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Democrat Obama stops in Davenport on way to convention

August 25, 2008 By

Barack Obama spoke Monday afternoon before a gathering of about 250 people – who were invited by his campaign to the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport. The audience included Obama supporters and undecided voters.

Cynthia Ross-Freidhof, who owns a Davenport restaurant with her husband, told Obama she supports him but her husband is undecided. Obama called Ron Ross at work.

"Hey, Ron? Your wife told me that you might vote for me, but I’ve got to do a little work because you’re concerned about whether I’ve got good plans for small business," Obama said over the phone. "I know it’s in the middle of the lunch hour, so I don’t want to interupt too much, but I’m going to give your wife all the answers."

Cynthia Ross-Freidhof is interested to see if the call will make a difference. "I think the fact that Obama cared enough to call and talk to an individual who is worried about this, that owns a little business…I mean, I saw this with him…he’s genuine," Ross Freidhof said of the Illinois Senator.

Obama, who is making his way to Denver to accept his party’s nomination on Thursday, said that 95 percent of taxpayers would see tax cuts under his plan. John McCain, his Republican opponent, has claimed in ads that Obama would raise taxes on the middle class. Obama says that not true. 

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Cyclones set to kick off with youth movement

August 25, 2008 By

ISU Coach Gene Chizek If you are heading to Iowa State Thursday for the Cyclones’ season opener against South Dakota State you may want to buy a program.

When special teams are included 15 true or redshirt freshmen are in the two-deep. Coach Gene Chizik enters his second year at the helm after a 3-9 record in 2007. 

Chizik isn’t calling it a surprise, but says there have been some guys who have “jumped off the page” at them in the first weeks of camp. He says it will be interesting to see how those players do when the lights come on. Chizik says several players will be on the field for the first time on Thursday night.

He says it will be an exciting time for those who play, because they’ve had to earn their starting roles and playing time. South Dakota State is a relative newcomer to the one-double-a ranks but Chizik says there is no way the Cyclones will look past this game. “I can say one word, Northern Iowa,” Chizek says, referring to the Cyclones recent loss to the Panthers.

Chizik says even though a high number of young players will be on the field he expects the Cyclones to be a better team. He says he feels good about it as they have worked hard this fall and have another year in the weight room.

Chizik says an improved running game is a must, regardless of who you’re playing at quarterback, unless you throw every down. He says the team knows the importance of being able to run the ball. Sophomore Austen Arnaud has been named the starting quarterback but Chizik says Phillip Bates will also play.

Chizek says he’s not making any promises about how much each will play, as that could change based on how they do in the game.  

Arnaud says he’s concerned with playing well not how much he plays. He says regardless of who plays, they’re going to score and move the team. Arnaud says a high number of freshman getting time is a good step for the program. He says it’s a positive as they may have some bumps in the road, but will get lots of experience.

Arnaud says the competition with Bates has been a healthy one, and they will feed off each other and that will make the team better.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Police dogs set to go through certification

August 25, 2008 By

It’s much more than just a dog obedience school. Specially-trained police dogs and their officer-handlers will be in central Iowa this week for a three-day certification event. West Des Moines Police Officer Brent Kock says his department is hosting the event which features about 50 of the K-9 teams from law enforcement outfits all over Iowa and Minnesota.

It’s an annual certification that K-9 teams have to go through and complete a series of events. Officer Kock says most police departments won’t let the teams work the streets without finishing this course. The United States Police Canine Association is running the police dog certifications today through Wednesday.

Kock says some of the training events are intense. The teams will be tested in two phases, with and without gunfire. Kock says, “The dog has to be able to apprehend the suspect and then the handler go down and verbally call the dog off the bite, the dog will come back, sit next to the handler, the handler will go up and conduct a pat-down search of the suspect and the dog is supposed to stay and not move.”

He says the various tests of the dogs’ agility and obedience are designed to be realistic gauges of their abilities. The dogs have hurdles they have to jump, ladders they have to climb and tunnels they have to crawl through and under. He says it’s all designed to teach the dog they can actually jump over fences while pursuing a suspect in a back yard, for example, as the officer can’t take time to carry the dog or lift it over an obstacle during a chase.

The public is welcome to watch the free events at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines.  

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

School districts look at merging as enrollment drops

August 25, 2008 By

State education officials are predicting that more rural Iowa school districts will consolidate during this school year as they face budget problems due to declining enrollment. The Deep River-Millersburg district in eastern Iowa is one of those districts — with only 49 students in pre-school through sixth grade.

Superintendent Alan Jensen says the students in 7th through 12th grade already have the choice of attending two neighboring schools to finish their education. Jensen says the number of students dictated that they had to do something different. District residents will vote next month on whether to merge with the nearby English Valleys schools.

