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Iowa Rural Development Council announces 2022 Iowa Rural Summit

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 18th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(March 18, 2022) – Iowans interested in issues vital to rural communities are invited to attend the 2022 Iowa Rural Summit, organized by the Iowa Rural Development Council. The event will be held on April 12th and 13th at the Gateway Hotel and Convention Center in Ames, Iowa. Communities are encouraged to register teams of three, though individuals are also eligible to attend the event. New for the 2022 Summit, college students interested in rural issues and economic development can register at a reduced price.

To register for the event as an individual, a team, or a student, visit www.iowardc.org/summit. The cost for a three-person team is $210. Individuals can register for $190 and students for $25. The registration fee includes admission to all Rural Summit events, breakfast on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, and lunch on Tuesday. Bill Menner, Iowa Rural Development Council executive director, says “We’re looking forward to a great Summit this year in Ames. Last year’s Summit brought together nearly 250 Iowans, and we hope Ames’ central location will encourage more to attend this year.”

  • Pre-Summit events on April 11 include a Rural Housing Readiness Assessment Workshop and a tour of Iowa State’s Digital Manufacturing Lab. Another pre-conference tour will feature Gross-Wen Technologies and a demonstration of its algae-based system used to treat city wastewater.
  • Tuesday the 12th features sessions on making rural places more welcoming and recruiting and training rural leaders. Other Day One topics include growing rural ag-tech businesses, building broadband for all, housing success stories, and aging and living in place. The day wraps up with the presentation of the inaugural Rand Fisher Rural Leadership Award.
  • Wednesday’s events include a roundtable focus on the impacts of the 2020 U.S. Census. Also, the popular “45 Ideas in 45 Minutes” session allows communities to share their success stories. The day wraps up with a closing keynote address by Iowan Brenda Clark Hamilton on the need for dynamic leadership in rural Iowa. The Summit adjourns at noon.

The Iowa Rural Development Council was formed in 1992 as part of a Presidential Executive Order. Today a broad range of public-private partners supports its focus on empowering small towns and building capacity for rural leaders. Sponsors for this year’s summit include the Iowa Farm Bureau’s Renew Rural Iowa initiative, ITC Midwest, Iowa’s Small Business Development Centers, D.A. Davidson, the IADG Community Foundation, Impact 7G, Grinnell Mutual, AARP, Iowa’s Cultivation Corridor and Monkeythis.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Iowa House holds bipartisan tribute for Senate GOP staffer who died last week

News

March 18th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Members of the Iowa House have held a bipartisan tribute to a legislative staffer who died a week ago following a brief illness with COVID. Forty-eight-year-old Josh Bronsink  had worked as an analyst for Senate Republicans since 2011. Representative Ann Meyer, a Republican from Fort Dodge, read Bronsink’s obituary and shared her own memories. “Josh was a kind and calming prescience, even in difficult negotiations,” Meyer says. “Many of you also know Kelly, who works in Human Resources for the Iowa House.”

Bronsink and his wife married 19 years ago and are the parents of two children. House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights says she and her husband have been close friends with the Bronsinks for years. “We disagreed about politics, but — wow — life is about so much more than politics and his passing reminded us of what’s really important.”  Konfrst said. “…Josh was one of the most kind-hearted and deep thinking souls I have ever known. He cared a lot and he cared deeply.” On Monday, Senator Jeff Edler of State Center led the senate in a moment of silence.

“Josh was an important member of our (Republican) caucus staff and our senate family,” Edler said. Bronsink’s funeral is scheduled for next Thursday at a church in Des Moines.

Posted in News |

Marshalltown pays out $25K to family of girl involved in school bus scuffle

News

March 18th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – To avoid further litigation, the Marshalltown school district is agreeing to pay 25-thousand dollars the to family of a student who was allegedly injured by a school bus aide. Sandra Lurvey was fired from her position as a school bus aide for the district after an investigation was conducted into the incident. She faces a criminal trial, although an exact trial date involving the case has not yet been set. Lurvey faces charges of child endangerment – bodily injury, a class D felony; and assault causing bodily injury or mental illness; which is an aggravated misdemeanor. The case stems from an incident that occurred on January 30th, 2020 when a student on a special needs bus felt overly warm and took her coat off while aboard the bus.

