At least one republican has decided against a run for Governor in 2006. Representative Danny Carroll from Grinnell says he will not seek the Republican nomination. He says he doesn’t have any plans to run for any higher office at this point. Carroll had been mulling a run for the state’s top executive job since last summer. Republicans are hoping to win back the office, as Democrat Governor Tom Vilsack has said he won’t run for a third term. Carroll says there are plenty of other good republican candidates who’ll seek the nomination. He says, “Congressman Nussle, Doug Gross and Bob Vanderplaats have pretty much taken up all the space on that playing field for now, and I’ve kinda got my hands full where I’m at.” Carroll is in his sixth term as a state legislator and represents residents in parts of Poweshiek and Mahaska counties.
ISU President says it’s time to hire more faculty
Iowa State University president Gregory Geoffroy says after four years of budget cuts, it’s time to start hiring more faculty on campus. “There are a number of very critical areas in the university where student demand is very, very high and where the student-to-faculty ratio is very high,” Geoffroy says. “One of those is our College of Business. It’s the fastest-growing college in the university and one of the smallest faculties and that’s an area that we’re going to give very close attention to as we think about the future.” Geoffroy says they’re exploring a new degree in criminal justice because there’s demand for it beyond the minor the university now offers. Some faculty will be hired because of savings in other areas of the university, but Geoffroy is hoping the legislature also provides I-S-U with more money. University of Iowa president David Skorton also expresses the hope the universities will get more money, and more faculty can be hired. There are 90 fewer faculty members at the University of Iowa today than there were four years ago, and student-teacher ratios are up. Skorton hopes to hire 50 faculty members in areas related to the “bio-economy” as well as in the pharmacy and medical research areas of the university.
Oil pipeline could come through western Iowa
A handful of Western Iowa counties are in-line to serve as a conduit for part of a proposed one-point-seven billion dollars oil pipeline from Canada. State Representative Clel Baudler, a Republican from Greenfield, says officials from Trans Canada Keystone Pipeline Company met with him Wednesday and told him of their plans to construct an underground pipeline that would transport approximately 400-thousand barrels per day of heavy crude oil from Alberta, Canada to markets at Wood River and Patoka, Illinois. The proposed pipeline would begin in the oil hub of Hardisty, Alberta and extend across Saskatchewan and Manitoba before entering the U.S. in North Dakota, and ending up in Illinois. The route passes through some of the counties Baulder represents in the 58th District. It’ll enter Iowa through Plymouth County in the northwest part of the state, north of Sioux City, and exit into Missouri from Ringgold County. If the 30-inch diameter pipeline becomes a reality, Baudler says it will provide a major source of revenue for those counties it passes through.”It will pay about 10-million dollars a year” in those counties annually in property tax assessment. The fact that the pipeline would be laid four-feet underground was the only issue that bothered him. He says sometimes pipelines have gone through and he’s heard complaints from property owners for several years after that their lines aren’t properly taken care of, so they end up sinking and result in a broken line. Baudler says the Trans Canada representatives helped to ease those concerns.According to Baudler, the company will begin talking with landowners in the very near future, and they will do everything possible to work with them, not against them. He says those who may be opposed to the plan need to take a look at the bigger picture.”Our reliance on foreign oils is getting us in alot of trouble world-wide”. Officials also said because of the construction of the pipeline is of a highly technical nature, there probably won’t be much local labor used to build it. Fifteen pumping stations will need to be built across the U.S. and at least three of those will be built in Iowa. For more information, log onto www.transcanada.com/keystone.
Man found guilty in one Iowa killing
A man charged with killing two people one night last spring has been found guity in the first case. Michael Gunther told the court he’d killed Michael Zawodny of Anthon, Iowa, a co-worker at a traveling carnival, because he was becoming involved with the manager. Witnesses told the jury they saw Gunther fire the fatal shots. Investigators looking into that slaying went to the manager’s trailer, an RV parked at the Bluffs Run Casino in Council Bluffs, and found the body of Sally Kennedy there. Gunther said during the investigation that he’d strangled her first, then gone to the carnival, set up at a housing unit near Offut Air Force Base in Bellevue, to kill Zawodny. Nebraska has the death penalty but though Gunther also told the court he wanted to be sentenced to death, the case did not include aggravating circumstances that would lead to that, and his sentence for the first-degree murder conviction will be life in prison. Next, the Pottawatamie County attorney says he’ll be tried in Council Bluffs for Kennedy’s killing.
