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Walk up campsites going fast for the weekend

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 1st, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The last summer holiday has once again put camping spots at state parks at a premium. Department of Natural Resources Parks Bureau Chief, Kevin Sczdronski, says the on-line reserved spots always go quickly. But he says a visit to Rock Creek State Park east of Grinnell Tuesday showed how quickly the other spots go too.

He says the park staff already declared the campground full as all the “walk-in” sites already have people there and they are booked up for the weekend. “So there’s just one example that’s probably pretty indicative of what we are looking at across the state of the demand,” Szcodronski says. He says the numbers have been good for the parks throughout the summer. Szcodronski says extreme heat hurt attendance at some parks, but it helped others.

Szcodronski says the parks with beaches and lakes see even more people when it is hot. He says most of the campgrounds have been full almost every weekend. The D-N-R received some more money for maintenance of the parks when the new budget year began July first and Szcodronski says people should notice some improvement this weekend.

He says a lot of parks were able to hire some people and one of their first priorities is to get into day use areas and mow where they hadn’t mowed in awhile. You can find out more about the state parks on the D-N-R’s website at: IowaDNR.gov.

(Radio Iowa)

IA DOT crews ready to survey and repair flood-damaged roads

News

September 1st, 2011 by Ric Hanson

With Missouri River flood waters slowly receding, Iowa Department of Transportation officials must now work out a plan to deal with the damage done to many miles of highways and Interstates 29 and 680. D-O-T spokeswoman Dena Gray-Fisher says some areas where the murky water is pooled will have to be drained manually. “It’s also going to take a lot of work just to drain out the area so we can get in there and do something,” Gray-Fisher says. Once the water is gone, they can start the process of inspecting the area to see how much of the road is left and what happened to the soil under the roadways.

“If there’s actually a slab of pavement left there and if the road looks semi-sound, then we’ll go in there with some ground-penetrating ultrasound devices that actually test the road,” Gray-Fisher says. “They look for voids underneath the pavement. They also look for how stable is that soil because if you’re going to put heavy trucks on that, you want to make sure it can sustain that kind of weight.” For months, there have been huge sandbag berms placed along some sections of roads, including Highway 30 leading from Missouri Valley, Iowa, to Blair, Nebraska. Gray-Fisher says those sandbags will be removed.

She says, “The sand bags that are the large ones that we put along the interstate and on U-S Highway 30, the bags will be cut, the sand released and we will go in there with end loaders and haul that sand away.” As far as a time table for when some of these roads will reopen, Gray-Fisher says it won’t be long before they can actually see what is under that water. She says, “Between the next ten days to a couple of weeks, we are starting to see the roads emerge and we can start to see a little bit better what the picture is.”

Gray-Fisher says a timetable for repair and reconstruction can’t be developed until inspections are complete. Water that has receded over Interstate 680 between Omaha and Crescent, showed the power of the Missouri River to destroy infrastructure. The raging river tore through the interstate, and left in its wake a crumpled, massive jigsaw puzzle of concrete and asphalt, which officials say may not be fixed until November 2012, at the earliest. That’s because it’s not just the road that’s gone. The river churned underneath the road bed, causing it to collapse. Another area of concern, is I-29 south of Glenwood, which has been underwater more than two months.

(Radio Iowa/Omaha World-Herald)

DONNA J. WOODWARD, 85, of Lewis (svcs 9-3-11)

Obituaries

September 1st, 2011 by Ric Hanson

DONNA J. WOODWARD, 85, of Lewis, died Wed., Aug. 31st, at home. Memorial services for DONNA WOODWARD will be held 11:30-a.m. Sat., Sept. 3rd, in the Lewis Congregational Methodist Church.  Hockenberry Family Care Funeral Home in Atlantic has the arrangements.

Visitation with the family will take place from 6:30-9pm Fri., Sept. 2nd, at the home of Donna Woodward, at 301 Washington Street, in Lewis.   Condolences may be left to the family also, at www.hockenberryfamilycare.com.

