In a complete reversal of Saturday’s lackluster effort in a loss to Northwestern the Iowa Hawkeyes led for nearly the entire game in an 83-68 rout of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. Jeff Horner poured in a career high 23 points as the Hawkeyes broke away from a six-point halftime advantage to lead by as many as 20 points in the second half. He says they came out and played with emotion, knowing they had their backs to the wall. Horner says the Hawkeyes were motivated to bounce back after Saturday’s loss, and practiced very hard after the loss to Northwestern. Iowa coach Steve Alford said it was a satisfying win. He says he’s proud of his seniors after challenging them. Alford says it’s still early, as a 1-1 conference record doesn’t mean the season’s going to come to a close or that they’re going to win the conference. Alford says Horner plays like a linebacker and is not afraid to mix it up. Alford says other teams in the league are probably going to get tired of seeing Horner before his career is over.
Independence voters turn down school bond issue
Voters in one eastern Iowa school district have turned down a bond issue for the second time in six months. Voters in Independence turned down the issue, it needed 60-percent approval, but got only 56-percent. School officials wanted to pay half the cost of a 15-million dollar high school.Voters turned down a similar issue in July by just two tenths of a percent of the vote.
Ag Secretary says testing process for BSE still being evaluated
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman says she’s confident her department is doing all it can to keep beef safe after the discovery of “Mad Cow” disease in the country. Veneman visited Ames Tuesday, and noted it was exactly three weeks since the announcement of the disease — also know as B-S-E. Veneman was asked if there’ll be increased testing of cattle.She says they’d announced even before the B-S-E outbreak that they would increase the testing from 20 to 40-thousand cattle. She says they’ll continue to evaluate the testing program. Veneman says they’ve also asked a panel of international experts to evaluate their process. She says one of the things they’ll be asked to do is evaluate the testing regimes, but she says from everything the scientists have told her, they well exceed international guidelines. Veneman says the cattle that are sick or injured are the ones being tested, and the ones that have generated a lot of questions. She says there are an estimated 400-thousand “deads and dyings” that never went into the food chain, and another 100-thousand “downer” cattle that would go into the food system. She says the downers will no longer go into the food chain, and they’re considering more testing of various kinds of cattle. Veneman says one new test may include older cattle that are not sick or injured. She says a testing regime is a sampling of the various populations that’re at risk, so they’ll look at how to put together the overall testing program. Veneman says overall at this point the U-S-D-A is doing all it can.She says they have not precluded other actions however. She says they’re working toward an animal I.D. program, they’ll get input from the international committee. In addition, she says the F-D-A is seriously considering additional actions with regard to how they enforce the feed ban. Veneman says more information should be coming out by the end of this month. Veneman was in Ames to announce that final funding for completion of the National Centers for Animal Health renovation will be included in the president’s upcoming budget recommendation.
Grassley says new moon mission may have trouble flying in Congress
President Bush will unveil his plan this afternoon to build a permanent moon base from which to launch a manned mission to Mars, but even one of the state’s top Republicans is hesitant to jump on board.U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley predicts the Kennedy-esque call to reach farther into space may fall flat, -quote- “it will not be a slam-dunk for the President.” Grassley says adding an extra billion dollars to NASA’s budget won’t sit well with many members of Congress, especially given the highly expensive war on terror and “tremendous budget deficits.” Grassley acknowledges the many benefits that have come from the space program.Grassley says NASA missions do a lot of good for those of us on earth, -quote- “so you can’t say that they’re so heavenly they’re no earthly good,” but he adds this Bush proposal simply may not make it to the launch pad. A recent poll found about half of Americans surveyed opposed a return to the moon and beyond, about the same as a similar poll conducted four decades ago after President Kennedy first challenged NASA to go to the moon..
Officials believe Jesup woman was stabbed to death
Northeast Iowa officials are releasing more details about the death of a Buchanan County woman and have ordered an autopsy on her body. Authorities believe Patricia Rapacki was fatally stabbed with a hunting knife. Her body was discovered in her Jesup home Monday, six days after officials began searching for her. That search began January 6th when Rapacki’s boyfriend — Lynn LaMasters — was arrested following a high-speed chase. Investigators say an initial search of Rapacki’s home last week turned up no evidence in her disappearance. Police obtained a search warrant over the weekend, and discovered Rapacki’s body stuffed in a locked basement freezer during a second, more-thorough search of the home. Investigators have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. Meanwhile, LaMasters, who stabbed himself before last week’s capture, was released from a Waterloo hospital yesterday. He was booked into the Buchanan County jail on unrelated drug charges.
Baby left at hospital, fourth under "Safe Haven" law
A newborn baby was dropped off at an Iowa hospital late Friday, abandoned by its mother. It’s the fourth time Iowa’s “Safe Haven” law has been used by a new mother who doesn’t want her child. Roger Munns, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Human Services, says since the mother took her baby to a hospital, she will not be charged with abandonment.Munns says the baby boy was healthy, stayed in the hospital for a couple of days and is now in a foster home with parents who intend to adopt him. Munns says there was no note left with the child, and there’s little more he can say about the case. It’s the fourth time Iowa’s “Safe Haven” law has been used.The “Safe Haven” law went into effect in July 1, 2001 after the high-profile “Baby Chelsea” case in which a teen mother who had tried to keep her pregnancy secret killed her newborn baby. That young woman’s now serving prison time for the crime. The law allows troubled mothers to drop their babies off at a health care facility, like a hospital, for safe-keeping, and they won’t be charged with a crime. Munns says they hadn’t expected the law to be used much. Munns says mothers with an unwanted pregnancy are quite troubled, often uninformed and sometimes they deny their own pregnancy. That’s why Munns says it’s surprising and gratifying that there have been four instances already in which unwanted babies have been dropped off at a “safe haven.” However, Munns says if you have doubts about a pregnancy, there are other ways to handle it. Munns says there are plenty of well-established adoption services available to help pregnant women arrange to have their baby adopted. Munns says the state will not reveal where this latest baby was dropped off to protect the identity of the parents, but he did say the baby was white.
New Pioneer CEO says he won’t back away from genetics
The new CEO of Pioneer Hi-Bred says there’s no way we’ll turn away from gene splicing, genetically-modified organisms, and all the advancements in agriculture we see today. He wonders why we’d want to “turn back the clock” and retreat from the hi-tech marketplace, the productivity and security in the food-and-feed system that it offers — and he doesn’t think other farmers in America or around the world are interested in doing that. Dean Oestreich joined Pioneer in 1974 and has worked on the company’s behalf around the world. Now Oestreich He says while he hasn’t been everywhere the company does business, he’s been to most places, worked with many of its people in many functions, and has some basic understanding of the business and how to meet customer needs. Oestreich was promoted to CEO from his position as vice-president for global supply management. He says far from being isolated and rural and boring, Pioneer is a progressive, hi-tech business. He says it’s one of working with great people, and of working to increase productivity, doing more with an acre with fewer inputs year after year — Oestreich says it’s part of making the world a better place. Oestreich cites Iowa State University and the state’s other assets as the reason why we’re a “huge player” in world markets. He says Iowa’s a leader in its wonderful soil and also in engineering, as Oestreich says a lot of the world’s farming technology begins here in Iowa. Oestreich is also a V.P. of Dupont, which bought Pioneer in 1998.
