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Former UNI coach returns with Missouri State

November 6, 2008 By

Terry Allen says competing against Northern Iowa will never be "just another game." The former UNI head coach and quarterback brings his Missouri State bears to Cedar Falls this weekend to take on the Panthers in Missouri Valley Conference action.

It will be the third time he has gone up against his alma mater as a head coach. Allen says having spent 22 years in Cedar Falls, he has many life-long friends there. Allen says he hasn’t been on the UNI staff for 10 years, so for the players on his team, it is just another game.

Missouri State is 3-5 overall and Allen says while the program is making strides they need to develop more depth. Allen says they need more and better players, and it’s a process they are trying to build. Allen says the strength of the MVC football race makes it even tougher to build a program.

The Panthers are 17-2 and have dominated this series by winning 16 of the last 18 games.  

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Robbery suspect found hiding in playhouse

November 6, 2008 By

Playhouse where bank robbery suspect was found. A Grimes man, suspected of robbing three Des Moines area banks, is in jail after being captured in an unusual way this morning.

Des Moines Police Sergeant Vince Valdez says officers were called to a home on the city’s northeast side at 8 a.m.

The owner of the home found an acquaintance had broken in through a window overnight and was sleeping on his couch. He recognized the man, 57-year-old Stephen Gardner, from bank surveillance photos and called police.

"When patrol officers got there, they were looking for Stephen Gardner and found him in the backyard hiding in a child’s playhouse," Valdez said.

Earlier this week, police found a car Gardner was believed to be driving. He is now charged with three counts of second-degree burglary for robberies at two credit unions and a bank. "We initially put out a warrant for (Gardner) as a material witness in those robberies, but once the detectives talked to him, it was very clear to them that he was our robber," Valdez said.

No one was injured in this morning’s arrest. Valdez admits using a playhouse a criminal hideout is a bit strange. "We’ve got people who’ve tried to hide from us in many different places, whether it be under a sink, in a bathroom vanity or an attic…they’ll find places to hide, but we usually find them," Valdez said. "A lot of times (officers) will bring a K-9 along and that usually flushes ‘em right out."

The man who called police, George Vahey, said he met Gardner several months ago. Vahey refused to talk about this morning’s incident or his relationship with Gardner with Radio Iowa.  

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Republican Party Chair stepping down

November 6, 2008 By

The chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa announced today  he will not seek reelection to the post. Stewart Iverson, a former state legislator from Clarion, stepped into the role of Iowa GOP chairman after the 2006 election.

Iverson will not seek the job in January, when Republican state central committee members meet to select a chairman. Sources tell Radio Iowa Ted Sporer, a Des Moines attorney who is chairman of Polk County Republicans, is a candidate for the job.

Sporer has written on-line that the "GOP situation in Iowa is dire" and he quoted a Willie Nelson lyric, suggesting "there is no easy way, but there is a way" to rebuild the party. Bill Dix, a former state legislator from Shell Rock, is another potential candidate for the job.

The Republican state central committee is scheduled to meet in January and choose a new chair at that time. Iowa Democratic Party chairman Scott Brennan, a Des Moines attorney, has said he does not plan to seek another term as his party’s chairman either.

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Creighton economist says holiday shopping season looks dismal

November 6, 2008 By

Many Iowa retailers will rely on the final six weeks of 2008 to turn their profit for the year, but one economist predicts the holiday shopping season ahead will be dismal — at best. Ernie Goss, a Creighton University economics professor, says some Iowa merchants will soon start to hire on their holiday helpers, but not too many of them.

Goss says, "We’re going to see an upturn in hiring, however, once you seasonally adjust those numbers, they will be quite negative, or at least we’ll see rising unemployment rates, seasonally adjusted. The Christmas buying season for this part of the country is not going to be good. For the nation, it’s going to be even less good."

Goss compiles a monthly survey of business leaders and supply managers in Iowa and eight other Midwestern states. He says all signs are pointing to a December that’s less "ho-ho-ho" and more "no-no-no." Goss says, "I’m expecting probably one of the worst Christmas buying seasons that we’ve recorded since we began the survey in 1994, so, all in all, it’s just not looking good."

