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Herrera’s solo homer lifts Phils to 4-3 win over Cardinals

Sports

June 20th, 2018 by admin

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Odubel Herrera hit a tiebreaking, solo homer in the seventh inning, Cesar Hernandez hit a two-run homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 Wednesday.

Yadier Molina hit a pair of homers for the Cardinals, who lost starter Michael Wacha to injury. Both came off Phillies starter Jake Arrieta.

Philadelphia’s beleaguered bullpen tossed three scoreless innings after Arrieta had another so-so outing. Edubray Ramos (2-0) got five outs and Adam Morgan retired the last two batters with the tying run on second for his first career save.

The Phillies took two of three to win a series against the Cardinals for the first time since August 2014.

Arrieta gave up three runs and four hits in six innings to remain winless in June after posting a 0.90 ERA in five starts in May. Arrieta, who is earning $30 million this season as part of a three-year, $75 million contract, has a 6.97 ERA in four starts this month.

Wacha left in the fourth with a left oblique strain. The right-hander allowed three runs — one earned — and six hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Herrera ripped a 91 mph slider from Sam Tuivailala (1-3) off the scoreboard on the facing of the second deck in right field to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. Herrera has a homer in four straight games.

Pinch-hitter Jedd Gyorko hit a one-out double off Victor Arano in the ninth. Morgan entered to get Matt Carpenter on a foul pop and Tommy Pham on a grounder.

Molina drove a 3-2 pitch the opposite-way into the seats in right-center for his fifth career multihomer game in the sixth to tie it at 3.

A throwing error by Carpenter led to a pair of unearned runs in the fourth. Jorge Alfaro reached with one out when Carpenter’s throw pulled first baseman Jose Martinez off the bag. With two outs, Hernandez lined a 1-2 change-up to the seats in right for a 3-1 lead.

The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the first after Rhys Hoskins hit a single, advanced to third on Herrera’s double and scored on Carlos Santana’s sacrifice fly.

Molina crushed Arrieta’s first pitch in the second inning to left to tie it at 1.

Wacha worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the third by striking out Scott Kingery and retiring Nick Williams on a bouncer.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (3-3, 2.73 ERA) takes the mound for the start of a four-game set at Milwaukee. He’s 6-4, 1.95 vs. the Brewers.

Posted in Sports |

Mark Becker appeal denied in murder of Ed Thomas

News, Sports

June 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of the man convicted of killing Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas. Mark Becker shot and killed Thomas in the high school weight room in front of several witnesses on June 24th of 2009. Becker’s lawyer used an insanity defense, but he was found guilty of murder. Becker appealed his conviction saying his lawyer was ineffective for failing to seek a change of venue and failing to present evidence of pre-trial publicity.

The Court of Appeals ruled the lawyer’s decision to forgo a change of venue was sound trial strategy given the available information. The ruling says pre-trial publicity was widespread but many accounts favored the defense’s claim of insanity. The ruling also says the positive interactions between the families and the Thomas family’s plea for understanding could have also positively influenced jurors toward the defense.

Becker is now 33-years-old and is being held at the Corrections Department Oakdale facility.

(Radio Iowa)

Posted in News, Sports |

Woman, daughter walking on Iowa road hit by pickup truck

News

June 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

JANESVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in northeastern Iowa say a woman has been killed and her daughter injured when they were hit by a pickup truck as they walked on a rural road at night. The Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office says 52-year-old Kristine Martinson and her adult daughter were walking on a graveled section of Mark Road about six miles southwest of Janesville when the pickup crested a hill around 9 p.m. Tuesday and hit them.

Officials say Martinson was taken with severe injuries to a hospital, where she died. Her daughter suffered minor injuries when she was hit by a side mirror on the pickup.
Investigators say a 22-year-old Cedar Falls man was driving the pickup. The incident remains under investigation.

Posted in News |

Man injured in northern Des Moines industrial park fire

News

June 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a man has been injured in a fire at a northern Des Moines industrial park. The Des Moines Register says the fire broke out Wednesday at an area containing tanks of diesel and gasoline held by fuel and trucking company Keck Energy.

Des Moines Fire Department spokesman Brian O’Keefe says a man injured was taken to a hospital. No other information about the man, including his name or medical condition, was released.

The fire was quickly extinguished, but a small structure used to load and unload fuel and several vehicles were damaged in the fire. O’Keefe says an investigation has been launched into whether the company was at fault.

Posted in News |

2 arrests in Mills County

News

June 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Two people were arrested on separate charges Tuesday, in Mills County. The Sheriff’s Office reports 38-year old Michael Thomas Manning, of Papillion, NE., was arrested for Disorderly Conduct by Loud and Raucous Noise, and Criminal Trespass. His bond was set at $600.

And, 22-year old Kayla Shae Richardson, of Glenwood, was arested on a warrant for Pre-Trial Release Revocation. Bond was set at $25,000.

Posted in News |

MARGARET (NIELSEN) METCALF, 85, of Houston, TX (Graveside Svcs. 06/23/2018)

Obituaries

June 20th, 2018 by admin

MARGARET (NIELSEN) METCALF, 85, of Houston, TX died Thursday, March 22nd. Memorial graveside services for MARGARET METCALF will be held Saturday, June 23rd at 2:00pm at the Harlan Cemetery. Pauley-Jones Funeral Home in Harlan has the arrangements.

