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Snow storms to impact the area today & Friday (the latest as of 6:45-a.m. 11/8)

News, Weather

November 8th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The National Weather Service in Des Moines has updated their statement put out Wednesday, with regard to winter weather affecting the State today and Friday. Officials say a couple rounds of wintry precipitation are expected this afternoon into Friday. The first round will bring mainly light snow spreading into western Iowa this afternoon, with the snow then spreading across all of Iowa tonight. The highest accumulations with the first round are expected along and south of Interstate 80, with anywhere from 1-to 2-inches in Atlantic and most areas, and 2-to 3-inches further east, toward Greenfield and Winterset.

The second round will move through Friday morning into Friday afternoon across the western/southern half of the state. This round may have brief snow bursts resulting in brief periods of significantly reduced visibilities. Gusty northwest winds are also anticipated which may lead to patchy blowing and drifting snow, also impacting visibilities at times. Slick roads will be possible with both snow chances. Please slow down and take your time when traveling in the snow, leave extra distance between your vehicle and other vehicles on the road.

click on the map to enlarge

Posted in News, Weather |

USDA Report 11-8-2018

Ag/Outdoor, Podcasts

November 8th, 2018 by Jim Field

w/Max Dirks.

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.2MB)

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Posted in Ag/Outdoor, Podcasts |

Wind towers coming down under court orders

News

November 8th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

FAIRBANK, Iowa (AP) — Developers are taking down three wind turbine towers under court orders in northeast Iowa. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the first was removed last week. The second is going down this week. The 450-foot-tall towers were erected in 2015 just east of Fairbank in Fayette County. They drew opposition from housing developers and neighboring homeowners who believed the towers would be detrimental to the city.

The city and housing developers filed a lawsuit that said the county issued construction permits for the turbines without following zoning ordinances. A judge sided with the city in 2016, and the Iowa Supreme Court upheld that ruling. The developers are still appealing in the courts.

Posted in News |

Atlantic Mayor talks about Infill Housing misconceptions

News

November 8th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones, Wednesday, addressed some misconceptions about the City’s Infill Housing Program, following an article last week in the local paper. Infill housing is a term used to place new houses on vacant lots among older, existing properties in established neighborhoods. Jones said much of what’s being explored includes quotes for local experts in building a modular home with a full basement.

The only quote he solicited from an out of town company was a Missouri Valley business that constructs poured basements, and on the house itself.

Jones said the target purchase price for the modular home ranges from $100,000 to $130,000. Once the home is listed, the prospective buyer must seek out the loan and obtain a firm commitment from a bank before work on the home can begin.

Infill housing Jones said, is designed to generate new property tax dollars. Jones says this project is different, because he doesn’t like affordable housing.

There are currently seven, City-owned lots available, along with other privately-owned lots scattered throughout the City as well. Creating new housing in certain sections of the City would add to the vitality of the area, according to the Mayor.

Posted in News |

ISU’s Tyson Veidt is a Broyles Award Nominee

Sports

November 8th, 2018 by admin

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State assistant head coach/linebackers coach Tyson Veidt is a nominee for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation’s best assistant coach.

Veidt’s work with Iowa State’s linebackers has been vital to Iowa State’s overall team success and a major reason the Cyclone defense is one of the best in the nation.

Iowa State leads the Big 12 in total defense (324.4; 20th nationally) and scoring defense (21.3; 27th nationally), utilizing a three-man front with heavy emphasis on the play of the linebackers. The Cyclones are one of just six teams nationally to hold six or more opponents to below 3.0 yards per rush.

The Cyclones, which rank 14th nationally in rushing defense at 104.9, have held every opponent to below their season total offensive average.

Behind Veidt’s leadership, the Cyclone linebackers have been phenomenal in stopping the run and in coverage situations.

The Cyclones have used a six-man rotation at linebacker with all six players posting outstanding numbers.

The leader of the group is junior Marcel Spears (WLB), who is averaging 5.0 tackles per game with 4.0 TFL and 2.0 sacks. Spears is also second on the team in interceptions, picking off a pair of passes vs. Texas Tech, including a pick-six, to earn Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Senior Willie Harvey (SLB) is third on the team in tackles (5.6) and fourth in TFL (4.5). His career 26.5 TFL ranks in Iowa State’s top-10.

The Cyclones had to replace an All-American linebacker in Joel Lanning at the MLB spot, and true freshman Mike Rose has filled in without missing a beat. Rose is among the nation’s best rookie tacklers at 5.0, earning ESPN Midseason Freshman All-America honors. Rose also has 5.5 TFL and a sack.

Coming off the bench is sophomore Jake Hummel and freshman O’Rien Vance, who have shown no drop-off when entering the game. Hummel has 17 tackles and 3.5 TFL and Vance has 12 tackles and 3.0 TFL.

In all, ISU’s linebackers have a combined 20.5 TFL, 6.5 sacks, seven PBU and 164 tackles.

