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Ferentz says memory of sitting home with 6 wins is motivation

November 11, 2008 By

The Iowa Hawkeyes may be bowl eligible but that’s not good enough for coach Kirk Ferentz. Coming off a rousing upset of third rated Penn State the Hawkeyes take a 6-4 record into this weekend’s matchup against Purdue in their final home game of the season.

Ferentz says they were home with six wins without a bowl game last year sitting around the fireplace last Christmas with chestnuts roasting and all that stuff. “I’m not a big fan of eggnog, I’m hoping we can do a little better. We’re going to have to earn it, it’s going to be tough,” he says.

Purdue comes with a 3-7 mark and Ferentz says while the Hawks proved this past weekend they are capable of beating an outstanding opponent they have also proven this season they can lose to one that is struggling. Ferentz repeated what he said in the past that every game is winnable, and they have the chance to lose every game. He says he’ll stick with that concept.

The past two weeks Ricky Stanzi has shown the ability to rally the Hawks in the fourth quarter. Ferentz says the next step is eliminating the mistakes that put them behind. He says Stanzi has a good ability to move on from mistakes, unfortunately he says they’re talking about having to come from behind again. Ferentz says they had a happier outcome this week and want to work on cleaning up the mistakes.

The Boilermakers are struggling in the final season for coach Joe Tiller who is retiring an the end of the season. He says it’s a team they have a great respect for and the coaching staff. It will be the final home game for a small group of seniors that are led by defensive tackles Matt Kroul and Mitch King.

Ferentz says the highest compliment he can give them is their performance in the spring where he says they practiced like they were on the second team trying to win a job, and that set an example for the entire team.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Two former Iowa college players help Vikings

November 11, 2008 By

Two former Iowa college standouts have helped the Minnesota Vikings move into a tie with the Chicago Bears at the top of the North division race. Former Iowa linebacker Chad Greenway leads the Vikings in tackles and coach Brad Childress says he has made a lot of strides in his second full season.

Childress says Greenway and the others have a great understanding of what needs to be done and are able to do it without thinking. Former UNI defensive back Benni Sapp is also playing a role for the Vikings.

Childress says Sapp plays in the dime package and really helps them in that role. Minnesota is 5-4 and visits Tampa Bay this weekend.

 

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U-I professor says Vilsack could be Ag Secretary

November 11, 2008 By

A U-I professor says Tom Vilsack's early support of Hilliary Clinton won't keep him out of the Obama cabinent. Speculation continues that former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack could be named Secretary of Agriculture in the new Obama administration. A University of Iowa expert on presidential transitions says such an appointment would make sense.

Quoting an unnamed source, the Washington Post says Obama’s transition team considers Vilsack, a fellow Democrat, a near shoo-in for the job. Political Science Professor Cary Covington says Vilsack’s leadership in a farm state gives him the background to head the U.S.D.A.

“Secondly, he’s from Iowa and Obama feels a particularly warm spot in his heart I think for Iowa because of our role helping him get going to win the Democratic party nomination,” Covington says. Covington says even though Vilsack’s professional background is in trial law, not agriculture, he doesn’t think the farm community will conclude he’s not one of them.

Covington says the former Iowa governor fits the Obama mold of young reformer. And he adds it doesn’t matter that Vilsack first backed Hillary Clinton. Covington says, “No, I don’t think that would stand in the way at all. I mean, if Senator Obama wants Joe Lieberman to remain in the democratic caucus I’m sure he has no trouble with Tom Vilsack being his agriculture secretary.” Covington says the prospect of an intensive vetting process could be a deterrent for Vilsack. 

Filed Under: Agriculture, Politics & Government Tagged With:

Council Bluffs principal wins national award

November 11, 2008 By

An elementary school principal in Council Bluffs is one of about 80 educators nationwide, and the only one in Iowa, to be named a Milken Educator Award recipient for 2008. Jason Plourde was surprised with the news this morning at a school assembly.

Council Bluffs Superintendent Martha Bruckner says Plourde, the students and most everyone else thought the assembly was only for a salute to veterans on Veterans Day. "We made it that, we thanked veterans and we honored them," Bruckner said. "Then, we had a couple of guests and they talked about how wonderful educators are and said that we had a rock star among us…and slowly let the students know that the rock star was going to get $25,000."

The 37-year-old Plourde was named principal at Washington Elementary in Council Bluffs in fall 2006. Shortly afterward, a fire damaged Crescent Elementary School in the district. Bruckner says Plourde volunteered to house the Crescent students and staff at Washington for two years.

"He absolutely, powerfully ran two different schools under one building," Bruckner said. "He brought two very different populations together so that the teachers cared about each other, the kids cared about each other and the parents learned to care about each other. It was a feat that a lot of people couldn’t have done and Jason did it so well."

In April, Plourde will attend a Milken Educator Award ceremony in Los Angeles and receive his $25,000 check. 

Filed Under: Education

Lorie Line opens holiday tour in Mason City

November 11, 2008 By

Lori Line Midwestern piano maven Lorie Line is launching her annual holiday concert tour Friday in Mason City.

