Local News

Nominations being accepted for Coach of the Year

Nominations for an award honoring high school coaches and assistant coaches in Linn, Johnson or Jones County are being accepted by the Iowa Children of Promise organization.

The Children of Promise - Coach of the Year award will be presented by Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz at the Coaches for Kids banquet on April 10 at the Marriott Hotel in Cedar Rapids.The winner will receive a plaque and $500 cash award to be given to their school or booster club in their name.

A nomination form is available at iowachildrenofpromise.org. Nominations close on March 2.

The funds raised from the Coaches for Kids event will be used to support the Children of Promise mentoring programs that serve more than 420 youths facing multiple life challenges, including those with parents involved in the correctional system. It serves youths in Linn, Johnson, and Jones County. Children of Promise is a program of the Community Corrections Improvement Association (CCIA), a 501(c) (3) non-profit foundation.

Kernels accepting applications for Adenhart scholarship

Applications are being accepted through the Kernels Foundation for the Nick Adenhart Memorial Scholarship.

Nick Adenhart was a bright young pitcher who played for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2006, and was a rising star in the Los Angeles Angels organization. Only hours after Nick’s 2009 season debut on the mound for the Angels, a drunk driver tragically killed him on April 9, 2009, at age 22.

Nick’s family would like to honor him by awarding a $1,000 scholarship in his memory. The Kernels Foundation is privileged to administer the scholarship on behalf of Nick’s family.

The deadline for submitting applications for this scholarship is April 27, 2012. Applicants must be a graduating high school senior from an area public or parochial high school. The applicant must plan on attending a two or four-year accredited college or university and be registered in 12 or more hours per semester. He or she must have played an organized sport in the last two years (does not have to be a school-sponsored sport), be a great teammate, demonstrated hard work and determination, and have a clear vision of career goals.

Scholarship applications are available through area school guidance offices, or may be downloaded from the Kernels website at www.kernels.com. For more information, please contact Doug Nelson at 896-7614 or email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Cedar Rapids Kernels open the 2012 season on the road at Wisconsin on Thursday, April 5, with the home opener on Monday, April 9 vs. Clinton at 6:35 p.m. Season tickets and 10-game coupon books are on sale now at www.kernels.com, with individual game tickets going on sale Monday, March 19 at 10 a.m.

Prospect Meadows getting lease for ball fields

An agreement has been reached for planners of the Prospect Meadows Ball Fields to sign a long-term lease for 121 acres of county-owned land north of Marion.

A public hearing drew no objections Monday morning, and the Linn County Board of Supervisors will formally approve the lease at its meeting on Wednesday.

The lease calls for the non-profit Prospect Meadows group to lease the land for $1 a year for 20 years, followed by three renewal options every 25 years for a total of 95 years.

"Finalizing this long-term lease is a critical step in making this project a reality," said Jack Roeder, former general manager of the Cedar Rapids Kernels and president of Prospect Meadows Ball Fields, Inc. "We can now come up with a realistic timeline. And it allows our fundraising to move forward.

"We appreciate the strong support we have received from the Board of Supervisors for this facility."

Plans call for construction of 17 baseball and softball diamonds on farm land just south of County Home Road and east of Highway 13. The property for many years has been rented out by the county for pasture land.

The complex is intended to be used by local teams and for tournaments to attract out-of-town visitors. One of the diamonds will be designated as a Miracle Field built for people with disabilities.

When first proposed last summer, it was hoped that construction could begin this summer with completion in 2013. Roeder said he is unsure if that schedule can now be met.

At an estimated cost of $9.4 million, funding for the project is expected to come from state and local grants, private and corporate donations and in-kind contributions. Roeder said fundraising will now begin in earnest with the land lease in place.

"This project really has an impact in multiple ways for the area," Roeder said. "The Miracle Field will allow people with disabilities to experience our national pastime in a complex with everyone else.

"We'll have programs for at-risk youth who can't normally afford to play the game. Our local leagues will have more, much-needed space to play. And, with our affiliation with Perfect Game, we'll attract tournaments from around the country, creating a tremendous economic impact here."

