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Football Season Nears, 28 Area Teams Will Battle On Gridiron

Posted on by KBOE Administrator

With the summer sports season now behind us, we now focus on the upcoming fall season and the excitement of football.

In 2016, the Mahaska Zone Network will again be covering 28 football teams representing 29 area schools in 11 districts in six classes.

In Class 4A, the Ottumwa Bulldogs are the lone area team, and they are in a very difficult District 8. They will be competing with Burlington, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Iowa City West, Linn-Mar, and Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Class 3A has a boatload of teams including two-time defending state champion Pella.

Oskaloosa is in District 5 and will be relishing a fresh start with new Head Coach Jake Jenkins. The Indians are joined by area teams Fairfield and Washington. The other teams in District 5 are Fort Madison, Keokuk, Mount Pleasant, Solon, and West Burlington/Notre Dame, who have bumped up from spending last year in Class 2A.

Pella is in District 6, looking for their third consecutive state title. It won’t be easy to even finish among the top teams in the district, as the team the Dutch beat in the championship game last year, Norwalk, is also in District 6. Grinnell and Knoxville join Pella as area teams. The non-area teams include Bondurant-Farrar, Carlisle, Nevada, North Polk, along with Norwalk.

Mid-Prairie is the only area team that plays in Class 2A District 5. They’ll try to get back to ranked territory as they were in the beginning of last season. They will face Anamosa, Camanche, Mediapolis, Mount Vernon, Northeast (Goose Lake), West Liberty, and Williamsburg in district play.

District 6 in Class 2A has several area teams headlined by perennial contender Albia. The Blue Demons lost some key pieces, including stud running back Carter Isley, but could again compete at the top of the district. They are joined by Centerville, Davis County, PCM, and Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, who jumps up from Class 1A. The non-area teams include Central Lee, Clarke, and Chariton, who drops from being a Class 3A playoff team last year.

Class 1A is the smallest class in terms of our area schools, as there is only three that we are covering.

In District 4, Sigourney/Keota will look to compete for a playoff spot. The Savage Cobras will again be playing against powerhouse Iowa City Regina, and will also face Columbus Community, Highland, Louisa-Muscatine, Wapello, Wilton, and Van Buren, who struggled as a Class A team last year.

There are two area teams in District 5, and both will look to be playoff teams. Pella Christian will bring back the dangerous duo of quarterback David Kacmarynski and athlete Levi Jungling as they look to make a deep playoff run. They’ll be challenged by Pleasantville, who will need to address a few open slots from key contributors if they want to improve on their success in Class A last year. Those two teams will have to play well, as the district is tough with the likes of Central Decatur, Des Moines Christian, Interstate-35, Mount Ayr, Woodward Academy, and Woodward-Granger all in the district.

BGM is the only area team representing the MZN area in Class A District 5. The Bears will be among the top contenders, but will have a gauntlet of tough competition all season long. They will face Belle Plaine, Colfax-Mingo, Gladbrook-Reinbeck, GMG (Garwin), Grand View Christian School, Hudson, and North Tama (Traer).

District 6 will be much busier in terms of area schools. 2015 playoff teams Lynnville-Sully, Montezuma, and Pekin will join with Cardinal and North Mahaska to make up a handful of area teams. Danville, New London, and Winfield-Mount Union round out the District 6 list.

Finally, in 8-Player football, there are two more districts with area teams.

English Valleys is going in alone in District 4 against six non-area schools. The Bears will look to improve from a couple of down years against Cedar Valley Christian, Easton Valley, Iowa Valley, Lone Tree, Midland, Springville, and WACO (Wayland).

District 5 has four area teams in 8-Player ball. Moravia had a great year last year, but after losing star quarterback Briar Cochran, they’ll have a tough go to repeat that success. Twin Cedars brings back several top athletes, and Melcher-Dallas and Tri-County are looking to build on young cores. They will not have an easy ride through their schedules as top teams Colo-Nesco and HLV await. Meskwaki Settlement School will also be in the mix at the top of the district, and Seymour/Moulton-Udell rounds out the district.

We will have plenty of football coverage spanning all of these area teams on radiokmzn.com as the season heats up.

We will continue to preview these districts with our area teams as time gets closer to kickoff for Week 1 on August 26.

Be on the lookout for the official release of the Mahaska Zone Network Game of the Week schedule, which will be coming later this week on radiokmzn.com.

