United Group Insurance

KJAN News

KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa,  Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!

Villisca Boil Advisory lifted

News

November 6th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Villisca, Iowa) – City officials in Villisca, Friday, reported that a Boil Advisory that had been in effect since Wednesday, is no longer in effect.

Residents in two areas of town were being asked to boil water following water main work conducted earlier in the week.

Miller-Meeks opposes Medicare prescription drug price controls

News

November 6th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa says she’s opposed to having the federal government negotiate to lower the prices of prescription medicine covered by Medicare. Democrats have inserted this proposal in a bill that was voted upon, Friday. Miller-Meeks, an eye doctor, says prescription drug cost controls would interfere with the doctor-patient relationship.

“When we give the government more control, we undermine what a physician — all of their knowledge, all of their experience, that of our compounding pharmacists, those with health care experience — and how they can prescribe the best treatments for their patients,” Miller-Meeks said during an online forum organized by the House GOP Leader’s office, “so it’s a tremendous concern to all of us — not just price, but also access to care, but also access to quality care.”

Marianette Miller-Meeks. (photo from Miller-Meeks office.)

The VA has been able to negotiate the prices for prescription drugs for veterans under the agency’s care, but this would be the first time Medicare could negotiate prices for some of the medications prescribed to Americans over the age of 65. The plan would cover only the most expensive drugs and pricing negotiations wouldn’t start until 2023. Miller-Meeks suggested it’s a slippery slope. While Miller-Meeks did not directly cite medications that have primarily been used to treat malaria or to deworm livestock, she criticized regulations during the pandemic which have prevented doctors from prescribing alternative drugs for Covid patients.

“We’ve had governors make decisions over what drugs doctors can prescribe their patients under the penalty of doctors losing their license,” Miller-Meeks said. “We’ve seen government bureaucracy interfere with the doctor-patient relationship, whether it’s prescribing treatments, what they can get through hospitalization.”

State climatologist says late October rains were a ‘semi-drought buster’

News

November 5th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – This week’s drought monitor shows that for the first time since July 7th, no part of Iowa is considered to be in severe drought. State Climatologist Justin Glisan says Iowa has been in a structural drought since May of 2020. “We’ve had ebb and flow,” Glisan says. “We’ve had heat waves. We’ve cold weather outbreaks. We’ve had very dry conditions.” Rainfall was as much as 10 inches below normal in some areas of the state — that is, until the steady rainfall in October.

“We’re not in a drought buster now, but we’re in a semi-drought buster,” Glisan says. “We’ve had anywhere from three to five inches over 14 days across much of western Iowa. You look at eastern Iowa two to three, even four inch totals — above average, of course. We’ve received precipitation amounts in two weeks that we would see in a a month and a half, especially in fall.” Parts of the western U.S. have been in a long-term drought, but Glisan says those kind of sustained dry conditions are unlikely in the Midwest.

“On the west coast, they’re impacted by different weather patterns than we are in the central part of the United States. They’ve also had what we call the ‘mega drought’ along with heat waves, forest fires of a record that we haven’t seen before. When you have burn scars on the topography, you get rain events, that rain runs off, it doesn’t soak in and it perpetuates that drought,” Glisan says. “Luckily, in the central part of the United States it doesn’t look like we can get into a long-term, perpetual drought given the moisture gate from the Gulf of Mexico, but also the different air masses that impact us.”

Glisan made his comments during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight (Friday night) on Iowa P-B-S.

Deere may be pressuring UAW for second vote on ‘best and final’ contract offer

News

November 5th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – John Deere could be setting the stage for claiming an impasse in negotiations with the United Auto Workers after a company official called the latest tentative agreement Deere’s “best and final offer.” The proposal included an immediate 10-percent raise and kept the pension program available to new workers. It was rejected by union members in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas this week with just 45 percent voting in favor. Paul Iversen, at the University of Iowa Labor Center, says Deere’s statement shows the company shifting toward a more public negotiating strategy.

