712 Digital Group - top

Iowa snags two spots in New Year’s Eve drawing for one million dollars

News

December 1st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) -Two of the five nationwide finalists for a one million dollar New Year’s Powerball prize drawing are from Iowa. Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says it’s the third year for this promotion. “It’s called the ‘Powerball First Millionaire of the Year’ promotion,” according to Neubauer. “And each year there have been five finalists for the prize. Iowa has never had a finalist before — and no state has ever had more than one finalist in the drawing.” One finalist is Rob Long of Waterloo who buys tickets for a pool of his co-workers, friends, and family who call the group Lotto 22.  “I work with a majority of them. We have a couple of retirees that stay with it and they keep telling me we are going to win. So, once every so often they give me a bunch of money to keep track of, and I have a nice spreadsheet,” Long says.

Shari Beenken from the small Kossuth County town of Titonka is the other finalist. Beenken and Long had to keep the news from others until today — and she says that was tough to do during the Thanksgiving holiday with her sister. She says they went to a Christmas tree farm and her sister asked her about the First Millionaire drawing and she says she told her sister she didn’t know yet. Players had to enter non-winning tickets to get a chance at the New Year’s drawing. Long says his group didn’t know he had entered. “When I got to tell them all, I think that was probably the best part of this. Some of them got anxiety, some were shaking, some didn’t know what to think, and a couple didn’t believe me,” Long says.

They each have already won ten-thousand dollars in cash and a ten-thousand-dollar home entertainment package for being finalists. Long’s group will each get around 45-thousand dollars if they win the million-dollar prize. Beenken will get the keep the entire one million dollars if she wins. She and her husband want to get a vacation home, and she’d like some new appliances. “Oh yeah, a new dishwasher and a new stove,” she says. Beenken says it was hard waiting to tell everyone about being a finalist, and now there is a whole month to wait before she knows if she won. “It’s going to take forever,” she says. Long has the same feeling. “It took forever just to get to this point, a lot of thinking about it,” Long says. “We have a month to go,” Neubauer says. “Now we’ve got another month to get through this,” Long says.

They will get to find out before midnight as the announcement on A-B-C’s broadcast of “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve” in Times Square, New York will come in the eastern time zone — which means 11 p-m Iowa time.

The members of the Lotto 22 are:
From Clarksville: Scott Herrmann and Victor Herrmann
From Denver: Bruce Gonnerman
From Dunkerton: Michael Nicolaus and Nancy Smock
From Independence: Bryan Cain and Kristen Kayser
From Jesup: Ronald Kester
From La Porte City: Bruce Long
From Oelwein: Ellyn Perkins
From Plainfield: Valeria Marks
From Raymond: Randy Ruehs
From Shell Rock: Grant Clark
From Waterloo: Trish Bandfield, Mark Burke, Steven Foster, Kelvin Holmes, Rob Long, Nesffy Molina, Mike O’Connor, Martin Van Horn, Eric Woodward.

Council Bluffs CSD employee arrested on 3 counts of Terrorism

News

December 1st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Police in Council Bluffs, said Wednesday, that a Council Bluffs Public School District employee was arrested Dec. 1st on a warrant charging her with Threats of Terrorism. Capt. Todd Weddum said 37-year-old Katrina Phelan, of Council Bluffs, was taken into custody after she turned herself in to the Pottawattamie County Jail. Phelan faces three Class-D Felony counts of Threats of Terrorism. Each count is punishable by up to 5 years of prison.

Council Bluffs police detectives conducted an investigation into a series of anonymous handwritten notes found inside the school, all making reference to committing gun violence upon school property. Each of the notes were reportedly either found in Phelan’s classroom or found by Phelan herself, in various locations within the school. While the  investigation was taking place, the school district worked with the Council Bluffs Police Department to increase the  security presence inside the building.

When interviewed, Phelan admitted to writing the notes. It was determined that she had no intentions or means of carrying out these threats. In at least one of the notes, Phelan, posing as an unnamed student, wrote that she was tired  of being made fun of.

