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Skyscan Forecast Tuesday 09/25/2018

Podcasts, Weather

September 25th, 2018 by admin

Skyscan Forecast  Tuesday, September 25, 2018  Dan Hicks

Today: Mostly cloudy. Showers and a few isolated thunderstorms. Windy and cooler. NW @15-25. High 65.

Tonight: Clearing skies. Diminishing winds. Low 40.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny. W @ 10-15. High 68.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy. High 68

Friday: Mostly cloudy. A few showers. High 62.

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Council Bluffs native/woman’s body found in ravine near Fremont, NE; man arrested

News

September 24th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man paroled in June is suspected of killing a Council Bluffs native and dumping her body in a ravine near Fremont, NE. Omaha police say 39-year-old Jeremiah Connelly was arrested Friday after a foot chase that began when he ran from a stolen car he was driving.

Officers say he spoke to them about the death of a woman, and investigators later found the body of 22-year-old Jeanna Wilcoxen. She’d last been seen Sept. 17th.  According to reports, Wilcoxen was raised in Council Bluffs, attended Wilson Middle School and Thomas Jefferson High School. She is survived by her 4-year-old son, Jace, and others.

Connelly had been serving time in prison for attempted kidnapping, robbery and other crimes before being released June 28th.

Weather impacting Iowa fall leaf colors

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 24th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — The ping-pong nature of the weather so far this year could impact the type of quality of the fall leaf colors. Iowa D-N-R state forester Jeff Goerndt says things were trending toward an early pop of color. “Look for possibly an early fall leaf change because of some of the drier weather, but that could change with some of the cooler temperatures in the forecast,” Goerndt says. He admits there’s no easy way to tell exactly when the leaves will change.

“Fall color is really a hard thing to predict, there’s just so many different factors that are involved in how leaves turn color,” according to Goerndt. “Generally hot or dry weather is not a bad thing for fall color. It’s usually produce some brighter colors — especially some of the brighter red colors — as long as it doesn’t get too hot or too dry.” Goerndt says the trees may be like most people as the weather patterns switch back and forth.

“This year it was hotter and drier earlier and then it’s sort of gotten wet in some areas, and so you’ve got some of that back and forth. So, the trees are probably wondering what to do,” Goerndt says. There are some conditions that usually always lead to a colorful leaf display. “Generally for fall color, brighter sunny days and cool nights are usually a good thing for fall color,” Goerndt says. “If we get some wet weather from here on out — that could kind of make for some duller, slower changing trees.”

Goerndt says weather that is too hot and dry causes trees to drop their leaves early, or causes them to turn brown.

Start of harvest wraps up very oddball growing season

Ag/Outdoor, News

September 24th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — It’s the first week of fall and many Iowa farmers are already starting the harvest. Even weather experts admit it’s been an unusual growing season. Meteorologist Dennis Todey, director of the U-S-D-A’s Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, says 2018 is turning out to be a year of extremes, to be sure.

“The northern part of the corn belt, we had snows in April, we had wet conditions, we were slowed down from planting well into May in some places,” Todey says. “The southern part of the corn belt had some delays but not too badly.” After the late start due to the cold, wet conditions, the heat wave rolled in.

“We’ve had pretty regular heat throughout the summer, very warm conditions back in May and June,” Todey says. “Over Memorial Day, we had 90s which is really pretty high for that time of year. We had a lot of heat early on, then, kind of mellowed after that.” Despite the ups and downs, it ended up being a decent season for most growers.

“Crops matured pretty quickly so that’s moved us along,” Todey says. “We went from being behind to caught up now. We’re getting into a situation where we’re seeing corn maturing along with soybeans or even ahead of soybeans in some places.” Updated computer models show cooler-than-normal temperatures across the region through the end of this month and into October, which may bring the first frost.

Highway 20 Association sets date to dissolve

News

September 24th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa)  — The Highway 20 Corridor Association has been fighting to get the highway made into a four-lane roadway from the east all the way to the west side of the state for decades — and with that task nearing completion in western Iowa — the group held their final regular meeting Friday. Ann Trimble-Ray has been an officer of the association for several years and says with the celebration of the completion of their goal in October, they voted to set a date to end their work.