Burial will be in the Oakwood Cemetery at Lewis.

DONNA WOODWARD is survived by:

Her daughters – Barbara O’Shea, of Kansas City, MO., & JoBeth (Melvin) Croatt, of St. Paul, MN.

Her son – Richard (Sharon) Woodward, of Lewis.

Her sister – Delores Nelson, of Atlantic.

13 wind turbines installed near Pomeroy

News

September 1st, 2011 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – MidAmerican Energy has announced it has completed the installation of 13 wind turbines near Pomeroy as part of the company’s plan to expand  wind energy production across Iowa. In a news release issued Wednesday, MidAmerican says the turbines are the first of 258 the company is erecting at three wind energy projects in Iowa this year.

The turbines, which are supplied by Siemens Energy Inc., will add more than 590 megawatts to MidAmerican’s energy generation portfolio. That’s enough to power about 190,000 homes. The Pomeroy project is in Pocahontas and Calhoun counties. The remaining turbines will be erected in Cass, Adams, Adair and Marshall counties by the end of the year.

Nebraska detective pleads guilty to OWI in Iowa

News

August 31st, 2011 by Ric Hanson

LOGAN, Iowa (AP) — A detective with the Omaha, Neb., police department has pleaded guilty to a drunken driving charge in Iowa. Online court records show 37-year-old Wendy Redding pleaded guilty on Monday in Harrison County District Court to first-offense OWI. She was arrested on July 3rd.

Redding was sentenced to 30 days in jail with 28 days suspended, placed on probation for a year and fined $625. Court records show as an alternative, Redding can serve two days in jail and attend an impaired driver’s course. But if she completes a weekend OWI diversion program, she won’t have to serve any jail time or take the course.

Omaha police spokeswoman Lt. Darci Tierney told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Redding is on paid administrative leave.

3 Hospitalized Iowa Players Quit The Team

Sports

August 31st, 2011 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — When Iowa opens the season Saturday, three of the 13 players who were hospitalized after a now-scrapped weightlifting exercise in January won’t be on the team. One walk-on player and two who were on scholarship quit the team following their hospitalization with rhabdomyolysis, a muscle disorder that caused discolored urine and extreme soreness, according to a report released this week by a committee appointed by President Sally Mason to investigate the injuries.

The walk-on quit before spring practice to concentrate on academics. One of the scholarship players left the team before spring practice, considered transferring and then stayed at Iowa but decided not to play football. The other completed spring practice but left the university for what the report described as unrelated personal reasons. The report, e-mailed to the Iowa Board of Regents and posted online Tuesday, does not identify any of the players. The second player is believed to be reserve senior cornerback Willie Lowe, who had asked for a release from his scholarship last spring to consider transferring but later decided to remain enrolled at Iowa but not rejoin the team.

The committee concluded that all 13 players appear to have completely recovered and it’s considered possible but unlikely they will develop any long-term health problems. It also noted the athletics department has reaffirmed its commitment to never again use the workout that caused the injuries and taken steps to educate employees, athletes and others about how to prevent and identify rhabdomyolysis. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has downplayed the potential impact of the offseason workouts on the Hawkeyes, saying he’s been pleased with his players’ recovery and that he and his staff members were cleared of any misconduct in the matter. Iowa hosts Tennessee Tech at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday.

The regents had asked the committee for a follow-up report in six months after its initial findings earlier this year. Board of Regents President Craig Lang praised the university’s multi-layered response in a letter to regents dated Tuesday. “I thank the university for its ongoing careful attention in responding to the individual needs of each player,” he said. He added he was “very pleased” the university halted the workout in question and added: “I commend the University for its commitment to improved education, communication, and medical practices for increased awareness of rhabdomyolysis and other serious health issues that could impact our student-athletes.”

