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Iowa’s fallen soldiers honored at Statehouse

May 8, 2006 By

Iowa soldiers who’ve died in Iraq and Afghanistan were honored today (Monday) at the statehouse. A new display in the state capitol was unveiled, and the families of the fallen soldiers were each given commemorative Iowa flags in a somber afternoon ceremony.

Iowa National Guard Adjutant General Ron Dardis was on hand to honor Iowa’s “eternal” heroes — the 40 Iowa soldiers who’ve died since September 11th. “These young men represent many communities from every corner of the state. They served with pride in Iraq and Afghanistan as soldiers, sailors, Marines and civilian contractors,” Dardis said. “By committing their tremendous talents, despite the danger of their duties, the people of Iraq and Afghanistan are seeing the first glimmer of hope for a democracy and free society in modern history.”

Dardis says there’s no way to take away the pain of losing a loved one during war, but perhaps honoring the memory of these soldiers will help the families heal. “As family members and loved ones, only you truly understand the boundless and selfless sacrifice made by these remarkable Iowans,” Dardis said. “We are humbled to share your company today. We stand in awe of your strength, your grace and your undying devotion to these valiant Iowans.”

Governor Tom Vilsack agreed it was a humbling experience to be in the presence of the families whose loved ones have been killed during duty overseas. “Today we are here in celebration and in mourning,” Vilsack said. The governor presented the families with a red, white and blue state flag that had been flown over the statehouse. “You and those we remember today are the individuals who make this country the greatest nation on Earth,” Vilsack says. “You and those we remember today understood that there is a common good, a higher calling…The country has called. Those we remember today responded with courage and bravery. We should not and we must not forget their sacrifice.”

Photographs of each soldier are now on display at the statehouse. Their names were read as their families came forward to be recognized. The role reads as follows: Major Stuart Anderson of Peosta; Gunnery Sergeant Jeffrey Bohr, Junior of Lansing; Sergeant Casey Byers of Schleswig; Lance Corporal Ben Carman of Jefferson; Keven Dagit of Jefferson (civilian contractor); Specialist Daryl Davis of Spencer; Private Michael Deutsch of Dubuque; Petty Office Second Class Trace Dossett of Wapello; Sergeant Nathan Field of Lehigh; Sergeant Paul Fisher of Cedar Rapids; Private Kurt Frosheiser of Des Moines; Sergeant Seth Garceau of Oelwein; Second Lieutenant Brian Gieneau of Tripoli; Specialist Dahgtah Gooding of Urbandale; Sergeant Robert Jason Gore of Nevada; Staff Sergeant Don Griffith, Junior of Mechanicsville; Sergeant Thomas Houser of Council Bluffs; Sergeant James Kearney III of Emerson; Private First Class David Kirchhoff of Anamosa; Specialist Joshua Knowles of Sheffield; Staff Sergeant Shane Kgefe of Hartley; Sergeant Bradley Kgrthaus of Davenport; Corporal Jarrod Maher of Imogene; Corporal Antoine McKinzie of Des Moines; Frist Sergeant Tobias Meister of Remsen; Sergeant John W. Miller of West Burlington; Private Kenneth Nalley of Hamburg; Specialist David Rice of Sioux City; Corporal Nathan Schubert of Cherokee; Sergeant Daniel Sesker of Ogden; Sergeant Aaron Sissel of Tipton, Private First Class Nick Skinner of Davenport; Chief Warrant Officer Bruce Smith of West Liberty; Corporal Michael Speer of Davenport; Staff Sergeant Eric Steffeney of Waterloo; Private First Class Brandon Sturdy of Urbandale; Sergeant Gregory Tull of Pocahontas; Staff Sergeant Mark Wall of Alden; Private First Class Eric Woods of Urbandale; Specialist Dustin Yancey of Cedar Rapids.

Filed Under: Military, Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Drake softball team makes MVC tourney

May 8, 2006 By

They needed help but the Drake softball team did qualify for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament later this week in Omaha. The Bulldogs lost at Indiana State 1-0 to close the regular season but backed into the tournament when Creighton beat Bradley 4-3.

Drake coach Rich Calvert says the bottom line is to get to the tournament, and he says that’s more than some other teams can says.

Calver was glad luck was on their side. He says there were a lot of breaks go against them all year, from a hit to umpire’s decisions, to injuries.

The Bulldogs are the fifth seed and will play Wichita State in the opening round of a tournament that Calvert feels is wide open. He says the six teams that’re in the tournament are all capable of beating up on each other.

Calvert says it comes down to who has the best pitching and who gets the final hit. It is the third straight year Drake has qualified for the post season tournament.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Morningside to host softball regional

May 8, 2006 By

Morningside will host an NAIA regional in Sioux City beginning Wednesday. The Mustangs have won 15 of their last 18 games and will take the number three seed into the tournament. They will take on Minot State in the opening round.

