The UNI volleyball team will face its first two league road tests of the season this weekend. The Panthers will be at Indiana State on Friday and then battle at Illinois State on Saturday. Northern Iowa is riding some momentum after winning all three of their matches in winning their own Panther Invitational last week. After a tough non-conference schedule, UNI coach Bobbi Petersen feels her team is prepared for this weekend’s Missouri Valley Conference matches. She says they’re a team that will get better each time they take the court. Petersen feels her young team is gaining confidence with each match. She says a lot of things come with time and she says the team understands that.The Panthers are 6-4 on the season.
Thousands of drugs seized after routine traffic stop
September 23, 2004 By
The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department released details Wednesday on a bust along Interstate 80 Monday that netted an estimated 600-thousand dollars worth of drugs. Authorities say 26-year-old Joel Martinez-Marriquin of Las Vegas was stopped for speeding near Van Meter. After a visual check and a search with a drug dog, a deputy discovered the hidden narcotics. Five pounds of cocaine and seven pounds of “crystal ice” methamphetamine were taken from the vehicle. Martinez-Marriquin faces three felony charges in relation to the incident. He is being held in Dallas County Jail on 270 thousand dollars bond.
More corn going to fuel instead of food
September 23, 2004 By
More and more of the Midwestern corn crop is being used not for human or animal food but to produce energy. Soil scientist Dan Walters says more of the grain crop each year is converted to ethanol to be mixed with gasoline. That affects the stability of grain prices for farmers, and increases demand for the crop, though Walters says it could also mean higher prices for grain fed by livestock producers. If we see tremendous demand, it depends on who can pay the most for the grain, and he adds in the long run the corn market looks good, at least from the point of view of a soil scientist who’s not an economist. Walters says it’s not likely to come down to hard choices like food versus fuel, because corn isn’t the only source we can use for making ethanol. Corn isn’t the only bio-fuel, he says, as many forage grasses can be converted to ethanol and the government’s invested billions in technology to produce bio-fuel. The main reason for using corn is simply that it’s relatively cheap and abundant. Switchgrass and other cellulose bio-mass can be grown on land not suitable for crops, he says, offering an ethanol source that won’t take away from food or other market crops. But ethanol may not be the ultimate “alternative fuel” as research and new technology continue to produce new solutions. Ethanol isn’t a panacea, he says, and won’t replace all fossil-fuel use — but can be a stopgap in the growth of petroleum consumption as we work to develop other technologies that can replace the use of fossil fuel. And there’s the potential to combine the new technology with even newer ones. A new advance in technology is the discovery that ethanol’s one of the best sources of hydrogen for fuel cells, a clean, non-contaminating hydrogen source so ethanol may have a place in the fuel-cell industry. Amost 275-Million bushels of corn are made into ethanol every year in Iowa, and last year 998-Million gallons of ethanol-blended fuel were sold in Iowa.
Harkin says he won’t applogize to Bush
September 23, 2004 By
C-B-S newsman Dan Rather apologized earlier this week for the network’s use of bogus documents in a story, but Iowa Senator Tom Harkin says he’s not sorry for anything he’s said about President Bush’s military service record. Harkin, a democrat, says he won’t be apologizing or retracting anything. Harkin says “I did not base my statements on the C-B-S documents. I base my statements on what is irrefutable facts.” Harkin says it’s President Bush who should apologize to the American people, for having mislead them. The President said he’d received no special privileges to get into the National Guard, but Harkin says “we know that that is now not true” as the former Texas House speaker gave sworn testimony saying he pulled strings for Bush. Harkin says there are other parts of President Bush’s record that are questionable. Harkin says Bush did not “do his duty” in the Guard as it was documented he missed six months of duty in 1972 and three months in 1973 and showed up for no drills in Boston when he was in school there. Harkin says Bush also disobeyed a direct order to take a physical, yet suffered no punishment.
Eastern Iowa woman survives crash with train
September 23, 2004 By
An eastern Iowa woman was able to walk away after her car was hit by a train Wednesday. It happened near Robbins in Linn County when a car driven by 18-year-old Bridget Klosterman failed to stop for a Canadian National Railway train. Klosterman’s car struck the side of the train and there was major damage to the car and minor damage to the train. Klosterman was taken to a Cedar Rapids hospital where she was treated and released. Witnesses say the lights at the crossing were working and Klosterman has been charged with failure to stop at a railroad crossing.
Edwards stands in for Kerry, Bush to continue push in Iowa
September 23, 2004 By
President Bush’s deputy campaign manager says Bush will visit Iowa again — and the commercials you’re hearing and seeing will continue to air as Iowa is one of a handful of states where the campaign is focusing its money. Mark Wallace spoke to Radio Iowa by phone this morning. Wallace says the campaign’s strategy is to build the biggest grassroots organization in the history of American politics, and he says they’ve got a “ground game” featuring volunteers who are turning out voters. Wallace says the Bush organization is benefitting from the momentum that came out of the Republican National Convention. Wallace says Kerry, by contrast, has been “flailing” and offering at least 10 different messages on Iraq. “He’s been for the war. He’s been against the war. He’s gone back and forth.” And Wallace says Bush backers are energized by the contrast with Kerry. Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards will stand-in for Kerry this afternoon at events in Davenport and Cedar Rapids. Edwards, a lawyer, is a lightning rod for a common rallying cry among republicans, and Wallace is ready to repeat that rhetoric. Wallace says Edwards is backed by the nation’s trial lawyers, and trial lawyers oppose Bush’s push to get rid of so-called “junk” or frivolous lawsuits that Wallace says are clogging up the courts. Edwards will be in Davenport early this afternoon for an event on the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds; doors open at 12:30 for that “town hall meeting.” The doors to the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids open at 4 p.m. for a campaign rally featuring Edwards. That event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
Utilities Board warns of higher natural gas prices
September 23, 2004 By
With the official end to summer the Iowa Utilities Board is urging you to check your home’s ability to stand up to potential winter winds. Board spokesman Rob Hillesland says their call is based on the forecasts for natural gas prices — not the weather. He says there’s a good probability that natural gas prices will be higher this winter, as he says the Department of Energy says natural gas prices could go up 10 to 15 percent. Hillesland says prices could go even higher if things get cold — and demand goes up. He says the natural gas supply market is competitive and not regulated in Iowa. He says the regulation say only that local utilities have to pass through the price of gas without a mark up. Hillesland says your utility company can help you improve the coziness of your home. He says many local utilities offer a wide array of energy efficiency programs and many offer free energy assessments of homes and businesses. Hillesland says there are some things you can do on your own to keep your heating bills in check. He says you can adjust a thermostat down a few degrees, changing the furnace filters regularly, checking the seals on the doors and windows. He says a lot of these things don’t require you to spend any money. Hillesland says the Iowa Utilities Board has information on how to improve the energy efficiency of your home by visiting the Board’s webpage on the state of Iowa’s website at:www.state.ia.us.
