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Overnight fire guts downtown buildings in Vinton, Iowa

News

February 9th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

VINTON, Iowa (AP) — A fire has gutted four downtown buildings in the small eastern Iowa city of Vinton. The Des Moines Register reports that the fire started Thursday night in the Michael and Dowd furniture store and spread to Clingman Pharmacy, Fischer Law Firm and the Benton County Title Company. The fire burned through much of the night, with firefighters battling the blaze while temperatures hovered in the teens and heavy snow fell. No injuries had been reported by this (Friday) morning.

Vinton’s volunteer fire department received help from the fire departments of several surrounding communities. Vinton is a city of about 5,300 located about 100 miles northeast of Des Moines.

Senate GOP advances its plan to reduce current state budget

News

February 9th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Republicans in the Iowa Senate have voted for a plan that cuts nearly 32 million from the current year’s state budget. It is about 20 million dollars less than their earlier proposal. Senator Charles Schneider is a Republican from West Des Moines. “We’re trying to make these adjustments in a fiscally responsible way,” Schneider said. “First, we’re prioritizing where we’re making these adjustments.” The bill still calls for carving millions out of the budgets for the state’s prisons, courts and community colleges. It cuts funding for the three state universities by about 14-and-a-half million. “This is what thousands of Iowa families had to do during The Great Recession when a lot of them faced salary reductions or a loss of income, they had to take a look at their own spending and make adjustments,” Schneider said. “That’s the approach that we believe is the right approach and what we’re proposing today.”

Senator Brad Zaun, a Republican from Urbandale, would have preferred deeper cuts to state universities. He accuses the board that governs the schools of being “addicted” to erecting new campus buildings that rival the “Taj Mahal.” “See, the Board of Regents doesn’t understand the concept of tightening belts,” Zaun said. Democrats in the Senate called the G-O-P’s bill reckless and misguided. Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, says Iowans are suffering through “G-O-P budget whiplash.”  “We don’t have a spending problem. We have a priorities and a management problem,” Bolkcom said. “…Iowa Republicans, unfortunately, are falling far short.”

Senator Rich Taylor, a Democrat from Mount Pleasant, is a retired correctional officer. He says the three-and-a-half million to the state’s prison system will make an already dangerous situation worse. “The only thing they have left to cut is staff,” Taylor said. “There is no more room for cutting the Department of Corrections.”  This debate about cutting the current year’s state budget will continue next week. The House must debate its own plan to reduce state spending to ensure the budget stays in the black.

(Radio Iowa)

Gun related proposals get subcommittee approval in Iowa Senate

News

February 9th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Two separate proposals to expand gun owners’ rights in Iowa advanced through initial review in the Iowa Senate on Thursday. One calls for adding an amendment to the state’s constitution that calls on courts to “strictly scrutinize” any future gun regulations. The other calls for doing away with the requirement that Iowans get a government permit to carry a concealed weapon. Supporters call it “constitutional carry.” Richard Rogers is with the Iowa Firearms Coalition. “Certainly all human beings have the desire, the need and the right to defend themselves, their families and their communities. Their ability to do so effectively is often dependent on having tools — arms — available for that purpose,” Rogers said. “In the past, those tools may have been a stick, a blade or a bow. In the modern era the most effective tool for this purpose is typically a defensive firearm.”

Supporters of the move say if the government has the power to issue gun permits, it might some day use that power to take those guns away. Reverend Wendy Abrahamson, the rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Grinnell, says Second Amendment rights are assured by the constitution. “As a law-abiding citizen of the United States, I don’t fear my government…and I trust that my right to own a weapon is not under attack.” And Abrahamson described the gun permit process as a “minimal” step. “The right to own a gun is not something that comes simply from being alive or simply from being an Iowan,” she said. “Like other rights, it has responsibilities.”

Last year, the Republican-led legislature passed a sweeping gun rights package. This year’s gun-related proposals have the backing of key lawmakers who worked on last year’s bill.

(Radio Iowa)

Fight over school bus money delays decision on general state aid to schools

News

February 9th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

ALL the Republicans in the legislature agree on giving a one percent boost in general state support to Iowa’s public schools. However, action on that is held up as Republicans in the House and Senate debate how to address another issue — excessive transportation costs in geographically large school districts. HOUSE Republicans like Representative Cecil Dolecheck, of Mount Ayr, promise to revisit that school transportation issue next week. “The average is around $370 per student,” Dolecheck said. “We have some school districts that have transportation costs as high as $1000 per student. What the House proposal does, rather than give a blanket amount to school districts for every student, our proposal starts to address those with the highest transportation costs and buy them down.”

HOUSE Republicans are offering about 10 million dollars to cover busing costs for one year. SENATE Republicans have been pushing for a permanent fix, one that would go equally to all schools. Most Democrats in the HOUSE voted yesterday (Thursday) to support THAT plan. Representative Sharon Steckman is a Democrat from Mason City. “When someone tells me they’re going to do something over and over, pretty soon I just quit believing them,” Steckman said. “For eight years we’ve been working on the transportation inequity and the per pupil funding inequity — eight years — and now that we actually have something, we’re hearing, ‘Oh, reject this. We’ve got something better.'”

This busing issue along with a final vote on how much state money to give public schools next year are still on the legislature’s “to do” list for next week.

(Radio Iowa)

Skyscan Forecast & weather data for Atlantic: 2/09/18

Weather

February 9th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Today: Mostly cloudy w/light snow or flurries (1/2” or less). High around 17. N @ 15-25.

