United Group Insurance

Iowa man pleads not guilty to head-butting son

News

January 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A February trial has been scheduled for a Sergeant Bluff man accused of head-butting his teenage son. The Sioux City Journal reports that 47-year-old Bradley Graff entered a written plea of not guilty on Monday in Woodbury County District Court. The charge is child endangerment causing injury. His trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 3.

Court documents say the incident occurred while Graff was practicing wrestling with his 11- and 13-year-old sons at his business, Wall of Fame. The documents say the older boy asked to stop practicing, but Graff threw him onto a mat several times and head-butted him. The documents also say Graff later stomped his son’s head onto the mat, giving the boy a bloody nose.

(Podcast) 7:20-a.m. KJAN Sports report, 1/01/2015

Podcasts, Sports

January 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

With Ric Hanson.

Play

(Podcast) KJAN 7-a.m. News, Jan. 1st 2015

News, Podcasts

January 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Play

Frozen hydrants hamper Sioux City firefighters

News

January 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say two frozen hydrants hampered efforts to extinguish flames that destroyed a mobile home in Sioux City. Firetrucks were sent to the mobile home park around 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Sioux City Deputy Fire Marshal Frank Fulton says firefighters couldn’t tap into the two frozen hydrants, so they had to go to a third hydrant farther away to get water. Fulton says the problem may have cost the residents more property than they would have lost otherwise.

The three adults and three children who lived in the home escaped safely.

2 arrests, 2 citations in Red Oak on New Year’s Day

News

January 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

On the first day of the New Year, Red Oak Police report two arrests and two citations. Early this (Thursday) morning, officers cited 20-year old Dillon Makenzie Terry for Possession of Alcohol under the legal age of 21. Rodney Earl McAlpin was also cited for Providing Alcohol to a person under the age of 21. The citations were issued at 419 E. Reed Street, in Red Oak.

Red Oak Police report also the arrest of 25-year old Megan Renea Guffey, of Villisca. Guffey was taken into custody for Public Intoxication just after 12:30-a.m., at 106 E. Coolbaugh Street. She was being held at the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center (LEC) on $300 bond.

And, 30-year old Zachariah Michael Holland, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 12:30-a.m. for Domestic Abuse/Simple Assault, Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree, and Trespassing. Holland was being held without bond at the Montgomery County LEC.

(6:30-a.m. News)

(Podcast) Skyscan Forecast: Thu., Jan. 1st 2015

Podcasts, Weather

January 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

The weather forecast for Cass & area Counties, and weather information for Atlantic.

Play

NWS Weather forecast for Cass & area Counties: 1/01/2015

Weather

January 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

400 AM CST THU JAN 1 2015

EARLY THIS MORNING…PARTLY CLOUDY. NOT AS COLD. SOUTHWEST WIND AROUND 10 MPH.

TODAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH AROUND 30. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW AROUND 15. WEST WIND NEAR 10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST AFTER MIDNIGHT.

FRIDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 20S. NORTH WIND NEAR 5 MPH SHIFTING TO THE EAST AROUND 5 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

FRIDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY THROUGH MIDNIGHT THEN BECOMING MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOW AROUND 20. SOUTHEAST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

SATURDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW IN THE MORNING…THEN LIGHT SNOW LIKELY IN THE AFTERNOON. LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE. HIGH IN THE LOWER 30S. SOUTH WIND 5 TO 10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE WEST IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF SNOW 70 PERCENT.

SATURDAY NIGHT…CLOUDY WITH A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW. PATCHY BLOWING SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. BREEZY…COLDER. LOW ZERO TO 5 ABOVE.

SUNDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. BREEZY. MUCH COLDER. HIGH 5 TO 10 ABOVE.

Brief pursuit in Pott. County leads to 3 arrests

News

January 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

A brief pursuit followed by a crash Wednesday afternoon in Pottawattamie County lead to the arrest of three people. According to the Daily NonPareil, a Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department deputy attempted to pull a vehicle over for speeding at around 4:15-p.m., near 270th Street and Iowa Highway 92. A check of the license plate indicated the vehicle had been stolen.

A brief pursuit that began soon afterward, ended when the vehicle entered the ditch at Valley View Drive and Greenview Road. Three suspects in the vehicle were taken into custody. No injuries were reported and no names were immediately released.

Cass & area Counties to share housing trust fund grant

News

January 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Eight counties in southwest Iowa will benefit this year from a grant announced by the Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund. Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) executive director John McCurdy told The Daily NonPareil, the $350,669 grant will be distributed among Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Shelby and Pottawattamie counties. Grant funding will not be used for projects in Council Bluffs.

McCurdy said a primary use of the funds is a home buyer assistance program that can help those in need buy homes with up to 7 percent – up to a maximum of $7,000 – in assistance in meeting the purchase price. While the program benefits first-time home buyers, it also includes current homeowners.

Those who receive $7,000 can qualify for $4,000 in the form of a five-year forgivable loan. If they live in the house for five years, $4,000 of the $7,000 is forgiven. The remaining $3,000 is treated as a 1 percent loan. McCurdy said the majority of the grant funds however, will go towards repairing homes for low-income homeowners in the case of imminent health and safety issues, such as when a furnace  quits during the winter and needs to be replaced.

McCurdy said the grant does not cover Council Bluffs because the city receives its own version of funds. He said the waiting list to receive aid stands at about 300 homes right now. Some homeowners can receive aid more quickly, depending on their situations, he said. The counties that participate in the program help fund it, McCurdy said, by matching the money into the trust fund.

McCurdy said demolition is part of the program as well. If a city acquires a blighted house, the funds can be used to help pay up to 50 percent of the demolition costs.

Iowa leads nation in communities with historic preservation aims

News

January 1st, 2015 by Ric Hanson

No other state has as many local governments participating in a program run by the National Park Service. The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs director Mary Cownie says over 100 cities and counties in Iowa have received the “certified local government” designation from the Park Service. “This highlights communities with an active local historic preservation effort, an effort that we know is critical to building vibrant communities and stimulating economic growth,” Cownie says. According to the National Park Service website, the goal of the program is to “save the irreplaceable historic character of places.”

Once an area receives “Certified Local Government” status, it gets technical assistance from state and federal experts, plus it’s eligible for government grants. Cownie cites the experience of a northwest Iowa community that received a state grant two years ago. “Le Mars has had a model historic preservation commission and with the help of a (Department of Cultural Affairs) grant, was successful in listing their downtown of more than 70 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places,” Cownie says.

The Commercial District in downtown Le Mars was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. The community now has gotten a half a million dollar federal grant to help renovate the store fronts of about three dozen businesses, so they’ll look like they did when the structures were first built. The building owners will finance about 25 percent of the project. The federal grant money along with funds from the City of Le Mars will cover the rest of the cost. According to the National Park Service, studies show historic districts maintain higher property values, have less population decline and foster “a greater sense of community” among residents.

(Radio Iowa)