The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is reminding snowmobile and off-highway vehicle owners and users, to renew their registrations before January 1st, 2020. Registrations for snowmobiles and OHVs purchased during the 2019 registration cycle will expire on December 31, 2019. Any decal displayed on a machine with a “19” printed on it will no longer be valid for machines to be used on snowmobile trails, public ice, or the OHV parks. Any registration that is not renewed prior to January 1, 2020 will have a late penalty of $5.00 applied to the registration cost.

All permits, which include resident snowmobiles and nonresident snowmobiles and OHVs, also expire on December 31, 2019. There is no late penalty for a permit purchased after January 1 as they are issued for a calendar year. User permits are required for nonresident and resident snowmobiles used on public land or ice. Nonresident off road vehicles registered in their home state must display a user permit. Residents operating an off-highway vehicle do not need a user permit.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Travis Kelce came out of college with a bit of baggage after he was suspended for an entire season at Cincinnati. But he’s made the Chiefs look brilliant for taking a chance on him. Kelce already has become the first tight end in NFL history with four consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, and with eight catches for 74 yards in last week’s 26-3 romp in Chicago, he became the first with back-to-back seasons of at least 1,200 yards. He’ll be headed to yet another Pro Bowl this season, unless the Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl instead.

NEW YORK (AP) — For the fourth consecutive week, the Baltimore Ravens are the unanimous choice as the top team in the AP Pro32 poll. The New Orleans Saints remained No. 2. The San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Green Bay Packers each moved up a spot respectively to round out the top five. The defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots moved up one spot to No. 6.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Second-ranked Ohio State meets No. 22 West Virginia as one of two games on the week’s AP Top 25 schedule matching a pair of ranked teams. The Buckeyes have already beaten Villanova, North Carolina and Kentucky in nonconference play so far. They rank in the top 10 of KenPom’s national offensive and defensive efficiency metrics. The schedule also includes an instate rivalry game between No. 3 Louisville and No. 19 Kentucky. Gonzaga is off this week after becoming the sixth different team to reach No. 1 in the AP men’s college basketball poll this season.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are investigating two separate hunting incidents. One happened in Warren County on December 22nd, at around 10:30-a.m.. Authorities say Austin Pontier, of St. Charles, was shot by a member of his hunting party while participating in a deer drive south of St. Charles. Pontier was taken to a local hospital and treated and released. His wound was non-life threatening.

The second incident happened Dec. 21st in Marion County. The DNR says at around 9-a.m., Andrew Strahl, of Des Moines, shot at deer as they crossed a road. While shooting, he hit a house north of Pleasantville in rural Marion County. DNR conservation officers are continuing to investigate both hunting incidents at this time.

For the second time this season, Northwest Missouri State junior forward Ryan Hawkins has been named the MIAA men’s basketball athlete of the week.

Hawkins (Atlantic, Iowa) averaged 28.5 points per game and shot 70.6 percent from the field in leading Northwest to a pair of home non-conference victories. Hawkins went 24-of-34 from the field and 8-of-13 from three-point range in the two contests. Hawkins went for 32 points against Central Methodist and then followed that up with 25 points against Truman State.

Hawkins shot 13-of-15 from the field (including 5-of-6 from 3-point range) and tallied five steals against Central Methodist. Hawkins drained 11-of-19 field goals and 3-of-7 three-pointers to go along with seven rebounds and four assists vs. Truman State.

Hawkins leads the MIAA in scoring (24.3 points per game), field goal percentage (.582), three-point field goal percentage (.457) and total steals (25).

The No. 2-ranked Bearcats (10-1 overall, 1-1 MIAA) will return to action Wednesday, Jan. 1, at 1:30 p.m. against Simpson College at Bearcat Arena. Fans can gain free admission with a canned food donation for the January 1 contest.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Curt Flood set off the free-agent revolution 50 years ago Tuesday with a 128-word, two-paragraph letter to baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. St. Louis had traded the All-Star center fielder to Philadelphia. Flood refused to accept the Cardinals’ right to deal him and challenged the reserve clause in the first shot of a labor war that would consume the sport for more than a quarter-century. He lost, but the union won free agency in a 1975 arbitration decision. Baseball’s average major league salary has risen from just under $25,000 at the time of Flood’s letter to just over $4 million.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Second-ranked Ohio State meets No. 22 West Virginia as one of two games on the week’s AP Top 25 schedule matching a pair of ranked teams. The Buckeyes have already beaten Villanova, North Carolina and Kentucky in nonconference play so far. They rank in the top 10 of KenPom’s national offensive and defensive efficiency metrics. The schedule also includes an instate rivalry game between No. 3 Louisville and No. 19 Kentucky. Gonzaga is off this week after becoming the sixth different team to reach No. 1 in the AP men’s college basketball poll this season.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — It’s getting more and more difficult for Wichita State to play the no-respect card this season. The Shockers were the first team outside the Top 25 in the new poll released Monday, and could soon be crashing the party with games coming up against Abilene Christian and East Carolina. But the game on everybody’s radar is the matchup in early January with No. 9 Memphis, a game that could help shape the rest of the American Athletic Conference race.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs were so dominant in all phases of their 26-3 victory over the Chicago Bears on a cold Sunday night at Soldier Field that it was hard for coach Andy Reid to highlight everyone in his post-game news conference. Patrick Mahomes was dynamic and the Kansas City offense was humming. Terrell Suggs joined a defense that has allowed six points total the past two weeks. Even the special teams were solid with Harrison Butker hitting a career-long 56-yard field goal.