Morningside coach Jessica Jones-Sitzman who says they played them in Tuscon, but she says it’ll be a totally different game now with the experience they gained. The Mustangs are playing well at the right time. She says last year at this point they were banged up, but she says they’re really focused right now.

Jones-Sitzmann says they are thrilled with the chance to host the event, as she says they can usually draw a good crowd. Northwestern is also part of the field and will play Concordia in the opening round.

Northwestern coach Melanie Mason says they’re playing well after a few close games. She says one of the keys to winning a regional tournament is “heart” as she says all of the teams have great quality.

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Oskaloosa credit union robbed

May 8, 2006 By

A search is underway for two men who Oskaloosa police say robbed the Community First Credit Union this morning around 8:30. Police are looking for two men in a 1998 blue Honda Civic four-door care with an Iowa license plate Number 4-8-4-B-U-U.

Police says the men entered the credit union with long-barrelled rifles and demanded that tellers but large bills in their backpacks. The men then stole a credit union employee’s car and fled after leaving a package designed to look like a bomb on the floor of the credit union. No one was injured in the robbery.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Girl charged in Oelwein bomb threat

May 8, 2006 By

A Hazelton girl faces a felony charge for allegedly leaving a bomb threat at the Oelwein Middle School last week. Oelwein police charge 13-year-old Brooke Peterson of Hazelton with making a false report of an incendiary or explosive device. Peterson was referred to juvenile services.

The bomb threat was found in the form of a not in a restroom at the Oelwein Middle School on April 24th. As a precaution, the building was evacuated and searched, but no device was found. Another threat later in the week also prompted an evacuation, however police say there’s no indication that the two were related. Police say more charges are pending.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Website tracks gas prices

May 8, 2006 By

Did you ever fill your tank and then spot a cheaper gas price as you drove across town? A website designed to help you find the best deal is run entirely by volunteers. It’s six years now since Jason Toews started up “Gas Buddy,” a website to let people report gas prices they spot in various locations.

Noting the price of gasoline varies by as much as 30-cents a gallon within the state of Iowa, Toews says he and a buddy decided to start up a website where people could share price tips, so readers could find the best deal without having to drive all over town.

The main website is “Gas buddy-dot-com,” but clicking on a map brings up individual sites including individual state and even city reports. In addition to the Iowa statewide report, he says there are dedicated sites for Des Moines and Quad Cities price reports. Toews says they have 174 local gas-price websites across the country, one for every major metro area, and a page for every state.

He says it’s understandable that gas stations don’t really want to share price info, especially with their competition, but plenty of volunteers were willing to join the effort. People log on to the website and report the prices they spot. “It’s kind of a grassroots effort, where people just want to contribute,” he says. “People are tired of the high gas prices, so they want to do whatever they can to help themselves and other people find the cheapest gas.”

Toews says people find out about it by word of mouth, and links from other websites. There’s a network of thousands of registered price-reporters around the country, and the founder says “We get to know who people are, get to know that they’re posting reliable information.” He says you’ll see them listed, each denoted with a symbol showing their seniority with the website. When they report, operators post who reported it, where it is, and how it compares with competition in the area.

There’s even a discussion area, where participants can post comments, questions, news and opinions about gas prices and other topics. Toews says the volunteers who do the reporting have proved themselves dependable, and persistent.

The top reporter on the website has been doing it for about five years, and has checked in virtually every day. He says there is a burnout factor, with some dropping out and being replaced by new volunteers, but a lot of people are going strong. Start with Gasbuddy-dot-com and find the links for your area from there.

Related web sites:
Iowa gas price website

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Hamilton County sees first Habitat for Humanity house

May 8, 2006 By

While communities statewide have been involved with Habitat For Humanity homes for years, this weekend marked the dedication of a Habitat home in Webster City, the first in all of Hamilton County. Jean Mowry, a county Habitat board member, says it was a special landmark for the organization and for the family.

Mowry says “My heart is filled with joy and we are so blessed to have such a great community of partners that have worked very hard and there’s a lot of pride and there’s a lot of love that’s being shared today.”

Stacey Dryer, from the Habitat For Humanity’s central Iowa office in Ames, says the home was built after many weeks of volunteer labor from area residents and from the family that will now live there. Dryer says Habitat isn’t just about building houses, it’s about building communities. She says “Hamilton County has done a wonderful job of rallying up the community, rallying around the partner family, making them feel welcome in this community and just doing a bang-up job.”

The Bounemy Chantha family, originally from Laos, are the first residents of the new house. Webster City’s second Habitat home will be built next-door to the Chantha home this summer.

Filed Under: Human Interest
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