Jensen says that address the concerns the parents of the elementary students have. Jensen says the parents wanted to continue with single section classrooms, and they want to consolidate instead of having the combination classrooms. If voters approve the merger, the two districts combined would have around 600 students. 

Filed Under: Education

No candidates of the future wooing Iowa Democrats

August 25, 2008 By

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Iowa’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention heard from a 48-year-old senator this morning and the second-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House is scheduled to visit with Iowans later in the week.

But there appear to be no presidential candidates of the future on the list. At the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles back in 2000, politicians like Dick Gephardt, Evan Bayh and Joe Biden stopped by to chat with Iowa Democrats over breakfast.

In 2004, Bill Richardson brought along jars of salsa for the Iowa Democrats at the convention in Boston. Presidential wannabees are not on the Iowa agenda at this year’s convention in Denver.

Iowa Democratic Party chairman Scott Brennan suggests presidential candidates of the future have plenty of time to lay the groundwork for a campaign “Because we intend to hold the White House until 2016,” Brennan says. “I think a lot of folks who were really interested in the White House ran in this cycle. Senator Obama’s the nominee and we anticipate winning in 2008 and then, of course, reelection in 2012, so eight years is a long time.”

Dick Myers of Iowa City, a former leader in the state legislature, suggests there’s a fatigue factor, too. “This was a pretty hard campaign and I think it took a lot out of folks — folks that won and didn’t win,” Myers says. “I think people came out of it with respect, but they also came out of it tired, but also knowing full well that there’s an awful lot of work to be done to win this election (in 2008).”

Barack Obama is campaigning this afternoon in Davenport. Davenport native Jim Leach — the former Iowa Congressman, a Republican who endorsed Obama in mid-August — is scheduled to speak this evening at the Demoratic National Convention. Senator Tom Harkin will introduce Leach to the crowd, sometime around 9 p.m. Iowa time.

Earlier this morning, Harkin delivered a bit of a pep talk to the Iowa delegation. “For those of you who are first-time convention goers, I’ll let you in on a little secret: Democratic conventions are not a cone of silence,” Harkin said. “I expect you’re going to see a lot of fizz at the Pepsi Center.”

Harkin said Republican presidential candidate John McCain was “justifiably a great military veteran and military hero,” but Harkin said that doesn’t justify making McCain president. ”John McCain barely got through high school. The only way he got in the academy was because his daddy went there and his grandpa went there and they were both big admirals so he gets in the academy and then graduates fourth from the bottom of his class, so you can say that John McCain got where he is because he had good family connections,” Harkin said. “Does that remind you of someone else who is president of the United States now that got there because of family connections?”

Harkin invited fellow Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota to speak to Iowa Democrats in Denver. She warned the Iowa Democrats that McCain’s attacks on Obama will get worse. “I just can’t believe John McCain, some of the attacks,” Klobuchar said. “This is what I’m going to say today…when I’m down talking to the newspeople…’People who live in seven houses shouldn’t be throwing stones.’”

Klobuchar endorsed Obama at the end of March and has campaigned across the country on Obama’s behalf. During her speech to Iowans, Klobuchar connected a McCain-directed barb to the reruns she watches on the cable channel TV Land. “It’s going to be like Gilligan’s Island all over again if we have John McCain in there for four years,” she said. “…We’re never going to get off the island.”

Listen to all of what Klobuchar and Harkin said by clicking on the audio link below.

AUDIO: Harkin and Klobuchar 26:00 MP3

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Body found in burned out building in Audubon County

August 25, 2008 By

Authorities in western Iowa’s Audubon County are investigating the discovery of a body found inside a burned-out building over the weekend. Sheriff’s officials received a 9-1-1 call at around 4:45 P.M. Sunday regarding two burned buildings and that man was missing from near Ross, which is about 7 miles northeast of Audubon.

Upon further investigation, a body was discovered in one of the buildings. The unidentified remains were sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Ankeny for identification. The incident remains under investigation. 

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Young kids arrested for vandalizing Des Moines school

August 25, 2008 By

Some young children are in trouble after they were caught vandalizing an elementary school in Des Moines. Officers were called at 7:20 Sunday night to Edmunds Elementary School, located just north of downtown Des Moines.

Sergeant Vince Valdez says school security officials had noticed some activity in the building. Police surrounded the school and captured six kids who are between the ages of 5 and 10. Some of the youngsters tried to run away when they exited the building, but were detained.

Valdez say the children urinated on a desk and a computer, threw things around a classroom, destroyed some CDs and took candy. The kids were released to their parents and referred to Polk County Juvenile Court.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts
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