Mahaska County Board Eye County Issues

Posted on by KBOE Administrator
Mahaska County Board of Supervisors met on Monday, Aug. 1 in a regular meeting.
Present were Recorder Sue Brown, Chair Willie Van Weelden, Vice Char Mike Vander Molen and Supervisor Mark Doland. Several items were approved in quick fashion, including the agenda and the minutes from the meeting of July 18. The bills from July were approved, and it was moved to accept the fourth quarter report from the Sheriff’s office.
Additionally, it was approved to cancel outstanding disbursements from fiscal year 14­15. “There are a couple of checks that were never cashed,” said Van Weeldenn, to the tune of $284.
A request from Co­Line Welding for a fireworks application was approved. Additionally, a liquor license, Class B Native Wine Permit, was approved for Frisian Farms Cheese.
There was a payroll change in the Sheriff’s department. The hiring of Benjamin Johnson as a Sheriff’s deputy was approved.
Due to some storm damage from July 13, 2016, there were some insurance claims turned in. “It’s not in our plan that we pay for these out of insurance,” said Van Weelden. “Even though it’s not part of the polic, it doesn’t mean that we can’t reimburse some or all of the cost,” said Vander Molen. “My biggest issue is with the employees who were parked in the lot, who suffered damage and are out of pocket” due to tiles that came off the courthouse roof.
There were three employee ­owned cars that suffered damage, parked on the north side of the building. Troy Bemis, Maintenance Director/Safety Coordinator stated that the tiles that did the damage were probably tiles from the north side, which were attached with nails and not among those that were repaired or replaced in 2015.
“If it was some of the tiles we had repaired, I can see us maybe not reimbursing them, but I know we strategically decided to not do the entire roof and that carries some of the risk, as we knew the tiles were more likely to [come off],” said Vander Molen, who made a motion to reimburse the three vehicles damaged by the storm of July 13, which passed.
In the case of a Secondary Roads employee requesting leave without pay, was brought by Dave Shanahan, County Engineer, before the Supervisors. After some discussion, it was decided to follow guidelines set forth in the handbook, which states that the employee must first exhaust their Shanahan also initiated discussion regarding a recent Secondary Roads retiree’s pro­rata vacation pay. Due to some uncertainty regarding what was stated in a union contract that was not renewed for the next year and county policy, the topic was tabled. “I’ll go visit with him, [see what] other options are acceptable and still be within the code and not effect the county policy, because if you do that for one, you’ve got to do it for everybody and we as an agency can’t afford to do that,” said Shanahan. “But it was one of those where there was really no clear­cut answer because of the fact that there were so many variables at the time of discussion.”
The floor was then opened for public comments. “I am representing a marathon,” said a female speaker. “Gov. Brandstad has signed a proclamation on the 26th of April, that the counties in Iowa could read the scripture audibly from Genesis to Revelation on the county courthouse properties throughout the whole state. It’s called the 99 County Bible­Reading Marathon.”
Fifty counties participated over the Fourth of July weekend, and there has been an extension so the remaining counties can participate in September. The marathon will begin onSept. 8 and continue through Sept. 11. “We have obtained insurance to cover this, if there is a question on insurance, and we would like permission to do this” said the speaker. “We are not going to go ahead until we have permission.” Vander Molen didn’t see that the item needed to be put on the next agenda for a vote. “You’re welcome to assemble as you wish,” he said. Another speaker stated that it was mandated by the state that they need permission to do the event. “We need to follow the proper steps,” he said, “so we’ve got this all in line.”
Van Weelden was going to check with some of the other counties that had participated in the marathon and see what they did, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, the group could proceed.
Story provided by the Oskaloosa Herald

Pet Of The Week: Philo

Posted on by KBOE Administrator
Hello, I’m Philo and I’m a 7-month old brown tabby kitten. I am now ready for adoption and would love to meet you. I was a little scared when I first came to the shelter, but I soon realized that these people are really nice and this is a great place to hang out until I can find my new family and new life. Come in and meet me and give me a little pet. I am very soft. I think I would be a great addition to your family, and I will be very happy to grow up on your lap!!

Erik Jones Takes U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway

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Forty drivers started Saturday’s U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway, but it was just a two-horse race with rookie Erik Jones and Ty Dillon combining to lead all but thirteen of the laps run.  When the dust settled, it was Jones parked in Victory Lane with his Number-20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.  He passed Dillon for his final lead of the night sixteen laps from the finish and stayed there the rest of the way, notching his third victory of the season and giving J-G-R a sweep of the two 2016 races run on the Newton oval.  Sam Hornish Junior won the front half of the Midwestern twin bill last month.  Jones’ margin of victory over Dillon was three-and-a-half seconds with Elliott Sadler, rookie Brennan Poole and Dakoda Armstrong completing the top five.  Jones started second, jumped past pole sitter Daniel Suarez at the drop of the green flag and led a race-high 154 laps.  Suarez failed to lead a lap and retired with engine failure in the second half of the race, finishing thirtieth.  As a result, he slipped to second in the regular-season standings and is now fourteen points behind Sadler.

August 1st: On This Day

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On this day in 2011, Chris Young‘s sophomore album, The Man I Want to Be, was Certified Gold by the RIAA, selling more than 500,000 units. The CD was released in September 2009 and produced three number one songs, “Voices”, “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song)”, and “The Man I Want to Be”.