MARGARET (NIELSEN) METCALF is survived by:

Sister: Karen (Ed) Galet of Cupertino, CA.

Brother: George (Ruth) Nielsen of Dunwoody, GA.

Niece: Catherine Nielsen of Mercer Island, WA.

Nephew: Brad Nielsen of Austin, TX.

Posted in Obituaries |

AP source: MLB game to be played in Omaha before 2019 CWS

Sports

June 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Major League Baseball regular-season game will be played in Omaha the week the 2019 College World Series opens, The Associated Press has learned. MLB and the NCAA have been working to arrange a game as a kickoff event to the CWS, a person close to the situation told the AP on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details. A news conference with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was scheduled for Thursday at TD Ameritrade Park, the host site for the CWS.

The move would be similar to the regular-season games played in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the Little League World Series.

Posted in Sports |

Iowa Lottery discusses role it could have in sports betting

News

June 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lottery officials are looking at how they could offer sports betting if Iowa lawmakers legalize it next year. The Iowa Lottery Board discussed sports betting Wednesday at a meeting in Clive. The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for states to expand sports betting last month, and Iowa lawmakers will likely consider legislation next year to bring sports betting to Iowa. Lawmakers declined to approve a bill last session to allow sports betting at Iowa casinos, including online wagers. Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer says several large retailers expressed interest in offering sports betting options.

Delaware is allowing limited sports betting through its lottery. Neubauer says offering convenient access would help reduce illegal gambling. Lottery officials will continue researching sports betting, but board members didn’t indicate if they’d support expanding into sports betting.

Posted in News |

Anti-gun violence group “March for Our Lives” makes stops in Iowa

News

June 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The national gun control advocacy group “March for Our Lives” is making three stops in Iowa this week in Congressional districts represented by strong gun rights supporters. Today’s (Wednesday) stop will be outside the offices of Congressman Steve King, a staunch supporter of the second amendment and a critic of March for Our Lives. Organizer Kyrah Simon is from Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed during a high school shooting in February. Simon has a message for King. “It’s really that the young people are not afraid, we’re not willing to back down to hatred,” Simon says. “Our voices are just as important, just as strong as his. We’re willing to make a change if he’s unwilling to do that.” Simon says a vigil will be held outside King’s office in Sioux City today, as he’s a fervent supporter of gun rights and has sparred with the students on social media.

Simon says, “I think what’s amazing with the movement is that a few days after the shooting when everything was still raw, they had the courage, they had the bravery to go out and speak to the media, get their voices out, make an organization to implement change in our country.” They’re calling this the “Road to Change” bus tour. On Thursday, the group plans to hold an afternoon rally in Cedar Rapids and another event at Linn-Mar High School in Marion on Thursday night.

(Radio Iowa, w/thanks to Rob Dillard, Iowa Public Radio)

Posted in News |

Looks like it’s a good year for swimmer’s itch

Ag/Outdoor, News

June 20th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Here’s another sign that summer is arriving in Iowa — reports of swimmer’s itch have been increasing. D-N-R fisheries biologist Mike Hawkins says swimmer’s itch is a common issue on Iowa lakes. “Some years are better than others. This year looks like it could be a good year for swimmer’s itch — or bad — given your perspective,” Hawkins says. He says the itchiness is caused by the microscopic parasitic flatworm. “The flatworm has a pretty interesting life cycle. It goes from a bird through bird droppings into the water and from there a snail ingest the eggs. The eggs develop in the snail and the larvae emerge from there and try to go back to the bird. So, kind of an interesting organism, kind of a complex life cycle,” Hawkins explains.

The larvae end up trying to get under the skin of swimmers if birds are not available. Hawkins says the human body fights off the larvae, but it ends up being an itchy situation. Water that’s dirty or full of pollutants is usually what you want to avoid when swimming — but in this case — Hawkins says the cleaner lakes are the ones where you’ll find swimmer’s itch. “Typically our best lakes in Iowa and across the Midwest have healthy snail populations. So, clear water, lots of aquatic plants, those are the lakes that we’ll typically see more swimmer’s itch in,” according to Hawkins. “So, in a way, swimmer’s itch is an indication of good water quality in some of our lakes.”

He says swimmer’s itch usually is the biggest problem between Father’s Day and the Fourth of July. There are some things swimmers can do to avoid the problem. “You probably should stay away from the areas where the waves have been pounding in for a day or two or more. That tends to accumulate debris, but also that larvae that is in the water,” Hawkins says. “So avoiding those areas is probably the best thing you can do. Swimming in deeper water, open water, is better than wading at the shore.”  He says be sure to take some precautions when are done swimming. “Toweling off and rinsing off when you get out of the water is important to try and get the water off of your skin. The swimmer’s itch tends to concentrate in those little water droplets in the skin and that’s where they’ll try to make entry,” Hawkins says.

He says it’s a problem that can happen all across the state, but they are seeing many reports now in the Iowa’s Great Lakes and surrounding northwest and north central Iowa lakes.

(Radio Iowa)

Posted in Ag/Outdoor, News |