Atlantic City Council approves AMU Budget, & street certain closures on Dec. 4 for the lighted parade; Recount requested by Tim Teig

News

December 1st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic had a light agenda and a short session, Wednesday night. Early on, the Council tabled until their next meeting, an Order to approve an agreement with Snyder and Associates Engineers, for a Nutrient Reduction Strategy Report, based on a request from the Wastewater Treatment Plant Supervisor Tim Snyder.  The Council heard from Atlantic Municipal Utilities General Manager Steve Tjepkes, prior to approving (as a formality) AMU’s Calendar Year 2022 Budget.

His report to the Council stated:  “The 2022 Budget has been reviewed and adopted by the AMU Board of Trustees, after a Public Hearing held this past Monday night.” Here is a breakdown of his report:
Electric Operations:
• No rate increases budgeted for 2022
• Nationally, wholesale electric prices increased in 2021, as the U.S. economy recovered from 2020 COVID slow-down, allowing AMU to generate more electricity from our coal plant in Council Bluffs and sell into wholesale market at higher profit margins.
• 2022 Capital projects include replacing a set of switch gear in our main substation at a cost of S 1.3 million. We already replaced the other set of switch gear this year for
about S 1.2 million.
• With the low interest rates being earned on our reserve funds, we will be paying off $2,525,000 of our remaining electric debt in 2022. After this payment, both the Electric and Water Departments will be debt-free.
• Recent electric rate survey of all 181 electric companies in the state showed only one utility company in state of Iowa (Muscatine) with lower overall average rates than AMU.
Water Operations:
• No rate increases budgeted for 2022
• A year ago, AMU was awarded a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for almost $500,000 to pay a portion of 2 large water capital improvement projects:
1. In 2021 , completed installation of water main underneath Nishnabotna River along 2nd street near wastewater treatment plant to provide loop feed to customers west of the Nishnabotna river
2. In 2022, plan to refurbish 6 large filters in the water treatment plant at a cost of $725,000, with the CDBG covering $390,000 of the cost.
• Tjepkes said “We plan to apply for another CDBG grant to help with the cost of replacing an underground water storage tank with an above ground tank at an estimated cost of $1-million.”

(Left to right) Atlantic Knights of Columbus members Todd Roecker, Gary Richter (Mayor Dave Jones), Dr. Keith Leonard (DVM) and Phil Hascall. (Ric Hanson, photo)

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones then issued a Proclamation with regard to the Knights of Columbus:

Whereas, the Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Roman Catholic fraternal organization having 1.9 Million members in more than 15.000 councils in a total of 1 7 countries across the
globe, including 242 councils and 31.000 members in Iowa, and 152 members in the Monsignor Kane Atlantic Council,

Whereas the Knights of Columbus annual fraternal activities include more that 76 Million hours of volunteer service, and over 176 Million dollars in charitable contributions,

Whereas the Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 by Blessed Father Michael J. McGivney at St. Mary ‘s parish church in New Haven, CT,

and, Whereas the Monsignor Kane Atlantic Knights of Columbus council was chartered on December 9th, 1906. and has been in continual service to the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church and local charities in the Atlantic area for the past 115 years…

I hereby proclaim December 9th, 2021 to be knights of Columbus day. and I congratulate the Monsignor Kane Atlantic Knights of Columbus council on achieving 115 years of continual service to the Atlantic area.” Signed David Jones, Mayor City of Atlantic, Iowa.

The Council then proceeded to approve the closure of the following streets this Saturday, Dec. 4th, for the 2021 Lighted Parade that begins at 4:30-p.m.:

  • 6th & Chestnut to 6th & Walnut Streets
  • 6th & Chestnut in front of Wells Fargo Bank
  • 6th & Chestnut to 6th and Poplar Street.

