Ottumwa Police are searching for a missing ten year old boy. Police were told Wednesday afternoon (11/6) that Deontae Renken walked away from his residence. Deontae is described as a white male, 4 feet 7 inches tall, 120 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a red and blue shirt, a blue jean jacket, brown boots and a green and gray backpack. Ottumwa Police say Deontae has been reported missing before and has been found hiding in the creek area in Wildwood Park, as well as other locations in the city. Police add that Deontae will actively try to hide from searching police officers. If you’ve seen Deontae Renken, call Ottumwa Police at 641-683-0661 or your local law enforcement.
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Chris Stapleton Drops Lego Video For “Second One To Know”
Posted on by Bob Ballard
Chris Stapleton has just released a new Lego-inspired video for his “From A Room: Volume 1” song “Second One To Know.”
The clip features a Lego Chris battling ninjas and slaying a dragon with his guitar solo, and features Lego versions of his wife, his band, and even Chris Pratt, who is a Stapleton fan, and also voice star of the 2014 and 2019 Lego movies.
“We had a lot of fun doing it, but it took maybe two years to get through all the approvals, and then a whole year on top to work on it,” Stapleton tells “Rolling Stone.” “So it’s been a long road, but in the end I think it’s something really unique. Certainly there’s never been an officially licensed Lego video before, and that’s kinda fun.” Check it out HERE.
Source: Rolling Stone
This day in 1998: Garth Brooks’ “Double Live” album is released
Posted on by Bob Ballard
Today in 1998, Garth Brooks’ “Double Live” album was released, the same day new albums from Jewel, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston hit record stores. After the dust had settled on what record stores called “Super Tuesday,” Garth emerged victorious. He captured the #1 spot on the album charts – and set a first-week sales record of 1.9-million copies.
Leaving leaves alone creates habitat for some pollinators
Posted on by Rick Watts
BY MATT KELLEY
RADIO IOWA – While many Iowans are spending a large portion of time toiling in their yards with the chore of raking leaves, an environmental expert suggests they leave the leaves alone — at least some of them.
Jill Utrup, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says create a pile of leaves at the edge or your yard or behind the house and just — leave it. “By not raking your leaves, you’re actually leaving a lot of beneficial habitat for many of our beneficial pollinators,” Utrup says. “One pollinator in particular that we’re concerned with is the rusty patched bumblebee, which is a federally-endangered species.”
If you’re concerned about having a hive of unruly insects in the vicinity of your home, she says not to worry. “Only a single queen will actually overwinter, the rest of her colony will die off and she will overwinter,” Utrup says. “She uses what we’d typically see as an unkept spot, leaf piles and brush piles — that type of thing, is what they’re looking for.”
Don’t worry about getting stung next spring, either. She says this is among the first insects to emerge once the snow melts. The rusty patched bumblebee was designated as endangered in 2017 and special teams fanned out in Iowa and several other Midwestern states during 2018 to search out the insect and determine its status here. Their findings were something of a surprise.
“They’re thriving still in people’s backyards, believe it or not,” Utrup says. “Whereas a lot of our endangered species we’re finding in more pristine and intact habitat, the rusty patched is more of a generalist. We’re still learning about its requirements and the threats to the species as well.”
The bees were confirmed in multiple Iowa counties and in several metro areas, including: Ames, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Iowa City, Le Mars, Sioux City and Waterloo. Learn more at www.bumblebeewatch.org.
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Doctors try CRISPR gene editing for cancer, a 1st in the US
Posted on by Rick Watts
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE
AP – The first attempt in the United States to use a gene editing tool called CRISPR against cancer seems safe in the three patients who have had it so far, but it’s too soon to know if it will improve survival, doctors reported Wednesday.
The doctors were able to take immune system cells from the patients’ blood and alter them genetically to help them recognize and fight cancer, with minimal and manageable side effects.
