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JASON EDWARD GARDNER, 45, of Oakland (Celebration of Life 5/20/24)

Obituaries

May 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

JASON EDWARD GARDNER, 45, of Oakland, died May 12, 2024, at home in Oakland. A Celebration of Life visitation for JASON GARDNER will be held on Monday, May 20, 2024, from 4-until 7-p.m., at the Oakland Community Building. Rieken-Vieth Funeral Home in Oakland is assisting the family.

A time of sharing will be held at 6-p.m. Monday, at the Oakland Community Bldg.

A private family interment will be held at a later date.

Memorials are suggested to the family.

JASON GARDNER is survived by:

His wife – Sonya Gardner, of Oakland.

His son – Slade, of Oakland.

His mother – Bonnie Bringleson, of Oakland.

His sisters – Mary (Chad) Bornhoft, of Omaha, NE; and Rachel (Randy) Comstock, of Oakland.

His brother – Bubba Bringleson, of Oakland.

His grandma: Mary Gardner, and grandpa: Bob Bringleson

In law’s other relatives and friends.

Posted in Obituaries |

Iowa DOT employee struck and killed in a Pott. County crash

News

May 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – A man working for the Iowa Department of Transportation was struck and killed in a Pottawattamie County construction zone this (Thursday) morning. The Iowa State Patrol reports 36-year-old Matthew Dickerson, of Neola, died in the crash that happened northeast of Council Bluffs at around 9:15-a.m. on Interstate 80 eastbound.

The Patrol says a 2024 International tractor-trailer registered to UPS and driven by 41-year-old Clifford Miller, of Millerstown, PA, was traveling on I-80 eastbound in a line of traffic, as two lanes merged into one. Two DOT maintenance crash attenuator (with illuminated arrow sign) vehicles notified traffic of the left lane closure.

Matthew Dickerson was at the rear of one of the DOT vehicles conducting patch work in the left closed lane, when the semi changed lanes between the DOT crash attenuator and a DOT 2021 Dodge RAM 3500 pickup, in order to pass other traffic. The semi struck Dickerson and the pickup truck. The driver of the pickup, 45-year-old Jordan Hargens, of Council Bluffs, was injured in the accident. He was transported by private vehicle to a hospital.

Jim Mayer, Senior Director of UPS Media Relations, told KETV in a statement, “”We’re aware of an accident on I-80 this morning involving one of our vehicles. We are saddened to learn of the death of a highway worker and our thoughts are with his family. We are cooperating with authorities as they investigate and are referring any additional questions to them.”

Posted in News |

2024 State Track and Field Meet – Day 1 – Class 1A and 4A Session 05/16/2024

Sports

May 16th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

*Place is listed at beginning for events that have completed, Place winners and qualifiers in bold. Listed times for other events are qualifying times.

Boys 1A Shuttle Hurdle Relay Prelims

1st- Lenox (Donald Bashor, Jordan Martin-England, Dawson Evans, Gabe Funk) 59.79 Qualified

9th- Griswold (Peyton Cook, Wyatt Silk, Bode Wyman, Nollan Smith) 1:03.77

13th- Audubon (Aaron Olsen, Brody Schultes, Gabe Jensen, Mason Steckler) 1:04.29

Girls 1A 3000M

1st- Lili Denton, St. Albert, 10:18.00

8th- Adyson Lapel, Woodbine, 11:02.87

12th- Allysen Johnsen, Logan-Magnolia, 11:27.43

14th- Kylie Rochholz, Panorama, 11:28.

Boys 1A Long Jump

14th- Trevor Lane, Earlham, 19-10.75

16th- Tri-Center, Carter Kunze, 19-07.00

17th- Wyatt Ragaller, Ar-We-Va, 19-06.75

24th- Aaron Smith, Riverside, 17-07.25

Boys 1A Shot Put

5th- Trenton Warner, Nodaway Valley, 50-10.25

19th- Cooper Marvel, Fremont-Mills, 44-11.75

Boys 1A 3200M 

1st- Landon Bendgen, Woodbine, 9:15.47

3rd- Gunner Wagner, Woodbine, 9.36.76

7th- Andrew Mahaffey, ACGC, 9:49.95

13th- Noah Goldberg, Panorama, 10:04.85

Girls 1A 200M Prelims

1st- Jaidyn Sellers, Panorama, 26.68 Qualified

12th- Emma Cooper, Southwest Valley, 26.53

18th- Katy Pryor, Woodbine, 26.78

20th- Emma Lundy, Nodaway Valley, 26.92

21st- Morgan Hast, Boyer Valley, 27.06

Boys 1A 200M Prelims

3rd– Cash Emgarten, Exira-EHK, 22.02 Qualified 

19th- Eli Madsen, ACGC, 22.93

Girls 1A 4×800

4th- Riverside (Carly Henderson, Bently Rone, Sophia Fenner, Elly Henderson) 9:49.80

8th- Boyer Valley (Hailey Cue, Clara Gorham, Jessica O’Day, Lauren Malone) 10:04.61

19th- Panorama (Mary Fett, Laicey Lutz, Maddy Lutz, Kylie Rochholz) 10:29.57

20th- Woodbine (Reagan Cogdill, Charlotte Placek, Adyson Lapel, Izabelle Seda) 10:30.84

Girls 1A Shot Put 

5th- Amanda Newton, Woodbine, 36-09.25

8th- Sophia Fenner, Riverside, 36-03.

