Drew Tate’s spot as the starting quarterback for the Iowa Hawkeyes has been solidified by an injury to backup Jason Manson. Hawkeye coach Kirk Ferentz says Manson will be sidelined by a foot injury. Ferentz says they put a screw in Manson’s foot and he’ll be out probably for three weeks. He says it was a surprising thing that happened three or four days ago and started hurting. Ferentz says there are a lot of question marks on the offensive line. He says the unit has had a hard time jelling, although he says they’ve had some good performances individually. Ferentz says they’ll probably play 7 or 8 linemen in the game.Ferentz say a young group of receivers has made progress heading into Saturday’s opener against Kent State. He says they’ve made great strides and are benefiting from the practice time they’ve been getting.
Iowa students improve on SAT exam
The interim director of the state Department Education says there’s some good news for Iowa students on one of the college entrance exams. Judy Jeffrey says the results are out for the S-A-T college entrance exam, and they’re good results.She says they improved across the board, including the verbal and math scores — which she says are the two they pay the most attention to. Iowa students scored an average verbal score of 593 and average math score of 602, compared to the national average verbal score of 508 and average math score was 518. The highest possible score is 800 in each category. The 18-hundred students who took the test in 2004 did better than Iowans who took the test last year. She says even though it’s only five percent of the Iowa graduates, she says they’re happy to see them do better than the national average. Jeffrey doesn’t have a breakdown on the high schools where students took the tests. She says what they do know is that students who take the test are typically bound for east-coast colleges. She says they typically take the test to get a score for a college out of Iowa. Jeffrey says they’ve also found that more Iowa students have access to Advanced Placement, or A-P classes to prep them for college. She says they’ve seen an increase in the number of schools offering the courses and the number of students taking the courses. She credits some of the increase to the efforts of the Advanced Placement Teacher Training Institute at the University of Iowa that offers the classes on-line. Jeffrey says the A-P classes can have a big impact on how a student fares in college. She says they believe the rigor of the courses really prepares students for post-secondary success. Jeffrey says there were also good results from the preliminary S-A-T tests typically taken by high school sophomores and juniors to practice for the S-A-T in their senior years. She says students who took the P-S-A-T scored about the national average in the verbal and math areas.
Lincoln Highway Association seeks Scenic Byway status
Members of the Iowa Lincoln Highway Association are seeking Iowa Scenic Byway status for the historic roadway. Bob Ausberger of Jefferson is a past National President of the Lincoln Highway Association. He says even bigger projects could result from winning the designation for the route, which stretches from Clinton to Blair, Nebraska. Illinois and Ohio have already received Scenic Byway designations, and what they’re trying to do is put together a group of states, for instance Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa as a national Scenic Byway. Ausberger has been lobbying local government bodies in Greene County for support with some mixed reaction.He says they got letters of support from the towns of Jefferson and Scranton, statements that they’re aware of the project, and they understand it and encourage the promoters. He says so far Greene County won’t contribute a letter of support. Ausberger says other county chapters of the Lincoln Highway Association have had more success. Many told them at a recent meeting that they have success getting similar letters of support. Iowa Scenic Byway Program Manager Margaret Roetman describes the application process. Applications arrive in October she says, and the following summer it’s time to evaluate the roads so by the spring after that they have a “score” for byways to be designated. Applications are scored on the basis of scenic and historic factors. Roetman says Scenic Byways may help local economies.She adds there is no cost to counties, except for having their road crews hang of Scenic Byway signs, which are provided by the D-O-T at no cost. There are currently 8 state Scenic Byways and 2 National Scenic Routes in Iowa. Two previous Department of Transportation studies indicate that some portions of the road across the state may not be scenic enough to qualify the entire highway for Scenic Byway status. The Lincoln Highway Association needs to meet an October first deadline to have their application considered this year.
Group concerned about suicides in prisons
State corrections officials say two inmates in Iowa prisons committed suicide in the past week, raising concerns from an advocacy group. Margaret Stout, executive director of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Iowa, says the suicides at Fort Madison and Mount Pleasant raise serious questions about security, procedures and precautions. Stout says “We wonder what might be happening to the individuals. Are they getting proper treatment and proper interventions by mental health folks or are they being neglected? We can’t tell.” 24-year-old Alan Leak of Des Moines, who was serving time for robbery, died Friday at Fort Madison from an overdose of antidepressant medication. Stout says that’s a big “red flag” that a problem exists. If he was able to hoard his medication in order to complete the suicide, Stout says “that tells me that there might be something going on in the monitoring that is not accurate. It does not look good when you find that somebody’s been able to collect medication, particularly within the criminal justice system.” 44-year-old Doreen Kneipp of Bettendorf died Saturday after jumping from a third-floor window at the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility. She went to prison in May after pleading guilty to trying to kill her two children with a drug overdose. A spokesman for the Iowa Department of Corrections has not returned Radio Iowa’s call.
UNI coach says first four games will set season tempo
The UNI football team opens the season full of optimism when they visit Iowa State on Saturday. Panther coach Mark Farley says this game opens a season that he has broken down into two segments. He says they’ll have the first four games in one season in which they need to play well and find out where they are, and then the remaining seven games. UNI lost a 17-10 decision in Ames a year ago and while Farley says they expect to be competitive the Panthers realize they are underdogs. He says Iowa State is a Big 12 football team with tenfold the resources of his team. He says they’ve been to three bowl games in the last five years, and Farley says his team will have its work cut out for them. Farley says with new offensive coordinator Barney Cotton the Cyclones will have the element of surprise. Farley says they had confidence the last time they played, but that’s not the issue. He says this year there’s the uncertainty of what to expect out of I-S-U’s new offense as they try to prepare for the game.
Hearing continues over Cass County Attorney’s actions
A hearing is underway in Atlantic to determine if Cass County Attorney James Barry should be removed from office for alleged misconduct. The sheriff’s job will be the line next week. Monday the court heard from Stephanie Witzmer, a civil processor for the Cass County Sheriff’s office. Witzmer said less than two months before a newspaper report detailing allegations of mishandling of funds in the sheriff’s department, Barry and Sheriff Larry Jones asked her if she wouldn’t mind taking over the books relating to the sheriff’s drug fund so that the records would be more accurate. Witzmer said she received two sets of ledgers and two sacks of money that took a long-time to reconcile, but that Barry did not anything improper in the handling of the books, and had never asked her to lie about the records. And, Annette Campbell, from the State Auditor’s Office, said there was no evidence to suggest that Barry had any control over the sheriff’s cash fund, and that there were no records linking him to the purchase of a high-powered rifle using money from the sheriff’s fund.
Johnston Police Chief under scrutiny over ticket
The top cop in a Des Moines suburb is in hot water over what may be a hot temper. A West Des Moines man was installing carpet at an elementary school last month. Morris Wadle says a summer school teacher in an adjoining classroom came over to complain about the noise he was making. An argument ensued. The teacher reportedly said she’d have her husband take care of the problem. It turns out, she’s Karen Gaddis, the wife of Johnston Police Chief Bruce Gaddis. Reports say it was Chief Gaddis, in an unmarked squad car, who followed, then pulled Wadle over for that same day, made snide comments according to Wadle, then gave him a speeding ticket, which is being contested in court. Chief Gaddis was suspended with pay from his job last week for undisclosed reasons.
