoy to a $4 million contract for this season.

*********** Full story…

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are under no preconceptions that the LeSean McCoy they officially signed Monday is the same running back that was a two-time All-Pro with the Philadelphia Eagles. They don’t need him to be, either. The Chiefs have a clear-cut starter in Damien Williams and two young, capable backups in second-year pro Darrel Williams and rookie Darwin Thompson. So whatever McCoy can provide after his release by Buffalo is gravy, whether that is on-field production or locker-room leadership. “There were a lot of teams that called in and I thought this was the best fit,” McCoy said. “You see this offense, I’m just trying to fit in a small part. These guys are rolling.”

Chiefs coach Andy Reid was responsible for drafting McCoy in Philadelphia, and the six-time Pro Bowl pick wound up playing his first four seasons for him. McCoy played two more with the Eagles after Reid was fired and landed in Kansas City, then spent the past four seasons in Buffalo. But he was released over the weekend in a surprise move, and several teams immediately expressed interest, including the AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers. But the relationship McCoy had with Reid and Chiefs general manager Brett Veach — and McCoy’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus — made for a relatively quick negotiation, and McCoy was in the Chiefs’ practice facility to sign his contract Monday.

Now, the trick will be to get up to speed in time to offer some help Sunday in Jacksonville. “We’ll see what he can pick up in a short period of time, how comfortable he is with it,” Reid said. “He’s a pretty sharp kid. He’s been practicing and playing, so conditioning is not an issue.” McCoy should have some familiarity with the offense from his days with Reid in Philadelphia, but the coach acknowledged some elements have changed dramatically the past few years. The Chiefs run more run-pass options, play at a quicker pace and cater to MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes. “I’ve been in the playbook all day,” McCoy said. “Some of the terminology is different but a lot of the concepts are the same. Coach has a lot more wrinkles than before.”

Reid said he wouldn’t put McCoy “out there in a bad situation without knowing the plays,” so his package may be limited Sunday. Besides, Reid said, “we have other guys who can play, too.” That is where McCoy might just be the most valuable. The Chiefs signed Carlos Hyde in the offseason with the hope he could provide a veteran presence in the backfield. But he was unproductive in the preseason and was traded to Houston, leaving a major experience void among the four running backs the Chiefs kept on the roster. Damien Williams has the most, but that is still just 74 games over parts of five seasons and a total of 733 yards rushing. Darrel Williams has appeared in six games. Thompson and second-year pro Tremon Smith have never appeared in a game at running back — Smith is a converted cornerback.

In other words, McCoy alone has played in 67 more games than the rest of the Chiefs’ running back group. Eight times McCoy has run for more yards in a single season than the other four running backs have in their entire careers combined. He’s reached the end zone 69 times on the ground, 10 times the number of touchdowns that the rest of the Chiefs’ backfield has scored. “I think that’s a great fit for him,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said. “He is going in to a team that they’ve got a lot of high expectations and I’m sure he will be a great addition to what they’re doing. We truly wish him the best, unless we play him.”

Reid is cognizant of the stress it could bring to a tight locker room to add a running back just before the season that wasn’t around for training camp. But he was heartened by the way the rest the Chiefs embraced McCoy, and he made sure to discuss the signing with Damien Williams specifically. “It’s a great situation to be in, and really for both of them and the team,” Reid said. “They don’t know each other, but they’ll get to know each other, and I know they’ll work well together.” For good reason. While the Bills are still in the midst of a vast rebuild, the Chiefs have won three straight AFC West titles, and many have pegged them as Super Bowl favorites this season. “You got to put the work in. Nothing is given in this league. You have to earn it,” McCoy said. “But just look at the players, the success they had, the focus, and something about just being here, the players are all just good friends. Sometimes you have superstars — ‘This guy has a routine and off to the side’ — but here they’re all on the same page. It’s special.”

Notes: The Chiefs’ roster stood at 52 players, so adding McCoy did not require any additional moves. … McCoy will wear his familiar No. 25 and Thompson will switch to No. 34. … Backup TE Deon Yelder (ankle) is healthy for Week 1 after missing most of the preseason, Reid said.

2 Red Oak men arrested on separate charges

News

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Police in Red Oak arrested two men on separate charges. At around 1:25-p.m. today (Monday), 56-year old Patrick John Peirce, Sr., of Red Oak, was arrested at 1st and Coolbaugh Streets, for Harassment in the 1st degree (Threatening – a forcible Felony). He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

And, at around 10-a.m. Sunday, 47-year old Darold Eugene Bredberg, of Red Oak, was arrested on a valid Red Oak Police warrant for Forgery. Bredberg was being held in the Montgomery County Jail, on a $5,000 bond.

