The state concluded negotiations on a new Indian Gaming compact last night. This new compact with the operators of the Meskwaki Casino in Tama replaces the old one that expired and negotiations dragged on for several weeks. The compact is needed to run the Indian gaming operation, and provisions of the new agreement remain confidential for now. Steve Young of Iowa’s Department of Inspections and Appeals and tribal chairman Homer Bear released a joint statement saying only that the agreement was successfully concluded and after its review by the U-S Department of the Interior which oversees the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs will details be released.
State gets grant to study childhood violence
September 18, 2004 By
The Iowa Department of Public Health has won a $98,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study violence prevention among kids. Binne LeHew, the Violence Prevention Coordinator for the Public Health Department, says this grant is for a two-year project and in the first year they hope to assess what is currently being done by state agencies and local agencies to address the risk and prevention factors in youth violence. She says this involves everything from suicide to bullying. LeHew says the information they gather in the first year will lead to the next stage. She says they hope to develop a report card on how the state is doing, and then develope a plan for helping the state prevent youth violence. LeHew says this is an attempt to get the Public Health Department more involved. She says they’ve recognized that they’ve not done much to address the issue from the public health side. She says they recognize suicide as a public health problem, and they recognize injury and violence as a public health problem. LeHew says they want to be sure all agencies are working together on the issue. She says they know law enforcement, social services, mental health agencies and education have done a good job, but she says they want a collaboration across agencies. To learn more about Iowa’s violence prevention efforts visit www.idph.state.ia.us
Big cat on the prowl?
September 18, 2004 By
A big cat may be prowling around Western Iowa’s Pottawattamie County. Earlier this summer, a mountain lion was believed to have caused the death of one colt and injury to another, near Avoca. Just a few weeks ago, a man who lives about a mile west of Avoca claims he spotted a mountain lion as he went to check on his cattle. Max Klindt says he saw the cat September 3rd as it was sunning itself on a terrace. The animal was described as being bright orange, nine-to-10-inches in diameter, and about two-to-three feet long. Klindt said the creature’s tail was about as long as its body. Another farmer reported hearing a big cat growling along the banks of the Nishnabotna River near Avoca. Sightings of mountain lions in Western Iowa began a couple of years ago, and have increased in frequency throughout the region. The D-N-R says if you think you’ve spotted one of the big cats, or the tracks they’ve left behind, exercise caution and call wildlife authorities.
