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Plea hearing & sentencing date set for former Anita teacher accused of sexual exploitation

News

August 17th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

(corrects date of hearing to Sept. 4th)

A judge in the case of a former Anita Community School District teacher charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, has set a plea and sentencing date for September 4th, at 9-a.m.  Fourth District Court Judge Kathleen Kilnoski made the decision on Monday, during a Pre-Trial conference.  The trial for 65-year old William Glenn Foulkes had been scheduled to take place on July 10th, but on June 11th, Judge Jeffrey Larson agreed to extend the date until September 25th, at 9:30-a.m. in the Cass County Courthouse. Cass County Attorney Dan Feistner said the extension allowed attorney’s for both parties to continue any necessary review, preparation and discussions associated with the case.

Foulkes pled Not Guilty in March, to charges he sexually exploited a minor female over a period of 13-months. A former long-time Math teacher at the Anita High School, and Anita Elementary School, Foulkes was arrested March 15th on a felony warrant for Sexual Exploitation by a School Employee, and 49-Aggravated Misdemeanor counts of Sexual Exploitation by a School Employee. If convicted on all of the charges, he faces a maximum time of 103 years in prison and fines of more than $300,000. Foulkes resigned from his teaching position in November 2010. He’s accused of engaging in sexual conduct on numerous occasions with a minor female while teaching the student in a math program from August 2009 until November 11, 2010.

Posted in News |

Fewer Anterless Deer Tags will be Available this Season

Ag/Outdoor, Sports

August 17th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Hunting licenses for deer went on sale for the first time Wednesday and a D-N-R spokesman says the number of “deer tags” available is dropping in some areas. Deer research biologist Tom Litchfield, says efforts to reduce the deer herd by increasing the number of female or antlerless deer taken have been successful. “Back in 2003 the availability of antlerless licenses was greatly increased in Iowa, and now in 2012 approximately two-thirds of the counties in Iowa are at the target levels, which was to return deer populations back to the mid to late 1990 levels,” Litchfield explained. Litchfield says the drop in deer numbers will be reflected in the available licenses.

“There’s going to be approximately 13-thousand fewer antlerless only licenses available, and these reductions all occurred in eastern Iowa counties — 20 eastern counties — so there will be fewer antlerless licenses available in those counties,” Litchfield says. He says the cutback is a direct result of the success of the plan to harvest more does to help bring down the overall deer population. “It’s do to our deer herd declining in numbers and being at goal throughout most of the state,” Litchfield says. There will also be a change in the combination of licenses available.

“Starting this year we’re starting to go back to the way regulations were prior to 2006, so for 2012, a hunter who purchases an early muzzleloader license will not be able to purchase an antlerless only license in either of the two shotgun seasons,” according to Litchfield. Not all counties are down to their goals for deer numbers, so Litchfield says the hunting numbers will vary based on regions.”Hunters in the northwestern and the north-central portions of the state will see deer numbers similar to what they saw last year, possibly a few more since we had such a nice mild winter,” Litchfield says. “Throughout the remainder of the state — eastern Iowa, southern Iowa, central Iowa — by and large, what hunters will see are fewer deer than last year because the herd is still declining.”

The D-N-R is also eliminating the Thanksgiving weekend antlerless season and cutting the late January season by one week. You can find out more about the deer hunting seasons and where to buy a license on the D-N-R’s website at: www.iowadnr.gov.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, Sports |

Hotline sees uptick in calls due to continued drought

Ag/Outdoor, News, Weather

August 17th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

While we’ve seen a few breaks from the hot, dry weather, the worst drought in decades is stressing some of us out and calls to the Iowa Concern Hotline are rising. The service offers information referral, a friendly ear and legal advice, if necessary. Hotline director Margaret VanGinkle says questions lately are about how to handle household finances as prices rise due to the drought. “What happens if we have to pay more for milk and groceries and then the price of gas has gone up, too,” VanGinkle says. “Where am I going to find funds to pay for that when my budget is already pretty tight now?”

Forecasters don’t expect a break from the current weather pattern until October, but some fear the drought could continue well beyond this fall and into next year. Van Ginkle says callers are worried about the potential for a prolonged drought. She says, “If there is a shortage of rural water and they’re being asked to cut back on water with their livestock, how does that effect the operation especially on those really hot days, just a concern that might happen.”

Once known as the Rural Concern Hotline, the service was launched by the Iowa State University extension in 1985 to offer advice to struggling farmers during the Farm Crisis. As the name now implies, VanGinkle says the Iowa Concern Hotline is not exclusive to the agriculture community. The number is 800-447-1985. Phone calls are free and confidential.

(Radio Iowa)

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News, Weather |

Pork producer asks president to boost protein on school lunch menus

Ag/Outdoor

August 17th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

The man at the State Fair who handed President Obama a pork chop says he asked the president to boost the amount of protein required in school lunches. Current U-S-D-A guidelines call for school lunches to account for one-third of the recommended daily intake of protein and Greg Lear of Spencer, the president-elect of the Iowa Pork Producers, says kids need more than that. “Because 1.5 ounces is not enough protein for grade school kids when, for 30-40 percent of these kids, it is their major meal of the day,” Lear says. Lear calls protein “brain food” and he says students need bigger portions of it in their school lunch.