“After this second offer was turned down, it seems like they have gone on a media blitz to try to turn public sentiment in their favor,” Iversen says, “since it’s very clear the communities support the workers and support the strike.” The rejected agreement would have increased wages by six to nine-dollars per hour over time and offered greater retirement payments. Iversen says it was a stronger deal, but he says workers are pushing for more to restore previous cuts and take advantage of Deere’s record profits.

“They didn’t feel that Deere was respecting the work that they have done over the years,” he says, “and particularly for during COVID, risking their lives to come to work every day to keep the production going.” Iversen says Deere may be pressuring the union to call another vote, which is uncommon. If John Deere claims an impasse in negotiations, he says the company can offer the proposed contract terms to replacement workers. He says the union could dispute that claim with the National Labor Relations Board.

(reporting by Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio)

Absentee Voting now available for Atlantic Mayoral run-off election

News

November 5th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman, Friday, said absentee voting is available for the November 30 CITY OF ATLANTIC RUNOFF ELECTION.  Voters may vote an absentee ballot in the Cass County Auditor’s office during regular business hours (8:00 A.M. thru 4:30 P.M.) beginning Tuesday, November 9 thru Monday, November 29, 2021.

ABSENTEE BALLOTS:  Any eligible voter who so chooses may vote a ballot before November 30 (called ABSENTEE BALLOT).  Deadline to request an Absentee Ballot to be mailed is Monday, Nov. 15.  An Absentee ballot may be voted at the office of the County Auditor on any day the office is open beginning Nov. 9 and ending Nov. 29.

IF VOTING AT THE COUNTY AUDITOR’S OFFICE: the absentee voter may come to the CASS COUNTY COURTHOUSE during the regular office hours of 8 AM and 4:30 PM, Monday thru Friday, up through the day before the election and cast a ballot.  In addition to regular office hours, the office of Cass County Auditor will be open until 5 P.M. on Monday, Nov. 15; and Monday, November 29.

Sample ballot

IF VOTING BY MAIL: A written request may be mailed or hand delivered to the County Auditor’s office.  (Absentee request forms are available at the auditor’s office and on the Secretary of State’s web site: sos.iowa.gov).  A ballot along with instructions on how to complete the ballot will be mailed to the requester.  For the ballot to be counted, the completed ballot must arrive at the auditor’s office by 8 P.M. on Nov. 30.

All BALLOTS ARE TO BE RETURNED, whether they are voted or not voted.  A postage paid return envelope is provided with each absentee ballot mailed out.

The address for the Cass County Auditor / Election Commissioner is:

CASS COUNTY AUDITOR, COURTHOUSE, 5 W 7TH ST, ATLANTIC, IOWA 50022  (Phone:712-243-4570;   Email: auditor@casscoia.us)

On Nov. 30, the voting centers for this election will all be at the Cass County Community Center at 805 W 10th St.:

  • Atlantic 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Wards will use the main entrance; and
  • Atlantic 4th and 5th Wards will use the south entrance.

Polls will open at 7:00 A.M. and close at 8:00 P.M.

Man attempting to shoot squirrel with air rifle hits motorist, faces charges

News

November 5th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa City man who was trying to shoot a squirrel in his yard with an air rifle is now facing charges.

Iowa City police found a man involved in a single-car traffic accident on Highway 6 on October 17th was found to have been shot. Sixty-nine-year-old Philip Olson heard about the accident and turned himself in –telling police he was trying to shoot a squirrel from his home along Highway 6 with a .22 caliber air rifle.

Air rifles are not considered dangerous weapons under Iowa code — but city code prohibits shooting an air rifle, toy pistol, toy gun, or slingshot within city limits — and Olson faces a code violation.

Fox Squirrel (Public domain pic)

He also is facing D-N-R charges of hunting without a license or habitat fee, unlawful attempt to take a squirrel, and shooting a rifle over a highway. The man who was shot remains in the hospital.

