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Woman injured in hit-and-run near Drake University has died

News

February 6th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Police say a 71-year-old woman who was gravely injured in a hit-and-run as she crossed a Des Moines street has died. The Des Moines Register reported Thursday that Stephanie Markert died a week after being hit near the Drake University campus. First responders found Markert in the street with critical injuries on Jan. 30.

Police say she was the house mother for Delta Gamma sorority at Drake. Police are still searching for a man they want to question in the crash and have issued a material witness warrant for 41-year-old Isaias Flores-Morales of Des Moines.

Posted in News |

Yang campaign lays off staff after Iowa caucuses

News

February 6th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrat Andrew Yang is restructuring his presidential campaign by laying off dozens of staffers following a distant sixth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses. Campaign manager Zach Graumann said Thursday that the campaign is “restructuring to compete as the New Hampshire primary approaches.”

Graumann went on to call the plans “a natural evolution of the campaign post-Iowa, same as other campaigns have undertaken.” The statement followed a report by Politico that Yang’s campaign had fired dozens of staffers across the operation. Yang’s campaign told The Associated Press that most of those let go had been Iowa staff.

Posted in News |

Man wanted on theft and burglary charges arrested by Atlantic police

News

February 6th, 2020 by admin

Stuart Sellers

The Atlantic Police Department reports the arrest Thursday at 10:30 a.m of 45-year-old Stuart Sellers of Red Oak on a Montgomery County Warrant for Interference with Official Acts (inflicts bodily injury) and Johnson County Warrants for Theft 1st Degree and Burglary 3rd Degree.

Sellers was observed by a concerned citizen exiting a stolen white 2006 Chevrolet 2500 pickup in the Walmart parking lot in Atlantic. The citizen followed at a distance while notifying Atlantic Police and the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. He was located a short distance away and arrested without incident. He was taken into custody and transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked in and later transferred to the Montgomery County Jail.

As we previously reported law enforcement in Montgomery County were investigating a theft from the University of Iowa Hospitals when Sellers fled from authorities. He was later suspected to have stolen the Chevy truck in Red Oak before leaving the area.

Authorities were able to recover a majority, if not all, of the stolen property from the hospital. The investigation is ongoing, and charges are currently pending against Sellers.

Red Oak Police would like to thank all of the citizens, media, and area law enforcement agencies for their due diligence in being alert and responsive to the incident. This goes to show that if you see something, say something and you can keep our communities safe.

Posted in News |

THELMA LOUISE MOORHEAD, 98, of Casey (2-10-2020)

Obituaries

February 6th, 2020 by Jim Field

THELMA LOUISE MOORHEAD, 98, of Casey died Wednesday, February 5th at Elm Crest Retirement Community in Harlan.  Services for THELMA LOUISE MOORHEAD will be held on Monday, February 10th at 11:00 am at the Casey United Methodist Church.  Johnson Family Funeral Home – Stuart Chapel has the arrangements.

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Visitation will be held on Monday one hour prior to the service at the church.

Burial in the Dalmanutha Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the Casey United Methodist Church.

Condolences may be left at www.johnsonfamilyfuneral.com.

Posted in Obituaries |

Judge bars internet search evidence from 1979 slaying trial

News

February 6th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A judge won’t allow evidence of internet searches to be used in the trial of an Iowa man accused of fatally stabbing a high school girl in Cedar Rapids more than 40 years ago. Jerry Burns is charged with killing 18-year-old Michelle Martinko on Dec. 19, 1979. Court documents say investigators found Burns’ browsing history included stories involving assault, rape, strangulation, murder and other violence. The Telegraph Herald reports that the judge ruled that the timing of the internet activity — at least 38 years after the slaying — was prejudicial and would harm Burns’ right to a fair trial.

