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Local High School Student Dies in Accident on Highway 92

Posted on by Sam Parsons

MARION COUNTY — An accident on Highway 92 in Marion County on Friday night resulted in the death of a local high school student.

According to traffic records, on Friday evening at around 6:28pm, a Jeep Grand Cherokee was going westbound on Highway 92 when it lost its wheel. A passenger attempted to cross the highway to retrieve the lost tire when they were struck by another vehicle traveling westbound. The injured person was transported to Knoxville Hospital and Clinics and eventually life flighted to Des Moines. Life saving efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, and the injuries resulted in the death of 16-year-old Kyle Burk.

Burk was a student at Sigourney High School and formerly attended school in Oskaloosa. The Sigourney Community school district announced that additional counseling and support personnel will be available on campus for all students and staff this week, and there will be no school for PK-12 students on Thursday. After school activities will still be held.

Ford recalls more than 270,000 Broncos and Mavericks due to loss of power problem

Posted on by Sam Parsons

BANGKOK (AP) — Ford Motor Co. is recalling 272,827 Broncos and Mavericks due to a power problem that can cause vehicles to stop unexpectedly or fail to start.

Information from the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration says the problem is related to a 12 volt battery made by Camel Battery of China that has “internal manufacturing defects,” including weld failures that can cause open circuits.

It said there were no reports of accidents, fires or injuries caused by the problem.

The vehicles were made between February 2021 and October 2023, when Ford stopped using those specific batteries. The defects are thought to affect only 1% of the vehicles equipped with the batteries.

Ford pledged in November to review and improve its recall decision-making process and to submit to monitoring by an independent third party that will oversee its recall performance for three years after the U.S. government fine it for moving too slowly on an earlier recall.

The NHTSA said that after a previous recall of 2021-23 Ford Bronco Sport SUVs and 2022-2023 Ford Maverick pickups, some vehicles lost power including the ability to turn on hazard lights, without warning. The remedy involves software updates to improve detection of battery problems and provide warnings to drivers, it said.

Iowa House and Senate members propose 5-year moratorium on casino licenses

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

The author of a bill to establish a five-year moratorium on new casino licenses says it will be considered in a House committee next week.

Representative Bobby Kaufmann’s bill would block the bid for a new casino in Cedar Rapids. Backers of the Cedar Crossings Casino project say it would inject competition in Iowa’s gambling industry. Kaufmann rejects that.

“There is no such thing as a free market in the casino industry. That is a fallacy and it’s complete B.S.,” Kaufmann told statehouse reporters this morning. “The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is a government body that chooses winners and losers and the free market does not exist.”

A southeast Iowa lawmaker has introduced a bill in the Iowa Senate that would establish a five-year moratorium on new gambling licenses. Kaufmann’s bill, however, goes farther, It would set criteria in state law for regulators who’d be reviewing casino license applications in the future.

Backers of the Cedar Rapids project point to an estimate indicating the Cedar Crossings Casino would generate $60 million in gambling taxes for the state. Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, said “hundreds of people” who live in his House district are employed at the Riverside casino that would lose customers to a Cedar Rapids casino.

“The benefit does not outweigh people losing their jobs in my personal opinion,” Kaufmann said.

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is scheduled to vote February 6 on the Cedar Rapids casino plan. It’s possible a fast-tracked bill could be signed into law by the governor before then. Governor Reynolds has not indicated whether she supports a moratorium on new licenses.

