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(Podcast) KJAN Morning Sports report, 1/15/2019

Podcasts, Sports

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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3 arrested on Theft charges Monday, in Creston

News

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Officials with the Creston Police Department say three people were arrested on Theft charges, Monday night. At around 10:10-p.m., 19-year old Jasmine Grace Aviles, of Crawfordville, FL., 20-year old Madelyn Moya, of Lansing, KS, and 18-year old Paola Tavares, of Creston, were taken into custody at the Wal-Mart in Creston, on charges of Theft in the 5th Degree. All three were being held in the Adams County Jail on $300 bond, each.

And, at around 4:50-a.m. today (Tuesday), Steven White, of Creston, was arrested following a traffic stop, for Driving While Suspended. He was later released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond. 

(Podcast) KJAN Morning News & Funeral report, 1/15/2019

News, Podcasts

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Man accused of shooting pellet gun at bus gets probation

News

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

FOREST CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Forest City man accused of shooting a pellet gun at a school bus has been given five years of probation. The Globe Gazette reports that 33-year-old Martin Tindall also was sentenced last week to five years in prison, suspended, and told to pay $510 restitution to the Forest City school district. He’d entered an Alford plea to the felony charge of intimidation with a dangerous weapon. In an Alford plea, a person doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a likely conviction.

No one was injured in the Jan. 5, 2018, incident. A pellet shattered one of the bus windows .

Beware slick roads this morning!

News, Weather

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Dept. of Transportation reports numerous area highways are partially covered with ice this morning, creating slick driving surfaces, especially on bridges. Some affected roads include:

  • Highway 71 from Hwy 141 south to Grant
  • Highway 173 from Hwy 44 to Hwy 83
  • Highway 83 from Anita to Avoca
  • Highway 6 from Anita to Council Bluffs
  • Highway 25 from Hwy 141 to I-80
  • I-80 from Hwy 25 to the I-680 split
  • Highway 148 from I-80 to Hwy 92
  • Highway 92 from Cumberland to Treynor
  • Highway 59 from Harlan to Henderson
  • Highway 44 from Panora to Hwy 30

(Update 6:10-a.m. 1/15) Mixed bag of weather coming in the next few days

Weather

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The National Weather Service reports several weather impacts are coming in the days ahead, across Iowa…The first one is a light dusting of snow possible Wednesday night into early Thursday. This could cause some slick spots during the Thursday morning commute. The second one is a larger storm system taking aim at the region for later Friday into Saturday. This system will likely spread snow and blowing snow across much of the area. Travel impacts are anticipated by Friday afternoon into Saturday. Lastly, bitter cold arctic air will surge into the state Saturday and remain into early next week. Wind chills will drop into the teens below to around 35 below zero by Sunday morning. (Click on the graphics to enlarge>>>)

Trucks Park Here system launched in Iowa, seven other states

News

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Operators of big rigs traveling through Iowa and seven other states are starting to take advantage of a new system designed to make it easier for commercial drivers to locate parking in rest areas and private truck stops. Phil Mescher, with the Iowa DOT’s Office of Systems Planning, says the effort was launched several years ago and went “live” earlier this month. “People can travel all across our interstate system and at certain times see overcrowding of trucks in our rest areas and truck stops,” Mescher said.

Truck drivers can get information on available parking spaces along select interstates through various smart phone apps that access a data feed provided at trucksparkhere.com (trucks park here dot com). Officials in each of the eight states that are part of the “Trucks Park Here” system chose their own state-specific plans. In Iowa, the information is focused primarily on parking spots located along Interstate 80. “In Iowa, we picked the Interstate 80 corridor because that is where most of our truck traffic is. Mescher said also, “We have some sites that are very close to I-80. They go up I-29 and we also have one off of I-235. We go up Intestate 35 all the way to the rest areas that are south of Story City. We go up Interstate 380 as well, up to the Cedar Rapids area.”

Information on the available truck parking spots in Iowa will eventually be included on the state’s 511 system (www.511ia.org). The system should help truckers who need to find a parking space before reaching limits on how many hours they can be on the road. “It will never say that there are no spots available, it will just say the availability is low. But that at least gives them advanced information to make a decision…if they know their hours of service are about up, then they should probably go ahead and park in that first one rather than trying to risk getting to the next one,” Mescher said.

The Trucks Park Here system uses a variety of in-pavement and parking lot entrance/exit sensors. The effort was funded by a $25 million federal grant and involves the states of Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Embattled school district’s superintendent quitting post

News

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

WAUKEE, Iowa (AP) — The superintendent of the embattled Waukee Community School District will be leaving her post at the end of the school year. The school board voted Monday to accept Superintendent Cindy McDonald’s resignation, effective June 30. The third year of her three-year contract will be voided. A special state audit report released last month said administrators improperly used state credit cards and spent nearly $129,000 on items and services that “were not in the taxpayers’ best interest.”

The report says the items included nearly $28,000 for lounge chairs and furniture for the superintendent’s office and more than $83,000 on district administrators’ retreats. The district’s former chief operating officer, Eric Rose, is charged with two counts of solicitation to commit a felony and one count of felonious misconduct in office. Dallas County court records say Rose has pleaded not guilty.

Feedlot Forum being held today for Iowa cattle producers in Sioux Center

Ag/Outdoor

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Cattle producers from across Iowa will be attending today’s (Tuesday) Feedlot Forum in Sioux Center. Beth Doran, the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Beef Specialist for Northwest Iowa, says the event will address some of the many changes being seen within the cattle industry. “We know that consumer trends have changed, both at retail in terms of supermarkets but also in restaurants,” Doran says, “We also know that there’s been trade tariffs and those are still going on and wondering how those are going to effect our ag commodities, and we have record meat supplies.”

The program will include speakers and an industry trade show featuring a range of topics from animal health and nutrition, to buildings, financial services and record keeping. Doran says the keynote speaker is Jessica Dunker, president of the Iowa Restaurant Association. “She has an interesting topic that we need to listen to,” Doran says. “She’ll talk about restaurant and culinary trends and will explain to us how patron palates and tastes are evolving and our menus need to follow suit, so it will effect the kind of beef products we’re going to be marketing.”

Doran says ag economists from I-S-U recently completed a study on the impact of trade tariffs and how they’re affecting Iowa commodities and there will be a discussion on that. The Feedlot Forum is being held at the Terrace View Event Center in Sioux Center.

Skyscan forecast for Atlantic & the area, 1/15/2019

Weather

January 15th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Today: Areas of fog & patchy freezing drizzle this morning; Partly cloudy to cloudy. High 38. SW @ 10-20.

Tonight: P/Cldy to Cldy. Low 20. N @ 10-15.

Tomorrow: P/Cldy to Cldy. High 32. NE @ 10-15.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy w/a chance of light snow. High 32.

Friday: Cloudy w/snow, especially during the afternoon. High 28.