In the Council Committee reports, Councilperson Kathy Somers said the Personnel and Finance Committee met Monday night. She said they talked about a City right-of-way that is under consideration to be vacated, and a possible donation of $5,000 to the Anne W. Wickman Center. Somers said also, there will be a new sound system installed in the Council Chambers at a cost of $9,000. Once the installation is complete, it should make it much easier for people in the audience to hear what’s being said during the meetings.

In other business, Councilman Dick Casady mentioned his wife had suffered a heart attack and had some stents put-in. She is recovering from the surgery. And, a recount was requested following the outcome of Tuesday’s Mayoral run-off race, in Atlantic. As you may recall, Grace Garrett was the unofficial winner by four votes over Tim Teig, 588-to 584. Atlantic City Clerk Barb Barrick said during the Council’s meeting, that County Auditor Dale Sunderman has informed that Teig took out papers to file for a recount.

Grace Garrett and Tim Teig will each appoint an individual to serve on the recount board. And the two together will appoint a third person.

Linderbaum named Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year

Sports

December 1st, 2021 by admin

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa junior offensive lineman Tyler Linderbaum has been named the Big Ten Conference Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year. The announcement was made by the Big Ten Conference on Wednesday.

Linderbaum becomes the ninth Hawkeye, and first since Tristin Wirfs in 2019, to win Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year.

The Solon, Iowa, native has started 33 consecutive games at center for the Hawkeyes after playing as a defensive lineman as a true freshman. Iowa has posted a 26-7 record during that span. The Hawkeyes won their final six games in 2020 and began the 2021 season with six straight wins. He was tabbed a midseason first-team All-American by four outlets, including Associated Press, The Athletic, CBSSports.com and Sporting News. He was named preseason first-team All-Big Ten and preseason first-team All-America by five media outlets. Linderbaum was also named to the Big Ten Conference preseason honors list, as well as the Rimington Trophy and Outland Trophy watch lists. He is one of four finalists for the Rotary Lombardi Award, and one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy.

Five University of Iowa football offensive student-athletes earned All-Big Ten honors.

Linderbaum earned first-team All-Big Ten recognition by the coaches and the media.

Junior offensive lineman Kyler Schott was a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and a third team selection by the media. Junior tight end Sam LaPorta was a third-team all-conference selection by the coaches and an honorable mention selection by the media.  Junior running back Tyler Goodson was a third-team honoree by the media and honorable mention by the coaches.

Rounding out Iowa’s All-Big Ten honors on the offensive side of the ball was redshirt freshman offensive lineman Mason Richman, who received honorable mention recognition from both the coaches and the media.

Schott has made 17 career starts and played in 24 games. He has started the last eight games at left guard.

LaPorta has made 17 career starts, while appearing in 32 games. He leads the Hawkeyes in both receptions (40) and receiving yards (486). He had a career-high seven receptions in Iowa’s victory over Kent State on Sept. 18. He had a career-high 83 receiving yards in Iowa’s season-opening win over Indiana on Sept. 4.

Goodson has made 23 career starts and appeared in 33 games. He leads Iowa in rushing yards (1,101) and total touchdowns (7). He is the first Hawkeye to go over 1,000 yards in a single season since Akrum Wadley in 2017. He had a career-high 156 rushing yards in Iowa’s victory over Nebraska on Nov. 26. Goodson has been Iowa’s leading rushing in 15 straight games.

Richman has started 10 games for the Hawkeyes and has appeared in 12 games. He was one of eight true freshmen to see action in 2020, seeing action in three games before redshirting.

No. 15 Iowa faces No. 2 Michigan on Saturday at the Big Ten Conference Football Championship Game in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:17 p.m. (CT). The game is televised on FOX.

Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year: Tyler Linderbaum

All-Big Ten – Coaches

  • OL Tyler Linderbaum – First Team
  • OL Kyler Schott – Second Team
  • TE Sam LaPorta – Third Team
  • RB Tyler Goodson – Honorable Mention
  • OL Mason Richman – Honorable Mention

All-Big Ten – Media 

  • OL Tyler Linderbaum – First Team
  • OL Kyler Schott – Third Team
  • RB Tyler Goodson – Third Team
  • OL Mason Richman – Honorable Mention
  • TE Sam LaPorta – Honorable Mention

Consumer Connection: Financial Wellness for the Holiday Season

News

December 1st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Iowa Insurance Division, Des Moines) – A recent LendingTree survey found nearly half of the 2,000 consumers surveyed are dreading the holidays due to the financial costs.  There are ways to reduce the financial stress of the holidays and purchase gifts that promote financial wellness.

  • Start with creating a budget for all your holiday expenses such as gas, food, decor, holiday cards, and travel.  Include a predetermined monetary amount for each person on your gift-giving list.  Sticking to a budget will prevent you from spending more than you can afford.
  • Consider using a cashback credit card or other similar rewards offer, but only if you can use credit responsibly and can pay off the balance in full.
  • If using credit cards is a struggle, consider using cash for all purchases and next year begin saving year-round. You may also want to consider a prepaid card to help you stick within your budget.
  • Credit cards provide protections that may not be available with debit cards.
  • When shopping online protect yourself and your money by keeping your phone or computer updated and having unique usernames and passwords for each site.
  • Avoid using free wifi and unsecured connections to make financial transactions.
  • Beware of phishing, which is when a scammer sends an email that appears to be from a legit company in an attempt to obtain your personal information.  If you receive an email from a retailer with a special sale offer, go to a new browser and type in the website URL to guarantee you are visiting the correct site.
  • Watch for grammatical errors, misspelled or extra words or numbers in a web address which may signal a scam.
  • Before doing business with a new company, read customer reviews and search the business name followed by the word “scam”.  Also, be aware if there is a limited amount of contact information on the website.
  • Monitor your credit cards and bank statements so you may report any suspicious activity immediately.

If you need gift ideas this year, consider these financial gifts:

  • Donate to a loved one’s favorite charity and inquire with your tax advisor to see if the donation is tax-deductible.
  • Purchase stock they will recognize and have an interest in.
  • Contribute to a 529 plan.
  • Contribute to the IRA of an eligible loved one with earned income.
  • Give the gift of cash and provide ideas on how to grow the money in a CD or investment account.  Save 4 Later Iowa provides financial education for free.
  • Pay for a visit to a licensed financial advisor.
  • Give the gift of financial learning with a book about finances.
  • Purchase a savings bond for your loved one.

If you purchase or receive gifts such as jewelry, art, or collectibles make sure they are properly insured by contacting your licensed insurance agent to discuss if your new possession should be insured with a rider to your homeowners or renters policy. If you have leftover money in your budget, give yourself a gift by placing it in your IRA, emergency fund, or that holiday spending account for next year.

If you’re just now decking your halls, use the right lights and avoid a fire

News

December 1st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Some Iowans started decorating their houses for Christmas back before Halloween this pandemic year, but many others are just getting around to decking the halls. Andrea Vaspis, public education director for the National Fire Protection Association, says those colorful lights can be a beautiful accent to your house, but they can also pose a serious fire hazard. “When you’re going to be decorating outside, make sure the lights that you use are approved by a testing laboratory and that they’re rated for outdoor use,” Vaspis says. “That is really critical.” Putting lights outside that are supposed to be for indoor use only could quickly lead to an electrical short — and a fire.

If you’re trying to obtain a Clark Griswold-level of outdoor decoration perfection, she warns, it can be easy to overdo it. “A general rule of thumb is to not plug in more than three strands at a time, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations on the box,” Vaspis says. “If you’re opening your tub of old lights and trying to pull them out and see what you have and if anything is frayed or old, it’s time to get rid of it.” For many Iowans, it’s simply not the holidays if the fragrence of fresh pine isn’t wafting throughout the house, but if you have a “real” tree, it’s important that your electric lights are safe.

