The Grinnell College volleyball team faces a big challenge this weekend. The Pioneers will go up against division-one competition when they take part in a tournament at Tulsa. Grinnell coach Tom Sonnichson says his oldest son is the head coach at Tulsa and he says he thought it would be interesting to go to the tournament. He says they seldom go against a division one team, and a father and son rarely get to go up against each other. The other teams in the tournament are Charleston Southern and Grambling. He says he has to convince his team that they can be successful against the other teams.Sonnichson says once they recognize they can compete and do well, that should carry over for the whole season.
Children injured in Southwest Iowa bus accident
September 16, 2004 By
Several people were injured when a pickup and a school bus collided this morning in southwest Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol says the driver of the pickup and 12 grade school children from the College Springs/South Page Community Schools were hurt. The accident occurred about a half-mile east of Coin, in Page County, just after 7:30 this morning. Troopers say the bus, driven by 49-year old Sheila Hutchison, of Coin, had stopped to pick up children in front of a home when a pickup driven by 51-year old Galen R. Swanson, also of Coin, failed to see the bus due to glare from the sun. The pickup struck the bus from behind as it was eastbound. The injured students and driver of the pickup were taken to hospitals in Clarinda and Shenandoah where they were treated for minor injuries. The pickup was totaled, and the 1996 BlueBird bus sustained 10-thousand dollars damage. Troopers are still investigating the crash.
Grassley asks President for help on tax bill
September 16, 2004 By
A frustrated Senator Chuck Grassley today called on President Bush to do more to help persuade Congress to pass a far-ranging tax bill. The measure includes an extension of the tax break for ethanol fuel and it closes some corporate tax loopholes. “It’s going to happen with or without the president’s help, but it seems to me like the president will want to be manning an oar instead of riding along as a free rider,” Grassley says. Grassley is the chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, the panel that writes tax law. But Grassley’s ire over the bill isn’t just directed at President Bush. Grassley says democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and his runningmate John Edwards both say on the campaign trail they support the provisions in the bill. Grassley says “they ought to come back and cast their vote for ‘em.” Kerry and Edwards are both members of the U.S. Senate. Grassley says democrats may not want the bill to pass the Senate because then the republican President would be able to sign a bill that includes energy and job-creation plans.
Unemployment rate goes up as more people seek jobs
September 16, 2004 By
Iowa’s jobless rate inched up in August, but this time around that’s a positive sign. Workforce analyst Ann Wagner says the state’s economy continues to improve. More people are starting to come back into the labor force, holding unemployment rates high. She explains when people see that the economy’s gotten better they’re encouraged to come back out and look for jobs. Nonfarm employment figures were up by 34-hundred jobs over the month, and increased by 11-thousand-400 jobs since August of 2003. That nonfarm employment was at one-Million-449-thousand-800 jobs…the highest so far this year. There was also improvement in manufacturing, the trade-and-transportation category, and in government. That trade and transportation sector was boosted by the opening of a big new shopping center last month in West Des Moines, with two-thousand people hired to work at stores in the Jordan Creek mall. Education and health was up by 500 jobs, a good sector to be in over the last couple years, and finance jobs barely increased, because she says there were big increased a year ago when consumers were rushing to refinance many loans.
Body of drowned boater recovered at Sun Valley Lake
September 16, 2004 By
The body of a boater who drowned in a southwest Iowa lake earlier this week was recovered just before noon today. Afton police chief John Coulter was called in to head up the search at Sun Valley Lake because he’s had some experience with water searches. Coulter says the body was found about 40 feet from shore, in about 10 feet of water. Coulter says the lake has a lot of weeds, which made the search more difficult. Authorities released the name of the drowning victim last night. Twenty-four-year-old Donald Paul Lee Palmer of Mapleton was in the area to attend the funeral of a family member and went out on the lake, which is in Ringgold County, near Tingley. The boat he was riding in ran of gas, and Palmer jumped in the lake to swim to shore for help. “It’s a tragedy. It’s tragic for everybody that’s been involved,” Coulter says. The Afton police chief says it should also serve as a reminder to wear a life jacket when you’re boating.
Investigators not sure if Menlo fire was arson or accident
September 16, 2004 By
Investigators from the State Fire Marshal’s office today gathered samples from a burned out building near Menlo just off I-80 that was undergoing remodeling to become an adult entertainment store. The fire was reported early this morning. Adair County Chief Deputy Brad Newton says state agents will send materials found at the scene to the state crime lab for testing. He says, “Right now, we can’t say it’s arson and we can’t say it’s not. It’s pending the outcome of these tests. The building has been going through extensive remodeling. We don’t know if it was an electrical problem. There was no one in the building at the time it started. There was no one around the building at the time it started.” Newton acknowledges that some people were upset about the nature of the business, but says he’s not aware of any threats against the building or its owners. There have never been any organized protests out here, it’s just been articles in the paper. Newton says the building appears to be damaged beyond recovery.
Simpson and Central to face off Saturday
September 16, 2004 By
A pair of long-time rivals collide this weekend as Simpson hosts Central in the Iowa Conference opener for both teams. The Storm opened two weeks ago with a hard fought 13-7 win over Illinois Wesleyan. Simpson coach Jay Niemann says the quarterback was the biggest unknown going, and Jacob Johnson had a solid first game. Nieman says both teams enter the game with some momentum. He says Central had a huge overtime win over Bethal.Last week’s victory was the first for Jeff McMartin as Central coach. He was part of this rivalry while a player at Central. He says the schools are close geographically, and both schools have had good teams, and that makes it fun.Simpson had a huge advantage in time of possession in the opening game and McMartin says the Dutch defense will need to get the Storm offense off the field to be successful.
