United Group Insurance

House votes for new regulations of hemp-infused consumables

News

March 13th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has voted to impose new limits on hemp products, including a cap on how much T-H-C extracted from hemp can be in food or drinks sold in Iowa. The bill would require labels warning the products are intoxicating and set criminal penalties for selling hemp products with T-H-C to anyone under the age of 21. Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison, says when the state made it legal to grow and sell hemp, the legislature had no idea products with high concentrations of T-H-C would be produced.

“It is a little bit of the wild, wild west out there in Iowa right now thanks to the loopholes we did not know we created,” Holt said. The bill passed on a 79 to 16 vote. Opponents like Representative Bob Kressig of Cedar Falls say retailers that are selling hemp-infused products will see sales slide if the bill becomes law. “We have 1100 retailers in Iowa with these products, we have 3000 employees and we have 800,000 Iowans that access these products,” Kressig said.

Bill backers say some of the hemp-infused drinks and other consumables being sold in Iowa have incredibly high levels of T-H-C and it’s time to act. A similar bill was introduced in the Senate, but has not cleared a Senate committee.

Posted in News |

NAACP leaders oppose bill to ban citizen boards that review complaints about police

News

March 13th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – N-Double-A-C-P leaders are raising concerns about a bill that would ban citizen review boards in five Iowa cities that review complaints about police. Iowa/Nebraska N-Double-A-C-P president Betty Andrews says her organization helped establish four of those boards. “We believe in transparency in law enforcement and government and citizens review boards are an opportunity for a fair look-in,” Andrews says, “and making sure our law enforcement knows that we, as citizens, are watching.”

The Iowa Fraternal Order of Police says the citizens review boards in Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Coralville and University Heights would standardize the process for reviewing complaints about police. Andrews says Iowa’s citizens review boards were established after specific cases, many of which involved local police accused of racial profiling. “We’ve seen that time and time in Iowa, that call for justice and not being able to have any insight in what’s happening with law enforcement,” Andrews says.

Tuesday was N-Double-A-C-P lobbying day at the Iowa Capitol. Andrews and members of the group met with Governor Kim Reynolds and discussed several priorities. David Walker, co-chair of the Iowa/Nebraska N-Double-A-C-P’s legal redress committee, says Iowans called to jury duty today are randomly selected from Iowa driver’s license and voter registration records. “The jury pool is filled with addresses that are outdated — 11-12% and sometimes 15% they go in the wastebasket. They are never delivered. People have moved,” Wright says.

The N-Double-A-C-P proposes that the Iowa Department of Revenue forward the names and addresses of Iowans who file state income taxes to the state’s courts to improve the accuracy of jury summonses. “We’ve seen in some instances where this has been implemented in six states the number of summons that have to be issued are much fewer, costs are saved and jury panels are more diverse,” Walker said.

Andrews, the president of the Iowa-Nebraska N-Double-A-C-P, says diverse juries boost confidence in the justice system. among people of color. Andrews was recently elected to serve on the N-Double-A-C-P’s national board of directors.

Posted in News |

Atlantic Trojans Boys Track Preview

Sports

March 12th, 2024 by admin

The Atlantic Boys track team has been preparing for another great track season. They have been practicing for the past couple of weeks to prepare for their next meet. The Trojans track team have been taking advantage of this nice weather and getting outdoors for most of the practices. Atlantic team is made up of over 40 plus high schoolers and are coached this season by Abby Becker.

Coach Becker gave a recap on how last years track season went.

Coach Becker commented on how well practice has been going.

Coach Becker talked about what her team has been working on in practice.

Coach Becker broke down the roster and said there is even amount of athletes out for this years team, right around the same number as last years team.

Coach Becker said the team has few goals for this season.

The Trojans next track meet will be an indoor meet on Saturday March 16th at Northwest Missouri State University. That meet will get underway at 11:30 a.m.