Final bald eagle watch set for Red Rock
Spring’s about a month away and one of the final bald eagle-watching events of the season is planned for today (Saturday) at Lake Red Rock in south-central Iowa. Park ranger Tracy Spry says free programs are underway all day at Iowa’s largest lake to educate people about the magnificent birds. There are hourly presentations at the park’s community center featuring a live bald eagle and other birds of prey, running hourly from 10 A.M. until 4 P.M. Nearby, the Pella Community Center is also hosting officials from the I-S-U Wildlife Care Center, showing off more live birds of prey. Spry says the number of bald eagles has slacked off a little this winter. They’re spread out this year and she’s seen them on the ice looking for fish. It’s not uncommon to see up to ten of them below the dam on any given day. For more information, surf to “lakeredrock.org” or call (641) 828-7522.
Some not happy with House bill restricting cold medication
The Iowa Senate this week approved a bi-partisan bill to curb methamphetamine production, but some in the House are dissatisfied with the proposal. Under the bill, consumers needing cold medication containing more than 360-milligrams of pseudoephedrine — a key ingredient in the manufacture of meth — would be required to buy those products from a pharmacist. Stores could sell up to two packages of smaller doses, as long as they keep them locked up and track inventory. The consumer would also be required to show a photo I-D and sign a log book. Representative Clel Baudler, a Republican from Greenfield, wants tougher restrictions. Baudler says many in the house “think that’s way too easy.” The subcommittee meets again Tuesday to discuss a limit of only 200-milligrams, and just one package per purchase. Republican House Speaker Christopher Rants says he’s considering blocking the bill once it gets to the house, saying the legislature is “getting carried away.” Rants says the measure would block consumer access to needed medication and drive up health care costs. Baudler says Rants is out of touch with what his fellow Republicans want. Baudler says “I hate to see Christopher stand in front of this bus and try to stop it — it left the station before this session ever started.” He says many are on board and Baudler himself “might even be driving it or riding shotgun.” Baudler says Rants told of his own allergies and his use of over-the-counter cold medicines that might contain pseudoephedrine. Baudler then offered the House leader some advice that didn’t sit well. If he’s using that much medicine, Baudler says it would behoove Rants to go to a doctor and get a prescription, to make sure he’s not over- or under-medicating himself. It was after that, says Baudler, that Rants called a news conference threatening to block the bill that was proposed by the Senate.
Designer says pursue your dreams, not money
Pursue your dreams, not money. That’s the recommendation of one of America’s best-known interior designers — who almost became a doctor. Vern Yip, who’s appearing today (Saturday) in Des Moines, says his parents didn’t foster his creative side and wanted him to pursue medicine instead. He got degrees in chemistry and economics from the University of Virginia, applied and was accepted to med school and then two weeks before classes were to start, worked up the courage and told his parents it wasn’t what he wanted to do. After a little time off to regroup, Yip went back to school to pursue his childhood dream, earning a masters in architecture and an M-B-A in finance and marketing. Yip’s big break came as a star on “Trading Spaces” and his new show, “Home Intervention,” will air on N-B-C starting in August. He also has a book due out in April, “Designing Spaces.” Yip says he’s very fortunate to have been able to focus on his dreams. Yip says “You really can’t chase things like money. You can’t chase things like fame. You’re always going to be more successful if you chase what’s in your heart, what you’re passionate about. That’s always, to me, the most important thing to guide you.”Yip will be making presentations and doing Q-and-A sessions at the Des Moines Home and Garden Show at 11 AM and 3 PM today (Saturday). For more information, surf to “www.desmoineshomeandgardenshow” or call 800-HOM-SHOW.
