Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker says on January 12th, members of the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office and Council Bluffs Police Department will be at CHI Health Mercy Hospital at 2-p.m., to deliver money collected from last year’s Law Enforcement Cancer Awareness T-shirt campaign. Danker says it will be the largest donation they have ever presented to CHI Health Mercy Hospital.

A little background: In September of 2011, an idea was brought to Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker to help promote Cancer Awareness by creating and selling a Law Enforcement version of the popular pink shirt. With his approval, a design was created to include local area Law Enforcement. This shirt depicted a patrol car and an SUV surrounded by Law Enforcement patches. Of course, the shirt wouldn’t have been an awareness shirt without the well-known ‘pink ribbon’ and the slogan “LAW ENFORCEMENT – CARE ENOUGH TO WEAR PINK”.

In 2014 it was decided to change from a pink ribbon to a LAVANDER ribbon to bring
cancer awareness to ‘ALL CANCERS’. The lavender ribbon coincided with the Sheriff’s Department’s goal of bringing awareness to all cancers, and was so popular we chose to continue with the LAVANDER color. From its original concept, Danker says the shirts were to promote all Cancer Awareness with money raised being donated to the Oncology Center at CHI Health Mercy Hospital Council Bluffs.

Officials say the success of this program wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the Council Bluffs Police Chief Tim Carmody, Sheriff Danker, and the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors. Danker says they more than doubled last year’s donation and are very excited to be delivering a check of over $10,000 to help benefit cancer patients.

The local Law Enforcement Community he says, hopes to continue their fundraising efforts and continue to raise Awareness for Cancer Research. Officials want to THANK the public for making this donation possible.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Iowans bought a lot of new vehicles last year, but sales were down compared to 2015. Bruce Anderson, president of the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association, says there were 138,001 new cars, trucks, and SUVs sold in Iowa in 2016. “Which was a dip of about 4,000 total units, but the sales are at a really high level. It’s the first dip that we’ve experienced since 2009,” Anderson says. The decline in new vehicle sales may be an indicator of an economic slowdown, but Anderson says there are other factors.

“Some of the dip is attributable to supply issues,” Anderson says. “Late in the year, some of the plants close down and getting just exactly the right car or truck ordered and delivered is sometimes difficult.” Anderson’s group keeps track of the top-selling vehicles by manufacturer.

“The number one selling brand in Iowa last year was Chevrolet at 29,605. Ford came in right behind that at 24,638,” Anderson says. The third most popular new vehicle manufacturer in Iowa, behind Chevy and Ford, is Toyota. The Iowa Automobile Dealers Association does not track sales in terms of specific models, but Anderson says Chevy and Ford pickups are clearly the top sellers across the state.

“The Silverado and the F-150 are consistently the top selling units in Iowa. Iowans love their pickup trucks,” Anderson says. Nearly half of the new vehicles being driven in Iowa are trucks, according to Anderson. Nationally, the percentage of trucks on the road is close to 20-percent. The Iowa Automobile Dealers Association includes SUVs as part of truck sales.

(Radio Iowa)

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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What’s billed as “a variety show of veritable feats” that aims to revive Vaudeville-style theater in the state will make stops in six Iowa cities over the next several weeks. Producer Ian Miller, of Des Moines, is one of the creators and participants in the stage performance called “The Nitch,” featuring an all-Iowa cast of characters, poets, musicians, acrobats and more. “‘The Nitch’ is a story, an adventure really, of the individual search for self-definition, using creative means to help define the individual,” Miller says. “We’re hoping that we inspire creativity amidst the viewing audience.”

In the dramatic portion of the show, Miller plays a masked animal character who’s trying to read a book to the audience but he’s constantly interrupted by other pesky animals who aim to steal the book. The antics eventually result in an outbreak of pie-throwing. Miller says, “This is an expansion of what we’ve done in the past where we’re adding in a juggler and an acrobat and musical guests at every stop to really harness the power of that old-school Vaudeville theater.”

The messages embedded in the entertainment include an emphasis on the importance of literacy and individuality. While it’s geared for a young audience, he says “The Nitch” appeals to adults as well. “It’s a family-friendly show,” Miller says. “We do our best to weave a tale that speaks to the child in anyone.”