SAN DIEGO — The University of Iowa announced Monday that it will remove the Tigerhawk from its helmet in honor of Hayden Fry when the Hawkeyes play USC on Friday at the Holiday Bowl.

It is the third time both Tigerhawks have been removed from the helmet for a football game. The first was Nov. 2, 1991, the day after six lives were lost in a shooting on the UI campus. The second was the 1996 Alamo Bowl, when Diane Mitchell, the mother of Iowa linebacker Mark Mitchell, was killed in a car crash on the way to San Antonio, Texas.

Fry was Iowa’s head football coach from 1979-98. He won three Big Ten Conference championships, took the Hawkeyes to 14 bowl games, and introduced the Tigerhawk logo to the athletics department, a logo that has become one of the most recognizable symbols in sports.

Fry passed away Dec. 17, 2019 at the age of 90.

The Hawkeye helmet will be without the Tigerhawk, but it will include a decal honoring former UI Athletics Director Bump Elliott. Elliott was Iowa’s director of athletics from 1970-91. He passed away Dec. 7, 2019 at the age of 94.

Elliott and Fry are both members of the College Football Hall of Fame. Fry is a member of the Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame.

Comment from head coach Kirk Ferentz:

“We have had two big losses in the past month, so we are going to recognize Coach Elliott with a sticker on the back of our helmet that will say “Bump” on it. That was in the works a couple weeks ago. Then with Coach Fry passing last week, (we) talked to the family and I think we’re all in agreement that it will be a really nice thing to take the Tigerhawks off of the helmets on both sides. A precedent was set. He did that twice during his time and (the idea) was well received by his children. That is our plan right now. Next year we’ll do a commemorative patch. I think it’s really appropriate the governor requested the flags fly at half-staff this last week. It is a big loss for everybody in the state of Iowa and we’ll do all we can to respect that.”

No. 16 Iowa (9-3, 6-3) faces No. 22 Southern California (8-4, 7-2) at the 2019 Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Friday at 7:05 p.m. (CT). The game is televised on FS1. For ticket and bowl game information, visit hawkeyesports.com/ bowlcentral.

The Top Ten teams in the Associated Press Iowa high school basketball poll with first-place votes in parentheses and won-loss record, total points and position last week at right:
Class 4A
Record Pts Prv
1. Waukee (5) 5-0 98 1
2. Ankeny Centennial (2) 6-0 91 2
3. Dubuque, Hempstead (2) 6-0 79 4
4. Sioux City, East (1) 7-0 61 5
5. Waterloo, West 5-1 51 6
6. Prairie, Cedar Rapids 6-0 43 9
7. Cedar Falls (1) 5-1 42 8
8. Iowa City, West 4-1 37 3
9. Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines 5-1 35 7
10. Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 7-0 20 10
Others receiving votes: North Scott, Eldridge 18. Ankeny 11. Cedar Rapids, Kennedy 7. Dubuque, Senior 6. Linn-Mar, Marion 5. Iowa City Liberty 1.

Class 3A
Record Pts Prv
1. Assumption, Davenport (10) 6-0 108 2
2. Carroll (1) 5-0 89 5
3. Dallas Center-Grimes 6-0 77 6
4. Mount Vernon 6-0 65 7
5. Winterset 5-1 52 1
6. Harlan 6-0 51 8
7. Algona 6-0 47 9
8. Norwalk 4-2 32 4
9. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 3-2 20 3
10. Pella 4-2 14 NR
Others receiving votes: Glenwood 11. Central Clinton, De Witt 11. Clear Lake 9. MOC-Floyd Valley 9. Marion 8. Gilbert 1. Webster City 1.

