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Cops say 19-year-old bloodied mayor’s nose, caused head injury

May 27, 2006 By

Authorities say the mayor of a southwest Iowa community was assaulted Friday afternoon when he tried to stop a man from fleeing the scene of an accident.

Lewis Mayor Don Sanney suffered a broken nose and other, unknown head injuries during the altercation that occurred around four o’clock Friday. According to Cass County Sheriff’s officials, an unidentified 19-year-old man driving a pickup truck was following a car into Lewis. Both vehicles were traveling at a high rate of speed and went out of control in front a church on the town’s main drag. The occupants of the car fled the scene, but authorities say they know who they are, and charges may be filed upon completion of the investigation.

The driver of the pickup was attempting to get away, too, when Mayor Sanney chased him down. The Mayor says the alleged assault happened after the man in the pickup prevented him from getting out of his vehicle, then spat on him. Sanney says the man struck him on the head with his fist, resulting in a bloody nose and blood coming from his ears.

The mayor also alleges the man threatened people who gathered at the scene with a baseball bat. The Cass County Canine Unit arrested the 19-year-old and he is currently being held in jail on numerous assault and traffic-related offenses.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Authorities release identity of man missing in lake

May 27, 2006 By

Divers will resume their search today (Saturday) for a man who fell into Morris Lake in north central Iowa’s Wright County. Authorities say the drowning victim is 27-year-old Miguel Angel Barrios. His hometown is unknown. He was one of four people in a small fishing boat that capsized around 7:45 Wednesday evening. The other three were able to swim to shore but Barrios disappeared in the water. Diving crews from as far away as Ames have been helping in the search.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Death penalty debate among Democrats running for governor

May 27, 2006 By

Democratic candidate Chet Culver says he personally believes the death penalty should be an option for criminals who murder children or officers of the law, but Culver says he won’t make reinstating capital punishment in Iowa a “priority” is he’s elected governor.

“I’m not running for governor to reinstate the death penalty,” Culver says. “I do believe, personally, that the death pealty is warranted in limited situations involving the most heinous crimes.”

Culver says the death penalty should be an option in cases which involve the kidnapping and murder of a child, the murder of a cop or prison guard, or a terrorist strike. In addition, Culver would require DNA evidence to link the convict to the crime before he’d allow that person to be put to death. “I’m running to be the first state in the nation to declare our indepence from foreign oil and I’m running to build on our strengths in education, agricultre and manufacturing to create good jobs, so those are the reasons that compel me to run, not to reinstate the death penalty,” Culver says. “But I do hae a position on this issue.”

Mike Blouin, one of Culver’s rivals for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, says Culver last year called for reinstating capital punishment, and these latest statements are a reversal. “It goes to integrity. He’s changed on so many issues back and forth. He issued a release last May saying he was in favor of reinstating the death penalty. He just went out there an hour ago and said he never called for reinstating the death penalty. Yes, he did. It’s part of your past Chet, don’t run from it,” Blouin says. “If you’ve changed again, that’s fine. Just say so.”

Blouin says Culver could be confronted with the issue quickly if he’s elected governor. “If there’s a Republican majority in both Houses he’ll have a death penalty bill on his desk within weeks and he’s going to have to make a decision,” Blouin says. “What will he sign?”

Blouin opposes executions and says the state of Iowa imposes a “death penalty” of sorts with the sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. “You’re going to die there. It’s correctible,” Blouin says. “If you’re wrong, you don’t have to dig up a coffin and say ‘Gee, I’m sorry.’”

Ed Fallon, the other leading Democratic gubernatorial candidate, also opposes capital punishment.

Filed Under: Politics & Government

U of I researcher touts "groundbreaking" prostate cancer study

May 27, 2006 By

A University of Iowa researcher is working on a way to streamline the testing for the most prominent non-skin cancer among men. Dr. Badrinath Konety says they’re focusing on the need for screening among older men. Konety says there’s a lot of controversy over whether screening for prostrate cancer can help prevent death in any man. For men over the age of 75– the life expectancy is 10 years — and Konety says you’re often more likely to die from other causes even if you’re found to have prostate cancer. Konety says his research is looking at preventing the anxiety, and maybe damage, created by treating prostate cancer in men over 75 when the treatment isn’t needed. Konety says they want to streamline the way they test for prostate caner in older men by being sure the men will be around another 10 years. He says they use tools to assess how fit the men are. Konety says they want to focus on the treating the health problems that’ll have the most long-term impact. He says they want to give care to the men who need the care and avoid unnecessary complications and anxiety, making treatment more effective and cost effective. Konety says the revamping of the guidelines also involves educating patients. He says they want to advise patients that prostate screening may not be necessary for men over 75 and why being selective about screening is important. Konety says this could be a groundbreaking study. Konety says this is the first time such a program aimed at older people has been done, so he says they don’t know how well it will work. The three year study is funded by the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control. Iowa has one of the highest proportions of men age 75 and older in the country.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

