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Iowa-based RV maker rolls out new models for people in wheelchairs

News

January 21st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Forest City-based Winnebago Industries is unveiling three new motorhomes for people in wheelchairs and with limited mobility. Winnebago vice president for specialty vehicles Ashis Bhattacharya says the company has been modifying RVs through special orders for decades, but there’s enough demand to start a standard line of accessible vehicles.  “There are close to four-million people in wheelchairs and there are another 11-and-a-half million people with some mobility impairment, like they would use a walker or crutches or something like that,” Bhattacharya says. “We feel that this is a market that could be better served with a set of standard products, so we’ve decided to launch this platform.”

Bhattacharya says the company wanted to make sure it was offering the right products for those who have limited mobility. “We want to raise it and give it more visibility and tell anyone who is in a wheelchair that you can be part of the RV lifestyle as well,” he says. “You can have adventures, and whether you’re going to the Grand Canyon or just going to your neighborhood library, Winnebago has an offering for you which will help you get the freedom and the mobility that you’re looking for.”  Bhattacharya says the wheelchair lifts are robustly constructed with accessibility and safety in mind.  “They have a capacity of 800 pounds,” he says. “They are flush with the wall of the RV so they don’t protrude out and we’ve put a safety rolling shutter in front of them so that the wheelchair lift doesn’t expose the interior of the RV to the elements and there’s no security issue as well.”

Bhattacharya says the company has gotten input from customers on the design of the interior of the vehicles to make things more accessible, such as larger passageways and moving controls down to a typical wheelchair level. “The beds, for example, are electric beds, where the top half of the bed can actually move up and down because sometimes people need to rest in specific positions,” he says. “We’ve provided tables with overhangs where a wheelchair can go right up to the table, so whether you are sharing a meal with family and friends or working on your computer, you’re able to be at the table with everyone else.”

The new models made their debut at the 2019 Florida RV Supershow in Tampa last week and should be available for dealers to sell later this year.

Posted in News |

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the area, & weather data for Atlantic, 1/21/19

Weather

January 21st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Today: Mostly Cloudy w/scattered flurries. High 22. SE winds @ 10-20.

Tonight: Cloudy w/light freezing rain mixed with light snow. S/SE @ 10-15, w/steady to slowly rising temps overnight.

Tomorrow: Cldy w/light mixed precip becoming light snow in the afternoon. High 32. SE-N @ 10-20.

Wedneday: P/Cldy. High 25.

Thursday: P/Cldy to Cldy. High 18.

Yesterday’s High in Atlantic was 13. Our Low was 6. Last year on this date our High was 40 and the Low was 36. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 58 in 1933. The Record Low was -32 in 1976.

Posted in Weather |

Iowa early News Headlines: Monday, 1/21/2019

News

January 21st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

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

DETROIT (AP) — A major winter storm that blanketed much of the Midwest with snow earlier in the weekend is barreling toward New England, where it is expected to wreak transportation havoc from slick and clogged roads to hundreds of cancelled airline flights. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings or advisories for part or all of at least 15 states stretching from southeast Missouri to the northern tip of Maine.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Snow has mostly moved out of Iowa, leaving residents to deal with high winds and bitter cold. The National Weather Service shows most of Iowa received 1 to 6 inches of snow from the time the storm moved in Friday overnight to Saturday morning. The northeastern corner of the state saw higher amounts, with an area near the town of Cresco close to the Minnesota border getting 13 inches.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City manufacturing plant is closing and roughly forty jobs will be eliminated. The Sioux City Journal reports that Prince Hydraulics employees were told Friday that the Sioux City plant would close and the work will move to other locations.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Court of Appeals has elected Judge Gayle Nelson Vogel, of Spirit Lake, as the court’s chief judge. Vogel has served on the court since 1996 and is the ninth chief judge since the state legislature established the Iowa Court of Appeals in 1976. She replaces Chief Judge David Danilson, who recently retired.

Posted in News |

Midwest Sports Headlines: Monday, 1/21/2019

Sports

January 21st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tom Brady and the New England Patriots did what they’ve been doing for the better part of two decades Sunday night, making crucial plays when they mattered in a 37-31 overtime win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, they’re headed back to the Super Bowl with another chance to win the Lombardi Trophy, while the Chiefs are headed into the offseason.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs’ defense collapsed in the fourth quarter and overtime as the New England Patriots escaped with a 37-31 victory in the AFC title game. Tom Brady led the Patriots downfield in the extra session, and Rex Burkhead’s short TD plunge gave them their third straight trip to the Super Bowl without allowing Kansas City another shot with the ball.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes struggled in the first half and dazzled in the second, but nobody knows how he might have fared in overtime. The Chiefs’ star quarterback was forced to watch from the bench as the Patriots scored on the only possession of the extra session to give New England a 37-31 victory in the AFC championship game.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals had plenty of opinions this weekend after Cubs star Kris Bryant called their city ‘boring’ at a fan event in Chicago. Cardinals pitcher John Brebbia said the back-and-forth was a good winter warmup to the upcoming baseball season.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Freshman Joe Wieskamp matched a career high with 24 points and No. 23 Iowa routed Illinois 95-71 for its fifth straight victory. Isaiah Moss scored a season-high 21 points and Luka Garza added 20 for the Hawkeyes. They hit 12 of their first 14 3-point attempts and 15 overall to blow past the young but talented Fighting Illini. Ayo Dosunmu scored 15 points for Illinois.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Brady Ellingson made a career-high seven 3-pointers in matching his personal best of 25 points and Drake defeated Missouri State 74-63. Ellingson, a senior, made all but one of his shots from the arc and was 9-of-10 shooting overall for the Bulldogs (14-5, 3-3 Missouri Valley), who improved to 8-1 at home with their second straight win.

Posted in Sports |

Gustafson scores 27 with 12 boards; No. 22 Iowa women win

Sports

January 20th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Megan Gustafson scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds — her 17th double-double in 18 games this season — and No. 22 Iowa rolled past Illinois 94-75 on Sunday.

Gustafson made all eight of her field-goal attempts in the first half and scored 17 points when Iowa took a 55-45 lead after shooting 72 percent. The Hawkeyes (14-4, 5-2 Big Ten) extended their lead to 14 points after three and led by as many as 22 in the final quarter.

Gustafson, the nation’s scoring leader at 26.1 per game and top Big Ten rebounder at 13.1 coming into Sunday’s game, finished 12-of-14 shooting. Tania Davis added 19 points, Kathleen Doyle 17 and Hannah Stewart 13. The Hawkeyes shot 62 percent, made half of their 22 3-point attempts and outscored the Illini 46-28 in the paint.

Brandi Beasley scored 21 points, Alex Wittinger 20, Arieal Scott 15 with four 3-pointers, and Cierra Rice 11 for Illinois (9-9, 1-6), which lost its fourth straight.

Posted in Sports |

Ellingson hits 7 3-pointers in Drake’s 74-63 victory

Sports

January 20th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Brady Ellingson made a career-high seven 3-pointers in matching his personal best of 25 points and Drake defeated Missouri State 74-63 on Sunday. Ellingson, a senior, made all but one of his shots from the arc and was 9-of-10 shooting overall for the Bulldogs (14-5, 3-3 Missouri Valley), who improved to 8-1 at home with their second straight win.

D.J. Wilkins added 13 points and Tremell Murphy 11 for Drake, which made 11 of 24 3-point tries. Nick McGlynn, who came in leading the MVC in points per game at 18.0 and rebounding 9.6, scored seven points with nine rebounds. Darrel Dixon scored 15 points before fouling out with Tulio Da Silva adding 12 and Keandre Cook 11 for the Bears (8-11, 2-4).

Jared Ridder got the Bears within five with 15 minutes remaining with a 3-pointer but a 14-5 run with eight points from Murphy left Drake up 65-49 with 4:39 left. Ellingson made five 3-pointers in the first half, including two in the final four minutes in a 10-2 run, and Drake led 37-24.

Posted in Sports |

Iowa manufacturing plant closing, eliminating 40 jobs

News

January 20th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City manufacturing plant is closing and roughly forty jobs will be eliminated. The Sioux City Journal reports that Prince Hydraulics employees were told Friday that the Sioux City plant would close and the work will move to other locations. Shannon Stucker with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said the union was surprised by the news. Most workers at the plant were represented by the union. Prince Manufacturing has other facilities in Hartington, Nebraska, Brookings, South Dakota, and Yankton, South Dakota.