Posted in News |

IGHSAU Girls Basketball Rankings 02/05/2020

Sports

February 6th, 2020 by admin

2020 10th Iowa Girls High School Basketball Rankings
Compiled by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union
February 5, 2020

Class 1A
School Record LW
1 Newell-Fonda 18-0 1
2 Marquette Catholic 17-1 2
3 North Mahaska 15-2 3
4 Algona Bishop Garrigan 18-1 4
5 Montezuma 17-1 5
6 MMCRU 18-0 6
7 Saint Ansgar 16-2 7
8 Exira-EHK 18-1 8
9 Kingsley-Pierson 16-3 13
10 Springville 16-3 15
11 Burlington Notre Dame 16-3 9
12 Woodbury Central 14-4 10
13 Colo-Nesco 15-3 NR
14 Central Decatur 14-3 NR
15 Central Elkader 17-3 14
Dropped Out: East Buchanan (11), Council Bluffs St. Albert (12)

Class 2A
School Record LW
1 Cascade 18-0 1
2 West Hancock 21-0 2
3 North Linn 17-1 3
4 MFL-MarMac 18-2 5
5 Osage 16-2 4
6 West Branch 16-3 9
7 Mediapolis 18-1 10
8 Western Christian 12-7 7
9 Maquoketa Valley 16-3 12
10 Van Buren 18-3 6
11 Logan-Magnolia 16-2 14
12 AHSTW 16-2 8
13 Panorama 15-2 13
14 Emmetsburg 14-4 15
15 Nodaway Valley 17-2 NR
Dropped Out: Mount Ayr (11)

Class 3A
School Record LW
1 Dike-New Hartford 17-1 1
2 Bishop Heelan 14-3 3
3 Roland-Story 15-2 5
4 Clear Lake 16-2 4
5 Crestwood 15-3 2
6 Des Moines Christian 17-1 7
7 Red Oak 15-3 8
8 North Polk 13-5 6
9 Okoboji 18-1 9
10 Davenport Assumption 12-5 12
11 West Liberty 16-3 11
12 Monticello 14-4 15
13 Cherokee 14-5 NR
14 West Marshall 15-2 13
15 Hampton-Dumont-CAL 16-2 NR
Dropped Out: West Burlington (10), Jesup (14)

Class 4A
School Record LW
1 North Scott 17-0 1
2 Marion 17-0 2
3 Glenwood 18-0 4
4 Center Point-Urbana 17-1 3
5 Ballard 16-1 5
6 Waverly-Shell Rock 15-2 9
7 Lewis Central 12-5 7
8 Gilbert 15-3 8
9 Cedar Rapids Xavier 12-6 6
10 Central DeWitt 15-1 10
11 Grinnell 13-3 11
12 Clear Creek-Amana 14-3 13
13 Mason City 9-9 12
14 Keokuk 14-3 15
15 Knoxville 17-1 NR
Dropped Out: Bondurant-Farrar (14)

Class 5A
School Record LW
1 Iowa City High 16-0 1
2 Dowling Catholic 16-3 2
3 Johnston 16-2 4
4 Waukee 15-2 5
5 Southeast Polk 17-1 6
6 Cedar Rapids Prairie 16-1 3
7 Cedar Falls 13-4 7
8 Waterloo West 14-4 8
9 Urbandale 13-5 9
10 Davenport North 13-2 10
11 West Des Moines Valley 11-7 11
12 Ankeny Centennial 9-9 13
13 Ames 9-9 12
14 Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln 14-4 14
15 Sioux City East 13-5 15
Dropped Out: None

Posted in Sports |

IGHSAU releases regional basketball pairings for Class 1A, 2A, and 3A

Sports

February 6th, 2020 by admin

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union has released the girls basketball pairings for Classes 1A, 2A, and 3A. Class 1A games begin on Thursday, February 13th. 2A and 3A games will begin on Saturday, February 15th.

In Class 3A Atlantic will be in Region 8 and host a first round game on the 15th against Clarinda at 7:30 p.m. The winner of that game will face the winner of Red Oak vs Shenandoah. The rest of the bracket has West Marshall hosting Nevada and Creston hosting Clarke in the opening round.

In Class 2A Missouri Valley will host Tri-Center and Underwood hosts MVAOCOU in pigtail games. Logan-Magnolia will face the Missouri Valley/Tri-Center winner in the quarters. AHSTW faces the Underwood/MVAOCOU winner in the quarterfinals. The other two games set in the quarterfinal round are Mount Ayr hosting Earlham and Nodaway Valley hosting Treynor.

In Class 1A most area teams will be in Region 7 and Region 8.

Region 7 first round games are as follows:

Fremont-Mills @ Sidney
Diagonal @ Stanton
Orient-Macksburg @ Audubon
Mormon Trail @ Central Decatur
Bedford @ Lenox
Essex @ St. Albert
Southwest Valley @ East Mills

Exira-EHK has an opening round bye and will play the winner of the F-M @ Sidney game in the quarters.

