Today: Areas of fog & low clouds this morning; P/Cldy otherwise. High 78. N @ 10.
Tonight: P/Cldy. Low 52.
Tomorrow: P/CLdy. High around 80. SE @ 5-10.
Thursday: P/Cldy. High 82.
Friday: Mo. Cldy w/scattered showers & tstrms. High around 80.
Yesterday’s High in Atlantic was 82. Our Low was 56. Last year on this date our High was 91 and the Low was 67. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 97 in 2017 and 1894. The Record Low was 29, in 1937, 1973 & 1983.
The U-S Supreme Court has overturned a law which limited sports betting to the state of Nevada. Iowa Gaming Association president, Wes Ehrecke, says the state’s casinos have been preparing for the possibility of legalized sports betting in anticipation of the ruling. “This ruling is great news and we’d hoped that this would have been the outcome when New Jersey had challenged the constitutionally of only allowing one state — Nevada — to have legalized sports betting for over the last two-and-half decades,” Ehrecke says.
The Iowa Gaming Association represents the 19 state-licensed casinos and pushed for legislation making sports betting legal, but it failed to pass in the last session. Ehrecke says legislators wanted the certainty of the Supreme Court ruling before moving ahead, and he says they hoped the ruling would have come four weeks ago. “But now we will deal with trying to get the education and awareness ready for the next session,” Ehrecke says.
He says they believe the more than two decades of experience in the state-licensed casinos have make them the best places to run sports betting operations. “Certainly our Racing and Gaming Commission having that expertise and integrity and standards being set,” Ehrecke says. “Having someone come into a casino to establish their account, they could do so in person to bet, but also being able to could come through secure portals to have the option bet on their phone or laptop — we believe would be the best option.”
Critics who oppose legalized sports betting say it expands gambling. But Ehrecke says millions and millions of dollars are already bet illegally each year in Iowa and other states.”This is not really an expansion of gambling, but it allows for a more legalized structured and regulated form of what’s already existed — not only in Iowa, but around the country,” according to Ehrecke.
He says casinos have a variety of options if state lawmakers make sports betting legal. “Every casino would probably do something a bit different,” Ehrecke, “but certainly having a sports betting area. Some could be on the gaming floor, some could be incorporated into their existing sports bars they have now. That will be a part of that decision that works best for each respective casino.”
Ehrecke says the first order of business is to get a sports betting law passed. “We’re looking forward to educating and working with legislators and the media and the public to create awareness about why a legalized sports betting bill hopefully will get adopted here in the next session,” Ehrecke says.
The I-G-A supports a bill that would allow legalized betting on pro and college sports.
(Radio Iowa)
A coalition of state and national groups are calling for a ban on so-called “factory farming” in the United States. Adam Mason of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement says large-scale livestock confinements have “decimated” family farms. “Thinking back to the late ’70s, there were over 80,000 family farm operations raising livestock across this state. Today, we have 10,000 factory farms,” Mason said. “That ain’t right.”
Bill Stowe is C-E-O and general manager of the Des Moines Water Works, which is among the 100 largest water utilities in the country. “At Des Moines Water Works, our mission is to provide safe, affordable, abundant drinking water for half a million Iowans,” Stowe says. “It’s a job that becomes increasingly difficult, unfortunately, because Iowa’s surface waters are filthy.”
The Raccoon River has pollution levels today that exceed federal standards, requiring additional and expensive treatment before it can be used as drinking water. Stowe says there’s “no question” what he calls “industrial farming” upstream is contributing to the pollution. “With bacteria, with soils, with chemicals and a growing concern for us is blue green algae and cyanotoxins,” Stowe said.
Stowe and the others who spoke at a midday news conference would like city and county officials to have the authority to regulate farming operations. Stowe says corporate interests ruined states like West Virginia and Iowa should take a different path.”We are not going to find ourselves left in a bone pile, a remanent of a failed industrial system like coal mining, because industrial farming and dirty agriculture is heading us on that same path,” Stowe said.
A national group called “Food and Water Watch” has released a report critical of the impact “massive amounts of manure” from livestock operations are having on the environment.of so-called factory farms. A spokesman for the Iowa Pork Producers Association says any moratorium on the pork industry “would greatly stifle rural Iowa economic activity” and limit entry into farming for the next generation. The pork association’s spokesman says modern Iowa pig barns “are designed to contain all manure” and “protect water quality.” He also noted there already are more than 200 pages of state regulations for the pork industry.
(Radio Iowa)
Most Iowans don’t realize how many of their friends and neighbors rely daily on the Food Bank for the Heartland to put meals on the table. Brian Barks will take over as C-E-O of the Omaha-based agency on July 1st and says they face many challenges making sure that no one goes to bed hungry. Barks says one of the biggest challenges is trucking the food across a wide area.
“Our guys are driving all the way out to the Panhandle of Nebraska and we serve a good chunk of western Iowa,” Barks says. “Our guys are doing about 30,000 miles a month. We’re sometimes paying more for freight than we are for the food that we buy.” Barks says they’re two drivers short right now and are in touch with truck driving schools to find more. “The explosion in the cost of transportation in the trucking industry can have serious implications in regards to what we do,” he says.
