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Piatkowski’s 4 TDs lead Drake past Dayton 37-14

Sports

November 14th, 2011 by admin

DES MOINES, Iowa. (AP) — Mike Piatkowski threw for 285 yards and four touchdowns, and Drake secured at least a share of the Pioneer League title Saturday, beating Dayton 37-14 in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Piatkowski hit Drew Blackmon for a 39-yard score in the first quarter, then found Blackmon, Nick Rosa and Kevin Marshall in the second half as the Bulldogs (9-2, 7-1) put the game away. He was 25 for 38 with two interceptions, one of which Nick Weston returned 29 yards to give Dayton (6-5, 4-4) an early 7-0 lead.

Patrick Cashmore added 75 yards rushing and a touchdown for Drake, and Billy Janssen kicked a 32-yard field goal.

Zach Splain threw a touchdown pass to Luke Bellman for Dayton’s other score. Splain had 120 yards on 14-for-27 passing and was intercepted three times.

The win was Drake’s 10th in a row at home dating to last season.

Northern Iowa beats Southern Utah 34-21

Sports

November 14th, 2011 by admin

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Carlos Anderson ran for 115 yards and quarterback Tirrell Rennie finished with 86 yards and two rushing touchdowns to lead Northern Iowa to a 34-21 nonconference win over Southern Utah Saturday night.

The Panthers (8-2) trailed 21-7 after Brad Sorensen’s touchdown for the Thunderbirds (5-5) early in the second quarter. But the Panthers got within 21-17 at the half and Rennie’s 16-yard run early in the third quarter put Northern Iowa ahead to stay, 24-21. L.J. Fort also scored two rushing TDs for the Panthers, who piled up 284 yards on the ground in their regular-season home finale.

North Dakota State’s loss to Youngstown State into a first-place tie with the Bison in the Missouri Valley Conference at 6-1. Northern Iowa plays at Illinois State next week while North Dakota State visits Western Illinois. The Bison own the head-to-head edge having beaten Northern Iowa 27-19 on Oct. 29.

