Two men have pleaded guilty to poaching-related charges in Greene County after a trespassing report to conservation officers. Forty-one-year-old Brett Cranston of Jefferson admitted to spotting a deer six miles south of Jefferson in December and firing shots at the animal. He followed the deer on county roads for around nine miles and firing shots at it until he was able to catch the buck in a cornfield southeast of Cooper.

Cranston pleaded guilty to trespassing while deer hunting, using motor vehicle to hunt deer and shooting within 200 yards of residence. He was fined 665 dollars, assessed eight-thousand dollars in damages, had his hunting privileges suspended for one year and forfeited his shotgun and the deer.

Forty-two-year-old Jeramiah Pedersen of Greene Mountain helped Cranston chase the deer and pleaded guilty to not having a hunting license and trespassing while hunting deer. Pedersen was fined 416 dollars.

(Radio Iowa)

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Ric Hanson.

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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Freshmen Jordan Bohannon scored 19 points with 11 assists, fellow newcomer Tyler Cook scored 18 with eight rebounds and Iowa opened the NIT with an 87-75 win over South Dakota on Wednesday. Senior Peter Jok had 20 to lead the Hawkeyes (19-14), one of four top seeds in the 32-team event.

Iowa couldn’t quite shake South Dakota, which excelled at crashing the offensive glass and getting to the free-throw line. But the Hawkeyes finally took a double-digit lead on Ahmad Wagner’s layup with 8:31 left, and Wagner’s layup a minute later made it 68-54.

Bohannon’s 3 with just over a minute left put Iowa ahead 82-70. Iowa, one of the last four teams left out of the NCAA Tournament, got 59 points from first-year-players — with Isaiah Moss adding 16. Matt Mooney had 23 points for the Coyotes (22-12), who earned an NIT bid after winning the Summit League regular-season crown.

The Atlantic Trojan Boys’ Swim Team was recognized Wednesday evening by the School Board for their outstanding season. Athletic Director Matt Alexander introduced Coach Dean Junker, Assistant Volunteer Coach Jennifer Miller, and the Nishna Valley YMCA’s Jackie Sampson, who he said does a lot of behind the scenes work, including the organizational details.

Coach Junker introduced some of the swim team members who were able to make it to the meeting. Those same members were honored earlier in the evening at the Atlantic City Council meeting, including Nik Landuis, from Clarinda, Cody McCreedy, Tyson Parker, Cole Sampson, Jake Redler, Damon Miller and Avery Anderson. Coach Junker said the boys team ended up 16th in the State Swimming Meet, with several better, individual performances.

Some members of the Atlantic Boys Swim Team and Coach Dean Junker (Far right).

Junker said when Atlantic first began showing up at the meets, no one knew who they were or why they were even there. He said “But once ya thump ‘em a little bit, they wake up real fast.” They competed against much larger schools and made a name for themselves in winning three State records. The coach said he’s very proud of the boys and how their success and has inspired much younger kids.

There’s an 8 (years old) and Under Boys Relay team as well, which the Coach says he’s never had before. This year, they were lucky to have six participants, only four of which may compete in the relay event. He says the boys won the title of State Champions in the 8 and Under category, and they were thrilled.

Jackie Sampson says the YMCA’s “Feeder program” for the High School Swim Team had 67 swimmers this past year, or, the “Sharks” program. 66 swam in the sectional meet and 40 made it to State. She said “These kids come to swim for Dean and for their teammates.” She said kids are coming from all over southwest Iowa just to swim and train with Coach Junker.

March is National Athletic Training Month, and Athletic Trainer Andrew Niemann will be presenting at the next session of Healthy U at noon on March 23rd, at the Cass County Memorial Hospital, in Atlantic.  Nieman who joined CCHS last fall, says “What we do as athletic trainers really extends beyond the sidelines.”  He’ll talk about the role of athletic trainers, both in sports and a clinic, as well as information on exercising and aging.

Healthy U is a free educational lunch series at Cass County Health System held monthly in CCMH Conference Room 2. The public is invited and welcome to attend, but reservations are required as lunch is provided for all attendees. Call 712-243-7479 to reserve your seat.

Andrew Niemann (Photo submitted)

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Chris Parks.

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JUPITER, Fla. (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jordan Schafer will have surgery this week on his left elbow and could ultimately need a Tommy John operation. The 30-year-old Schafer is one of the more intriguing stories across spring training. He spent six seasons in the big leagues as a speedy outfielder with the Braves, Astros and Twins, but is trying to reinvent himself as a pitcher after his career appeared to have ended.

Schafer felt soreness in his forearm over the weekend after struggling in exhibition games. The Cardinals said Tuesday that an MRI revealed the injury. Schafer will have surgery on Friday, and it will be determined then whether he requires a ligament repair or a complete reconstruction.

The Cardinals invited Schafer to spring training as a non-roster invitee, intrigued by his versatility. He pitched in three levels of the minors for the Dodgers last year, going 1-1 with a 3.83 ERA in 40 games and averaging more than a strikeout per inning.

Schafer last played in the majors with Minnesota in 2015. He is a career .228 hitter with 103 steals.

Postseason selections and pairings for women’s college basketball were announced on Monday night and all of the division 1 programs in the state of Iowa will be playing on. Iowa State, Drake, and UNI were all selected to play in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.  Iowa was selected to play in the Women’s NIT.

Iowa State drew a 9-seed and will play the 8-seed Syracuse on Saturday at 12:30pm in Storrs, CT.  The Cyclones are playing in the Bridgeport, CT Regional and would likely face Number 1 overall seed UCONN if they get to the second round.

Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament champion Drake drew a 10-seed and will face 7th-seeded Kansas State on Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm in Manhattan, KS. The Bulldogs are in the Lexington, KY Regional.

The UNI Panthers also drew a 10-seed and will play 7th-seeded DePaul on Friday morning at 11:00am in Starkville, MS.  The Panthers are in the Oklahoma City, OK Regional.

The Iowa Hawkeyes will play in the Women’s NIT with their first round opponent being Missouri State. The Hawkeyes will host that first round game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday and we’ll have coverage on the Hawkeye Radio Network. Pregame will begin at 6:45pm with tip-off set for 7:00pm.

Atlantic/CAM Senior wrestler Carter Cox announced this past week that he will continue his wrestling career at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls and he signed his letter of intent on Tuesday at the Atlantic High School with family and coaching staff present.

Cox made his decision after a visit on Tuesday of last week. Carter said his decision came down to NIACC and Ellsworth and he felt Ellsworth was the right fit for him.

The Ellsworth Panthers are coming off a 5th place team finish in the NJCAA National Tournament.  Carter credited Atlantic/CAM Head Coach Tim Duff with steering him in the right direction throughout his career. Cox has set lofty goals for himself at the next level.

Ellsworth Head Coach Cole Spree said his staff appreciated the success Carter had during his career but were also impressed with him as a person and how he is grown through high school. Coach Spree said it will be up to Carter how much success he has at the next level.

Cox was a four-time state qualifier for Atlantic. He was a state runner-up in 2016 and finished in 5th place this year.  He finished his Trojan career with 157 wins.