Worry about the wood in the camp fire

May 27, 2006 By

Plenty of Iowa campers are hitting the woods this holiday weekend — and many will haul along firewood from their woodpiles at home to burn while camping. A state forestry expert says that practice could threaten the lives of the trees at campsites. John Walkowiak, chief of the Iowa D-N-R’s forestry bureau, says when you carry around firewood, you could be carrying much more. Walkowiak says firewood that’s been recently cut or has bark attached often has insects, secondary pests or borers and certain tree-killing diseases. If the wood is carried to another place, those problems go along too. He says seasoned firewood, without bark, poses little danger. Walkowiak says Michigan, Indiana and Ohio have lost more than ten-MILLION trees since 2002 due to a pest called the emerald ash borer. The insect kills the trees in large numbers and its larvae can stay alive under the bark and if you cut the tree down and take the wood along, you may be transporting the voracious bugs to a new location. It’s suspected that borer was moved around the Midwest primarily by campers hauling their own firewood. Walkowiak has a suggestion to end the practice. Don’t take the wood along but buy it locally near the campsite to greatly reduce the risk of importing a plant disease or pest. He says Wisconsin recently banned bringing firewood into its state parks due to the concern of emerald ash borer, and other pests, coming from Michigan. That insect has -not- been found in Iowa. For more information, surf to “www.emeraldashborer.org”.

Related web sites:
Emerald Ash Borer website

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment

Four ag secretary candidates meet in radio forum

May 27, 2006 By

The four major party candidates hoping to be Iowa’s next Secretary of Agriculture faced off Friday in a two-hour forum broadcast on KUNI public radio. Democrats Dusky Terry of Greenfield and Denise O’Brien of Atlantic agreed that the future of Iowa’s farming industry lies in getting young people into a career on the farm. But they disagreed on how to do that. O’Brien says their age sets the two apart, as she worked with Terry’s father in the 1980s. With her background as a grassroots organizer, farm wife and mother and her years of work on food and trade issues, O’Brien says she has a “wealth of experience.” While Terry saluted that experience, Terry said his experience as an aide to Governor Tom Vilsack means he understands how the legislative process works and has relationships with lawmakers in both parties. The greatest difference between the two Democratic candidates was over ethanol. Terry says every gallon of gasoline sold in Iowa should contain some of the alcohol fuel. O’Brien says it shouldn’t be mandatory and cautions that focusing on ethanol might distract attention from other possible alternative energy sources. Terry and O’Brien agreed, as did the Republican candidates, that the secretary of agriculture should continue to be elected, not appointed by the governor. Republican Mark Leonard of Holstein says he raises not only corn and beans but also cattle, giving him a better grasp of the state’s livestock industry. Leonard, who served on the board of the Iowa Agricultural Development Authority for years, says the board’s Beginning Farmer Loans are important and during his term the board loaned $350 million to over 3000 beginning farmers and didn’t have a single loan lost during that time. Leonard says the important lesson from that is that leveling the playing field will help beginning farmers get into the industry. His opponent Bill Northey says he has the experience to be an advocate for Iowa farmers in Des Moines and in Washington. Northey says he spent a lot of time there while serving as president of the National Corn Growers Association. Northey says the ag secretary needs to lead a discussion on how to bring in the next generation of young farmers. He says while some are coming into “niches” in the industry, he wants to make sure they aren’t discouraged from becoming livestock farmers from what he calls the negative tone toward livestock farming in the state. The primary is June 6th.

Filed Under: Politics & Government

Elk Horn bank robber gets nearly five years in prison

May 27, 2006 By

One of the persons involved in the June 2005 robbery of the Shelby County State Bank near the western Iowa community of Elk Horn has been sentenced to over five years in jail. Twenty-nine-year old Andrew Howard Owen was sentenced May 24th to 63-months in prison, and ordered to pay 100-dollars restitution to the Crime Victims Fund. Owen was arrested on a dead-end road in northeastern Cass County about an hour after he robbed the bank during the afternoon hours of June 23, 2005. When he pled guilty to the charge in February 2006, Owen admitted that he robbed the bank using a toy weapon that resembled a semi-automatic handgun. His alleged accomplice — Laura Sandvig — is still awaiting sentencing.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts