United Group Insurance

Crustless Spinach & Mushroom Quiche (3-15-2016)

Mom's Tips

March 15th, 2016 by Jim Field

  • Disposable slow cooker liner
  • Non-stick cooking spray
  • 1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
  • 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh potobello mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup chopped orange sweet pepper (1 small)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
  • 2 cups refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed, or 8 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 cups low fat milk
  • 1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 cup low fat packaged biscuit mix
  • salsa (optional)
  1. Line a 3.5 or 4 quart slow cooker with a disposable slow cooker liner.  Coat liner with cooking spray.  Press spinach with paper towels to remove liquid.
  2. In skillet cook mushrooms and sweet pepper in hot oil until tender, stirring occasionally.  Stir in spinach and cheese.
  3. In a medium bowl combine egg product,  milk, chives, salt and pepper.  Stir into mixture in skillet.  Gently fold in biscuit mix; pour into prepared cooker.
  4. Cover; cook on low heat setting for 1 3/4 to 2 3/4 hours or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean, rotating crockery liner 180 degrees halfway through cooking if possible.  Turn off cooker.  If possible, remove crockery liner.  Cool, uncovered, for 15 minutes.  Carefully lift disposable liner from cooker.  Transfer quiche to a cutting board; cut into slices.  If deired, serve with salsa.

 

Heartbeat Today 3-15-2016

Heartbeat Today, Podcasts

March 15th, 2016 by Jim Field

Jim Field visits with Speak Out For Agriculture committee members Morgan Barkley and Tim Beane on National Agriculture Day!

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IRS looking for Iowans owed money

News

March 15th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

The Internal Revenue Service says several thousand Iowans who didn’t file tax returns in 2012 are due several million dollars, but they’ll have to file that return before next month’s deadline. I-R-S spokesman Christopher Miller says there are all sorts of reasons why people may not have filed a return that year. “In some cases, people don’t file a tax return because they didn’t make enough money that year to require them to file,” Miller says. “They may not realize, however, there was probably taxes withheld from their paychecks and they can usually get that money back in the form of a refund.”

The agency estimates there are nearly 11-thousand taxpayers in Iowa who could be leaving nearly ten-million dollars in refund money on the table. They’re due back an average of 764-dollars, but for some, it could be much more.  “We really want to encourage especially students and others who didn’t earn much money to look into this situation because they may still be entitled to a tax refund,” Miller says. “Remember, there’s no penalty for filing a late return if you are due a tax refund.”

In cases where a tax return was not filed, the law provides most taxpayers with a three-year window to claim a refund. If no return is filed to claim a refund within three years, the money becomes the property of the U-S Treasury. “Not only are many people due a refund on taxes withheld for 2012 but they may also be eligible for other tax credits, like the Earned Income Tax Credit,” Miller says. “That can mean an even-bigger refund.”

The Earned Income Tax Credit for 2012 could have been worth as much as 56-hundred dollars for a family with three or four children. The deadline to file tax returns for the latest tax year and for 2012 is April 18th. Current and prior year tax forms and instructions are available at www.IRS.gov on the Forms and Publications page or by calling 800-TAX-FORM.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowans warned about new scam that’s already cost a local company millions

News

March 15th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

The Better Business Bureau is warning Iowans about a very sophisticated scam that’s already cost one company in the region millions of dollars. Jim Hegarty, president of bureau’s Omaha-Council Bluffs chapter, says the ruse could also expose thousands of workers to identity theft as the hackers disguise themselves as a company’s C-E-O in an email.  “Recently, a company’s CFO received an email asking for all of the employees’ W-2 tax statements to be sent to him in PDF format,” Hegarty says. “The CFO did the right thing. He reached out directly to the CEO saying, ‘Do you really need this from me?’ and the CEO had no idea what he was talking about.”

The con artists will hack into a company’s internal email servers and do reconnaissance for perhaps several weeks before launching their attack. “Often, it’s the result of the cyberhackers being in your system for quite some time in the background,” he says. “They sort of learn what’s going on in your organization and then they target emails specifically to try to take advantage of the knowledge they’ve gained.”

A local company, which was not identified, fell victim to the scam. “There was a CFO that received a correspondence from the company’s CEO on a really high-level deal that was occurring,” Hegarty says. “He needed money transferred in order to make it happen. Everything was to be kept confidential and the losses for this corporation were in the tens of millions of dollars.”