Goss says the national economic downturn is pulling the state’s economy down and financial ills continue piling on in industries including housing, banking and transportation. As the cold of winter approaches, he says it’ll only get more expensive to live in Iowa as we have to fire up the furnaces.

Goss says, "Consumers have had to dip into their checking accounts, their savings accounts, to support purchases of energy and of course, now with energy prices coming down, that’s good, but unfortunately, the pig was already in the python."

On the plus side, Goss says the downturn is only temporary, though it may be nine months before we’re back on solid ground. He disagrees with others who predict we’re heading for another depression as Goss says that’s just not in the numbers he’s seeing. 

Filed Under: Business

Elk shot near Clear Lake

November 6, 2008 By

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says an elk was shot by the Iowa State Patrol in northern Iowa Wednesday. D.N.R. spokesman Kevin Baskins say the elk was first spotted by motorists. He says the elk was spotted south of Clear Lake near the Burchinal exit.

Baskins says they believe the elk was held on farm at one time as the closest wild populations of elk are northern Wisconsin, northwest Nebraska or southwest South Dakota. Baskins says calls to elk owners in the area failed to turn up the owner, and the decision was then made to shoot the animal.

Baskins says it was a 600-pound animal that was close to the interstate and they were concerned it might get onto the interstate. He says the other concern was the potential for the animal carrying diseases that could be spread to the wild population of animals. Baskins says samples were taken to test for disease.

He says the meat usually goes to the prison system in these cases, and the head is being offered to a group that might want to use it for educational purposes, such as at a conservation center. While elk sightings are rare, they aren’t unheard of in Iowa.

Baskin says they’ve had a couple of reports of elk in Allamakee County and reports they’re trying to track in Linn County. The elk was full grown, but did not have any tags that are required for animals on farms. 

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation Tagged With:

U-I tells students to "take precautions" in wake of assaults

November 6, 2008 By

University of Iowa officials are urging students to "take precautions" after three recent assaults reported on campus. Thomas Rocklin, the University of Iowa’s interim vice president for student services, sent an e-mail to all U-of-I students on Wednesday, urging "everyone" on campus "to be vigilant."

Rocklin’s advisory comes after three recent assaults in which men attacked other men. One occurred early Sunday, October 19th, when two men told police they were "jumped" by a group of men, but people nearby started yelling and the group ran off.

The university’s V.P. said in his e-mail that while campus police and Iowa City police patrol the area, they "can’t be everywhere at once, so safety must be a responsibility shared by students and other people." He advised students not to walk alone in isolated areas late at night or early in the morning. Joggers and bicyclists were advised to stay on well-lit roads and paths, and to vary the routes and times they exercise. 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With:

Obama win may help Iowa Caucuses

November 6, 2008 By

The Iowa Democratic Party’s chairman says Barack Obama’s election is good news for the status of the Iowa Caucuses. Iowa Democratic Party chairman Scott Brennan says Obama’s 2008 Iowa Caucus victory could silence some Caucus critics.

"There have always been two historic criticisms of the Caucuses: one, that not enough people turn out and two, that we’re not a diverse enough state," Brennan says. "Well, in fact on January 3rd, you know, 240,000 people participated in the Caucuses which is almost double the old record and Iowans selected an African American, which just proves the open-mindedness of Iowans."

But some Iowa Democrats are worried about a commission that’s been created to study the party’s nomination process. Dave Nagle, a former congressman from Waterloo, fought to retain Iowa’s first-in-the-nation Caucuses when he was chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party.

"We’ve got to survive another calendar commission study group and hopefully the president will back us," Nagle says, "but if the press in there is strong to get rid of Iowa were going to have a fight on our hands again, so we’re still in precarious waters and as long as we’re first we’ll always be in precarious waters."

Michigan politicians have long complained about Iowa’s Caucuses and this past year Michigan’s legislature moved the date of its primary forward. None of the Democratic presidential candidates campaigned there, however, as the Democratic National Committee’s rules did not sanction the earlier date. All of the Democrats but Hillary Clinton went so far as to remove their names from Michigan’s primary ballot. 

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,
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