Posted in News |

Wieskamp scores 24, No. 23 Iowa routs Illinois 95-71

Sports

January 20th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Midway through the second half, an Iowa fan won a half-court challenge with a swish at the buzzer. The Hawkeyes’ hot shooting must have been contagious. Freshman Joe Wieskamp matched a career high with 24 points and No. 23 Iowa shot 68 percent from the field in routing Illinois 95-71 on Sunday for its fifth straight victory.

Isaiah Moss scored a season-high 21 points and Luka Garza added 20 for the Hawkeyes (16-3, 5-3 Big Ten), who shot 34 of 50 from the field to set a record for Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They hit 12 of their first 14 3-point attempts and 15 overall to blow past the young but talented Fighting Illini (5-13, 1-6). Iowa shot 68.4 percent in the first half to jump ahead 39-24. Moss, Jordan Bohannon and Wieskamp then buried consecutive 3s to open the second half, and Moss capped that blistering run with a contested 3 near the Iowa bench to make it a 68-45 game.

Wieskamp and Moss combined to go 10 for 10 on 3s during that stretch. Iowa nearly broke the school record for 3-point percentage in a game, set 21 years ago at 75 percent against Northwestern, but walk-on Austin Ash missed a 30-footer in garbage time. The Hawkeyes finished 15 of 21 (71.4 percent) beyond the arc.

The Hawkeyes, who were languishing in the Big Ten cellar after starting 0-3, have a chance to make a major statement when sixth-ranked Michigan State visits on Thursday. Given how well Iowa has been playing lately, the Spartans should have cause for concern — even though they blasted Iowa 90-68 on Dec. 3. Beating Illinois won’t do much for Iowa’s ranking, but the Hawkeyes likely will move up a few spots because of losses by other teams at the back end of the poll.

Iowa hosts the Spartans on Thursday.

Posted in Sports |

Area School Board meetings set for Monday evening

News

January 20th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

At least four area school districts will hold their Board of Education meetings Monday evening. Kicking things off at 5:30-p.m., is the Griswold School Board meeting at the Middle/School High School Building in Griswold. Among the old business items on their agenda is an update (if available) from KPE architects/Estes Construction, with regard to the district’s facilities, and discussion on 2019-20 Budget Adjustments. New business includes approval of change orders (new construction), and action on numerous board policies.

The Exira/EHK School Board meeting begins at 6-p.m. in the Conference Room at the Elk Horn Building. Action items on their agenda include: Setting the date/time for the 2019-20 Calendar hearing; a review of policies, and approval of new hires, transfers and resignations.

The CAM School Board meeting gets underway at 6:30-p.m. Monday, in the High School Media Center, and includes action on: A retirement incentive; bid for approval re: Smoke Detetectors & Heat Sensors at the CAM Middle School; an Engineering services agreement with Donald K. Staley P.E.; CAM North fundraisers, and administrative/personnel matters.

And, the Audubon School Board will meet at 7-p.m. Monday, in the High School Board room. They’re set to act on: Setting the dates & times for Public Hearings on a possible sale of school land and the 2019-20 School Calendar; an Increase in an extended contract for the Activity Director position, and approval of a Memorandum of Understanding with Coon-Rapids Bayard. The Audubon School Board will also discuss possible calendar options for 2019-20, among other items.

 

Posted in News |

Harlan’s Osborn retiring following school year

Sports

January 20th, 2019 by admin

Multiple media outlets reported last week that Harlan Athletic Director and Boy’s Basketball Coach Mitch Osborn will retire following this school year. Osborn will leave as one of the all-time best basketball coaches in the state. He currently has a career record of 687-160 and is 4th on the wins list in Iowa history. Osborn’s teams have won three state championships; Pomeroy-Palmer in 1994 and at Harlan in 2004 and 2006. He is one of a handful of coaches to lead three different schools to the state tournament including the two previously mentioned title teams along with Elk Horn-Kimballton.

Osborn was diagnosed nearly five years ago with mantle cell lymphoma. He told other media outlets that his health is doing well right now and that’s why he wants to step away to spend more time with his family.

Posted in Sports |