Example of LED Christmas lights

“For the indoor lighting, make sure that what you’re using is not overloaded in a circuit with a number of other items,” Vaspis says. “Make sure that if you’re putting those lights on a Christmas tree, that the Christmas tree is in good shape, that it’s watered so that the lighting doesn’t cause a fire.” An association study finds electrical distribution or lighting equipment was involved in more than two of every five (44%) home Christmas tree fires.

COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to climb in Iowa

News

December 1st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Des Moines, Iowa (KCCI) — The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa continues to climb. The Iowa Department of Public Health today (Wednesday) reported 721 patients hospitalized with the virus, up from 665 at last report on Monday. Of those hospitalized with the virus, 75.7% are unvaccinated, while 77.9% of those listed in intensive care with COVID-19 are unvaccinated.

IDPH also reported 91 additional COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total to 7,445 since the start of the pandemic. The additional deaths were reported between Sept. 17 and Nov. 24. There were 8,221 positive tests reported in the last seven days, up from 7,952 reported on Monday. The state’s 14-day positivity rate climbed from 10.8% to 11.2% since Monday.

The number of long-term care facilities reporting outbreaks dropped from 20 to 19.

Iowa State and Big 12 announce 2022 football schedule

Sports

December 1st, 2021 by admin

IRVING, Texas – The Big 12 Conference announced its 2022 league football schedule today.

The Big 12 shared that several conference games could have date changes pending network television decisions.

Iowa State will have seven home games and will begin the season playing host to Southeast Missouri (Sept. 3). Iowa State will travel to Iowa the following week (Sept. 10) in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.

The Cyclones will face Ohio on Sept. 17 in their final non-conference game before beginning the Big 12 Conference season hosting Baylor on Sept. 24.

Iowa State’s lone “off week” is on Oct. 22 and is slated to play host to Oklahoma on a Thursday night (Oct. 27).

Kickoff times and broadcast information will be announced at a later date.

Iowa State set its season attendance record in 2021 by averaging 60,704 fans per game. For more information regarding purchasing season tickets for 2022, click here.

To view the online schedule, click here.

2022 Iowa State Football Schedule
Sept. 3 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
Sept. 10 %at Iowa
Sept. 17 OHIO
Sept. 24 *BAYLOR

Oct. 1 *at Kansas
Oct. 8 *KANSAS STATE
Oct. 15 *at Texas
Oct. 27 *OKLAHOMA
Nov. 5 *WEST VIRGINIA

Nov. 12 *at Oklahoma State
Nov. 19 *TEXAS TECH
Nov. 26 *at TCU
Dec. 3 &Big 12 Championship Game

Home games in CAPS/BOLD
%Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series
*Big 12 Conference game
&AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

KATHRYN ANN BOLTON, 67, of Griswold (Private Graveside Svcs.)

Obituaries

December 1st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

KATHRYN ANN BOLTON, 67, of Griswold, died Tuesday, Nov. 30th, at Montgomery County Memorial Hospital in Red Oak. A private graveside service for KATHRYN BOLTON will be held at Noble Center Cemetery, south of Lyman. Rieken Funeral Home is assisting the family.

KATHRYN ANN BOLTON is survived by:

Her husband – Jerry, of Griswold.

Her son – Josh (Stacy) Bolton, of Clarinda.

Her daughter – Ann Bolton, of Cleveland, TN.

Her mother – Georgia Frank, of Griswold.

Her brother – Randy Frank, of Griswold.

2 grandsons; other relatives and friends.

For second year, EPA misses deadline on ethanol blending requirements

Ag/Outdoor

December 1st, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has missed this week’s deadline to set new annual amounts of ethanol that small oil refineries must blend into gasoline. The E-P-A hasn’t set new volume levels since 2020. Monte Shaw is executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association. He says, “While this is not uncharted territory for us, it’s about what is that opportunity cost? What is not happening? You know, E-10’s being sold, you kind of get stuck in the status quo of blending.”

The E-P-A has proposed extending the ethanol blending deadlines for oil refineries. The agency has scheduled a virtual public hearing on the issue this Friday, December 3rd.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Katie Peikes)