United Group Insurance

Join in on the family fun of fishing during free fishing weekend

Ag/Outdoor, News, Sports

May 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Iowa residents can try fishing without buying a license on June 7, 8 and 9 as part of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) free fishing weekend. All other regulations remain in place. “Grab your family and your poles, hook a memory, and don’t let go,” said Joe Larscheid, chief of the Iowa DNR’s Fisheries Bureau. “The memories are always bigger than the fish.”

Free fishing weekend is a great time to take kids fishing or invite a neighbor or friend to come along. Outdoor fun awaits at hundreds of Iowa lakes, thousands of miles of rivers or a neighborhood pond. Find a list of stocked lakes and ponds that are easily accessible in parks and along trails on the Iowa DNR’s interactive Iowa Community Fisheries Atlas at www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing/Fish-Local.

Fun, hands-on fishing events will be offered across Iowa to help families new to fishing get started. Check the general fishing calendar on the DNR website at www.iowadnr.gov/fishing for a list of free fishing events.

On a related note: Crappies and bluegills are biting in small ponds and lakes across Iowa. Spring panfish fishing is a great time to introduce beginners of all ages to fishing. Catching panfish is easy and fun. All Iowa lakes have panfish in them. Look for structures in the water, like rocks or a pile of brush or gravel, to find bluegills or crappies. Bass will be around brush or boat docks or rock piles. Quickly find fish structure locations with the interactive fishing atlas or download a catalog of 1,968 fishing structure locations for lakes across Iowa from the DNR’s fishing maps website at www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing/Fishing-Maps.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News, Sports |

Another county wants moratorium on livestock feeding farms

Ag/Outdoor, News

May 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — The Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors added its voice to those calling for a moratorium on new livestock feeding operations.
The board voted unanimously Tuesday for a resolution that asks Gov. Kim Reynolds and state legislators to bar construction of new concentrated animal feeding operations until Iowa’s water quality improves. The resolution wants no permits issued by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources until the state’s number of impaired waterways has dropped to fewer than 100 from about 750.

“I think it’s really a crisis situation,” said Supervisor Chris Schwartz. “If we’re going to get ahead of it we need to put the brakes on now until we’ve got better things in place.”
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported that supervisors in 25 more of the state’s 99 counties have passed similar measures. “It’s not the family farms that we all know and love,” Schwartz said. “It’s these big, kind of corporate operations putting thousands and thousands of animals in small spaces.”

Groups such as the Sierra Club and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement have said the operations are detrimental to human health and that failed manure management plans harm the state’s streams, rivers and lakes. Environmental groups have said the spills and animal manure used as fertilizer drain down creeks and other tributaries into the Missouri and Mississippi rivers have contributed to the growth of a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, a zone where oxygen levels are so low that marine life can no longer survive.

State Sen. Eric Giddens, who works as program manager for the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Energy and Environmental Education, on Tuesday spoke in favor of the moratorium and read from a January 2018 Iowa Policy Project report that said Iowa has four times more of the big feeding operations than it had in 2001. Groups such as the Sierra Club and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement say the operations are detrimental to human health and that failed manure management plans harm the state’s streams, rivers and lakes.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

3 arrests in Cass County over the past week

News

May 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(9-a.m. News, 5/22) — The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports three arrests took place over the past week, with two people arrested on separate charges, Saturday: 21-year old Kolby Austin Fulk, of Harlan, was arrested for Driving While Barred. Fulk was taken to the Cass County Jail and released the following day on his own recognizance. And, 35-year old Ashley Christensen, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on charges of Operating While Under the Influence/2nd Offense; Public Intoxication; Interference with Official Acts; and Disorderly Conduct. Christensen was taken to the Cass County Jail and released the following day on her own recognizance.

Last Thursday, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 35-year old Ryan Kent Richards, of Griswold, on a Nuisance charge. Richards was taken to the Cass County Jail and released the later that day on his own recognizance.

Posted in News |

Billy Taylor Named to Iowa Basketball Staff

Sports

May 22nd, 2019 by admin

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa Head Basketball Coach Fran McCaffery has named Billy Taylor as an assistant coach on his basketball staff, replacing the position previously occupied by Andrew Francis.

Taylor joins the Hawkeye staff as an assistant coach after 18 years of collegiate coaching experience, including head coaching stints at Ball State, Lehigh, and Belmont Abbey. McCaffery coached Taylor as an assistant coach at Notre Dame (1992-95) and has been on the same staff as McCaffery on three different occasions.

Most recently, Taylor was Iowa’s director of basketball operations for three seasons (2014-16), coordinating travel and carrying out the day-to-day activities of the basketball program.

“We are excited that Billy Taylor is rejoining the Hawkeye basketball family,” said McCaffery. “Billy is the perfect fit for our team. He knows our program well, and has a wealth of coaching and recruiting experience. Billy is one of the most genuine and respected coaches in our profession. He will have an immediate impact with his passion for the game, and commitment to mentoring our student-athletes on and off the court.”