Iowa COVID-19 update for 11/5/21

News

November 5th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa’s COVID-19 positivity rate is on the rise again as the number of Iowan testing positive for the virus continues to climb. The Iowa Department of Public Health released new COVID-19 data Friday that shows the number of positive tests at 7,501 in the last week, up from 6,816 at last report on Wednesday. The 14-day positivity rate climbed from 8.2% to 8.4% since Wednesday. A total of 533,872 positive tests have been reported in Iowa since the start of the pandemic.

While the number of positive tests has been climbing for more than a week, hospitalizations numbers are down. There are 464 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa, down from 483 on Wednesday. Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, 73.8% are unvaccinated, while 82.6% of those listed in intensive care with the virus are unvaccinated. The number of long-term care facilities reporting outbreaks in Iowa climbed from 23 to 27.

There have been 3,796,829 vaccine doses administered in Iowa, with 68.1% of those 18 and older fully vaccinated and 70.6% of those 12 and older with at least one dose.

Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs awards $1 million in grants to market the return of arts and culture: Several in this area

News

November 5th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES – As Iowa’s arts and culture sector continues to rebound from a challenging year, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs is granting $1 million to market the return to arts and culture experiences, while encouraging Iowans to safely re-engage with concerts, museums, festivals — and each other. The department today (Friday) announced that 118 arts and cultural groups in 47 Iowa communities will receive funding through the Iowa Arts & Culture Marketing Grant program. The department awarded a total of $1 million in grants, in amounts ranging from $1,500 to $18,000. The new, one-time grants were created with federal CARES Act funds that Gov. Kim Reynolds allocated to the department to provide economic relief to Iowa organizations that have been challenged by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The state arts and cultural agency developed a related promotional campaign and toolkit, based on input from statewide arts and culture leaders, to encourage Iowans to “Re-imagine, Re-engage, Reconnect” with arts and cultural experiences. The list of recipients, dispersed throughout 37 Iowa counties, includes local arts councils, theaters and historical attractions, as well as some of the state’s largest museums, art centers and performing arts venues. Here are just a few from around western Iowa:

  • Council Bluffs: Preserve Council Bluffs will bring back its popular Historic Homes for the Holidays Tour and produce advertisements to help residents in a five-county region reconnect with the organization’s work to promote the area’s cultural heritage and historic preservation. Grant amount: $2,100.
  • Corning: Corning Opera House Cultural Center received a $2,700 grant for marketing expenses
  • Greenfield & Red Oak: The Warren Cultural Center in Greenfield, and The Wilson Performing Arts Center in Red Oak, each received a $15,000 grant for marketing expenses.
  • Pottawattamie County Arts, Culture & Entertainment and the Pott. County Genealogical Society, both in Council Bluffs, each received a grant for marketing expenses, in the amounts of $17,800 and $1,700, respectively.
  • Other grants for Marketing Expenses include:
    • The Museum of Danish America, in Elk Horn, $17,500
    • The New Century Art Guild in Elk Horn, $4,900.

The return to arts and culture marketing grants were created to help Iowa’s arts and cultural organizations publicize their activities and new protocols they’ve established to ensure safe and healthy cultural experiences for visitors and audiences who are re-engaging in arts and cultural activities across the state.

Through the grant opportunity and marketing campaign, the department is encouraging all Iowans to:

  • Renew their love of performances, film, museums and all of the arts and historical attractions that make our communities culturally vibrant.
  • Re-engage with Iowa arts, culture, film, history and the humanities to support Iowa’s growing creative workforce.
  • Reconnect with arts, history, film and cultural experiences for personal well-being and to strengthen communities.

In a typical year, Iowa’s creative sector contributes $4.2 billion to the state’s economy, employing more than 43,000 creative workers across more than 5,000 businesses statewide. In 2020, Iowa’s nonprofit arts and culture sector lost millions in revenue and at least 4,500 arts, entertainment and recreation jobs, stemming from event cancellations and closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

For a complete list of Iowa Arts & Culture Marketing Grant recipients, visit the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs website. For more information about the Re-imagine campaign, visit iowaculture.

