DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state senator is back at the Iowa Capitol after a brief illness that resulted in him being taken by ambulance to a Des Moines hospital.
Sen. Rich Taylor, a Democrat from Mount Pleasant, says in a statement he was feeling “ill” Monday at the Capitol. He says he was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Taylor said he was released after subsequent tests came back “OK.” He was later back in the Senate for floor debate.
Florida Georgia Line leads the pack of country nominees at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards. The duo picked up six nominations in five categories at the annual show, including an all-genre nod for Top Duo/Group. Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and Hillary Scott follow close behind with three nominations apiece, with Scott earning her nods in the Christian categories.
Additionally, Luke Bryan earned an all-genre nomination for the Billboard Chart Achievement Award, as well as a nod for Top Country Tour.
The 2017 Billboard Music Awards will air on May 21 at 8 PM ET on ABC.
The full list of country nominees at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards:
(all-genre) Billboard Chart Achievement Award Presented by Xfinity:
Luke Bryan
Nicki Minaj
The Chainsmokers
The Weeknd
Twenty One Pilots
(all-genre) Top Duo/Group:
The Chainsmokers
Coldplay
Florida Georgia Line
Guns N’ Roses
Twenty One Pilots
Top Country Artist:
Florida Georgia Line
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban
Chris Stapleton
Jason Aldean
Top Country Tour:
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Dixie Chicks
Top Country Album:
Jason Aldean, They Don’t Know
Florida Georgia Line, Dig Your Roots
Blake Shelton, If I’m Honest
Chris Stapleton, Traveller
Keith Urban, Ripcord
Top Country Song:
Kenny Chesney Featuring Pink, “Setting The World On Fire”
Florida Georgia Line, “H.O.L.Y.”
Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
Little Big Town, “Better Man”
Keith Urban, “Blue Ain’t Your Color”
Top Country Collaboration:
Dierks Bentley Featuring Elle King, “Different For Girls”
Kenny Chesney Featuring Pink, “Setting The World On Fire”
Eric Church Featuring Rhiannon Giddens, “Kill A Word”
Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
Chris Young Featuring Vince Gill, “Sober Saturday Night”
Top Christian Song:
Lauren Daigle, “Trust In You”
Hillary Scott & The Family, “Thy Will”
Skillet, “Feel Invincible”
Ryan Stevenson Featuring GabeReal, “Eye Of The Storm”
Zach Williams, “Chain Breaker”
Top Christian Album:
Casting Crowns, The Very Next Thing
Lauren Daigle, How Can It Be
Joey + Rory, Hymns
Hillary Scott & The Family, Love Remains
Skillet, Unleashed
Top Christian Artist:
Lauren Daigle
Hillsong Worship
Hillary Scott & the Family
Skillet
Chris Tomlin
On this day in 1982, Merle Haggard’s “Big City” rose to #1 on the Billboard Country Singles chart. The song was released as the second single and title track from his album of the same name.
“Big City” became Haggard’s 27th number-one single on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
Blake Shelton was in his hometown of Tishomingo, Oklahoma, last week to break ground on Ole Red Tishomingo, his new entertainment venue that’s scheduled to open this fall. Donning a hard hat and wielding a hammer, Blake joined Tishomingo Mayor Tom Lokey, Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby, and Ryman Hospitality Properties Chairman and CEO Colin Reed to officially kick off the site’s construction.
· The new site will boast a 4,700-square-foot restaurant and performance space as well as a 1,400-square-foot retail store.
· Blake says, “This song has been such a big record for me. And now it’s turned into this. It’s pretty incredible. When you go in there, it’s going to be our lifestyle, our lifestyle here in Tishomingo.”
· The Tishomingo venue is part of the Ole Red brand, which will be anchored by a $20 million multi-level entertainment venue that’s set to open on Nashville’s Lower Broadway in 2018.
Canton, Mo.–Chyanne Koko (Jr., Waianae, Hawaii, Physical Education) and Tabitha Scott (So., Placentia, Calif., Psychology) were both exceptional on the rubber Sunday as the Statesmen softball team battled to a doubleheader split in Heart of America Athletic Conference play.
WPU (17-18, 5-11 Heart) won the opener 1-0 (9 innings), but dropped the nightcap 1-0.
