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Iowa’s opioid settlement dollars remain in limbo

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

Nearly $27 million in state funding that could have been used for prevention and treatment of opioid use won’t be spent.

States are getting money from legal settlements with pharmaceutical companies and distributors accused of fueling the opioid crisis, but Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate can’t agree on how money in the Iowa’s Opioid Settlement Fund should be spent. Republicans in the Senate favored letting Iowa’s attorney general and the Department of Health and Human Services distribute the money. House Speaker Pat Grassley said Republicans in the House had a different idea.

“We wanted to get is assign some of those dollars to specific projects, but at the same time not just blanket hand those dollars over to the department,” Grassley said. “…We wanted to at least set up an advisory board that the legislature would have some input on.”

The 2024 legislative session ended April 20, without a decision on how to spend the opioid settlement money.

The state’s Opioid Settlement Fund will eventually receive $144 million over the next several years. That is to be split evenly between state and local governments in Iowa. House Republicans proposed that a new council made up of opioid experts in state government and the private sector review grant applications and make recommendations to the legislature for approval.

“To get those kind of dollars that you’re talking about out the door, I think the legislature should be involved in that conversation and ultimately that’s where the differences boiled down to,” Grassley said, “turn it over to the department or have a little bit more control by the legislature.”

Grassley made his comments during a recent appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS.

Drake Repeats as Assistant COY, All-Heart Awards Announced

Posted on by Sam Parsons

OSKALOOSA — Huge results came from the William Penn distance runners last weekend, and due to his efforts in leading the group, Assistant Track and Field Coach Caleb Drake was honored by the Heart of America Athletic Conference as it announced its top awards from its outdoor championships.

Drake was named the Heart Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year after his athletes produced 49 of William Penn’s 117 total points.  Also the head cross country coach, he won the laurel during the indoor campaign as well.

Drake is now the fourth-consecutive member of WPU’s staff to win the laurel on the men’s side as fellow assistant Zuva Bvekerwa claimed it during last year’s indoor and outdoor campaigns.

Drake’s athletes scored in seven different events, led by wins from D’Artagnon Beaver (Jr., Rockford, Ill., Human Services) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 5,000-meter run.

Overall, William Penn placed second out of 12 teams.

On the men’s side, Myles Ellis of MidAmerica Nazarene won the Heart Track Athlete of the Meet award, while Colder Evans of Central Methodist won the Field Athlete of the Meet accolade.  CMU’s Kenny Anderson was voted as Heart Coach of the Year by his peers.

On the women’s side, Track Athlete of the Meet honors went to Nikiwe Mongwe of MNU, while teammate Reanna Green took home the Field Athlete of the Meet recognition.  Anthony Yates (MNU) and Jeff Barker (Mount Mercy) were named Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year, respectively.

The following are the all-Heart awards won by WPU male and female athletes:

First-team all-Heart (Heart champion)
D’Artagnon Beaver (Jr., Rockford, Ill., Human Services)–9:23.80 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase; 15:27.13 in the 5,000-meter run
Showalter Johnson (Jr., Nassau, Bahamas, New Media)–10.40 in the 100-meter dash
Abigaille Batu-Tiako (Sr., Plattsburgh, N.Y., Business Management)–12.34 in the 100-meter dash
Brandon Williams (Jr., Fountain, Colo., Civil Engineering)–1:54.10 in the 800-meter run
Anthony Weaver (Fr., Demopolis, Ala., Mechanical Engineering)–47-7 in the triple jump

Second-team all-Heart (Second place)
Showalter Johnson–21.58 in the 200-meter dash
Jonah Heckenberg (Sr., Stockport, Iowa, Business Management)–4:02.66 in the 1,500-meter run
Nick Marshall (Jr., Glenpool, Okla., Human Services)–184-8 in the hammer throw at 184-8.
Men’s 4×800-meter relay–7:43.70

Third-team all-Heart (Third place)
John Webb (Fr., Dothan, Ala., Mechanical Engineering)–45-10 in the triple jump

Honorable-mention all-Heart (Fourth through sixth place)
Xzavion West (So., Guthrie, Ky., Undecided)–175-3 in the hammer (fourth) and 47-3 in the shot put (sixth)
Women’s 4×100-Meter Relay–49.02 (fourth)
Micah Mills (Fr., Houston, Texas, Psychology)–45-2.25 in the triple jump (fifth)
Alexandra Rose (Jr., Quincy, Ill., Exercise Science)–12.87 in the 100-meter dash (fifth)
Erica Martin (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Sports Management)–47-7.75 in the shot put (fifth)
Men’s 4×100-meter relay–42.45 (fifth)
Men’s 4×400-meter relay–3:23.92 (fifth)
Tahj Ferguson (Sr., Hartford, Conn., Psychology)–22-9.25 in the long jump (sixth)
Women’s 4×800-meter relay–10:11.71 (sixth)

