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NCC/KIWA Thunder Road Race Is Saturday Morning

2015 NCC Thunder Road RaceSheldon, Iowa — The 4th Annual NCC/KIWA Radio Thunder Road Race is set for Saturday morning, starting at the Lifelong Learning & Recreation Center on the campus of Northwest Iowa Community College.

Kristi Landis is Foundation Coordinator and Alumni Relations at Northwest Iowa Community College, and she says that, although the race starts at 9 am, you’ll want to be there earlier.

Pre-race warm-ups will take place starting at 8:30 inside the LLRC, and will be led by LLRC staff.

Landis talks about the route for Saturday’s Thunder Road Race.

Since the race takes place so close to Halloween each year, she says there’s an added, fun component.

The annual NCC/KIWA Thunder Road Race is held each year during the college’s Days Of Thunder, their homecoming week festivities.  All monies raised by the race go toward funding NCC student scholarships.

Hard Rock Sioux City Named “Iowa Outstanding Attraction”

Hard Rock 1Sioux City, Iowa — A northwest Iowa hotel and casino complex has been named an “Outstanding Attraction in Iowa” by the Iowa Tourism Office.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City received the award at the 2015 Iowa Tourism Conference, which honors Iowa’s most outstanding tourism organizations and represents the highest tourism honor given in the state.

Recognizing the very best travel sights in Iowa, the annual Iowa Tourism Awards uses extensive evaluations and countless reviews by industry members to determine award winners. The Outstanding Attraction in Iowa award is one of 24 awards featured during the Iowa Tourism Conference. Other award categories included Outstanding Event, Outstanding Retail, and People’s Choice Award.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City is a $126 million facility that completely restored Sioux City’s historic Battery Building from the industrial manufacturing structure that it was into the AAA Four Diamond rated property that it is now.  The facility celebrated its one year anniversary on August 1st.  In just one short year, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City created over 500 jobs in the tri-state region. The facility has welcomed more than two million visitors, held over 200 shows, paid out more than $16.5 million in jackpots, and issued more than 85,000 event tickets to customers in 46 states.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City is a fully-integrated gaming resort that includes more than 835 slot machines, a live-entertainment venue, an outdoor event space, multiple bars and restaurants with award-winning chefs, and a AAA Four Diamond Award-winning boutique hotel. The property boasts rock-n-roll inspired decor that has the perfect mix of historical architecture and modern amenities.

Good Weather Has Assisted Corn Harvest

CornHarvestNorthwest Iowa — Although the current rains will slow things down a bit, the ideal weather conditions we’ve experienced in the past few weeks have allowed farmers to continue harvesting corn at a faster than normal pace. Here in northwest Iowa, extension crop specialist, Joel DeJong, says many farmers appear to be ahead of the statewide average.

DeJong says the recent warm, dry and windy days have helped reduce corn moisture levels so many farmers have not needed to artificially dry their corn.

He says the timing of the dry weather helped dry down all the corn.

He says the last six weeks have been very good in allowing the corn to dry down so it can be harvested. The yield reports have been good too, with most at or above 200 bushels an acre for the corn.

The I-S-U crops specialist says some farmers have noticed stalk rot due to the excessive rains from July, August and September, and have managed the harvest accordingly.

DeJong says soil temperatures are still too warm for farmers to apply any anhydrous ammonia fertilizer, and he is also concerned about the liquid manure that is being applied on some harvested fields.

Sheriff’s Office Investigating Theft Of Vehicle, Weapons

Boyden, Iowa — The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the theft of weapons and a vehicle near Boyden, and they’re asking for the public’s help.
sioux sheriff emblem side of car
The Sheriff’s Office reports that they investigated the report of a burglary on Wednesday evening, October 21st, 2015. The burglary was reported to have occured at a home west of Boyden.

Upon further investigation, deputies believe the perpetrator or perpetrators stole a .22 caliber pistol, knives and a 2002 silver Chevrolet pickup from the home. The pickup has Iowa personalized license plates “RIEP.”

The crime is believed to have taken place on Wednesday between 8:00 AM and 3:30 PM. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office.

Little Rock Homes Evacuated Due To Gas Leak

Little Rock, Iowa — Fifteen homes in Little Rock were evacuated after a gas line was hit there on Wednesday night.
Little Rock Fire Truck FD
Little Rock Fire Chief Joe Schilling says that a 2-inch gas line was struck near a T-connection for a 4-inch line near 208 Section Line Road, which is county road L26 on Little Rock’s east side. The chief says firefighters blocked off the area and evacuated fifteen homes as a precaution. He says they kept people out of the area until Alliant Energy could get there. He says it took a while for Alliant to get the right equipment there because it was in Storm Lake. Crews were on scene for about four hours from about 5:30 to 9:30 PM, while gas continued to flow from the break in the line.

When Alliant got there Schilling says they made quick work of pinching off the line and those who were evacuated were allowed back in homes at that time — shortly before 9:30 PM.

Schilling says the fire department had another call on Thursday afternoon. He says about 2:20 PM, they were called to the scene of a combine fire on property owned by Mark Gross at 1516 Log Avenue, a mile west and a quarter mile south of Little Rock.

But the chief says that it turned out to be a minor call. He says that the combine’s operator smelled smoke as he was combining corn and quickly got the combine out into combined stubble and knocked the fire down with a fire extinguisher.

He says the fire department dumped about 50 gallons on the debris that was smoking on the top of the motor. He says the operator then took the combine back to the farm to blow out the debris.

Schilling says there was minimal damage and no damage to corn or corn stubble. He says firefighters were only on that call for about a half hour.

Fire Destroys Hay Bales, Cornstalks

Rock Valley, Iowa — Some round hay bales and some cornstalks were destroyed in a fire on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 near Rock Valley.
RVFD Rock Valley Fire
According to Rock Valley Fire Chief John Wallenburg, about 3:35 PM, the Rock Valley Fire Department was called to the report of a round bale fire at 3529 Fir Avenue, a mile northwest of Carmel or or four miles south and two east of Rock Valley.

The chief says the fire department saw round bales on fire along a concrete silage bunker filled with silage as they approached the scene. He says to fight the fire they pulled the round bales apart and doused them with water. He says a farmer disked a ring around an area in a field of bean stubble, where they took the smoldering bales and extinguished them.

Wallenburg says no injuries were reported.

He says they originally asked for help from the Sioux Center Fire Department en route, but when Rock Valley firefighters arrived they told the Sioux Center department that they could turn around.

He says the cause of the fire appeared to be spontaneous combustion. He thinks that perhaps seepage from the silage pile got to the hay bales and started spoilage. He says if that happens, the internal temperature of the bale can get hot enough that the hay ignites.

Chief Wallenburg reports that six hay bales and some ground cornstalks were destroyed.

He says they used 3000 gallons of water to fight the fire, and crews were on scene about an hour and a half.