The Iowa Hawkeyes have fallen 12 spots to 24th in the latest USA Today\ESPN Coaches Poll. The Hawkeyes suffered what coach Kirk Ferentz termed a “thorough beating” in a 44-7 loss at Arizona State. Andrew Walter threw five touchdown passes as the Sun Devils pounded the Hawks 44-7. Ferentz says A-S-U used max protection and ran good routs and Walter did a good job of putting the ball where he should. The victory allowed Arizona State to avenge a lop sided loss to the Hawkeyes in 2003. Ferentz says the Sun Devils are better and his team is not quite as good as it was a year ago at this point, but he says A-S-U had it all going and his team couldn’t seem to get anything going. Iowa’s offense was smothered as the Hawks managed only 100 yards of total offense and a punt return for a touchdown by Walner Belleus in the waning seconds prevented a shutout. They will need to put this game behind the as they get set for the Big Ten opener at Michigan.
Expert says good play area important on the farm
Safety experts are asking Iowa farmers to take some time to look at what they’re doing for their kids this week during “National Farm Safety Week.” Risto Rautiainen of the University of Iowa says many farmers have created play areas for kids on the farm — and those areas can be improved. He says it’s a good idea to look at the play areas that could really be built into something better. He says putting a fence around high traffic play areas and using some of the traditional play areas — which he says don’t have to be purchased, but can be made. Rautiainen says creating a play area is some you can do to get the kids involved in improving their own safety. He says you can make it a family project and get everyone involved. He says you can improve something you already have, and don’t need a lot of money, just some time to spend with the kids. He says making a safe play area isn’t just important during the fall harvest. He says this is something that’s long term — such as a playhouse. He says he had a playhouse on the farm where he grew up in Finland, and it’s still there. He says it can be something that’s used for generations. Rautiainen says getting everyone involved and building a play area that will last is the best way to ensure the continued safety of kids on the farm.
Elizabeth Edwards says media covers "nonsense"
The wife of the democratic vice presidential candidate has spent four days campaigning in Iowa this month alone, and on Sunday, Elizabeth Edwards let reporters hear her frustrations. Former Vice President Spiro Agnew uttered his infamous “nattering naybobs of negativism” quote during a speech in Des Moines over three decades ago. While Mrs. Edwards wasn’t as venomous or alliterative as Agnew, she did accuse the media of paying attention to the wrong things. Edwards said the Kerry/Edwards campaign is competing for time against “a bunch of lies,” what’s happening in the Scott Peterson murder trial in California and “whatever the latest Michael Jackson story is.” Mrs. Edwards unleashed her frustrations during an interview Sunday evening in Indianola, after she spoke at Senator Tom Harkin’s annual steak fry. “I’d love to have the press’s support in bringing to the forefront of the discussion the things that are actually going to make a difference in people’s lives as opposed to the rest of this nonsense which doesn’t matter, frankly, at all,” Edwards said. She recently tapped into the Glamour magazine’s forum on the Internet, and found the women chatting there were frustrated by the campaign because they couldn’t tell where the candidates stood on issues like the environment, education and abortion. Edwards said she’s talking about those things every single day, as are her husband and John Kerry, but “it’s not being covered” by the media. Edwards concedes that the National Enquirer was created around the concept that people will “slow down to look at the train wreck” rather than be attracted to serious substance. Edwards says politicians who “sloganeer” without providing detailed answers bear some responsibility for the state of the campaign coverage, and “maybe the public does, too,” because of the type of news it consumes.
Galva woman killed in bike accident
A western Iowa woman was killed over the weekend when the bicycle she was riding collided with a pickup truck. 51-year-old Jean Mohr of Galva was riding her bike on a Sac County road west of Schaller on Saturday afternoon when she was hit by a pickup truck driven by 50-year-old Ricky Schmidt of Alta. Mohr was pronounced dead at the scene. No charges have been filed.
Nader says he’s wrongly portrayed as a spoiler
Third party candidate Ralph Nader says he’s tired of being used as a political pawn by both the Republican and Democratic Parties. Nader, during a campaign stop in Iowa, said the tactics used by the Bush and Kerry teams could come back to haunt them. He tells the two major parties to “get off our back and stop entangling us in your insidious schemes” and cautions republicans to beware what they wish for, saying an increasing number of republicans are “furious with Bush over the deficits” as well as the “big government snooping Patriot Act,” NAFTA and WTO and hundreds of billions in corporate subsidies. Nader says the struggle for justice must never be put on adjournment. Nader says he has a 40-year record trying to advance the health, safety and well-being of the American people, and says progressive values nourished by the “great farmer-populist progressive revolt over 100 years ago” should give way to an attitude of “vote for the least worst of the two parties.” Nader says the Democrats are sending the wrong message to voters in their attempt to unseat Bush. Nader calls the Democratic party stupid, saying they should be “landsliding” George W-Bush but are sliding in the polls because they’re advised by consultants and have forgotten to stand up for workers and consumers, for patience and for peace, and for small farmers. Nader, speaking Friday in Mason City, says people are incorrectly calling him “the spoiler” of the 2004 race.When you run for office, you’re trying to get votes from the other person, he points out, so “we’re all spoilers,” and says Bush is creating a lead over Kerry that probably has other problems on his mind. Nader is on the ballot in 34 states, mostly as an independent candidate. In 2000, Nader ran in Florida as the Green Party candidate and garnered around 97-thousand votes, more than the 537 vote margin that George W. Bush had over Al Gore.
Lost Nation farmer dies in accident
On the first day of National Farm Safety Week, a tractor accident claimed the life of an eastern Iowa man. A Clinton County farmer was killed in a farm accident northwest of Lost Nation Sunday. Clinton County deputies found 48-year-old Noel Becker pinned beneath the tractor he was operating in a field on his farm. Becker was pronounced dead at the scene.
Four Iowans injured in Missouri plane crash
A small plane carrying four Iowans crashed into another plane in northeastern Missouri over the weekend. The Missouri State Patrol says a four-seat airplane attempting takeoff on Saturday crashed into another plane that was parked at the end of the runway in Knox County. All four people in the plane that was attempting takeoff were from Iowa and all were taken to a Kirksville hospital with moderate injuries. No names and no condition reports have been released. The crash is still under investigation by the F-A-A.