“I am humbled and honored to rejoin Coach McCaffery’s staff at the University of Iowa,” said Taylor. “My relationship with Coach McCaffery spans 30 years and continues to evolve with each step. I look forward to serving and mentoring the student-athletes in our program. I’m eager to tell prospective student-athletes about the amazing opportunities at the University of Iowa.”

Taylor returns to Iowa City after serving as head coach at Division II Belmont Abbey the last three seasons (2017-19). He guided the Crusaders to a 23-8 record last season, a 13-win improvement from his first year on the Crusaders sidelines. This past season, Taylor mentored DeQuan Abrom to the Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Award. Abrom, a junior, led the league in scoring, averaging 24.2 points per game and became just the second player in school history to top 700 points in a season. Taylor guided three players to all-conference recognition over the past three years.

Taylor and his wife, Avlon, have two daughters, Gavielle and Tamia, and a son, Savion.

Posted in Sports |

Storm team surveys damage from deadly storm, possible tornado

News, Weather

May 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(9-a.m., Radio Iowa) — What may be Iowa’s first tornado of 2019 claimed a life early this (Wednesday) morning in the southwest corner of the state. Meteorologist Chad Hahn, with the National Weather Service, says there is storm damage in Adair and Cass counties and at least one house was destroyed south of the city of Adair. Reports say several other homes were impacted.  “We’re still evaluating that,” Hahn says. “We have a storm team that’s out in the area evaluating and assessing the damage. The one homestead that we know was hit was close to the interstate, which was closed down for a time in the early morning hours.”

Adair County authorities say 74-year-old Linda Brownlee was killed in the storm and her husband, 78-year-old Harold Brownlee, was seriously hurt and is hospitalized in Des Moines. Hahn says the team surveying the wreckage will be working to determine whether the destruction was caused by a tornado or straight-line winds. “The biggest signs that we look for is the damage pattern within the debris,” Hahn says. “We can evaluate whether there is a rotational component to that and that’s what they’re examining out there right now.”

If it was a tornado, Hahn says it’s very unusual to have a twister strike at that hour, sometime between 12:30 and 1:30 A-M. He says only about five-percent of tornadoes hit during the nighttime. The risk of more severe weather today is low, but Hahn says the chances are a bit higher Thursday, especially in southeast Iowa. “As we look into Friday, we can expect portions of the southeastern part of the state to be in that area where conditions will be favorable for severe weather,” Hahn says. “It’s late May. We know the conditions around here are becoming more susceptible to severe weather and we need to stay on guard.”

While May, June and July are typically the worst months of the year for tornadoes in Iowa, this would be the first confirmed tornado this year. Last year, there were 69 tornadoes statewide with the most notable hitting Bondurant, Marshalltown and Pella on July 19th. Over the past decade, Iowa has seen as few as 16 tornadoes during all of 2012 and as many as 88 tornadoes in 2014.

Posted in News, Weather |

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22nd

Trading Post

May 22nd, 2019 by Jim Field

FOR SALE:  20 or more Morton Roofing panels – very good condition, $25 each panel, 16 Ft x 3 Ft wide.  Phone 712-789-0689.

FOR SALE: A 20″ Dynamark walk behind mower, $20; a 21″ Lawn Boy self-propelled mower for $45; and a Delta table saw for $80. In Hamlin, call 712-304-4998.

Posted in Trading Post |

Judge reverses Missouri trooper’s loss of officer license

News

May 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A judge has reversed the Missouri Department of Public Safety’s revocation of the peace officer license of a highway patrolman who was driving a boat when a handcuffed Iowa man fell out and drowned. Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Green on Monday sent proceedings against trooper Anthony Piercy back to the public safety department for further action.

Piercy was driving 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson, of Clive, Iowa, for a breath test at the Lake of the Ozarks in 2014 when Ellingson fell off the boat and slipped out of an improperly secured life vest. Green ruled that public safety Director Drew Juden didn’t provide findings of fact and conclusions of law when revoking Piercy’s license.

Piercy was sentenced to 10 days in county jail for misdemeanor negligent operation of a vessel. He can’t return to the patrol without his peace officer license.

Posted in News |

(Podcast) KJAN 8-a.m. News, 5/22/19

News, Podcasts

May 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in News, Podcasts |

Special meeting of the CAM & Nodaway Valley School Boards Thursday evening

News

May 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Members of the CAM and Nodaway Valley School District’s Boards of Education will hold a closed Special session beginning 7-p.m. Thursday, in the Nodaway Valley High School Media Center. Superintendent Dr. Casey Berlau said during the meeting, the Boards will review the information from 19 applicants, with hopes of narrowing the candidates for the first round of interviews to five-or seven-candidates.

The ultimate goal is to select an individual to succeed Berlau, who is leaving the District at the end of June, to become Superintendent for the Carroll Community School District.

Posted in News |

(Podcast) KJAN Morning Sports report, 5/22/19

Podcasts, Sports

May 22nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

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

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Posted in Podcasts, Sports |