Iowa police say 19-year-old survives shot to the head

News

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa police say a 19-year-old is expected to recover after being accidentally shot in the head in Des Moines. Des Moines police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek told the Des Moines Register that officers responded to reports of a shooting at about 11 p.m. Saturday at a house party south of Drake University.

Parizek said officers found bullet holes inside the home that appear to show a gun was fired in one room, passed through a wall and then struck the victim in the head in another room. Parizek says a bullet was pulled from the wound. He says the victim will be fine, and it’s “kind of remarkable.”

Parizek says charges likely will be filed.

Quail population down 36 percent in DNR survey

Ag/Outdoor, News, Sports

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa’s quail population took the biggest hit of any of the game birds from the tough winter conditions. The annual roadside survey found their populations were down 36 percent from last year. D-N-R wildlife biologist, Todd Bogenschutz says impact was greatest on quail because their range is only across the southern three tiers of counties.

“The got that kind of transition — the got freezing rain, they go sleet, ice several times — and that’s just brutal on quail. Because they are not big enough to get through it and they don’t venture as far as pheasants,” according to Bogenschtuz. “We kind of fully expected that they would take a hit. I was hoping maybe not as much as they did.” He says the number of quail taken last year increased by 45 percent from the previous year. Bogenschutz says the harvest would have been much higher if more hunters had been out.

“We had about 10-thousand quail hunters last year and they shot about 50-thousand quail — which was the highest we’d seen in more than a decade,” Bogenschutz says. “So quail numbers have been good the last four or five years just like pheasants — the highest we’ve seen since the late 90s.” Bogenschutz projects the take would have been as high as a quarter million quail if the hunter numbers had been comparable to the 90’s.

He says there were around 20-thousand quail hunters back then, so there weren’t as many hunters chasing quail last year. Bogenschutz says hunter numbers for pheasant and quail had dropped off during the period when bad weather hurt their populations. And he says they are working to get younger hunters more involved in all types of hunting.

Pickleball? The sport is being played in Iowa

News, Sports

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — The popularity of a sport called “pickleball” is spreading in Iowa. Rick Kramer, director of parks and recreation in New Hampton, heard about pickleball at a recent conference. “It is so new to us that I really don’t know what it is,” Kramer says. “It is table tennis on a floor, or on the ground.” The sport combines tennis, badminton and ping-pong. It is played with a paddle and a plastic ball with holes. Enthusiasts can play indoors or outdoors on a badminton-sized court, hitting the balls over a 36-inch high net.  “Sometimes you just have to change things up a little bit,” Kramer says. “It’s for people that don’t want to do the tennis and the racketball…Another way to get (people) out in the parks, getting them enjoying the fresh air and a little exercise.”

Photo from USA Pickleball Association.org.

Kramer used social media to announce a pickleball court was available in New Hampton and six people soon showed up to play. “And then we put a picture on Facebook and got a lot of comments that people have been waiting for it,” Kramer says. The Enhance Iowa Board recently awarded nearly 22-thousand dollars in a CAT grant to a project for the construction of six pickleball courts on a currently underutilized tennis court located on the Mount Pleasant Middle School property. Iowa Economic Development Authority spokesperson, Jessica O’Riley, says it’s not the first time they’ve helped build the courts. She says they also have given an award to Keokuk for pickleball courts. “This one is sort of spearheaded by the school. They started a pickleball club that sort of caught on and they have community pickleball.”

O’Riley says it has created some unique pairings in Mt. Pleasant.  “They mentioned that the senior citizens are playing with the high schoolers and it has really brought a sense of community across the courts there,” according to O’Riley. She says the latest project has found a solution to a problem. “It was a tennis court that wasn’t getting used, but now the pickleball court is getting use and is an asset to the community instead of an eyesore,” she says.

The U-S-A Pickleball Association says the game was invented by three fathers trying to keep their kids busy on a beach in Washington state — but it soon became an adult activity. According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, more than three-point-three MILLION Americans played pickleball at least once last year — making it one of the lastest-growing sports in America.

In addition to the new court in New Hampton, the U-S-A Pickleball Association has a list of 31 other Iowa cities and towns with pickleball courts. Among them, is Atlantic, Glenwood, Neola, and Red Oak. For information about Pickleball in Atlantic, contact the Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department.