No. 13 Michigan State beats Iowa 37-21

Sports

November 14th, 2011 by admin

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Michigan State wiped away 22 years of frustration at Iowa with a resounding win Saturday over the Hawkeyes.The Spartans also took a big step toward a much more important milestone – a spot in the Big Ten’s first title game.Kirk Cousins threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns and 13th-ranked Michigan State beat Iowa 37-21 to take control of the Big Ten’s Legends Division race.B.J. Cunningham caught a pair of TD passes for the Spartans, who snapped a seven-game losing streak at Iowa dating back to 1989.Michigan State (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) took a commanding 31-7 lead with two touchdowns in a 36-second stretch late in the second quarter. Cunningham followed Le’Veon Bell’s 25-yard TD run with a 22-yard touchdown catch to put Michigan State up by 24 at the break.The Spartans can now earn a spot in the Big Ten title game with wins over Indiana and Northwestern in the next two weeks.”We came here with an idea that we were going to have to weather the storm or be the storm,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said.James Vandenberg threw for 262 yards and two touchdowns for Iowa (6-4, 3-3), which lost its first home game of the season.”They were a lot more ready to play then we were, and certainly did a great job in that first half and made it a real challenge for us,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.Save for a brief flash of life out of Iowa late in the third quarter, the Spartans coasted to a payback win over the Hawkeyes after getting pounded 37-6 last season in Iowa City.Iowa quickly cut a 34-7 deficit to 13 points on Marvin McNutt’s 3-yard TD catch and a 2-yard touchdown run by Marcus Coker. But Iowa got too cute trying a hurry-up sneak on 4th-and-1 and was called for a false start, and Vandenberg’s next pass fell incomplete with 10:16 left.Dan Conroy hit a 48-yard field goal with 5:11 left, and Tony Lippett’s fumble recovery with 2:53 to go sealed the win for the Spartans.”We’ve been the hunted the last two years. We are a program that people are hunting down. Last year we were undefeated when we walked in here,” Dantonio said. “To be able to push through the discouragement last year is a sign of progress and a sign of maturity.”McNutt was stellar in his final home game for the Hawkeyes with eight catches for 130 yards, becoming the program’s leader in career receiving yards with 2,635.But Iowa only got 57 yards rushing from Coker, the Big Ten’s leading rusher entering the game.Michigan State never got going in last year’s loss to Iowa. The Spartans had been unbeaten until that game.It took less than six minutes for Michigan State to top that terrible performance.Cousins found Cunningham alone in the middle of the end zone for a 6-yard TD pass, putting the Spartans ahead 7-0 after their first drive.Cousins then followed a pick by Johnny Adams with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Edwin Baker to give Michigan State a 14-0 lead with 7:37 left in the first quarter.In less than half of a quarter, the Spartans had more points than they had scored in each of their previous three road games.Iowa’s answer came seven seconds into the second, as Vandenberg found sophomore C.J. Fiedorowicz for his first career TD grab from eight yards out. But safety Tanner Miller went for an interception of Cousins and missed, allowing Keshawn Martin to go 67 yards and set up a 22-yard field goal from Conroy.That put the Spartans ahead 17-7 – and they weren’t through yet.Bell, who ran for 112 yards, went straight up the middle of Iowa’s defense for a 25-yard touchdown run with 1:57 left in the second quarter, and Jordan Bernstine fumbled the kickoff right back to Michigan State.That set the stage for a leaping touchdown grab by Cunningham, giving Michigan State a 31-7 lead.It was a complete role reversal from last season’s game, which Iowa led 30-0 at halftime, and ended Iowa’s slim hopes of landing in the inaugural Big Ten title game.”We didn’t look ready. We left the door open way too many times in all three phases,” Ferentz said.The misery didn’t stop there for the Hawkeyes either, as Michigan State successfully converted a fake field goal in the third quarter with a 24-point lead.Iowa is out of the Legends Division title picture, which is now Michigan State’s to lose.”We’re right where we want to be with two weeks to go in the regular season,” Cousins said.

State encourages testing of wells for arsenic

News

November 14th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A recent study shows hundreds of Iowa residents are drinking tap water polluted with arsenic and health workers are increasing efforts to have private well owners test their water for the poisonous element. Arsenic is found naturally in soil throughout Iowa. It can seep into ground water, which is the source of tap water for more than half the state’s residents.

The Des Moines Register reported drinking large amounts of arsenic over decades can lead to various cancers and cardiovascular and respiratory problems. Short-term exposure can lead to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and skin problems. Health officials across Iowa gathered last week to talk about solutions to the problem. The University of Iowa study found nearly half of the 475 wells checked between 2006 and 2008 tested positive for arsenic.

http://dmreg.co/sB8hnx

Community meeting to be held tonight in Cumberland, re: Post Office closing

News

November 14th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

A reminder today to residents of Cumberland: Representatives with the U-S Postal service will be in Cumberland this evening, to discuss the possible closure of the community’s Post Office. The meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 6-p.m. in the Cumberland Community Building.

Similar meetings have been held in other communities throughout the KJAN listening area over the past few months.

Broncos defeat K.C. Chiefs Sunday

Sports

November 14th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Tim Tebow hit Eric Decker on a 56-yard touchdown pass, one of his only two completions in the game, helping the Denver Broncos to a 17-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Denver (4-5) played almost the entire game without leading rushers Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno. McGahee hurt his hamstring and Moreno went down with a knee injury in the first quarter. It didn’t matter against the struggling Chiefs. Lance Ball ran for 96 yards and Tebow added 44 yards and a touchdown on the ground, helping the Broncos win for the third time in four games with the former Heisman Trophy winner under center. Matt Cassel was 13 of 28 for 93 yards and a touchdown for Kansas City (4-5), which followed up a 31-3 loss to previously winless Miami with another miserable showing at home.

