A disappointing season is nearing an end for the Grinnell College men who play host to Knox College tonight. A program used to competing for the Midwest Conference title with its high scoring style, the Pioneers have just six wins this season and coach Dave Arsenault says his main concern right now is keeping his seniors motivated. He says the underclassmen are still jockying for position and trying to leave an impression for next year. He says the seniors have had a tough time and sometimes tune, out. But he says they won’t win any of the last three games if the seniors don’t play. Knox is trying to make the Midwest Conference post-season tournament and has plenty on the line. Arsenault says Knox badly needs a win, so his team will see their best effort.
Iowa State women look to overcome big losses
After a pair of blowout losses on the road last week the 19th ranked Iowa State women look to bounce back tonight at home against Oklahoma State. The Cyclones are 8-3 in the Big-12 race.Coach Bill Fennelly says everyone goes through some tough weeks in life, and he says they can’t dwell on the past. He says the Cylones need to get back to what got them off to an 8-1 start in league play. He says the biggest thing is to understand how they have to play and the attention to detail they need to make them a good team.Oklahoma State is just 2-9 in the Big-12 and coach Julie Goodenough says the Cowgirls will need a great defensive effort to have a chance. She says I-S-U is well balanced on offense and shoot the ball so well.ISU is 18-4 overall.
Robins aren’t necessarily an indication of Spring
Don’t put too much stock in a groundhog predicting the coming of spring. For that matter, don’t bet on the appearance of certain birds either. The start of spring is still more than a month away but some Iowans are spotting red-breasted robins, bobbing in their yards. Rick Hollis, of the Iowa Ornithologists’ Union, says he’s already spied plenty of the feathered signs of spring, pecking around in Iowa City, counting around 30 robins in his back yard last weekend. He says they weren’t eating frozen plums, they were hopping along, probing in the grass.Hollis says plenty of robins live in Iowa year-round so seeing a few flocks doesn’t guarantee spring’s upon us, or will be soon. Hollis says he usually gauges the arrival of spring by the sight of red wing blackbirds, though he sees those birds and robins in January sometimes, too. Hollis says people are perhaps a bit overcome by wishful thinking if they believe the sight of robins means we’re done with snow. Besides, the snow curse still looms over the girls’ state basketball tournament, which opens March 7th. Legend has it there’s usually one more big snowstorm every season, striking during the tourney.
Lawmaker wants to regulate tax refund loans
At the height of tax-filing season an Iowa lawmaker has filed a bill that would regulate tax refund loans. Senator Joe Bolkcom, a democrat from Iowa City, wants limit the interest rate on such loans to no more than 21 percent. He’d also force lenders and tax-preparers to prominently display and disclose the terms of tax refund loans. “We want people to steer clear of these high interest loans,” Bolkcom says. If you file your taxes electronically, your refund should be deposited in your checking account within two weeks. The Iowa Coalition Against Abusive Lending estimates “instant refund loans” cost Iowans 13-MILLION dollars a year in interest. Bolkcom says much of that comes out of the pockets of low-income Iowans who pay anywhere from 70 to 700 percent interest to get their refund immediately. “For some reason, protecting consumers against high interest rates in these predatory type of loans has gone out of style and we’re here today to suggest that consumers across the board need protection,” Bolkcom says. “Just because lenders are able to charge those kind of rates does not make it right.” Republican legislators have resisted previous attempts to regulate tax refund loans, but Senator Bolkcom hopes the new make-up of the state Senate — the even split of 25 republicans and 25 democrats — gives his bill a better chance. “Iowans believe, I think, that they’re getting some amount of protection from state government in these forms of lending and they’re surprised to learn that we’re not involved at all in establishing some sort of ceilings on these fees,” Bolkcom says.
Fire Marshal issues alert about furnace recall
The State Fire Marshal is issuing a warning about a recall of potentially dangerous furnaces. Jim Saunders is a spokesman for the Fire Marshal, and describes the furnaces involved.He says they’re Coleman, Coleman Evcon, and Red T Brand furnaces sold between 1995 and 2000, as both original equipment and replacement furnaces typically found in manufactured homes and mobile homes. Saunders says you can find the name of your heater on the middle of the front access panel. Saunders says the company is making a voluntary recall of the furnaces because of a potential danger. He says the furnaces can overheat, causing the heating exchanger to crack and put extreme heat on material near the furnace, staring a fire. Saunders says there haven’t been any reports of problems with the heaters reported in Iowa, but the Fire Marshal wants people to be aware of the recall. Saunders says you can contact the manufacturer if you find your furnace is part of the recall. He says you can contact Unitary Products Group at:888-665-4640 or visit their website at www.dgatprogram.com. Saunders says the company should give you all the information you need on the recall.
Move underway to keep Electrolux in Webster City and Jefferson
Sweden-based appliance manufacturer Electrolux, which has Iowa facilities in Webster City and Jefferson, is considering a plan to relocate ten of its factories worldwide to lower-wage countries by 2008. A spokesman says no specific plants are being targeted yet and the company’s facility evaluation will be based on flexibility, product quality and size of facilities, along with profitablity. Rick Morain, of the Green County Development Corporation in Jefferson, says the two Iowa plants measure up well against potential foreign rivals. Morain says the Jefferson plant is “ISO 9000″ certified, meaning, it’s tops in terms of safety and productivity. Morain says state economic leaders are already at work to keep the corporation in Iowa. Morain says the Department of Economic Development has an office in Frankfurt, Germany, which serves Iowa interests throughout Europe. They have been in touch with Electrolux as well to offer whatever support and incentives Iowa can to retain these plants and grow them in Iowa. Morain says “The state has offered a highly sweetened incentive plan to corporate Electrolux in Sweden to keep them here.” Electrolux employs more than two-thousand Iowans. The company also has plants in Minnesota, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina.
Ag Department urges local officials to create disaster plans
State ag department officials are urging local officials to lay out plans to respond to an animal disease disaster. Agency officials conducted a day-long seminar in Mason City yesterday (Tuesday) focused on how cities and counties can work together when there’s a case of “foot and mouth” or some other infectious animal disease. Jane Colacecchi of the Iowa Department of Agriculture calls the seminars “agro-ville exercises.” “These have been really excellent opportunities for inidividuals from local governments, elected officials, first responders, producers — anyone in the community (who) will come and listen,” Colacecchi says. Colacecchi says the meetings let local officials identify what resources they need to acquire, and make connections with people in their area who will be involved should there be an outbreak of some sort of infectious animal disease. There’s no charge to the participants. The meetings are financed by the U-S-D-A. “There are local emergency response plans and those response plans are sufficient to deal with whatever emergency rises at the local level,” Colacecchi says. “But there are some unique circumstances that exist when you start talking about hundreds of head of cattle.” For example, if there were an outbreak of food and mouth disease, the “quarantine area” could be as large as 20 square miles. Colacecchi says she’s confident the emergency plans in place today are adequate to respond to a livestock-related disaster, but she says there’s always “room to build on those plans.” An “agroville exercise” is scheduled tomorrow (Thursday, February 17) in Peosta at the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety. Another seminar will be held February 23rd in Mount Pleasant at Iowa Wesleyan College.
