Iowans who are headed to Minnesota for the Republican National Convention next month better have their rooms reserved already. Hotels across the Twin Cities are booked up with reservations from tens-of-thousands of delegates, media and others all coming for the R.N.C. There is another option though, as some folks are renting out their homes and apartments with ads on-line. Among them is Jacob Hamblin, an Iowa native who now lives in the Minneapolis area. Hamblin’s place is just one of dozens listed as "for rent" during the R.N.C., ranging from just a few hundred dollars for a small apartment to a five-bedroom house we found listed for 20,000.
Rooms will be tough to get for Republican National Convention
August 6, 2008 By
Investigation continues in fatal Sumner stabbing
August 6, 2008 By
Investigators are still trying to sort out what happened in the stabbing death of a Sumner teen. Eighteen-year-old Raymond Randall was found stabbed multiple times at a Sumner resident early Monday morning. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The official cause of death has now been determined to be a stab wound to the heart. Authorities have charged 16-year-old Sebastian Trimble with willful injury for allegedly assaulting another teen at the residence identified as 18-year-old Zachary Moran.
There have been no charges filed yet in connection with Randall’s death, and the investigation continues.
Mason City man credited with saving life of woman
August 6, 2008 By
A Mason City man is credited with helping save the life of a woman who apparently jumped off a bridge and into the city’s Willow Creek. Twenty-five-year-old Jason Thorson was walking out of a convenience store around 9:30 last night when it appeared a woman who Thorson and friends passed by on the bridge earlier apparently jumped off into the water.
Thorson says he ran to the north side of the bridge and jumped into the water to save the woman. He says it appeared the woman landed face first in about eight inches of water, suffering abrasions to her face. Mason City police identify the woman as 20-year-old Alicia Sutton of Mason City, who was taken to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa for treatment.
No official report on Sutton’s condition is available at this time.
Stanton man dies in accident
August 6, 2008 By
A western Iowa man died Tuesday from injuries he suffered during a collision between his motorcycle and a car. Forty-eight-year-old Frank Snyder, of Stanton, was pronounced dead at an Omaha, Nebraska, hospital following the crash that occurred at around 1:40 p.m.
Tuesday on Highway 34, two-miles east of Red Oak. According to the Iowa State Patrol, Snyder — who was not wearing a helmet — was traveling east on the highway when he attempted to pass a car, and his cycle collided with a westbound 1995 Dodge Intrepid.
The 70-year-old female driver of the car Snyder collided with, suffered minor injuries. She was treated and released from the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital. The crash marks the second fatal motorcycle accident to have occurred in Montgomery County in less than two months. In June, a 61-year-old Red Oak man was killed, when his motorcycle collided with a deer on Highway 34, northwest of Stanton.
King looks to lead young Iowa defense
August 6, 2008 By
Iowa’s defense was solid in 2007 and that unit expects to have even more success this season. One of the reasons is senior defensive lineman Mitch King. The Burlington native was an all Big Ten choice last season and says even with eight starters back on defense they will need some young players to have an impact.
King says they need depth because a lot of young guys don’t have experience, so they’ll need to rotate in a lot of bodies as they build the experience. King says right now the defense has potential and it will take a lot of hard work to play up to that.
King says they need to capitalize on the talent they have and put in a lot of work and effort. King was a running back and linebacker while in high school but his career took off after he was moved to the defensive line prior to the 2005 season. King says it was always his dream to play at the level he’s playing at now and he wants to keep improving.
Iowa defensive coordinator Norm Parker says King uses his experience as a linebacker to his advantage. Parker says it makes King more comfortable, and he has the quickness and good hands that make him a "real good player."
Parker says King has become one of the leaders on the team. He says King will do his share of talking but also leads and is a "I’m going over the hill, follow me type of guy."
Meanwhile, Parker maintains he is not even thinking about retirement. He is entering his tenth season with the Hawkeyes and his coaching career began back in 1965. "I got two reasons why I can’t retire," Parker says,"I don’t know how to do anything else. And my wife hates me."
Parker disputes the notion that the Hawkeyes have had trouble stopping teams that run the spread offense. He says the defense has fared well against teams employing that style. "All I heard about was Illinois’ spread offense. They’re still looking for the goal line," Parker says. Iowa opens the season August 30th at home against Maine.
Expert says it’ll be tough to keep politics out of Olympics
August 6, 2008 By
The Summer Olympics open in Beijing, China, on Friday with the promise of the Chinese government to keep the games “non political.” A Drake University professor of politics and international relations, David Skidmore, says keeping that pledge won’t be easy.
Skidmore just recently returned from China and says there will be two forces at work during the games to keep pressure on the country, including Tibet. Skidmore says there was rioting in Tibet this last spring in an effort to bring the world’s attention to the grievances residents have with China. Skidmore says China’s involvement in Darfur will also draw attention.
Skidmore says China has massive investments in the Sudan that are propping up the regime there that’s engaged in genocide. He says the international community would like to see China use its influence to bring about some changes in Sudanese policies toward Darfur.
President Bush will in Beijing for the opening ceremonies Friday — a move some have criticized because of China’s human rights policies. Skidmore says Bush cannot back out of his promise to attend the games.
Skidmore says Bush pulling out would be seen as a “major affront” to China and there would have been “a great deal of anger raised up against the United States for very little purpose.” For those reasons Skidmore says Bush made the right decision. Skidmore made his comments on the Iowa Public Radio program “the exchange.”
Group blames health insurance companies for high cost of healthcare
August 6, 2008 By
About a dozen people gathered in downtown Des Moines over the noon hour Tuesday to rail against health insurance companies that they blame for unaffordable healthcare costs. Kirsten Running-Marquardt, director of the advocacy group Iowa for Health Care, says profits at the companies have increased by more than 170 percent since 2003, while health insurance premiums have skyrocketed.
“It’s really hard for folks to make ends meet right now. When they’re working their whole life, they shouldn’t get sick and lose everything,” Running-Marquardt said. “So we want people to look at both presidential health-care plans and pick a presidential candidate who’s going to develop an American solution and have quality affordable health care for all.”
Running-Marquardt blames high insurance costs on excessive CEO salaries. “Some of them have CEOs who are making 23, 25, 13-million dollars a year while people are being priced out and they can’t afford it,” Running-Marquardt said. Running-Marquardt ran off a list of things she wants included in a national healthcare policy.
“What we need is quality healthcare for everyone with a choice of doctors’ plans without gaps in access and coverage, we want preventative care as part of any basic plan that promotes health and eliminates any racial or ethnic disparities, and we want controlled costs by providing care that is cost efficient and medically effective,” Running-Marquardt said. Iowa for Health Care was started six years ago by a group of nurses and now claims that 32-thousand Iowans have signed on to its cause.