Intermittent lane closures on Iowa 192 in Pottawattamie County begin Sept. 6th

News

August 31st, 2011 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Aug. 31, 2011 – Road construction work on Iowa 192/South Expressway Street just north of Interstate 29/80 at exit 3 near Lake Manawa will cause intermittent lane closures in both directions beginning Tuesday, Sept. 6th, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Council Bluffs construction office.
Flaggers will be used to control traffic during the closure. The roadway will return to normal traffic patterns when workers are not present. Motorists are asked to consider using an  alternate route during this construction project.  This project is expected to be completed by Jan. 9, 2012.

Logan-Magnolia Cross Country Meet Results

Sports

August 31st, 2011 by Jim Field

Girls Team Scores (top 3):

  1. Tri-Center  55
  2. Audubon  59
  3. Denison  80

Individual

  1. Megan Diest, Audubon

  2. Ashtyn Alfers, Tri-Center

  3. Breezy Weaver, Missouri Valley

  4. Dana Johnson, Audubon

  5. Krisann Stephany, St. Albert

  6. Michelle Mumm, Tri-Center

  7. Paige Pauley, Missouri Valley

  8. Alexa Beeck, Denison-Schleswig

  9. Ruby Johnson, Audubon

  10. Kaylee Grote, Tri-Center

Boys Team Scores (top 3):

  1. St. Albert  49
  2. Maple Valley-A-O  86
  3. Missouri Valley 91

Individual:

  1. Josh Sindelar, St. Albert
  2. Ted Hanson, MVAO
  3. Brian Steele, Boyer Valley
  4. Scott Theulen, St. Albert
  5. Jacob Wiley, West Monona
  6. Dylan Bailey, MVAO
  7. Kaleb Young, OA-BCIG
  8. George Doll, St. Albert
  9. Colin Freese, OA-BCIG
  10. Josef Rogers, Denison-Schleswig

 

Iowa CCI tactics called “unproductive & embarrassing”

News

August 31st, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party has publicly rebuked a liberal activist group that has gained media attention by confronting politicians of both parties. Martha Scarpellino, a member of the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, described her group this way after they pestered presidential candidate Mitt Romney at the Iowa State Fair: “I’m with these guys: the loud, noisy question-askers.” The group also heckled the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee spoke at the Fair.

This past week Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement sent out a press release with details of how the group had “confronted” Republican Senator Chuck Grassley at a town-hall meeting in Carroll “for over an hour” and “demanded” that the senator not cut Social Security. A columnist for the newspaper in Carroll blasted the group’s “ambush tactics” during and after the event. Sue Dvorsky, chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party, issued a statement, calling the actions of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement members “unproductive and embarrassing.” She accused the group of being “less focused on results and more focused on creating chaos” that gets written about by the media.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement issued a statement in response, saying Dvorsky’s attack was “baseless” but it also quoted another C-C-I member as saying “sitting back quietly while career politicians debate cuts to our livelihood would be unacceptable.”

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

PATRICIA HANSEN, 76, of Audubon (svcs 9-2-11)

Obituaries

August 31st, 2011 by Ric Hanson

PATRICIA HANSEN, 76, of Audubon, died Tue., Aug. 30th, at the Audubon County Memorial Hospital. Funeral services for PATRICIA HANSEN will be held 10:30-a.m. Fri., Sept. 2nd, at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Audubon. Kessler Funeral Home in Audubon has the arrangements.

Visitation at the funeral home is open, with the family present 6-pm Thu., Sept. 1st.

Burial will be in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Audubon.

PATRICIA HANSEN is survived by:

Her children – Cindy (Mark) Miller, of Audubon; Mike (Pam) Hansen, of Des Moines;  & Joni (Doug) Griffin, of Exira.

Her sister – Raydell (Robert) Wahlert, of Walford, IA.

Her good friend – Roma Murray, of Audubon.

10 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, other relatives, and friends.