LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO SHOOT MICHAEL LANG DURING AN APRIL 9TH STANDOFF AT LANG’S HOME IN GRUNDY CENTER. THAT WAS THE FINDING ANNOUNCED MONDAY AFTER A PROSECUTORIAL REVIEW OF THE FACTS IN THE CASE. LANG SHOT AND KILLED STATE PATROL SERGEANT JIM SMITH DURING THE CONFRONTATION AND FIRED ON OTHER RESPONDING OFFICERS. LANG HIMSELF WAS SHOT IN THE HEAD AND CHEST DURING THE INCIDENT. HE IS CHARGED WITH MURDER IN SMITH’S DEATH.
U.S. HIGHWAY 151 WAS CLOSED IN FAIRFAX FOR PART OF MONDAY NIGHT AFTER A MOTORCYCLIST WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED THERE. THE LINN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS 25-YEAR-OLD JORDAN BROWN HAD TO BE TAKEN BY HELICOPTER TO UNIVERSITY OF IOWA HOSPITAL IN IOWA CITY. BROWN WAS TRAVELING SOUTH WHEN A PIECE OF CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT CAME OFF A TRAILER BEING HAULED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. BROWN’S MOTORCYCLE HIT THE DEBRIS, AND HE LOST CONTROL. BROWN WAS NOT WEARING A HELMET WHEN HE CRASHED.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA FOOTBALL COACH MARK FARLEY’S CONTRACT HAS BEEN EXTENDED THROUGH 2026. ATHLETIC DIRECTOR DAVID HARRIS EXPRESSED HIS APPRECIATION OF FARLEY DURING MONDAY’S ANNOUNCEMENT, NOTING THE ATHLETICS BUDGET CHALLENGES CREATED BY COVID-19. SPECIFIC TERMS WERE NOT RELEASED. FARLEY HAS 162 VICTORIES SINCE BEING NAMED THE PANTHERS’ HEAD COACH IN 2001.
MONDAY’S USDA CROP PROGRESS REPORT SHOWED THAT IOWA PRODUCERS ACCOMPLISHED A LOT LAST WEEK. DURING A SEVEN-DAY SPAN, THE STATE’S CORN ACREAGE JUMPED FROM FOUR PERCENT PLANTED UP TO 20 PERCENT. THAT PUT FARMERS WITHIN A DAY OF THE FIVE-YEAR AVERAGE DESPITE COOLER TEMPERATURES IN RECENT WEEKS. ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF FIELDS IN THE STATE ARE RATED AS HAVING ADEQUATE OR SURPLUS TOPSOIL MOISTURE.
THE WATERLOO CONVENTION CENTER IS PROGRESSING THROUGH A MAJOR RENOVATION. MAYOR QUENTIN HART SHARED HIS OBSERVATIONS ABOUT LARGER IMPACTS FOR THE CITY DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL. HUNDREDS OF VISITORS WILL BE IN TOWN TO USE THE CONVENTION CENTER DURING THE STATE DART CHAMPIONSHIP. THE COMPETITION BEGINS TOMORROW AND CONTINUES TO SUNDAY.
MARK FARLEY HAS MOVED INTO HIS THIRD DECADE AS THE UNI FOOTBALL PROGRAM’S HEAD COACH. MONDAY, HE RECEIVED A NEW CONTRACT THROUGH 2026. FARLEY TALKED ABOUT CONCURRENT FACILITY UPGRADES TO THE UNI-DOME AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS WHICH WILL KEEP THE PANTHERS COMPETITIVE. THE PANTHERS HAVE REACHED THE FCS PLAYOFFS 12 TIMES IN FARLEY’S 20 SEASONS AS HEAD COACH.
THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES HAS RELEASED THE DETAILS OF A WASTEWATER DISCHARGE IN POSTVILLE. IT HAPPENED LAST WEDNESDAY EVENING. THE DNR SAYS MORE THAN 37 THOUSAND GALLONS OF SLUDGE ESCAPED WHEN A PUMP WAS LEFT ON. THE WASTEWATER WENT INTO WILLIAMS CREEK, WHICH EVENTUALLY FLOWS INTO THE YELLOW RIVER. HOWEVER, MITIGATION EFFORTS AND TWO BEAVER DAMS HELPED TO CONTAIN THE SLUDGE. WORK TO CLEAN UP THE CREEK CONTINUED INTO THIS WEEK. THE DNR SAYS IT IS STILL MONITORING THE WATERWAY.
FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA IN CEDAR FALLS TO SERGEANT ROAD IN WATERLOO, UNIVERSITY AVENUE HAS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS YEAR AFTER YEAR. THE SEGMENTS OF THE ROADWAY YET TO BE UPGRADED ARE GETTING MUCH SMALLER. WATERLOO MAYOR QUENTIN HART SPOKE ABOUT THAT ON KXEL RECENTLY. UNIVERISTY IS CURRENTLY CLOSED WEST OF FLETCHER AVENUE TO WALLGATE, WITH LANE REDUCTIONS NEAR GREENHILL ROAD.
JORDAN BOHANNON WILL BE ON THE IOWA HAWKEYE MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM ONCE AGAIN NEXT FALL. DUE TO INJURIES AND COVID-19, THE 2021/22 CAMPAIGN WILL BE BOHANNON’S SIXTH WITH THE PROGRAM. MONDAY’S ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS RETURN WILL ALLOW HIM TO BUILD ON PROGRAM RECORDS FOR GAMES PLAYED, ASSISTS, AND THREE-POINTERS. BOHANNON IS NINTH ALL-TIME IN SCORING FOR THE HAWKEYES.
