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Body found on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River

News

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Sheriff’s Officials in Douglas County, Nebraska report a body was found floating in the Missouri River, Tuesday. Authorities were notified when a person called 911 about possible human remains floating in the river just north of the Douglas/Washington County line.

Multiple agencies worked together to pull the body of an adult male from the river along North River Drive a little farther south of County Road P51.

Anyone with information concerning this incident is being asked to call the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at 402-444-6000.

New state law will hold drivers more accountable in pedestrian accidents

News

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Legislation which Governor Kim Reynolds recently signed into law expands the definition of “pedestrian” in Iowa, which safety experts say is an enormous win for everyone who uses a crosswalk. Cara Hamann, director of training and education at the Injury Prevention Research Center, based at the University of Iowa, says broadening the legal description of pedestrian is an important move. “The law says that a pedestrian is a person on foot, and the new law expands that to pedestrian or pedestrian conveyance,” Hamann says, “and pedestrian conveyance includes things like people in wheelchairs, babies in strollers, people on rollerblades or skateboards, or people on bicycles.”

Hamann is an injury epidemiologist, meaning, she studies crash prevention and outcomes. While the law change won’t necessarily prevent accidents, she says the new distinction of what defines “pedestrian” is key. “People in vehicles are protected by the big metal surrounding that they’re in, whereas all these other users — or what we call vulnerable road users — don’t have that protection,” she says. “So ultimately, I think it makes sense that drivers should yield to users crossing the road legally in a crosswalk.” The new law doesn’t take effect for a few months, and while it won’t instantly make crosswalks any safer on July 1st, it -will- make drivers legally liable for anyone they may strike.

“Before this change, really only people on foot were written into the law, so that means if a driver hit a bicyclist in a crosswalk, they could walk away with no consequences,” Hamann says, “because there’s no law to uphold that says they should have yielded to that bicyclist.” Hamann, an associate professor in the U-I’s College of Public Health, says she’s very encouraged by the expanded legal definition of pedestrian: “This is a really positive change in the law that moves us toward a better traffic safety culture overall in the state, recognizing that all road users are important and we should take care of each other on the road.”

This is National Bike to Work Week.

VERNON HINZ, 92, of Bellevue, NE (Graveside Svcs. 5/17/24)

Obituaries

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

VERNON HINZ, 92, of Bellevue, NE, died Monday, May 13, 2024, at the Hillcrest Care & Rehabilitation Center. A graveside service for VERNON HINZ will be held 11-a.m. Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Graceland Cemetery in Avoca. Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Avoca has the arrangements.

VERNON HINZ is survived by:

His sons -Adrian (Camille) Hinz, of Omaha, NE, and Paul (Deborah) Hinz, of Florida.

His daughters – Julia (Tom) Glissmann, of Ankeny, and Elizabeth (Lon) Miller, of Omaha, NE.

8 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.

Iowa’s Lisa Bluder on her decision to retire

Sports

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Lisa Bluder says she never seriously considered retirement until this past season was over. Bluder announced her retirement Monday after 24 season’s as women’s basketball coach at Iowa. It included 18 trips to the NCAA Tournament and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA title game. Bluder made an appearance on Tuesday night at a Polk County I-Club event in West Des Moines.

Bluder says she started thinking about the future after the season ended.

Bluder says she is going to miss being part of a team.

Bluder’s long-time assistant Jan Jensen has been named the new head coach.

Bluder says the time was right for Jensen to become a head coach.

Jensen will have a news conference in Iowa City this (Wednesday) afternoon.

Another Iowa football game may be moved to Friday night

Sports

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz hinted that a second game this upcoming season is being moved to Friday night. The Hawkeyes already have their annual Black Friday game scheduled at home against Nebraska.

The Hawkeyes played at Maryland on a Friday night in 2021 and Ferentz does not like the idea of infringing on high school football.

Ferentz made his comments at a Polk County I-Club event in West Des Moines.

Megan Franklin introduced as new AD at Northern Iowa

Sports

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Megan Franklin was introduced as the new director of athletics at Northern Iowa. Franklin had been the senior associate AD at Drake for the past 12 years and also had a nine-year stint at Virginia Tech. She was impressed with the family atmosphere at UNI.

Franklin says UNI ranks at the top of the Missouri Valley Conference in several categories.

Franklin says in this era of the transfer portal and N-I-L increased fundraising becomes even more important.

Franklin says her job is to help the coaches and athletes succeed.

Iowa joins suits trying to block rules designed to phase out diesel-powered semis

News

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa is among a group of states suing the State of California and the Biden Administration over rules that critics say will force the trucking industry to convert to electric semis before the power grid can support the transition. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says it’s the worst nightmare for the supply chain. “Electric trucks are a lot more expensive than the diesel trucks and they barely exist, mostly as prototypes,” Bird says. “Biden and California’s radical ‘green dream’ is unrealistic and it’s out of touch, a fantasy.”