Unveiling the Magic: Oskaloosa Artist’s Giant Moon Goddess to Shine in Lantern Parade

Posted on by Sam Parsons
OSKALOOSA, Iowa — Brant Bollman, the director of Theatre Arts at William Penn University and puppetmaster at Uplifting Puppet Co., is being recognized with a prestigious 2024 Des Moines Art Week Fellowship.
The partnership will see Bollman collaborating with members of the Drake neighborhood in Des Moines to bring to life an enchanting night market event on June 14. This event promises an eclectic mix of vendors, culinary delights, and captivating entertainment, culminating in a mesmerizing lantern puppet parade down Kingsman Boulevard.
“The parade theme is ‘The Magic of the Night,'” Bollman explains. “It’s about tapping into childhood dreams and the mystical essence of the night. We want to evoke that sense of wonder and enchantment.”
Central to the parade will be the unveiling of a magnificent giant puppet crafted by Bollman and his team of students and neighborhood creatives. “We’re creating a giant moon goddess, this big beautiful indigo-colored lady who will float down the streets, puppeteered by eight or nine people,” Bollman elaborated. “It’s a community effort, with drummers, fire spitters, belly dancers, and individuals carrying their own lanterns joining the procession.”
Bollman is well known for crafting and performing giant street puppets known as ‘Uppets’ for parades, marches, and rallies. He is a featured entry each December in the Oskaloosa Holiday Lighted Parade. He emphasizes his role as a creator of magical moments. Alongside his grand creations, Bollman crafts smaller stick puppets, and he writes, teaches, and performs storytelling shows for children and adults with his art.
Crafting large creations requires meticulous planning. Bollman detailed the process: “First thing you need is a large space, and fortunately, we have the support of King Au, a world-famous photographer in Des Moines who has offered us the use of his studio. Then, we sculpt the face, create a thermoplastic mold, and construct the body using unconventional materials like pool noodles.”
The community engagement doesn’t stop at the parade; it extends to a series of pop-up lantern workshops leading up to the event. “We’ll be hosting free lantern-building workshops at various locations in the Drake neighborhood,” Bollman shared. “It’s a way for everyone to get involved, to unleash their creativity and become part of the magic.”
As Bollman and his team prepare to illuminate the streets with their enchanting creations, the magic of their artistry promises to captivate hearts and minds, showing true art knows no boundaries.
Bollman noted, “What we’re creating here is world-class art, bringing communities together and igniting imaginations.”
The 2024 Des Moines Art Week is June 9 -15, and the Magic of the Night parade is June 14. This project is supported by Invest DSM, Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation, Visionary, National Endowment for the Art and the Iowa Arts Council and Axios Des Moines.

Boeing calls off its first astronaut launch because of valve issue on rocket

Posted on by Sam Parsons

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Boeing called off its first astronaut launch because of a valve problem on the rocket Monday night.

The two NASA test pilots had just strapped into Boeing’s Starliner capsule for a flight to the International Space Station when the countdown was halted, just two hours before the planned liftoff.

United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno said an oxygen pressure-relief valve on the upper stage of the company’s Atlas rocket started fluttering open and close, creating a loud buzz.

The valve may have exceeded its 200,000 lifetime cycles, Bruno said, which means it would have to be replaced, pushing the launch into next week. But if engineers can determine the valve is still within that limit, the launch team could try again as soon as Friday.

It was the latest delay for Boeing’s first crew flight, on hold for years because of capsule trouble.

Bruno said similar valve trouble had occurred in years past on a few other Atlas rockets launching satellites. It was quickly resolved by turning the troublesome valves off and back on. But the company has stricter flight rules for astronaut flights, prohibiting valve recycling when a crew is on board.

“And so we stayed with the rules and the procedures, and scrubbed as a result,” Bruno said at a press conference.

NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich acknowledged it was a tough call.

“We’re taking it one step at a time, and we’re going to launch when we’re ready and fly when it’s safe to do so,” Stich told reporters.

