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Slauson Pre-trial conference to be held today

News

October 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

A pre-trial conference is set to take place today for an Atlantic woman facing multiple charges associated with a scheme to get money by making her 5-year old daughter appear to have cancer. The conference for 30-year old Leatha Kaye Slauson will be held at the Cass County Courthouse.

A pretrial conference may be conducted for several reasons: (1) expedite disposition of the case, (2) help the court establish managerial control over the case, (3) discourage wasteful pretrial activities, (4) improve the quality of the trial with thorough preparation, and (5) facilitate a settlement of the case.

Slauson had claimed her 5-year-old daughter Riley was dying from colorectal cancer. Thousand dollars were raised for treatments that were never rendered and the family’s trip to Disney World.

The woman has plead Not Guilty to 20 counts, including one count of drug distribution to a person under 18, two counts of child endangerment causing bodily injury, two counts of administering harmful substances, two counts of assault while committing a felony, two counts of domestic abuse and 10 counts of unlawful possession of prescription drugs, and one count of Theft in the 1st degree. The alleged offenses date back to September 2013.

Earlier this month, Slauson’s lawyer indicated he would file a motion for “Diminished Responsibility” on behalf of Slauson, whom he says is competent to stand trial, but unable to tell right from wrong.

Slauson’s trial is set to begin November 12th, in Atlantic. She remains in the Cass County Jail on $35,000 bond.

Romney back to campaign with Ernst in Iowa

News

October 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney — the 2012 Republican nominee for president — campaigned in Iowa Sunday with Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst. “She’s going to be an extraordinary breath of fresh air in Washington,” Romney said. “I can’t wait ’til she goes there and makes ’em squeal, can you? It’s going to be wonderful.” Romney, of course, is referring to Ernst’s primary campaign ad in which she talked about her farm roots and castrating pigs.

Romney campaigned with Ernst in eastern Iowa on May30th, right after he endorsed Ernst as she was competing against five other Republicans for the party’s U.S. Senate nomination. On Sunday Romney was in central Iowa, headlining an Ernst campaign rally at the Iowa Farm Bureau headquarters in West Des Moines. Both Ernst and Romney referred to remarks President Obama made last week about this year’s election.

“He said in this race that his policies are on the ballot,” Romney said. “but Iowa voted for President Obama twice, but Iowa is not going to vote for Bill Bailey and vote for him a third time, that’s for sure.” That “Bill Bailey” reference was Romney’s way of highlighting Michelle Obama’s missteps last Friday when she called Braley “Bailey” seven times before the crowd yelled out Braley’s name. Ernst, who spoke three times as long as Romney did, urged the crowd to vote early and volunteer to seek out other voters.

“Iowa is excited about the opportunity to have not just one Republican United States Senator, but two Republican United States Senators,” Ernst said, to cheers. Romney and Ernst plan to rally with supporters this (Monday) morning in Cedar Rapids.

(Radio Iowa)

Thousands use trail app, fundraising underway to expand it

Ag/Outdoor, News

October 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Developers says more than five-thousand Iowans are using the “Iowa by Trail” application that contains information on 18-hundred miles of trails in the state. The app has details on the location, distance, and type of trails, as well as points of interest close by. Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation spokeswoman, Kerri Sorrell, says as far as she knows Iowa is the first state to have an all-inclusive trail application like this.  “We hear it all the time that people want to get outdoors and discover the natural resources and areas that Iowa has to offer, they just don’t know how to do it or how to get there,” Sorrell says.

She believes it’s has a lot to do with the people in the state. ” I think it says a lot about Iowa’s connection with the land and with its natural surroundings.” The app became available for iPhone users this summer, and Sorrell, says the organization is working to bring the app to android devices.  “We think it’s a really great tool for people who are either experienced with trails or have never been on a trail before to get out and discover new things about their community, find places that they may have never traveled to before,” Sorrell says.

The I-N-H-F was awarded a grant of 40-thousand dollars by the Wellmark Foundation toward the android phone effort. The money must be matched by mid-December. If all goes as planned, Iowa by Trail should be available for all users early next year. Developers says the app has been used 56-thousand times by iPhone owners alone since May.

(Radio Iowa)

Report: Natural gas bills to rise 7% this winter

News

October 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Most Iowans heat their homes with natural gas and they’re facing a good news-bad news situation as the colder months approach. A report from the American Gas Association predicts there will be a relatively “normal” winter ahead, but it also notes natural gas prices are creeping up. Chris McGill is a policy analyst for the association. “It doesn’t appear, according to the National Weather Service, that we’re going to have a repeat of the ‘polar vortex’, so a more moderate, more normal winter this year,” McGill says. “However, the price of natural gas, the unit cost of natural gas for consumers, has been going up over the last couple of years.”

That will likely translate to Iowans facing more expensive utility bills in the coming months. McGill says, “With the increase in costs along with a perhaps-normal winter, we actually see the possibility of bills being about 7% higher this year, compared to last year.” Demand for natural gas remains very high but he says there should -not- be any shortages.

“Supplies are very strong,” McGill says. “We’ve been putting record volumes of natural gas back into storage, planning for the coming winter heating season. Natural gas supplies in North America in general are very strong.” A report from the U.S. Census Bureau estimates 67-percent of Iowans use natural gas to heat their homes, 15-percent use electricity, 14-percent use propane, and the rest use wood or fuel oil.

