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Iowa early News Headlines: Wed., Jan. 2nd, 2019

News

January 2nd, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CST

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa authorities are investigating after a fleeing suspect died after exchanging gunfire with deputies from the Webster County Sheriff’s office. After a domestic disturbance was reported Tuesday morning, deputies spotted the suspect’s vehicle and tried to stop it.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An 18-year-old Iowa man who was driving roughly 70 mph just before a fatal crash in a 35 mph zone last fall is now facing charges. The Des Moines Register reports that Charles Hunter Everman was charged last month with vehicular homicide and causing serious injury in connection with the Nov. 5 crash. Everman has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) — A Feb. 11 trial start has been scheduled for a 19-year-old Muscatine man accused of stabbing to death his grandmother. Muscatine County court documents say Darian Lensgraf pleaded not guilty Friday to first-degree murder. He’s accused of killing 66-year-old Diana Lensgraf at her home early on Dec. 12.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A southeast Iowa couple convicted of locking their adopted 7-year-old son in their basement at night have filed appeals. Court records say Heidi Fiems, of Mediapolis, filed the appeal notice after her sentencing Friday. She and her husband, Justin, were sentenced to 180 days in jail but must serve only 60 days. Each was fined $625 and given two years of probation. The Hawk Eye reports that Heidi Fiems was tearful Friday as she described the “wrong choice” she and her husband made.

Vehicle located after hit and run in Creston

News

January 1st, 2019 by admin

The Creston Police Department reports a hit and run was solved on Tuesday morning. Officers were called to the scene of an accident on Montgomery Street in Creston at 8:00am. It was discovered that a legally parked 2008 Ford Fusion was on the north side of Montgomery Street facing west when it was side swiped by another vehicle. Damage to the other vehicle that left the scene left tracks on the road that officers followed to its location. The other vehicle was found to be a 2006 Ford Explorer driven by 33-year-old Heather Anne McNichols of Creston. McNichols told officers that she thought she had hit the curb. She was determined to be at fault for the accident which caused $2,000 to the parked Fusion and $1,500 to the Explorer. No injuries were reported.

Iowa rallies past No. 18 Mississippi State in Outback Bowl

Sports

January 1st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Safety Jake Gervase made an interception in the end zone to help preserve a late lead, and ball-hawking Iowa Hawkeyes beat No. 18 Mississippi State in the Outback Bowl 27-22 Tuesday. Gervase also batted down an errant fourth-down pass to end the Bulldogs’ final drive at the Iowa 32 with 25 seconds left. Two earlier Mississippi State threats in the fourth quarter led to only three points. The Hawkeyes totaled just 199 yards, with 75 coming on a touchdown pass from Nathan Stanley to Nick Easley, but they converted three takeaways into 17 points.

Stanley threw for 214 yards and three scores. The Hawkeyes won despite netting minus 15 yards rushing, and their three running backs totaled 4 yards in 15 carries. Iowa (9-4) earned its biggest postseason victory since an Orange Bowl win over Georgia Tech to cap the 2009 season. Mississippi State (8-5) lost to a team outside the top 15 for the first time.

Trailing 24-19, the Bulldogs had a first down at the Iowa 1 early in the fourth quarter, but three quarterback draws lost 2 yards and they settled for a field goal. They were again on the verge of taking the lead with nine minutes left, but receiver Stephen Guidry bobbled a pass in the end zone, and Gervase snatched it away. The Hawkeyes then drove 50 yards for a field goal to go up 27-22.

The Hawkeyes scored two touchdowns in 97 seconds for a 17-6 lead. The Bulldogs rallied with two touchdowns in 18 seconds to go up 19-17, with quarterback Nick Fitzgerald giving them the advantage on a nifty 33-yard touchdown run — his 100th career score rushing or passing.
But on their next possession, Fitzgerald’s tipped pass was intercepted by defensive lineman Chauncey Golston. Stanley then scrambled to convert a fourth and 1, and on the next play he hit Easley to put Iowa ahead to stay, 24-19.

The Hawkeyes won because they kept the game close early despite a slow start. They trailed only 6-0 after one quarter even though they had minus 8 yards and a 12-yard punt. Mississippi State tried some trickery in the first quarter by throwing down the middle to quarterback Keytaon Thompson, but he dropped a potential touchdown pass and the Bulldogs settled for a field goal.
COSTLY INFRACTIONS
The Bulldogs had 90 yards in penalties while Iowa had none. Targeting and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on Mississippi State jump-started the Hawkeyes’ offense and led to a field goal for their first score. A 51-yard completion for the Bulldogs was negated by a holding penalty.
TAKEAWAYS
Iowa will likely finish in the Top 25 for only the second time in the past nine seasons. Coach Kirk Ferentz concluded his 20th season at Iowa and improved to 152-101, including 8-8 in bowl games.
The down-to-the-wire finish was a rarity for the Bulldogs, who had only one other game decided by fewer than 14 points.
UP NEXT
Stanley will be a third-year starter returning to lead the 2019 Hawkeyes, who also will have their top three rushers back. They open the season Aug. 31 at home against Miami (Ohio).

Iowa man charged in fatal crash after driving roughly 70 mph

News

January 1st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An 18-year-old Iowa man who was driving roughly 70 mph just before a fatal crash in a 35 mph zone last fall is now facing charges. The Des Moines Register reports that Charles Hunter Everman was charged last month with vehicular homicide and causing serious injury in connection with the Nov. 5 crash. Everman has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutors say data from Everman’s 2012 Toyota Highlander showed he was driving between 68 mph and 72 mph shortly before the crash that killed 38-year-old Samantha Jo Kriegel in another car. Two passengers in Everman’s vehicle were also hurt.

