United Group Insurance

MedPharm says pot stores will be open and inviting

News

October 22nd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — The company that’s the first to produce medical marijuana in Iowa will also run two of the dispensaries which sell the products. MedPharm Iowa’s Stephen Wilson oversees the dispensary program and says the dispensaries are very modern looking. “If you walk in, it’s very much like a Verizon store if you will — it’s a very open, inviting environment so that patients feel comfortable. Because a lot of times, these patients have very debilitating conditions that take a mental and physical toll on themselves,” Wilson explains.

Other companies will run facilities in Council Bluffs, Davenport and Waterloo. Wilson is not sure how those dispensaries will look. “I have not seen the dispensaries themselves, however I can imagine they’re going to have a similar type of atmosphere — very inviting. It’s pretty typical as far was what you see in cannabis dispensaries across the nation,” Wilson says. He says the MedPharm facilities will have a high level of security. “We want our patients to feel comfortable,” Wilson says, “a lot of people coming in recognize the fact that they are purchasing medical cannabis products. They want to feel secure in that they know that their privacy is going to be taken very seriously. And that’s one of the things, we have several safeguards built in.”

He says they will cover all aspects of security involving prescription medications. “We have a state of the art security system in place to prevent diversion, theft, release of private health information, things like that,” Wilson explained. Wilson says when patients come in they will meet with an expert and an I-pad right in front of them. He says the give the patients a degree of freedom to learn about the products and as well as other information the patient consultant deems necessary. Wilson says they hope to have an open house at their dispensaries in November. He made his comments during a news conference to unveil the company’s products.

With mounting death toll, teen drivers urged to follow rules, avoid distractions

News

October 22nd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — This is Teen Driver Safety Week and Iowa leaders suggest parents have a conversation with their teens about the rules of the road. Genie Clemens, youth coordinator for the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, says 22 Iowans under the age of 20 were killed in crashes last year. “Any life lost in a motor vehicle crash is too many,” Clemens says, “so we’re doing everything we can to help teens and other drivers to remember to drive safely and always wear their seat belts, obey the laws and obviously, not drive distracted.”

In 2016, there were nearly 23-hundred people killed in crashes involving a teen driver nationwide, and 814 of those killed were the teen drivers. Clemens says alcohol and drugs often play a factor in teen crashes and the odds are worse if a teen driver has one or more teen passengers. “In 2016, nearly one out of every five teen drivers was involved in a fatality crash,” Clemens says. “They actually had been drinking. That’s a sad statistic and we need to do everything we can to prevent our teens from using alcohol and drugs.”

The radio, the cell phone and passengers can all create potentially-deadly distractions for teen drivers, and Clemens warns them to pay attention to the task at hand — driving. “In 2016, among teen drivers involved in fatal crashes, 10% were reported as distracted at the time of the crash,” Clemens says. “We know that our teens are definitely always connected to their phones, but when they’re driving, they should be putting those phones down and focusing strictly on their driving.”

A Triple-A study found that when a teen driver has only teen passengers in their vehicle, the fatality rate for all people involved in a crash increased 51 percent.

Skyscan forecast for Atlantic & the area, 10/22/18

Weather

October 22nd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Today: Partly cloudy. High 65. N @ 5-10.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Low 32.

Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. High 58. E @ 5-10.

Wednesday: P/Cldy. High 60.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy w/light showers. High 56.

Yesterday’s High in Atlantic was 65. Our Low was 30. Last year on this date our High was 69 and the Low was 43. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 87 in 1895. The Record Low was 15 in 1976.

Council Bluffs convenience store/gas station robbed Sunday night

News

October 22nd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Police in Council Bluffs say two suspects entered White Oak Station (2024 5th Avenue) at around 9:37-p.m., Sunday. One subject held a box cutter, the other a table leg. The suspects demanded money from the register. The clerk cooperated and was not injured during the incident.

(see pictures below) If anyone recognizes these individuals, please call 712-328-STOP.

Midwest Sports Headlines: 10/22/18

Sports

October 22nd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — It’s hard to tell these days what’s more entertaining to watch: Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs’ high-flying offense or their crazy, creative touchdown celebrations. Opposing teams are getting a heavy dose of both. The Bengals were their latest victims on Sunday night, getting blown out 45-10 at Arrowhead Stadium.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andy Dalton struggled, Joe Mixon was bottled up and Cincinnati managed just 239 yards total offense in a 45-10 loss in Kansas City on Sunday night. The dominance was so complete that the Chiefs defense, which got a pick-6 from Ron Parker, nearly outscored the Bengals.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Chase Elliott has won at Kansas Speedway to take momentum into the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs. Elliott’s victory bookended the second round of the playoffs. He opened with a victory at Dover and closed with the win at Kansas. He was already locked into the third round of the playoffs. The playoff field was cut by four drivers. Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman and Ryan Blaney were eliminated from championship contention.

