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House votes to protect landowners from lawsuits filed by trespassers

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 9th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa House has endorsed the idea of new protections for property owners when trespassers get injured. It means a property owner — or the person renting the property — is not liable for injuries trespassers may suffer if the property’s in good condition. Representative Mary Wolfe, a Democrat from Clinton, supported the bill. “What we’re trying to do here makes sense,” she says. “…I think it clarifies some gray areas in the law. I think it can protect homeowners, which is what we want to do.” But critics, like Representative Kurt Swaim of Bloomfield, say the bill does not protect the accidental trespasser.

“That’s the mother that’s taking her child out on Halloween night. That’s a hunter that inadvertantly gets on the wrong land,” Swaim says. “…The person who gets on the wrong land has some fault, but we don’t bar that person from any recovery.” Recovery is another way of suing for money to cover injuries or “pain and suffering.” The bill passed on a 68 to 30 vote. Only three members of the Iowa House spoke during debate of the legislation — and all three are lawyers.

(O.Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

State high school graduation rates drop slightly

News

March 9th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Information released Thursday by the Iowa Department of Education shows the state four-year graduation rate dropped by one-half percent in 2011. Jay Pennington is chief of the department’s Information and Analysis Bureau. “I think it is concerning that it dropped a half percent from this year to last year. This year’s class of 2011 is above the class of 2009. So that’s good, I think it means that we need to, not just as a state, but schools and districts to get as many kids as possible to complete within four years,” Pennington says. The statewide four-year graduation rate is 88-point-three- percent, compared to 88-point-eight-percent in 2010, and 87-point-three-percent in 2009. Locally, Atlantic’s graduation rate was just over 88%; AHST 86%; Anita 100%; Audubon 93%; Exira 83%; Griswold and Nodaway Valley 98%, and Harlan 95%.

“The state Board of Education has a stated goal of 95-percent of students graduating. I think that 95-percent is an ambitious goal, that goal was set several years ago, in the meantime the formula has changed slightly since that formula was set,” Pennington says. He says Iowa still has one of the top graduation rates in the nation. Five of the 10 largest school districts in the state — Sioux City, Waterloo, Iowa City, Council Bluffs and Cedar Rapids — saw an increase in graduation rates.

“Seeing those larger districts with an increase in percentage is good to see, I think we need to dig in a little bit more and see the majority of districts that did see a decline and see what kind of supports are needed there,” Pennington says. Storm Lake has the lowest four-year graduation rate at 57-point-four percent. Sigourney had the next lowest at 63-percent. The state saw virtually no change in the annual dropout rate and an increase in the statewide graduation rate for students who took an extra year to finish high school.

(Dar Danielson/Radio Iowa)

See the complete list of graduation rates on this Radio Iowa link:

http://www.radioiowa.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/2010-2011GraduationDropoutRates.xls

Posted in News |

ROBINA NORA ELMQUIST, 91, of Exira (Svcs at a later date)

Obituaries

March 9th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

ROBINA NORA ELMQUIST, 91, of Exira, died Thu., March 8th, at the Atlantic Nursing & Rehab Center. Celebration of Life services for ROBINA ELMQUIST will be held at a later date. Kessler Funeral Home in Exira has the arrangements.

Robina Elmquist is survived by:

Her sons – Dale (Sharon) Elmquist, of Atlantic, and Donald (Julia) Elmquist, of Albuquerque, NM.

6 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, her in-laws, other relatives and friends.

Posted in Obituaries |

MABLE RICHTER, 96, of Anita & formerly of Adair (Svcs. 3-10-12)

Obituaries

March 9th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

MABLE RICHTER, 96, of Anita (& formerly of Adair), died Thu., March 8th, at the Colonial Manor in Anita. Funeral services for MABLE RICHTER will be held 1-p.m. Sat., March 10th, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Adair. Hockenberry Family Care Funeral Home in Adair has the arrangements.

Visitation at the funeral home is from 6-7:30-p.m. Friday, March 9th, with a Rosary at 5:30-p.m.

Burial will be in the St. John’s Catholic Cemetery.

Mable Richter is survived by:

Her daughter – Mary Jahnke, of Arvada, CO.

