Class 2A Semifinals
#1 Maquoketa Valley 47, #4 Nodaway Valley 45 FINAL
#2 Dike-New Hartford 57, #3 West Branch 47
Class 1A Semifinals
#1 Bishop Garrigan 57, #4 Exira-EHK 35
#2 Newell-Fonda 73, #6 Montezuma 34
Class 5A Championship
#1 Waukee 71, #2 Johnston 42
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s congressional delegation is urging the Biden Administration to restructure the state’s weekly allocation of Covid vaccine. The group says putting more doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine in the mix make sense. Representative Ashley Hinson of Marion said pharmacies in rural parts of the state cannot afford the freezers required to store the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
“Rural and low income Iowans face unique barriers to receiving the Covid vaccine,” Hinson said this morning. “One of the challenges, of course, is storing the vaccine in cool enough temperatures.”
Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is “fridge-stable” and only requires one dose, making it “easy to distribute in hard-to-reach areas.” Representative Randy Feenstra of Hull tweeted that 1.1 million people live in rural Iowa and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is one way to deal with logistical challenges.
Congresswoman Marianette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa, the former director of the Iowa Department of Public Health said prioritizing distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to rural areas would reduce the burden on rural health care providers and county health officials.
(Radio Iowa) – A missing girl from eastern Iowa will be featured on a national cable T-V show next week. The disappearance of Breasia Taylor of Davenport will be the focus of one-hour special on Investigation Discovery’s “In Pursuit: The Missing.” The ten-year-old girl was last seen at a Davenport apartment complex on July 10th. The night before she vanished, Breasia and her half-brother spent the night with the boy’s father, Henry Earl Dinkins.
Breasia Taylor
He’s a registered sex offender. Davenport police say Dinkins is a person of interest in the case, but has not been charged. The special on Investigation Discovery airs Monday at 8 PM.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture is co-chair of what’s called the Hypoxia Task Force, which works to reduce the size of the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico through cutting nutrient runoff in the Mississippi River basin. Mike Naig says the group, which represents 12 states in the region, recently sent a letter requesting support from President Biden and his administration.
“The federal government can help us with some resources and some regulatory relief, too,” Naig says. “The letter that we sent to the Biden administration, as they come in and set up shop and get their policies underway, that they remember and we encourage them to focus on and be a good partner to the Hypoxia Task Force.” Naig says Iowa launched its nutrient reduction management strategies in 2013 as a way to reduce the size of the hypoxia zone, which covers 21-hundred square miles of the gulf.
“You’ve got states all across the Mississippi River Basin that are implementing their nutrient reduction strategies,” Naig says. “That’s what we want to see, states being proactive, doing what makes sense in their state, working with all of their partners. We want to continue to see that great progress all across the region.” Hypoxia is a lack of oxygen and in the gulf, it means plants die and marine life either dies or moves away. Naig says Iowa farmers are using techniques that are having a beneficial effect on the environment and in battling problems like hypoxia.
“We continue to focus on implementing conservation practices like no-till, reduced tillage, cover crops, building wetlands,” Naig says. “Those are some of the practices that we know, the science tells us those things work. If we see that change on the land, we know we’ll see an improvement in water quality.” The group’s action plan has a near-term target of reducing nutrient loading to the Gulf of Mexico from the basin by 20-percent by 2025.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Federal prosecutors for Iowa say a Webster City man has been sentenced to more than 14 years in federal prison for receiving and distributing child pornography. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa says in a news release that 56-year-old Kevin Eugene Dill was sentenced Feb. 26 to 169 months. There is no parole in the federal system.
Dill pleaded guilty in October to single counts of distribution of child pornography and receipt of child pornography. As part of his plea, Dill admitted that between March 2012 and June 2020, he knowingly received thousands of images and videos of child pornography.
First Team
Layne Pryor, Woodbine*
Sage Evans, West Harrison*
Gavin Reineke, Boyer Valley
Connor McKee, CAM
Colby Rich, CAM
Gabe Obert, Coon Rapids-Bayard
Koelson Evans, West Harrison
Zach Schimmer, Ar-We-Va
*Unanimous Choice
Mason King, West Harrison
Dylan Hoefer, Woodbine
Jaiden TenEyck, Boyer Valley
Tyler Petersen, Exira-EHK
Easton Nelson, Exira-EHK
Tanner Oswald, Coon Rapids-Bayard
Will Ragaller, Ar-We-Va
Brigham Daniel, Glidden-Ralston.
(Radio Iowa) – University of Iowa officials are investigating the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity for alleged alcohol and hazing violations. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports the fraternity is accused of holding in-person social events that included alcohol inside the chapter’s house in Iowa City. A letter from the University of Iowa’s Dean of Student Accountability says officials also have been notified that activities with new fraternity members allegedly posed a risk to their health and safety.
The Gazette reports the University of Iowa investigated another fraternity for an alleged hazing incident. However, officials ultimately determined the activity — which was recorded on video — was not an initiation or required for fraternity membership.
Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen, Friday, announced the winners of the Park and Rec Snow Sculpture Contest. Rasmussen said they had an amazingly close race.
Winning Sculpture by Acacia Macias
The first place winner, with 36 votes, was Acacia Macias, with her huge bear. Acacia won $25 in Atlantic Chamber Bucks. Helping to create the Snow Bear, was Kycas, Serenity and Lily Macias, and Zoey, Auten, Ian and William Cosgrove.
Patrick Garland’s “Snow Train.”
Ryan Kenneth Means’ “Snow Shark”
Second place, with 33 votes, went to Patrick Garland, who created a Train snow sculpture, that looked like it could have been ridden. And, with 32 votes, a Shark sculpture by Ryan Kenneth Means, took third place. The contest began February first and concluded Feb. 28th.
Votes were tabulated virtually Thursday night, by members of the public.
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