Within minutes of the countdown halting, Boeing’s new astrovan was back at the launch pad to retrieve Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from their pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Starliner’s first test flight without a crew in 2019 failed to reach the space station and Boeing had to repeat the flight. Then the company encountered parachute issues and flammable tape.

NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX a decade ago to ferry astronauts to and from the space station after the shuttle program ended, paying the private companies billions of dollars. SpaceX has been in the orbital taxi business since 2020.

Regents to consider tuition increase at the three state universities

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

The Board of Regents will hear the first reading of proposed tuition increases at the three state schools during their meeting Friday.

The proposal would increase in-state tuition by3% at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, and a 2.5% at the University of Northern Iowa. That amounts to a $270 increase at the UI and ISU, and a $168 at UNI.

They are also requesting a 3% increase in mandatory fees at UNI, a 2.5% increase at ISU, and 1.3% increase at the UI. The tuition increase comes after the Regents requested $14.8 million more in state funding and the Legislature approved a $12.3 million increase.

Steil Tops SICL Girls Golf Field

Posted on by Sam Parsons

OSKALOOSA – Sometimes a little extra practice comes in handy. For North Mahaska sophomore Aly Steil that extra work came on the putting green. Monday, she mastered the 18-hole Oskaloosa Golf Course shooting an 84 to win medalist honors to outdistance second place Jacey Reineke of Belle Plaine with a 98.

North Mahaska placed seventh in the 10-team event with a 521. BGM topped the field with a 446. Colfax-Mingo and Montezuma tied with a 465 to finish with a second and third. Iowa Valley and HLV finished fourth and fifth with a 485.

Steil started the day with the only ball on the green on the first hole and scored a par to get her day started. She went on to card a 41 on front nine. The back nine at the course is considered one of the toughest in the area. She shot a 43 on the back.

“It felt pretty good to begin that way,” said Steil. “I hoped to play bogie golf today. I have been doing some putting drills and that has helped a lot. I had trouble on 13 and 16. Position was the key. I hit into the trees on 16 and had to play it safe to get out.”

Avary Westercamp finished with a 65-70 – 135; Lacey Campbell 72-76 – 148 and Elise Westercamp 78-76 – 154.

The Warhawks will now prepare for the regional tournament this Friday at Sigourney Golf Club.

North Mahaska’s finish as a team at the conference meet was one that has not occurred for some time. With a team of four golfers who had not played competitively it was pleasing to coach Al Hodgeman.

“This is a special group,” said Hodgeman. “I am really proud of Aly. She wants to be prepared and puts in the work to be her best.”

Team Scores: 1. BGM 446; 2. Colfax-Mingo 465;  3. Montezuma 465; 4. Iowa Valley 485; 5. HLV 485; 6. Sigourney 496; 7. North Mahaska 521; 8. Belle Plaine 538; 9. English Valleys 542; 10. Lynnville-Sully 591.

28th Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America Stops in Oskaloosa

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Sam Parsons

The 28th Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America came through Oskaloosa yesterday. Over 150 motorcycle riders made a pit stop at Kelderman Manufacturing on Highway 92 and racing fans got to meet a few racing legends, including Richard Petty and Kenny Wallace, all while having the opportunity to donate to the charity that the ride benefits: Victory Junction.

Petty said that the city of Oskaloosa had rolled out the red carpet in ways that even he wasn’t used to.

Victory Junction President and CEO Chad Coltrane has been touring with the riders. He said that the charity ride was the single largest source of donations for the camp every year, and highlighted some of the good work they do.

Oskaloosa Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt spoke briefly at the event and read a proclamation from the city of Oskaloosa that May 6, 2024, would be known as Kyle Petty Charity Ride Day in the city. 

Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America Facebook Page

Victory Junction Website

Tom Brady’s Netflix roast features lots of humor, reunion between Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick

Posted on by Sam Parsons

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Three months before Tom Brady gets roasted by critics as Fox Sports’ top NFL analyst, he took his share of barbs from comedians, former teammates and his longtime coach Sunday night during a made-for-streaming comedy live event on Netflix.

And it is safe to say after the one liners and jokes Brady heard during three hours of “The Greatest Roast of All Time” at The Forum, he will do just fine.

“It’s like a football game. You run with a game plan, and then you get to see kind of how the strategy goes, and then you adjust on the fly,” Brady said before the event. “This is what a locker room has been like for me for all these years. So it’s not like I’m used to people not making fun of me.”