Koko was not only a dominating figure in the pitching circle, but also landed success at the plate. After the sides combined for eight scoreless innings, the junior, who finished with two hits, led off the ninth frame with a single. She was then moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt and eventually scored the game’s only run on a throwing error.
The navy and gold also had chances in the first, fifth, and sixth frames (third base in the sixth), but failed to bring any runners across in those situations.
Koko battled through a few tense moments, stranding runners in scoring position four times. She struck out six Wildcats and walked two in nine scoreless innings.
The Statesmen finished with a 5-4 edge in hits.
Scott was even better in the second matchup, but was unable to join Koko in the winner’s circle. After giving up a two-out single in the bottom of the first, the sophomore rolled through the Culver-Stockton (16-14, 10-11 Heart) lineup, retiring 16 straight to get to the seventh inning knotted in another scoreless tie.
WPU held a 4-2 edge in hits and advanced runners into scoring position in three frames, but failed to score. Brooklyn Bantz (Jr., Smithville, Mo., Psychology and Human Services) topped the visitors with two hits.
Unfortunately, the Statesmen ended up on the negative side of a late score as Katie Kroll closed the twinbill with a lead-off solo home run.
Scott tallied one strikeout in the loss.
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Tuesday to host Graceland in a Heart doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.
Story provided by Wade Steinlage
BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities in southeast Iowa have arrested three men suspected of passing counterfeit $100 bills.
The Hawk Eye reports (http://bit.ly/2nTK2HI ) that two of the men were arrested Saturday morning at a Shopko store in Burlington. Police say employees had noticed problems with a bill one of the men tried to use in a checkout lane. The third man was arrested later in the day.
Police say 51-year-old Curtis Davis, of Tampa, Florida, and 32-year-old Joseph Wilcox, of Chiefland, Florida, are charged with forgery. Twenty-seven-year-old Dander Smith, also of Tampa, is charged with marijuana possession and interference with official acts. Online court records don’t list the names of attorneys who could comment for the men.
Police Lt. Greg Allen says investigators suspect the men have passed counterfeit $100 bills in several states.
Trisha Yearwood will miss an upcoming tour stop with husband Garth Brooks, but she has a pretty good reason for doing so. In a video posted on Facebook Thursday (4/6), Trisha told fans that she won’t be at the April 30 date on Garth’s upcoming run in Champaign, Illinois, because it falls on the same day as the Daytime Emmy Awards, where her cooking show, Trisha’s Southern Kitchen, has earned a nomination for Outstanding Culinary Program.
· The Garth Brooks World Tour is scheduled to hit Champaign on April 28-30 at the State Farm Center.
· Trisha’s Southern Kitchenwon the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Culinary Program in 2013.
On this day in 1997, Reba McEntire’s “How Was I To Know” was at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. The song was released as the second single from the album What If It’s You.
“How Was I To Know” was on the top of the chart for one week, before being succeeded by “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing” by Trace Adkins.
Darius Rucker has partnered with 843 to develop his own signature brand of whiskey, dubbed Backstage Southern Whiskey. The whiskey gets its name from a pre-show ritual Darius has on the road, in which he gathers his tour mates, band members, and any special guests backstage to raise a glass of whiskey as “good luck” to ensure a great show. Rucker says, “That toast is a vital part of our nightly routine. It’s really about celebrating the opportunity to make music together. And Backstage Southern Whiskey is now a part of that important ritual that we can share with fans.”
· Backstage Southern Whiskey will first be introduced in Rucker’s home state of South Carolina, with distribution in Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee to follow.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A fast-moving Iowa bill would eliminate the public’s right to access 911 calls involving emergencies in which people are injured, sealing key information about public safety.
The House has approved the measure and a Senate committee will discuss it Thursday.
The bill declares that 911 calls involving injured victims are medical records and exempt from Iowa’s open records law. That means authorities’ initial response to shootings, stabbings and many other incidents would face less scrutiny.
Calls involving juveniles would all be confidential.
GOP Rep. Dean Fisher says the legislation comes in response to the release of 911 calls to The Associated Press last year that exposed a string of gun accidents in Tama County that killed two teens and injured a third.
Fisher says medical privacy outweighs the public’s right-to-know.
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