Iowa Senator Tom Harkin is introducing legislation he says provides a comprehensive plan for dealing with the meth problem in the United States. Harkin, a Democrat, says the bill looks to shut off the demand for the drug. Harkin says the plan is focused on prevention, early intervention and treatment to reduce the number of people who get hooked on meth. Harkin says there are still efforts going on nationally to try and prevent the flow of meth into the U.S., but this bill focuses on what law officers tell him is needed. Harkin says the bill would invest in programs that have show results, like one in Polk County. Harkin says the program shows if you take meth addicts and give them treatment over a longer period of time, the recidivism rate is very low. Harkin says the problem now is that meth users spend a little time and in jail and then are released. Harkin says his bill would remove barriers to treatment and expand access to family- and jail-based treatment programs, specifically in underserved areas. The bill would also provide alternatives to jail or detention for non-violent juveniles and adults and provide transitional services for addicts trying to start a new life. Harkin says he’s learned some things in studying the meth problem over the years. Harkin says, “More and more it’s alarming how many young people try it, they don’t realize how addictive it is. And secondly, how many meth addicts, people that get on meth, really want to get off of it.” Harkin says the people who really want to get off of meth, can’t help themselves, and that’s what the bill is aimed at. Harkin plans to hold two roundtable discussions of the bill with law officers at stops in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids.
Harkin introducing legislation to deal with meth
Governor signs bill providing funds for pre-school education
Bill backers say the ultimate goal will be to have state support of preschool be tied to the allotments for Iowa’s K-through-12 public schools. Culver says only five percent of Iowa’s four-year-olds have access to a quality state-supported preschool program. "Two days ago, my daughter, who is six, read her first book to Mary and me," Culver told the crowd. "…She was only able to do that because she was fortunate at a very young age to get into a couple of great early childhood education programs." Culver says for generations Iowans believed that education began with kindergarten. But, according to the governor, the latest research shows 90 percent of a child’s brain development happens before they set foot in a kindergarten classroom. "(That) fact requires us to reassess our public policy and invest in our kids at even an earlier age," Culver says. Shannon Cofield, president of the United Way of Central Iowa, calls today "historic." "We do know that a child’s brain development is fastest in the early years when public spending in education is at its lowest," Cofield says. "United Way and our community partners have identified quality early learning as one of Iowans most urgent priorities." According to Culver, "terrific progress" was made during the 2007 legislative session on boosting preschool programs in Iowa and providing Iowa school teachers with a pay boost. "Iowans children hold the keys to our future," Culver says. "The work we have done to improve education this year has laid a very solid foundation for our kids and young adults." Culver has not yet acted on about 100 bills passed by the legislature. The governor has until May 30th to either sign or veto each of those bills. 
Governor Chet Culver has signed a bill into law which plugs 60 million more state tax dollars into an effort to expand preschool programs in Iowa. Culver went to a preschool near the statehouse in Des Moines and, as a class of four-year-olds looked on, Culver signed the bill.
Explosion shuts down power plant in Muscatine
An explosion and fire has forced the temporary shutdown of a major electric power plant in eastern Iowa. MidAmerican Energy spokesman Allan Urlis says the Louisa Generating Station in Muscatine is now off-line.
Urlis says an auxiliary transformer failed about 5:20 Wednesday night and led to the explosion and fire at the transformer which sits right outside the plant. He says damage to the plant appears minimal but that’s still being assessed.
Urlis says fire crews responded immediately. He says the fire was out shortly after 6 P.M. No one was hurt and customers’ power was not effected. Urlis says other power plants around the state are picking up the slack while the Muscatine facility is shut down. He says MidAmerican has other electric generating stations in: Council Bluffs, south of Sioux City, near Des Moines, Bettendorf, Ottumwa, and the wind projects in northwest, north-central and west-central regions of Iowa.
Urlis says the cause of the malfunction was mechanical and foul play is not suspected. He says: “It is unusual for this sort of circumstance to occur. We’re not sure exactly what happened at this point. We’re assessing damage. We’ll investigate to determine what exactly failed inside the transformer that led to the malfunction, led to the explosion.” Urlis says no customers lost power due to the incident.
Judge denies request to throw out Spencer murder case
A judge has denied a request to throw out murder and kidnapping charges in a northwest Iowa case. Juan Humberto Castillo-Alverez, also known as Ricardo Castillo, is charged in the death of Gregory "Sky" Erickson of Spencer.
Castillo-Alverez’s attorneys filed a motion that the nine-year delay in filing charges of second-degree murder and kidnapping denied him of his right to a speedy trial. Erickson’s body was found on June 14th 1997 at an unoccupied farmhouse in Jackson county, Minnesota. Castillo-Alverez was charged and an arrest warrant was issued, but he had fled the country.