"Christmas Around The World" is the name of Line’s tour and her latest CD — her 30th CD in the past 19 years. Line says this year’s international theme presented a challenge.

"I surrounded myself with world musicians, so people who played different instruments that would give the piano and the songs a world flair," Line says.

"For Africa, that’s all about percussion. For Latin America, it’s flamenco or nylon-string guitar. For Asia, its the pentatonic scale," Line says. "I did a lot of research this year and I had a wonderful year educating myself as to how to create world music and world sounds." The stage show is designed to dazzle not only the ears, but the eyes, Line says, with a host of costumes, dances and other elements.

"Because we’re doing Asia, we have a martial arts scene where all of the men had to learn martial arts," she says, while the women, herself included, learned choreography with fans and flags. The tour schedule is grueling, taking Line and her troupe to 28 cities in nine states, playing 42 shows between now and Christmas. Line says she stays energized on the road by maintaining a relatively strict routine — including watching everything she eats.

"I need lots of protein. I don’t eat any junk. Just a little bit of carbs. I’m very focused on my diet," she says. "I also, every day, work out and then I listen to really beautiful calming music and I do a yoga session every day by myself so I’m in top mental shape and I’m in top physical shape, the best in my life, just because I’m very focused on that kind of energy and putting it out there."

Line was "discovered" playing the piano in a Minneapolis-area department store and has since sold more than five-million albums and has 22 music books in print for piano players. The tour runs through December 23rd. In addition to the opener in Mason City, other Iowa cities on the list include: Iowa City, Ames, Des Moines and Spirit Lake.

AUDIO: Radio Iowa’s Matt Kelley reports on Lorie Line. :43 MP3

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment

Iowa State University honors a new group of veterans

November 11, 2008 By

Iowa State University recognized a group of servicemembers for the first time today, even though it’s been many years since they died at war. The Gold Star Hall in the I.S.U. Memorial Union honors those students who died at war with their names engraved on panels that line the wall.

A 1963 I.S.U. graduate and Vietnam vet, Jim Olberding, has worked from the kitchen of his Ames home to identify the new group. Olberding is searching for those who only attended Iowa State and then went on to give their lives for their country.

By cross-referencing names of Iowa fatalities with registrar’s lists he found 17 servicemembers from the Vietnam conflict alone. He says it’s not surprising that students back then would start college and then end up in Vietnam.

Olberding says, “Half of them were draftees and some of them may have enlisted maybe not figuring they wouldn’t be in the infantry, and most of them did die in the infantry, by the way. I’m confident that we’ve been able so far to determine all the ones from the Vietnam war who are from Iowa who have attended in one way shape or form Iowa State University. That’s not yet the case from Korea.”

The Vietnam-era records are digitized making them easier to search. But for those who died in earlier conflicts, lists of the dead must be matched to records mostly still on paper, which Olberding is working on now. Olberding says he’s getting help from the Memorial Union and the registrar. But he says it’s going to take time.

Olberding’s project answered a long puzzling question for Lyla Schroeder of Hancock, Iowa. Schroeder’s brother, Roger Carroll, attended I.S.U. in the fall of 1968 before the draft reached him. He was killed in Vietnam a year later and received the distinguished service cross. Schroeder says her whole family considers her brother a hero

“I have three sons who went to Iowa State, and nieces and nephews. They had always asked why his name wasn’t on the wall,” Schroeder says, “I thought it was because he hadn’t graduated. I think it means a lot now. ” Schroeder says her son walked through there the other night and saw them engraving the new names and asked him to take a picture of them engraving her brother’s name.

For now the Korea lists are taking up most of Olberding’s free time. And he’s working on lists of those who were not native Iowans. He says who attended Iowa State from Minnesota, South Dakota, Illinois. “That’s my little hobby, to try and find these folks,” Olberding says. The Gold Star Hall is on the north side of the I.S.U. Memorial Union.

Filed Under: Human Interest, Military Tagged With:

Winter Weather Advisory issued for some counties

November 11, 2008 By

There are nearly six weeks left in autumn, but some three-dozen counties across northern Iowa are under a Winter Weather Advisory. Frank Boksa, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, says it’s a cold, drizzly, miserable Veterans Day morning across much of the state, and it won’t get much better throughout the day.

He says counties in the area can expect a mix of sleet and freezing rain with a gradual transition to rain or a mix of rain and snow. Boksa says some parts of northern Iowa, from Fort Dodge through Mason City, could get several inches of snow today, depending on how the pressure systems collide and move.

He says there’s a lot of energy in the storm system and that narrow band of counties is facing the possibility of two-to-four inches of snow. Even though winter won’t officially arrive until December 21st, Boksa says Iowans are used to getting the foul weather several weeks early.

Boksa says it’s not unusual to see snowfall in November. He notes how quickly Iowa’s seen weather leap from summer-like conditions directly into winter, with very little fall. Eight days ago, Iowans were enjoying sunny skies and high temperatures in the 70s and 80s. Most of the state won’t see highs today much above the 30s. 

Filed Under: Weather
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