The treatment deletes three genes that might have been hindering these cells’ ability to attack the disease, and adds a new, fourth feature to help them do the job.
“It’s the most complicated genetic, cellular engineering that’s been attempted so far,” said the study leader, Dr. Edward Stadtmauer of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. “This is proof that we can safely do gene editing of these cells.”
After two to three months, one patient’s cancer continued to worsen and another was stable. The third patient was treated too recently to know how she’ll fare. The plan is to treat 15 more patients and assess safety and how well it works.
“It’s very early, but I’m incredibly encouraged by this,” said one independent expert, Dr. Aaron Gerds, a Cleveland Clinic cancer specialist.
Other cell therapies for some blood cancers “have been a huge hit, taking diseases that are uncurable and curing them,” and the gene editing may give a way to improve on those, he said.
Gene editing is a way to permanently change DNA to attack the root causes of a disease. CRISPR is a tool to cut DNA at a specific spot. It’s long been used in the lab and is being tried for other diseases.
This study is not aimed at changing DNA within a person’s body. Instead it seeks to remove, alter and give back to the patient cells that are super-powered to fight their cancer — a form of immunotherapy.
Chinese scientists reportedly have tried this for cancer patients, but this is the first such study outside that country. It’s so novel that it took more than two years to get approval from U.S. government regulators to try it.
The early results were released by the American Society of Hematology; details will be given at its annual conference in December.
The study is sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy in San Francisco, and a biotech company, Tmunity Therapeutics. Several study leaders and the university have a financial stake in the company and may benefit from patents and licenses on the technology.
Two of the patients have multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, and the third has a sarcoma, cancer that forms in connective or soft tissue. All had failed multiple standard treatments and were out of good options.
Their blood was filtered to remove immune system soldiers called T cells, which were modified in the lab and then returned to the patients through an IV. It’s intended as a one-time treatment. The cells should multiply into an army within the body and act as a living drug.
So far, the cells have survived and have been multiplying as intended, Stadtmauer said.
“This is a brand new therapy” so not it’s not clear how soon any anti-cancer effects will be seen. Following these patients longer, and testing more of them, will tell, he said.
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Follow Marilynn Marchione on Twitter: @MMarchioneAP
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Four Statesmen kickers on all conference team
Posted on by Rick Watts
Four men’s soccer players from William Penn University received all-conference honors Tuesday (11/5) from the Heart of America Athletic Conference. For the second straight year, Eduardo Bonatto earned second team honors. The senior from Brazil leads the Statesmen with 16 goals this season. While senior Luis Amezquita, sophomore Kenedy Deviska and senior Bernardo Lima also earned second team all-conference honors. The Statesmen take a 14-4 overall record into the quarterfinals of the Heart of America Conference tournament, which begins Friday night (11/8) when the Statesmen host MidAmerica Nazarene.
Election results
Posted on by Rick Watts
Here are the unofficial results from Tuesday’s (11/5) elections. In Oskaloosa, Mayor David Krutzfeldt ran for re-election unopposed and all three city council members on the ballot (Steve Burnett, Joe Caliguiri and Bob Drost) ran unopposed. And in the Oskaloosa School Board race, Amanda McGrew and Sharma Parlett were re-elected with no opposition and Charlie Comfort and Shawn Moyer won the two seats left open when Erik Edgren and Kraig Van Hulzen did not run for re-election.
In Ottumwa, Bob Meyers and incumbent Marc Roe won the two open city council seats. While in the school board election, David Weilbrenner, Morgan Brown, Brian Jones and Christina Schark won four year terms and Jeremy Weller defeated two candidates to fill an unexpired two year term. Board President Leisa Walker was defeated, as were incumbent board members Michael Carpenter, Mike Dalbey, Gary Granneman and Jon Bunt.
