ALICE Training Opportunity for Oskaloosa Businesses

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Rick Watts

ALERT is when you first become aware of a threat. The sooner you understand that you’re in danger, the sooner you can save yourself. A speedy response is critical. Seconds count.

LOCKDOWN might require you to barricade the room. Prepare to EVACUATE or COUNTER if needed. If EVACUATION is not a safe option, barricade entry points into your room in an effort to create a semi-secure starting point.

INFORM is to continue to communicate information in as real time as possible, if it is safe to do so. Armed intruder situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly, which means that ongoing, real time information is key to making effective survival decisions. Information should always be clear, direct and in plain language, not using codes. If the shooter is known to be in an isolated section of a building, occupants in other wards can safely evacuate while those in direct danger can perform enhanced lockdown and prepare to counter.

COUNTER is a strategy of last resort. Counter focuses on actions that create noise, movement, distance and distraction with the intent of reducing the shooter’s ability to shoot accurately. Creating a dynamic environment decreases the shooter’s chance of hitting a target and can provide the precious seconds needed in order to evacuate.

EVACUATION to a safe area takes people out of harm’s way and hopefully prevents civilians from having to come into any contact with the shooter.

This comprehensive and hands-on training opportunity is going to be available to businesses in Oskaloosa in mid-November.

If you or your business would like to participate in this event please register by November 3 by contacting the Oskaloosa Chamber at 641.672.2591 or email with total number of participants.

The Chamber will announce the date, time and location by November 3.

If you have any questions please contact the Chamber office.

Weekend Rain Helps Diminishing Drought

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Rick Watts

Although Oskaloosa, and much of the surrounding area received rain this weekend, over 80% of Mahaska County is still considered to be in a moderate drought, according to the online National Integrated Drought Information System.

Oskaloosa rainfall totals marked in at about seven-tenths of an inch for this weekend. This rain helped numerous communities in Southeast Iowa by plunging the percentage of moderate drought from 24% to only 8.7% in only 7 days.The first reading was taken on the 10th of October, while the most recent occurred on October 7th.

Overall for the month of October, the Oskaloosa area has received approximately 2.5 inches of rain.

Facade Improvements May See Second Phase

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Rick Watts

Construction on the Downtown Facade Improvement Project began in May of this year, while the discussion on the project is dated back to September of 2015. This project has made leaps and bounds to improve the presentation of the downtown square.

At the October 16 City Council meeting, Development Services Director Andrew Jensen, presented an update to the council about the facade improvements. Noting the direction of improvements being made as Christner Contracting Inc. moves east across North Market Street.

Soon the contractors will be rounding the corner of N. Market and High Avenue East, starting at the ReMax Office.

The contractors will continue down High Avenue East and turn north on South 1st Street to finish up the 16 building facade project.

With the current project set to wrap up by June of 2018, so far the contractors have spent $434,351.33 of the over $1.13 million that was awarded to the project, according to Jensen.

The source of funds for this project are allocated from a variety of different areas including a Block Grant through the IEDA; Tax Increment through the City of Oskaloosa; a percentage from the property owners involved with the project; and the George Daily Family Trust.

In the council meeting, the idea of pursuing a second phase was also discussed. This second phase would begin on North Market street along the corridor including Brown’s Shoe Fit, Smokey Row and Bridal Dreams. From there, this anticipated project will diverge onto First Avenue East and touch Big Ed’s BBQ and Tropical Rayz Salon.

The funds for the second phase will also come from similar sources. During the second phase, Jensen noted that approximately 10 to 14 buildings will be included on the next installment. That number, however, will be dependent on how many businesses wish to be involved and the amount of funds that can be accumulated.

FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS INCLUDE NINE AREA TEAMS

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Rick Watts

The football season flew by and it was extremely interesting in our listening area. Nine teams qualified in five of the six classes.

In Class 3A, Oskaloosa grabbed one of the two wild card slots and will play on the road at Cedar Rapids Xavier. Xavier is ranked #1 in the Radio Iowa poll and have been one of the highest ranked teams around the state all season. Osky will be a big underdog, but Head Coach Jake Jenkins has a team that went 4-1 on the road this season.

You can hear that game live on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app. The pregame show will begin at 6:30 PM for the 7 PM kickoff.

Pella has won seven straight games after their long winning streak was snapped. The Dutch will start the defense of their three consecutive state championships at home against Webster City in a rematch of last year’s state title game.