Barks says they’re looking forward with a long-range hunger forecast. “We’ve done a ten-year strategic plan that estimates how much food we need and it is 39-and-a-half million meals,” he says. “We’re doing 25-and-a-half million, so we’ve got about 14-million meals in order to get to a point where we have enough food for people to access.”
The Food Bank for the Heartland distributes food to 535 non-profit groups, including schools, homeless shelters and food pantries in 92 counties across Nebraska and Iowa.
(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Karla James, Omaha)
Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Adeiny Hechavarria danced around catcher Salvador Perez with an inventive slide at home plate to score the go-ahead run, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 2-1. Hechavarria dashed home on Matt Duffy’s single to right field in the sixth inning, sidestepped Perez to the right, then dived back toward the plate. Hechavarria faked toward the dish with his right hand, then jabbed his left hand just past Perez’s outstretched glove to tag the plate.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Anthony Holman has been named the NCAA managing director for championships operations and playing rules. Holman will be the lead administrator for the College World Series as successor to Ron Prettyman. Holman also will oversee championships in bowling, men’s ice hockey, FCS football, women’s volleyball, beach volleyball and rifle. Holman also will have responsibilities related to playing rules, governance duties and sport committee activity for multiple championships.
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law requiring doctors to screen patients’ risk of addiction before prescribing some painkillers. The law is part of the state’s effort to begin addressing its growing opioid epidemic. Reynolds signed it Monday at a Dubuque medical center that treats opioid addiction. A good Samaritan provision will also give legal immunity to anyone who calls 911 to report an overdose.
UNDATED (AP) — Activists have converged on state capitals around the U.S., opening weeks of planned protests calling for new programs to help the millions of Americans who live in poverty, an overhaul of voting rights laws and other social issues. Reports by police from seven state capitols and Washington, D.C., showed more than 200 people were arrested or cited Monday on the first day of the so-called Poor People’s Campaign.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Two organizations are expected to announce a lawsuit challenging a new Iowa law that bans most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Iowa affiliates for Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union said Monday they’ll make a joint announcement Tuesday afternoon. They declined to provide more information. The law, set to go into effect on July 1, bans most abortions in Iowa once a fetal heartbeat is detected. That’s around six weeks of pregnancy.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officers have cited a group of protesters at the Iowa Capitol who gathered in and around the staff offices of Gov. Kim Reynolds. The Iowa State Patrol briefly held 10 people Monday afternoon who refused to leave the building at the close of business hours. They were cited for misdemeanor trespassing and released. The protesters were among several dozen people who gathered to highlight issues tied to poverty, inequality and the environment.
The Denison-Schleswig vs. St. Albert boys tennis Preliminary Substate match was postponed from Saturday to Monday and the Monarchs came out victorious 5-4. The Class 1A Substate at Kuemper Catholic on Saturday is now all set.
Atlantic will take on Denison-Schleswig and Kuemper Catholic will face Creston O-M. Winners of those matches will then play in the State Quarterfinal one hour after the final Substate match is finished.
Girls Soccer
Atlantic 6, Riverside 0
Glenwood 5, Kuemper Catholic 0
Lewis Central 10, Harlan 0
Treynor 9, Underwood 2
Boys Soccer
Kuemper Catholic 1, Atlantic 0
Denison-Schleswig 5, Glenwood 0
Harlan 3, Creston 0
Riverside 6, Nodaway Valley 0
Treynor 3, Underwood 0
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 5, Thomas Jefferson 2
Class 1A and 2A girls golf teams competed in the first round of Regional play on Monday. The top two teams and top 8 individuals will move on to the next round of competition. If a host school is one of the top two teams then the third place team will also qualify. Ties will not be broken for eight place individually so all players tied will advance.
Class 1A
Region 2B at Coon Rapids (Coon Rapids-Bayard)
Team Scores
Individual Scores
Region 2A at Fox Run (Heartland Christian)
Team Scores
Heartland Christian and Treynor had no team scores.
Individual Scores
Region 2C at Anita (CAM)
Team Scores
Individual Scores
Class 2A
Region 2A at Red Oak
Team Scores
Individual Scores
Region 2B at Lake Panorama (Panorama)
Team Scores
Individual Scores
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after admitting she beat her ex-husband to death with a baseball bat. The Telegraph Herald reports 64-year-old Dolores A. Flynn apologized in court Monday before she was sentenced, saying “If I could take it back, I would.”
Judge Michael Shubatt sentenced her to the 30 years recommended in a plea deal. Shubatt noted, “no one deserves to be beaten to death with a baseball bat.” Flynn initially was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 72-year-old Gary Breckenridge on Jan. 4, 2016. She pleaded guilty last month to voluntary manslaughter, willful injury and assault.
Breckenridge died at the home he shared with Flynn. Flynn says she wanted to apologize to the couple’s children for her actions.
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