Iowa legislators passed a resolution praising astronaut and southwest Iowa native Peggy Whitson this (Thursday) morning. “It’s really a fantastic honor to be back here and to have you guys honor me like this. It’s very special,” Whitson said during remarks on the House floor. “I will tell you that I never forget my Iowa roots.” Whitson is a Beaconsfield native, a graduate of Mount Ayr High School and Iowa Weslyan College in Mount Pleasant. She has spent 665 days in space — a record for a U.S. astronaut.

“Everyone’s always asking what made me successful and I would have to say that learning the work ethic of a farmer was key to that,” Whitson said. “My parents — the hardest-working people I know and being from Iowa has been a fantastic experience for me and one I’m very proud of.”

The resolution passed in the House and Senate noted Whitson’s persistence. Whitson applied to be an astronaut five times before she was accepted into the program in 1986. Representative Cecil Dolecheck of Mount Ayr noted April 12th is an important date in space history. April 12th, 1961 is the data a Russian astronaut made the first manned space flight. April 12th, 1981 was the date of the first Space Shuttle launch.

“I believe it worked out nicely that the Iowa State Legislature will be honoring Iowa’s own record-breaking astronaut on the same date in 2018,” Dolecheck said. Female legislators praised Whitson as a role model for girls considering a career in science.

The resolution passed today (Thursday) in the House and Senate noted Whitson has been called a “space ninja.” It formally thanked her for encouraging boys and girls from towns of any size to “dream big and reach for the stars.”

(Radio Iowa)

The Hard Rock Casino in Sioux City agreed to a penalty today (Thursday) from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission for allowing minor to gamble. Racing and Gaming administrator, Brian Ohorilko, says it happened in November.

“She was on the floor for 56 minutes and had gambled at two different slot machines. The facility did notice her after she had been on the floor — approached her requested identification — and she refused and exited the casino quickly. It was determined later that she was indeed underage,” Ohorilko says. He says the situation met all the three criteria to be considered a violation of underage gambling.

He says the past precedent is for an administrative penalty of 20-thousand dollars and the Hard Rock agreed to pay that penalty. He says the penalty was based on the past history of the casino. Ohroilko said the casino has not had such an incident in the last 365 days, so it is considered a first offense. He said also, state agents will determine if the minor is charged.

“There is a state law which would allow for a minor to be cited criminally. And so in a situation like this what typically happens — and what happened in this case — is it would be be turned over to the Division of Criminal Investigation.”

The I-R-G-C took the action at their meeting in Council Bluffs.

(Radio Iowa)

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and D-C-I are trying to sort out an early morning shooting today (Thursday) in the town of Breda. When law enforcement arrived on scene, they found 35-year-old Andrew Wempe and 39-year-old Jacob Helken, both of Breda, had suffered non-life threatening gunshot wounds to their lower body.

Authorities also determined that the shooter, 48-year-old Robert John Morris, of Carroll, exhibited injuries unrelated to the use of a firearm. The three men were transported to St. Anthony Regional Hospital.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Sioux City construction office reports repairs at the Chicago, Central & Pacific Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad crossings at Iowa 37 in Dunlap, will require closing the roadway to traffic beginning at 9-a.m. Wednesday, April 18, until Thursday, April 19, weather permitting.

During the closure, traffic will be detoured around the work zone using U.S. 30, Remsen Street, Harrison County Road F-14, and Iowa 37.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — School districts would be required to adopt return-to-play rules for students who may have concussions under a bill that is headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds. The Iowa Senate approved the bill 46-0 on Thursday, days after it was approved by the House.

Jean Berger, executive director of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, says the legislation wouldn’t be a substantial change for most Iowa schools. Her organization, along with the Iowa High School Athletic Association, developed a medical review protocol in 2013, but schools aren’t required to follow it.

The legislation doesn’t require schools to have a health care provider present at games, but it limits legal liability if they do. The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency says the bill would have “minimal” costs for local school districts.

NEVADA, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Lottery officials say a Powerball ticket bought at a central Iowa convenience store is worth $1 million. The ticket bought at a Casey’s store in Nevada (nuh-VAY’-duh) matched the first five numbers drawn Wednesday night but not the Powerball number. No one won the nearly $90 million jackpot in the multistate lottery. The figure is expected to reach $106 million for Saturday’s drawing.
Prizes of $1 million or more must be claimed at the Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.