The book which Miller’s character tries to read aloud during the show is an actual book, a 62-page illustrated prose about “discovering your passion and purpose.” Miller created the book, which became the show, along with author Satyrus Jeering. “When I sat down with Jeering to create this story, I was hugely inspired and the process itself actually helped me find definition in my own creative journey,” Miller says. “I would hope it does the same for the audience. If they’re entertained at the end of the day, if they get a laugh and a smile, that’s really all we need.”

The first of the six scheduled performance is set for January 28th at the Hawkeye Community Theater in Fort Dodge. More shows are upcoming in: Corning, Keokuk, Greenfield, Red Oak and Elkader. Learn more at: http://satyrusjeering.com/

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Hawkeyes have a difficult task as they host 17th ranked Purdue tonight (Thursday) in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes are 2-2 in the league race and need to find a way to slow down Purdue forward Caleb Swanigan. The sophomore is averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds per game.

Purdue hammered the Hawkeyes in the first meeting 89-67 just over two weeks ago. Hawkeyes Coach Fran McCaffery says the Boilermakers are difficult to guard.

Tip-off from Carver Hawkeye Arena is at 8-p.m. Pre-game coverage on KJAN begin at 7-p.m.

(Learfield Sports)

Red Oak Police, Wednesday afternoon, responded to a disturbance at the Red Oak High School. Officers were called to the school just after 1-p.m. for a report of a student who was out of control. Upon arrival and further investigation, Police arrested a 15-year old student for Disorderly Conduct. The student, who was not identified, was transported to the Juvenile Detention Center at the direction of Juvenile Services, and held until being seen by a judge.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad’s plan to defund Planned Parenthood would cost Iowa millions of federal dollars that had gone to family planning services, and the state plans to replenish the losses by tapping a fund for vulnerable children, adults and families. Ben Hammes, Branstad’s spokesman, said Iowa would make up the difference out of the Social Services Block Grant. The roughly $15 million program includes discretion to spend on family planning services.

UNDATED (AP) — A member of the Board of Regents says his colleagues’ decision to take no action against Iowa State University President Steven Leath for misusing university airplanes was “a slap in the face” to Iowa taxpayers. In a Dec. 20 email obtained under the public records law, Regent Subhash Sahai told colleagues that he was “embarrassed for the board” for letting Leath off the hook. He says any other professional “would have been severely sanctioned.”

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — Leaders of a Marshalltown hospital are moving ahead with the sale of the facility. The Times Republican reports the sale of Central Iowa Healthcare’s assets to Unity Point Health-Waterloo was unanimously approved by corporate members Tuesday. Unity Point Health-Waterloo offered $12.5 million for the assets. Members also outlined the loss of more than $18 million as of Nov. 30, 2016. The sale must be approved by a bankruptcy court.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — South Korea is suffering from a shortage of eggs due to bird flu and has finalized agreements to accept imported fresh eggs from United States. South Korea’s government says about 26 million chickens have been killed, including one-third of the country’s egg-laying hens, since the H5N6 strain of avian influenza first surfaced in November. The export is an opportunity for U.S. producers to alleviate a surplus of eggs post-2015 outbreak, which killed 49 million turkeys and chickens in 15 states.

Members of the Atlantic School Board Wednesday night, discussed setting the date for a possible General Obligation bond referendum for additions and/or improvements to current district facilities. The Board seemed to be in consensus that Tuesday, Sept. 12th 2017 would be the best date for a Special School Election, as it also coincides with the School Board election.

Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein said an election in June would be too soon, because it wouldn’t give the architects enough time to come up with a final presentation on their proposal for athletic and instructional facilities, and there wouldn’t be enough time to handle any public presentations for the proposed projects. Any public measure such as a requested bond election must be submitted to the County Auditor no later than 46 days prior to the special election.

Amstein said also, that while Representative Tom Moore and Senator Tom Shipley said they feel strongly that State Aid for education would be approved by the Iowa Legislature at a rate of two-percent, the School Board will have to wait and see what the rate actually is. The amount will ultimately help to guide the District’s 2017-18 Budget.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved various contracts and/or Letters of Assignment, including Gaylord Schelling as Head Varsity Baseball Coach, and they approved a cost proposal from RSP & Associates, to conduct a 5-year enrollment analysis, in advance of a possible school bond referendum.