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Atlantic’s Engler qualifies for State XC

Sports

October 20th, 2021 by admin

Atlantic senior Drew Engler finished 9th at the 3A state qualifying meet at Winterset on Wednesday and will advance on to the state meet next Friday. Aidan Ramsey of Dallas Center-Grimes was the individual champ with a time of 15:31 and the Mustangs won the team title as well. North Polk and ADM were the other two state qualifying teams in 2nd and 3rd.

Boys Team Scores

  1. Dallas Center-Grimes 33 (State Qualifier)
  2. North Polk 61 (State Qualifier)
  3. ADM 75 (State Qualifier)
  4. Kuemper Catholic 109
  5. Winterset 113
  6. Atlantic 173
  7. Boone 230
  8. Harlan 233
  9. Creston 258
  10. Perry 270
  11. Webster City 286
  12. Clarke 293
  13. Saydel 393

Individual Top 15

  1. Aidan Ramsey, DC-G 15:31
  2. Zach Sporaa, North Polk
  3. Cooper Greenslade, ADM
  4. Tate McDermott, DC-G
  5. Max Sporaa, North Polk
  6. Michael Pottebaum, Kuemper Catholic
  7. Jacob Ewers, DC-G
  8. Quinton Kimrey, ADM
  9. Drew Engler, Atlantic
  10. Ben Every DC-G
  11. Owen Pries, DC-G
  12. Alik McIlravy, North Polk
  13. Blake Freese, Winterset
  14. Jacob Greving, Kuemper Catholic
  15. AJ Angus, DC-G

Full results HERE

Posted in Sports |

Rush, Pellett qualify for 3A Girls State Cross Country (Updated)

Sports

October 20th, 2021 by admin

The Atlantic girls cross country team will send two individuals to the state cross country meet next week in Fort Dodge. Ava Rush finished 5th and Claire Pellett 11th at the state qualifying meet in Winterset on Wednesday. Atlantic finished 6th in the team race. The top 3 teams and top 15 individuals get to advance to the state meet. Here’s a look at the results.

3A SQM at Winterset

Girls Team Scores

  1. Dallas Center-Grimes 56 (State Qualifier)
  2. North Polk 65 (State Qualifier)
  3. Harlan 70 (State Qualifier)
  4. ADM 111
  5. Winterset 122
  6. Atlantic 128
  7. Creston 1192
  8. Perry 243
  9. Kuemper Catholic 264
  10. Boone 267
  11. Saydel 319
  12. Webster City 326

Girls Top 15

  1. Geneva Timmerman, ADM 19:10
  2. Lindsey Sonderman, Harlan
  3. Kaia Bieker, Harlan
  4. Liza Schaffer, North Polk
  5. Ava Rush, Atlantic
  6. Dyllan Kaufman, Winterset
  7. Abby Bell, North Polk
  8. Hannah Little, DC-G
  9. Meredith McDermott, DC-G
  10. Maddy Stevens, DC-G
  11. Claire Pellett, Atlantic
  12. Riley Degonia, Creston
  13. Aleah McBee, North Polk
  14. Skyler Blessman, DC-G
  15. Abbey Angus, DC-G

Full results HERE.

Posted in Sports |

Class 1A and 2A cross country teams head to State Qualifying Meets Thursday

Sports

October 20th, 2021 by admin

State Cross Country Qualifying Meets will be contested on Thursday in Class 1A and 2A. In Class 2A the top three teams and top 15 individual place winners will qualify for the state meet. In Class 1A the top two teams and top 10 individual place winners will qualify for the state meet from each site. Qualifying teams may substitute and run a different lineup at the state meet.

In Class 2A area teams will be running at Southeast Valley. Teams at that site include: Clarinda, Clear Lake, Des Moines Christian, East Sac County, GCGR, Greene County, Pocahontas Area, Red Oak, Shenandoah, South Central Calhoun, Southeast Valley, Treynor, Underwood, Van Meter, Woodward-Granger.

In Class 1A most area teams will be running at Panorama and Southwest Valley. At Panora teams running will be ACGC, AHSTW, Audubon, Boyer Valley, CAM, Coon Rapids-Bayard, Exira-EHK, IKM-Manning, Logan-Magnolia, Madrid, Nodaway Valley, Ogden, Orient-Macksburg, Panorama, South Hamilton, West Harrison, West Monona, Whiting, Woodward Academy.

At Corning teams will be: Bedford, Central Decatur, Diagonal, East Mills, East Union, Essex, Fremont-Mills, Griswold, Heartland Christian, Iowa School for the Deaf, Lamoni, Lenox, Mount Ayr, Riverside, Sidney, Southwest Valley, St. Albert, Stanton, Tri-Center.

All meets are scheduled to get underway at 4:00 p.m. See all the sites and assignments at the links below.