Posted in Sports |

Hawkeyes Fall to Georgia in Midweek Contest

Sports

March 12th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

ATHENS, Georgia – The University of Iowa baseball team was defeated by Georgia, 10-5, on Tuesday night at Foley Field.
“We just didn’t play or pitch well enough to beat a good team like Georgia,” said head coach Rick Heller. “I thought we played hard and competed but there were just too many mistakes. We had a rough as they hit three home runs and scored five runs in the first two innings.”
The Hawkeyes and Bulldogs traded home runs in the bottom of the first and the top of the second. Georgia then broke the game open scoring four in the bottom of the second. Iowa and Georgia traded two runs apiece to make the score, 7-3.
The Hawkeyes cut the deficit to two runs in the seventh, but Georgia scored three unanswered runs to put the game away.
“Our offense fought back and cut the lead to two, said Heller. “But we couldn’t get a shutdown inning the rest of the way. Giving up five runs in the final four innings makes it tough to win. We will go to work and get better when we get home.”
Davis Cop was 2-for-3 with a home run, Reese Moore had an RBI double for the Hawkeyes and Gable Mitchell added an RBI.
Elliot Cadieux-Lanoue got the start for Iowa and fell to 3-1 on the season. He struck out two and allowed four runs on four hits.
Nine other Hawkeyes saw action out of the Bullpen in what was a staff game for Iowa. They allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits and struck out six.

Posted in Sports |

Tri-Center Trojans Boys Basketball 2023-2024 season recap

Sports

March 12th, 2024 by admin

The Tri-Center Trojans boys basketball team ended their season with a 51-49 loss to the Woodbine Tigers in the second round of the Class 1A-Region 8 bracket. The Trojans were led in scoring that night by freshman AJ Harder who had 15 points.

Tri-Center will be losing five seniors to graduation this year: Avery Reed, Christian Dahir, Zach Murley, Matt Eikenberry and Isaac Wohlhut.

Trojans coach Chad Harder talked about the close loss in the post season to Woodbine.

Coach Harder had this to say to his team in the locker room after the Woodbine game.

Coach Harder commented on how well freshman AJ Harder has played this season.

Coach Harder found out his Trojan broke a record this season by making 171 made three pointers surpassing the previous record of 165 three pointers.

Coach Harder says he doesn’t really set concrete goals for next season but says his goal is be the best you can be.

The Trojans did end the season with an overall record of 14-9 and went 9-8 in the Western Iowa Conference. The players are going to work hard over the summer and play around 20 summer league games.

Posted in Sports |

Feldkamp Receives At-Large Selection for NCAA Championships

Sports

March 12th, 2024 by admin

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State 184-pounder Will Feldkamp has received an at-large bid to the 2024 NCAA Championships March 21-23 in Kansas City, Mo.

Feldkamp, ranked No. 12 nationally by InterMat, becomes Iowa State’s ninth NCAA Qualifier for next week’s tournament. His selection marks the fourth time under head coach Kevin Dresser that nine Cyclones have qualified for the national tournament and ISU’s sixth consecutive season with at least eight qualifiers.

A Dexter Township, Mich. Native, Feldkamp will wrestle in his third NCAA Championships after competing in the tournament twice at Clarion prior to transferring to Iowa State. Feldkamp placed seventh at last season’s national tournament.

Feldkamp placed sixth at the 2024 Big 12 Championship, one spot shy of automatically qualifying, and has a 12-9 record with five falls and three tech falls this season.

The full 2024 NCAA wrestling Division I championship brackets will be revealed during a selection show streamed live on NCAA.com Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m.

 

Posted in Sports |

Dabagia Ties for 11th, Hawkeyes Place 6th at Tulane Classic

Sports

March 12th, 2024 by admin

NEW ORLEANS, La. — The University of Iowa women’s golf team fired a final round 298 – its best round of the tournament – to conclude play Tuesday at the Tulane Classic presented by Chad Brownstein. The Hawkeyes finished in sixth place (out of 17 teams) at the English Turn Golf and Country Club, posting 54-hole score of 905 (300-302-298).

Sophomore Madison Dabagia finished as the team’s low scorer at 6-over par. The Indiana native shot a one-over par 73 on Tuesday to move into a tie for 11th place, finishing with a 222 (79-70-73).  Dabagia finished the round with three birdies and 11 pars.

It is the third straight tournament that Dabagia has either tied for or led the team.  She has posted three straight top 20 finishes.

Sophomore Shannyn Vogler tied for 30th place as she shot 74 (+2) – her best round of the weekend — in the tournament’s final round. Vogler’s play was consistent throughout the tournament, carding rounds of 75-77-74 over the course of three days.