According to records, at that point Lurvey allegedly became involved in a physical confrontation with the student in an effort to convince her to put the coat back on due to the cold temperatures. The student suffered undisclosed injuries during the incident, according to a police incident report. Marshalltown school superintendent Theron Schutte said the situation was unfortunate, but further added that offering a monetary settlement made the most sense from the district’s perspective.

Posted in News |

Deadline today at 5 p.m. for candidates to file nominating petitions for state, federal office

News

March 18th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Major party candidates for state and federal office have until 5 p.m. today (Friday) to deliver their nominating petitions to the Secretary of State’s office in Des Moines. In order to run in November’s General Election, Republicans and Democrats either have to win their party’s primary election in June or be nominated at party conventions in the following weeks. Most candidates haven’t procrastinated and have already dropped off binders full of petition sheets signed by eligible Iowa voters. The number of petition signatures varies based on the office a candidate seeks. Candidates for governor and the U.S. Senate have to submit at least 35-hundred petition signatures and have to show they’ve collected at least 100 signatures from 19 counties.

Under new rules, candidates from other political parties have to submit petition signatures by today’s deadline to qualify for the November ballot. By the close of business Thursday, the Libertarian Party has candidates running for governor and lieutenant governor and four legislative seats. Four other candidates who intend to run for state offices in November are listed as “no party” or independent candidates. Candidates for COUNTY offices have until NEXT Friday, March 25th, to deliver their nominating petitions to the auditor’s office in their county.

Posted in News |

UNI advances at WNIT with win over Kansas City

Sports

March 18th, 2022 by admin

UNI advanced at the WNIT with a 75-58 win over Kansas City on Thursday night. Kam Finley led the Panthers with 19 points and Karli Rucker added 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

UNI was down 2 at the end of the first but used a 21-11 advantage in the second period to take control of the game. The Panthers improved to 23-10 on the season and will now take on Drake in the second round on Monday at 6:00 p.m.

The Kangaroos were led by 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists from Naomie Alnatas.  They end their season at 23-9.

Posted in Sports |

Bulldogs advance to Second Round of WNIT

Sports

March 18th, 2022 by admin

COLUMBIA, Missouri – Graduate guard Maddie Petersen paced the Bulldogs with a

season high 22 points in their 83-78 overtime win over Missouri in the first round of the WNIT Thursday evening.

The Bulldogs had a shaky start as they scored a season low 10 points in the first quarter. Freshman forward Anna Miller put a stop to the Tigers three minute 10-0 that started the game.

Junior Sarah Beth Gueldner was hot from the arc as she made her first three of the night with 90 seconds left in the first quarter. A minute later, junior Megan Meyer fired a three to decrease the Tiger’s lead to a single digit.

The Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter

With 3:25 left in the first half, Drake took its first lead of the night after Gueldner hit her second three and junior Maggie Bair made a layup less than 30 seconds later.

The two teams continued to battle for the last 3:20 before Petersen made a layup to give Drake a one point lead going into halftime.

The second half was back and forth as the Bulldogs continued to battle the Tigers. Gueldner was the game changer for the Bulldogs as she continued to nail shots from beyond the arc.

She finished with a season high 17 points, shooting 5-for-7. The junior added four rebounds and two assists.

Redshirt-junior Grace Berg, who joined the Bulldogs in spring 2019 from Mizzou, recorded a season high seven assists. She added four rebounds to the books.

Berg played the first two minutes without her left shoe after it fell off and the game did not have a stoppage for her to put it on.

With 3:58 to go in the third quarter, Bair drained a three to increase the Bulldogs lead to four points.

She, alongside fellow junior Megan Meyer each recorded 15 points in the Bulldogs win.