11th- Macy Mitchell, Fremont-Mills, 34-06. 25

18th- Sophia Taylor, Riverside, 34-01.75

24th- Jenna Mitchell, Boyer Valley, 30-01.50

Boys 1A 4×800

4th- Riverside (Dawson Henderson, Brody Henderson, Grady Jeppesen, Mason McCready) 8:08.52

8th- Woodbine (Brody Pryor, Adam Barry, Gunner Wagner, Landon Blum) 8:20.56

12th- ACGC (Gavin Sloss, Jarrett McClain, Easton Stringham, Andrew Mahaffey) 8:26.47

Girls 1A 100M Prelims

1st- Jaidyn Sellers, Panorama, 12.05 Qualified

8th– Maddie Weston, Nodaway Valley, 12.72 Qualified 

12th- Morgan Hast, Boyer Valley, 12.79

Girls 1A Long Jump

2nd- Emma Cooper, Southwest Valley, 16-06.50

4th- Lauren Johnson, Stanton, 16-04. 25

9th- Josie Payne, Tri-Center, 16-01.00

Boys 1A 100M Prelims

4th- Cash Emgarten, Exira-EHK, 10.89 Qualified 

6th- William Anderson, Logan Magnolia, 10.93 Qualified 

7th- Donald Bashor, Lenox, 11.05 Qualified 

17th- Aaron Olsen, Audubon, 11.33

Girls 1A 400M

1st- Jaidyn Sellers, Panorama, 55.44

8th- Tess Casey, Tri-Center, 59.41

9th- Katy Pryor, Woodbine, 59.45

12th- Sadie Cox, Lenox, 1:01.47

Boys 1A 400M 

15th- Braylon Dawes, Panorama, 51.29

18th- Brody Pryor, Woodbine, 52.04

Girls 1A Shuttle Hurdle Relays Prelims

2nd- Fremont Mills (Bella Gute, Izzy Weldon, Lana Alley, Emily Madison) 1:07.56 Qualified

4th- Stanton (Kyla Hart, Lauren Johnson, Elly McDonald, Hannah Olson) 1:07.78 Qualified

6th- Tri-Center (Layla Meador, Cassidy Cunningham, Avilyn Killpack, Quincey Schneckloth) 1:09.67 Qualified 

10th- Griswold (Reese Laverty, Brystol Wyman, Addison Adams, Carsyn Adams) 1:11.27

15th- Logan-Magnolia (Kaiya Knauss, Addyson Monico, Ava Sloan, Abby Czarnecki) 1:12.61

18th- CAM (Ada Hansen, Brookelyn Steffen, Bailey Lillard, Ruthie Rich) 1:13.13

Posted in Sports |

Fairfield’s Zillman wins boy’s 3A high jump

Sports

May 16th, 2024 by Seth Tiegs

Eli Zillman of Fairfield cleared six-nine to win the boy’s class 3A high jump.

After clinching the win Zillman came up short in a bid to clear a meet record seven-feet.

Posted in Sports |

Hampton-Dumont-CAL’s Charlee Morton wins 3A girls discus

Sports

May 16th, 2024 by Seth Tiegs

Hampton-Dumont-CAL’s Charlee Morton defended her title in the girls’s class 3A discus. Her winning mark was 140-feet and nine inches.

It is the latest in a growing list of titles for Morton at the state meet and Drake Relays.

Posted in Sports |

Distance races in 2A and 3A open state track meet

Sports

May 16th, 2024 by Seth Tiegs

Distances rac es in 2A and 3A opened the morning action at the state high school track meet in Drake Stadium. After winning a pair of three thousand meter titles in 1A for Calamus-Wheatland, Noelle (no-ell) Steines won the 2A crown in her first attempt at Tipton High School. Her winning time 10 minutes, eight-point-85 seconds.

Steines jumped out to a comfortable lead with three laps to go and was never threatened.

Pella sophomore Marissa Ferebee cruised to the girls 3A three thousand meter title. She won the race by 17 seconds.

