Chiefs announce signing of McCoy to 1-year contract

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have announced the signing of two-time All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy, two days after he was released by Buffalo. The Chiefs signed Carlos Hyde in the offseason with the hope he could provide a veteran presence in a young backfield. But he was unproductive in the preseason and was traded to Houston, and Chiefs general manager Brett Veach moved quickly to sign McCoy to a $4 million contract for this season.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are under no preconceptions that the LeSean McCoy they officially signed Monday is the same running back that was a two-time All-Pro with the Philadelphia Eagles. They don’t need him to be, either. The Chiefs have a clear-cut starter in Damien Williams and two young, capable backups in second-year pro Darrel Williams and rookie Darwin Thompson. So whatever McCoy can provide after his release by Buffalo is gravy, whether that is on-field production or locker-room leadership. “There were a lot of teams that called in and I thought this was the best fit,” McCoy said. “You see this offense, I’m just trying to fit in a small part. These guys are rolling.”

Chiefs coach Andy Reid was responsible for drafting McCoy in Philadelphia, and the six-time Pro Bowl pick wound up playing his first four seasons for him. McCoy played two more with the Eagles after Reid was fired and landed in Kansas City, then spent the past four seasons in Buffalo. But he was released over the weekend in a surprise move, and several teams immediately expressed interest, including the AFC West rival Los Angeles Chargers. But the relationship McCoy had with Reid and Chiefs general manager Brett Veach — and McCoy’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus — made for a relatively quick negotiation, and McCoy was in the Chiefs’ practice facility to sign his contract Monday.

Now, the trick will be to get up to speed in time to offer some help Sunday in Jacksonville. “We’ll see what he can pick up in a short period of time, how comfortable he is with it,” Reid said. “He’s a pretty sharp kid. He’s been practicing and playing, so conditioning is not an issue.” McCoy should have some familiarity with the offense from his days with Reid in Philadelphia, but the coach acknowledged some elements have changed dramatically the past few years. The Chiefs run more run-pass options, play at a quicker pace and cater to MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes. “I’ve been in the playbook all day,” McCoy said. “Some of the terminology is different but a lot of the concepts are the same. Coach has a lot more wrinkles than before.”

Reid said he wouldn’t put McCoy “out there in a bad situation without knowing the plays,” so his package may be limited Sunday. Besides, Reid said, “we have other guys who can play, too.” That is where McCoy might just be the most valuable. The Chiefs signed Carlos Hyde in the offseason with the hope he could provide a veteran presence in the backfield. But he was unproductive in the preseason and was traded to Houston, leaving a major experience void among the four running backs the Chiefs kept on the roster. Damien Williams has the most, but that is still just 74 games over parts of five seasons and a total of 733 yards rushing. Darrel Williams has appeared in six games. Thompson and second-year pro Tremon Smith have never appeared in a game at running back — Smith is a converted cornerback.

In other words, McCoy alone has played in 67 more games than the rest of the Chiefs’ running back group. Eight times McCoy has run for more yards in a single season than the other four running backs have in their entire careers combined. He’s reached the end zone 69 times on the ground, 10 times the number of touchdowns that the rest of the Chiefs’ backfield has scored. “I think that’s a great fit for him,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said. “He is going in to a team that they’ve got a lot of high expectations and I’m sure he will be a great addition to what they’re doing. We truly wish him the best, unless we play him.”

Reid is cognizant of the stress it could bring to a tight locker room to add a running back just before the season that wasn’t around for training camp. But he was heartened by the way the rest the Chiefs embraced McCoy, and he made sure to discuss the signing with Damien Williams specifically. “It’s a great situation to be in, and really for both of them and the team,” Reid said. “They don’t know each other, but they’ll get to know each other, and I know they’ll work well together.” For good reason. While the Bills are still in the midst of a vast rebuild, the Chiefs have won three straight AFC West titles, and many have pegged them as Super Bowl favorites this season. “You got to put the work in. Nothing is given in this league. You have to earn it,” McCoy said. “But just look at the players, the success they had, the focus, and something about just being here, the players are all just good friends. Sometimes you have superstars — ‘This guy has a routine and off to the side’ — but here they’re all on the same page. It’s special.”