In Pella, Donald DeWaard defeated City Councilman Bruce Schiebout (SKEE-bout) to become the City’s new mayor. In the Pella City Council races, Liz Sporrer defeated incumbent Tony Bokhoven by eight votes for the at large council seat, Calvin Bandstra defeated incumbent Harold Van Stryland and two other candidates in Ward 2 and David Hopkins defeated William Harkins in Ward 4.
New Sharon’s new Mayor is Jeff Long. The city council member defeated Denis Currier. As for the unexpired at large city council seat, we won’t know who won that until all the write in votes are counted.
In Knoxville, John Gotta, Jyl DeJong and Justin Plum won the three city council seats up for grabs; while Cheri Gerdes, Larissa Van Donselaar and Dave Smith won the three Knoxville school board seats on the ballot. Van Donselaar was the only incumbent to be re-elected, with
In Montezuma, we won’t know who the new mayor is until the write-in ballots are counted, since no one filed to run for mayor. Also in Montezuma, Jacki Bolen, Matt Eichenberger and Colin Watts won the three at large council seats.
In Keota, Anthony Cansler defeated Nick Mahan in the mayoral race, while Curtis Burroughs and Matthew Greiner defeated two other candidates to win at-large city council seats.
In Barnes City, Barbara Jean Davis was re-elected mayor, over Troy Ray. And Donald Baker and Nancy Dunnick won the two at large city council spots, defeating incumbent Jennifer McGuire in the process.
Voters in Beacon approved a measure that would have all proceeds from the city’s sales tax revenue go directly into the general fund, rather than divide it into two other funds.
In the North Mahaska school board elections, Michelle Sampson defeated James Roach in District 1 and in District 3, incumbent Keith Foster defeated Erica Mae Groom.
In the Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont school district, Rena Shepherd defeated Ryan Jackson for the District 3 seat. And Mark Haselhuhn defeated Debra Bahr for the District 4 seat.
Elsewhere, Sherri Baxter and Zachary Neff defeated two opponents to win at large city council seats in Fremont.
In Pekin, Heidi Baker defeated Shawn Echelberry to keep her District 4 seat on the school board. Also in Pekin, voters approved Measure MK, to continue the physical plant and equipment levy for another ten years.
In contested races in Albia, Brian Bell defeated Gene Behrens to win an at large city council seat. And in the Ward 4 city council race, Brandon Williams defeated Riley Waters by four votes.
All of Tuesday’s election results will be certified by the respective county boards of supervisors on November 12.
Reba McEntire’s Single Again
Posted on by Bob Ballard
Reba McEntire is single again. The singer tells “Us Weekly” that she and her boyfriend of two years, Skeeter Lasuzzo, are over.
“Skeeter and I broke up in May, so, unfortunately, we will not be spending [the holidays] together,” she tells the magazine. “We still talk and we’re friends, but just decided to go our separate ways.”
Reba and Skeeter have been dating since 2017 after meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
On this day in 2010: “Country Strong,” starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw, premieres
Posted on by Bob Ballard
Today in 2010, the movie, “Country Strong,” starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw, premiered at Nashville’s Green Hills 16 theaters.
The film, about an emotionally unstable country music star who attempts to resurrect her career, was directed and written by American filmmaker Shana Feste. It premiered in Nashville, Tennessee on November 8, 2010, and had a wide release in the United States on January 7, 2011. This is the second film in which McGraw and Hedlund have worked together, the first being Friday Night Lights in 2004.
Juvenile arrested after shot fired in Oskaloosa
Posted on by Rick Watts
Oskaloosa Police arrested a juvenile male Monday night (11/4) after a report of a shot fired. Just after 10pm Monday, Police were called to the 700 block of North C Street. The initial report found a group of people was being disorderly in the street….and then it turned physical. A juvenile male then displayed a firearm and fired the weapon. The shot hit a home in the 700 block of Penn Boulevard; no one was injured. The suspect was later found, as well as the gun—which turned out to be stolen. The juvenile was placed in a detention center and charged with three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of discharging a firearm within the city limits, and one count each of fourth degree theft and carrying weapons.
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