Solomon Zaugg (zahg) of Mediapolis used a strong kick to win the boys 32-hundred meter title in class 2A.

Zaugg says Mediapolis has lofty goals as a team this weekend.

Quentin Naumin (nah-min) from Western Dubuque won the boy’s 3A 32-hundred meter title. His winning time of eight minutes, 54-point-11 seconds was fourth all-time in Iowa.

Naumin made his move for the lead with two laps remaining.

Posted in Sports |

April unemployment rate drops

News

May 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The April unemployment rate dropped to 2.8% compared to 2.9% in March. Iowa Workforce Development director, Beth Townsend, says there were no major ups or downs in the month.

“Overall not a bad report, our labor force participation rate went down slightly again, We think that’s primarily due to retirements and then earlier in the year I think the decrease has been related to people going back to school,” Townsend says. Townsend says the economy shows signs of easing with several industries inching back from huge hiring sprees earlier in the year. “The job market is tightening in the sense that we did shed some jobs in April and it looks like employers are not hiring at the same rate that they were earlier in the year so that’s concerning,” she says.

Townsend says there appears to be some concern about the national economy. “You get the sense that everybody’s kind of waiting to see what happens,” she says, “there just seems to be, you know we’re not seeing big movements in hiring, we’re not seeing big layoffs either so that’s good….you know we’re in an election year and maybe that’s what’s going on,” Townsend says.

The number of unemployed Iowans decreased by 15-hundred to 47-thousand-200 in April. Workers at the Tyson pork plant in Perry are slated to lose their jobs in June, and Townsend says they are holding a job fair there today. She says they are trying to find the workers new jobs that are close. “And that’s kind of you know where we’ve been focusing our efforts is connecting and with employers in the Polk and Dallas County area,’ Townsend says. “Right now there are 165 job openings in Perry itself. Dallas County has about 1,100 job openings. Overall, Polk County has over 12,000 job openings, but we’re doing our level best to connect folks with manufacturers.” The Perry plant has some 1,300 workers.

Posted in News |

Creston Community School District breaks ground on Panther Solar Field

News

May 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

CRESTON, Iowa – Officials with Alliant Energy report crews last week began construction on the Panther Solar Field in Creston. The 1.4-megawatt solar project partnership is between Alliant Energy and the Creston Community School District.  The solar project falls under the Alliant Energy® Customer-Hosted Renewables program. The company expects it will be operational in early 2025 and provide lease payments to the district for at least 20 years.

Creston School District Superintendent Deron Stender says “It has been a pleasure to partner with Alliant Energy to develop a solar garden on district property. The solar garden reflects the joint effort to support renewable energy, and provide educational opportunities and valuable resources for children, staff, Creston Schools and the community.” In addition to generating reliable, renewable energy, the Panther Solar Field will help Alliant Energy understand the benefits of placing projects on the local distribution system. With a local energy source and increased efforts to underground electric lines, Alliant Energy hopes customers see increased reliability in the community.

A similar solar field to one being constructed in Creston. This one is in Sheboygen, WI.

The school can use the approximately 2,500 solar panels as an educational opportunity for students of all ages.  Alliant Energy says the Panther Solar Field is an important part of the company’s Clean Energy Blueprint, their roadmap to diversifying its energy mix, and accelerate its transition to renewable energy. The company’s Clean Energy Vision includes a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from its utility operations by 2050.

Posted in News |

Deere projects decline in profits due to ag-related sales

Ag/Outdoor, News

May 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Due to challenging market conditions, Deere and Company is reducing is prediction of profits for its current operating year. Over the past three months, net sales and revenue for Deere products worldwide were down 12 percent. Deere’s chairman and C-E-O points to a decline across the global agricultural sector. Corn and soybean prices are falling, production costs are increasing, and the U-S-D-A predicts farm income in the United States will be down over 25 percent this year.

Deere predicts sales of large farm equipment, like tractors and combines, will be down between 20 and 25 percent for the year. Still, the world’s largest farm equipment maker projects net income for its current fiscal year will be seven BILLION dollars. That’s about half a BILLION below its previous estimate.

Deere’s C-E-O says the company is managing production and inventory levels to adapt to demand. Over three-hundred workers at John Deere’s Waterloo Works were laid off indefinitely at the end of April. Last week, Deere announced 34 workers at one of its plants in Moline, Illinois would be laid off at the end of May.

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |

ROBERT “Bob” SOTHMAN, 92, of Atlantic (Svcs. Pending)

Obituaries

May 16th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

ROBERT “Bob” SOTHMAN, 92, of Atlantic, died Thursday, May 16, 2024, at the Heritage House, in Atlantic. Services for BOB SOTHMAN are pending with Roland Funeral Service, in Atlantic.

Condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com.

Posted in Obituaries |