Comedian Nikki Glaser, whose monologue was among the funniest of the night, termed the roast as “the comedians’ Super Bowl” and how the competition level was ramped up because everyone wanted to one-up each other.

Brady sustained more blitzes and pressure than he did during an average NFL game as an impressive lineup of comedians, former teammates and opponents took the stage . Host Kevin Hart said before the event that no topic was off limits, and Hart went on the offensive early with jokes about Brady’s ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen.

“Gisele gave you an ultimatum. She said you retire or we’re done. When you got a chance to go 8-9 and all it will cost you is your wife and your kids, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” Hart said, referring to Brady coming out of a brief retirement in 2022 for one more season.

The only time Brady objected to a joke was when Jeff Ross made a reference to Patriots owner Robert Kraft and massages. In 2019, Kraft originally received a misdemeanor charge that he paid for sex at a Florida massage parlor. Prosecutors later dropped the charge after courts blocked the use of video from cameras installed by police inside the massage parlors.

Brady walked up to Ross and said in his ear “don’t say that (stuff) again”, but it was clearly caught on the microphone and heard by those watching the roast at home. It was not heard by those in attendance.

Later, Kraft and former Patriots coach Bill Belichick did a shot together on stage after some coaxing from Hart.

Belichick was fired in January after 24 seasons with the Patriots, and a lot has been written about friction between the six-time winning Super Bowl coach and owner over the past couple years.

After joking about this being like a reunion and “unlike many family reunions there are some people I am desperately trying to avoid”, Kraft praised Belichick for what the two accomplished.

“I want to say this is the greatest coach in the history of the game that did what no one else has done. And having Tom Brady and him was the greatest honor the good Lord gave me,” Kraft said.

It wasn’t the first shot (of alcohol) that Belichick took. Rob Gronkowski got Belichick and Brady to do a shot together after his monologue. Gronkowski celebrated by spiking his shot glass.

Belichick appeared at the beginning of the roast during a pre-taped segment when he told Brady that he was “starting the roast” instead of Drew Bledsoe. Brady replaced Bledsoe in 2001 when Bledsoe was injured in a Week 2 game against the Jets and led the Patriots to their first Super Bowl title that season.

“For all of you out there who think about who’s responsible for the Patriots success during the time Tom and I was together — was it Tom or me — in reality the truth of the matter was it was both of us because of me,” Belichick said.

Brady did have some fun at Belichick’s expense though near the end of the show.

“I’ve been out of the game for a minute, so I’m curious, how many Super Bowl rings have you won since I left?,” Brady said. “Maybe it’s not just the guy on the sideline. When I go to the Indy 500, I don’t ask the winning driver, `Hey, you gassed up your car?;”

Hart said before the show that he thought Brady was in a great mindset going into the event. Brady did come in well prepared, going over his monologue with a group of people, including those at Fox Sports.

“You have to be able to laugh at yourself and I love that he is doing in this forum,” Hart said. “I love that he is embracing the things that some people think he runs away from. It is a celebration of greatness and we are doing it in a fun way.”

Bledsoe also said that Brady has had a sense of humor, but that this was a different stage.

“I thought he was very brave. There’s plenty of material to make fun of him on,” Bledsoe said. “The truth is when you’re a professional athlete, roasting each other is kind of what we do every day in the locker room. And so, you better have thick skin going in. Now, people get to laugh along with it.”

Department of Education finds error in calculating graduation rates

Posted on by Sam Parsons

By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

The State Department of Education is updating some of its previously reported high school graduation rates.

The Education Department announced today that the data used to calculate the graduation rates the last 10 years left out students who had transferred to another school and then dropped out. Most recently, the correction increased the 2023 graduation rate by a tenth of a point to 87.5%. The rates for 2021 and 2022 fell by more than two percentage points to 87.8% for 2021 and 87.4% for 2022.

The Department says in a statement that Iowa’s four-year graduation rate for the class of 2023 is consistent with the national standard and it is above the 2023 rates reported by Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.

North Mahaska Boys 2nd, Girls 4th at SICL Meet

Posted on by Sam Parsons

Boys

MARENGO – North Mahaska has been chasing the 1,600-meter relay record all season and on Friday accomplished the feat. The effort helped them to a second place finish at the South Iowa Cedar League championships in Marengo.

