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Supreme Court rules on divorce and property settlement

News

June 5th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled marriages in the state can’t be ended without all the property involved being divided up. The case involved Susan and Ronald Thatcher, who were married in 1984. Susan was diagnosed with terminal cancer in January 2013 and filed to end the 29-year marriage, saying their relationship had broken down. Ronald resisted the ending the marriage.

The Linn County District Court ruled in favor of Susan one day before her death, and ordered the property to be divided at a later date. The ruling was upheld on appeal. The Iowa Supreme Court says Iowa law does not directly address the issue known as bifurcation. The court says there are some advantages to a bifurcated divorce, but also many disadvantages in separating the property of those involved.

The court says the Iowa legislature is the appropriate body to make the policy judgments on whether to allow bifurcated divorces and under what conditions. The Supreme Court vacated the appeals ruling and reversed the district court ruling and says the probate court will now decide how the property is divided.

(Radio Iowa)

Ernst hosts “Roast & Ride” this weekend

News

June 5th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — GOP presidential hopefuls are taking a break from the hotel ballrooms and church basements where they usually campaign. Several are going to the “Roast and Ride” event in Iowa this weekend. It features a pig roast, motorcycles rides and speeches. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry are expected to ride.

It’s a new event in Iowa. The big draws used to be a straw poll that is becoming less relevant and the annual Democratic steak fry that ended last year. The “Roast and Ride” event is being held by freshman Sen. Joni Ernst.

Also attending are Sens. Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.

Phone Scam Targeting MidAmerican Energy Customers

News

June 5th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) has received reports from MidAmerican Energy Company regarding a recent surge in scam phone calls to customers throughout Iowa. Since late May 2015, MidAmerican has documented a significant increase in calls from customers reporting fraudulent phone scam attempts in the Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Fort Dodge, Iowa City, and Davenport areas. MidAmerican anticipates customers in additional Iowa cities are being targeted but not reported.

  • MidAmerican has made efforts through media channels to warn business owners and the public of the scam targeting their customers. Despite these efforts, scammers have been successful in retrieving Personal Identifying Information (PII) or collecting money via credit cards or pre-paid (Green Dot) cards from the scam victims.
  • From the reports, an estimated 4-5% of the customers have provided money and/or PII to the scammers.

The scammers generally apply the same tactics by calling residential or business customers, claiming association with MidAmerican, and demanding payment with threats to disconnect their utility service immediately. Scammers are said to be persistent and use sophisticated devices that make it appear to the victim’s Caller ID system that the phone call is coming from the utility company. The scammers insist on direct payment on the phone via a credit card or they direct the customer to callback a specific number and pay with a pre-paid (Green Dot) card.

MidAmerican wants customers to know that they do not threaten immediate disconnection or demand payment over the phone. The company advises customers receiving such a call to hang up immediately and call 1-888-427-5632 to verify the authenticity of the call.

Rural Summit in Atlantic June 17th

Ag/Outdoor, News

June 5th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Residents, business owners and community and economic development leaders in Cass and surrounding counties can share their thoughts about opportunities and challenges facing rural Iowa when Bill Menner, USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa, visits Atlantic on Wednesday, June 17th. A rural summit will take place starting at 10-a.m. at Southwest Iowa Planning Council’s office, 1501 SW 7th Street in Atlantic.USDA Rural Development  logo

USDA Rural Development’s funding continues to have a dramatic impact on rural communities across Iowa. Since 2009, USDA Rural Development has invested more than $3 billion on essential public facilities, small and emerging businesses, water and sewer systems, and housing opportunities for Iowa families. Today, more than 1.7 million Iowans live in rural communities and areas, and nearly half of the state’s communities have fewer than 500 residents.

This past year USDA Rural Development’s investment in rural Iowa helped create or retain more than 1,000 jobs, aided 2,400 families in buying their own homes and assisted more than 50 communities as they made improvements to their facilities, services and infrastructure.

For more information about the event, contact the Southwest Iowa Planning Council at (712) 243-4196 or email swipco@swipco.org.

Friday Girls State Tennis

Sports

June 5th, 2015 by Jim Field

Class 1-A Singles – Semi-Finals
Mara Pirscoveanu, Denison-Schleswig defeated Lily Hamilton, Grinnell 6-0 6-1
Kate Walker, Red Oak defeated Allison Jasper, CR Xavier 6-2 6-3
(Pirscoveanu and Walker will meet for the title)

Class 1-A Singles– Consolation Semi-Finals
Hannah Fox, Waverly-SR defeated Jana King, Glenwood 6-4 6-4 (King plays for 7th)

Class 1-A Singles – Championship
Mara Pirscoveanu, Denison-Schleswig defeated Kate Walker, Red Oak 6-3 6-1

Class 1-A Singles – 7th Place Match
Haley Schneiderman, Aplington-Parkersburg defeated Jana King, Glenwood 6-3 6-4

Class 1-A Doubles – Semi-Finals
Micayla Taylor/Grace Blomstedt, Red Oak defeated Claire Bouchard/Jeanne Bouchard, CR Xavier 6-2 6-4 (Taylor/Blomstedt play for championship)

