On this day in 2009, Lady Antebellum earned a Platinum single for “Need You Now”. The song was released earlier in 2009 as the lead-off single and title track to Lady A’s second album, Need You Now. The song would end up being Certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA and win four Grammy Awards in 2011.
Craig Campbell joined USO’s star-studded holiday tour, led by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., as part of the organization’s 75th-anniversary celebration. Craig said, “I had a great time visiting and performing for our nation’s service members and military families just a few months ago with the USO. I am so honored that General Dunford invited me on this incredibly important tour. It really means a lot to have the opportunity to give back to those who give so much and to bring a little piece of home to them during the holidays.”
· The six-day, four-country USO tour included stops in Turkey, Qatar, Afghanistan and Germany.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state board has ruled that an Iowa casino does not have to follow the state’s open records laws because it no longer owes a debt to the county where it operates.
The Iowa Public Information Board issued the opinion in response to a request from the Des Moines Register (http://dmreg.co/2gSzJmP ). Prairie Meadows casino in Altoona lost its federal nonprofit status earlier this year and has declined to release records related to contracts of its top executives.
The casino’s board is appealing the IRS decision on its nonprofit status. The casino had argued it no longer has to abide by Iowa’s open records laws because it’s no longer indebted to Polk County.
The latest girls’ basketball rankings are out from the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and several area teams have made the cut.
In Class 1A, Lynnville-Sully has replaced jumped into the rankings at #15 following an impressive 7-0 start to the season. The Hawks were expected to battle with arch-rival Montezuma for the top spot in the West Division of the South Iowa Cedar League and protected their home court in their first meeting with the Bravettes, beating them last Friday 57-45.
The Bravettes are 5-2 on the year and fell out of the Class 2A rankings from their #13 position last week. Their two losses are to Lynnville-Sully and Pella Christian, who is ranked #8 in the latest poll in Class 2A. The Eagles are 6-1 on the year. Their lone loss is to Class 4A #1 Pella, 52-44.
Pella has been phenomenal, as their early 5-0 record shows. They’ve been #1 for good reason, as they are one of the favorites in a cutthroat Little Hawkeye Conference. Grinnell is #4 in Class 4A and are 5-1 so far this year (lone loss was against Pella). They are up one spot from last week. Fellow Little Hawkeye Conference team Dallas Center-Grimes fell from #12 to out of the rankings this week.
Pella’s next game is Friday night against Indianola, the #1 team in Class 5A and new member of the Little Hawkeye. Indianola is 6-0 and will be looking to get into the early driver’s seat at the top of the conference with a win over the Lady Dutch on the road.
The last area team ranked is PCM, who is #15 in Class 3A. The Mustangs are 6-1 on the year and hold steady at that 15th spot this week.
You can view the full rankings here: https://ighsau.org/2016/12/15/121516-basketball-rankings/
On this day in 1998, Faith Hill grabbed her sixth Billboard #1 single with “Let Me Let Go”. The song was released as her third single from her third album Faith. The song features background vocals by country artist Vince Gill.
After years of being on a tour bus and making records, Kip Moore told Rare Country that he will be taking a break in 2017. He said, “I don’t know what the word is, because I’m not just worn out … I’m something more than that. We have toured 175 or more shows for six years straight, which is kind of unheard of. We are all tired. I don’t think people see that side very often because they just see us onstage, but the grind of sleeping on a bus every night for 225 days or more takes a mental and physical tear on you.”
· Moore added, “I’m going to walk away from it. I’m not going to bring a guitar, and I’m not going to do anything with music. I’m going to surf and snowboard and camp and just try to get my head right. My head hasn’t been in the best place so I want to try and work on all that and get settled for next year.”
· Moore has plans to surf in Maui and Costa Rica during his downtime.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A group of Iowa casinos wants to make their annual audits confidential and stop releasing them to the public.
The Des Moines Register reports (http://dmreg.co/2hzpjHL ) that 16 of the 19 state-regulated Iowa casinos have joined a lawsuit challenging the release of those financial records.
Wes Ehrecke, president of the Iowa Gaming Association, says the audits include trade secrets that shouldn’t be released publicly.
But the reports have long been public in Iowa, and they are relied upon to gauge the health of the industry. Last year, Iowa’s casinos paid over $312 million in gambling taxes and contributed nearly $40 million to charities.
The groups that rely on charitable contributions from casinos or gambling taxes have a particular interest in the financial reports.
On this day in 2015, Warner Bros. released Cole Swindell’s “You Should Be Here” to radio. The song was the lead single to his second studio album of the same name.
“You Should Be Here” hit number one on the Billboard Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs charts, which gave Swindell his fourth number-one overall. The song was certified Gold by the RIAA.
Reba– who appeared at Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountains Rise telethon in Nashville last night (12/13) – is reportedly getting back into TV acting as Variety reports that she will star in an untitled project still in development for ABC-TV. The drama is described as a “Southern Gothic soap opera.”
· The drama is set in motion after a suspected act of terrorism happens at a Fourth of July parade in the small town of Oxblood, Kentucky.
· Reba’s camp has not confirmed the show as of yet.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The average value of Iowa farmland declined 6 percent over the past year, and this is the first time those values have dropped for three years in a row since the 1980s farm crisis.
The Des Moines Register reports (http://dmreg.co/2hkU4Sq ) that Iowa State University estimates that Iowa farmland is now worth about $7,183 per acre on average.
But assistant Iowa State University economics professor Wendong Zhang says the state is unlikely to see another crisis soon because farmers are generally in better financial shape.
Most Iowa farmers increased their financial reserves during the boom that preceded the current drop in crop prices. And Zhang says government safety nets are better than they were in the 1980s and interest rates remain low.
Plus, the overall debt level for farmers remains lower.
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