Two dozen states, including Iowa, are going to court to try to block E-P-A rules about emissions from semi tractors’ tailpipes. A separate legal action involving Iowa and 17 other states is challenging California’s plan to require zero carbon emissions from semis operating in California that come from trucking companies with over 50 trucks. That rule would go into effect in 2036.

Iowa Motor Truck Association chairman Scott Szymanek is president of Stutsman, Incorporated, a trucking company based in the small town of Hills, near Iowa City. He says ithe trucking industry cannot convert to electric semis as quickly as the regulations require.  “Battery electric vehicles are a viable option for some trucking operations, such as urban delivery and even school buses, but you cannot move the entire U.S. economy a battery vehicle alone,” he says. “It is simply unrealistic.”

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird speaks during news conference at Housby Co. in Ankeny. She was joined by Dale Decker of Decker Truck Line, on left, and Iowa Motor Truck Association chair Scott Szymanek on right. (RI photo)

Szymanek says renewable diesel fuel has a lower carbon footprint over its life cycle when compared to battery-operated trucks. Dale Decker, the C-E-O of Decker Truck Line, says his company has been testing electric trucks at their facility in Fort Dodge, but Decker says sending battery powered semis out on the highways is unrealistic.  “It’s just not possible with the cost and charge times, the distance, weather factors. Cold, hot changes the distance on where the truck can go, the capability of that truck,” Decker says. “Sure, we’d all like to get there, but pushing this down our throat like this is just not a way to go.”

The U-S Supreme Court recently ruled California can enforce animal welfare rules related to pork that’s produced elsewhere, but sold in California. Bird says she’s disappointed in that ruling, but the attorneys general will argue, as they did in the pork-related case, that California’s rule is a violation of the U-S Constitution’s interstate commerce clause. “California does not have the power to tell another state what to do, particularly when it comes to trucking,” Bird says. “What California is doing is extreme.”

Bird says there are other legal precedents directly related to cases involving the trucking industry that support the effort to block California’s ‘clean fleet’ trucking rules. California officials have said while only six percent of the vehicles on California roads are trucks, those trucks account for a quarter of the state’s transportation-generated greenhouse gas emissions.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the Nishna Valley: Wed., May 15, 2024

Weather

May 15th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Today: Mostly cloudy w/areas of fog this morning; A slight chance of showers & thunderstorms. High near 71. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight: Mo. cloudy w/a 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms.Low around 55.
Tomorrow: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning, otherwise partly sunny. High 76. N/NW @ 5-10 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 79.
Saturday: Mostly sunny & breezy, w/a slight chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms. High near 82.

Tuesday’s High in Atlantic was 78. Our Low was 49. Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 56 and the Low was 51. The Record High for May 15th was 91 in 1894 & 2017. The Record Low was 29 in 1929, 1973 & 1983. Sunrise: 6:02. Sunset: 8:32.

Atlantic Trojans Boys Soccer Team Suffers Loss In First Round of Substate Playoffs

Sports

May 15th, 2024 by admin

The Atlantic Trojans boys soccer team lost 11-1 in the first round of the Class 3A-Substate 5 playoffs on Tuesday night. Winterset scored the first nine goals of the game until Atlantic’s senior Taye Jordan got the Trojans on the scoreboard with less than 15 minutes left to play in the first half.

The second half was a defensive battle until Winterset tacked on two more goals to secure the win for the Huskies.

Trojans coach Mark Andersen talked about trying their best to battle back in the match despite allowing up to nine goals in the first half.

The Trojans made adjustments in the second half according to coach Andersen.

Atlantic senior Trahyger Carey gave his thoughts on his final match as a Trojan.

This loss for the Trojans will end their season. The Trojans ended the season with a 3-13 overall record and went 0-7 in the Hawkeye Ten Conference

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Tuesday High School Girls Tennis Results

Sports

May 14th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CLASS 1A REGION 1

Bishop Heelan Catholic 5, Cherokee 3 

Spencer 5, Denison-Schleswig 1 

Denison-Schleswig winner: Abigail Gutierrez 

Spencer 5, Bishop Heelan Catholic 4 

IOWA CLASS 1A REGION 2

Clarinda 5, Lewis Central 2 (Qualified for State with Win)

IOWA CLASS 1A REGION 3

Kuemper Catholic 5, North Polk 4 (Qualified for State with Victory)

IOWA CLASS 2A REGION 1

Dowling Catholic 5, Thomas Jefferson 0