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Iowa News Headlines: Sunday, March 3rd, 2019

News

March 3rd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police say they’ve arrested a man suspected of setting a Cedar Rapids apartment fire that injured him and four others, including a firefighter. Station KCRG reports that 24-year-old Dallas Tullis, of Cedar Rapids was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree arson, assault on a police officer, assault causing injury and interference with official acts.DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a newborn boy has been surrendered to state custody under Iowa’s safe haven law. The Iowa Department of Human Services says it is the 33rd time the safe haven provision has been used since it went into effect in 2001. The department says the baby was born Feb. 2 at an Iowa hospital and released to the custody of DHS officials. Iowa lawmakers changed state law following a 2001 case in which a mother killed her home-delivered newborn in eastern Iowa.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A jury has acquitted an anti-violence activist who had been charged with child endangerment. The Des Moines Register reports that 46-year-old Calvetta Williams was found not guilty Friday by a Polk County District Court jury. Williams was charged with child endangerment causing injury for an incident investigators say happened at Williams’ day care in July 2017 in which a girl received superficial injuries. Williams founded Mothers Against Violence in 2013.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State University is set to receive a $3.5 million gift to transform biomolecular research and make the school into a leader in advanced electron microscopy technology. The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust of Muscatine announced the grant earlier this week. The grant will enable the purchase of a state-of-the-art cryo-transmission electron microscope equipped with a direct electron detector.

Posted in News |

JUDY RAFTER, 79, of Greenfield (Svcs. 3/6/19)

Obituaries

March 3rd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

JUDY RAFTER, 79, of Greenfield, died Saturday, March 2, 2019, at the Greenfield Rehabilitation and Health Care Center. Funeral services for JUDY RAFTER will be held 10:30-a.m. Wednesday, March 6th, at the United Methodist Church in Greenfield. Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield has the arrangements.

Open Visitation:  Will be held on Tuesday, March 5th, from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield.; Family Visitation:  The family will greet friends on Tuesday evening March 5th, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield.; Online condolences may be left to the family at www.steenfunerals.com.

Burial is in the Fontanelle Cemetery. A luncheon will be held at the church following the committal services at the cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Judy Rafter memorial fund to be established by the family at a later date.

JUDY RAFTER is survived by:

Her husband – Randall Rafter, of Greenfield.

Her son –  Kevin (Jami) Rafter, of Stuart.

Her daughter – Ranee Rafter, of Greenfield.

5 grandchildren; other relatives and friends.

Posted in Obituaries |

Drake claims at least share of MVC title

Sports

March 3rd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Nick McGlynn had 22 points and 13 rebounds as Drake topped Missouri State 73-62 on Saturday to win at least a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title. Tremell Murphy had seven rebounds for Drake (23-8, 12-6).

Jarred Dixon had 18 points for the Bears (16-15, 10-8). Tulio Da Silva added 17 points. Keandre Cook had 10 points and three blocks.

The Bulldogs improve to 2-0 against the Bears on the season. Drake defeated Missouri State 74-63 on Jan. 20. The Bulldogs and the Bears next take the floor in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Posted in Sports |

Harper scores 27, Rutgers rolls Iowa 86-72

Sports

March 3rd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — No. 22 Iowa has likely done enough to lock up an NCAA Tournament spot. But it’s fair to start wondering if the Hawkeyes will be able to do anything once they get there. Freshman Ron Harper Jr. scored a season-high 27 points and Rutgers rolled past Iowa 86-72 on Saturday in the Hawkeyes’ home finale.

Issa Thiam had 13 points for the Scarlet Knights (14-14, 7-11), who won their first road game over a ranked opponent as a Big Ten team. It was also the Scarlet Knights’ first victory over a Top 25 team away from home since defeating then-No. 13 Pittsburgh 77-64 in 2008.

Iowa played without coach Fran McCaffery, who was suspended by the school for two games for yelling at an official in a hallway heading to the locker room following Tuesday’s loss at Ohio State. It was Iowa’s third loss in four games — and the Hawkeyes (21-8, 10-8) needed some late heroics to top Indiana in their only win in that stretch.

The scariest thing for the Hawkeyes was how lopsided it was. Iowa shot just 35.7 percent from the floor and turned it over 13 times. Senior Nicholas Baer scored a season-high 17 points and Tyler Cook had 16 for Iowa (21-8, 10-8), which closed to 72-60 before allowing back-to-back dunks. The Hawkeyes shot just 8 of 29 on 3s.

It’s impossible to say whether McCaffery’s absence hurt the Hawkeyes. But he’s the coach for a reason. Iowa came out lethargic in front of a sellout crowd on Senior Day, and failed to make the halftime adjustments needed to at least make a game of it.
POLL IMPLICATIONS –
Iowa will almost certainly drop out of Monday’s poll.
UP NEXT
Iowa: At Wisconsin on Thursday night.

Posted in Sports |

No. 20 Iowa State women cruise past No. 18 Texas 82-73

Sports

March 3rd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Bridget Carleton and Ashley Joens each scored 12 points in the first half as No. 20 Iowa State jumped out early and beat No. 18 Texas 82-73 on Saturday night. The Cyclones started on an 18-4 run and had a double-digit lead until late in the fourth quarter. Carleton finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and surpassed 2,000 career points in the first quarter. Joens had 22 points. The pair combined for eight of Iowa State’s 12 3-pointers.