“As we think about what’s coming, that celebration on October 19th is a real big deal for us of course. But then we know we need to conclude our business in a manner full of integrity and doing the right thing. So, a motion was made and a vote taken that the Highway 20 Association will be dissolved as of December 31st,” she says. Trimble-Ray says the mood was both celebratory and melancholy — as several past members didn’t live to see their efforts successfully completed.

She says they do plan to acknowledge those who have served on the board and passed on with a display at the ribbon cutting celebrating the completion of the final segment of the highway. There is some historical significance attached to the date chosen of the event in Holstein to celebrate the completion of the four lanes. “The first four-lane segment of Highway 20 in Iowa — it was three miles east of Moville — opened on October 19th, 1958” Trimble-Ray says. “So, on October 19th 2018 we are going to be celebrating the completion statewide Highway 20.”

A-P Iowa Prep Football Poll

Sports

September 24th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The Top Ten teams in the Associated Press Iowa high school football polls of the 2014 season with first-place votes in parentheses and won-loss record, total points and position last week at right:

Class 4A
Record Pts Prv
1. West Des Moines Valley (9) 5-0 108 1
2. Cedar Falls (1) 5-0 97 2
3. Ankeny Centennial (1) 5-0 88 3
4. Bettendorf 4-1 68 4
5. Johnston 4-1 53 5
5. Iowa City West 4-1 53 6
7. West Des Moines Dowling 3-2 49 7
8. Indianola 5-0 39 8
9. Waukee 3-2 21 9
10. Cedar Rapids Prairie 4-1 17 10

Others receiving votes: Fort Dodge 10. Ankeny 1. Muscatine 1.

Class 3A
Record Pts Prv
1. Cedar Rapids Xavier (10) 5-0 109 1
2. Council Bluffs Lewis Central (1) 5-0 98 2
3. Solon 5-0 88 3
4. Pella 5-0 78 4
5. Sergeant Bluff-Luton 4-1 51 6
6. Eldridge North Scott 4-1 48 8
7. Epworth Western Dubuque 4-1 39 10
8. Clear Creek-Amana 5-0 37 9
9. Harlan 4-1 28 NR
10. Sioux City Heelan 4-1 18 5

Others receiving votes: Independence 4. Waverly-Shell Rock 4. Decorah 3.

Class 2A
Record Pts Prv
1. Monroe PCM (11) 5-0 110 1
2. Spirit Lake 5-0 94 2
3. Boyden-Hull-RV 4-1 87 3
4. Algona 5-0 72 5
5. Greene County 5-0 64 6
6. Waukon 4-1 59 7
7. Clear Lake 4-1 44 8
8. State Center West Marshall 4-1 34 10
9. Van Horne Benton 4-1 15 4
10. Union, La Porte City 3-2 13 NR

Others receiving votes: Waterloo Columbus 5. Des Moines Christian 4. Tipton 2. Chariton 2.

Class 1A
Record Pts Prv
1. Dike-New Hartford (3) 5-0 96 2
(tie) Van Meter (4) 5-0 96 3
3. Bellevue (2) 5-0 76 5
4. South Central Calhoun (1) 5-0 75 4
5. Mediapolis 5-0 56 6
6. West Branch 4-1 49 1
7. Hawarden West Sioux 4-1 48 7
8. Inwood West Lyon 4-1 35 8
9. Truro Interstate 35 5-0 25 T9
10. Sumner-Fredericksburg 5-0 23 T9

Others receiving votes: Wilton 13. Cascade 10. Pella Christian 3.

Class A
Record Pts Prv
1. Hudson (8) 5-0 105 1
2. A-H-S-T-W, Avoca (3) 5-0 95 2
3. Algona Garrigan 5-0 88 3
4. Belmond-Klemme 5-0 69 4
5. Hinton 5-0 46 5
6. Packwood Pekin 4-1 41 7
(tie) Traer North Tama 4-1 41 6
8. St. Ansgar 4-1 39 9
9. Brooklyn BGM 5-0 25 NR
10. Edgewood-Colesburg 4-1 24 NR

Others receiving votes: Grundy Center 10. Southwest Valley 7. Fairbank Wapsie Valley 6. Riverside Highland 4. Mason City Newman 3. Sioux Rapids Sioux Central 1. Alta 1.

