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Giuliani undecided about attending Republican Straw Poll

May 23, 2007 By

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani and his campaign team have not decided yet whether Giuliani will participate in the Iowa Republican Party Straw Poll in Ames this August.

Over a month ago Giuliani’s Iowa campaign advisor, Jim Nussle, described the Straw Poll as a "circus" — prompting rival candidate Mitt Romney to counter that he looks forward to participating in the Straw Poll and wants to be its "ringmaster."

Mark Campbell, Giuliani’s national political director, says the campaign will decide in the next 20 days whether to enter the Straw Poll ring. Campbell also dismisses media reports that Giuliani may skip competing for support in Iowa’s Caucuses and focus on the big states like Florida and California which will be having primaries shortly after Iowa.

"Iowa is a historically important state. The Caucuses really kick-off the campaign season and while we are doing very well around the country we are also doing very well here in Iowa," Campbell says. "The campaign for president starts here and we’re going to be here." Campbell is in Iowa this week and he says the Giuliani campaign plans to ramp up its efforts here.

"We have opened a campaign office. We are staffing the campaign office," Campbell says. "We expect to have representatives and volunteers in every county in Iowa and expect to participate and compete in all the caucuses all across the state." Campbell made his comments during a telephone interview with Radio Iowa.

Audio: Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson report. :60 MP3

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Staceyville ordered to boil water after E-coli found

May 23, 2007 By

There’s a boil order for people in the northern Iowa town of Staceyville after a test of the city’s water supply turns up E-coli bacteria. Staceyville City Clerk Harlan Bisbee says one of the four samples in a test of the water showed the presence of the bacteria, which can cause severe cramps and diarrhea.

Another test was taken of the water on Tuesday and the city hopes to get the results of the test back later today. The city meanwhile has increased the level of chlorine in the water to counteract the bacteria and is offering bottled water for free at City Hall.

Audio: Bob Fisher report. :25 MP3

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

Boswell wants to study ethanol pipeline

May 23, 2007 By

Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell is co-sponsoring legislation to study the feasibility of shipping ethanol across the country in pipelines. Boswell says there’s a distribution problem with getting the ethanol outside the central United States, and he says there doesn’t seem to be any progress made on the issue. Boswell says there should be a study of an ethanol pipeline, and also a look at problems that are supposedly caused when ethanol is shipped through current pipelines.

Boswell , a Democrat from Des Moines, says oil companies are successfully using the pipelines to distribute their other products. There’s already a large network of pipelines through the country and Boswell says he’s talked with the oil companies and tried to tell them that ethanol is not a threat to their business. He says the oil companies can be part of the solution to shipping ethanol without hurting their own business. The "Ethanol Infrastructure Act" directs the Department of Energy to study the issue.

"Let’s look at it and see what it take, and what it would cost and would it be practical to put a pipeline in," Boswell says, "and at the same time, while we’re doing that, lets also have a hard look at what it’d take science-wise running ethanol through the pipeline now." Boswell is introducing the legislation along with Kansas Representative Jerry Moran. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin has introduced similar legislation in the Senate.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

ISU chases tornadoes for research

May 23, 2007 By

Like the fictional researchers in the movie "Twister"– a group of Iowa State students is chasing storms for real this summer for a federally-funded research project. Professor Bill Gallus talks about their goals.

Gallus says it will help them better understand better how the winds in thunderstorm, tornadoes and even hurricanes impact buildings near the ground. So Gallus says they’re seeking data to see how the winds interact with the buildings.

Sending the students to chase the storms is one way they’re getting the information. He says they have a team of 10 students who’re joining a storm chaser from Colorado to try and get actual storm data from the field. They also have a tornado simulator and a wind tunnel for testing, and Gallus says they’ll use computer modeling. They hope to use the information to make sturdier buildings.

Gallus says it may help them eventually improve the design of buildings to withstand winds, and help weather officials understand how winds impact buildings. Gallus is optimistic they can find some ways to make some tornadoes less threatening. He says it’s been show from wind tunnel work that it is possible to make some small adjustments to allow houses to withstand F-2 category tornadoes.