Pro tip for 2021 holiday shopping: Stay flexible and don’t panic buy

News

November 5th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Some listeners might have thought she was crying wolf, when they heard a logistics and supply chain expert from the University of Iowa say to buy their Christmas gifts back in July. The predictions were correct from Jen Blackhurst, a U-I professor of business analytics, and we’re now seeing products ranging from video games to sirloin steaks have vanished from store shelves. “There’s labor shortages, there’s transportation shortages, you see in the ports coming into the U.S., massive backups and delays,” Blackhurst says. “It’s exacerbated and has become more severe over time.”

Many retailers still haven’t recovered from the complications of the pandemic and she says the perfect storm she warned about four months ago is hitting us now, and hard. Plus, it’s not just products we wanted to put under the tree that are hard to find. “What we’re seeing is potential shortages in packaging materials, so, do we have the aluminum, the steel, the resin, even glass bottles? How readily available are those?” Blackhurst says. “We’re seeing a variety of items in short supply.”

Prof. Jen Blackhurst (UI photo)

If you ignored the warnings and still haven’t completed — or even started — your Christmas shopping, never fear, there’s still plenty of products out there to buy, however… “You might not get the exact item that you want, but know that the retailers, the manufacturers, they’re doing everything they can to get products in your hands,” Blackhurst says. “I would say just be flexible and if you see something that you’re thinking about, go ahead and pick it up now.” She implores shoppers -not- to resort to panic buying, like happened in recent months with essentials from cleaning products to hand sanitizer.

“In terms of stockpiling and what we saw last year with toilet paper, that’s just going to make it worse,” Blackhurst says. “Stay calm and eventually, things will get back to normal, but if you see the item you want, go ahead and pick it up now.” So just when will things be “back to normal” for us? Blackhurst predicts it will be “at least well into 2022” before the supply chain again has its many links aligned.

 

 

Atlantic Area Chamber Ambassadors Visit GracePoint Church

News

November 5th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  Bailey Smith, Executive Director of the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, reports the Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors were hosted by GracePoint Church, formerly known as E-Free Church, on Thursday, November 4th, 2021. The Ambassadors learned about the recent name change and about the annual Operation Christmas Child program.

Paula and Jeff Osegard shared about the mission of Operation Christmas Child, which is to provide God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world. Since 1993, more than 178 million children, in more than 150 countries, have received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. The project delivers not only the joy of receiving a child’s first ever gift, but also gives the child a tangible expression of God’s love.

Ambassador’s Pictured Left to Right: Lana Westphalen, Colt Doherty, Kathie Hockenberry, Dawn Marnin, Donnie Drennan, Alden Harriman, Jim Kickland, Mike Cook, Dr. Keith Leonard, Dolly Bergmann, Kennedy Freund, Krysta Hanson, Jennifer McEntaffer, Rachel Czaja, Heidi Roland Hinman, Devon, Pastor Don McLean, Paula Osegard and Jeff Osegard. (Photo submitted)

GracePoint Church distributes specific shoe boxes to the community, individuals then fill the shoe boxes with various items like school supplies, reusable water bottles, clothing, toys, etc. Individuals choose to pack the box for either a girl or boy between three age groups: 2-4, 5-9 and 10-14. Individuals can also virtually “pack a box” and give a donation by visiting the Samaritan’s Purse website at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/.

Collection will begin Monday, November 15th and will be taken through Monday, November 22nd at Gracepoint Church, located at 1 East 22nd Street. Collection times are as follows: Monday, November 15th- 5 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, November 16th- 6 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, November 17th- 1 to 3 p.m., Thursday, November 18th- 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, November 19th- 4 to 6 p.m., Saturday, November 20th- 10 a.m. to noon, Sunday, November 21st- 1 to 3 p.m. and Monday, November 22nd- 9 to 11 a.m.

For more specific times of collection or for further information on Operation Christmas Child please contact GracePoint Church at 712-243-4738.