Dakota Access Pipeline Equipment Set On Fire In Jasper County

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On August 1 st , 2016, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office received two separate reports of criminal mischief to excavating equipment located in Jasper County. The equipment was owned by companies performing work for the Dakota Access Pipeline project. During the investigation, it was determined that a bulldozer and two different tracked excavators were set on fire. Total damages for the equipment was estimated to be approximately 1,000,000.

The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office and the Newton Fire Department are investigating the cases. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa State Fire Marshall’s Office have also been notified.

We encourage members of the public to report any suspicious activity in and around the pipeline construction sites. Any information reported may be kept confidential.

Press Release by Sheriff John R. Halferty

Under The Radar Music: Spooner/Fire Town

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This week’s group is no longer around in their original form, but they made some great, catchy music with a midwestern feel while they were active in the 1980s and early 1990s. They began in Madison, Wisconsin as “Spooner”, and though their records were legendary around their home turf, they unfortunately never achieved commercial success.

Here’s one from their 1985 “Wildest Dreams” album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciF9szalLAc

Shortly after this album’s release, the band had a couple of personnel changes and decided to rename the band as well. “Fire Town” released their “In The Heart Of The Heart Country” album to rave critical reviews in 1987, but limited success. One of the tunes from this album was “Carry The Torch”:

The following year the band was signed by a major label, Atlantic Records. Though they might have thought they were on the cusp of success, it wasn’t in the cards. The title cut from the Atlantic album “The Good Life” was their strongest song to date, and only aired a few times on MTV before falling off the earth.

The group disbanded shortly thereafter, but some of the members went on to greater success. Drummer Butch Vig stayed at his Madison, Wisconsin Smart Studios and went on to record and produce Nirvana’s breakthrough “Nevermind” album, among others.

Singer/guitarist Duke Erikson re-emerged with a new (and much more famous) band, “Garbage” with Scottish singer Shirley Manson.

There’s a wealth of great music out there flying under the radar, and next time out, we’ll take another trip back to the 80s for a country/rock outfit that made a few ripples in the pond and promptly disappeared. Later, gang!

Judkins, Fiebelkorn Highlight Area Honorees For All-Star Series

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The baseball season is officially over in the state of Iowa, and the postseason accolades will continue to come in for the next couple of weeks.

One of these is the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Series Teams.

The All-Star Series is a round-robin tournament format to showcase some of the best players in the state. The four teams represent Small Schools West, Small Schools East, Large Schools West, and Large Schools East.

On the Small Schools West squad, Pleasantville’s Zeb Adreon will be on the infield, and he’ll be joined by teammate Brock Busick, who was selected as an outfielder.

For Small Schools East, BGM’s Kaiden Fiebelkorn will be on the infield. Fiebelkorn was fantastic this season on the mound and at the plate, and he is rewarded with this selection. He’ll be joined by Albia outfielder Bryce Leshen, who had a great season for the Blue Demons. Sigourney’s Lee Crawford will be one of the assistant coaches for the Small Schools East team.

Large Schools East has a couple of top-notch pitchers from the listening area among the four pitchers named to the team. Pella’s Grant Judkins will be heading to Iowa City to be a Hawkeye in the fall, but will play in the All-Star Series first. He’s joined by Ottumwa’s Parker Thode. Pella Head Coach Jesse Jablonski will be an assistant for the Large Schools East squad after leading the Little Dutch to the semifinal round of the State Baseball Tournament for the second straight year.

There are no area players on the Large Schools West team.

The round-robin action will take place at Mason City High School from August 4th through the 6th and the championship and consolation games will be played on August 7th.

George Strait Will Present Jim Lauderdale With A Special Award

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George Strait will present famed singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale with the Americana Music Association’s Wagonmaster Award during the upcoming 15th Annual Honors & Awards Show in Nashville. The annual ceremony will take place at Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium on September 21.

 

·       Named after country music icon Porter Wagoner, the Wagonmaster Award is a lifetime achievement honor reserved for the most valuable contributors to the Americana format.

·       Strait has recorded more than a dozen of Lauderdale’s songs in his career, including “Where The Sidewalk Ends” and “I Gotta Get to You.”

Flour Recall Prompts New Warning: Don’t Eat Dough Or Batter

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Health officials are puzzled about how the most basic baking ingredient — flour — became contaminated with bacteria normally found in animal feces.

The tainted flour has sickened 46 people in 21 states and prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to warn cooks to treat it like other foods that could cross-contaminate kitchen surfaces.

Plus, the Food and Drug Administration is cautioning consumers to never taste raw cookie dough or cake batter.

Testing points to flour produced at the General Mills facility in Kansas City, Missouri.

The company, which has recalled 45 million pounds of flour, says it does not believe the plant is the source of the bacteria.

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