Class 8-Man
Record Pts Prv
1. Gilbertville-Don Bosco (8) 5-0 102 1
2. New London (2) 5-0 95 2
3. Elk Horn-Kimballton Exira 5-0 84 3
4. Westside Ar-We-Va 5-0 68 4
5. Marengo Iowa Valley (1) 5-0 57 5
6. Newell-Fonda 5-0 50 6
7. Liberty Center SE Warren 6-0 47 8
8. Fremont Mills, Tabor 4-1 36 9
9. Central City 5-0 30 NR
10. Northwood-Kensett 5-0 17 NR

Others receiving votes: Jackson Junction Turkey Valley 7. Wyoming Midland 7. Stanton 4. HLV, Victor 1.

Mistrial declared in 1990 killing of 9-year-old girl

News

September 24th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — The third trial in the 1990 killing of a 9-year-old girl has ended in a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a verdict after three days of deliberations.

The Quad-City Times reports a judge Monday declared the mistrial in the trial of Stanley Liggins. He’d twice been convicted of murder in the killing of 9-year-old Jennifer Lewis, of Rock Island, Illinois. Her burned remains were found Sept. 17, 1990, in a field in Davenport.

She had been sexually abused, strangled to death and then doused with gasoline and set on fire. Liggins knew Jennifer’s mother and investigators focused on him as a suspect. He was twice convicted and sentenced to life in prison, but both convictions were overturned.

The third trial was moved to Black Hawk County from Scott County because of pretrial publicity.

Victims of Missouri small plane crash identified

News

September 24th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

FESTUS, Mo. (AP) — Authorities have identified the men killed in an eastern Missouri plane crash as an American Airlines pilot and his son. Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak on Monday said the victims were veteran pilot 56-year-old Michael Metzger of Hillsboro and 20-year-old Jacob Metzger of the state of Iowa.

The plane crashed about 2 a.m. Friday just a few hundred yards from the unlit airport in Festus, even as the pilot’s fiancee tried to guide it in with a flashlight. Michael Metzger was piloting the plane back from New York and reported electrical problems that prevented him from remotely activating the runway lights, which are turned off after working hours.

Marshak says the fiancee responded to the pilot’s texts and stood along the runway with a flashlight, but the plane crashed.

Ben & Jerry’s creating “take back Congress” flavors

News

September 24th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Bernie Sanders’ home state are putting their ice cream expertise to work to support seven congressional candidates in the midterm elections who they call progressive.
Vermont’s Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, known for their clever marketing and quirky flavors, are working with political action committee MoveOn to create ice cream flavors that reflect the values of each of the candidates. They are seeking the public’s help in naming the flavors. After picking winners, Cohen says he will make about 40 pints of each flavor by hand in his kitchen to be raffled off to support the candidates.

The candidates are Jess King in Pennsylvania, Lauren Underwood in Illinois, Aftab Pureval in Ohio, J.D. Scholten in Iowa, Ammar Campa Najjar in California, Stephany Rose Spaulding in Colorado and James Thompson in Kansas.

The flavors will be announced on a rolling basis starting on Oct. 7 at Iowa State University in Ames, according to a consultant working with Cohen and Greenfield. People can sign up starting Oct. 1 to enter the raffle to win the limited edition pints. Winners will be announced Nov. 1 and the ice cream will be shipped by mid-November.

Scholten’s campaign in Iowa wasn’t notified of the ice cream challenge. “It’s fantastic,” said Irene Lin, his campaign manager. “We’re very, very grateful,” she said, adding that supporters are having fun trying to come up with flavor names and ingredients.

It’s not the first time the ice cream makers have tried to sweeten a candidate’s campaign. Cohen created “Bernie’s Yearning” in 2016, during Sen. Sanders’ run for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016. The ice creams are not associated with the company, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc.

Canoe comes loose from trailer, causes accident in Mills County

News

September 24th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported when a canoe came loose from a trailer and landed in the traveled portion of Highway 34, last Thursday morning, where it was hit by a semi. The canoe was one of eight canoes being hauled on a trailer, and pulled by a 2018 Chevy, driven by 32-year old Dessa Montgomery, of Emerson.

Montgomery was traveling east on Highway 34 just east of 305th Street at around 11:05-a.m., when the canoe became detached. The semi, driven by 38-year old Michael Christiansen, of Elliott, struck the errant canoe as the semi was traveling westbound.

The semi sustained damage to the front and driver’s side during the collision. No citations were issued.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports also, 56-year old Brian Jeffrey Combs, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Saturday evening, for Violation of a No Contact Order, and Interference with official acts. He was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.