ALERT :
- 6/18/13; West Hancock vs. Corwith Wesley Luverne Baseball will play varsity first at 5:45 p.m. No JV. :
Iowa News
CROP REPORT-IOWA Iowa harvest ahead of schedule DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s corn and soybean harvests have passed the halfway point as farmers move quickly to get the drought-damaged crops out of the fields. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 56 percent of the corn and 54 percent of the soybeans have been harvested. That’s a week or two ahead of normal. The USDA says in Monday’s weekly report that the condition of the corn improved slightly, with 47 percent rated poor or very poor, 33 percent fair and 20 percent in good or excellent shape. Soybeans are rated 31 percent poor or very poor, 37 percent fair and 32 percent in good or excellent condition. Iowa continues to be dry. The state saw just .17 inches of rain in the past week, below the normal of .77 inches.
BON JOVI-OBAMA Bon Jovi will perform at 2 Obama events in Iowa DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Musician Jon Bon Jovi will perform at free events in Iowa City and Des Moines in support of President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. Obama’s campaign announced Monday that Bon Jovi would give acoustic performances Friday at 3:30 p.m. in Hubbard Park in Iowa City and at 6:45 p.m. at Western Gateway Park in Des Moines. Local elected officials and volunteers also will speak at the rallies, which the campaign says will promote early voting. Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan is holding events Monday and Tuesday in eastern Iowa timed to encourage early voting by supporters of GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Vice President Joe Biden will stress the same message on Thursday in Iowa. The Bon Jovi event is free but tickets available at Obama officers are required.
CEDAR FALLS FATAL Iowa man sent to prison for deadly car wreck (Information in the following story is from: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, http://www.wcfcourier.com) WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa man charged in a deadly wreck that killed a Cedar Falls woman faces up to 75 years in prison. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier says 27-year-old Austin Hansen, of Reinbeck, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison for the 2010 crash that killed his passenger, 26-year-old Kaley Kennison. Hansen was convicted by a judge last month of vehicular homicide. Authorities say he was driving drunk when crashed his pickup truck into a retaining wall. The newspaper says the judge ordered that Hansen’s prison time be added to his sentences for state and federal drug crimes stemming from his role in a methamphetamine ring. He could be sentenced to up to 50 years for the drug charges when his parole is revoked.
FORMER TEACHER ACCUSED Ex-Iowa teacher sentenced in sex case (Information in the following story is from: KJAN-AM, http://www.kjan.com) ATLANTIC, Iowa (AP) – A retired southwest Iowa teacher accused of sexual conduct with a student has been given a suspended four-year prison sentence and two years of probation. KJAN radio in Atlantic says 65-year-old William Foulkes (fowlks) was sentenced on Monday in Cass County District Court on two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor by a school employee. He pleaded guilty last month. Foulkes is a former teacher in the Anita school district. He was accused of exploiting a teenage girl from August 2009 until November 2010 while teaching the student in a math program. Foulkes resigned in November 2010. He was arrested last March.
FIRE FATALITY Discarded cigar blamed for deadly Sioux City fire (Information in the following story is from: KTIV-TV, http://www.ktiv.com) SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a discarded cigar is to blame for a deadly fire in Sioux City. According to KTIV-TV in Sioux City investigators say 71-year-old Delbert Rowse died at a hospital after he was pulled from the basement of the burning home early Saturday. Officials say Rowse was asleep when the sofa he was on was ignited by an improperly discarded cigar. It is Sioux City’s second fatal fire this year. A man found dead in a burning home in July died of smoke inhalation.
HOMECOMING DANCE BILLBOARD Iowa student uses billboard to ask date to dance (Information in the following story is from: Sioux City Journal, http://www.siouxcityjournal.com) SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City student has found a unique way to ask someone to Saturday’s homecoming dance. He put his invitation to Maria Flores on a billboard in downtown Sioux City. Sam Avery, a senior at North High School, told the Sioux City Journal that teddy bears, roses or balloons just wouldn’t do. He needed something bigger and better. Avery says he thought about asking a girl to the dance via a billboard for some time especially since his father owns a sign company. Avery and Flores, also a senior at North High, first met in eighth grade. She moved to Texas two years ago and returned to Sioux City this summer. Avery surprised Flores with the billboard a few weeks ago – and she said yes.
KOSHER SLAUGHTERHOUSE-APPEAL US Supreme Court won’t review kosher exec’s appeal IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a 27-year prison term issued to a former kosher slaughterhouse executive convicted of financial fraud following a huge immigration raid at the Iowa plant. The Supreme Court declined Monday to consider an appeal filed by former Agriprocessors Inc. vice president Sholom Rubashkin. He was convicted of a scheme to cheat the Postville plant’s lender out of $27 million by submitting fake invoices that made its finances appear healthier than they were. His arrest came after immigration authorities raided the plant and arrested 389 illegal immigrants. Rubashkin had argued that U.S. District Judge Linda Reade could not be impartial because she met with investigators to plan the immigration raid. He also argued his prison term was too long for a first-time, nonviolent offender.
CENTURYLINK STRIKE CenturyLink workers in 13 states authorize strike DENVER (AP) – CenturyLink workers in 13 states in the West and Midwest are authorizing a strike, if union leaders and the telecommunications company can’t reach a contract agreement. The Communications Workers of America said Monday that more than 88 percent of those voting backed the action. The union and Monroe, La.-based CenturyLink are trying to reach a new contract for 13,000 employees before the current contract expires Saturday night. The employees include customer service agents, network technicians and Internet support workers. The union approved a strike during contract talks in 2008 but a work stoppage wasn’t ordered. CWA spokesman Al Kogler said the union opposes a proposed increase in health care premiums and wants to bring more jobs back to the U.S. CenturyLink workers in Montana are negotiating a separate contract.