PCM made the Class 2A playoffs after dominating in District 6. The Mustangs will host Williamsburg, who grabbed one of the 2A wild cards.

In Class 1A, Pella Christian ran the table in the regular season for the second straight year. The Eagles will also host Sigourney/Keota for the second straight year to start the playoffs. S/K fell in a win-and-in game against Wilton, but the Cobras landed a wild card spot. You can hear that game on 104.9 FM KBOE, kboeradio.com, and the KBOE mobile app. Pregame show will start at 6:30 PM for the 7 PM kickoff.

Also in Class 1A, Pleasantville backed into the #2 seed in District 5 with two district losses. The Trojans won the three-way tiebreaker including Woodward-Granger and Interstate 35. Pleasantville will be on the road to face West Branch in the first round.

Class A District 6 produced two playoff teams from the listening area. Lynnville-Sully is ranked #1 in the Radio Iowa poll after an unbeaten regular season. The Hawks will host district foe New London, who snagged a wild card. L-S beat New London in their meeting earlier this year in New London, 20-14.

Pekin finished in second in the district and they will be on the road at Hudson. Hudson had a great season, going undefeated and have been ranked in the top five for the last half of the year.

Finally, Moravia survived a potential circus in 8-Player District 5, finishing in second with their only loss to district champs HLV. The Mohawks will go on the road in the first round to face perennial powerhouse Don Bosco.

After the games go final, you can also check out a postseason edition of Scores and More Presented By Bubbl’r. Taylor Howard will be running through all of the playoff scores around the state and go through the matchups in the quarterfinal rounds.

Large Schools Look for Momentum Heading Into Volleyball Playoffs

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Rick Watts

We are within a week of every school beginning their trek to the Volleyball State Tournament at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. The schools in Class 3A, Class 4A, and Class 5A will not have it easy to get there.

All first round games in these classes will be on Wednesday, October 18^th at 7 PM.

In Class 3A Region 6, PCM (9-16) will have to go on the road to face West Marshall (27-10). The bracket is fairly loaded, so if PCM finds a way to get past West Marshall in the quarterfinals, #12 Iowa Falls-Alden could be awaiting them.

Staying in Class 3A, Region 8 involves four South Central Conference teams in the bottom half of the bracket. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont (19-13) get Albia (10-19), a team they just beat in four sets on Tuesday night. Winner of that matchup will see either Davis County or Centerville. EBF has not lost to any of those teams all season.

Class 4A Region 4 is loaded with four area teams of the six in the bracket. Oskaloosa (11-17) will have to go on the road to play Knoxville (14-19). The Indians have made a habit out of winning road games in the playoffs. The two teams have not seen each other this season. You can hear that game live on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN and radiokmzn.com.

Awaiting them is #4 Pella (28-5) for the semifinals on Tuesday, October 24^th. Pella hasn’t dropped a set in two matches with Knoxville this season and swept Oskaloosa in the only meeting between those two teams so far this year.

On the other side of the bracket, Newton (3-20) will be a big underdog on the road against Carlisle (12-13) in the first round. Bondurant-Farrar (17-10) awaits the winner in the second round. B-F is one of the few teams to beat Pella this year which could be a factor if those two teams hold serve and meet in the regional final.

Region 6 in Class 4A has Grinnell (8-19) on the road to face Clear Creek-Amana (19-16) as an underdog. Winner of that match will get #7 Center Point-Urbana (30-9) in the semifinals.

Finally, Ottumwa is our lone Class 5A school and they are in the Region 5 bracket. The Bulldogs (13-16) will host Des Moines North (0-19) in a fairly easy matchup. Should they take care of business there, they will go on the road to face #12 Waukee in the semifinals (23-18). #5 Linn-Mar and #15 Cedar Rapids Prairie are in the other semifinal in a loaded bracket.

The trek to state all begins with the first round, which will take place on Wednesday, October 18^th at 7 PM. We will have continuing coverage of the brackets on the No Coast Network.

Several Area Football Teams Still Have Playoff Pulse Heading Into Stretch Run

Posted on October 9, 2017October 9, 2017 by Rick Watts

The football season is winding down with just two weeks of the regular season remaining. Even though there’s just two games left for most teams, there’s dozens of playoff implications that can come into play for several teams still hanging around for a postseason berth.