Mahaska Chamber’s Next Coffee and Conversation is Tomorrow; to Feature Members of Iowa State Legislature

Posted on by Sam Parsons

OSKALOOSA — The Mahaska Chamber’s next Coffee and Conversation event is scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Previously known as Eggs & Issues, this engaging series of informative sessions provides Mahaska County residents with invaluable insights to state, county and local topics, fostering opportunities for community members to meet, learn, and discuss subjects important to community improvement. They are hosted at Smokey Row (109 S Market, St., Oskaloosa) from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM.
The dates for Coffee & Conversation and panel speakers are as follows:
January 25, 2025 – Iowa Senate #19 Ken Rozenboom and Iowa Senate #44 Adrian Dickey Iowa House #88 Helena Hayes and Iowa House #37 Barb Kniff-McCulla
February 8, 2025 – Mahaska County Schools
February 22, 2025 – Iowa Senate #19 Ken Rozenboom and Iowa Senate #44 Adrian Dickey Iowa House #88 Helena Hayes and Iowa House #37 Barb Kniff-McCulla
March 8, 2025- Mahaska Health, EMA, Sheriff/Police Department
March 22, 2025 – Iowa Senate #19 Ken Rozenboom and Iowa Senate #44 Adrian Dickey Iowa House #88 Helena Hayes and Iowa House #37 Barb Kniff-McCulla
Please reach out to Deann De Groot at the Chamber with any questions about the forum at ddegroot@mahaskachamber.org or by phone 641.672.2591.

Newton Couple Charged with Animal Neglect

Posted on by Sam Parsons

NEWTON — On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, Newton utility workers responded and investigated a broken water pipe at 731 N 4th Ave E. Upon arrival, the utility workers discovered the house was vacant with no heat and ice forming on the walls due to broken pipes. Workers head a dog inside and alerted the Newton Police Department.

Officers arrived to find the home locked and vacant. Attempts to contact the homeowner were unsuccessful. Given the extreme cold and the condition of the property, officers made an emergency entry into the residence. Inside, they found one deceased dog and another malnourished dog confined to the kitchen without food or water.

The surviving dog was immediately transported to Parkview Animal Hospital for emergency care. A search warrant was executed at the property, uncovering evidence suggesting the dogs had been abandoned for several weeks.

Following the investigation, Erick A. Fuerte Farias (30) and Marissa N. Fuerte (29) were identified as the dogs’ owners. Both individuals were charged with two counts of Animal Neglect Causing Serious Injury or Death, an aggravated misdemeanor. They were arrested and transported to the Jasper County Jail.

The Newton Police Department reminds residents to report suspected animal neglect or abuse immediately to ensure the safety and welfare of animals in the community.

One Tech Tip: How to delete Facebook, Instagram and Threads if you don’t like Meta’s changes

Posted on by Sam Parsons

LONDON (AP) — Should I stay or should I go — from Meta’s social media platforms?

That’s what some Facebook, Instagram and Threads users are wondering after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement this month that the company is relaxing rules on harmful content such as hate speech and abandoning its fact checking program and replacing it with crowdsourced notes.

The changes have renewed interest among some users about deleting their Meta social media accounts. If you want to stop using platforms owned by Meta, here are some pointers:

Save your data

Before deleting your Facebook account, you should download a copy of all your personal information, which includes details about your activity on the platform, things you’ve shared and data that the company has collected about you.

You’ll have to go to your settings or the accounts center — the master control panel for all your Meta accounts — where you can choose to download everything or just items such as your profile, posts, messages, comments and reactions, and list of friends, even the ads you’ve clicked on and IP addresses you’ve used to connect to Facebook.

You can download information from a certain date range, such as the past month or six months, or for all the time you’ve had an account. If you’re downloading photos, you can select their quality level: low, medium, high.

For security purposes, you’ll only have four days to download your file. The process is similar for Instagram and Threads users.

Instagram users will need a password to download and access files and it could take up to 30 days to receive a download link by email, the platform says on its help page.

Maybe you don’t want to download all your personal information but instead want to get any photos and videos you’ve posted. Facebook provides a separate option to transfer these files to another online service, with options including Google Photos, Dropbox or Photobucket.

Staying in touch

A tip for Facebook users: before you pull the plug, check if you have friends or connections you don’t want to lose complete contact with.

Send them a message asking for their phone, email or other non-Meta contact details. You could also make a final post telling people that you’re leaving, though there’s a chance not everyone will see it.

