By Sam Parsons
Windy conditions continue to present issues for open burns in the state of Iowa, as area fire departments have needed to respond to an increased amount of fires in recent days. 3 counties in the No Coast Network listening area – Jasper, Marion, and Poweshiek – have instituted burn bans until further notice.
Burn bans will remain in effect until conditions dangerous to life or property no longer exist. Violations of open burn bans are simple misdemeanors.
OTTUMWA — Firefighters had to contend with two fires on the evening of Tuesday, February 27, 2024. The first fire was just after 8:00 p.m. for a large area fire near Gray Eagle Wildlife Reserve, close to where a grass fire occurred on Friday, February 23. With the help of the Wapello Rural Fire Department, the fire was contained around 11:00 p.m. The wind and cold made this a difficult fire to fight, with smaller hoses starting to freeze by the end. As the Ottumwa Fire Department was cleaning equipment and reloading trucks, an alarm for a structure fire came in around 11:30 p.m. The structure fire was at 302 Tindell Street. All residents in the home made it safely out of the fire. The home was no longer able to be lived in and Red Cross was contacted to assist with housing. This fire was fought until about 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 28. This house fire is still under investigation.
By Sam Parsons
The Little Hawkeye Conference announced their 2023-24 girls all-conference selections yesterday. Student-athletes from Oskaloosa, Pella, Pella Christian, and Newton were honored, with the selections available below.
**unanimous selection
Kayla Reis, Senior, DCG**
Vanessa Bickford, Senior, DCG**
Bailey Birmingham, Junior, Norwalk**
Dasia Foster, Junior, Oskaloosa**
Kennedy Van Vark, Senior, Pella**
Alexa Guyer, Freshman, Indianola
Abby Warner, Senior, Pella
Rachel Kacmarynski, Freshman, Pella Christian
Devon Carlile, Junior, DCG
Josie Lampe, Senior, DCG
Brynn Bishop, Senior, Indianola
Zoey Belt, Junior, Indianola
Ava Carlson, Sophomore, Norwalk
Braelyn Clark, Junior, Norwalk
Faith Kacmarynski, Junior, Pella Christian
Tristan Gordon, Senior, Pella
Aubrey Johansen, Senior, DCG
Macy Meyer, Freshman, DCG
Dana Blake, Junior, Indianola
Madison Grover, Freshman, Indianola
Tori White, Sophomore, Newton
Alex Garvis, Junior, Newton
Pearl Brown, Sophomore, Norwalk
Anna Larson, Senior, Norwalk
Kassie Johnson, Senior, Oskaloosa
Haylee Parker, Freshman, Oskaloosa
Karis Fikkert, Senior, Pella Christian
Chloe Snyder, Freshman, Pella Christian
Sophia Reynolds, Senior, Pella
Katie Scheckel, Sophomore, Pella Christian
NEW YORK (AP) — Macy’s will close 150 unproductive namesake stores over the next three years, including 50 by year-end. The company made the announcement Tuesday after posting a fourth-quarter loss and declining sales. As part of the strategy, Macy’s aims to upgrade its remaining 350 stores, with plans to add more salespeople to fitting areas and shoe departments, while adding more visual displays like mannequins. At the same time the company signaled a pivot to luxury, which has fared better overall. The retailer plans to open 15 of its higher end Bloomingdale’s stores and 30 of its luxury Bluemercury cosmetics locations.
DES MOINES — Governor Kim Reynolds, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon invite Iowans to nominate individuals or families for the 2024 Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award.
Iowa farmers and landowners who implement proven practices to improve water quality and incorporate farming practices that conserve and protect our natural resources are eligible for the award. Awardees should also actively serve as leaders within the Iowa agriculture community. Since the creation of the award in 2012, 777 farm families have been recognized.
To be considered for recognition in 2024, nominations will be accepted through May 6, 2024.
“Farming and environmental stewardship have always gone hand-in-hand,” said Governor Reynolds. “The farm families who are recognized with an Environmental Leader Award balance their role to feed and fuel the world with their responsibility to preserve our state’s natural resources, leaving a remarkable legacy for generations to come.”
“Iowa continues to set records for conservation adoption and that would not be possible without the devoted farm families and landowners implementing proven water quality and soil conservation practices on their land,” said Secretary Naig. “We would encourage Iowans to nominate deserving individuals or families from their community and we look forward to recognizing these conservation leaders at the 2024 Iowa State Fair.”
“Every year, deserving farmers get an opportunity to share their stories about why they implemented conservation practices on their farms and the incredible impact it has made,” said Director Lyon. “This award is a perfect way to celebrate those who have gone above and beyond and acknowledge their hard work and commitment to improving soil and water quality.”
The recipients of the award will be honored during a ceremony on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, at the Iowa State Fair. Governor Reynolds, Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg, Secretary Naig and Director Lyon will present each awardee with an Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award sign and certificate.
The nomination form can be found on the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s website. An appointed committee representing conservation and agricultural groups will review the nominations and select the winners.
PELLA — Adam Duerfeldt, associate professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Minnesota, will speak at Central College’s Commencement ceremony, which will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium.
Duerfeldt, a 2006 Central graduate, currently leads a research group focused on developing new antibiotics and therapies for common eye diseases and teaches in the University of Minnesota’s College of Pharmacy. In 2018, Duerfeldt co-founded Excitant Therapeutics, a drug development company focused on developing new therapeutics for diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.
Duerfeldt’s interest in chemistry developed at Central while conducting independent research and eventually a senior thesis project with James Shriver, professor of chemistry.
“Adam’s success is no surprise,” Shriver says. “He was independent and productive in the lab. If I could have had him for two years, we likely would have published a paper on his work. He was that productive. And he still cares about Central students. He and another graduate were kind enough to meet with my students during their presentation at a National American Chemistry Society meeting a few years ago. He offered his support if they needed it in the future.”
While at Central, Duerfeldt played baseball, serving as the team captain for two years. He was the 2006 College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-American of the Year and garnered other athletics awards during his career. He was part of the first Iowa Conference championship team in 31 years. Duerfeldt was inducted into the Central College Hall of Fame in 2022 and served on Central’s National Advisory Council from 2015 to 2017.
A native of Urbandale, Iowa, Duerfeldt studied chemistry at Central and graduated with the highest distinction. After graduating from Central, Duerfeldt completed a doctorate in 2011 at the University of Kansas in medicinal chemistry, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Scripps Research Institute in California. He began his faculty career at the University of Oklahoma, where he remained for six years and was named Outstanding Professor of the Year in 2017. He moved to the University of Minnesota in 2020.
Duerfeldt and his wife, Katie, have two sons and live in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
WAPELLO COUNTY — Authorities in Wapello County extracted a vehicle that was submerged in the Des Moines River yesterday, and the incident is now under investigation.
On February 26, an individual called the Sheriff’s Office to report a submerged vehicle in the Des Moines River. The individual was boating/fishing near Rock Bluff Park when he observed the vehicle in the middle of the river.
On February 27, the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, Ottumwa Fire, and Deran’s Towing and Recovery formulated a plan to retrieve the vehicle. After several attempts the vehicle was eventually removed and the body of a deceased male was located inside. The identity of the body is not being released at this time and has been transported to Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner. The death is under investigation by the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office.
REGINA, Saskatchewan (AP) — A case of old hockey cards possibly containing the game’s Great One has fetched more than $3.7 million after it was discovered in a Regina home.
Heritage Auctions says the winning bidder bought the case of 16 sealed boxes of O-Pee-Chee’s 1979 hockey card collection, amounting to more than 10,000 cards. The auctioneer says the case could include 25 or more highly coveted Wayne Gretzky rookie cards.
A man in Regina had kept the case in a packed storage room. The auctioneer says the longtime collector asked to remain anonymous.
A company spokesperson has said he doesn’t expect the winning bidder will open the boxes, as they are rarer than the rookie cards.
By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)
A bill under consideration in the Iowa House would lower the state tax rate for Iowa’s state-licensed casinos to be at or near the tax rate for casinos in Nebraska and Missouri. Illinois casinos have variable tax rates, based on the size of the market and the games offered.
Mark Joyce, a lobbyist for the company that operates the Diamond Jo casinos in Northwood and Dubuque, said lowering taxes would be a welcome move. “It’s a very mature industry in Iowa and the newer casinos in surrounding states, in particular in Nebraska, are going to be brand new,” Joyce said. “They’re going to be taxed at 20% so for us to be able to have extra capital to put back in the properties and better compete for your business, that’s why.”
Lobbyist Doug Struyk represents the Catfish Bend Casino in Burlington, which he said is facing competition from new casinos in Illinois. Struyk also represents Caesars Entertainment which owns the Horseshoe and Harrah’s casinos in Council Bluffs that soon will be competing with a new casino in Omaha. “Tremendous amount of pressures on the industry, so we appreciate you taking a look at this,” Stryk said during a House subcommittee hearing today.
Gaming revenue from the three Council Bluffs casinos began to dip when the WarHorse Casino in Lincoln opened in September of 2022 and Harrah’s opened in Columbus, Nebraska in June of last year. Struyk said that has slowed the flow of gamblers from Nebraska into Iowa. “So it will to take additional investment in the facilities in Iowa to continue to be bright, shining new attractions to keep people wanting to come over and utilize the Iowa facilities instead of the Nebraska facilities,” Struyk said.
Another WarHorse Casino is expected to open in Omaha by August of this year. Representative Jane Bloomingdale is sponsoring the bill to gradually lower Iowa’s casino taxes over a three year period. She’s from Northwood. The state-licensed Diamond Jo casino is nearby.
“We’re lowering taxes for individuals, we’re lowering taxes for corporations, but we’re not lowering taxes for casinos. It just doesn’t seem fair,” Bloomingdale said. “If we’re going to lower taxes for everyone across the state of Iowa, we maybe need to look at everyone.”
Bloomingdale’s bill has cleared a House subcommittee, but one member of the panel said she’s concerned cutting casino taxes will lower the amount of money deposited in the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund. Money from the fund is used on a variety of projects, from lake dredging to constructing or repairing state-owned buildings.
OTTUMWA — Area firefighters responded to two fires over the weekend of February 23, 2024.
The first was a grass fire that occurred on February 23 in an empty field near the Gray Eagle Wildlife Reserve area. Both the Wapello County Rural Fire Department and the Ottumwa Fire Department responded. The fire was contained within three hours and no injuries were reported. The Ottumwa Fire Department would like to remind people in the area to be cautious with any fires over the next few weeks due to dry weather and high winds.
The second fire occurred Sunday, February 25, at around 10:21 p.m. The Ottumwa Fire Department was called to 706 West Fourth Street for a reported fire. The residence was fully involved upon arrival and siding damage was done to a neighboring house. The fire was under control by 4:00 a.m. The Ottumwa Fire Department asks citizens to stay clear of this area due to the instability of remaining structures and hot spots. Hot spots are being checked regularly. No injuries were reported and nobody was present at the location upon arrival. This fire remains under investigation.
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