Posted in Obituaries |

Red Oak man arrested this morning on drug charges

News

March 9th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

A Red Oak man was arrested early this (Friday) morning on a trio of drug charges. Red Oak Police report 31-year old Luke Daniel Rinehart was taken into custody in the 200 block of Short Street just before 1-a.m., on charges that include Possession of Marijuana, Possession of a Schedule 2 Narcotic and Violation of the State Drug Tax Stamp. Rinehart was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $10,000 bond.

Posted in News |

(Podcast) Skyscan Forecast: March 09, 2012

Podcasts, Weather

March 9th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Here’s the Freese-Notis 4-day forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area….

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (919.3KB)

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in Podcasts, Weather |

Nat’l. Weather Service Forecast for Cass & area Counties: Fri., March 9 2012

Weather

March 9th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

TODAY…SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 50S. EAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE SOUTHEAST IN THE AFTERNOON.

TONIGHT…CLEAR. LOW IN THE LOWER 30S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

SATURDAY…SUNNY…BREEZY…WARMER. HIGH IN THE MID 60S. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 25 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. NOT AS COOL. LOW IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

SUNDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS IN THE MORNING… THEN SHOWERS LIKELY AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE MID 50S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 60 PERCENT.

SUNDAY NIGHT…CLOUDY WITH A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF SHOWERS. LOW IN THE MID 40S.

MONDAY…CLOUDY. HIGH IN THE MID 60S.

Posted in Weather |

Leaders: Ferentz hire complied with nepotism rules

Sports

March 9th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Leaders of a University of Iowa oversight committee are satisfied Coach Kirk Ferentz didn’t violate school policy when he created a job opening on his staff that was filled with his son. Vice president for human resources Susan Buckley and associate provost Tom Rice said through a spokesman Thursday the hiring of Brian Ferentz as offensive line coach “was in full compliance with all university policies.” Buckley and Rice chair a committee charged with enforcing rules meant to ban nepotism.

Athletics director Gary Barta told Buckley it was his decision to hire Brian Ferentz, and Kirk Ferentz didn’t participate in the interview. But Brian Ferentz said Wednesday he left the New England Patriots because he couldn’t say no to his father, who had reassigned an assistant to create the opening.

Posted in Sports |

Brown lifts Texas to 71-65 win over No. 25 Iowa St

Sports

March 9th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Texas knows enough to rely on J’Covan Brown when the Longhorns need a basket. The Big 12’s leading scorer converted a go-ahead three-point play with 36.3 seconds left, and the Longhorns held on to beat No. 25 Iowa State 71-65 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Brown finished with 23 points for the Longhorns (20-12), who reached the 20-win plateau for the 13th consecutive season and likely removed themselves from the NCAA tournament bubble. Texas will face fifth-ranked Missouri in the semifinals Friday night.

Royce White had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Cyclones (22-10), and it was his turnaround bank shot with 51.6 seconds left that tied it 65. But after Brown was fouled on a spinning jumper and made the free throw, White lost control of the ball with 22.9 seconds left. It wound up in the hands of the Longhorns’ Jonathan Holmes, who made both free throws for a 70-65 lead. The Cyclones turned it over again on their next possession to seal the outcome.

Posted in Sports |

Iowa News Headlines: Friday, March 9 2012

News

March 9th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State regulators say Iowa’s casinos contributed nearly $1billion to the state’s economy in 2011. The Des Moines Register says a report from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission shows the 18-state regulated casinos spent $999 million on payrolls, food, equipment and other expenses. That’s up from $945 million in 2010, which was the lowest in five years as the industry struggled to recover from the nationwide recession.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Davenport man has been arrested in Des Moines, accused of passing counterfeit $100 bills at a bar. Thirty-one-year-old Anthony Cole was arrested early yesterday on a charge of forgery. He remained in Polk County Jail last night.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Polk County jury has found a truck driver not guilty of running a red light in a crash that killed four elderly women in West Des Moines. Forty-four-year-old Kenneth Snow Junior was found not guilty this week after a two-day trial that included conflicting eyewitness testimony over whether Snow failed to obey a traffic control device. Snow and his employer, Panama Transfer Incorporated, still face lawsuits from the families of three of the women who died in the crash.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Sioux City Police have set up a hotline for people to report littering. Officials say the city spent $84,000 to remove litter from public property in 2011. Police are encouraging anyone who sees littering to call (712) 279-6440.

Posted in News |