Take a break

If you’re not ready to go all the way, Facebook allows users to temporarily shut down their accounts in case they just want to take a break from social media.

You can do this through the account center, where you can click on the Personal details section, and then the Account ownership and control setting.

Temporarily deactivating an account means other users won’t see it anymore, but your posts, photos and videos won’t be deleted and you can still use Facebook Messenger. You can reactivate the account at any time.

Don’t change your mind too often: Instagram and Threads users can only temporarily deactivate their accounts once a week.

Deletion

Ready to take the plunge and delete your account permanently?

After tying up any loose ends, head back to the accounts center, click the Personal details section, and then Account ownership and control, where you can choose to delete it.

Once you’ve triggered the deletion process, you’ve got 30 days to change your mind, which you can do by logging back into your account and clicking the Cancel Deletion button.

“After 30 days, your account and all your information will be permanently deleted, and you won’t be able to retrieve your information,” Facebook warns on its help center.

Take note: Deleting a Threads account won’t have any effect on your corresponding Instagram account. But deleting an Instagram account will also result in the deletion of the linked Threads account because Instagram accounts are used to manage Threads accounts.

What about WhatsApp?

Meta also owns WhatsApp, although Zuckerberg’s content policy changes aren’t likely to affect the chat app.

Similar to Meta’s social platforms, WhatsApp users can export a copy of their chat history or ask for information on their settings or channels.

If you decide you want to get rid of WhatsApp and perhaps switch to competing chat services like iMessage or Signal, it’s easy to do through the app’s settings.

Deleting WhatsApp will erase your account info, your chat history backup and your presence from any chat groups as well as any channels you set up where you’re the only admin.

Weekly Fuel Report

Posted on by Sam Parsons

DES MOINES — The price of regular unleaded gasoline held steady, averaging $2.89 across Iowa according to AAA.

Crude Oil Summary

  • The price of global crude oil fell this week on the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) by $2.65 per barrel over last week, currently priced at $75.55.
  • Brent crude oil fell by $1.25 and is currently priced at $79.08.
  • One year ago, WTI crude sold for $75.26 and Brent crude was $81.70.

Motor Fuels

  • As of Wednesday, the price of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $2.89 across Iowa according to AAA.
    • Prices held steady from last week’s price and are up 20 cents from a year ago.
    • The national average on Wednesday was $3.13, up 4 cents from last week’s price.
  • Retail diesel prices in Iowa rose 5 cents this week with a statewide average of $3.44.
    • One year ago, diesel prices averaged $3.58 in Iowa.
    • The current Iowa diesel price is 23 cents lower than the national average of $3.67.
  • Wholesale ethanol held steady and is currently priced at $2.16.
  • The current Des Moines Terminal/Rack Prices are $2.04 for U87-E10, $2.21 for Unleaded 87 (clear), $2.42 for ULSD#2, $2.67 for ULSD#1, and $1.92 per gallon for E-70 prices.

Heating Fuels

  • Natural gas prices were up $.14 at the Henry Hub reporting site and are currently priced at $3.89/MMbtu.
  • Propane prices averaged $1.67 per gallon in Iowa.
  • Home heating oil prices had a statewide average of $3.04 per gallon.

Tips for saving energy on the road or at home are available at energy.gov and fueleconomy.gov.

Upcoming Webinar viewings at Mahaska County Extension

Posted on by Sam Parsons

OSKALOOSA — ISU Extension and Outreach -Mahaska County to host viewing of two exciting webinar series this winter/spring.  To register to join the viewing at the Mahaska County Extension office- please call 641-673-5841 or email striegel@iastate.edu