Petersen drained back-to-back threes to help the Bulldogs go into overtime.

Meyer started to secure the Bulldogs win with a layup and Petersen drained her fourth three of the night to increase the Bulldogs lead to four.

The Bulldogs advance to the second round of the WNIT and will face UNI

Posted in Sports |

Four Cyclones move on at NCAA Wrestling Championships

Sports

March 18th, 2022 by admin

DETROIT – Four Iowa State Cyclones remain at the NCAA Championships after the opening day. All four Cyclones will wrestle in the consolation second round Friday morning at Little Caesars Arena.

David Carr (157), Marcus Coleman (184) and Yonger Bastida (197) all dropped matches in the championship second round, as they fell to the consolation bracket. After an opening round loss, Ian Parker (141) earned a victory in the consolation first round to keep his season going.

Carr, the defending national champion, had his 55-match winning streak snapped by 17th-seeded Hunter Willits of Oregon State. In a scoreless first period, Willits was hit with stalling with :40 left in the period. In the second, Carr took a 1-0 lead by escaping :09 into the period. In the third period, Willits escaped with 1:08 to go. With the match tied 1-1, neither wrestler scored in sudden victory. Willits rode out Carr in the first tiebreaker before Willits escaped with :01 left in tiebreaker to pick up the victory. In the consolation second round, Carr will face 31st-seeded Wyatt Sheets of Oklahoma State. Carr is 4-0 in his career against Sheets, including a pair of major decisions.

Coleman trailed 1-0 going to the third period against ninth-seeded Zach Braunagel of Illinois before escaping :11 into the third period to even the match. In sudden victory, Braunagel recorded a takedown with 1:13 left for the 3-1 victory. Coleman will face 23rd-seeded Travis Stefanik of Princeton in the consolation second round.

After beating seventh-seeded Rocky Elam of Missouri twice this season, Bastida dropped a 1-0 decision to Elam. After a scoreless first period, Elam escaped :10 into the second period for the only points of the match.

Parker had a scoreless first period against 29th-seeded Connor McGonagle of Lehigh. In the second, Parker escaped early before adding a takedown with :18 left to take a 3-0 lead. Holding a 3-1, Parker recorded a takedown with :07 left and a point for riding time for a 6-1 victory. Parker will face 19th-seeded Chad Red of Nebraska Friday morning. Parker is 1-2 in his career against Red, with the losses coming at the 2021 and 2019 NCAA Championships.

At 125 pounds, Kysen Terukina dropped a 6-4 decision to 23rd-seeded Dylan Shawver of Rutgers. Ramazan Attasauov medically forfeited out of the tournament at 133 pounds after suffering an injury in his first match of the day. At 149 pounds, No. 17 Jarrett Degen concluded his career with a 5-2 loss to 32nd-seeded Zachary Sherman of North Carolina. Eighth-seeded Michael O’Malley of Drexel defeated No. 24 Joel Devine 4-1. In the final match of the night, No. 25 Isaac Reid of Lock Haven defeated No. 24 Sam Schuyler 8-5.

Posted in Sports |

6 Hawkeyes advance to NCAA Quarterfinals

Sports

March 18th, 2022 by admin

DETROIT — The University of Iowa wrestling team wrestling team advanced six wrestlers to the quarterfinals of the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena.

Austin DeSanto, Max Murin, Alex Marinelli, Michael Kemerer, Jacob Warner and Tony Cassioppi all won in the round of 16 and compete Friday morning for a chance to make it to the semifinals.

The first five Hawkeyes all won by decision. Cassioppi closed the top half of Iowa’s bracket with a 12-3 major decision at 285. He totaled four takedowns and nearly four minutes of riding time to advance to the quarterfinals for the second straight year.

Marinelli and Kemerer are making their fourth career appearance in the NCAA quarters. Marinelli scored one takedown in the second and added two more in the third to win 8-2 at 165. Kemerer scored a takedown in every period and added two minutes, 19 seconds of riding time in a 9-4 decision at 174.