In Class 4A District 4, the Newton Cardinals improbably started their season 6-0. But a loss to Southeast Polk last week has put them in a dire position, needing to win both of their remaining games to squeak into the playoffs. With powerhouse West Des Moines Valley on deck, it would be a monumental feat for the Cardinals to be playing postseason football.

The same cannot be said for the Oskaloosa Indians, who will be looking to cinch up a playoff spot out of Class 3A District 5 in Washington this week. Osky has a very easy road map: beat Washington and you’re in, lose to Washington and you need to hope to get a wild card. A Week 9 matchup with West Burlington/Notre Dame should not deter the Indians should they get past the Demons.

Also in Class 3A, Pella is well on their way to another district title after holding off Norwalk last week. The Dutch are the only unbeaten team left in District 6 and have favorable matchups at North Polk and at home to Nevada to wrap up their season.

In Class 2A District 6, PCM is rolling through their schedule. After a tough non-district loss to undefeated Pella Christian in the season opener, the Mustangs have won six straight and are big favorites against Davis County and Clarke as they wind down a season where they’ll be named District 6 Champions.

Class 1A District 4 is pretty self-explanatory for Sigourney/Keota. There’s one open playoff spot after Iowa City Regina and the Cobras need to beat Wilton and Wapello the last two weeks of the season to clinch it. A win over Wapello this week would effectively eliminate them from the race and leave it between S/K and Wilton, and they will meet in Wilton to decide the automatic berth in Week 9.

District 5 in Class 1A is monopolized by a couple of area teams. Pella Christian is still undefeated after they knocked off Pleasantville on the road last week. PC should waltz to the district title. Pleasantville has to beat Woodward-Granger this week to clinch their spot in the playoffs.

Class A District 6 has been a fun one to follow all year and Lynnville-Sully is on their way to winning the district title. The Hawks started 8-0 last year before losing in Week 9 to Montezuma. Now, after gutsy wins over Pekin and New London, L-S gets a bye before seeing the Braves again looking for retribution on their way to the playoffs and a first round home game. Pekin faces off with New London this week to determine the #2 seed out of this district, while the loser hopes to get one of the wild cards.

Finally, 8-Player District 5 is chaotic. All we know is that HLV is sitting pretty at 5-0 in the district after a big win over Colo-Nesco. HLV faces Melcher-Dallas this week. If M-D were to drop this home game, they will likely fall out of the playoff race. Moravia is also hanging around. Their matchup this week with Colo-Nesco will factor heavily into that #2 seed. A Melcher-Dallas win this week would create even more chaos, however, as all four teams could end the week with hopes of the playoffs going into Week 9. There are no wild cards in 8-Player football so these matchups are huge for these schools.

We’ll be following the action closely the last two weeks of the season, so be sure to join us for Scores and More Presented By Bubbl’r after the games go final Friday night on 104.9 FM KBOE, 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, kboeradio.com and radiokmzn.com.

Oskaloosa Schools Prep for Parent-Teacher Conferences

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Rick Watts

Parent Teacher conferences are coming up October 12th and 13th for the Oskaloosa School District. At Oskaloosa Middle School, we have an “open house” approach to our conferences, meaning families may come at a time that is convenient for them.

Conference hours are Thursday 1-8 PM and again Friday morning from 8:30 – 11:30 AM. This allows families to come and go as needed, and pick a time that best works for them. Conferences are limited to about 10 minutes each, but if you have additional questions or concerns, you may sure make an appointment with the teacher(s) for another day and time.

Thursday – *Students released from school at 12:30 PM*

1 PM to 4 PM

Break – 4 to 4:30 PM (Staff meal break – no conferencing this half hour)

4:30 to 8 PM

Friday – *NO school for students this day!*

8:30 to 11:30 AM

REAP Will Hold Public Assembly for Mahaska and Surrounding Counties

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Rick Watts

Iowa’s Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) assembly comes to southern Iowa on October 18th, giving Iowans the opportunity to discuss their vision for outdoor recreation, soil and water enhancement, historical resources and land management and more.

Each assembly represents a region of counties and participants are required to attend the region for the county in which they reside.

The REAP meeting is Oct. 18, from 6:30-8:00 PM, at the lodge at Lake Keomah State Park, 2720 Keomah Lane, Oskaloosa, for residents of Davis, Jefferson, Keokuk, Mahaska, Van Buren and Wapello counties.

“These meetings are a great opportunity for us to meet with Iowans one-on-one and hear their ideas for their parks, trails, museums and other amenities,” said Chuck Gipp, director of the DNR. “Participation from community members is essential for all of us to work together to enhance our recreational opportunities in our state.”

