Iowa coach Steve Alford says he will find out on Tuesday which, if any, members of the Iowa basketball team will be academically ineligible for the second semester. The semester begins tomorrow and Mike Henderson, Nick Dewitz and Erek Hansen all took interim classes. Hansen played in Saturday’s loss at Illinois, Henderson and Dewitz did not. The Hawks return to action Wednesday night at Iowa State. Alford says they’re in scramble mode right now to try and figure out who they have before the can know how much changing they have to do. The Hawkeyes lost senior center Jared Reiner last week when he underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot.Alford says they may apply for a medical redshirt for Reiner though Alford says they would probably need to go through an appeal process because of the number of games he played in this season
Iowa woman pound badgers
The Iowa Hawkeye women jumped out to a ten-to-nothing lead and cruised to a 66-46 win over the Wisconsin Badgers Sunday in Iowa City. Iowa coach Lisa Bluder says a strong defensive effort offset the Hawkeyes struggles at the offensive end in which they shot just 37-percent for the game. Bluder was happy with the performance.Iowa improves to 3-2 in the Big Ten and 9-7 overall.
Gambling investigation in Ottumwa continues
This week is likely to bring developments in a quiet investigation that’s been going on into alleged gambling in Ottumwa. An agent for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says he expects “some type of movement” in an investigation of a gambling ring in Ottumwa. Steve Bogle with the DCI says the gambling investigation began around the first of the year, as the result of an embezzlement case that was investigated by Ottumwa. police, the DCI and state Attorney General. Within the past 7 week search warrants have been executed, all of them sealed by the court. To date, no arrests have been made or charges filed, and Bogle says he can’t confirm where those search warrants were executed, or who’s involved.
Key Republican advisor tries to
Republican all-stars have spread across the state, including behind-the-scenes advisor Mary Matalin.Bush lost Iowa to Al Gore by about four-thousand votes in 2000. Matalin says she’s here to “gin up the troops” on the Republican side, as there are Republican Caucuses tonight where local, neighborhood leaders will be chosen and Matalin says those folks are valuable troops in the G-O-P plan for November. Matalin says she’s not here to say anything about the Democrats, but during a Radio Iowa interview the chairman of the Republican National Committee said the Democratic presidential candidates had “poisoned the well” and when Matalin heard that, she had more to say. Matalin says the Democrats “have been nothing but negative” and she says that will “ricochet back on them” in the general election match-up against President Bush. Matalin says the Democratic candidates have been saying “ridiculous” things about the President. Matalin says Bush is the “transformational president” as he’s transformed the military and the economy has rebounded.
Iowa native speaks at MLK celebration
An Iowa native returned today as the keynote speaker for the state’s Martin Luther King Junior celebration. Emmy award winning actor GregAlan Williams sang today and gave a talk to those remembering the 75th birthday and the dream of the slain civil rights leaders. Williams said were are all part of “a single garment of destiny.” Williams says the garment is like a giant coat keeping us all warm in the Iowa cold. But, Williams says there’s a tear in the garment.He says when he came up in the school system in Des Moines, there was only one book on an African American in the school library, one on George Washington Carver. He says he’s grateful that he’s been able to see a significant degree of success. But he says he’s “saddened” and “terrified” that so many of his contemporaries and their children “who are failing to walk through the doors that have been opened to them.”He says it is a cold, cold day for far too many. He says although we sit far away from the breach, we have so much to give and so much to give. Williams encourage the audience to “be about the business of mending that breach in the single garment of destiny.” Williams says government programs and plans can only do so much, and we all have to take action as individuals to help the people who have been left behind.
Dean visit causes problems at state MLK celebration
The annual state-sponsored celebration of Martin Luther King Junior Day celebration got overrun with the campaign craziness today. It seems Democrat candidate Howard Dean’s campaign announced he would be attending this morning’s celebration of the late civil rights leader at the State Historical Building. That prompted members of the national media to descend on the event, thinking Dean would be speaking. Organizers arrived to find the first two rows of seats in the auditorium lined with TV cameras. Organizer Ruth White asked the reporters to move and set the record straight on Dean’s appearance. Things seemed to calm down until Dean arrived trailed by dozens of reporters carrying cameras and boom mics. They followed Dean into the auditorium, blocking the aisles and jockeying to get Dean on camera. Dean’s handlers asked the reporters to move back — which didn’t seem to do much good — then they decided to pull out. Dean apologized to Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack for the commotion as Dean left out the side door about five minutes after his arrival. The event went on as planned, and before he spoke Governor Vilsack had this to say. He said maybe the national media should spend a little more time in Iowa so they could learn about being polite and respectful.
Meatpacking trial in recess
The court is recessed for today’s holiday after one week of the trial over meatpacking corporations and the way they buy cattle. Attorney Dave Domina says the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 forbids packers from doing things that depress the cash price of livestock. He’s charging that packer ownership and contracting with producers has so deeply reduced cash-market selling that the use of those agreements amount to an unlawful practice. Domina said in court last week that Tyson, formerly IBP, makes marketing agreements with farmers that amount to “captive supply” of cattle…giving no open-market bids that might drive up prices, and forcing the farmers to sell at the price the packer offers. If they win, they’re asking for a cash award as well as “injunctive relief.” That, the lawyer says, will once again have packing companies in the open market buying cattle. He says it will let people raise cattle sell them, and eliminate contract growing, which he charges has decimated the poultry industry and is about to do to the swine industry. At least through the first week of trial, the packer hasn’t denied having contracts with farmers, and appears to be preparing to present a “very technical” case to the jury. The handful of farmers who started this case have finally seen it grow into a class-action suit. This case was filed in 1996, has been the subject already of 4 appeals and “hundreds” of hearings. Tyson’s lawyers are saying that many farmers want the stability of having a contract with the packer even before their animals are raised and ready for market.
