In high school football action tonight there is a battle of number twos as class 3A second rated Central Dewitt visits class 2A second rated Solon. Central Dewitt lost a large number of seniors from last year’s team but with a large number of young men going out for the sport the replacements were ready.Central Dewitt coach Kurt Kryter says they had 11 defensive starters who were seniors, as he says he likes to see the seniors play. He says Solon has talent and tradition. He says they’ve talked with their kids about that and how they should look to them as an example for building a program.After missing the playoffs in 2003 Dike-New Hartford got this season off to a good start with a victory over Aplington-Parkersburg and the Wolverines are ranked third in class 1A heading into tonight’s game against Grundy Center.Dike-New Hartford coach Tom Wilson says it’s just one win, and they have to approach it that way. He says the Wolverines are motivated after missing the playoffs last year and have put a lot of work in to get back where they expect to be this year.
Judge stays out of church dispute
A judge has decided not to lay his hands on a controversial church remodeling project. The Fayette County judge turned down a request from church parishioners in St. Lucas to put a stop to the remodeling of their church. Members of the St. Lukes Catholic church were seeking an injunction to halt the renovation of the church — claiming the planned improvements would detract from the church’s historic and architectural integrity. Judge James Beegley denied the request saying that the renovation plans were ecclesiastical — prohibiting the court from interfering. Church leaders had proposed installing an elevator to allow access to the elderly and disabled.
Groups push for more renewable energy
Two advocacy groups have organized a four-state bike tour of mid-sized rural communities to highlight the potential for rural economic development from investments in renewable energy. David Osterberg, the director of the Iowa Policy Project says the trip starts Monday in Howard, South Dakota. Osterberg says Iowa has dropped from third to fourth in the past six months in wind production. He says Minnesota has passed us because they have better policy than we do. He says Iowa is doing better than South Dakota. Osterberg visited Europe in 2002 and says that trip proved renewable energy is a viable option. He say the potential is “really, really, big” and he says it could really spur economic development in rural areas. Osterberg says his organization, along with the League of Rural Voters put out the information, but he says it’s up to the voters to lobby the legislature. Osterberg says Iowa’s law requiring companies to generate two percent of their power from renewable sources is outdated. He says a utility company is a monopoly and that’s why you have to force them to buy renewable energy and let the price be determined by the market. He says if we set the renewal requirement at 10 or 20 percent, there would be more steel put up in rural areas and more jobs created. Osterberg says the power companies wield great power in the Iowa Legislature and don’t support some of the proposed changes.
Rockwell Collins expects a strong year
Rockwell Collins hasn’t finished its fiscal year yet but the Cedar Rapids based maker of avionics and entertainment systems already expects a good report. Dan Crookshank is vice president of investor relations.He says they expect sales of two-point-nine-Billion dollars for this year, and shares will pay a dollar-60 to 1-65, about the same as projected at the end of the company’s third quarter and in all a “pretty good year.” 54-percent of Rockwell’s sales are to the government, and Crookshank says the business of outfitting military planes with navigation systems has held strong despite the recession of recent years. Crookshank says recent increases in the defense budget combined with some big sales of their programs to modernize military planes will mean revenue growth “in the low single-digit range” for the government systems side of the company’s business. The military market has remained strong the last couple years, which Crookshank says has helped hold revenues steady for Rockwell Collins. Projections for this year call for a third consecutive year of double-digit sales growth in RC’s government-systems business, which has offset the slump in business and regional jet markets, as civilian travel fell off in recent years because of the events of 911, the Iraq war, SARS and the fears that caused among the traveling public. Commercial systems include airlines that buy navigation gear, radios, and entertainment systems for their passengers. Crookshank says that market’s been rebounding from its post-9/11 slump. He says revenues should increase by nearly 10-percent. Rockwell’s projecting a 3-point-3-Billion dollar sales total for fiscal year 2005, up from two-point-9-Billion in the year that ends September 30.
Attorneys rest case in Cass County Sheriff’s trial
The attorneys have rested their cases in a trial brought by residents of a western Iowa town seeking to remove their county sheriff from office. Cass County Sheriff Larry Jones’ trial ended Thursday with the Sheriff’s predecessor disputing Jones’ testimony that a drug fund was in place before he assumed the role as the county’s second highest law officer, under the County Attorney. Tom Pope, of Lewis, was the Cass County Sheriff in the early 1980′s, and prior to that served as a County Deputy. He told the court there was no “drug fund” in place when he was Sheriff, and that money paid to drug informants came out of his own pocket. The state put up the cash to make the drug buys, and two state agents would work with him when a drug case came about. His statement contradicted Jones’ earlier testimony that a drug fund had always been in place, and that the Sheriff had final say in how those funds would be used. Jones’ misuse of the funds, and the handling of evidence were two of the reasons seven Atlantic residents gave for wanting him removed from office. Judge Robert Hutchinson will receive written arguments from the Attorney’s in the case early next week, but has not announced when he will make his ruling.
Iowa breaks tornado record
Iowa’s been hit with 110 tornadoes this year, that’s more than ever before and tornado season isn’t over — as it never truly ends. That 110-mark beats the previous record of 105 twisters set in 2001. Last year, Iowa only recorded 28 tornadoes. Jeff Johnson, the National Weather Service’s warning coordination meteorologist, breaks the long list down by month.There were five tornadoes in Iowa during April, 47 in May, 28 in June, only three in July, then 17 twisters in August which is “very active” for August, and ten so far in September. While tornadoes can drop from the sky during -any- month, Johnson says there is a tornado season. He says April, May and June account for about 70-percent of Iowa’s tornadoes on average, while a secondary season may extend from July through September. Twisters usually don’t appear during the colder months but Johnson says Iowa’s had them in December and January before. Even though it’s been a record year for the number of tornadoes, he says no one’s been killed by them in Iowa. While there have been a number of injuries, there have been -no- deaths, which Johnson attributes to a combination of people getting the warnings and taking cover along with a little bit of luck. This year’s worst tornado so far hit the northwest Iowa town of Bradgate on May 21st, damaging or demolishing every home in the town and injuring 13 people.
Rise in suicides creates concern
The number of Iowans who killed themselves rose 12-percent last year, which is prompting renewed concern from activists today (Friday) on International Suicide Prevention Day. Jeremy Brigham is a member of Iowa’s Suicide Prevention Strategy Steering Committee. He says suicide is both a very private and a very public act.In 2003, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported 350 suicides statewide and “each one of them touches a wide circle of family and friends” in addition to five times as many suicide attempts. There were 312 suicides in 2002 in Iowa and 308 suicides in 2001. Brigham says the causes for the jump from 2002 to 2003 are unclear, but he has suspicions. He points to socioeconomic factors like the loss of health insurance and the loss of jobs, in addition to substance abuse and mental illnesses. Brigham says of the 350 Iowans who killed themselves last year, about half — 176 — used a gun. He says part of today’s effort is to make people aware of the risk involved in having a gun in the house. He says many studies have found the more homes that have guns, the higher the suicide rate. Brigham says they’re working to find storage sites for Iowans’ rifles and shotguns during non-hunting seasons so people might have an alternate place to put them. Brigham is also a researcher for the group Iowans For the Prevention of Gun Violence. For more information, surf to “www.ipgv.org”.