Freshman Ximena Benites, competing individually, tied for 18th place with a seven over par 223 (74-71-78).  It is tied for the best finish of Benites’ career.

Colorado State won the tournament by a single shot over Cal Poly, finishing with an 18-over par 882.  Missouri’s Fluer van Beek was the individual medalist with a three-under par 213, two shots better than Notre Dame’s Lauren Beaudreau.

UP NEXT

The Hawkeyes will have three weeks off before resuming their spring season in Tennessee at the Chattanooga Classic from April 7-9.

 

Posted in Sports |

Guthrie County Woman Charged with Insurance Fraud

News

March 12th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau report a Guthrie County woman, 54-year-old Jeannette Gerloff, of Yale, was charged with one count of Insurance Fraud – Presenting False Information (Class D Felony) and one count of Theft in the 2nd Degree (Class D Felony) following an investigation by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau.

The charges against Gerloff stem from an investigation that began in October 2023. According to criminal complaints filed by the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau, Gerloff provided false statements to her insurer as part of and in support of a claim for payment on her renters insurance policy. Gerloff obtained $2,487.34 from her insurer which she otherwise would not have been entitled to.

On March 8, 2024, Gerloff was arrested. She was released on her own recognizance after making a court appearance.

Iowans with information about insurance fraud are encouraged to contact the Iowa Insurance Division’s Fraud Bureau at 515-654-6556.

Note: A criminal charge is merely an accusation, a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Posted in News |

Iowa’s Owen Freeman is B1G Freshman of the Year

Sports

March 12th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

Iowa forward Owen Freeman has been named the Big Ten Freshman-of-the Year. The native Moline, Illinois, is averaging better than 10 and-a-half-points and six and-a-half rebounds for an Iowa team that takes an 18-13 record into this week’s Big Ten Tournament in the Twin Cities.

Freeman says his confidence grew during this season and hopes to take his game to another level next season.

Freeman says his faith has been a big part of his success on the court.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery was not surprised Freeman had immediate success.

McCaffery says Freeman had no trouble adapting to the college game.

Posted in Sports |

Miller Earns Women’s Basketball State Farm Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Sports

March 12th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

 ST. LOUIS, Mo. –Drake junior Anna Miller has been rewarded for a stellar year in the classroom and on the court as the recipient of the 2023-24 Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Basketball State Farm Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Miller highlights the six-person Scholar-Athlete First Team and is one of four Bulldogs included between First, Second, and Third Teams plus honorable mention.

The Rochester, Minn. native owns a 4.0 grade point average as a health sciences major at Drake. She is among the top overall players in The Valley with 13.2 points and a league high 9.9 rebounds per game. Miller is second in the conference with a .543 field goal percentage and has been the premier rim protector with 83 total blocks and 2.7 per game.

Other Bulldogs included on the MVC Scholar-Athlete Teams include Katie Dinnebier (Second Team), Courtney Becker (Third Team), and Anna Brown (Honorable Mention).

The criteria for nomination to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team voting matches the College Sports Communicators standards. Student-athletes must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically and must be enrolled at their school as an undergraduate of graduate student. The full list of this year’s Scholar-Athlete student-athletes is listed below.

First Team

Kiley Bess, Sr., Indiana State

Grace Boffeli, Jr., UNI

Tuti Jones, Sr./RJr., Belmont

Anna Miller, Jr., Drake

Tessa Miller, Jr., Belmont

Barbora Tomancova, Gr., Evansville

Second Team

Olivia Brown, 5Yr., Valparaiso

Kate Bullman, Sr., Illinois State

Katie Dinnebier, Jr., Drake

Ella Sawyer, 5Yr., Indiana State

Katelyn Young, Sr., Murray State

Third Team

Courtney Becker, Sr., Drake

Paige Clubb, Jr., Southern Illinois

Leah Earnest, Sr., Valparaiso

Cailyn Morgan, Sr., UNI

Callie Ziebell, Jr., Bradley

Honorable Mention

Anna Brown, Gr., Drake

Ryley Goebel, So., UNI

Kayba Laube, Jr., UNI

Adrianna Katcher, Sr., Southern Illinois

Maya McDermott, Jr., UNI

Taryn Wharton, So., UNI

Posted in Sports |