712 Digital Group - top

CAM Basketball grinds out win against Ar-We-Va

Sports

February 5th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

The CAM Cougars basketball team fought their way to a 68-54 victory against the Ar-We-Va Rockets on Monday night. The Cougars went back and forth throughout the first quarter, managing to scrape up three points at the end of the first to be up 20-13. In the second quarter Ar-We-Va came out fired up and erased a seven-point deficit thanks to a passionate speech from Head Coach Matt Wilken. Midway through the second, the Rockets had their first lead of the night at 26-25. Both teams went back and forth throughout the rest of the quarter swapping the lead until CAM managed to sink a few triples to be up 25-30 at half time.

In the third quarter the Rockets seemed to slow down as CAM sped up going on an 8-0 run to start the quarter. Ar-We-Va never got close to touching the Cougar lead throughout the rest of the game.

Collin Bower had another impressive night for CAM scoring 26 points. Chase Jahde was second in scoring with 15 points and Ryan Bower chipped in 11.  CAM head coach Ian Hunt commented on his players physical mindset heading into this game.

Coach Hunt wants to see his team’s physical defense carry over for the rest of the year.

 

Ar-We-Va was led by 15 from Harley Molina and 14 from Wade Ragaller. The Rockets fall to 12-8 on the season. CAM bumps up to 10-9 and stay at home to take on Nodaway Valley Tuesday night.

CAM Girl’s Basketball knock down Ar-We-Va at home

Sports

February 5th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

The CAM Cougars Girls basketball team looked as strong as ever with an intimidating home win over the Ar-We-Va Rockets on Monday night 88-30. The Cougars used a 13-3 run to start the first quarter and ended the first on a 13-0 run to blow the game open. CAM led 28-6 at the end of the first and grew the lead to 21 by half at 39-18. The Cougars led by as many as 55 down the stretch.

The Cougars were led by 25 points from Meredith Rich. Three other players finished in double figures with Eva Steffensen dropping down 19, Kiera Nichols added 16, and Courtney Follmann chipped in 11 points.

Ar-We-Va got 9 points from Amber Ragaller in the loss. CAM Head Coach Joe Wollum liked the quick start and execution from his team.

CAM improves to 19-2 on the season and will wait to face the winner of Orient-Macksburg versus Murray next Tuesday at home. With the playoffs starting next week for the Cougars, Coach Wollum noted that his team is tough to beat when they focus on getting into transition.

The Rockets fall to 4-17 and will head to West Bend-Mallard on Thursday.

JUDY BAIER, 78, of Atlantic (Svcs. 2/8/24)

Obituaries

February 5th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

JUDY BAIER, 78, of Atlantic, died Sunday, February 4, 2024, at Atlantic Specialty Care. Funeral services for JUDY BAIER will be held 11-a.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, at the First United Methodist Church in Atlantic.  Roland Funeral Service in Atlantic has the arrangements.

A time to greet the family will begin at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, February 8th, at the church.

Burial will be in the Atlantic Cemetery.  The family invites you to join them following the service at the cemetery for lunch and a time of visitation in the fellowship hall.

JUDY BAIER is survived by:

Her son – Kevin (Denise) Williamson, of Greenfield, MO.

Her daughter – Brenda (Joshua) Young, of Council Bluffs.

Her half-sister: Madonna (Larry) Nisson, of Atlantic.

and 4 grandsons.

Condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralserivce.com.

Atlantic School Board set to meet Wednesday evening

News

February 5th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will meet 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7th, in the Atlantic High School Media Center. The Consent Agenda/Action items include approving the resignations of:

  • Michelle Fritz, Middle School Teacher (effective at the end of the current school year)
  • Sarah Rose, H.S. Counselor (effective at the end of the current school year)
  • Maria Pearson, M.S. Librarian (effective at the end of the current school year)

And, Contract Recommendations and/or Letters of Assignment for:

  • Volunteer Coaches for 2024 Spring Athletic Programs
  • Caine Page, Substitute Van/Suburban Driver
  • Lori Hayes, Schuler Sped Para, long-term sub (February-End of School year).

The Board will also act on the advertising of, & the hiring for, a Director of Student Services.

The meeting will be available to view on You Tube.

ARLENE SIEVERS, 100, of Avoca (2-8-2024)

Obituaries

February 5th, 2024 by Jim Field

ARLENE SIEVERS, 100, of Avoca died February 4, 2024 at Myrtue Medical Center.  Private Family Services for ARLENE SIEVERS will be held on Thursday, February 8, 2024 at the Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Avoca.

—————————————————————————————-

Burial in the Graceland Cemetery in Avoca.

ARLENE SIEVERS is survived by:

Son: Roger Sievers of Avoca

Daughter:  Sandy (Larry) Petersen of Avoca

2 Grandsons

1 Great-Grandchild

Class 1A and 2A District pairings for the 2024 basketball postseason

Sports

February 5th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

Per the updated 2024 postseason manual, the Class 2A and Class 1A brackets will be released Monday, Feb. 5, and the Class 4A and Class 3A brackets will be released Monday, Feb. 12.

Preliminary round games in Class 1A are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 9. First round district games in Class 2A and Class 1A begin on Monday, Feb. 12. Opening round substate games for Class 4A and Class 3A tipoff on Monday, Feb. 19.

Brackets are displayed in district and substate formats through the links below.

With the addition of IHSAA basketball rankings, bracket assignments and seedings are now managed by the IHSAA.

Eight teams from each class advance to the 2024 IHSAA State Basketball Tournament presented by Iowa Farm Bureau, set for March 4-8 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. For more information on the postseason process, please view the Basketball Postseason Manual.