Gallus says about 90-percent of the tornadoes are F-2 and "it seems like someday it would be really nice if people didn’t have to rush for shelter for every single tornado event." Gallus says recent severe weather outbreaks are an example of the need for buildings with better staying power in storms.

Gallus says the event in Greensburg, Kansas where the entire city was destroyed by a tornado, shows that "it can be very helpful if we had ways to build our buildings a little bit better." The project is receiving one million dollars in federal funding.

 

Filed Under: Education, Weather Tagged With:

Vandals damage Oelwein veterans memorial

May 23, 2007 By

Just days before Memorial Day, vandals have damaged a veterans monument in the northeast Iowa town of Oelwein, where police are searching for suspects. Resident Frank Tafolla  says his twin brother, Nabor, was killed serving with the Marines in Vietnam 40 years ago and his name is on the now-ruined monument. Tafolla is distressed over the vandalism.

Tafolla says, "What they did to that thing over there, it was totally uncalled for." Someone kicked out the lights around the memorial and, during the night, used a rock to shatter the marble plaque that carried the names of local veterans who were killed in far-away wars. Tafolla says he’s disgusted by the senseless act of vandalism.

Tafolla says, "All them guys on that wall that died for freedom and somebody did that, they ought to take those guys and put them on the front line to find out what it’s really like." Russ McNamara, also of Oelwein, says his family donated the monument eight years ago and now they plan to replace it out of respect.

McNamara says: "Why would anybody want to knock a headstone over or steal something off a grave? You’re basically doing that to these people. These are the guys that died for us." As the community prepares to rally around its soldiers this holiday weekend, Chuck Taylor, a spokesman for the local American Legion chapter, says they’ll step in and figure out how to raise the funds needed for the repairs.

Taylor says: "This is something that means an awful lot to those of us who are veterans. There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears tied up in something like this." He says estimates for the repairs range from three-to-five-thousand dollars.

 

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, Military

State warns of Emerald Ash Borer

May 23, 2007 By

State officials have a warning about a threat to millions of Iowa trees. Officials in Iowa say they’re on the look-out for a nasty pest that has destroyed millions of ash trees in states like Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois. The Emerald Ash Borer feeds on the trees and eventually kills them.

Iowa’s state entomologist Robin Pruisner says it’s only a matter of time before it crosses the Iowa border, "It’s not a matter of if, but when". Pruisner says the biggest threat in Iowa is at campgrounds. Authorities are watching for vehicles from those "infested" states, making sure they don’t bring in firewood that could spark an outbreak here.

Pruisner says EAB has destroyed 25 million ash trees in Michigan alone, and officials there can do little about it. "There are many treatments under research in those infested states, both preventative and curative, and honestly there’s nothing with much hope on the horizon at this point in time," Pruisner says. Pruisner an EAB outbreak in Iowa would be devastating for the environment, but also from a financial standpoint.

She says, "If we have an infestation, and have serious damage, municipalities will have to find a way to have those trees removed quickly. If we clear-cut the ash, that’s an even bigger bill for somebody to pick up". At risk in Iowa are approximately 15 million urban ash trees and 50 million rural ash trees.

Audio: Radio Iowa’s Pat Curtis reports on Emeral Ash Borer. :47 MP3

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Six arrested in Western Iowa assault

May 23, 2007 By

Two teens and four young adults from western Iowa have been charged in connection with a break-in and brutal assault. Six people from the Atlantic, Brayton and Audubon areas are alleged to have forced their way into the home of Mitchell Thompson, in Exira, on May ninth.

Audubon County Sheriff Todd Johnson says one of the home’s residents was struck in the head with the claw-end of a hammer and was taken to a local hospital before being airlifted to a hospital in Des Moines. The victim, Randi Shafer, was diagnosed with a concussion and later released. Thompson was knocked down and choked to the point of unconsciousness. His son, 17-year old C-J Benton, was also injured.

Charged with first-degree burglary and willful injury were 17-year olds Amanda Thompson and Ashley Mayo, 18-year old Andrew Nickum, 19-year old Hillary Ferrell, 21-year old Wayne Schwab and 28-year old Mike Porter. It’s not clear what relationship was between the assailants and their victims.


Audio: Ric Hanson report. :44 MP3

Filed Under: Crime & Courts
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