CLASS 2A

CLASS 1A

Posted in Sports |

Grinnell College National Poll finds Republicans lack trust in doctors, scientists

News

October 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A new Grinnell College National Poll finds President Biden’s support among independent voters has fallen and his overall approval rating is just 37 percent. The poll was conducted by Ann Selzer, who does The Des Moines Register’s Iowa Poll. Grinnell College political science professor Peter Hanson, the poll’s director, says Biden’s approval rating is driven by economic concerns.

“We have 52% of Americans who believe the economy will be doing worse in 12 months than it is today. Now, that’s a turn around. In previous editions of our poll we found Americans to be more confident,” Hanson says. “…I think that’s rooted in the fact that there’s been a lot of concerns about inflation, continuing concerns about the job market as Covid continues to have this ripple effect throughout our economy.”

The poll found if the 2024 election were held today, it would end in a tie between Biden and former President Donald Trump. Seventy-one percent of Republicans who responded to the Grinnell College Poll said they feel democracy is facing a major threat, and 38 percent of Republicans nationally said they’re not confident the votes cast in the 2022 election will be counted correctly.

“Consistent with the broader mission of our poll, we asked a set if questions designed to assess the health of American democracy,” Hanson says, “so we asked people how they believe our democracy is doing and then different questions being who in society they trust and what some of their attitudes are about different kinds of freedoms they have.”

Only seven percent of all the Americans surveyed said they had confidence in the federal government’s ability to solve problems and only a quarter expressed confidence in their own state’s governor. The Grinnell College National Poll found large majorities of Democrats trust doctors and scientists, but fewer than a third of Republicans trust scientists and 48 percent of Republicans expressed trust in doctors.

Posted in News |

Former SE Polk teacher given 24 years for enticing student into having sex

News

October 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A former Southeast Polk High School teacher is sentenced to 24 years in prison for enticing a student into having sex with him. Thirty-nine-year-old Christopher Smith, formerly of Pleasant Hill, pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor.

Court documents show Smith used his cellphone and the internet in 2020 to contact a minor student while he worked full-time for Southeast Polk.

The information says he enticed the minor to engage in sex and also recorded sexual activity with the student on his cellphone. Smith will have to register as a sex offender once he is released from prison.

Posted in News |

Iowa’s governor proposes changes in job-search requirements for Iowans receiving unemployment

News

October 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds plans to ask the Iowa legislature to approve new job-search requirements for Iowans who qualify for unemployment benefits. Reynolds is proposing that Iowans receiving unemployment checks be required to check in weekly with a state worker about job openings in their area and — with the exception of union members — unemployed Iowans will have to prove they’ve applied for at least four jobs.  “The agency’s primary focus will be on rapid re-employment,” Reynolds says. Reynolds says some of the changes will require legislative approval.

Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend says her agency needs a re-set since Iowa is in the midst of a workforce shortage. “Our goal therefore must be to return unemployment to its original mission,” Townsend says, “a short term, transitory program with a focus on re-employment as quickly as possible.”

Iowa businesses have listed more than 86-thousand job openings on the agency’s website. Townsend says nearly 68-thousand Iowans are receiving unemployment benefits today. Townsend plans to hire 18 people to counsel unemployed Iowans and she will seek to redefine what qualifies as work search activities that are required of Iowans receiving jobless benefits.

“Utilizing new technology and additional career planners, IWD will provide one on one contact on a weekly basis to those on unemployment to help them find that next job in the shortest time possible,” Townsend says. “…(The agency) will compare individual work history with labor market information to proactively and systemically match claimants with open positions in their community.”

Townsend says the weekly check-ins would be able to happen on-line or in-person at 18 Iowa Workforce Development locations around the state. Reynolds and Townsend made the announcement this (Wednesday) morning during a news conference staged on the manufacturing floor of an Adel business. Senator Nate Boulton, the top Democrat on the Senate Labor Committee, says the state should focus on helping small businesses and expanding child care rather than having the government assign Iowans to specific jobs.

Posted in News |

Law Enforcement in Iowa mourns the loss of a State Trooper

News

October 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa – The men and women of the Iowa State Patrol and Department of Public Safety, Wednesday, said they “are heartbroken to announce the loss of….” Trooper Ted Benda ISP #313. Trooper Benda was involved in a single-vehicle crash on Thursday, October 14th while in route to assist the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office with a wanted suspect. He succumbed to his injuries Wednesday (today), October 20, 2021.

Trooper Benda joined the DCI in 2005, assigned to the Special Enforcement Operations Bureau in Marquette.  He transferred to the State Patrol in 2016, assigned to District 8 in Mason City and most recently working out of the District 10 office in Oelwein.  He is not only a valuable part of the Department of Public Safety, but he was more importantly a loving husband, father, son, and brother. Trooper Benda leaves behind his wife, Holly, and their four young children along with many family, friends, and colleagues.