IHSAA Basketball Rankings Feb. 5, 2024

Sports

February 5th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

CLASS 4A

 

Rank School W L
1 Cedar Rapids, Kennedy 17 0
2 Iowa City, West 15 1
3 Valley, W.D.M. 13 4
4 Sioux City, East 18 2
5 Dubuque, Senior 15 1
6 Cedar Falls 14 3
7 Waukee 13 6
8 Ankeny Centennial 12 5
9 Pleasant Valley 12 4
10 Waukee Northwest 12 7

 

CLASS 3A

 

Rank School W L
1 Clear Lake 17 0
2 ADM 15 1
3 Waverly-Shell Rock 15 2
4 Solon 17 0
5 Decorah 16 2
6 Marion 12 4
7 MOC-Floyd Valley 16 3
8 Ballard 12 5
9 Clear Creek-Amana 12 5
10 Winterset 11 7

 

CLASS 2A

 

Rank School W L
1 Western Christian 16 2
2 Hudson 18 1
3 West Lyon 18 1
4 Underwood 19 0
5 Pella Christian 15 4
6 Kuemper Catholic 16 2
7 Treynor 17 2
8 West Burlington 16 0
9 Monticello 16 2
10 Grundy Center 17 2

 

CLASS 1A

 

Rank School W L
1 North Linn 17 1
2 Madrid 17 2
3 Marquette Catholic 20 1
4 Lake Mills 18 1
5 Winfield-Mount Union 15 2
6 Keota 19 0
7 Lynnville-Sully 19 1
8 North Union 18 2
9 East Mills 18 1
10 Kee, Lansing 18 2

 

Hawkeyes No. 2 in AP Poll

Sports

February 5th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s basketball team is ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 released on Monday. Iowa has spent 16 total weeks at No. 2 in program history.

The Hawkeyes have been ranked in the Top 5 since the poll came out since Oct. 17. Iowa currently owns the longest active streak in the AP Top 5 at 15 consecutive weeks.

Iowa has 327 appearances in the AP Poll and the Hawkeyes rank 23rd for all-time appearances.

The Hawkeyes are coming off pair of road wins at Northwestern and Maryland. Iowa snapped its seven-game losing streak at the Xfinity Center on Saturday with a, 93-85 victory against the Terps. Iowa last started 21-2 in the 1995-96 season and is 7-1 against AP Top 25 and teams receiving votes this season.

UP NEXT

The second-ranked Hawkeyes will host Penn State on Feb. 8. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. (CT) inside a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The game will broadcast on BTN and the Hawkeye Radio Network.

Former Iowa Secretary of Agriculture passes away

Ag/Outdoor, News

February 5th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey has died. Northey, who was 64, was a fourth-generation farmer from Spirit Lake and an Iowa State University graduate.

He talked about his path to becoming Ag Secretary after receiving an Iowa Ag Leader Award in 2022 for his outstanding and distinguished service to Iowa agriculture. “I left Iowa State, came back to the farm, got involved in Iowa Corn Growers, Iowa Farm Bureau and served in some roles in those organizations, and then ran for Iowa Secretary of Ag back in 2006,” he said. Northey said he loved the job. “It’s a a great job. A wonderful job to be a part of, certainly a highlight of my career,” he said.

Northey was reelected twice to the state post and then resigned in early 2018 after being appointed as Under Secretary in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he oversaw the Farm Service Agency.

Current Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig said in a statement that he was shocked at Northey’s death. He says Northey was a husband, father, grandfather, and a farmer who loved Iowa and loved Iowa agriculture.

Bill Northey. (IA Ag Dept. photo)

Other Iowa elected officials also reacted to the news. U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley said in a statement, “the Iowa farm community lost a giant. Bill Northey was a dear friend and fierce advocate for the family farmer.” Fellow U.S. Senator Joni Ernst said in a statement, “Bill Northey dedicated his life to Iowa agriculture. Throughout his career as a farmer, leader in key agriculture organizations, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary, he was a steadfast advocate for the producers that feed and fuel our world. He helped establish Iowa as a national leader on key initiatives including ethanol and the Nutrient Reduction Strategy, while always remaining grounded and connected to his family farm in Dickinson County.”

Governor Kim Reynolds said in a statement that, “Bill was a great leader whose work ethic and passion for Iowa agriculture was unmatched. Iowans and farmers around the country were fortunate to have such a rock-solid advocate and friend.” The Governor has ordered all flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff and they are to remain at half-staff until sunset on the day of Northey’s funeral.

Fort Dodge looks to hike gas & electric bills to pay for more cops

News

February 5th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Fort Dodge leaders may soon add a franchise fee to utility bills to help pay for hiring more police officers. Police Chief Dennis Quinn says Fort Dodge experienced seven homicides last year, and that’s unusual for his city of 25-thousand. “We’ve had a pretty rough year as a community,” Chief Quinn says, “with the level of violence that we’ve had.” The city council approved the first reading of a plan to add a five-percent franchise fee to pay for eight new officers, an increase in the force of 20-percent.

Many communities and counties across the state turn to franchise fees on electric and gas bills for extra funding. Quinn says it’s an effort to be proactive. “Anytime you get into money can be contentious and I understand that, too, I have bills to pay, just like everybody else does,” Quinn says, “but this is something that we need. If there was another way the city could do this, we would do that.”

Fort Dodge City Manager David Fierke says the new fee would raise about two-point-four million dollars a year, with part of the money also going toward property tax relief and quality-of-life services like the library, art museum, and senior center. Fierke says new state tax laws now limit the money communities can levy.

“There really isn’t another way to do this,” Fierke says, “without a significant reduction in quality of life and other services.” Fierke says if the city council gives its full support, customers could see the franchise fee on their utility bills as soon as this summer.