Class 2A
Record Pts Prv
1. Beckman Catholic, Dyersville (5) 7-0 101 1
2. Treynor (2) 7-0 85 2
3. North Linn, Troy Mills 6-0 75 3
4. West Sioux, Hawarden (1) 8-0 71 5
(tie) Camanche (3) 5-0 71 4
6. Regina, Iowa City 5-1 39 8
7. Osage 7-0 36 9
8. Boyden-Hull 5-1 23 NR
9. Dike-New Hartford 6-0 22 NR
10. Van Meter 5-0 17 NR
Others receiving votes: Aplington-Parkersburg 15. Unity Christian, Orange City 13. Des Moines Christian 9. Monticello 8. West Burlington 5. Woodward-Granger 5. East Sac County 4. Pella Christian 4. Rock Valley 1. Tri-Center, Neola 1.

Class 1A
Record Pts Prv
1. St. Mary’s, Remsen (6) 6-0 103 1
2. Montezuma (1) 6-0 88 3
3. Bishop Garrigan, Algona (1) 7-1 78 2
4. Easton Valley 7-0 70 5
5. West Fork, Sheffield (1) 7-0 62 4
6. WACO, Wayland (1) 8-0 54 6
7. AHSTW (1) 8-0 41 7
8. Janesville 6-0 26 9
9. Lake Mills 5-1 24 8
10. Gladbrook-Reinbeck 6-0 15 NR
Others receiving votes: CAM, Anita 8. Martensdale-St. Marys 6. Madrid 6. Don Bosco, Gilbertville 5. South O’Brien, Paullina 5. East Mills 4. Notre Dame, Burlington 3. Edgewood-Colesburg 2. Mount Ayr 2. Keota 1. Grand View Christian 1. Siouxland Community Christian 1.

@ SOUTHEAST POLK

Atlantic-CAM took home third place in the team race with 141 points. The Trojans had two Champions: Aybren Moore at 113, and Ethan Follman at 120. Cale Roller was the Runner-Up 285.

Glenwood finished seventh in the team standings. Mitch Mayberry and Sully Woods grabbed third-place medals for the Rams at 182 and 195 respectively.

MUSTANG TOURNAMENT @ SHENANDOAH

Savannah (MO) took the title with 132 points, Omaha Skutt was the runner-up with 127 points.

East Mills finished third with 120.5 points. Zach Biggerstaff (113), Tyler Prokop (138), Jackson Wray (152) and Brody Gordon (170) all finished as runners-up for the Wolverines.

St. Albert’s John Helton was a winner at 126 and Cael McLaren were won at  170. Shenandoah got titles from Logan Dickerson at 160 and Avery Martin at 182.

KANSAS CITY STAMPEDE

Creston/O-M finished 29th out of 50 teams. Jackson Kinsella finsihed in fifth-place at 182. Sam Chapman finished ninth at 195.

Red Oak’s Justin McCunn’s took sixth-place at 160.

@ FORT DODGE

Lewis Central finished fifth as a team. The Titans were led by Tanner Higgins’ crown at 145 pounds. Sioux City East finished ninth.

@ RIDGE VIEW

Alta-Aurelia 54 Coon Rapids-Bayard 12
Ridge View 54 Coon Rapids-Bayard 12
Sioux City West 30 Coon Rapids-Bayard 18
South Central Calhoun 78 Coon Rapids-Bayard 6

@ CARROLL

Denison-Schleswig finished seventh led by a title from Jaxson Hildebrand at 170. Clarinda was eighth led by Cole Ridnour’s runner-up at 195. Kuemper Catholic finished and did have two champions: Benjamin Schmitz (120) and Shea Parkis (138).

The Western Iowa Conference Individual Wrestling Tournament was constested on Saturday in Audubon. Logan-Magnolia came away with the team title with 206.5 points. Underwood came in second with 202.

Individual Champions

106: Gable Porter, Underwood
113: Sean Thompson, Logan-Magnolia
120: Stevie Barnes, Underwood
126: Nick Stephens, Underwood
132: Joel Sampson, AHSTW
138: Logan James, Underwood
145: Nick Hamilton, Underwood
152: Briar Reisz, Logan-Magnolia
160: Denver Pauley, AHSTW
170: Bryson Freeberg, Tri-Center
182: Nick Haynes, Missouri Valley
195: Gavyn Fischer, AHSTW
220: Rex Johnsen, Logan-Magnolia
285: Barret Pitt, Lognan-Magnolia

Full results HERE.