From the monthly archives:

November 2003

Two historic Iowa residences are on the Des Moines holiday tour that begins December 5th. The Governor’s mansion, known as Terrace Hill, and the Salisbury House are part of this year’s Holly and Ivy tour along with two private residences. Terrace Hill programs coordinator Carla Herling says it offers a unique chance for you to see the homes. She says for one price you can see all four homes, and there’s musical entertainment at Salisbury House and Terrace Hill. Herling says they even have a shuttle service to take you between the homes. Herling says the halls of the homes will be decked out for the holidays. She says they’re incredible homes already and you can see them on a different level with their holiday decorations. There will be a historic gingerbread house at Terrace Hill, too, and you’ll get to see the finalists. Terrace Hill development director Alissa McKinney says the gingerbread contest was the idea of Iowa’s First Lady. She says First Lady Christie Vilsack saw a similar contest at the Hoover Library, and she thought it would fit well because so many people compare Terrace Hill to a gingerbread house. McKinney says they did historic homes to keep with their mission of featuring Iowa’s history. Admission to the tour is $10 for adults and $5 for children. McKinney says the event typically draws 1500 people from across the state.

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TSA puts out "Help Wanted" sign

by admin 11/29/03 2:11 PM

When the holiday season winds down, the job won’t end for the Transportation Security Administration. Iowa security director Tim McDonald says they’ll be putting out the “Help Wanted” sign. On December 1st, the authority will advertise on its website for 30 part-time screeners at the Des Moines airport. The part-timers won’t start work ’til [...]

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Real estate agents now subject to background checks

by admin 11/29/03 2:09 PM

Security is tighter in many areas of our post-9/11 world, even in the home-buying business. Iowa’s largest real estate brokerage has started doing background checks on all of its new agents. Jim Koolof, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Iowa Realty, says several factors went into the decision. Koolof says Iowa Realty is [...]

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County officials say pay now, save later

by admin 11/29/03 2:08 PM

County officials from around the state are asking the Iowa Legislature to take steps to “shore-up” the state’s child protective system. Iowa State Association of Counties executive director Bill Peterson says because of the state’s financial difficulties, not as many resources are being spent on child protective programs as county officials would like. Peterson says [...]

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Iowa State scholar helps write the book on insects

by admin 11/29/03 1:59 PM

An Iowa State University expert on all things creepy-crawly played a role in a new reference book called “The Encyclopedia of Insects.” ISU entomology professor Bryony Bonning was asked by the editors to pen a full chapter for the book on her area of expertise. She wrote a full chapter on how biotechnology has been [...]

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Farmers & Government invest millions to stop soil erosion

by admin 11/29/03 1:00 AM

Iowa Ag Secretary Patty Judge says Iowa farmers and the state of Iowa have spent over $360 million in the past 30 years to reduce soil erosion from farm fields. Judge estimates those efforts have stopped 18 million tons of fertile top soil from escaping farm fields and entering waterways. Judge says 18 million tons [...]

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Wireless demand increases

by admin 11/28/03 2:03 PM

Hooked on e-mail? Do you go into internet withdrawal when you can’t Google or Yahoo at will? There’s a new way to get on the ‘net. Brandon Kusenda works at Neo Computers in Iowa City and helps clients set up a wireless internet connection. A lot of campuses and some businesses have wireless [...]

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