Trooper Ted Benda ISP Badge #313

The Patrol asks you to “Please keep the Benda family in your thoughts and prayers as they face this unimaginable loss. “

Posted in News |

RICHARD HARRY BURMEISTER, 84, of Harlan (Memorial Visitation 11/4/21)

Obituaries

October 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

RICHARD HARRY BURMEISTER, 84, of Harlan, died Tue., Oct. 19th, in Harlan. A Memorial Visitation for RICHARD BURMEISTER will be held at the Burmeister-Johnnsen Funeral Home in Harlan, on Nov. 4th, from 3-until 8-p.m.

Burial of ashes will be in the Harlan Cemetery.

Online condolences may be left at www.burmeisterjohannsen.com

RICHARD HARRY BURMEISTER is survived by:

His wife – Sharon Burmeister, of Harlan.

His daughter – Jean (Randy) Feldman, of Harlan.

His son – Doug (Michelle) Burmeister, of Harlan.

His brothers – Jerome (Rose) Burmeister, of Ft. Dodge; James Burmeister, of Harlan, & Philip Burmeister, of Mt. Ayr.

5 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren, other relatives and friends.

Posted in Obituaries |

Five Hawkeye football players named to midseason All-America teams

Sports

October 20th, 2021 by admin

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Five members of the University of Iowa football team have been recognized on college football’s midseason All-America teams.

Junior center Tyler Linderbaum, previously named to the Associated Press team, is also listed as first-team center by Sporting News, CBS Sports, and The Athletic.

Senior defensive back Matt Hankins, also named first-team by the Associated Press, is named first team by CBS Sports and second team by The Athletic. Senior defensive back Riley Moss is a first team selection by Sporting News.

Sophomore punter Tory Taylor is recognized as a first-team selection by the Athletic, while junior linebacker Jack Campbell is a second-team choice by The Athletic.

Linderbaum (6-foot-3, 290-pounds) is one of 12 semifinalists for the 2021 Rotary Lombardi Award. He has started 28 consecutive games at center for the Hawkeyes after playing as a defensive lineman as a true freshman. Iowa has posted a 22-6 record during that span. Iowa’s 6-1 record to start the 2021 season includes wins over three ranked opponents.

The Solon, Iowa, native was tabbed preseason first-team All-Big Ten and preseason first-team All-America by five media outlets, including Associated Press, The Athletic, Athlon Sports, Phil Steele and Sporting News. Linderbaum was also named to the Big Ten Conference preseason honors list, as well as the Rimington Trophy and Outland Trophy watch lists.

Hankins (6-0, 185) has started 34 straight games in the Iowa secondary and this season has recorded three interceptions and 25 tackles. He was named Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week, the Rose Bowl Game Big Ten Conference Player of the Week and the Bronko Nagurski national Defensive Player of the Week following Iowa’s 23-20 win over No. 4 Penn State.

Hankins had five tackles and a fourth quarter interception in the win over Penn State. He had two interceptions earlier in the season in Iowa’s 27-17 win at No. 9 Iowa State. Hankins has six career interceptions and 193 career tackles.

Moss (6-1, 194) is tied for the national lead with four interceptions, despite missing Iowa’s most recent game due to injury. Moss had two interceptions returns for touchdowns in Iowa’s opening win over Indiana. He has 10 career interceptions, with three returned for touchdowns.

Taylor (6-4, 231) has been at his best in the biggest games. For the season he is averaging 46.2 yards on 43 punts, with 21 of those landing inside the opponent 20-yard line. Six of nine punts against No. 4 Penn State were inside the 20, including four inside the five-yard line. In Iowa’s win at Iowa State Taylor dropped three of his punts inside the 10-yard line.

Campbell (6-5, 243) earned national Player of the Week honors when he recorded 18 tackles in Iowa’s win over Colorado State. Campbell leads the Hawkeyes with 67 tackles. He returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown at Iowa State and his fumble recovery against Colorado State led directly to a Hawkeye touchdown.

Iowa is idle this weekend. The Hawkeyes return to action Oct. 30 at Wisconsin (11 a.m., ESPN).

Posted in Sports |

CONNIE LEE LEHAN, 74, of Minden (Visitation 10/26/2021)

Obituaries

October 20th, 2021 by Jim Field

CONNIE LEE LEHAN, 74, of Minden died Tuesday, October 19th at home. A visitation with family for CONNIE LEE LEHAN will be held on Tuesday, October 26th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Avoca, with a Rosary held at 7:00 p.m. that evening.

Burial will be in the Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Defiance at a later date.

CONNIE LEE LEHAN  is survived by:

Sons: Todd Lehan of Minden. Mark (Elizabeth) Lehan of Papillion, NE. Troy Lehan of Omaha, NE. Matthew (Margarita) Lehan of Madison, WI.

6 Grandchildren

Posted in Obituaries |