The best defense is having strong firewalls and remaining vigilant to check up directly on email requests that seem out of the ordinary, involve employees’ personal information or large amounts of money.

(Radio Iowa)

(Podcast) KJAN Morning Sports report, 3/15/2016

Podcasts, Sports

March 15th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field.

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(Podcast) KJAN Morning News & funeral report, 3/15/2016

News, Podcasts

March 15th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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Skyscan forecast & weather data for Atlantic: 3/15/16

Weather

March 15th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Today: Patchy dense fog possible thru 8-a.m. over parts of western/southwest IA; Isolated showers and thunderstorms, otherwise Mostly cloudy. High near 60. NW @ 10-20 w/gusts to near 30. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight: Isolated showers ending late. Gradually becoming mostly clear. Low 34. NW @ 15-25.
Wednesday: P/Cldy to Cldy & windy. High near 53. NW @ 15-30 w/gusts to near 40.
Wed. Night: Partly cloudy & breezy. Low around 34. W @ 15-30.
Thursday: P/Cldy to Cldy & windy. High around 47.
Friday: P/Cldy to Cldy. High near 44.

Monday’s High in Atlantic was 74. The 24-hour Low ending at 7-a.m. today was 45. We received .32” rain overnight into early this morning. Last year on this date, our High in Atlantic was 73, and the low was 34. The All-time Record High in Atlantic on this date was 79 in 2003. The Record Low was 0 in 1944.

Patchy dense fog possible over parts of west/s.w. IA this morning

Weather

March 15th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT-PAGE COUNTIES
653 AM CDT TUE MAR 15 2016

…PATCHY DENSE FOG EARLY THIS MORNING…

BE PREPARED FOR PATCHY DENSE FOG EARLY THIS MORNING ACROSS PORTIONS OF EXTREME EASTERN NEBRASKA AND WESTERN IOWA. VISIBILITIES COULD RANGE 1/4 TO 1/2 MILE IN SOME AREAS. A COLD FRONT MOVING IN FROM THE WEST WILL RAPIDLY IMPROVE VISIBILITIES THROUGH 8 AM.

Contest: where is Iowa’s best pizza? – Adair pizzeria on the list of 8 nominees

News

March 15th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

A contest is underway to determine the location of Iowa’s best pizza. Eight restaurants around the state were selected for the “March Madness” style showdown. They are Zipp’s Pizzaria in Adair, Great Plains Sauce and Dough Company in Ames, Santa Maria Winery in Carroll, Mabe’s Pizza in Decorah, Fong’s Pizza in Des Moines, A & A Pagliai’s Pizza in Iowa City, P’s Pizza House in Le Mars, and Zeno’s Pizza in Marshalltown. The Iowa Tourism Office is coordinating the tournament and spokesperson Jessica O’Riley explains how the eight restaurants were selected.

pizza“We asked on Facebook for favorite locations. We also did some Trip Advisor research and others were called out by Midwest Living or other publications as superb pizza,” O’Riley said. Iowans can vote for their favorite pizza on Travel Iowa’s Facebook page. The eight restaurants face off in four head-to-head battles with a champion crowned on Friday, March 25. The winning restaurant will boast the title of “Iowa’s Best Pizza” place, but the businesses’ customers will win something as well.

“The winning restaurant will offer a $3 off coupon for people to go to the restaurant and experience the pizza themselves,” O’Riley said. Last year, the Iowa Tourism Office organized a similar contest to determine the location of Iowa’s best pie. The winner was a cherry pie served by Crouse Cafe in Indianola.

(Radio Iowa)

KJAN listening area forecast from the NWS: 3/15/16

Weather

March 15th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

356 AM CDT TUE MAR 15 2016

EARLY THIS MORNING…WIDESPREAD LIGHT SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS. NORTHWEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION NEAR 100 PERCENT.

TODAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. BREEZY…COOLER. HIGH IN THE LOWER 60S. NORTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH INCREASING TO NORTHWEST 15 TO 25 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS 20 PERCENT.

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS IN THE EVENING…THEN MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS BEFORE MIDNIGHT. PARTLY CLOUDY AFTER MIDNIGHT. BREEZY…COLDER. LOW IN THE MID 30S. WEST WIND 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 20 PERCENT.

WEDNESDAY…SUNNY…BREEZY. HIGH IN THE MID 50S. WEST WIND 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH.

THURSDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. BREEZY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 40S. WEST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST 20 TO 25 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH.

FRIDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN. HIGH IN THE MID 40S.