Class 1-A Doubles – Consolation Semi-Finals
Alli Thomsen/Jenna Taylor, Creston/O-M defeated Kayla Rogers/Sarah Cabeen, Clarinda 6-2 6-3 Thomsen/Taylor play for 5th, Rogers/Cabeen play for 7th)

Class 1-A Doubles – Championship
Chelsea Poesch/Kayla Reusche, Waverly-SR defeated Micayla Taylor/Grace Blomstedt, Red Oak 6-2 3-6 6-3

Class 1-A Doubles – 5th Place Match
Karlee Sinnott/Brianne Eighme, Columbus defeated Alli Thomsen/Jenna Taylor, Creston/O-M 6-1 4-6 1-0

Class 1-A Doubles – 7th Place Match
Kayla Rogers/Sarah Cabeen, Clarinda defeated Lakyn Boltz/Alexis Kemp, Keokuk 7-6 5-7 1-0

 

Hazardous Weather outlook for far west/s.w. IA Counties

Weather

June 5th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

MONONA-HARRISON-SHELBY-POTTAWATTAMIE-MILLS-MONTGOMERY-FREMONT and PAGE COUNTIES...
1051 AM CDT FRI JUN 5 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST
IOWA…WEST CENTRAL IOWA…EAST CENTRAL NEBRASKA…NORTHEAST
NEBRASKA AND SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA.

TODAY AND TONIGHT: A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON IN NORTHEAST NEBRASKA…WITH A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS REST OF THE AREA TONIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT LIKELY…THOUGH STRONGER STORMS COULD PRODUCE SMALL HAIL AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY: THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP IN CENTRAL TO NORTHEAST NEBRASKA ON SATURDAY IN THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING…SPREADING ACROSS EASTERN NEBRASKA AND WESTERN IOWA THROUGH THE EVENING AND INTO SATURDAY NIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE…WITH RISKS FOR LARGE HAIL…DAMAGING WINDS…AND A COUPLE OF TORNADOES. HEAVY
RAIN ALSO IS POSSIBLE…WHICH COULD LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING IN
PRONE LOCATIONS…AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL RIVER FLOODING.

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO SUNDAY NIGHT…MAINLY IN SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA AND PERHAPS FAR SOUTHWESTERN IOWA.

One allergy season tapers off as another one begins

News

June 5th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Iowans who suffer from allergies aren’t getting any breaks this year. Doctor Jill Poole, an allergist in Omaha-Council Bluffs, says those who are sensitive to pollen have been suffering for months already and it won’t be coming to an end anytime soon. “One of the big problems is, the tree pollen season started back in January and there is still some tree pollen in the air,” Dr. Poole says. “The tree pollen season was super-long and now we’re hit with the grass pollen season and this started a little earlier this year than it did last year.”

Grass pollen started giving Iowans red eyes, runny noses and sneezing fits in the past two weeks or so and the season will likely stick around through the end of June. Poole says several over-the-counter antihistamines offer significant relief of the symptoms.
“What’s really great this year is that the intranasal steroid sprays are over-the-counter now,” Poole says. “They go by names like Nasacort and Flonase and those can be really helpful.” There is a steroid injection that offers some allergy sufferers relief, but Poole says she doesn’t typically recommend it as there are long-term side effects.

“I recommend more prescription approaches like allergy desensitization shots which are a lot of shots over a period of time,” she says. Poole is an allergist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

(Radio Iowa)

Backyard and Beyond 06-05-2015

Backyard and Beyond, Podcasts

June 5th, 2015 by admin

Lavon Eblen speaks with Jackie Sander about a Flea Market Alley and Garage Sales in Anita June 6th and 7th.

Play

Police dealing with dangerous prank called swatting

News

June 5th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Several law enforcement agencies around the state, in recent months, have been responding to fake emergencies. It’s a growing problem across the country — a prank referred to as “swatting.” Colonel John Stuelke, with the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, told KCRG-TV his agency has responded to three swatting calls in the last 12 months. It involves a fake emergency call that sends all available law enforcement to one location — something that creates serious safety concerns.

“It’s not only the call itself that makes it serious, but we have people running red lights and sirens to these calls and that’s always a dangerous situation too,” Stuelke said. Linn County Sheriff’s Major Gerald Hansel told KCRG there are several possible motives behind the calls. “He’s checking our response, maybe he doesn’t like someone so he’s trying to get them in trouble,” Hansel said.

Swatting calls can pull officers away from real emergencies, so even if the calls are meant to be joke, the consequences can be serious. Anyone caught swatting can face criminal charges. Earlier this week, officers surrounded a home in the Linn County town of Toddville after a caller dialed police claiming to have shot an individual and threatening to hurt more people in the home. The call was prank, similar to other swatting calls in Fairfax in December 2014 and Robins in March 2015.

(KCRG/Radio Iowa)

Iowa woman wins another $30K prize in lottery scratch game

News

June 5th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Charles City woman has claimed her second $30,000 prize from one of the Iowa Lottery’s scratch games. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that Donna Holtz claimed her prize Monday after buying her winning “Bonus Crossword” game ticket on Sunday at Hy-Vee Gas in Charles City. She says she won her first $30,000 top prize in a similar version of the Crossword game in 2001.

Holtz says she and her husband, Doug, plan to spend the winnings on new windows for their house and a newer vehicle.