Iowa early News Headlines: Monday, Oct. 22nd 2018

News

October 22nd, 2018 by Ric Hanson

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

CHICAGO (AP) — From San Diego to New York, Mega Millions players are dreaming of how they would spend the record $1.6 billion jackpot should they beat the astronomical odds of winning. The next drawing is Tuesday. Some would pay off bills and give to charity. Others would buy a new house, travel and put money away for their kids. Nebraska mom Michelle Connaghan said she would do “surprise good deeds for people.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot will top $620 million this week because no one won Saturday’s drawing, but that may seem relatively small compared to the $1.6 billion Mega Millions drawing expected on Tuesday. Both lottery jackpots are approaching new heights this week.

INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) — Simpson College students have staged a protest at the south-central Iowa school over faculty and program cuts announced last week. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that Simpson College President Jay Simmons announced last week that the college will cut 13 full-time employees, the art department, and French and German majors. Students packed the Kent Campus Center on Friday to voice their anger over the cuts.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa City officials have named the black-eyed Susan as the city’s official flower. The City Council on Tuesday passed a resolution adopting the flower with gold petals and a black center. The plant is native to Iowa city and attracts a wide variety of insects, including butterflies and bees. Its seeds are a favorite of songbirds, such as goldfinches, sparrows and chickadees. The flower’s colors are also shared by the University of Iowa.

Mahomes torches Bengals for 4 TDs as Chiefs roll, 45-10

Sports

October 21st, 2018 by admin

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 358 yards and four touchdowns, Kareem Hunt finished with three scores and the Kansas City Chiefs rebounded from their first loss by throttling the Cincinnati Bengals 45-10 on Sunday night.

Mahomes was 28 of 39 with his only big mistake an underthrown interception, though the Chiefs (6-1) were already so far ahead of Cincinnati (4-3) by that point it didn’t really matter.

Mahomes spread the wealth, too, connecting with eight targets. Tyreek had seven catches for 68 yards and a touchdown, and Demetrius Harris had the other scoring grab for Kansas City.

The Bengals’ Andy Dalton was held to just 148 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception by the NFL’s worst defense. Joe Mixon managed 50 yards rushing on 13 carries.

Earling Fire Chief death (more info.)

News

October 21st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

In an update to our earlier reports, Shelby County Emergency Management Operations Officer Jason Wickizer, Sunday, provided additional information with regard to the death of Earling Fire Chief Tom Henrich. According to the report, at around 2:40-p.m. Saturday, Henrich fell ill while working a fire call involving a combine and field fire. Immediate Emergency Medical Assistance was provided by Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies, Earling, Defiance and Irwin EMT’s, who witnessed the incident.

Chief Henrich was transported to Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan. Wickizer said “Unfortunately Chief Henrich did not survived the event. Funeral arrangements are pending, and will be announced {later}.” The incident occurred in the vicinity of Highway 37 and Hazel Road, in Shelby County. Numerous posts of condolences, and support for Earling Fire Department personnel and Henrich’s family, have been posted on social media sites.

AP College Football Top 25 10/21/2018

Sports

October 21st, 2018 by admin

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Oct. 20, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

Record Pts Pv
1. Alabama (61) 8-0 1525 1
2. Clemson 7-0 1454 3
3. Notre Dame 7-0 1400 4
4. LSU 7-1 1327 5
5. Michigan 7-1 1250 6
6. Texas 6-1 1186 7
7. Georgia 6-1 1136 8
8. Oklahoma 6-1 1065 9
9. Florida 6-1 998 11
10. UCF 7-0 996 10
11. Ohio St. 7-1 985 2
12. Kentucky 6-1 754 14
13. West Virginia 5-1 747 13
14. Washington St. 6-1 692 25
15. Washington 6-2 677 15
16. Texas A&M 5-2 622 17
17. Penn St. 5-2 528 18
18. Iowa 6-1 489 19
19. Oregon 5-2 450 12
20. Wisconsin 5-2 357 23
21. South Florida 7-0 291 21
22. NC State 5-1 186 16
23. Utah 5-2 180 NR
24. Stanford 5-2 144 NR
25. Appalachian St. 5-1 79 NR

Others receiving votes: Texas Tech 54, Utah St. 50, San Diego St. 48, Fresno St. 35, Miami 34, Virginia 25, Houston 19, Purdue 17, Michigan St. 8, Cincinnati 7, Auburn 5, Mississippi St. 2, Boston College 2, UAB 1.

Growing lottery jackpots to tempt players this week

News

October 21st, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot will top $620 million this week because no one won Saturday’s drawing, but that may seem relatively small compared to the $1.6 billion Mega Millions drawing expected on Tuesday.

Both lottery jackpots will approach new heights this week. The Mega Millions jackpot will likely set a new record, and the Powerball jackpot will be the third largest ever for that game on Wednesday.
The second-largest jackpot was a $1.586 billion Powerball drawing on Jan. 13, 2016.

The Mega Millions jackpot has been growing since July, when a group of 11 California office workers won $543 million. It costs $2 to play either game. The odds of winning Mega Millions are about one in 302 million. The Powerball odds are slightly better at one in 292.2 million.