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Iowa DOC inmate dies – cause of death under investigation

News

February 8th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

CORALVILLE, Iowa — Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections report prison inmate, 39-year old Justin Lee Dewitt, of North Liberty, died Friday afternoon, at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center. The cause of his death is yet to be determined. An autopsy will be performed by the Johnson County Medical Examiner.

DeWitt was arrested on June 27, 2016, for allegedly attempting to hire a hit man to kill his former business associate, the associate’s wife and two children, then ages 2 and 4. He began serving a 35-year sentence for multiple counts of Attempted Murder and Solicitation to Commit Murder. His sentence began July 27, 2018.

In shadow of coronavirus, Iowa poultry producers watchful for new bird flu outbreak

Ag/Outdoor, News

February 8th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa egg and poultry producers are on high alert as China reports an H-5-N-1 bird flu outbreak has occurred near the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Iowa Poultry Association C-E-O and executive director Kevin Stiles says avian influenza is always top of mind for Iowa producers. “I don’t think though that necessarily transmitting into the United States via human contact is the first concern,” Stiles says. “We’re mostly concerned just with migratory patterns that we see and what implications that might hold for us looking ahead.” Stiles says Iowa’s poultry producers are better prepared now than they were five years ago as biosecurity is much improved.

“We continue to work with our producers, with the larger egg and poultry community,” Stiles says, “to practice diligence in their biosecurity practices, to make sure they are always on high alert when it comes to any sort of disease threat, but in particular avian influenza.” Since the latest Chinese bird flu outbreak was the H-5-N-1 strain, Stiles says it’s more concerning than if it were another type. “That certainly raises it a little bit higher in our attention, certainly,” he says, “but we also know there are strains and outbreaks of avian influenza in various countries in Europe at the present time, so that also puts us on high alert.”

An outbreak of the similar H-5-N-2 strain of avian flu in 2015 caused more than one-billion dollars damage to Iowa poultry producers as millions of chickens and turkeys had to be destroyed.

Man changes plea, sentenced to life in murder of Luverne Bank employee

News

February 8th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — The man accused of killing an Algona woman outside a bank in the Kossuth County town of LuVerne late last year changed his plea from not guilty to guilty during a hearing, Friday. Thirty-five-year-old Valentino Williams of Coralville, Iowa changed his plea during a hearing in Kossuth County District Court. Williams admitted in court to killing 43-year-old Jessica Weishaar outside the bank in LuVerne on the morning of December 4th, 2019. Williams was arrested following a traffic stop along Interstate 35 in rural Franklin County little more than an hour after the shooting. Law enforcement was able to track down Williams vehicle after he was recorded driving more than 80 miles-an-hour by a D-O-T Enforcement officer south of Belmond. As a part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the first-degree Robbery charges against Williams. Judge Nancy L. Whittenburg accepted the plea and handed out the mandatory sentence of life without parole.

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the area – Saturday, February 8, 2020

Weather

February 8th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Today: Partly cloudy. High 33. SE @ 10-15mph.

Tonight: P/Cldy to cldy w/light snow or flurries. Low 28. SE @ 10-15.

Tomorrow: Mo. Cldy w/a mix of light snow-flurries. High 36. S @ 10-20 becoming NW.

Monday: P/Cldy. High 34.

Tuesday: P/Cldy. High 30.

Friday’s High in Atlantic was 26. Our Low this morning, 12. We received .a Trace of snow Friday (after 7-a.m.). Last year on this date, the High in Atlantic was 13 and the Low was -5. The record High for February 8th in Atlantic, was 62 in 1954. The Record Low was -34 in 1971.

Red Oak Police report (2/8/20)

News

February 8th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 6:25-p.m. Friday, of 42-year old Richard Allen Straw, from Red Oak. Straw was taken into custody for Driving While Suspended. His bond at the Montgomery County Jail was set at $566.

No. 24 Missouri State women hand Northern Iowa 1st home loss

Sports

February 8th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – Brice Calip and Alexa Willard scored 13 points each, and No. 24 Missouri State handed Northern Iowa its first home loss of the season 66-55. Jasmine Franklin added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears, who won their fifth straight.