Iowa State (22-7, 12-5 Big 12) has won four of its last five games and has 12 conference wins for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Texas (21-8, 11-6) has lost three of four including a 64-35 defeat to top-ranked Baylor on Monday.

Sug Sutton had 16 of her 21 points in the second half to lead the Longhorns, who pulled within single digits in the last two minutes. Texas entered having won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams and was 10-5 at home against the Cyclones.

Posted in Sports |

Girls State Basketball Championship Scoreboard Saturday, 3/2/19

Sports

March 3rd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Class 4A State Championship: North Scott, Eldridge 50, Marion 49

Class 2A State Championship: Treynor 48, Grundy Center 30

Class 1A State Championship: Newell-Fonda 76, West Hancock, Britt 52

Posted in Sports |

Febres cans 8 treys, leads Texas past Iowa State 86-69

Sports

March 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jase Febres scored a career-best 26 points, and Texas defeated Iowa State 86-69 Saturday. Febres, a sophomore, made eight 3-point baskets, also a career-best, in 10 attempts.

Courtney Ramey scored 18 for Texas (16-13, 8-8 in Big 12), Eli Mitrou-Long and Dylan Osetkowski had 13 apiece. Matt Coleman III made 10 assists. Marial Shayok led Iowa State (20-9, 9-7) with 22 points, and Lindell Wigginton scored 16. Starter Nick Weiler-Babb played just six minutes in the second half after suffering a bruised knee late in the first half.

Febres has started the last three games, replacing the suspended Kerwin Roach II. During those games Febres has hit 20 of 39 3-pointers. Texas center Jaxson Hayes left the game after getting hit in the face in the second half. A team spokesman said Hayes did not suffer a concussion.

Texas trailed by nine less than eight minutes into the game but outscored Iowa State 29-10 the rest of the half for a 12-point lead. Iowa State was scoreless for 3:47 late in the half. The Longhorns converted 6 of 12 3-pointers in the half, while Iowa State made just 1 of 7.

The Cyclones were without Cameron Lard, a 6-9 key reserve forward who was suspended for a violation of team rules. He was suspended for the month of November as well, also for a violation of team rules. Lard averages 6.8 points a game in Big 12 competition with 70 percent shooting accuracy from the field. Iowa State converted 6 of 17 3-pointers after hitting 11 of 23 while beating Oklahoma on Monday, including 8 of 14 in the second half.

Iowa State is at West Virginia on Wednesday. Iowa State beat West Virginia 93-68 on Jan. 30 in Ames. Wigginton scored 28 for the Cyclones, converting 7 of 11 from the field and 13 of 16 free throws.

Posted in Sports |

Suspect arrested in Iowa apartment blaze that injured 5

News

March 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Police say they’ve arrested a man suspected of setting a Cedar Rapids apartment fire that injured him and four others, including a firefighter.
Station KCRG reports that 24-year-old Dallas Tullis, of Cedar Rapids was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree arson, assault on a police officer, assault causing injury and interference with official acts.

Investigators say Tullis set the fire Thursday morning that destroyed the apartment complex. Police say he was found near the scene and taken to a hospital for injuries. Police say he assaulted an officer and a security guard at the hospital.

He has since been release and booked into the Linn County Jail. A 65-year-old male suffered life-threatening injuries and is still hospitalized. Two other adults also suffered injuries and were treated and released.

Posted in News |

Axne to be in Anita Sunday morning

News

March 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Cass County Democratic Part Chair Sherry Toelle reports Iowa 3rd District Democrat Representative Cindy Axne will be at the Anita Community Center tomorrow  (Sunday) at 10-a.m., so that people can “Connect with Your Congresswoman”. Everyone is invited.
Axne, you may recall, defeated long-time 3rd District Representative, Republican David Young, during the Nov. 2018 elections.

Posted in News |

Sanders to visit Council Bluffs next Thursday

News

March 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

As the number of Democrats running for president grows, the 2020 hopefuls fanned out across several early-voting states over the weekend and met with voters in some of the states that will have an early say in determining the nominee. Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Sherrod Brown of Ohio were in South Carolina, site of the South’s first primary, drawing diverse audiences in the state where the primary electorate is largely composed of minority voters.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont made Brooklyn the official launch site of his second run for the White House, saying his campaign is tailor-made to defeat President Donald Trump. In Iowa, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts courted voters. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota was scheduled to attend the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, an event where politicians traditionally poke fun at the press and other politicians.

Trump spoke to a gathering of conservatives in suburban Maryland, where he mocked Democrats for their framework to combat climate change and said House lawmakers pushing to expand their investigations of him are “sick.”

Sanders will hold a rally in Council Bluffs 6:30-p.m. Thursday, March 7th, in the Exhibition Hall at the Mid-America Center, 1 Arena Way. The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but an RSVP is encouraged. Entrance is provided on a first come, first served basis. The Iowa City event will be co-sponsored by University of Iowa Democrats and the local chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America. Similar rallies are planned for Iowa City and Des Moines later next week.

Calling Trump the most dangerous president in modern U.S. history, the Vermont senator said that his campaign is built to defeat Trump. Sanders pledged to fight for “economic justice, social justice, racial justice and environmental justice.”

Posted in News |