Governor Tom Vilsack has appointed Senator Tom Harkin’s wife, Ruth, to the board that governs Iowa, Iowa State and UNI. Ruth Harkin is the latest person Vilsack has tapped to serve on the Board of Regents after a dispute arose in January, prompting the resignation of two Board members. Vilsack filled those two vacancies a couple of weeks ago. Now, he’s filling the vacancy created by a third resignation and the scheduled end of another board members’ term. Ruth Harkin, who’s 60 years old, is a lawyer who once served as Story County Attorney and recently led two high-profile business ventures in D-C. Vilsack’s other choice to serve on the Board of Regents is Tom Bedell of Spirit Lake, the son of long-time northwest Iowa Congressman Berkley Bedell. Tom Bedell is 55 and since 1979 he’s been chairman of the fishing and tackle company his father founded.
Tyson plant in Denison reopens Wednesday
Hundreds of beef-packers in western Iowa will head back to work next week as the Tyson Foods plant in Denison will reopen on Wednesday. The plant, along with several others nationwide, was put on furlough January 10th. Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson says while operations will resume, it won’t be in full production. Mickelson says they’re optimistic the supply of cattle will improve, especially as the supply of Canadian cattle resumes. This is the first step in a two-week staggered process of resuming operations at several facilities in the upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest that were idled due to market conditions. Mickelson says workers have been getting about 32-hours of pay each week since the second week of the suspension. “This has been a very difficult process, obviously, for our our team members, for our plant communities,” Mickelson says. “We’re pleased that we’re able to resume operations and we’re very anxious for market conditions to improve so we can see more hours for our plants.” Mickelson says it’s still possible the USDA will -not- again start allowing the imports of Canadian beef into the U-S. If that happens, Mickelson says “we’ll have to assess our options.” He says progress is being made at getting Japan to start taking U-S beef again. Many details and regulatory issues still have to be resolved, but Mickelson says positive steps are being taken, though he says it will still likely be months before the U-S is sending a “meaningful” amount of beef to the Far East. Tyson also suspended or cut operations at plants in Nebraska, Idaho and Washington.
Hall of Pride nears completion
Finishing touches are being made at the Iowa Hall of Pride, which opens to the public February 24. Director Jack Lashier says the 26-thousand square foot attraction is the first of its kind in the country and pays tribute to Iowa high school athletics, as well as academics, drama and music. Lashier has worked on the project since 1995. He says when you’ve worked on something this long, it’s incredible to see it happen. Lashier says there were some days when he didn’t know if it would ever happen. The February 24th ribbon cutting will include tributes to Iowans who’ve gained national and international fame. They’ll unveil a life-size bronze statue of former wrestler and coach Dan Gable. In addition to exhibits on Iowa high schools and famous Iowans, there are lots of interactive exhibits. With their admission, visitors will receive a special credit card device to use for the interactive displays. You’ll get a smart card that allows you to do a certain number of interactive games, such as calling balls and strikes in a ball game.Lashier says the Hall of Pride is more than he imagined 10 years ago, and as it comes to fruition, he says this is fantastic.The Iowa Hall of Pride is located south of Veterans Auditorium in Des Moines and is part of the new Iowa Events Center.
Waldorf women head down stretch with one-game lead
The Waldorf women have a one-game leads heading into the final stretch of the Midwest Classic Conference race. The Warriors gained sole possession of the league lead after a 67-57 win in a first place showdown at Viterbo on Wednesday night and take a 9-2 record into a Saturday afternoon game at home against St. Ambrose. Waldorf coach Denny Jerome says with each win the next game becomes even bigger. Jerome says while some tough challenges are ahead the Warriors know they control their own fate at this point, as if they just keep winning then he says they’ll have a chance of finishing the conference strong.Waldorf has won six straight games and Jerome says improved defense is a major factor. Waldorf is 19-9 overall.
Riverside is the focus of more attention from Spike Network
A camera crew from cable T-V’s Spike Network will be back in the eastern Iowa town or Riverside next week. Riverside Mayor Bill Poch says the crew will shoot video and interviews to promote next month’s airing of “Invasion Iowa,” a reality-based show that duped residents into thinking a Hollywood movie was being shot there. Mayor Poch says Spike execs have assured him, the four-night series won’t be embarrassing. Poch says “I’m not worried about Iowans looking like a bunch of bumpkins because Iowans are just salt-of-the-earth, regular, everyday people and when people around the country see it, they’re going to know that whatever’s done here could’ve been done anywhere in the country, it just happened to be done here because we are the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk.” Kirk was a fictional character on T-V’s original “Star Trek” and Riverside has claimed him as a future native son. Actor William Shatner, who played Kirk, was at the helm of “Invasion Iowa.” Poch says Shatner and the rest of the film crew members are the ones who’ll look silly on the program to the rest of America. Poch says “They’re going to see our reactions to these movie stars from Hollywood. They’re going to say ‘we would’ve done the same thing,’ because some of the things they have done were pretty outlandish and outrageous.” The show “Invasion Iowa” will begin airing March 29th and conclude on April Fool’s Day at 9 P.M. on Spike, available in 87-million homes nationwide.
Judge refuses to split Jesup man’s murder trial
A judge says a Jesup man who’s accused of murder can’t split his trial into two parts. Attorneys for 39-year-old Lynn LaMasters had asked that he be allowed to split his trial in two which would allow LaMasters to give both an insanity defense and a defense denying he killed his housemate, Patricia Rapaki. The judge ruled that since LaMasters intended to use the insanity defense only if the trial was split, the motion for an insanity defense is withdrawn. LaMasters is accused of killing the 43-year-old Rapaki, who was reported missing in January of 2004. She was reported missing on the same day that LaMasters led police on a car chase and then stabbed himself. Rapaki’s body was found in her Jesup home on January 12th of 2004.
Cedar Falls Police keep cameras on in Campustown
Cedar Falls police have the cameras rolling, but it’s no reality show, or even training video. Police chief Rick Ahlstrom says they’re keeping an eye on a part of town where the college kids roam. Chief Ahlstrom explains “College Hill” is a small business district adjacent to the Cedar Falls campus of the University of Northern Iowa, an area of a couple city blocks or so with a mix of “licensed beverage establishments,” or bars, and other businesses like restaurants and retail stores. He says that part of town generates a big share of police calls received by his department. Over the years he says police have had “a number of issues” with College Hill, including a riot during homecoming 1996. The chief says they have to “upstaff” during events focused around that area of town, saying “people often make bad choices when they’ve been drinking” and that directly affects police calls. The idea to aim security cameras at the College Hill neighborhood came up last summer, as the chief was going over the “response plan” for this year’s October homecoming. He’d heard from other agencies and on the Internet about using cameras to monitor crowds, and as a crime deterrent. The city utility company was in the process of putting a wireless computer network, so the police department partnered with the internet provider to buy and install cameras just before homecoming. Two of the three cameras can be turned around to change their view, remote-controlled by police to adjust the direction and focus on spots they want to watch. The chief says scenes are taped sometimes, and saved, so the agency won’t allow the general public to view or control the cameras. While some complain about being watched, there are others in Cedar Falls who think it’s a great idea. Ahlstrom says the city’s required cameras in convenience stores and ATM machines for years, and they’re expanding the webcam system to the city’s downtown area later this spring. Businesspeople who heard about the University Hill cameras came to ask police for their own system, he says. For now, someone at headquarters will monitor the view from the three webcams. Once they get “network cards” changed in the computers carried in all the city’s squad cars, he says officers will actually be able to watch the cameras from their cars.