North Dakota State University Extension will host their Field to Fork webinar series starting  begin Feb. 12. The webinars will be held online from 2 to 3 p.m. through May 7.
Experts from across the region will provide information about growing, preserving and preparing specialty-crop fruits and vegetables safely in this 10th annual webinar series.
Topics that will be covered:
  • Feb. 12: How to Start Your Own Flower and Vegetable Transplants Indoors — Don Kinzler, Extension horticulture agent, NDSU
  • Feb. 19: Anatomy of a Food Recall — Bryon Chaves, Extension associate professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  • Feb. 26: Growing Tips for Summer and Winter Squash — Tom Kalb, Extension horticulturist, NDSU
  • March 5: Let’s Preserve Salsa (Live Demonstration) — Julie Garden-Robinson, Extension food and nutrition specialist and professor, NDSU
  • March 12: The Science Behind Indoor Plant Lighting — Esther McGinnis, Extension horticulturist and associate professor, NDSU
  • March 19: Pickling Safety — Cindy Brison, Extension educator, University of Nebraska
  • March 26: Tips and Tricks for Vegetable Production — Susie Thompson, associate professor and potato breeder, NDSU
  • April 2: Plant Pathology 101: Common Plant Diseases — Sam Markell, professor and interim plant pathology department chair, NDSU
  • April 9: All About Alliums: Garlic, Green Onion, Dry Bulb Onion, Leeks and Shallots — Harlene Hatterman-Valenti, professor, NDSU
  • April 16: Ghosts in Your Gardens — Janet Knodel, Extension entomologist and professor, NDSU
  • April 30: Food Preservation Toolkit — Karen Blakeslee, Extension associate, Kansas State University
  • May 7: Healthy Soil, Healthy Food — Carlos Pires, Extension soil health specialist and assistant professor, NDSU
The webinars will be held on Zoom, are free of charge, and can be watched independent of the group viewing at the Mahaska county Extension office.  Registration is required. Register on the Field to Fork website at ag.ndsu.edu/fieldtofork Participants will be sent reminder emails with the link.  The webinars also will be archived for later viewing, but participating in the live webinar allows participants to interact with the presenter.
This series is an ongoing collaborative effort with the North Central Food Safety Extension Network which includes experts from NDSU and around the region.  This project is made possible with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service.
Additionally, The North Central Food Safety Extension Network will present a trio of webinars about food trends for entrepreneurs.
This free series is designed to answer questions from food entrepreneurs about food safety. Each webinar is from 11 a.m. to noon.
“Through the power and popularity of social media and farmers markets, some home chefs are choosing to use their skills to sell food items following the requirements in their states,” says Julie Garden-Robinson, NDSU professor and Extension food and nutrition specialist. “This webinar series is designed to provide information for food entrepreneurs to help them safely prepare foods for sale or home use.”  The courses will be taught by experts around the region.
The first webinar, Best Practices for Food Entrepreneurs, will be held on Jan. 28. The speakers are Garden-Robinson and Karen Blakeslee, Extension associate.
The second webinar, Freeze Drying Foods: Science, Safety, and Cottage Industry, will be held on Feb. 4. This session will cover the science and food safety aspects involved in producers freeze-drying foods for sale to consumers. Mary-Grace Danao, research associate professor at University of Nebraska – Lincoln’s Food Processing Center, will speak.
The final webinar, Sourdough Starters: Care, Safety, and Preservation, will be held on Feb. 11. Caitlin Clark, a food scientist at Colorado State University Spur, will speak. This course will cover the basics of sourdough, its makeup and benefits and how to stay safe when preparing and preserving it.
These webinars can be viewed independent of the viewing at the Mahaska County Extension office.  To register to view any of the webinars on your own at https://iastate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_25HYHfTvilNyage. Registrants will be emailed a Zoom link to participate.
Read the NDSU Extension publication “Food Safety Best Practices for Local Food Entrepreneurs” for more information about preparing food for sale.

Vermeer Charitable Foundation Announces $100k Grant for Ice Rink Chiller Fundraiser

Posted on by Sam Parsons

PELLA — The board of the Vermeer Charitable Foundation recently announced the awarding of a $100,000 grant to the Spirit of Pella to jumpstart the purchase of an ice rink chiller targeted for installation at Pella’s Caldwell Park in November once the remaining $400,000 for the project can be raised.

“We are deeply grateful to the Vermeer Charitable Foundation for recognizing the opportunity to support such an exciting new amenity for Pella residents and visitors of all ages,” said Bob Zylstra, Spirit of Pella board member and chair of the group’s placemaking committee. “Ice skating has long been a popular activity in the Upper Midwest, and that’s absolutely true in Pella. But recently, we’ve experienced sustained below-zero temperatures only long enough to offer a couple of skating days each year,” Zylstra explained.

Caldwell Park’s current 50 x 120-foot ice rink backerboard system was first installed in 2017. Every year, the rink’s opening date is entirely weather dependent because rink ice is built up over several days using a water layering system. To build ice, Pella’s park staff members need a minimum of four consecutive days with temperatures below 32 degrees and no anticipated temperatures above 45 degrees in the 14-day forecast. The chiller will create and maintain ice whenever average daytime temperatures are below 50 degrees.

Spirit of Pella board member Kyle Nelson chairs the group’s Fundraising Committee. Their efforts have already generated a number of individual chiller project donations through Spirit of Pella’s Giving Tuesday and year-end outreach. The group is also submitting several grant applications and planning fundraising events over the next several months, hoping to raise the full $500,000 for the project by mid-summer. Chiller equipment will then be purchased, installed and then donated to the City of Pella which will manage and maintain the rink.

Those interested in making a donation can do so at spiritofpella.org/donate.

Osky Boys Notch Road Victory at Mount Pleasant

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa Indians boys basketball team hit the road on Tuesday night following a day in which school was canceled for the Oskaloosa School District, searching for their 5th win of the season against a struggling Mount Pleasant Panthers team that entered Tuesday night at 1-9.

The Indians were dealing with illnesses throughout their roster and were slightly shorthanded for the game. Between that and the school cancelation, the level of focus that the Indians brought to the matchup was going to be key going in; ultimately, there was no sign of lethargy to be found, as they came in ready to play.

Oskaloosa was able to pick up some early steam on offense thanks to some quality ball movement that set up close-range shots for senior forward Xavier Edwards. Edwards scored 8 points in the first quarter to help Osky jump out to a 16-12 lead.

From there, Oskaloosa’s defense stepped up and made life difficult for the Panthers. Edwards was tasked with limiting Mount Pleasant’s 6’7″ post player Noah Lange, and he consistently denied entry passes to Lange to prevent easy, efficient buckets for the Panthers. Players like Ethan Stek, Landon Romas, and Heavon Knox were poking balls free from Panther players’ handles all night long and jumping passing lanes to create turnovers. The Panthers weren’t able to get many shots up against the Indians because the Indians never gave them the real estate to find open looks; on top of the turnovers forced on-ball, the Indians forced multiple shot clock violations in the first half to frustrate Mount Pleasant.

“Compared to our last games, I think that our defense has been a lot better,” said Xavier Edwards post-game. “Especially coming off of that Norwalk loss…we definitely took some time to focus on getting back on defense, working on our talking and communication.”

The Indians defense limited the Panther offense to 28 points in quarters 2-4. Their offense maintained their pace to keep the Panthers from ever re-entering the game after the score was 27-20 Oskaloosa at halftime. The Indians hardly needed to feel any stress in the second half as they cruised to a 56-40 victory.

Tommy North led Oskaloosa with 16 points on the night. Xavier Edwards added 14, while Ethan Stek and Landon Romas each chipped in 7.

“We did enough to get it done,” said coach Erik McGee after the game. “There were some times where it wasn’t pretty, but when it came time, we were able to stretch that lead from 7 to 11…and we were able to put the game away late.”

Oskaloosa (5-7) will travel to Pella Christian on Friday night to take on the Eagles in a Little Hawkeye Conference girls and boys doubleheader. Coverage can be heard starting at 5:45pm on KBOE 104.9 FM and kboeradio.com.

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