(Radio Iowa)

NWS/KJAN listening area forecast: 10/13/14

Weather

October 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

346 AM CDT MON OCT 13 2014;( prepared by the National Weather Service in Des Moines)

EARLY THIS MORNING…NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND AREAS OF DRIZZLE. AREAS OF FOG. LIGHT WIND. CHANCE OF SHOWERS 70 PERCENT.

TODAY…AREAS OF FOG IN THE MORNING. WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND AREAS OF DRIZZLE IN THE MORNING…THEN WIDESPREAD SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. BREEZY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 50S. NORTH WIND NEAR 10 MPH INCREASING TO 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. CHANCE OF SHOWERS 90 PERCENT.

TONIGHT…CLOUDY…BREEZY. RAIN IN THE EVENING…THEN RAIN LIKELY BEFORE MIDNIGHT. A CHANCE OF RAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOW IN THE MID 40S. NORTH WIND 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 30 MPH. CHANCE OF RAIN 90 PERCENT.

TUESDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. BREEZY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 60S. NORTH WIND 20 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 35 MPH.

TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW AROUND 40. HIGH IN THE LOWER 60S. NORTH WIND 5 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.

THURSDAY…MOSTLY CLEAR. HIGH IN THE MID 60S.

Wong homers in 9th, Cards edge Giants to tie NLCS

Sports

October 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Kolten Wong hit a leadoff home run in the ninth inning and the resilient St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 Sunday night, evening the NL Championship Series at one game each. The Cardinals lost All-Star catcher Yadier Molina to a strained oblique muscle in the sixth. St. Louis got late homers from Oscar Taveras and Matt Adams before Wong connected off Sergio Romo.

The Giants made it 4-all when pinch-runner Matt Duffy dashed home from second base on a two-out wild pitch in the ninth. Game 3 will be Tuesday in San Francisco.

Cards C Molina leaves game with strained oblique

Sports

October 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Star catcher Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals left Game 2 of the NL Championship Series with a strained muscle on his left side. Molina was replaced by Tony Cruz in the top of the seventh inning with the score tied 2-all Sunday night. Cruz’s passed ball helped the Giants go ahead in the seventh.

Molina hardly budged from the batter’s box when he grounded into a double play against San Francisco reliever Jeremy Affeldt in the sixth. The six-time All-Star remained hunched over until a trainer and manager Mike Matheny came out to meet him. Molina walked off on his own, but was clearly in pain.

Molina, who missed seven weeks this season with a thumb injury, has won six straight Gold Gloves and finished third in NL MVP voting last year. His loss was a huge blow to the Cardinals, who had trailed 1-0 in the best-of-seven series.

 

Cardinals GM: Wainwright weary more than hurt

Sports

October 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright insists he’s fine physically, though he’s failed to make it through the fifth inning in both of his postseason starts. St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said Sunday that he thinks Wainwright’s workload is simply taking a toll. The GM said it might be a good idea in the offseason to figure how to cut down on all those innings.

Counting the postseason, Wainwright has thrown 512 2-3 innings the last two years. That’s by far the most in the majors. In nine postseason innings, Wainwright has surrendered eight earned runs and 17 hits. He blamed mechanical woes and not a chronic elbow issue after losing Game 1 of the NL Championship Series to San Francisco on Saturday night.

A big September may have worn down Wainwright. He was 5-0 while totaling 39 innings, although he was scratched from the regular-season finale after the Cardinals clinched the NL Central.

Iowa early News Headlines: Mon., Oct. 13 2014

News

October 13th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Mitt Romney is visiting Iowa for U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst. The 2012 Republican presidential nominee planned to headline a campaign event Sunday evening in West Des Moines and a stop in Cedar Rapids on Monday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State Fair officials are defending the timing of the annual event against critics who say it may be time to set an earlier fair schedule to avoid conflicting with increasing numbers of school districts moving up the start of their academic year. The Des Moines Register reports the 2015 fair is set for August 13th through 23rd.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A video recording of an Ankeny police officer who tried to get a man to consent to a search of his car after pulling him over for not having headlights on has attracted more than 100,000 views on YouTube. KCCI-TV reports the video of officer Aaron King noticing the driver had disc golf equipment in his car and commenting that all disc golf players smoke marijuana prompted an apology from the police department.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A Davenport cemetery has been listed on a national U.S. National Park Service registry of sites connected with the Underground Railroad, an anti-slavery network that had helped many escape to freedom. The Quad-City Times reports a high school social studies class from Arlington Senior High School in eastern Nebraska discovered the graves of 11 former slaves at Oakdale Memorial Gardens in Davenport.

Atlantic School Board to receive budget information

News

October 12th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education will meet Monday evening in the Media Center at the High School. Kicking-off the 7:30-p.m. session, is a presentation from IASB Financial Services Planning Director Gary Sinclair, who will speak with regard to the budget.

Items on the Board’s Consent Agenda include approval of: Open enrollment requests; Contracts for General and Special Education instructors, along with other contracts and/or Letters of Assignment; Volunteer coaching positions and any resignations.

Other, action items, include approval of: a request for Modified Allowable Growth and Supplemental Aid for a Special Ed deficit; Financial Planning Program Assumptions for budgeting purposes, and, approval of the 2013-14 District Annual Report.

Prior to adjourning for the evening, Schuler Elementary School Principal James Northwick with bring up for discussion, the topic of “District Branding.”