While the court case is pending, Everman has been released on a $15,000 bond.

Second round of paddlefish licenses now on sale

News

January 1st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — A second round begins today (Tuesday) for the remaining Missouri and Big Sioux rivers paddlefish licenses. The D-N-R fisheries expert for the area, Chris Larson says the paddlefish population is doing okay. “It’s pretty stable…it’s interesting, we look at our Iowa waters and think the paddlefish are here year-round, they really are not. They do long distance migrations,” Larson says. He says they’ve been able to get some good records on the paddlefish migration.

“We’ve been doing some monitoring on paddlefish over the last seven or eight years. We put jaw tags in them that has an identifiable number, and they we release them back into the water. And they’ve been caught up by Yankton at the dam…they’ve been caught also on the Mississippi River down by the state of Tennessee. So you see the hundreds and hundreds of miles these fish will traverse,” Larson says. The paddlefish season started up again in 2015 after being closed on the Missouri and Big Sioux because of declining populations. He says the fish have done well in the border rivers along Iowa, despite a lot of constantly changing conditions.

“In the greatest scheme of things we’d like to see the population increasing, but we’re really missing the habitat that those fish need to really increase in numbers,” Larson explains. “So, they’ve kind of figured out a way to survive in a highly-modified river and their population is pretty stable in the confines of that habitat.” Larson says they also take surveys of those who buy licenses.

“From what we’ve found, most people make four to five trips. They’re out there for three or four hours and on average about 25 to 30 percent actually harvest a fish. It’s not that they didn’t snag them — closer to 40 to 45 percent actually snag one — but they have to release it because it is not legal size,” Larson says. You can purchase a tag from January 1st through January 7th. A resident license sells for 25 dollars and 50 cents and a nonresident license is 49 dollars. You must also have a valid Iowa fishing license.

The season opens February second and runs through the April 30th. You can find out more about the paddlefish season by going to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources website at: www.iowadnr.gov.

Iowa Airbnb hosts collected $9.3 million in 2018

News

January 1st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — More than 14-hundred (1,400) Iowans earned extra money in 2018 by sharing their homes through Airbnb. According to the hospitality service company, Iowa Airbnb hosts brought in $9.3 million in supplemental income last year by welcoming around 98,000 guests. The typical Airbnb host in Iowa earned $3,700 in 2018. The company also reports the state of Iowa collected $900,000 through a new tax agreement.

Report: Iowa ranks 4th worst state in USA for obesity

News

January 1st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — As you’re formulating New Year’s resolutions, a year-end report from Iowa’s top public health official finds obesity among adult Iowans spiked in the past year, putting the state among the worst four states for obesity rates. Gerd Clabaugh, director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, says in recent years, it seemed like adult obesity rates were beginning to level off.

“A year ago when I was here I shared this chart with you and I was looking at 2015 and 2016 at that point and I was saying, ‘I hope we’ve turned the corner and I hope we can bend the curve’,” Clabaugh says. However, the adult obesity rate jumped from 32-percent in 2016 to over 36-percent in 2017, the steepest increase in over a decade. It’s a very unfortunate trend, he says, as obesity can lead to a host of other health troubles. Clabaugh says they’re working to formulate a plan.

“We have to be focusing on kids for the long term,” he says. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to ignore the adults and we’re beginning to think internally about what more we can do to focus the resources of the agency around adults’ physical activity and nutrition as well.” Reports show obesity is a problem in virtually every town in Iowa and every income and social sector. Obesity drives an estimated $149 billion annually in health care spending, and another $66 billion in lowered economic productivity. Also, one in three young adults is ineligible for military service, due to being overweight, posing a national security vulnerability.

(with Thanks to Katarina Sostaric, Iowa Public Radio)

Audubon woman arrested on a warrant, Monday

News

January 1st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Audubon Police Chief Matt Starmer reports the arrest on Monday, of 45-year old Danielle Delrey Frasier, of Audubon. Frasier was arrested on a warrant for Probation Violation and was being held at the Audubon County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond.

December 2018 Weather stats for Atlantic

Weather

January 1st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The last month of 2018 in Atlantic was warmer than normal, both in terms of the high and low. Weather data compiled at the KJAN Studios (The official National Weather Service records-keeping and reporting site for Atlantic), show the average High for the month was 36.8 degrees, which was 3.9 degrees warmer than the norm of 32.9.  The average Low for December 2018 was 19, which was 4.6 degrees warmer than the norm of 14.4. Precipitation during the month (rain, snow and drizzle) which typically amounts to 1.11 inches, was slightly greater, as well, at 1.59 inches. Snowfall amounted to 2.2 inches.

The month of January, in Atlantic, typically features an average High of 29, and a Low of 9. Precipitation normally amounts to just .84″.

Check back in February to see how we measured-up against those norms.

Stuart fire responds to propane tanker accident

News

January 1st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Firefighters from Stuart Fire, Menlo Fire, Dexter Fire, Stuart Police and others, responded to an accident late Monday involving a tanker truck hauling propane. The vehicle overturned at around 10:50-a.m. near the Super Bowl, in Stuart. Officials say as a precaution, approximately 15 blocks in the vicinity of the incident were evacuated due to the potential loss that could result.  The Stuart Congregational Church served as a shelter for the evacuees.

The Guthrie and Adair County Emergency Management Agency and Iowa State Patrol assisted at the scene.