DeSanto and Murin both advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the third time in their careers. DeSanto took a 3-0 lead with a takedown in the closing seconds of the second period, and added another takedown late in the third to win 5-1 at 133. Murin scored one takedown in the first, one in the second, and another in the third to win 8-4 at 149.

Warner escaped to start the second and scored the match’s only takedown in the third to win 3-1 at 197, advancing to the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.

Jaydin Eierman and Kaleb Young both dropped overtime decisions and were bounced to the consolation side of the bracket. Eierman fell, 4-2, at 141 and Young dropped a 3-1 decision at 157.

All 10 Hawkeyes return to the mat tomorrow after Drake Ayala and Abe Assad responded from opening round losses with wins in the first round of the consolation bracket. Ayala picked up his first career win at the NCAA Championships with a 7-1 decision at 125, and Assad earned his first career NCAA victory with a 9-3 decision at 184.

The Hawkeyes are in fifth place with 20.5 team points. Penn State leads the team race with 27.5 points. Arizona State (22), NC State (21.5) and Michigan (21) round out the top five. 

UP NEXT

The third session of the 2022 NCAA Championships begins Friday at 10 a.m. (CT). The quarterfinals and wrestlebacks are televised on ESPNU and WatchESPN.

Posted in Sports |

Local 24 Hour Snow/Rain Totals at 7:00 am on Friday, March 18, 2022

Ag/Outdoor, Weather

March 18th, 2022 by Jim Field

  • KJAN, Atlantic – 2.1″ snow/1.58″ rain
  • Massena – 1″ snow/.56″ rain
  • Neola – .5″ rain
  • Guthrie Center – 2″ snow/1.2″ rain
  • Audubon – 3″ snow/1.23″ rain
  • Red Oak – .96″ rain
  • Corning – .32″ rain

 

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, Weather |

Effort to bring back Pawpaws enters second year

News

March 18th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – A project by the Bur Oak Land Trust to bring Pawpaws back in Iowa is entering its second year. Executive Director Jason Taylor says they planted seedlings in the first year and had people foster them. “They took care of them generally between April and October — then they would return them to us. So we were able to receive about 800 saplings that were grown over the summer,” Taylor says. Pawpaw trees were once common in Iowa as bison and giant sloths that would eat the fruit and disperse the seeds. Taylor says the Iowa City-based organization is hoping to expand on the number of trees they grow.

“This year we were actually able to get about four-thousand seeds…but we really just don’t have the capability to pot four-thousand seeds, it’s too big,” according to Taylor. “And so we are actually starting to sell seeds to the community for those who are interested in putting them in their own yards.
And then we also are potting around 600 this year so we will have another group of fosters working with us to grow them over the summer.” He says the Pawpaw trees like shady areas with wet soil.

“And so they are often found naturally growing near streams. But they definitely do work well in an urban environment. There are a number of locations in Iowa City where people have planted them in their yards. And sometimes when they are getting started you need to give them a little more water than you normally would,” Taylor says. Taylor says you need to have a least two trees to pollinate and create the fruit.

“It’s a very interesting fruit. Most people do like it. It’s about the size of a russet potato — they can be fairly large. It’s the largest native fruit to North America — so it’s a little bit unique there. It’s kind of a yellowish-green color, and then when it’s ripe, they will fall off the tree.” He says the Pawpaw tastes like a custard that is a mango-banana mix. Taylor says the Pawpaws can be planted in a patch. “They like to grow close together, and so you can actually grow a little colony of these if you have a ten-foot patch of land in your yard. You can grow five or six of these trees together and that allows the beetles that pollinate them a better chance of finding another tree,” Taylor says.

Taylor says you can go to their website at buroaklandtrust.org and buy Pawpaw seeds, or you can volunteer to help foster the seeds into saplings. He says the Pawpaw will grow well in all but the northern counties of Iowa where it would be too cold for them to properly grow.

Posted in News |