Iowa

Nicholasville's Katelyn Hale competed in a Central Kentucky Special Olympics even this weekend at UK in preparation for her trip to the USANational Games in Iowa in July. "She's probably one of the most pumped athletes that I have ever seen," said Jan Krekel, the national team coach for aquatics in Kentucky. "She's just really excited about the whole affair. " Hale will swim in her specialty events, the 25-yard freestyle, 25-yard backstroke and the 4x25 medley relay Hale is excited to head to the USA National Games.

Richard Charles Hasson, 46, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, died Thursday, Jan. 1. A native of Uniontown, Penn., he was born Oct. 7, 1962, to Lloyd George Hasson of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Helen Louise Doyle Withrow of Lancaster. Other survivors include sons, Andrew James and Lucas Lloyd; brothers, David Hasson of Conorer, N.C., and Robert Hasson of Crab Orchard; and sisters, Helen Holcom and Ronda Saylor both of Crab Orchard and Sonda Hinds of Lancaster. Private memorial services will be held at a later date.

Aniah Breael Brown, the daughter of Catherine Elizabeth Benson and Justin Coby Brown of Danville, was born Monday, Oct. 20 at the Fort Logan Hospital at 8:49 p.m. She weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces and measured 20 inches at birth. Maternal grandparents are Colleen and Todd Benson of Stanford. Paternal grandparents are Bridgett and Maurice Harris of Stanford. Maternal great grandparents are David and Nancy Heng of Marshalltown, Iowa.

Miss Kelly Lynn Cobb and Christopher Bruce Wygant were united in marriage Saturday, March 28 at Hope Church in Oklahoma City, Okla., at 1:30 p.m. by the Rev. Dave Coffey. The bride is the daughter of Alan and Sherry Cobb of Independence, Iowa, and the groom is the son of Bruce and Kathy Wygant of Winchester. The bride was given in marriage by her father. She was attended by Amanda Meyer, matron of honor, and bridesmaids Judith Lester and Jessica Sims, all of Oklahoma City.

Mr. and Mrs. Alan and Sherry Cobb of Independence, Iowa, are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Kelly Lynn Cobb of Oklahoma City, Okla., to Christopher Bruce Wygant of Oklahoma City, Okla. He is the son of Bruce and Kathy Wygant of Winchester. The bride-elect is a 2003 graduate of Life Bible College East in Christiansburg, Va., where she received a bachelor's degree in theology. She is a 1999 graduate of Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with a degree in legal office administration.

Richard “Leon” Platzeck, 75, of Crab Orchard, passed away Saturday, Aug. 4, at the Fort Logan Hospital in Stanford.  Born Oct. 19, 1936, in Crab Orchard, Leon was a son of the late John and Rosa Bryant Platzeck. He was an Air Force veteran. After being discharged from the Air Force, Leon attended Jefferson Community College. A talented machinist, he spent his career working at International Harvester before retiring from Naval Ordinance to his family farm in Crab Orchard. He enjoyed spending his retirement working on his farm, gardening and fixing anything mechanical.

The Mercer All-stars have gone 2-1 so far in the Senior League Central Region Tournament at Peru, Ill. On Monday, the all-stars got a complete game out of Trenton Claunch as Mercer beat Nebraska 7-4. Claunch struck out six and scattered six hits in the win. Down 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Brett Cecil doubled in Zeke Edwards and Mason Meredith to cut it to a one-run game. After two more hits, a walks and four Nebraska errors gave Mercer a 6-4 lead. Trenton Claunch and Thad Claunch had two hits each as Mercer took second in pool play.

In the last two years, Patrick Cooper has spent his summers throwing baseball in Florida and Kansas, finished his Boyle County High School career, played one season at Eastern Kentucky University, transferred to an Iowa junior college and signed with Bradley. Des Moines (Iowa) Area Community College and signed with Bradley University. It has all been part of his pursuit of his dream to play professional baseball - a dream that could soon be a reality since Collegiate Baseball recently ranked him among the nation's top prospects and Major League Baseball has already sent him information to complete so it can be distributed to teams before the draft.

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Iowa voters in both parties staged a rebellion against the status quo and against the past. Mike Huckabee's decisive victory over Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucuses marks a revolution in Republican politics. An outspent outsider triumphed over a former governor who played an inside game. Huckabee's victory is also the revenge of evangelical Christians who had been taken for granted by the GOP establishment and decided to vote for one of their own, a Baptist minister turned politician.

High-school junior Sarah Warren got back from a global food conference just last month and is already working to bring lessons learned home to Jessamine County. Warren participated in the World Food Prize Global Youth Institute in Des Moines, Iowa, from Oct. 18-20. She followed in the footsteps of fellow West Jessamine High School and Jessamine Career and Technology Center student Katie Cross, who attended the institute during her senior year in 2011. “She got to go because she was older, and then I got to fill her shoes the next year,” Warren said.