Authorities learned in November of 1997 he was in Mexico. Mexican officials arrested him in 2005 and extradited him to the U.S. The district court judge Don Courtney ruled the delay was due to Castillo-Alvarez’s skill in eluding police.
Family and friends remember Davenport soldier
Family and friends of a fallen eastern Iowa soldier fought back tears as they remembered the 19-year-old during a visitation at Davenport North High School Wednesday. Private First Class Katie Soenksen died last Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded in Iraq. Her death came just one month before the teenager was scheduled to return home.
Soenksen’s friends, like Jennifer Holmes, bid her farewell two years ago when she joined the Army. It was supposed to be a temporary separation. No one can believe it’s now permanent. "I started gradually realizing she’s not coming back, didn’t know what to say or what to do, or what to say," says Holmes. Another friend Lindsay Andrews felt the same way, "I’ll never see her again or talk to her, it’s still pretty hard."
Not everyone who attended the memorial was a friend, as one Davenport woman says she came after Soenksen’s commitment to her country caught her attention. Friend Andy Jessen says Soenksen’s dedication to her country was obvious at an early age."Very motivated cadet, always loved her country, loved the military," says Jessen. And she loved helping others. Such memories, friends say, will help them cope with their loss. Both friends and strangers will never forget Katie died doing what she could for her country. Soenksen’s funeral was this morning in Davenport.
Hundreds turn out for funeral of Alta soldier
A military funeral Wednesday in the northwest Iowa town of Alta drew some 600 mourners. Nineteen-year-old Army Specialist First Class Brian Botello was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq late last month. Pastor Kevin Mahr of the Summit Church in Alta recalled Botello’s friendly, outgoing disposition.
Mahr says, "He loved life and took every opportunity to experience it to the fullest. He had a way of making people happy by the humorous way that he approached things and sometimes just by the goofy look on his face, which he had quite a reputation for."
Mahr remembered Botello’s love for his family and how he enjoyed spending time with his buddies. Mahr says Botello enjoyed "road-tripping" with his friends and hanging out with them at home, in addition to playing several instruments, including guitar. He hoped to form a band when he came home from Iraq. Another speaker at the service was Pastor Michael Crawford, the battalion chaplain for the Fort Dodge National Guard.
Crawford says: "What I so admire about young men and women as Specialist Botello is their willingness to lay aside their personal pleasures, their personal pursuits, their personal interests and ambitions to provide for others something crucial they would not otherwise have." Crawford says Botello, and other soldiers like him, are dedicated to making the world safe for democracy.
Crawford says, "Regardless of whether that is security or protection or stability for their society or humanitarian aid or just a taste of the freedoms we enjoy in our country, it’s the young Iowans, young men and women like Specialist Botello, that have stepped up and stood tall and made sure those things were delivered."
Botello joined the Army shortly after he graduated from Alta High School in 2005. Two other soldiers were killed in the attack that claimed Botello’s life. He will be buried Friday at Fayetteville National Cemetery in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
ISU solar car team tours state
As gasoline prices in Iowa again hover at the three-dollar mark, Iowa State University’s solar car team is touring the state to promote its streamlined, silver vehicle and the use of the sun to power our vehicles.
Sarah Kelly, an ISU senior in mechanical engineering from Rochester, Minnesota, is traveling with the team and the sleek car named Fusion . Kelly says: "We go to schools and community centers and to a few museums just to show them what we’re up to at Iowa State and show them the alternative energy ideas we’re coming up with, just get the message out about the alternatives we’re using for transportation right now."
Fusion is the car ISU students raced in the 2005 North American Solar Challenge, running some 25-hundred miles from Austin, Texas, to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in about 72 hours. Fusion placed third in the race’s "stock" class.
Kelly says they’re almost done designing the new solar car they’ll use in the 2008 edition of the race. Kelly says: "It’ll be pretty similar except one big rule change is that the driver has to sit more upright. If you’ve ever seen our car, it’s very flat and has a very low profile. The next car has to be a full foot taller than this one so, it’s a new aerodynamic challenge for the team." She says the team has been all over Iowa this week, hauling the car to elementary, middle and high schools.
Kelly says, "They love it. They think it’s really cool looking. We like to show it off to them because they haven’t seen anything like it. They don’t realize you can drive down the road all day without using any gasoline." Stops today include Muscatine and West Burlington with stops Friday in Keokuk and Ottumwa.
Besides generating interest in solar power, Kelly says they’re also trying to inspire financial backers, as the team hopes to raise 150-thousand dollars in cash and more than 250-thousand in contributions of aluminum, carbon fiber, Kevlar and other materials.
