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University of Dubuque football hopes to continues success

August 18, 2008 By

After spending several years at or near the bottom of the Iowa Conference the prospects have changed for the University of Dubuque football program. Coach Vince Brautigam has led a turn-a-round that included a 7-3 record a year ago, the programs best season since 1980.

Not only that but the school will unveil it’s new football stadium this season. Brautigan says they’ve worked hard to get it going starting 7 years ago and he says the work ethic has paid off. That Spartans have posted consecutive winning seasons and Brautigam says they hope to build off that. He says the players have started a new tradition and the players want to keep that going.

The Spartans must replace record setting quarterback Jermar Jackson who complied more than 10,000 yards in his career, and they have a junior and a sophomore who’re vying for the job.

On the schedule this season is a trip to California to play the University of the Redlands which is ranked highly. That game comes after the school’s first night game in history against Rockford.

 

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William Penn looks to new offense for improvement

August 18, 2008 By

William Penn coach Todd Hafner hopes a new look offense can boost the Statesmen’s fortunes this football season. After a 5-6 season in 2007 Hafner junked an offense that averaged just over 20 points per game and installed a double-slot option to try and open up the attack.

Hafner says its something they’ve wanted to do for awhile but weren’t sure they had the personnel to do it. He says it has worked out well so far this fall after installing the offense in the spring. Hafner says the new offense will give them more options.

He says their running game has been pretty basic in the past, and this will give them options to run inside or get the ball on the edge to one of two tailbacks. Ryan Van Dalen enters his third season as the starting quarterback and will be counted on to run the ball more this season.

Hafner says it hasn’t been that Van Dalen hasn’t had the ability, just their offense didn’t have a lot of running it for him. Hafner says a key this year will be doing better in close games than they did in 2007. He says they felt they left a couple of games out there they should have won. Penn open August 30th at home against Waldorf.

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Hospital Association spokesman says privacy problems small compared to number of patients

August 18, 2008 By

A spokesman for the Iowa Hospital Association says its members are doing a good job enforcing federal privacy laws even though there are sometimes mistakes. Scott McIntyre says although a recent published report says patients have filed 267 complaints since the federal privacy law went into effect five years ago — that’s not many considering the number of patients treated.

McIntyre says there are some 11 million interactions in just hospitals alone every year, which adds up some 55-million patients served in the five years for those 267 complaints. "I don’t think that’s exactly a gaping hole," McIntyre says of the complaints. McIntyre says they do all the can to prevent mistakes.

McIntyre says, "Just like any other business that puts people into a position of trust..you see that in government, you see that in law enforcement, and education, there’s gonna be times when people make mistakes." McIntyre says. He says people sometimes make the mistake knowingly, and sometimes they don’t.

McIntyre says the hospitals work hard to avoid mistakes. He says they make employees aware of their expectations in dealing with patient trust, medical records and confidential records, and do training to help employees know the rules. McIntyre says the hospitals do take the appropriate action when their employees break the law.

McIntyre says he didn’t know if the federal government had investigated any of the complaints against Iowa health care providers.  

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

Sioux City police offer gun locks after teen shot

August 18, 2008 By

Sioux City police are offering free gun locks after a teenager was shot in the head and killed last week as he and several other teens played with a loaded gun. Sioux City police officer Jeremy McClure says their investigation found one of the teens had found the weapon in the house, loaded and unsecured.

McClure says many gun accidents involve kids playing with guns that were left unattended, so he says kids need to learn the dangers of firearms and gun owners need to properly lock them up. He say the police department is now offering free firearm locks to local gun owners so those firearms can be stored safely.

He says the gun locks were given to the city through a federal grant, Project Child Safe. All gun owners have to do is go to the lobby of the Sioux City police station and ask for the locks. Two per person are being given away and the people don’t have to provide any personal information. The locks use cable that is placed through an empty firearm which prevents it from being loaded or fired.

McClure says it’s up to the parents to educate their children about guns. He says it’s important that we talk about the proper handling of firearms and that they be kept out of the hands of children. In the latest incident, 16-year-old Codie Kapaun may be facing charges as an adult after she allegedly shot 16-year-old Ryan Blanchard in the head last Monday afternoon. Blanchard died on Tuesday. 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Nine presidential candidates on Iowa ballot this November

August 18, 2008 By

When Iowans vote this November, they’ll have nine presidential candidates from which to choose. The two major party candidates are Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

There are seven other parties that have met the requirements to have their presidential candidates’ names on the Iowa ballot as well. Two are from Georgia. Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr is the Libertarian Party’s candidate for president. Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is the Green Party’s presidential nominee.

The other presidential candidates on the Iowa ballot are Chuck Baldwin from the Constitution Party; Gloria La Riva from the Party for Socialism and Liberation; Brian Moore for the Socialist Party and James Harris for the Socialist Workers Party.

Finally, perennial candidate Ralph Nader is running under the Peace and Freedom Party banner in Iowa in 2008.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Effort begins to crack down on drunk drivers

August 18, 2008 By

Drunk Driving sign Last year in Iowa, 110 people were killed in traffic crashes involving a drunk or drug-impaired driver. But, Jessica Lown, a spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, says the potential exists for even more drunk driving fatalities.

Since 1993, Iowa law enforcement officers have averaged 20,000 OWI arrests a year. Lown says that figure is often overshadowed by the number of fatalities. "When somebody loses their life, it’s tragic for sure, but what Iowans need to realize is that the potential for loss of life is even greater," Lown said. "When officers are making 20,000 OWI arrests a year, that should just anger everyone because that’s 20,000 different incidents where there’s a driver that could be taking another life."

Starting today, and running through Labor Day, law enforcement agencies will have an increased presence on Iowa roadways. Lown says, during the special Traffic Enforcement Program – or sTEP, officers will be looking for motorists who’ve had too much to drink.

Lown says the dates for the enforcement project were chosen because many Iowans are spending the time at end-of-summer parties or vacations. "Sometimes that leads to bad decision making and bad judgment," Lown said. "They’re enjoying the summer, but maybe they’re having a few too many drinks and getting behind the wheel. We want to remind Iowans that’s a bad decision."

The statewide STEP, which is federally funded, will involve officers working overtime. In addition to the focus on drunk drivers, officers were be on the watch for speeders and seatbelt violations. "Our seatbelt usage rate in the state of Iowa is at 91.8 percent I believe, but we want to get it even higher. We want to get it up to 100 percent," Lown said.

The special enforcement effort also includes the use of electric signs along roads near Ames, Mason City, Sioux City, Iowa City, Council Bluffs, Cedar Rapids, the Quad Cities and the Des Moines metro. The signs flash the messages "Over the Limit, Under Arrest" and "Don’t Drink and Drive."

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Iowa soldiers head to duty in Afghanistan

August 18, 2008 By

A group of Iowa soldiers is heading out today for duty in Afghanistan. The 20 soldiers are stationed at Camp Dodge in Johnston and Boone and have been mobilized as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The soldiers leave Iowa and head to Fort Riley, Kansas for additional training before leaving for Afghanistan. The soldiers come from support and command groups and will operate as a training team to provide advanced training to the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police.

The soldiers were given a sendoff ceremony this morning at Camp Dodge.

Filed Under: Military Tagged With:
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