Tonight: Cloudy w/light snow. Low 5. N @ 5-10.

Tomorrow: Cloudy w/light snow, mainly in the morning (1” total). High 13. N @ 10-15.

Sunday: Partly Cloudy. High 25.

Monday: P/Cldy. High 30.

Thursday’s High in Atlantic was 25. Our 24-hour Low was 2. As of 5-a.m. in Atlantic, we received .9” snow at the KJAN studios. Last year on this date our High was 32 and the Low was 8. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 59 in 1954, 2000 & 2009, and the Low was -36 in 1975.

Red Oak man arrested Thursday afternoon

News

February 9th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Red Oak Police, Thursday afternoon, arrested 31-year old Erin Jean Larson, of Red Oak. Larson was taken into custody in the 2400 block of N. 8th Street at around 3:15-p.m., for Violation of a No Contact/Protection Order. He was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail, pending an appearance before a Magistrate.

Winter Storm Advisory/Warning Update (4-a.m., 2/9/18)

Weather

February 9th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

The National Weather Service has cancelled a Winter Weather Advisory and Winter Storm Warning for much of the area mentioned Thursday, with the exception of Carroll and Greene Counties, where a Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until 6-a.m.

Area Boys/Girls Basketball Scores from 2/8/18

Sports

February 9th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

BOYS SCORES

Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 46, St. Albert, Council Bluffs 33

Creston 79, Clarinda 55

Creston-Orient-Macksburg 79, Clarinda Academy 55

Sioux Falls Christian, S.D. 70, Western Christian, Hull 67

Sioux Falls Roosevelt, S.D. 65, Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 62

Underwood 66, MVAO-CO-U 61, OT

GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL

Council Bluffs, Thomas Jefferson 53, Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 50

Creston 59, Clarinda 40

Sioux City, East 55, Sioux City, North 44

South Sioux City, Neb. 67, Sergeant Bluff-Luton 55

Winterset 53, Knoxville, Ill. 37

GIRLS 1A Playoff Scores

Region 6

Lamoni 56, Orient-Macksburg 30
Lenox 43, East Union 39
Diagonal 52, Bedford 46
Southeast Warren 54, Melcher-Dallas 18
Murray 68, Mormon Trail 23
Moulton-Udell 49, Moravia 37

Region 7

Riverside 46, Essex 21
CAM 40, Griswold 36
Stanton 56, South Page 36
East Mills 60, Heartland Christian 25
Fremont-Mills 51, West Harrison 27

Region 8

Paton-Churdan @ Ar-We-Va- PPD to Saturday, February 10th at 7:00pm
Grand View Christian 56, Coon Rapids-Bayard 44
Glidden-Ralston def Iowa Christian Academy by Forfeit
River Valley @ Westwood- PPD to Friday, February 9th at 6:00pm
Audubon 80, Whiting 39

Midwest Sports Headlines: 2/9/18

Sports

February 9th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have cut veteran cornerback Darrelle Revis, a move that was long expected with his pricy tag next season and the franchise’s tight salary cap situation this offseason. The team announced the move in a statement Thursday.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mike Matheny is well aware that he has yet to earn a World Series championship ring during his six seasons as the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. It’s not like St. Louis, an 11-time World Series champion, would let him forget.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — NASCAR says David Hyatt will replace Jimmy Small as the president of the Iowa Speedway. NASCAR, which owns the track in Newton, Iowa, says Small has accepted a new position as a senior director of international business development. Small will work out of the organization’s Los Angeles office. The Iowa track will host two NASCAR Xfinity races, a Camping World truck event and an IndyCar race this summer.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Zach Jackson scored 25 points, including the go-ahead bucket, and KJ Robinson added 18 points as Omaha came back to take down Western Illinois 71-68. Jackson’s floater gave the Mavericks (8-17, 3-6 Summit League) a 69-68 lead with 28.9 seconds left.

Iowa early News Headlines: Friday, Feb. 9th 2018

News

February 9th, 2018 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:45 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Republican-led legislative panel has approved a bill that would ban most abortions in Iowa once a fetal heartbeat is detected. The bill would make it a felony for doctors to perform abortions after detecting a fetal heartbeat, which occurs as early as at six weeks of pregnancy. If the measure becomes law, it likely would be appealed by opponents who would argue it violates U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines woman has pleaded guilty after being arrested last fall when officer found her young children were being left unsupervised in a filthy, feces-covered home. The Des Moines Register reports 26-year-old Destinee Kristine Miller pleaded guilty Thursday to neglect or abandonment of a dependent person. Prosecutors dropped child endangerment charges in exchange for the guilty plea. Police arrested Miller in October after her children aged 4, 2 and 1 were found outside their home.

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — A dog handler accused of leaving four dogs inside a hot vehicle last year, killing three, has pleaded guilty to three counts of confining animals. The Ottumwa Courier reports that in exchange for Craig Eugene’s recent plea, a fourth count was dismissed. Eugene was fined $300. Police say the dogs were found in Eugene’s car July 8 outside the American Kennel Club All Breeds Dog Show in Ottumwa when the high temperature outside was 89 degrees.

NEVADA, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors say a central Iowa man charged in the death of his 2-month-old daughter killed the baby by placing pillows on her face. The Des Moines Register reports that 29-year-old Calvin Curtis White, of Nevada, has been charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment causing death after his daughter was found not breathing Jan. 29 and later died. White remains in the Story County Jail on a $1 million bond.