State Volleyball Championship scores & High School Football playoff scores/schedule

Sports

November 14th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The Championship rounds were held at the State Volleyball Tournament Saturday. In Class 3-A, Waverly-Shell Rock defeated Sioux City/Bishop Heelan, 3-1.  In Class 4-A, Iowa City West was a 3-2 winner over Iowa City High.  Tripoli was crowned the Class 1-A State Champions, after their 3-0 victory over LeMars Gehlen Catholic. And, in Class 2A, Dike-New Hartford was a 3-0 winner over Hull/Western Christian.

State Football

During the high school football playoff’s Saturday, in the Class 1-A semi-finals, Council Bluffs/St. Albert defeated Emmetsburg, 24-6.  St. Albert takes on St. Ansgar in the Championship round 10:05-a.m. Sat., Nov. 19th.  St. Ansgar moved into the Championships after they defeated West Branch 32-19, Saturday.   Tonight’s schedule pits Harlan against Decorah and LaPorte City/Union against ADM/Adel, in the Class 3-A Semi-finals.  And, in Class 2-A, Spirit Lake takes on State Center/West Marshall, and Dyersville Beckman plays Iowa City Regina. All games begin at 7-p.m.

Adams County man arrested Sunday on drug & other charges

News

November 14th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The Adams County Sheriff’s Department reports a Corning man was arrested Sunday evening on drug and harassment charges. 41-year old Matthew Dean Desher faces two counts of 1st degree Harassment charges and one Possession of  Marijuana charge, after two separate persons reported Desher was harassing them. Following his arrest at around 5:55-p.m. Sunday, Desher was booked into the Adams County Jail. As he was being booked, Desher was found to have allegedly been in possession of marijuana. He was being held at the jail in Corning, pending an appearance before the magistrate.

Cardinals set to hire Matheny as manager

Sports

November 13th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

(AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals said they will announce the hiring of Mike Matheny as manager during a news conference Monday. Matheny, a former St. Louis catcher will replace the retired Tony La Russa.

Mike Matheny (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

La Russa stepped down after leading the team to the World Series title. The 41-year-old Matheny was a minor league instructor with the Cardinals and has no managing experience. He played for St. Louis from 2000-04 and won three Gold Gloves. He won another with San Francisco. Matheny’s playing career blossomed after he signed a one-year free-agent deal to be the backup catcher in St. Louis. A career .239 hitter Matheny did enough defensively to earn a starting job. Matheny was one of six men the Cardinals interviewed to replace La Russa. They also talked to Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, longtime Cardinals third-base coach Jose Oquendo, former Boston manager Terry Francona, Triple-A manager Chris Maloney, and Chicago White Sox coach Joe McEwing.

Western Iowa farm becomes haven for donkeys

News

November 13th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

A western Iowa man is working to make a difference in the lives of unwanted donkeys. Scott Shehan (SHE-han) is part of a national group called the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue. Shehan has a farm in Mills County near Malvern and says he and his family fell in love with donkeys after visiting a local sale barn, so they started taking donkeys in. “The ones that we currently have came from the states of Oklahoma, Texas and California,” Shehan says. “They’ve either been abandoned or they were running wild at some point in their life before they were rescued by the folks with Peaceful Valley.” Shehan says the donkeys are a serious problem in drought-stricken areas.

“They’ve become a nuisance for ranchers down in Texas with the drought,” he says. “They don’t have enough hay for their own cattle and then you’ve got these wild donkeys running loose and they’re eating up what hay they have available for their livestock. They’re trying to pass legislation that would allow donkeys to be shot on sight which is tragic. We’re trying to prevent that.” Shehan occasionally opens up his acreage, Lusco Farms Rescue, for open houses and donkey adoptions. He says it’s a pleasure to work with people in Iowa and Nebraska who care about these animals.

“We’ve had people donate hay and volunteer time and the people from Peaceful Valley were just shocked when I told them of the outpouring of support we were getting,” he says. “They just don’t see that down in Texas.” Shehan is still in need of hay donations. He’s also trying to raise money for a tractor to assist in the care of the donkeys. Learn more at “luscofarms.com”.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)