Notes: The Chiefs’ roster stood at 52 players, so adding McCoy did not require any additional moves. … McCoy will wear his familiar No. 25 and Thompson will switch to No. 34. … Backup TE Deon Yelder (ankle) is healthy for Week 1 after missing most of the preseason, Reid said.

Posted in Sports |

2 Red Oak men arrested on separate charges

News

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Police in Red Oak arrested two men on separate charges. At around 1:25-p.m. today (Monday), 56-year old Patrick John Peirce, Sr., of Red Oak, was arrested at 1st and Coolbaugh Streets, for Harassment in the 1st degree (Threatening – a forcible Felony). He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.

And, at around 10-a.m. Sunday, 47-year old Darold Eugene Bredberg, of Red Oak, was arrested on a valid Red Oak Police warrant for Forgery. Bredberg was being held in the Montgomery County Jail, on a $5,000 bond.

Posted in News |

Iowa police say 19-year-old survives shot to the head

News

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa police say a 19-year-old is expected to recover after being accidentally shot in the head in Des Moines. Des Moines police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek told the Des Moines Register that officers responded to reports of a shooting at about 11 p.m. Saturday at a house party south of Drake University.

Parizek said officers found bullet holes inside the home that appear to show a gun was fired in one room, passed through a wall and then struck the victim in the head in another room. Parizek says a bullet was pulled from the wound. He says the victim will be fine, and it’s “kind of remarkable.”

Parizek says charges likely will be filed.

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Quail population down 36 percent in DNR survey

Ag/Outdoor, News, Sports

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa’s quail population took the biggest hit of any of the game birds from the tough winter conditions. The annual roadside survey found their populations were down 36 percent from last year. D-N-R wildlife biologist, Todd Bogenschutz says impact was greatest on quail because their range is only across the southern three tiers of counties.

“The got that kind of transition — the got freezing rain, they go sleet, ice several times — and that’s just brutal on quail. Because they are not big enough to get through it and they don’t venture as far as pheasants,” according to Bogenschtuz. “We kind of fully expected that they would take a hit. I was hoping maybe not as much as they did.” He says the number of quail taken last year increased by 45 percent from the previous year. Bogenschutz says the harvest would have been much higher if more hunters had been out.

“We had about 10-thousand quail hunters last year and they shot about 50-thousand quail — which was the highest we’d seen in more than a decade,” Bogenschutz says. “So quail numbers have been good the last four or five years just like pheasants — the highest we’ve seen since the late 90s.” Bogenschutz projects the take would have been as high as a quarter million quail if the hunter numbers had been comparable to the 90’s.

He says there were around 20-thousand quail hunters back then, so there weren’t as many hunters chasing quail last year. Bogenschutz says hunter numbers for pheasant and quail had dropped off during the period when bad weather hurt their populations. And he says they are working to get younger hunters more involved in all types of hunting.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News, Sports |

Pickleball? The sport is being played in Iowa

News, Sports

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — The popularity of a sport called “pickleball” is spreading in Iowa. Rick Kramer, director of parks and recreation in New Hampton, heard about pickleball at a recent conference. “It is so new to us that I really don’t know what it is,” Kramer says. “It is table tennis on a floor, or on the ground.” The sport combines tennis, badminton and ping-pong. It is played with a paddle and a plastic ball with holes. Enthusiasts can play indoors or outdoors on a badminton-sized court, hitting the balls over a 36-inch high net. “Sometimes you just have to change things up a little bit,” Kramer says. “It’s for people that don’t want to do the tennis and the racketball…Another way to get (people) out in the parks, getting them enjoying the fresh air and a little exercise.”

Photo from USA Pickleball Association.org.

Kramer used social media to announce a pickleball court was available in New Hampton and six people soon showed up to play. “And then we put a picture on Facebook and got a lot of comments that people have been waiting for it,” Kramer says. The Enhance Iowa Board recently awarded nearly 22-thousand dollars in a CAT grant to a project for the construction of six pickleball courts on a currently underutilized tennis court located on the Mount Pleasant Middle School property. Iowa Economic Development Authority spokesperson, Jessica O’Riley, says it’s not the first time they’ve helped build the courts. She says they also have given an award to Keokuk for pickleball courts. “This one is sort of spearheaded by the school. They started a pickleball club that sort of caught on and they have community pickleball.”