As a team, the Cyclones (5-3, 4-2 Big 12) have won four-straight games in conference play for just the eighth time in school history. ISU is currently rated in all three national rankings: CFP (#22), AP (#23), Coaches (#25).

Posted in Sports |

Voters oust prosecutor accused of being drunk in courtroom

News

November 8th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

OSCEOLA, Iowa (AP) — A southern Iowa county attorney accused of being drunk in a courtroom has lost her bid for another term in office. Clarke County election records say Michelle Rivera, a Democratic incumbent, received a little over 29 percent of the vote in her loss Tuesday to Republican Adam Ramsey. Court documents say the 42-year-old Rivera is charged with public intoxication . A sheriff’s deputy says in a criminal complaint that he noticed Rivera “slurring her words and stumbling on her feet” in the Osceola courtroom last month.

She issued a statement in which she said she’s “taking every step necessary to get help, to fix this problem and to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.” Her next court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 20.

Posted in News |

Iowa set for season opener against UMKC

Sports

November 8th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Learfield Sports) — Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffery says junior point guard Jordan Bohannon may play in tonight’s (Thursday night’s) season opener against Missouri-Kansas City. Bohannon missed Sunday’s exhibition game for what McCaffery called a “bad bruise”.

McCaffery says the Hawkeyes want to establish a style of play early.

McCaffery believes this team can become more consistent from the perimeter.

Posted in Sports |

Mexican tariffs blamed in the demise of 80 Iowa dairies this year

Ag/Outdoor, News

November 8th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Milk prices have steadily fallen the past few years, forcing the closure of 80 Iowa dairies during 2018. Mitch Schulte, executive director of the Iowa State Dairy Association, says retaliatory tariffs from Mexico in answer to U.S. tariffs on Mexican steel are a major part of the problem. “The dairy industry has been dealing with three years of low milk prices and as we started to see the light at the end of the tunnel and higher prices coming, we got hit with retaliation tariffs,” Schulte says. “That’s played a huge part of what’s going on in the dairy industry right now.”

Recent changes to the dairy margin protection program may offer some help for producers, according to Schulte. “When you look back at the margin protection program, the formula that was in that program was wrong,” Schulte says. “It really just didn’t pay out the way that it should have. With the new changes, what we’re seeing is better payouts and more consistency to that program. It really is helping our dairy producers.”

Schulte says passage of a federal Farm Bill would help the dairy industry, but the major fix lies with the need to lift the steel and aluminum tariffs. He notes, Mexico is the Iowa dairy industry’s number-one trading partner. “We need to do all we can to have that open free trade agreement that we had and not deal with those retaliation tariffs,” Schulte says. “A lot of the language that was in that agreement should, at some point, help our dairy producers but those retaliatory tariffs are still in place until they figure out what they’re going to do with the steel and aluminum.”

Iowa is the nation’s tenth-largest milk producing state. With the loss of 80 dairy farms this year, their number is now down to 1,070 dairies statewide.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

Skyscan Forecast for Atlantic & the area, 11/8/2018

Weather

November 8th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Today: Mostly cloudy w/a 50% chance of snow, mainly after 2-p.m. High 34. E @ 5-10. Daytime snow accumulation of around 1″ is possible.

Tonight: Mo. cloudy w/light snow or flurries (less than 1/2″ additional accum.). Low 20. NW @ 10-20.

Tomorrow: Mo. cloudy. High 26. NW @ 15-25. Wind chill around 5 degrees.

Saturday: P/cldy. High 36.

Sunday: P/Cldy to Cldy. High 36.

Yesterday’s High in Atlantic was 38. Our Low this morning, 24. Last year on this date our High was 49 and the Low was 16. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 80 in 1999 & 2006. The Record Low was -12 in 1991.

Posted in Weather |

Thursday (11/8) State Volleyball Schedule

Sports

November 8th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Thursday, November 8
Class 5A Semifinals
10:00 a.m. – Court 1 – Cedar Falls (45-0) vs. Linn-Mar (32-9)
10:00 a.m. – Court 2 – Ankeny Centennial (39-3) vs. West Des Moines Valley (41-3)

Class 4A Semifinals
Noon – Court 1 – Sergeant Bluff-Luton (35-6) vs. Dubuque Wahlert (24-12)

Noon – Court 2 – Cedar Rapids Xavier (28-8) vs. Dallas Center-Grimes (36-4)

Class 3A Semifinals
2:00 p.m. – Court 1 – Osage (30-6) vs. Kuemper Catholic (43-1)
2:00 p.m. – Court 2 – Tipton (38-3) vs. Mount Vernon (28-15)

Class 2A Semifinals
4:00 p.m. – Court 1 – Beckman Catholic (44-3) vs. Unity Christian (31-6)
4:00 p.m. – Court 2 – Western Christian (40-5) vs. Sidney (39-2)

Class 1A Semifinals

6:00 p.m.  – Court 1 – Janesville (44-5) vs. Tripoli (24-15)
6:00 p.m. – Court 2 – Gehlen Catholic (36-3) vs. Holy Trinity Catholic (36-3)

Posted in Sports |