United Group Insurance

Wednesday Softball Results

Sports

May 29th, 2014 by Jim Field

Hawkeye 10:

  • Shenandoah 14, Essex 2
  • Bishop Heelan Catholic 11, Harlan 4

Western Iowa:

  • A-H-S-T 5, Griswold 3
  • Tri-Center 12, Treynor 11
  • Audubon 6, IKM-Manning 5
  • Underwood 7, Missouri Valley 5

Rolling Valley:

  • Exira/EHK 6, Ar-We-Va 0
  • Woodbine 4, Coon Rapids-Bayard 3
  • Charter Oak-Ute 10, West Harrison 0
  • Glidden-Ralston 13, Boyer Valley 0

Others:

  • Nodaway Valley 13, Stanton 3
  • Interstate 35 12, Lenox 2

 

Head of American Soybean Association discusses potential impact of WRRDA

Ag/Outdoor

May 29th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

A bill to improve the nation’s waterways could help grain farmers in the Midwest compete in the global marketplace. The Waterways Resource Reform and Development Act, or WRRDA (pronounced ‘word-uh’), has been over a year in the making. It authorizes spending $12 billion for improvements such as deepening ports. Grain farmers hope it will ultimately allow for larger ships to carry corn, soybeans, and wheat to foreign markets. Corning, Iowa farmer Ray Gaesser is president of the American Soybean Association.

“The demand for soybeans, that protein and oil that we have from the soybeans, has just been growing so terrifically in the last 20 years and meeting that demand is important,” Gaesser say. Exports are an increasingly important part of grain marketing, but according to Gaesser, many locks and dams are 80 years old and new modern ships are too big for the depth of some ports.

“That infrastructure, that ability to effectively and efficiently move our products within the United States and throughout the world…it’s a big deal to agriculture,” Gaesser says. Congress passed WRRDA earlier this month, but President Obama has yet to sign it. Congress must still decide exactly how and whether to appropriate the funding.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa livestock producers run into trouble trying to get disaster aid

Ag/Outdoor

May 29th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Some Iowa cattle producers report they’re having trouble qualifying some of their acreages with the federal government’s livestock forage disaster program. Ed Greiman of Garner, president of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, says the Farm Service Agency isn’t to blame, but the problem is with how the program is defined and who is eligible for assistance.

“I’ve certified all of my pasture acres as haying and grazing, which puts it in the category that does not qualify for the disaster program,” Greiman says. “It needs to be classified as grazing only. For instance, I’ve got sorghum that we were going to chop, we ended up grazing, that doesn’t qualify.” Greiman says he’s coordinating with Iowa U-S Senator Chuck Grassley, the head of the F-S-A and the U-S Ag Secretary to try and find the proper and most efficient solution to the difficulties.

Greiman says, “We’re working on, not only with Senator Grassley, but with Whitaker’s office and Vilsack, is can we maybe change those classifications because we ended up grazing them.” He says most Midwest producers hay and graze their acres, so it’s not one-size-fits-all that brings the best program benefits.

(Radio Iowa)

(Podcast) Skyscan Forecast: Thu., May 29th 2014

Podcasts, Weather

May 29th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Here’s the Freese-Notis Weather Forecast for Atlantic & the KJAN listening area, and weather information for Atlantic.

Play

Accident near Stanton, Wed. evening

News

May 29th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says no serious injuries were reported following an accident Wednesday evening a couple of miles southwest of Stanton. Authorities say a 1998 Pontiac Sunbird driven by 22-year old Ashely Dumler, of rural Stanton, was traveling north on Q Avenue, a county gravel road, when the left front tire of the car blew out.

The vehicle went out of control and entered the east ditch, where it continued until hitting a fence owned by Kit Johnson, of rural Stanton. The accident happened at around 4:45-p.m. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $1,500. The fence sustained $500 damage.

Deputies were assisted at the scene by personnel with the Stanton and Red Oak Fire and Rescue Departments.