Region 8 first round games are as follows:

West Harrison @ Westwood
Coon Rapids-Bayard @ Paton-Churdan
Ar-We-Va @ Glidden-Ralston
Whiting @ Woodbury Central
Woodbine @ Boyer Valley
Griswold @ CAM
Riverside @ Heartland Christian

Newell-Fonda has a first round by and will play the winner of the West Harrison @ Westwood game in the quarters.

Class 1A Pairings

Class 2A Pairings

Class 3A Pairings

Posted in Sports |

Democratic Party chairman calls on Iowa Democrats to ‘immediately begin a recanvass’ following a delay in caucus results

News

February 6th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

WASHINGTON (AP) – The chairman of the Democratic National Committee is calling for a “recanvass”of the results of Monday’s Iowa caucus. Technical problems and delays have marred the first contest on the 2020 election calendar. The current results show Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders nearly tied with almost all the votes counted. But the race remained too early to call early Thursday, with 97% of precincts reporting. Party officials are scrambling to verify the remaining results three days after Iowans gathered at caucus sites across the state to begin choosing which Democrat will take on President Donald Trump in November.

Posted in News |

Construction worker dies in north Des Moines Thursday

News

February 6th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

A 56-year old man working for Cramer and Associates in Grimes died from injuries he suffered during a fall this (Thursday) morning, on Des Moines’ north side. According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the man – whose name was not immediately released – died after falling from a scaffolding while working on a river bridge near mile marker 133 on westbound Interstate 80. The man fell about 30-feet, according to officials. The accident happened at around 8:26-a.m.

Deputies found the man unresponsive, and suffering from a head injury. He was transported to a local hospital, where he died upon arrival.

Posted in News |

IHSAA releases 2020 football districts, playoffs to stay the same

Sports

February 6th, 2020 by admin

The Iowa High School Athletic Association has released the football district assignments for the upcoming 2020 season. The Association also announced that the playoff format for the 2020 season will remain unchanged with 16 qualifiers in each class. There had been some rumblings and discussion of possibly increasing the number of postseason qualifiers once again but that will not happen at this time. Full schedules for teams are expected to be released in March.

The 2020 season is schedule to begin with a Week 1 date of August 27th/28th. The 2020 postseason will begin on Friday, October 30th for all classes. The IHSAA RPI will continue to be used for ranking at-large qualifiers for the postseason. Schedules are set to be released on just a one-year cycle.

Class 4A will have a different setup this season using a success model schedule. You can find out more about that setup here: CLASS 4A SUCCESS MODEL SCHEDULE

Here is a look at districts featuring area teams. Follow the links below for the full district listings for each class.

Class 8-Player

District 7: Bedford, CAM, East Mills, East Union, Fremont-Mills, Griswold, Lenox, Sidney (Pending appeal), Stanton.

District 8: Ar-We-Va, Audubon, Boyer Valley, Coon Rapids-Bayard, Exira-EHK, Glidden-Ralston, West Harrison, Woodbine.

2020-Football-Districts-8P

Class A

District 8: Earlham, Madrid, Nodaway Valley, Ogden, Wayne, Woodward Academy.

District 9: AHSTW, Riverside, Sidney, Southwest Valley, St. Albert, Tri-Center.

District 10: IKM-Manning, Logan-Magnolia, Ridge View, West Monona, Westwood, Woodbury Central.

2020-Football-Districts-A

Class 1A

District 8: AC/GC, Kuemper Catholic, Panorama, Van Meter, West Central Valley, Woodward-Granger.

District 9: East Sac County, Missouri Valley, MVAOCOU, OABCIG, Treynor, Underwood.

2020-Football-Districts-1A

Class 2A

District 9: Atlantic, Clarinda, Des Moines Christian, Greene County, Red Oak, Shenandoah.

2020-Football-Districts-2A

Class 3A

District 9: Carroll, Creston/O-M, Denison-Schleswig, Glenwood, Harlan, Lewis Central.

2020-Football-Districts-3A

Class 4A

Group 1: Dowling Catholic, Urbandale, Fort Dodge, Des Moines Roosevelt, CB Abraham Lincoln, Sioux City North.

Group 3: WDM Valley, Ankeny, Indianola, Sioux City East, CB Thomas Jefferson, Sioux City West.

2020-Football-Group-4A

Posted in Sports |