O’Riley says it has created some unique pairings in Mt. Pleasant. “They mentioned that the senior citizens are playing with the high schoolers and it has really brought a sense of community across the courts there,” according to O’Riley. She says the latest project has found a solution to a problem. “It was a tennis court that wasn’t getting used, but now the pickleball court is getting use and is an asset to the community instead of an eyesore,” she says.

The U-S-A Pickleball Association says the game was invented by three fathers trying to keep their kids busy on a beach in Washington state — but it soon became an adult activity. According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, more than three-point-three MILLION Americans played pickleball at least once last year — making it one of the lastest-growing sports in America.

In addition to the new court in New Hampton, the U-S-A Pickleball Association has a list of 31 other Iowa cities and towns with pickleball courts. Among them, is Atlantic, Glenwood, Neola, and Red Oak. For information about Pickleball in Atlantic, contact the Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department.

Posted in News, Sports |

Buttigieg racing to build person-to-person network in Iowa

News

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is building up his organization in Iowa this month, with an eye on the state’s early caucus.
Buttigieg is racing to catch his better-known 2020 rivals, who have spent months building organizations in the state that marks the first test for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The South Bend, Indiana, mayor plans to put himself into serious contention thanks to his campaign taking in during the last quarter nearly $25 million in contributions, money he’s using to create an army of peer-to-peer foot soldiers.

Buttigieg faces pressure to assemble it in time to generate a surge by the Feb. 3 caucuses. But his team has confidence in his strategy, particularly the personal influence of his early supporters.

Posted in News |

1 injured in rollover accident east of Marne

News

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The male driver of a pickup was transported by Medivac Ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital following a rollover accident at around 7:54-a.m., about a mile east of Marne, on the Marne Road (Hwy 83). The pickup appeared to have been traveling westbound when it left the road to the right before skidding across the road and rolling into the south ditch. Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Corey Larsen told KJAN News the man was injured, but his name, and the extent of his injuries won’t be released until Tuesday. Larsen did say the accident victim was conscious and breathing when he was put on a backboard and placed into the ambulance.

Marne Fire & Rescue, Atlantic Fire and Rescue, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Cass County Emergency Management and Medivac Ambulance responded to the scene.

Ric Hanson (Photos)

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Empty Waterloo tractor factory is transformed into upscale hotel

News

September 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — A hulking, vacant John Deere tractor factory in Waterloo that was built in 1947 has been saved from the wrecking ball and transformed into an upscale hotel. Originally called the C-2 Building, the six-story structure is now a Courtyard by Marriott. Michael Morain, at the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, says the project has won on a top historic preservation award from the state of Iowa. Morain says, “It was an opportunity and a challenge for the architect to come in and figure out how to turn this empty brick box into a stylish, swanky hotel for modern guests.”

It’s unusual for Marriott to convert a historic property but Morain says the company saw an opportunity to open a high-end boutique hotel in an area of Waterloo that was being overlooked. “If you get a chance to walk in, it feels like an old building,” Morain says. “You can immediately see the historic elements, but it also feels like a modern, stylish hotel that is polished and has all of the creature comforts that guests are used to.” Davenport developer Rodney Blackwell worked with the state and with Marriott to preserve the 200-thousand square foot building, which had been vacant for years, and give it new life.

“One cool solution the architects came up with, on each floor, there were lots of windows to let in light but the windows were too high to see out of, so they raised the floor,” Morain says. “On each floor, they built false floors which let people see out those windows, but those raised floors also provided space to hide all of the wires and ductwork and things.” Residents all across Iowa are encouraged to take a closer look at their local history and consider ways to repurpose old buildings instead of knocking them flat. “So often we find that the easier, quicker solution might be to bulldoze down and build new,” Morain says, “but there are all kinds of examples of communities in Iowa that have rallied around historic properties and turned them into anchors for arts and culture and vibrant gathering places.”

The Iowa State Historical Society says the project displays one of the best, recent examples of historic preservation in the state.

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