“If he’s going to eliminate something, eliminate carbs or other processed sugars,” Lear says. “And I told him the future of our kids are at stake.” Lear was volunteering at the Iowa Pork Producers stand on the fairgrounds Monday evening when President Obama visited the Fair. Obama took one of the chops Lear offered him, then Lear got to talk to the president. “First thing I brought up I thanked him for the $100 million purchase of pork to use in school lunch programs and this kind of stuff,” Lear says. “…But also told him it was a drop in the bucket for the losses that appear to be coming at the independent hog producers in Iowa and the United States and that we needed more help.”

Lear also asked the president to support a temporary suspension of the Renewable Fuels Standard that requires a certain level of ethanol production. Lear says that would help pork producers struggling with high feed costs by freeing up some of the corn supply for livestock rather than ethanol.

(Radio Iowa)

Posted in Ag/Outdoor |

NWS Forecast for Cass & area Counties: Fri., Aug. 17th 2012

Weather

August 17th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

339 AM CDT FRI AUG 17 2012

TODAY…SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 70S. NORTH WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW IN THE UPPER 40S. EAST WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

SATURDAY…PARTLY SUNNY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH IN THE MID 70S. TEMPERATURE STEADY OR SLOWLY FALLING IN THE AFTERNOON. SOUTH WIND NEAR 5 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 40 PERCENT.

SATURDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE LOWER 50S. NORTH WIND NEAR 5 MPH THROUGH MIDNIGHT BECOMING LIGHT.

SUNDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 70S. NORTHWEST WIND NEAR 10 MPH.

SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 50S. HIGH IN THE LOWER 80S.

Posted in Weather |

Rams Plan to Stay Conservative for Game 2

Sports

August 17th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Coach Jeff Fisher might add a few more plays to the game plan for the St. Louis Rams’ second preseason game. However, players know they can be a lot better, too. Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis said it’s not about the calls, but how they’ll be executed in the Governor’s Cup game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night. Running back Steven Jackson said an offense only needs one play to score. The Rams were dominated on both sides of the ball in a 38-3 rout at Indianapolis last week in a matchup of two-win teams that tied for the NFL’s worst record in 2011. Jackson noted the Rams were unbeaten in the preseason last year and it did not serve as a launching pad for the regular season. Jackson, like the rest of the team, wants to see improvements all over whether or not the offense is vanilla. Fisher said most players will probably go a little deeper into the game, perhaps a series or so. But he said the approach still would be pretty conservative.

Posted in Sports |

Cards C Molina out again with tightness in back

Sports

August 17th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was held out of the starting lineup for the second game in a row Thursday night because of tightness in his back. Molina, who is hitting .312 with 16 homers and 54 RBIs, is hoping to return to the lineup sometime this weekend. The Cardinals host Pittsburgh in a three-game series beginning today (Friday). Molina felt discomfort prior to Tuesday’s game but played the first eight innings before he was replaced by Tony Cruz. Cruz was in the starting lineup Thursday, batting seventh against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Posted in Sports |

Goldschmidt, Young HR in 9th for 2-1 D-backs wins

Sports

August 17th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt and Chris Young homered on consecutive pitches from Jason Motte with one out in the ninth inning, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks over the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 Thursday night. With St. Louis ahead 1-0 on Allen Craig’s RBI single in the fifth, Motte (4-4) struck out Miguel Montero leading off the ninth. Goldschmidt, who hit a 456-foot homer in Wednesday’s 5-2 loss, fouled off three full-count pitches, then drove a pitch to center for his 18th home run of the season. Young sent the next pitch over the left-field wall for his 12th homer. David Hernandez (2-2) pitched a perfect eighth, and J.J. Putz finished with a 1-2-3 ninth for his 14th consecutive save and 23rd in 27 chances overall.

Posted in Sports |

Iowa early News Headlines: Fri., Aug. 17th 2012

News

August 17th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An economic index for Iowa, Nebraska and eight other states has dropped again, and an economist says the drought is “dampening economic activity across the region.” Creighton University economist Ernie Gross says his Rural Mainstreet Index dropped further into negative territory this month, hitting 47.1, compared with 47.9 in July and 56.7 in June.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Anthrax experts and veterinarians are warning ranchers to watch their herds for sudden deaths after more than 100 animals died in anthrax outbreaks on ranches in Colorado and Texas in the past two weeks. Anthrax outbreaks happen occasionally in livestock herds in the U.S., usually west of the Mississippi River.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An attorney for an Iowa researcher is defending his client’s decision to force a group for which she volunteered to remove hundreds of articles she wrote about unsolved murder cases from its website. Attorney Kirk Hartung said yesterday that Nancy Bowers of Ames is the owner to the copyrights of more than 300 articles that she wrote and uploaded to Iowa Cold Cases, which chronicles Iowa’s unsolved homicides and disappearances.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa defensive lineman John Sawhill is leaving the Hawkeyes because of an injury during preseason practice. Coach Kirk Ferentz said yesterday that the senior from Jefferson joined the program earlier this summer after playing for Drake while he earned his bachelor’s degree. Iowa opens the season September 1st against Northern Illinois at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Posted in News |

Iowa’s Sawhill leaves program after injury

Sports

August 16th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa defensive lineman John Sawhill is leaving the Hawkeyes because of an injury during preseason practice. Coach Kirk Ferentz says Thursday the senior from Jefferson joined the program earlier this summer after playing for Drake while he earned his bachelor’s degree. Ferentz says Sawhill had complications from a prior injury and decided to forgo his remaining year of eligibility to work in the private sector. Iowa opens the season on Sept. 1 against Northern Illinois at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Posted in Sports |