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Wrestler injured in crash released from hospital

November 11, 2008 By

One of the five wrestlers injured in a fatal crash Saturday in northwest Iowa has been released from the hospital. A spokesperson at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City says 18-year-old Jordan Mitchell of Sloan has been dismissed from the hospital.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Adam Greeno of Salix has been upgraded from guarded to fair condition. Three other wrestlers and their coach from Westwood High School remain hospitalized at Mercy Medical. Sixteen-year-old Trent Baker and 15-year old Blake Jorgensen, both of Sloan, are listed in critical condition. Coach Daniel Thompson, who is 26, and 16-year-old Sage Washburn of Hornick are both listed in fair condition.

The coach and wrestlers were on their way to a wrestling clinic Saturday morning when their SUV collided with a minivan on Highway 141 near Hornick. The driver of the van, 53-year-old Bradley Haburn of Spencer, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to school officials, Haburn was the father of a Westwood High School student. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. 

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

President’s Council on Financial Literacy holding listening session in Des Moines

November 11, 2008 By

The President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy is holding a listening session today in Des Moines as part of a nationwide effort. The council will hear from experts and ordinary citizens on ways to improve education about finances. John Hope Bryant is the council vice chairman and the founder of a non-profit agency in Los Angeles that works with the poor.

Bryant says he believes they council will hear that it’s time to move from "small ball, to a major agenda." He says financial literacy has always been viewed as a nice thing done for children, but has never been taken seriously as a hard economic tool. Bryant says it’s time to make people more aware of financial literacy and how they can be involved.

Bryant says this is "extraordinarily important" to the economy, key to American competitiveness , and one of the core reasons we are having a global economic crisis. "If we want to have a shared prosperity, this has to become a new enduring value of the American experience, and we all have to see that we have an enlightened self interest," Bryant says. Bryant says this is not a problem of the poor, it’s a problem of the middle class.

"I think we all know people who bought too much house, and asked the wrong question. They asked ‘what was the payment’ and not what was the interest rate," Bryant says. Sharon Lechter is an Arizona author and a council member who says they are holding hearings like this across the country. Lecht says they are not here to talk they are here to listen, and the council has made a concerted effort to not be dictatorial, but to be collaborative. Lecht says they need input to succeed.

Lecht says they want to hear concerns, but also what people think the solutions are, and what programs are working. She says they will take the various programs and resources from across the country to try and create the best results. The council will submit a report to President Bush and the Obama transition team. The council is set up to operate into 2010. 

Filed Under: Politics & Government

New exhibit at State Historical Museum honors veterans

November 11, 2008 By

World War one poster. As we honor those today who’ve worn our country’s uniform, the State Historical Museum is recognizing a specific group of Iowans who served in a particular war. Jeff Morgan is spokesman for the downtown Des Moines facility.

Morgan says: "We’re celebrating Veterans Day today and honoring the service and sacrifice of Americans servicemen and women, and Iowans in particular. We just felt this was a good opportunity to explore the history of the First World War and the role Iowans had at home and abroad. The exhibit contains artifacts from our permanent collection and it showcases the stories of several Iowans who were involved in that war."

Morgan says the exhibit is called "Over Here, Over There: Iowa and the First World War." The artifacts include a blood-stained jacket that was worn by Colfax native and writer James Norman Hall when his plane was shot down. Hall survived a German prison camp and went on to write several popular novels, including "Mutiny on the Bounty" in 1932.

Other items on display include a host of World War One weapons and more than 30 American, French, British and German propaganda posters. Morgan says there’s also a lot of information about West Branch native Herbert Hoover, the only U.S. president from Iowa, who was prominent in food relief efforts during the war. The exhibit also features a profile of Marion Crandell of Cedar Rapids, a nurse and the first American woman killed in the war.

The opening of the exhibit comes 91 years after the first Iowan, and perhaps the first American serviceman, Merle Hay, died in World War One. The display includes "Tradition and Valor," a film about James Morris, who came to Fort Des Moines, where the U.S. Army trained black officers for the first time in its history. For more information about the museum or the exhibit, visit the  State Historical Museum website   or call (515) 281-5111. Admission is free.  

Filed Under: Human Interest, Military Tagged With:

Death of North-Central Iowa man ruled an accident

November 11, 2008 By

Investigators say they know how a farm hand died over the weekend in north-central Iowa. Authorities now say that the death of 34-year-old Isidro Martinez was an accidental electrocution.

Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation spokesman Ray Fiedler said that Martinez died at the Stockdale Farm facility near Webster City on Sunday afternoon.

A coworker discovered him slumped over a gate at the hog confinement facility. Martinez is originally from Honduras and has an identification from Minnesota. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department assisted in the investigation. 

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

New Republican leader takes over in Iowa House

November 11, 2008 By

Republicans have lost seats in the Iowa House in four consecutive elections. On Monday, Republican members in the chamber selected a new leader. Representative Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha is the new House Minority Leader, replacing Chris Rants of Sioux City.

"I’m excited about the honor that the caucus has bestowed on me," Paulson said. "I’m extremely appreciative of what Christopher Rants has done for the caucus over the past few years and I look forward to serving the caucus in this role."

Paulsen is a former Air Force officer who now works as an attorney for the Cedar Rapids trucking company CRST International. In his campaign for leader, Paulson promised a return to the Republican ideals of fiscal restraint and smaller government. Republican representative Linda Upmeyer of Garner says she agrees it’s time to get back to the basics.

"You know taxpayers and Iowans can expect us to be paying attention. We’re going to do everything we can to prevent growing government for the sake of government and just sort of (focus on) the core principals we’ve always valued and stay on message with those things," Upmeyer said. Rants was elected House Speaker in 2002 when the party held a 54 to 46 majority.

When Republcians lost control of the chamber in 2006, GOP members named Rants Minority leader. Mount Pleasant representative Dave Heaton says – despite Monday’s vote – Rants has been a talented leader. "That’s not to say that all the experience that Chris Rants has – and all the advice that he’s given can’t be appreciated in the future and I’m really hoping that he can play a role," Heaton said.

Despite losing more members, Heaton insists that Republicans are entering the legislative session "upbeat" and ready to work with Democrats to solve the state’s budget problems. Lawmakers are expected to face a shortfall of up to 600-million dollars.

 

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

New cemetery the focus for some on this Veterans Day

November 11, 2008 By

Monument at Iowa Veteran's Cemetery. The focus of some Iowans this Veteran’s Day will be on the new Iowa Veterans Cemetery near Winterset.

Ground was broken for the cemetery on Veteran’s Day in 2006 and the site was dedicated on July third of this year. Cemetery director Steve Young says 145 veterans and their spouses have been buried there since the dedication.

Young says number of daily visitors has continued to be steady, and the common thing they hear is that it’s not a down thing to go to the cemetery, but it is a place of comfort comparable to Arlington and other national cemeteries.

Young says over 1,800 people have applied to be buried at the cemetery — which includes people from three-quarters of Iowa’s counties and 11 states. Young says several families have disinterred loved ones from other cemeteries to move them to the Iowa Veterans Cemetery.

Young says the site has changed since the dedication. He says the grounds continue to be a work in progress, as they expedited the contraction process to get things ready for the dedication. Young says the grounds are a lot greener now than they were at the dedication. Young says they get lots of people who stop by after seeing the sign for the cemetery along the interstate.

You can call for more information at: 515-996-9048 or go on-line to the Iowa Veterans Cemetery  website. Young says they will fly 21 burial flags that draped the caskets of veterans and were donated along their avenue of flags this Veteran’s Day. Each gravesite will also be decorated with American flags.

Filed Under: Military
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