Missouri State took the lead for good with nine straight points capped at 44-35 by Willard’s jumper with 5:55 left in the third quarter. The Panthers cut the deficit to three with a pair of 3-pointers but that was as close as they would get. Karli Rucker had 13 points and Cynthia Wolf added 10 for Northern Iowa.

Area High School Basketball Scores from 2/7/20

Sports

February 8th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

BOYS BASKETBALL

Hawkeye Ten Conference
Denison-Schleswig 67, Atlantic 55
Creston 82, Red Oak 40
Glenwood 60, St. Albert, Council Bluffs 59 (OT)
Kuemper Catholic 77, Shenandoah 43
Lewis Central 72, Harlan 62 (LC now in 1st place in Hawkeye Ten)

Western Iowa Conference
IKM-Manning 47, Logan-Magnolia 42
Treynor 75, AHSTW 46
Tri-Center 68, Riverside 34
Underwood 71, Missouri Valley 54

Rolling Valley Conference
CAM, Anita 73, Exira/EH-K 53
Glidden-Ralston 62, Coon Rapids-Bayard 49

Corner Conference
East Mills 76, Essex 17
Fremont-Mills 57, Griswold 25
Sidney 74, Clarinda Academy 37

Pride of Iowa
East Union 68, SE Warren 55
Martensdale-St. Marys 80, Central Decatur 74 (OT)
Mount Ayr 67, Bedford 55
Nodaway Valley 74, Lenox 33

West Central Activities Conference
AC/GC 71, Woodward Academy 47
Ogden 51, Pleasantville 45
Van Meter 88, Madrid 67
Woodward-Granger 57, Des Moines Christian 55

Other Scores
Carroll 71, Boone 60
CB Abraham Lincoln 63, SC East 45
Winterset 59, Carlisle 43

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Hawkeye Ten Conference
Denison-Schleswig 46, Atlantic 40
Glenwood 79, St. Albert 57
Kuemper Catholic 59, Shenandoah 42
Lewis Central 54, Harlan 47
Red Oak 55, Creston 35

Western Iowa Conference
AHSTW 39, Treynor 33 (AHSTW clinches share of WIC title)
IKM-Manning 37, Logan-Magnolia 28
Tri-Center 66, Riverside 45
Underwood 78, Missouri Valley 19

Rolling Valley Conference
Boyer Valley 66, West Harrison 50
Coon Rapids-Bayard 25, Glidden-Ralston 20 (OT)
Exira-EHK vs CAM (Cancelled due to Exira-EHK illnesses)

West Central Activities Conference
Des Moines Christian 40, Woodward-Granger 33
Pleasantville 44, Ogden 29

Corner Conference
East Mills 57, Essex 15
Fremont-Mills 62, Griswold 14

Pride of Iowa
Mount Ayr 49, Bedford 39

Nodaway Valley 66, Lenox 31 (NV clinches share of POI title)
Southeast Warren 53, East Union 50

Other Scores
Carroll 49, Boone 24
Sioux City East 48, CB Abraham Lincoln 42
Winterset 53, Carlisle 36

Midwest Sports Headlines: 2/8/20

Sports

February 8th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

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

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Brice Calip and Alexa Willard scored 13 points each, and No. 24 Missouri State handed Northern Iowa its first home loss of the season 66-55. Jasmine Franklin added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears, who won their fifth straight. Missouri State took the lead for good with nine straight points capped at 44-35 by Willard’s jumper with 5:55 left in the third quarter. The Panthers cut the deficit to three with a pair of 3-pointers but that was as close as they would get. Karli Rucker had 13 points and Cynthia Wolf added 10 for Northern Iowa.