Perfect Game USA is a Cedar Rapids baseball company that runs tournaments and showcases throughout the country, as well as offering instruction at its facility on the southwest side of town.

Roeder said projections are that 60,000 visitors will come to the area each year and generate $25 million in direct spending.

As an example of the popularity of such complexes in other parts of the country, Roeder told the Board of Supervisors Monday of a planned 12-day tournament in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area this summer that is expected to draw 500 teams from 40 states. The event is expected to pump $13 million into the local economy.

Local officials have said that the complex north of Marion will likely result in other development to accommodate those who use the facilities.

"There's been a great deal of enthusiasm for this project," Roeder noted. "We're now ready to put a strategic plan in place."

The Prospect Meadows group originally wanted the county to give them the land, but the Board of Supervisors preferred a long-term lease.

Boys 4A-3A tourney pairings announced

Linn-Mar, Kennedy and Jefferson have drawn opening-round byes in the Class 4A substate boys basketball tournament, making their path to Des Moines a tad easier.

The Lions, Cougars and J-Hawks have to win only two games to reach the state tournament. Other Metro teams have to win three games to get to Wells Fargo Arena.

The IHSAA announced the pairings for the Class 3A and 4A tournaments Monday on the association website (www.iahsaa.org.).

Xavier and Washington will battle in a substate opener on Monday, Feb. 20 at Xavier. The winner of that game will face Kennedy in the substate semifinals on Friday, Feb. 24 at Kennedy.

Prairie will face Iowa City High in a substate opener on Monday, Feb. 20 at City High. The winner of that game will play Linn-Mar in the semifinals Feb. 24 at Linn-Mar.

Linn-Mar, Kennedy, Xavier, Washington and Prairie are all grouped together in Substate 6, which means only one of those Metro teams can reach the state tournament.

Jefferson was assigned to Substate 3 with Cedar Falls, Waterloo West, Waterloo East, Marshalltown and Mason City. The J-Hawks will face Marshalltown or Mason City in the semifinals on Feb. 24 at Jefferson. Cedar Falls also received a bye.

The Class 4A substate finals are scheduled for Feb. 28. The Substate 6 finals will be played at Prairie or Linn-Mar (at whichever school is not playing in the game), while the Substate 3 finals will he held at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls.

The Marion Indians will face Anamosa in the opening round of the Class 3A district tournament on Feb. 20 at Marion. The winner of that game will face Davenport Assumption or DeWitt Central in the district finals on Feb. 23 at Muscatine.

The Class 3A substate finals are slated for Feb. 27 at Iowa City West. Clear Creek-Amana, Solon, Williamsburg and Benton Community also feed into that substate.

The state tournament is scheduled for March 7-10 at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

CLASS 4A SUBSTATE 6

Opening Round
Monday, Feb. 20

Prairie at Iowa City High, 7
Washington at Xavier, 7

Semifinals
Friday, Feb. 24

Prairie/Iowa City High at Linn-Mar, 7
Xavier/Washington at Kennedy, 7

Finals
Tuesday, Feb. 28

At Prairie or Linn-Mar, 7

CLASS 4A SUBSTATE 3

Opening Round
Monday, Feb. 20

Waterloo East at Waterloo West, 7
Mason City at Marshalltown, 7

Semifinals
Friday, Feb. 24

Waterloo West/Waterloo East at Cedar Falls, 7
Marshalltown/Mason City at Jefferson, 7

Finals
Tuesday, Feb. 28

At McLeod Center, Cedar Falls, 7

CLASS 3A DISTRICT 9

Semifinals
Monday, Feb. 20

Anamosa at Marion, 7
DeWitt Central at Davenport Assumption, 7

Finals
Thursday, Feb. 23
At Muscatine

Marion/Anamosa vs. DeWitt Central/Davenport Assumption, 7

CLASS 3A SUBSTATE 5
Finals

At Iowa City West, 7 p.m.