Stories from Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Iowa's law banning texting while driving is failing to reduce road crashes, and officers seldom enforce it because of legal restrictions, an IowaWatch investigation shows. Although texting-related crashes have been on the rise in recent years, Iowa convicted an average of only 2.5 drivers per county for texting last year, the investigation revealed...

Teenage transplant recipient Aspen Wiederholt is making a strong recovery, looking ahead to college... and French fries

National Farmers Union calls for Justice Dept. to block buyout, buy Hillshire says Tyson will be 'excellent partner'

The silver ceremonial shovels flashed in the sun, but the star of the show decided to use a plastic model, instead. Buena Vista Regional Medical Center broke ground Wednesday morning on a $26 million expansion and renovation project to take place over the next two years. ...

This year's talent on the softball diamond was far from short for area teams as there were many stand-outs, which made selecting all-area players hard. The Alta-Aurelia picks for All-Area team were Christena Heschke a senior infielder with an on base percentage (OBP) of 0.371 and a slugging percentage (SLG) of 0.412, DJ Flores who is a sophomore outfielder with an OBP of 0.457 and a SLG of 0.517, Tayler Rohwer a senior utility pitcher with an OBP of 0.369 and a SLG of 0.469 and an ERA of 1.67 and Micah Barnes a sophomore catcher with an OBP of 0.404 and a SLG of 0.447.. ...

The Ridge View baseball team ended their 19-12-0 record season July 19, when they fell to Maple Valley-Anthon Oto. At the plate this season, Ryan Garthoff went 37-101 with 32 runs, eight doubles, six triples, a home-run, 21 RBIs, 10 bases on balls, 21 strike outs and 35 stolen bases, Peyton Boyle went 27-89 with 26 runs, four doubles, 15 RBIs, 17 bases on balls, 12 strike outs and 18 stolen bases, Matt Wandrey went 29-100 with 27 runs, four runs, a triple, 21 RBIs, 13 base on balls, 26 strike outs and 17 stolen bases, Nick Babcock went 27-96 with 22 runs, five doubles, a triple, a home-run, 14 RBIs, four bases on balls, 32 strike outs and six stolen bases and Henry Sippel went 28-101 with four runs, six doubles, a home-run, 30 RBIs, four bases on balls, 18 strike outs and a stolen bases.. ...

The St. Mary's baseball team ended its season with a record of 6-14-0. The Panthers were knocked out by North Union on July 15. At the plate this season, Ryan Peters went 20-56 with 16 runs, a double, 14 RBIs, 10 bases on balls, 11 strike outs and 14 stolen bases, Eric Broich went 21-60 with 24 runs, five doubles, two triples, a home-run, five RBIs, 13 bases on balls, nine strike outs and 15 stolen bases, Aaron Miller went 18-64 with 13 runs, five doubles, nine RBIs, eight bases on balls, 10 strike outs and three stolen bases, Josh Demers went 17-61 with 13 runs, three doubles, 12 RBIs, seven bases on balls, seven strike outs and a stolen bases, and Cole Feltner went 13-52 with 15 funs, two doubles, a triple, nine RBIs, 15 bases on balls, 15 strike outs and five stolen bases.. ...

The Newell-Fonda baseball team ended its season with a 3-24-0 record. The Mustangs were knocked out of district play by Alta-Aurelia on July 15. At the plate this season, Cody Voss went 3-8 with two runs, a RBI, a base on balls and three strike outs, Ben Lindstrom went 23-76 with eight runs, nine RBIs, eight bases on balls, 15 strike outs and a stolen base, Gabe Podraza went 19-65 with 12 runs, three doubles, a triple, six RBIs, six bases on balls, 31 strike outs and six stolen bases, Brady Dicks went 17-66 with nine runs, seven doubles, six RBIs, 14 bases on balls, seven strike outs and a stolen base, and Jon Lindstrom went 1-4 with a run, a double, two RBIs and three strike outs.. ...

The Storm Lake baseball team ended its season with a 2-24-0 record. The Tornadoes ended their season to Sergeant Bluff-Luton on July 18. At the plate this season, Grant Kofmehl went 17-61 with nine runs, five RBIs, seven bases on balls, 15 strike outs and nine stolen bases, Danny Harms went 1-4 with two strike outs, Mitchell Martin went 18-78 with 10 runs, two doubles, a triple, a home-run, eight RBIs, 11 bases on balls, 15 strike outs and three stolen bases, Charlie Robbins went 14-61 with six runs, two doubles, nine RBIs, six bases on balls, 20 strike outs and two stolen bases and Chase Lange went 17-77 with 12 runs, two doubles, a triple, a home-run, nine RBIs, five bases on balls, 20 strike outs and four stolen bases.. ...

The Alta-Aurelia baseball team ended their season with a 18-12-0 record on Saturday July 19 to Bishop Garrigan. At the plate for the Warriors this season, Josh McCormick went 31-84 with 17 runs, 11 doubles, two triples, a home-run, 22 RBIs, 10 bases on balls, 12 strike outs and had eight stolen bases, Jordan Wendel went 27-92 with 11 doubles, a triple, 19 RBIs, 12 bases on balls and 23 strike outs, Mitchell Fritz went 23-82 with 15 runs, 11 RBIs, six bases on balls, 18 strike outs and 21 stolen bases, Treton Delp went 4-16 with three runs, three RBIs, a base on balls, three strike outs and two stolen bases, Jememiah Ruby went 11-44 with 17 runs, five RBIs, five bases on balls, 11 strike outs and 17 stolen bases and Ross Friedrich went 25-103 with 29 runs, two doubles, a triple, 17 RBIs, 12 bases on balls, 14 strike outs and 16 stolen bases. ...