You have to wonder what’s next for the Iowa basketball team or, if you’re a Hawkeye fan, you may not want to know. After losing Mike Henderson and Nick Dewitz to grades, and starting center Jared Reiner to injury, back-up center Sean Sonderlieter has been excused from practice the last two days and coach Steve Alford says Sonderlieter is doubtful for Saturday’s game at home against Penn State. Alford says Sonderlieter “is battling some personal family problems right now and basketball’s got to take a back seat to that. ” Alford says he’s not at liberty to reveal the details, but he did say “basketball is out of the equasion right now.” Alford says he became aware of Sonderleiter’s situation at a meeting on Thursday. Alford says he wants to give Sonderlieter the time to deal with his problems. That leaves the Hawkeyes with just seven scholarship players. Greg Bunner (brooner) and Glen Worley will provide Iowa’s size in the starting line-up and Erek Hansen will see more playing time.Alford says the last thing the Hawks can do is feel sorry for themselves.Iowa is 3-3 in the Big Ten. 10-7 overall.
Democrats complain nothing’s getting done
As usual on a Friday, Iowa legislators aren’t working at the statehouse today, and some democrat lawmakers are complaining there’s not much work underway when the Legislature is in session Monday through Thursday. Senate Democrat Leader Michael Gronstal of Council Bluffs says republicans are canceling committee meetings to avoid public discussion of the state’s budget mess, and what budget cuts might be ahead. Gronstal says republicans may be thinking their best approach to unpopular budget cuts will be to wait as late as possible to release the details and take a quick vote, so G-O-P lawmakers don’t get pressed by the public to change their minds. Republicans control the debate agenda, and Senate Republican Leader Stewart Iverson of Dows says republicans are meeting privately to hammer out a budget. Iverson says democrats so far haven’t contributed much but complaints. Iverson says “it’s always easy to whine about everything.” The budget dilemma legislators face is daunting. The state will collect just about the same amount of money this year as it did last, but already-programmed spending increases mean lawmakers will have to trim 300 million dollars or spend some of the state’s cash reserve to make the budget balance.
Denison man faces drug charges
A search warrant issued for a Denison apartment Thursday resulted in the arrest of a local man on drug and weapon charges. About 4:30 yesterday afternoon police executed the search warrant at Denison’s East End Apartments and police say they found about six grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, as well as a 12-gauge shotgun, a Ruger 10-22 with a 30-round magazine, a 22-caliber handgun, a 44-caliber black-powder revolver. Vicente Hererra, Junior was charged with possession of meth and marijuana, intent to deliver, and engaging in prohibited acts. Herrerra’s in the Crawford County jail, on 140-thousand dollars bond.
You could be held accountable for drunk party friends
If you’re throwing a Superbowl bash this weekend — remember you can be held liable if any of your friends get drunk and cause a wreck after leaving your home. Jeanne Salvatore is spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute. Iowa is among those 30 states that would hold the host responsible for the guests after they leave the party. Even if it weren’t the law, Salvatore says party hosts -should- be concerned about their guests. Some neighboring states, like Nebraska, don’t have such laws. She says that doesn’t mean that you can’t be sued, but there should also be a moral obligation to make sure our friends are in a condition to drive safely before we send them off. Salvatore says Superbowl Sunday is traditionally a very deadly day for driving. Nearly 60-percent of traffic deaths on that day involve alcohol, compared to 40-percent during virtually all other days. Salvatore says party hosts need to drink responsibly themselves to set a good example and so your judgment isn’t impaired about letting others leave who perhaps shouldn’t be driving. She also says a responsible host will take charge of the alcohol.She also suggests providing plenty of nonalcoholic beverages and food. Don’t pressure guests to drink or rush to refill glasses. Stop serving alcohol at least an hour before the party’s over. Offer guests who are too drunk or too tired to drive a place to sleep it off or call them a cab.
January looks to be about average temperature wise despite late cold
While the temperature is struggling to get about zero today in Iowa, this January hasn’t been much colder than normal overall. State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says the snowfall is about the only thing that’s been unusual in this first month of “aught-four.” He says Iowa’s running about one to two degrees above normal, but should be right at normal when today and tomorrow are factored in. He says the snowfall is a little above normal, and will give us the snowiest month since December 2000. Hillaker’s been tracking temperatures for the month.He says the normal temperature is 17-point-eight degrees, and we’re about one-point-eight degrees above that, but he says, again, that today and tomorrow will likely bring the average temperature down a bit. If it seems like this winter has been colder, Hillaker says the two previous winters might be the reason. He says two years ago was much warmer than normal, and last year was slightly above normal. He says you have to go back three years to find a good, old-fashioned snowy winter, but he says the last few days have probably been the coldest string we’ve seen in the last few years. Hillaker says human nature makes the extremes of mother nature feel colder, or warmer than what it really is.He says people get used to whatever type of weather we’re having, so if it has been mild, the cold weather seems to feel worse. A good example is last week’s 50-degree days and then most of the state won’t get above zero today. The good news is Hillaker says January is most often the coldest month in Iowa.
Cedar Rapids raising parking fines
If you park the car in Cedar Rapids, better look sharp. Fines are going to quintuple for many non-moving violations. Lieutenant Steve O’Konek says the city council this week amended the ordinance, effective Monday, February 2nd. Parking violations except for handicapped zones and expired meter will increase from five to 25 dollars — that’ll include parking in prohibited zones and being parked in emergency snow routes. O’Konek says state law sets the fine for a handicapped-space violation, at 100 dollars. He says the problem that sparked the fine increase is people who’ll block downtown alleyways or park a car on the street for a long time, advertising it for sale or just taking up space. And in residential areas, if you don’t have a driveway or garage, the rule is: use it or lose it. You can park on a residential street for 48 hours without moving before it’s considered “streets for storage” and if cops come mark a car and verify that it still hasn’t been moved for two days, they’ll tow it away. Downtown shoppers and businesspeople will benefit from the new rules, as the officer says one goal is to make sure those who have a legitimate need to come and go can find a space.He says the higher fines should encourage people to avoid them — to have an incentive to park properly and safely. O’Koneck says city traffic departments in all Iowa towns have a vested interest in seeing that traffic moves safely and that car owners don’t deprive others of parking by using streets to simply store a vehicle.
Expert says you can bet there’ll be illegal wagering on Superbowl
Superbowl Sunday is known as the single largest gambling day in the world. For some it’ll just be a friendly bet, but for some compulsive gamblers, it’ll be a last chance to get even. Gambling expert Mike Stone says many Iowans will have a tough time staying away from wagering. Stone says “The best advice we have about gambling on Superbowl Sunday is not to try to make up all your losses on one bet. Obviously it might be better for some people if they didn’t bet, but that’s not realistic for the day or for our society.” Stone says about 100-mllion dollars will be wagered on the Superbowl legally in Nevada, while an estimated four-billion will be bet illegally with bookmakers across the nation.