UNDATED (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals won the National League Central and advanced to the league championship series last season before falling to the Washington Nationals. They return the bulk of their lineup, along with their rotation and one of the game’s best relief corps. But they also reside in one of the most difficult divisions in the game. The Cubs and Brewers also have won the Central in recent years, and the Reds are trending up after making some big offseason moves.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals head into spring training with a new outlook. The team was sold in the offseason to Kansas City businessman John Sherman and Mike Matheny was hired to replace retired manager Ned Yost. The moves come after the Royals lost more than 100 games for the second consecutive year. The Royals spent last season trying to usher the first wave of young players to the big leagues. Their development will be a major focus this season. So will the growth of the young pitchers still in the minors. Pitchers and catchers report to Arizona on Feb. 12.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City Chiefs fan says he took a “professional NFL hit” when he slammed into a parking meter while trying to catch a pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes during the team’s Super Bowl victory parade. Forty-three-year-old LaRue Bell told The Kansas City Star that the pass was intended for him but that the parking meter denied him the opportunity Wednesday. Millions have watched the video on social media. Even Mahomes checked in on Twitter, asking “Yo is the dude who hit the parking meter okay.” Bell says he is sore, noting that the pole “was not forgiving at all.”

WACO, Texas (AP) — Baylor is suspending 14 baseball players for two games each over an unspecified hazing incident that occurred a year ago. The school says the number of suspensions requires them to be staggered over the first three weeks of the season. The Bears open at home against Nebraska on Feb. 14. Athletic administrators became aware of the incident last May. An investigation by Baylor’s general counsel office and Division of Student Life followed. Coach Steve Rodriguez says he’s “very disappointed with this incident.”

Iowa early News Headlines: Saturday, Feb. 8th 2020

News

February 8th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35-a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines man has pleaded guilty to killing a homeless man last year with a stolen car. The Des Moines Register reports that 22-year-old Donterius Bomar pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the January 2019 death of 69-year-old Charles Childs. Police say Bomar was driving the stolen car when he hit Childs and kept going. Childs was found dead two days later inside a tent at a homeless camp. As part of his plea deal, Bomar could face up to 75 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for April 1.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price says an independent review will determine what went wrong in the state caucus process that led to a dayslong delay in reporting the results, inconsistencies in the numbers and no clear winner. Price said Friday that the independent forensic investigation will determine what went wrong. Almost nothing went right Monday, first when an app used to report the results failed and then when a massive backlog of phone reports and inquiries followed. Pete Buttigieg narrowly leads Bernie Sanders in Iowa’s released results, but The Associated Press has been unable to declare a winner based on the available information.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Will the Iowa caucuses ever wrap up? Now the chairman of the Democratic National Committee is calling for a “recanvass” of the results. Party leader Tom Perez tweeted Thursday that “enough is enough” after three days of technical issues and delays. Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders are nearly tied for the lead after the delays. Both candidates have declared themselves victorious in Monday’s contest. The Associated Press said Thursday that it is unable to declare a winner in the contest. The Iowa Democratic Party suggested it may not comply with Perez’s request, issuing a statement that said it would conduct a recanvass if one was requested by one of the candidates.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Democrats are recovering from a number of disappointments after Monday’s Iowa caucuses, though one has received less attention than the others. About 176,000 Iowans attended their precinct caucuses. That’s fewer than expected, and 62,000 less than the party’s high-water mark of 2008. The parade of candidates and marquee events that drew thousands of activists and a Democratic base seething to unseat President Donald Trump had given some party insiders the impression turnout could match or top 2008.

Sectional wrestling hits the mat on Saturday

Sports

February 7th, 2020 by admin

The postseason gets underway on Saturday for Class 1A and 2A wrestlers with Sectional Meets across the state. The first and second place finishers in each weight class advance on to District Meets next Saturday the 15th. The top two teams at each site will qualify for Regional Team Dual competition next Tuesday night.

The Atlantic/CAM grapplers will be at Class 2A Sectional 3 at ADM on Saturday along with ADM, Creston/O-M, Greene County, Kuemper Catholic, Panorama, and Winterset.

Action gets underway at 12:00pm and admission is $6 for all spectators.

The other area 2A Sectional 4 will be at Glenwood and include the Rams along with Clarinda, Harlan, Red Oak, Shenandoah, and Southwest Iowa (Sidney).

Winners from those two 2A sites will compete at Districts in Atlantic next week.

Area 1A Sectional sites include Missouri Valley, ACGC, and Riverside.

WR-2A-Sites-Assignments

WR-1A-Sites-Assignments