Richard “Leon” Platzeck, 75, of Crab Orchard, passed away Saturday, Aug. 4, at the Fort Logan Hospital in Stanford.  Born Oct. 19, 1936, in Crab Orchard, Leon was a son of the late John and Rosa Bryant Platzeck. He was an Air Force veteran. After being discharged from the Air Force, Leon attended Jefferson Community College. A talented machinist, he spent his career working at International Harvester before retiring from Naval Ordinance to his family farm in Crab Orchard. He enjoyed spending his retirement working on his farm, gardening and fixing anything mechanical.

LOUISVILLE - Darius Miller knows it's crunch time. The Kentucky senior guard pounded his chest after connecting on a 3-pointer that proved be a momentum-changer in the second half of an 87-71 victory over Iowa State in the third round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday night at the KFC Yum! Center. “We all came out with a lot of intensity,” Miller said. “(We) were really focused on what we needed to do. We all know this is the last time this team is going to be together. We're not quite ready for that yet.” The trey by Miller was part of a 14-0 scoring blitz by the Wildcats that propelled his squad to the blowout win over the Cyclones.

LOUISVILLE - Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg saw enough of Kentucky's win over Western Kentucky to be impressed and know what a challenge his team faces against the No. 1 Wildcats on Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament. “Look, they're the number one seed in this thing for a reason. They're so talented. The biggest thing we're going to have to try to do is slow them down a little bit,” said Hoiberg. “Just watching that game today, when they can get out and use their athleticism on the break, they're impossible to stop.  When they can get out, those bigs run to the rim, that sucks in the defense and opens up 3's for them.

LOUISVILLE - Iowa State senior guard Chris Allen says as soon as the game ended, he was “ready for Kentucky” and anxious to play the No. 1 Wildcats on Saturday night. “It feels great. I can't wait to the next game. I wish we played now,” said Allen after Iowa State's 77-64 win over Connecticut. “If we do what we have to do, this is probably going to be one of the toughest roads to get to the NCAA finals in history. If we come out like we did against UConn, it's going to be a long game for Kentucky.” Iowa State might back up those bold words if it plays like it did during what coach Fred Hoiberg called his team's “best 10 minutes of the season” that put Connecticut in a hole early and took care of all the pre-NCAA hype about a Kentucky-Connecticut rematch of last year's Final Four game.

If you don't make time to watch Jon Stewart's Daily Show you should. If you don't have cable or satellite that delivers Comedy Central, watch him on your laptop, IPad or smartphone and get, hands down, the best news analysis available anywhere. Despite his irreverent and sometimes obscenity laden (don't worry, Comedy Central provides the bleeps) delivery, Stewart was recently voted “the most trusted newsman in America” in a Time Magazine poll. Even here in socially conservative Kentucky, Stewart tied for first place with NBC's Brian Williams, who is a frequent guest on Stewart's show.

Miss Kelly Lynn Cobb and Christopher Bruce Wygant were united in marriage Saturday, March 28 at Hope Church in Oklahoma City, Okla., at 1:30 p.m. by the Rev. Dave Coffey. The bride is the daughter of Alan and Sherry Cobb of Independence, Iowa, and the groom is the son of Bruce and Kathy Wygant of Winchester. The bride was given in marriage by her father. She was attended by Amanda Meyer, matron of honor, and bridesmaids Judith Lester and Jessica Sims, all of Oklahoma City.

In the last two years, Patrick Cooper has spent his summers throwing baseball in Florida and Kansas, finished his Boyle County High School career, played one season at Eastern Kentucky University, transferred to an Iowa junior college and signed with Bradley. Des Moines (Iowa) Area Community College and signed with Bradley University. It has all been part of his pursuit of his dream to play professional baseball - a dream that could soon be a reality since Collegiate Baseball recently ranked him among the nation's top prospects and Major League Baseball has already sent him information to complete so it can be distributed to teams before the draft.

Richard Charles Hasson, 46, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, died Thursday, Jan. 1. A native of Uniontown, Penn., he was born Oct. 7, 1962, to Lloyd George Hasson of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Helen Louise Doyle Withrow of Lancaster. Other survivors include sons, Andrew James and Lucas Lloyd; brothers, David Hasson of Conorer, N.C., and Robert Hasson of Crab Orchard; and sisters, Helen Holcom and Ronda Saylor both of Crab Orchard and Sonda Hinds of Lancaster. Private memorial services will be held at a later date.

Mr. and Mrs. Alan and Sherry Cobb of Independence, Iowa, are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Kelly Lynn Cobb of Oklahoma City, Okla., to Christopher Bruce Wygant of Oklahoma City, Okla. He is the son of Bruce and Kathy Wygant of Winchester. The bride-elect is a 2003 graduate of Life Bible College East in Christiansburg, Va., where she received a bachelor's degree in theology. She is a 1999 graduate of Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with a degree in legal office administration.