Iowa

Iowa Rep. J.D. Scholten has prepared for his storybook moment in pro baseball

Published

2 days ago

July 14, 2024

Iowa Rep. J.D. Scholten has prepared for his storybook moment in pro baseball

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Last Saturday, the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association of Professional Baseball needed an emergency pitcher.

Iowa State Representative J.D. Scholten, a former baseball player nearly two decades removed from his last professional pitching appearance, answered the call.

The 44-year-old, who pitched in college and was on the ‘X’s’ roster in the early 2000′s, was excellent. He earned the win on Saturday, and got another call to pitch the following Thursday, getting another win.

Scholten has gained national attention, but he has just one concern.

“There’s a misnomer that people think I was just on the couch and came out and threw,” said the Democratic state representative. “This is about four years in the making I’ve been hounding them the X’s over the few years saying ‘hey if you need someone I’m here.”

Scholten says he recently picked up pitching again, making appearances on amateur teams in Minnesota and a semi-pro team in the Netherlands last year.

“I mean baseball is in my blood,” said Scholten. “I’m just soaking it all in. Any day at my age that I can be on the mound and throw is a great day. I love representing the place where I’m from, whether it’s down at the capital or with the Explorers with the “Sioux City” across my chest.”

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Iowa

The Clay County Extension and Outreach Office is doing their part to connect Iowa residents with flood related resources

Published

4 hours ago

July 15, 2024

Press Room

The Clay County Extension and Outreach Office is doing their part to connect Iowa residents with flood related resources

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) -When the flooding hit Spencer and the rest of Northwest Iowa, it posed a challenge for the Clay County Extension and Outreach office to find their role within the disaster. With their new, and spacious office, they were able to open their doors to local organizations who were also providing relief to Spencer residents. And their generosity allowed organizations to carry on like normal, however, they have made the largest impact through their connection to Iowa State University.

“Our state has put together a great website of flooding resources,” says Ben Pullen, Senior Field Manager for Iowa 4H. “It’s a one stop shop if you go to the Iowa State extension website. It’s the first thing you see on the top of the page. So, you click on that, and it has resources that are available for people for their homes, for businesses, as well as for farms”

It you prefer a more personal conversation; the Iowa concern line may be a better option for you.

“Whatever is keeping you up at night, those questions, you can call the Iowa Concern Line, and they will connect you with experts that can help provide you information. They can connect you with counselor for someone who can talk to you about the stress that you’re facing, can connect you with legal resources to help you with whatever is keeping you up at night, explains Pullen.

To visit the Clay County Extension and Outreach website, follow this link.

Iowa Concern Line: 800-447-1985

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Iowa

Davenport, Iowa, resident earns national Corps of Engineers award

Published

11 hours ago

July 15, 2024

Press Room

Davenport, Iowa, resident earns national Corps of Engineers award

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters in Washington, D.C., selected Mark Cornish of Davenport, Iowa, as the recipient of its 2023 Civil Works Planning Excellence Award for his work on the Lock and Dam 22 Fish Passage project.
(Photo Credit: Courtesy)

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ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters in Washington, D.C., selected Mark Cornish of Davenport, Iowa, as the recipient of its 2023 Civil Works Planning Excellence Award for his work on the Lock and Dam 22 Fish Passage project.

Cornish works for the Corps’ St. Paul District as a senior biologist and technical specialist but sits in the Corps’ Rock Island District. His award involved his contribution and leadership to develop the first large-scale fish passage structure on the navigable portion of the Upper Mississippi River. Cornish and the project team developed and started executing a complex and critical monitoring and adaptive management plan at the site.

The Lock and Dam 22 Fish Passage project, located near Saverton, Missouri, will create a nature-like fishway that could pass more than 160 different species of fish. Because it is the first fishway on the Mississippi, scientific monitoring has been essential to better understand fish behavior in large rivers and capture lessons learned that will improve future projects.

“Mark’s technical leadership on teams leads to water resources decisions that are innovative, environmentally sound, and fully collaborated with other agencies and partners,” said Terry Birkenstock, chief of the

Corps of Engineers Regional Planning and Environment Division North, and Cornish’s supervisor. “He embodies what planning excellence looks like with his ability to bring partners and stakeholders together towards a common vision and drive projects forward with a trust and credibility earned by not only his technical excellence but also his past actions.”

Cornish earned a bachelor’s of science in fisheries and wildlife biology from Iowa State University and a master’s of science in biology from Western Illinois University. He began his career with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources working as an aquaculturist and field technician at the Fairport Fish Hatchery. He moved to the Corps of Engineers in 1998, where he has worked as a biologist ever since. He has worked on numerous water resources project teams and has authored environmental compliance documents, journal articles and policy in support of the navigation, ecosystem restoration and environmental stewardship programs on the Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway.

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Iowa

Iowa GOP chair to tout Caucuses in speech nominating Trump – Radio Iowa

Published

19 hours ago

July 15, 2024

Press Room

Iowa GOP chair to tout Caucuses in speech nominating Trump – Radio Iowa

by O. Kay Henderson | Jul 15, 2024

Iowa GOP chairman Jeff Kaufmann on the “Iowa Press” set earlier this year. (Iowa PBS photo)

Later today the chairman of the Iowa GOP is scheduled to give the speech to formally nominate Donald Trump for a second term as president.

Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann spoke with Radio Iowa a few hours after the shooting at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania. Kaufmann said today’s speech was written last week and he isn’t changing it. “I think it’s more important that my message does not change,” Kaufmann said. “I think I need to say what I was always going to say.”

Kaufmann plans to emphasize the role the Iowa Caucuses play in choosing a nominee. “I’m going to talk about Iowa being first in the nation and starting a process,” Kaufmann said. “I’m going to talk about why we need a change. I’m going to talk about why President Trump is the answer to what this country needs.”

Kaufmann and Iowa politicians from both political parties issued statements after Saturday’s assassination attempt and said political violence is never the answer. Kaufmann learned of the shooting as he was leaving a gathering of Henry County Republicans in Mount Pleasant Saturday and his initial reaction was disbelief.

“People ought to be able to go to a Trump rally, they ought to be able to go to a Biden speech, they ought to go any place, anywhere, any time and not even think if their life is going to be in danger,” Kaufmann said.

Listen to Radio Iowa’s interview with Kaufmann on Saturday and read this weekend’s statements from Iowa’s political community here.

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