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Apartment residents being evacuated in Mason City

News

September 22nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say apartment residents are being evacuated from two complexes in northern Iowa’s Mason City. The city said in a news release Thursday that an emergency shelter had been set up at the Salvation Army building on the west side of town.

The National Weather Service says more than 2 1/2 inches of rain has fallen in the past 12 hours at Mason City and more is expected to run off already saturated ground. The Winnebago River sits 2 feet over flood stage of 10 feet and is expected to crest at 14.2 feet early Friday morning, depending on rainfall upstream and in the area.

City authorities also asked residents in low-lying areas to plan their evacuations and to move their vehicles to higher ground.

Backyard and Beyond 09-22-2016

Backyard and Beyond, Podcasts

September 22nd, 2016 by admin

Lavon Eblen speaks with Abby Rasmussen about the Exira Fall Festival this weekend.

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Kohorst sworn-in as Mayor of Harlan

News

September 22nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Kate Kohorst is the new mayor of Harlan. Officials swore Kohorst into the post on Tuesday. She replaces Gene Gettys, who left office to become the new city administrator. A Harlan native, Kate grew up on a farm outside of Harlan and graduated from Harlan Community High School. Kohorst says she’s ready to work with Gettys and the City Council as well as the citizens of Harlan to continue moving the town forward.

Harlan Mayor Kate Kohorst

Harlan Mayor Kate Kohorst

Kohorst has served multiple terms on the Harlan Utility Board, while also completing the City Council term of Orv Rocker, who became ill and later died in 2013. She didn’t run for election with the term expired, but said that experience played a part in her decision to seek the mayor’s position.

According to city officials, Kohorst was chosen after an application process. The position was posted in the Harlan newspaper, with citizens asked to submit something about their interest in writing. Harlan residents have 14 days from Tuesday’s appointment to petition for a special election for mayor.

(From our sister station KNOD in Harlan)

Blinded by the light? Drivers need to beware the sun at dusk & dawn

News, Weather

September 22nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Twice each year, with the arrival of spring and fall, Iowa motorists need to be particularly careful when driving at sunrise and sunset. Gail Weinholzer with Triple-A-Iowa, notes today (Thursday) is the day of the autumnal equinox and the sun could be blinding during the morning and afternoon commutes for the next few weeks. “The days are getting shorter, the darkness is getting longer,” Weinholzer says. “It can definitely affect people as they drive, especially to and from work.”

There are no statistics kept in Iowa as to how many crashes occur related to drivers affected by the sun’s blazing light, right in our line of sight. Fall officially arrived at 9:21 this morning.

Sun glare

Sun glare

“The glare of dawn and dusk can be difficult for some drivers to adjust to and it’s important that they do that,” Weinholzer says. “Because the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer, it can also have an impact on making us feel more drowsy and we should be aware of that as well.”

While the autumnal equinox marks the first day of fall in Iowa and all across the northern hemisphere, on the other half of the world south of the equator, this is the first day of spring.

(Radio Iowa)

ELLEN CAMP, 94, formerly of Greenfield (Graveside Svcs. 9/24/16)

Obituaries

September 22nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

ELLEN CAMP, 94, of Post Falls, ID (& formerly of Greenfield), died July 16th. Graveside services for ELLEN CAMP will be held 10-a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24th, at the Greenfield Cemetery, in Greenfield. Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield has the arrangements.

ELLEN CAMP is survived by:

Her son – Lawrence and his wife, Connie of Castro Valley, Calif.

Her daughter – Linda Birdsong of Post Falls, ID.

2 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

Heavy rain swamps portions of several Midwestern states

News

September 22nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – It’s a soggy start to fall for several Midwestern states, where heavy rain has flooded homes, closed major highways and stranded motorists.  In Minnesota, where as much as 8 to 10 inches of rain fell in the Twin Cities area Wednesday night, the Department of Transportation fired up its snowplows to move standing water off major thoroughfares. About 75 miles to the south, several homes were evacuated in Waseca where nearly 14 inches of rain fell over two days.

In western Wisconsin, a portion of Highway 35 was closed because of a number of mudslides. Several school districts canceled classes Thursday because of travel difficulties. In Iowa, the National Weather Service says at least three tornadoes knocked down trees and destroyed a couple of sheds in Floyd and Butler counties.

(Podcast) KJAN 8-a.m. News, 9/22/2016

News, Podcasts

September 22nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Campaign surrogates: asset or liability?

News

September 22nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

One of Donald Trump’s daughters-in-law was in Iowa yesterday (Wednesday) and a member of the Kennedy clan was here to campaign for Hillary Clinton. Campaign veterans say having a “surrogate” stand-in to campaign for the candidate can be a tricky. David Kochel of Des Moines was a key insider on campaigns for Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney. He says unless the campaign “surrogate” has the same last name as the presidential candidate, it’s difficult to draw much of a crowd or the desired media attention. “In general, it can eat up a lot of staff resources and time with marginal benefit,” he says. Kochel says good surrogates “underscore” the campaign’s core message to voters.

“It is a motivation for supporters who are doing a lot of the work and the volunteering,” Kochel says. “It’s also a way to recruit volunteers and bring them in the door, but the message is the main thing.” John Norris of Des Moines was a key insider on campaigns for Democratic presidential candidates Jesse Jackson and John Kerry. Norris says there’s a fine line between asset and liability when it comes to campaign surrogates.

“First of all, you want surrogates who are low maintenance, surrogates who can attract people for whatever the purpose is — for message, for fundraising,” Norris says,”and in Iowa there’s probably a higher threshold than in other states because Iowans are so used to having presidential candidates here.” Kochel agrees. “It’s always been tougher in Iowa to draw people who aren’t he candidates because we see so much of the candidates throughout the caucus process,” Kochel says.

And Norris points out the presidential campaigns in Iowa are focused on early voting right now, since Iowans can start casting ballots next week. “If the surrogate event is about getting the vote out and they’re an attractice surrogate, they can be helpful,” Norris says. “But if you spend a whole lot of time for a surrogate who doesn’t have much draw or electoral value, then you are probably directing your resources in a non-productive way.”

Patrick Kennedy, son of the late Ted Kennedy, hosted a roundtable discussion in Des Moines yesterday to call attention to Clinton’s ideas for addressing gaps in the mental health care system. At nearly the same time, there was a “Women for Trump” event featuring Trump’s daughter-in-law and a long-time aide to three of Trump’s adult children. Lynne Patton is also an executive for Eric Trump’s charity.

During an interview with The Des Moines Register, Patton defended Donald Trump’s record of charitable donations. She told the newspaper Trump often asks groups to write a check to his charity rather than pay him directly for giving a speech. A Washington Post analysis concluded the candidate has not personally donated to his own charity since 2007.

(O.Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

Heartbeat Today 09-22-2016

Heartbeat Today, Podcasts

September 22nd, 2016 by admin

Jim Field discusses Fall fishing.

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(Podcast) KJAN Morning Sports report, 9/22/2016

Podcasts, Sports

September 22nd, 2016 by Ric Hanson

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Chris Parks.

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