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Group seeks to address "social crisis" facing young black men

May 12, 2007 By

A group of Christian men in Iowa’s capitol city is launching an effort to address the "social crisis" facing young black men. Just over eight percent of the population in Des Moines is black and Alex Dunlap, one of the organizers of the group, says their goal is to help black men and boys be better citizens.

"A group of men were at a group men’s ministry earlier in the year…and as usually goes, we talked about doing something," Dunlap says. Now, those 75 men have formed "Men of Faith." Dunlap says their Christian values call them to serve.

"Everyone is of one accord…hopefully we can use that as a base to grow," Dunlap says. According to Dunlap, the group hopes to tackle problems like the poor performance of some young black men in school and how some blacks seem to be stuck in the criminal justice system. Other group members want to focus on getting more black men and boys into church.

On Saturday, May 19th, the "Men of Faith" is hosting an event in a Des Moines park. There’ll be food, children’s activities, a basketball competition, and a prayer service. "This event is just to kind of get us together, let them know we’re out here and they’ll be seeing us in the future," Durham says. The event will be held in Evelyn Davis Park at 16th and Forest in Des Moines. It starts at nine o’clock next Saturday morning and concludes at four that afternoon.

Filed Under: Human Interest, Religion

Borwnback doesn’t agree with Kansas governor on National Guard

May 12, 2007 By

Kansas Senator Sam Brownback takes issue with the governor of his state over whether the National Guard has enough equipment to clean up the mess left behind by last weekend’s devastating tornadoes. Brownback, a Republican candidate for president, says the head of the Kansas National Guard has assured him the equipment is there to clear away the damage, especially in Greensburg, Kansas, which was virtually destroyed.

“The issue is that we’ve got a crisis…We have a clean up that’s needed by the people and it shouldn’t be involved in Iraqi politics,” Brownback says. “…We’re going to get the equipment, we have the equipment we need.” Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius said shortly after the storm that the Guard was incapable of a quick response because its equipment was tied up in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Brownback says he understands that the American people have lost patience with the war in Iraq, he warns the end of the U.S. military presence there will not come easily or quickly. Brownback favors dividing Iraq into three separate states — one for Sunnis, one for Shiites and one for Kurds.

“I think we head with a much more aggressive political solution and realizing that the timeframe is short for us getting something done,” Brownback says. “I do think you’re going to see a U.S. force present in Iraq for some period of time.” Brownback believes U.S. troops could still be in Iraq 15 years from now, much like they are in Bosnia. Brownback made his comments on the Iowa Public Television program “Iowa Press.” 

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With:

Postal Service collects food for the hungry

May 12, 2007 By

Communities across Iowa will play a role in the nation’s largest food drive today. Postal workers will help restock area food banks as part of the 15th annual "Stamp Out Hunger Day." Barb Prather is executive director of the Northeast Iowa Food Bank in Waterloo, one the many organizations that will receive the collected items.

Prather says it’s easy for people to take part, as all they have to do is fill a grocery bag with food and put it outside their door by 9:30 A.M., then the letter carrier or a volunteer will pick it up and get it to the food bank. Letter carriers collected more than 50,000 pounds of non-perishable food items in the Cedar Valley last year. Prather says this year’s goal is to do one pound better.

She says, "Hunger isn’t going away." Organizers are hoping for a warm and sunny day across Iowa, but Prather says bad weather won’t stop the event from happening. She says it’s on rain-or-shine, but if there is rain, please use plastic bags, not paper.

Stamp Out Hunger Day was started in 1993 by the National Letter Carriers Association. Since its inception, the nation’s 230,000 letter carriers have collected more than 765-million pounds of food.

Filed Under: Human Interest

Marcus Man dies in motorcycle wreck

May 12, 2007 By

A Marcus man died yesterday afternoon after a collision between a motorcycle and a car west of Cleghorn. Fifty-one-year-old Lyle Poppens was on his motorcycle heading west on Highway 3 when it was hit by a car. Cherokee County authorities say 86-year old Clarence Rohlfsen of Granville was driving south on a county road, continued through the intersection, and hit the motorcycle. The Cherokee County coroner pronounced Poppens dead at the scene.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Asian Heritage Festival underway in Des Moines

May 12, 2007 By

Asian-American doesn’t just mean Chinese or Japanese. Iowans have the opportunity to learn all about the many nations of the Asian continent at today’s fifth annual Asian Heritage Festival, underway in Des Moines. Kim Poam Logan, executive director of the Iowa Asian Alliance, says it’s a chance to experience Asia — in Iowa.

Logan says there are 13 Asian villages and within each are "tons of food," cultural exhibits, historical exhibits, hands-on activities and gift shops. This year’s festival will be held at Blank Park and the adjoining Blank Park Zoo — and the zoo is offering free admission. Logan says the festival will be accented by activities from kite flying to dragon boat rides.

Logan says there will be Martial Arts, children’s activities, cooking demonstrations, gardening tips, live entertainment on two stages with live music, cultural presentations and fashion shows. She says there’s no place else in Iowa where you can experience such a wide diversity of tasty treats and delicacies.

Logan says the food can be traditional Chinese or much more exotic. Villages represent 13 nations or cultures, including: Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Laotian, Nepalese, Taidam, Thai and Vietnamese. The fest is open from 10 A.M. until 9 P.M.  

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment

New training method for technology shows promise

May 12, 2007 By

A new system that trains teachers in how to use technology to teach students developed through an Iowa State University research lab is said to be showing promise. Gary Phye, is the director of the Psychology in Education Research Laboratory at ISU.

Phye says the idea is to use technology to help teachers improve their teaching skills with technology and regular instruction and that will lead to better performance for students. The I-S-U lab is working with Iowa Department of Education and the state’s area education agencies in testing the new method. Phye says it’s more of a top down approach.

Phye says they think of it as more of a communication and education system, rather than just giving students a floppy disc and telling them to put it in the computer. Phye says they used the new technology-based teaching strategies to teach seventh grade math in 20 schools in central Iowa.

Phye says they found improvement, particularly in the "lower ability" students in bringing them up to a proficiency level. Phye says the system uses two-way videoconferencing technology to help the teachers learn how to use the technology. Phye says it provides the teachers with constant support among themselves along with contact with the education agencies who’re conducting the professional development, and with the universities if there’s a need to talk with them. Phye says, "It’s an incredibly, I think , effective support system." Phye says they’re continuing to work with the program and collecting data for possible in a statewide system. 

Filed Under: Education Tagged With:

Mold cleanup key to flood recovery

May 12, 2007 By

A lot of residents in western Iowa are still cleaning up after the heavy rains last weekend. Dr. Mark Rupp, Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, says one of the first things you need to focus on is getting rid of mold.

Within about 48 hours after getting wet, the mold can really start to flourish, he says, so if you can dry things out within that period of time, you’re within that safety zone — but it’ll get harder to prevent it after that. Dr. Rupp says mold can be a health hazard. People who are allergic or prone to asthmatic attacks can have a flareup of their symptoms, he says, and even people without known allergies can have "a hyper-sensitivity type of reaction."

Rupp says if an item smells musty or you can see brown, black or gray spots, mold is growing and the item should just be thrown away. To clean and prevent its growth, he says household products will work fine.

Use regular old household bleach. Rupp says a cup of bleach to a gallon of water makes a very effective germicidal preparation that will kill mold, wiped onto solid surfaces, floors, countertops, walls and other surfaces. He warns that mold can also lurk where you cannot see it, in areas like crawl-spaces, carpet backing, behind drywall and in stacks of paper.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters