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Blake selected as new Head Boys Basketball Coach at N-V

Sports

July 16th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Greenfield) – Officials with the Nodaway Valley School District announced today (Friday), the selection of Jeremy Blake as the new head boys basketball coach at Nodaway Valley High School. Blake brings over 17 years of experience, including four years as boys basketball coach at Phoenix College in Phoenix, Arizona. Coach Blake also played basketball for the Phoenix College Bears. Most recently, Blake has been the assistant coach at Atlantic High School for the past 10 seasons. He will also be the middle school resource instructor.
“We’re very excited that Coach Blake is beginning his tenure as our next boys basketball coach,” said Gerry Miller, activities director at Nodaway Valley High School. “Through the screening and interview process it became apparent that Coach Blake possessed the qualities we were looking for to lead our program.”

Nodaway Valley CSD photo.

Field of Dreams MLB game lottery underway

Sports

July 16th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Dyersville, IA)  —  Iowans will have a chance to become eligible for tickets to next month’s Major League Baseball game at the Field of Dreams movie site through a lottery.  Anyone with an Iowa zip code can register for the lottery starting at MLB.com.  The lottery runs through next Friday and winners will be announced on August 2nd.  Winners will be eligible to purchase up to two tickets to the game.  The August 12th game features the White Sox against the Yankees.

Jefferson casino, two sports books fined by IRGC

News, Sports

July 16th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission approved fines for one casino and two sports gambling companies during its meeting Thursday. The Wild Rose Casino in Jefferson was fined 20-thousand dollars after a 20-year-old woman was allowed on the gambling floor. General Manager Travis Dvorak apologized to the commission. “First and foremost, Wild Rose Jefferson accepts full responsibility for the matter. We take responsible gaming very seriously and we take underage gaming very seriously,” according to Dvorak. “This Tuesday we hit our six-year mark. And I did look — and in the six years we have been open our admissions have been almost two-point-seven million — during the two-point-seven million, this is only the second violation that I’ve had.”

Dvorak says they should have caught the violation — but says it was a little tougher because the woman’s dad was helping her get in. “The father would go to turnstiles and distract and block, distract the security guard and block the view so the daughter could sneak in. This is something that we are trained for and we should have caught it, so we do take responsibility. But this was serious enough that the D-C-I charged the father and the county attorney prosecuted the father,” he says.  Dvorak says the father and daughter were persistent. He says the same father-daughter combination tried the same thing eight days later and the father tried to say the daughter was 22, not realizing though the casino had a copy of her driver’s license. “These things go on. These are challenges that we face, but they are our challenges and we do take them seriously,” Dvorak says.

Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission meeting, 7-15-21

Dvorak says this was during the COVID mask requirement and that also complicated the issue. He says they did some additional training with the D-C-I on making identification when people are wearing masks. The Racing and Gaming Commission also agreed to a 20-thousand dollar fine for the William Hill Sports Book after two betting machines were mistakenly left on, and a person was allowed to use the mobile sports app without in-person registration. The PointsBet Iowa sportsbook was fined 75-hundred dollars after the self-exclusion list was not properly updated. A company spokesman says they have made adjustments to meet the requirement.

Reynolds blasts ‘wokeness’ of Biden Administration

News

July 16th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Governor Kim Reynolds is urging conservative Christians to fight back against Democrats in power in Washington. Reynolds says President Biden’s Administration is pursuing a radical social agenda backed by liberal activists and corporations. “The elevation of angry, ever-shifting moral code of wokesness, bailouts, tax hikes, lock downs, open borders, closed schools,” Reynolds said. “Believe me. This is not an agenda for Iowa and it is not an agenda for our country.”

Reynolds was cheered repeatedly as she spoke at a summit in Des Moines organized by The Family Leader.

Clarinda City Council addresses ‘jobs available’ signs in residential areas

News

July 16th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Officials in a southwest Iowa city are asking residents to obey a local ordinance regarding signs in non-commercial areas. Councilman Craig Hill raised the issue during this week’s Clarinda City Council meeting, as a growing number of signs are popping up in residential areas, advertising job openings in Clarinda.  “I sympathize with the problem that they’re having, trying to find employees, but there are ordinances that people need to follow,” he says, “so I encourage the businesses or industries to come to City Hall, make sure that they know the rules, get a permit and then follow those before they just start putting things out.”

Clarinda Mayor Lisa Hull says residents must pay a fee and get a permit to placing any sort of sign on a property zoned as residential. “It looks kind of trashy if you have these signs all over everyone’s yard,” she says. Hull, who runs a manufacturing business in Clarinda, has paid fees to the city to put a flag in her yard when she’s hiring. Hull says if a sign is in the city right-of-way along the street, the city is technically liable for the sign. “We need to regulate, really, what those signs ’cause somebody could put a sign talking about their neighbor, you know, and say anything they want to say,” Hull says, “so that’s why when you put signs in your yard, especially if it’s residential, you need to get a permit so the city can regulate what those signs say.”

Officials in the city of Johnston have fielded complaints about a sign painted on a bar that, among other things, declares it the site of Trump 2024 National Headquarters and includes a slur against Vice President Harris. The Johnston City Council discussed the matter earlier this month and are considering their legal options, but say the sign is likely considered speech protected by the First Amendment.

Atlantic School Board recognizes District SBO Sarah Sheeder & area Sports media

News

July 16th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – In addition to faculty and other staff, one of the most important persons in any school district, is the School Business Officer (SBO)/Business Manager/Finance Director. The Atlantic School Board, Wednesday, recognized Finance Director Sarah Sheeder for all the work she does to make sure the district stays in the black. Board member Nicholas Hunt suggested she deserves recognition. Superintendent Steve Barber agreed.

Sheeder said she appreciates the kind words. After she presented the District’s financial reports during Wednesday’s school Board meeting, Nicholas Hunt said people might not realize what an SBO does. He asked Sheeder to briefly talk about her job, and the job of an SBO in general.

(She mentioned the Iowa Association of School Boards recently issued a statement (Data Boost_June25_2021) about “What’s happening in your business office at the end of the year.” She said this is the busiest time of year for SBO’s, getting the past school year wrapped-up and getting ready for the new year that begins next month.)

And, Atlantic Assistant High School Principal/Activity Director Andy Mitchell, Wednesday, paid tribute to two local Sports Broadcasters and one area newspaper Sports Editor, for the spreading of positive messages, especially with regard to coverage of Trojan Sports. KJAN Sports Director Chris Parks was among the names he mentioned.

Class 3A and 4A postseason baseball starts tonight

Sports

July 16th, 2021 by admin

Class 3A and 4A postseason baseball starts up tonight. District semifinals in Class 3A and first round Substate in Class 4A. Games are slated for 7pm starts. Here’s a look at area match-ups with home teams listed first.

Class 3A

Substate 7
Grinnell vs Perry
Clarke vs ADM
Boone vs Creston
Dallas Center-Grimes vs Saydel

Substate 8
Gilbert vs Greene County
Glenwood vs Harlan
Winterset vs Atlantic – ON KJAN
Denison-Schleswig vs Carroll

Class 4A

Substate 8
Norwalk vs Thomas Jefferson
Waukee vs Abraham Lincoln
Lewis Central vs DM Hoover

Backyard & Beyond 7-16-2021

Backyard and Beyond, Podcasts

July 16th, 2021 by Jim Field

LaVon Eblen visits with Cathy Booth and her grandchildren, Callie and Tyne, about the story walk display.

Play

Shenandoah man cited following accident investigation

News

July 16th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Sheriff’s Deputies in Page County have cited the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident, following an investigation into the incident. Authorities 37-year-old Aaron Duwayne Childs, of Shenandoah, was cited Thursday night, for Failure to Maintain Control and Failure to Provide proof of financial liability (Accident-related insurance). The citations were the result of a call about a vehicle in the ditch off 140th St., about seven-miles northwest of Clarinda.

Childs notified authorities shortly after the report came in. He told them he had been driving the vehicle when it went into the ditch. Childs stated that he had left the vehicle in the ditch and would get it out within a couple of hours. The investigation into this vehicle in the ditch conducted by the Sheriff’s Office indicated that Childs was operating a 2008 Nissan westbound on 140th in the 2300 block. Childs said that he swerved to miss a deer, lost control of the vehicle and went into the south ditch where the vehicle struck an embankment and damaged a driveway tube. Childs stated that he was not injured.

The vehicle sustained approximately $5,000 in damage. Damage to the driveway tube owned by Christopher Campbell of rural Clarinda, was estimated at $3,000.

Atlantic Area Chamber Ambassadors Visit with Carrie Petersen at CoffeeGirl

News

July 16th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors visited with Carrie Petersen, owner of CoffeeGirl, on Thursday, July 15th, 2021. The Ambassadors joined Carrie in celebrating the opening of her new location in Atlantic. CoffeeGirl is located on the corner of Chestnut Street and 5th Street.

Carrie started her coffee shop journey in Elk Horn in 2014. After finding success there, she decided to open a second location in Harlan in 2018 with a third location following later that year in Atlantic. Carrie left her smaller downtown location at the end of 2020 and began renovating a larger storefront with the help of property owner, Jan Kinnison. Carrie praised Jan for not only being a huge help and supporter with renovations, but for all the moral support she’s offered as well.

Coffee Girl ribbon-cutting ceremony, 7-15-21 (Chamber Photo)

Carrie and her husband worked around the clock to get the new location up and running before summer’s end. The building used to be the old post office in town. During renovations, they discovered the original flooring and tile, which happens to be 140 years old. They decided to lengthen renovation a little longer to restore the floor to its former glory.

CoffeeGirl is not just about coffee, they have many other options such as smoothies, frappes, muffins, pastries, espressos, teas, energy drinks, and more. CoffeeGirl also offers four different types of paninis and two different types of wraps for lunch.

CoffeeGirl is located at 422 Chestnut Street in Atlantic. For more information about CoffeeGirl, call 712-250-1539 or visit their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/Coffeegirl-300541443489756