2 arrests in Red Oak Wed. evening

News

May 29th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Police in Red Oak report the arrest of two individuals Wednesday evening. Just before 9-p.m., 39-year old Dale Joseph Langenfeld, Jr., of Red Oak, was arrested on a charge of Driving While Revoked. His bond was set at $1,000. And, at around 8:10-p.m., 26-year old Skyler Lee Baker was arrested on an active Montgomery County warrant for a Probation Violation. Baker was being held in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on $5,000 bond.

Bluffs murder trial delayed

News

May 29th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The murder trial of a Council Bluffs man has been moved to late June. The Daily NonPareil report 36-year old James Cain Harris faces first-degree murder charges stemming from the 2003 stabbing of Nelson Alvarez-Hernandez. The Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office told the paper Harris’ jury trial is set to begin on June 24th.The trial was originally slated to begin Wednesday morning.

Harris was arrested in March for his alleged role in the murder of Alvarez-Hernandez, who was killed after a fight on July 31st, 2003, outside a home in Council Bluffs. In 2003, witnesses reported a loud altercation taking place outside the residence and heard Alvarez-Hernandez call for help. Sgt. David Dawson of the Council Bluffs Police Department said the witnesses told police they saw several subjects near the victim who fled prior to police arriving. A then-unknown assailant had stabbed Alvarez-Hernandez to death.

Several pieces of evidence collected at the scene were used to create a DNA profile that belonged to an unknown male. The profile was compared to profiles in state databases but remained unidentified. The case was unsolved for more than 10-years despite an extensive investigation. In late September of 2013, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation notified the Council Bluffs Police Department that the previously unknown DNA profile had been positively identified as 47-year old Thomas J. Sanchez, of La Vista, Neb. Police reopened the case and followed up on new leads, with the work culminating in Sanchez’s arrest in January.

Sanchez is currently scheduled to go to trial on July 8th.

NWS Forecast for Cass & area Counties in Iowa: 5/29/14

Weather

May 29th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

346 AM CDT THU MAY 29 2014

EARLY THIS MORNING…PARTLY CLOUDY. NORTHEAST WIND NEAR 5 MPH.

TODAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 80S. EAST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE MID 60S. EAST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

FRIDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH IN THE LOWER 80S. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

FRIDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE MID 60S. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

SATURDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH IN THE LOWER 80S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOW IN THE UPPER 60S.

SUNDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. HIGH IN THE MID 80S.

SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY…THUNDERSTORMS LIKELY. LOW IN THE UPPER 60S. HIGH IN THE MID 80S. CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS 60 PERCENT.

Yankees beat Cardinals 7-4, take series

Sports

May 29th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Hiroki Kuroda snapped an 11-start road winless streak and Jacoby Ellsbury helped build an early lead with three hits and three RBIs his first three at-bats in the New York Yankees’ 7-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night.

John Ryan Murphy added two RBIs for the Yankees, who took two of three without an appearance from Mark Teixeira, nursing a sore wrist, and wrapped up a 5-4 trip. Catcher Brian McCann made his first career start at first base in the finale.

Shelby Miller allowed a career-worst seven runs and nine hits in five innings for St. Louis. Kolten Wong had a career-best four hits and an RBI, Matt Carpenter doubled twice with an RBI and Yadier Molina had two hits and two walks, but the Cardinals stranded 13 runners.

Big 12 making slight change to football tiebreaker

Sports

May 29th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

IRVING, Texas (AP) — The Big 12 Conference is subbing out part of its football tiebreaker process. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said Wednesday that the new College Football Playoff poll will replace the old BCS standings as a potential tiebreaker if three or more teams have the same conference record. The first potential tiebreakers remain the records of the tied teams compared against each other, and then against the next highest-placed teams in the conference.

If those don’t settle things, the highest-ranked team in the first College Football Playoff poll after Big 12 regular season play would represent the league as champion. The only exception is if the two highest-ranked tied teams are within one spot of each other in the playoff poll, then the head-to-head result of those teams would break the tie.