The 12th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes close out pre-conference action with a difficult test as they visit Arizona State. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says first and foremost it’s the first road game which presents some new circumstances, and he says it’ll be a tough environment. The Hawkeyes beat Arizona State 21-2 last season and the Sun Devils will be out for revenge. Ferentz says his guys have a heartbeat too and so he says he thinks both teams will be motivated. Ferentz says the Hawkeyes need to limit mistakes and that means eliminating the personal foul penalties on defense. He says they can’t give up easy yardage, and that’s what penalties are. He says if they’re going to try and get somewhere special, that’s what they’re gonna have to do.The Iowa State Cyclones close out non-conference play at home against Northern Illinois. The Huskies were one of the nation’s biggest surprises a year ago when they beat Maryland, Alabama and the Cyclones enroute to a 10-2 record. ISU coach Dan McCarney says many of those same players are back and they blend in some newcomers. McCarney says the Cyclones will need to be ready to play, he says they won last year and they play with a lot of confidence. McCarney is eager to see how the Cyclones bounce back from the loss to Iowa. He says you find out more about your players every time you play and he says they’ve had a win and now a loss and they’ll find out how they react.
Two killed when car hits truck in Adair County
One man was killed and another hurt, when they were struck by a car Thursday morning in the Adair County town of Greenfield. Authorities say 51-Steve Forcht, of Stuart, died from injuries he suffered when a vehicle driven by 16-year old Jennifer Johnston, of rural Greenfield, struck Forcht and 34-year old Corey Queck, of Fontanelle, as the men were unloading equipment from a flat bed tractor trailer. Forcht was taken to Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines, where he later died from multiple injuries. Queck was transported to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, where a report on his condition was not available. Greenfield Police say Johnston was traveling East on Townline Road, near Cardinal Glass I-G, at about 7:15 Thursday morning. She told police as she topped a hill she was blinded by glare from the sun, and didn’t notice the men, who were standing next to the semi trying to remove a tarp from a piece of equipment.
Nader makes campaign visit to Iowa
Third-party candidate Ralph Nader made a swing through the state of Iowa today, including a lunchtime stop at “Pro’s Sandwich Shop” in Mason City. Nader says the nation’s antitrust laws should be used to break up giant agri-businesses that are “squeezing the family farmer and rancher.” He says rural America and the small-farm economy is in jeopardy, because he charges giants like Tyson, ADM and Cargill are moving to integrate agriculture into “giant production units from the farm to the supermarket.” Nader says family farmers need to organize better against corporate America to level the playing field. Nader says a group called the Organization for Competitive Markets, made up of small farmers including people in Iowa got together to announce that they can’t get a decent price for their product and are squeezed by giant buyers whose “vertical integration of industrial agriculture” is going to push them off the land. Nader says their only other alternative now is becoming contract partners like they have in poultry processing, which he charges “reduces them to peonage.” Nader also stopped today in Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids, and will make an appearance at the University of Iowa in Iowa City tonight.
Attorney General sues Delaware company
The State of Iowa is suing a Delaware company that Attorney General Tom Miller says has been helping telemarketing companies bilk Iowans. Miller says today, the state of Iowa has opened a new front in the battle against telemarketing fraud. Miller accuses Teledraft, Incorporated of doing the dirty work for at least 20 shady telemarketing companies, most of which are based in Canada. Miller says Teledraft has electronically withdrawn money from several Iowans’ bank accounts, without their permission. Miller says the state is going after someone new in telemarketing fraud. Miller says Teledraft did the financial transactions for one company charging almost five-hundred dollars for something that was mostly free. Miller alleges that “Consumer Benefits Council” called people up and offered to get them off telemarketers lists forever — for that hefty fee — at the same time the federal “Do Not Call” list allowed Americans to put their phone numbers of the list, for free. Miller is asking the court to fine the company 40-thousand dollars for each illegal electronic bank withdrawal and to tack on five-thousand more dollars for each withdrawal that came from an elderly Iowan. Miller says “any sensible person could see” the companies Teledraft did business with were engaged in fraud. Investigators in Miller’s office are also trying to find out who provided Teledraft with the names, phone numbers and bank account information they used.
Latham and challenger argue over health care
Congress Tom Latham and his democratic challenger are clashing over how to improve the nation’s health care system. Latham and former Iowa Department of Natural Resources director Paul Johnson squared off on the issue today during a joint appearance on Iowa Public Television. Johnson says the cost of health care has become a huge drain on the economy as both businesses and families struggle to pay ever-higher insurance premiums. Johnson says it’s time to institute a national health care system where government picks up the tab, but private-run hospitals still provide the care. Similar to what most countries have today, he says, a Medicare system “for all.” Johnson says we’d still have a private delivery system with competition and innovation, as the federal government wouldn’t have to take over that part of it. Congressman Latham says that amounts of socialized medicine, which he says has been a disaster in other countries and should not be implemented here. He says in Canada there’s “tremendous limitation of healthcare,” and pe3ople have to wait days, weeks or months for treatment. Latham says that shouldn’t happen in the US and says we have the best healthcare system in the world. Latham says republicans are working instead to lower the cost of health care by reining in medical malpractice lawsuits. He says republicans also want to let families setup tax-free health care savings accounts to cover medical expenses. Latham says incentives will be put in place for small businesses to join a pool that’ll let them afford healthcare for their workers. But Johnson says that won’t provide enough relief, and he bristles at Latham’s suggestion that his proposal is socialized medicine.Johnson scoffs at the notion of “socialized medicine,” saying it’s just what the Medicare program offers. He asks if seniors would want to “dump that and be put out into the marketplace” like everyone else has to be. Johnson says the state and federal government already pick up more than half the cost of health care in America by covering seniors, low income families and veterans. He says with better administrative efficiencies, government could cover everyone without spending much more. The discussion between the two competitors will air tonight on I-P-T-V.
Gold medalist Sanderson returns to Ames for big welcome
Former Iowa State University wrestler Cael Sanderson made his first public appearance back in the state after winning a gold medal at the Olympics in Athens. Cael Sanderson returned to the campus in Ames where he first became a legend by compiling a 159-0 record in his college matches and winning four national titles. Sanderson then met the expectations created by that stellar college career with the gold medal in the 185-pound class of freestyle Olympic wrestling. Sanderson remained soft-spoken and modest about his accomplishments in college — and it appears he’s still that way, even though several hundred people turned out to honor him in front of the Iowa State Campanile. He says it’s very humbling and says he doesn’t know why people would come out at lunch time to see him, but says it means a lot to him. Sanderson gave credit to his coaches and training partners who help him prepare for the Olympics, and also thanked the fans in Iowa and the U.S. who rooted for him in Athens. He says, “I would not want to take any of the credit because I know what everybody put into it.” Sanderson says everyone put in so much time including his wife who was always there, “She’s supportive when I needed support and she told me I needed to suck it up and quit being a sissy when I needed to suck it up and quit being a sissy.” While he’s humble about what he accomplished, he admits it has been his dream. He says, “I’ve always planned on wining a gold medal, and that was something I think help me out a lot in Athens.” He says dreaming of it for so long definitely helped him. Sanderson talked about the expectations on him after the undefeated college career. He says the pressures between the streak of wins in college and getting the gold medal were a lot different. Sanderson says if he goes into coaching he would have a lot of experiences to use in helping the athletes. Sanderson has worked in the I-S-U athletic department since graduating and while training for the Olympics. He says he’s not sure exactly what the future holds now — but says he’d like to continue in some capacity with I-S-U — possibly as a coach. Sanderson isn’t sure if he’ll put his singlet back on in four years and go for the gold again. He says he can’t say right now, “If I get that fire and I wanna go for another one, I’ll definitely do it.” Sanderson will also be honored at halftime of Saturday’s I-S-U football game.
Top ranked Valley faces SC Heelan
A class 4A rated matchup finds fourth rated Sioux City Heelan visiting top ranked West Des Moines Valley. The Crusaders will be out to snap Valley’s winning streak that has reached 20-games. Heelan coach Roger Jansen says the Valley staff has done a great job with the kids and he doesn’t see much drop off from the back-to-back state championship teams. He says at 2-0 he is happy with the start. He says they lost a lot of guys off last year’s team and says it’s always hard to fill the holes. He says the kids have done a good job.
