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It’s Missing Children’s Day

May 25, 2007 By

This is Missing Children’s Day in Iowa and state officials are encouraging parents to take part in a program called "Take 25." Jim Saunders, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, says it’s part of a national campaign that has a simple premise and a significant impact.

Saunders says, "Take 25 minutes on the 25th of each month to sit down and talk to your kids about a variety of things that will help keep them safe." He says to teach the very young kids their full name, address and phone number, as well as to whom they should give that information if they become lost.

Saunders says kids also need to learn their parents’ full names — beyond Mom and Dad. With summer approaching, some older children will be left alone in the home daily while their parents are at work. Saunders says staying in close contact is key.He says parents need to communicate with their kids during the day, know who they’ll be hanging out with, where they’ll be and what they’ll be doing, while kids need to call their parents if there’s a change in plans.

Saunders says another potential trouble spot that should be addressed is the computer.

He says one in five kids who use the Internet have been sexually solicited on-line, so it’s important parents know where their kids are surfing on-line. He says there’s a variety of software and filters that can help do just that. For more tips, visit the Take 25 website .

 

 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Two die in crash near Oelwein

May 25, 2007 By

Two northeast Iowans are dead following an accident on Highway 150 north of Oelwein. The state patrol says a car driven by 19-year-old Todd Albert of Oelwein went off the side of the road, he overcorrected and slid into the oncoming lane, colliding with a van driven by 52-year-old Steven Bruce of Rowley. Both Albert and Bruce were killed in the accident.

Four people in the van were injured and taken to Mercy Hospital in Oelwein. The were identified as 41-year-old Aaron Roepke of Oelwein, 23-year-old Nicholas Spratt of Hazelton, 19-year-old Nathan Williams of Hazelton and 50-year-old Charles Lane of Independence. Bruce was the only person wearing seatbelts and his car also burst into flames.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Parts of state remain behind in planting due to wet conditions

May 25, 2007 By

Despite the wet spring, the USDA’s recent report indicates Iowa farmers have planted 90-percent of their corn crop and the numbers are similar for soybeans. Jerry Miller with the Iowa State University College of Agriculture says some parts of the state are understandably behind schedule.

Miller says, "Those low-lying areas in southwest Iowa, those areas prone to flooding and some of the pot-hole areas in north central Iowa may take a while before they’re dry enough to plant, but other areas are mostly ready for corn and soybeans to go in." Miller says the acres planted will be up again this year, but believes farmers are being careful in terms of conservation.

Miller says, "In Iowa, generally, out of our 36 million acres, we say about three-fourths or 27 million acres is suitable for cropland and according to the USDA numbers, producers are being responsible in terms of soil and water conservation." Miller says, ideally, farmers would probably like to see less than an inch of rain per week and temperatures in the mid-80′s over the next couple months. 

Filed Under: Agriculture, Weather

Hawkeye Downs, Knoxville see racing season heat up

May 25, 2007 By

The world of auto racing will be watching the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 this weekend but a number of Iowa tracks will feature racing during the holiday weekend. Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids hosts an event, tonight, according to track spokesman Brad Grupe. He says it will be a regular Friday night show with seven divisions running this weekend.

Grupe says for many people this weekend is the start of the racing season. He says as a Friday night track they avoid some of the conflicts with some of the national events. Grupe says people see the real racing season getting started with Memorial Day, as the weather starts getting nice.

Knoxville Raceway holds its weekly event on Saturday night and promoter Ralph Capitani says the two big races on Sunday don’t mean fewer fans at the local tracks. He says there are just as many people who go to the small tracks as before, and he doesn’t think the big races have much effect.

Capitani says Saturday night’s event will be a resumption of the season point race. Capitani says they have a heck of a point race going. 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

U-I wants smokers for Radon study

May 25, 2007 By

Researchers at the University of Iowa are looking for cigarette smokers to take part in a study of radon, an invisible gas that’s prevalent in most Iowa homes. Dr. Bill Field, a professor of occupational and environmental health at the U-of-I, says radon exposure can cause lung cancer and Iowa smokers are in even greater danger.

Field says "If you smoke and also have higher radon exposures, you have a much higher risk of developing lung cancer." He says more than 70-percent of the basements in Iowa homes have radon levels that exceed federal E-P-A standards. Field says Iowa smokers are giving themselves a double-dose of radiation.

Field says many people don’t realize that cigarette smoke contains radioactive materials and that pack-a-day smokers may be exposed to more radiation than workers in federal nuclear weapons factories. The radon studies have been underway at the U-of-I since 1993. He says the latest project involves developing a new radon detector that could give an estimate of someone’s exposure during the time they’ve lived in any given home. Field says Iowa’s history with radon runs deep.

He says long-ago glaciers left pulverized rock deposits all over Iowa which have high radon-emanating potential and Iowa has the highest average radon concentration in the U.S. For more information, Field suggests searching for "Iowa" and "radon" together to be linked to the study or call 800-SOS-Radon. 

Filed Under: Health & Medicine Tagged With:

Food prices start to move up in response to gas price increase

May 25, 2007 By

Gasoline prices are already at record high levels and now in response, some food prices are starting to creep up as well. Kris Friesleben, spokeswoman for the West Des Moines-based HyVee chain, says the price of some groceries will likely start to rise soon.

Friesleben says, "It probably will but not directly because of the rise in gas prices. People associate food prices and gas prices with the transportation of food from point A to point B and, for our company at least, we do not pass that charge along to customers."

Triple-A says gas prices in Iowa are averaging $3.34 a gallon, 12-cents higher than the national average. Still, Friesleben says the rising cost of groceries is more about petroleum products in general, not gasoline specifically. She says, "Where they see the price going up, it’s usually as a result of the food production line. Petroleum is used for all kinds of things food is stored in, for plastics, for trays and all kinds of things that are required to get that food packaged."

Friesleben says when a food supplier raises rates, the store will eventually have to follow suit. She says, "Most people understand there’s very low margins in food already so that if your supplier is raising prices, it’s just a matter of time before you have to pass some of that charge along to the customers." HyVee has more than 200 stores in seven Midwestern states. 

Filed Under: Business Tagged With:

State Patrol to have extra troopers out during holiday

May 25, 2007 By

Memorial Day is typically one of the safest holiday weekends on Iowa roads. But Jim Saunders with the Iowa Department of Public Safety says it could always be safer. "Last year during the Memorial Day weekend there were three fatalities," says Saunders, "and obviously our goal is always to have that number be zero."

Saunders says there will be additional law enforcement on the roads today through Monday. Saunders says, "The entire intent here is to focus on roadways where we see a lot of travel and a lot of accidents, and focus on those violations that cause those accidents." Saunders insists the extra law enforcement presence this weekend isn’t about issuing more tickets.

Saunders explains, "Our goal isn’t to see how many tickets we can write, our goal is preventing people from committing the violations in the first place, because then that will result in lower accidents, injuries, and fatalities." Saunders says there have been 11 fewer traffic fatalities this year, compared to this time last year. He gives some of the credit to more Iowans wearing their seat belt.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With:
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