The meet began on Tuesday, April 30 but due to weather did not conclude until Friday. The meet resumed for the running of the 400 and 1,600 meter relays. Lucas Nunnikhoven, Kaleb Stout, Nate Sampson, Andy Knockel chased down a 31-year old mark set in 1993. The Warhawk quartet covered the distance in 3 minutes 30.54 seconds to beat the record held by Charlie Newport, Jeremy DeBoef, Bryan Jackson and Ben DeBoef, who held the record at 3:31.7.

In the meet NM picked up four first place finishes, three seconds and doubled in three events. Iowa Valley won the meet with 132 points with NM scoring 108. Lynnville-Sully was third with 100.5.

Nunnikhoven notched a win the 400 hurdles in 57.67. Andy Knockel won the 400 in 50.30 and teammate Asher DeBoef was sixth in 55.25. The other victory came in the 3,200-meter relay with the team of DeBoef, Sampson, Ben Yang and Brayden Veiseth in 8:37.36.

Knockel took second in the 200 meters in 23.12 and added a fourth in the 100 in 11.43. Veiseth added a second in the 1,600 in 4:51.83 and DeBoef was seventh in 5:13.09. Veiseth and Sampson ran 3-4 in the 800. Veiseth finished in 2:07.86 while Sampson ran 2:10.88.

“I speak for coach Amy Griffin, as well, to say that these kids have been particularly fun to coach throughout the season,” said coach Phil Griffin. “It was a difficult season, weather wise, and we missed several meets, and the hardest one to miss is our own home relays. But, through it all, the kids kept good attitudes and competed to the max, when they did get to compete.

Hunter Wernli, Chance Angle, Stout and Yang placed second in the distance medley in 3:52.75. Wernli. Nunnikhoven, Angle and Gage Ries were third in the sprint medley in 1:40.24. The 800-meter relay team of Wernli, Ries, Angle and Stout was fourth in 1:37.23.

The Warhawks’ 400-meter relay team was fifth in 47.12 and the shuttle hurdle was sixth in 1:11.66. Nunnikhoven was sixth in the long jump with a leap of 19-feet 5-inches. Austin McMahan was eighth in the discus with a throw of 96-5. Max Reed ran eighth in the 100 hurdles in 18.23.

North Mahaska will participate in the Class 1A district meet at Sigourney on Thursday.

Team Scores: 1. Iowa Valley 132, North Mahaska 108, 3. Lynnville-Sully 100.5, 4. Montezuma 93, 5. English Valleys 78, 6. Belle Plaine 67, 7. Sigourney 52, 8. BGM 46, 9. Colfax-Mingo 26, 10. HLV 25, 11. Keota 11.5.

Girls

Sophomore Emmerson Jedlicka and freshman Nataliya Linder picked up individual wins to help the North Mahaska girls track team to a fourth place finish at the South Iowa Cedar League championships the past week. English Valleys took the top spot with 115 points with Lynnville-Sully and HLV tying for second with 113. NM scored 101.5.

Jedlicka won the 3,000 meters in 11 minutes 53.74 seconds and took second in the 1,500 in 5:30.13. Linder captured the long jump with a leap of 16-feet 2-inches and teammate Abby Van Weelden was eight with a jump of 13-8. Jayden Hiner was second in the high jump with a jump of 4-10.

Ally Steil was second in the 800 meters in 2:34.76 and Ava Huffman was eighth in 2:43.38.

The sprint medley team of Regan Grewe, Kieren Perez, Addison Terpstra and Kayla Readshaw was runnerup in 2:02.53. Van Weelden, Amber Knockel, Huffam and Steil was second in the 3,200-meter relay in 11:00.68.

The final runnerup spot came in the 1,600-meter relay with Steil, Alivia Schock, Linder and Readshaw covering the distance in 4:17.35.

The Warhawks finished fourth in the 400-meter and the 800-meter relays in 54.69 and 1:59.15 respectively. Readshaw was fourth in the 400 in 1:06.09 and Sydney Andersen was fourth in the shot with a put of 33-9.

Linder ran fifth in the 400 hurdles in 1:15.95. Addison Terpstra was seventh in the 200 in 29.20 and Perez was seventh in the 100 in 14.26.

North Mahaska will compete in the district meet at Sigourney on Thursday for a spot in the state championships.

Team Scores: 1. English Valleys 115; 2. Tie, Lynnville-Sully, HLV, 113; 4. North Mahaska 101.5; 5. Iowa Valley 59.5; 6. Belle Plaine 55; 7. Tie, Sigourney, Montezuma 52; 9. Colfax-Mingo 43.5; 10. BGM 15.5; 11. Keota 13.

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