REAP assemblies are locally led meetings where issues can be brought forth and voted upon. Iowans can discuss the program, recommend changes and discuss impacts in their area. Delegates may also be selected from the local meeting to attend the REAP congress in January at the State Capitol in Des Moines.

“REAP benefits every single county every year in one way or another, either through improved water quality, by preserving our historical assets or providing outdoor recreation,” said Tammie Krausman, DNR REAP coordinator. “It has and will continue to have a significant impact on the quality of life for all Iowans.”

Current Highway Traffic Situation Causes Headaches, Changes Could Be on Horizon

Posted on September 29, 2017 by Rick Watts

The Iowa Department of Transportation in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration recently conducted an in-depth assessment of a portion of land north-northwest of Oskaloosa. The plan: building a bypass that converges north and south traffic on Highway 63 to Highway 163.

The idea of building such bypass has been on the thoughts of many for years now. The study began in July of 2013, recently the Environmental Assessment was released.

There is hard-hitting evidence that this could greatly improve traffic, accident rates and safety in and around Oskaloosa. The crash rate on Highway 63 above the statewide average, by almost 20-percent. From 2007-2011, the rural crash rates on Highway 63 were also higher that statewide averages.

Between 2010 and 2014 there were 171 crashes on Highway 63 within the Oskaloosa corporate limits, a stretch of road that is only 3.1 miles.

The Enivronmental Assessment addresses the need to improve traffic operations stating that “currently, all through traffic on U.S. 63 in the study area must travel through the city of Oskaloosa through its busiest intersection at U.S. 63 and IA 92 located along the west side of the City Square Park in downtown.” Many semi, freight and grain truck traffic operates on these routes coming from Eddyville, Bussey or Ottumwa area to travel north to New Sharon, Pella or traffic determined for Interstate 80.

By creating this bypass, semi and constant highway traffic will be kept out of the city of Oskaloosa. Freeing up one of the busiest intersections from turning or merging freight truck traffic in the city. The proposed bypass would begin on the intersection of Highway 163 and 235th Street, it would then meet Highway 63 roughly at 210th Street (East).

*Mapped plans from the DOT Environmental Assessment document.*

Within this assessment the DOT took research notes about the intended area and landscape. Making sure to log the various areas that were considered wetlands, woodlands, flood lands, prime farming land, the location of streams or rivers, and what the department determined as bad habitat. Listings of plant species located within the study area is also readily available.

A question some may have with this proposed bypass would be the widely talked about Regional Airport location. The assessment covered that as well. An Environmental Assessment was completed for the proposed airport for the Federal Aviation Administration in October 2016. The location of the proposed airport would lie just west of the proposed interchange of the U.S. 63 Oskaloosa Bypass and IA 163.

The Iowa DOT is soliciting comments on the document during the comment period which ends December 4, 2017. To be considered in the decision document, please email or postmark your comments by that date and send them to:

Tamara Nicholson

Iowa DOT – Office of Location and Environment

800 Lincoln Way

Ames, IA 50010

Tamara.Nicholson@iowadot.us

Information derived from the Environmental Assessment from the Iowa DOT.

The full document is available online: Oskaloosa Environmental Assessment

Construction Slated to Begin on Old Highway 102

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Rick Watts

Beginning at 7:30 AM next Monday October 2nd, Mahaska County will be doing pavement repair, widening and overlaying Old Hwy 102/G-5T.

The project will begin north of the South Skunk bridge, south of 155^th street and proceed north and easterly to a point approximately 1320 east if the intersection of County Roads T-33 and Old Hwy 102 or G-5T.

The second section of the project will begin at the intersection of T-22 and G-5T and proceed north to the south City Limits of Peoria.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 30 working days which is the 13^th of November weather permitting. The project is intended to keep one lane open for traffic through the use of flaggers and pilot cars. The possibility of complete closure time will be kept to a minimum.

We ask those that commute on this road to allow for extra time to deal with the one-lane traffic or the detour route is down Hwy 63 from New Sharon to Hwy 92 in Oskaloosa then west to Hwy 163 and back to Pella.

The lane widths during this work will make it unsuitable for wide loads, so using the detour is advised. Mahaska County asks for your patience as we complete this project so as to try to get project completed earlier.

If you have any questions you can call me at my office at 641-672-2897.

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