The Grinnell College football season ended Saturday, but the post season honors continue to roll in for linebacker Brett Maloney. The senior from Wheaton, Illinois was named to the D3football.com team of the week after compiling 19 tackles in the Pioneers loss to Beloit. Maloney racked up 161 tackles in 10 games, setting the school and conference record for tackles in a season> He says he couldn’t believe it when he saw the stats at the end of the game. Maloney credits his fellow defensive linemen for his success: Maloney says the line holds people up and lets him flow to the ball. He says they didn’t have much trouble until late in the season. Maloney leads not only NCAA Division III but all division in tackles this season.
Grinnell linebacker continues piling up awards
November 13, 2008 By
Appeals Court upholds conviction of former Dallas County Sheriff
November 13, 2008 By
The Iowa Court of Appeals has refused to overturn the theft conviction of the former Dallas County Sheriff who allegedly took $120,000. Former Sheriff Brian Gilbert was found guilty of first-degree theft after money confiscated in a traffic stop in March of 2006 turned up missing.
The money had been put in a vehicle that Gilbert was driving back to the Sheriff’s office from a D-O-T garage where officers had counted and taken pictures of the money. A deputy report that one of the bags of money shown in the picture was not there once the money was delivered to the Sheriff’s office.
Gilbert was found guilty by a jury and given a suspended sentence and placed on probation for five years. He appealed claiming there is insufficient evidence in the record to support his conviction. The appeals court ruled that the evidence showed the money was in a different place in the vehicle when Gilbert arrived at the Sheriff’s Department, and that one of the packages in the picture was missing.
The court also noted that Gilbert did not say until the investigation had started that he had stopped at his home on the way to the Sheriff’s office. The court says there is sufficient evidence to find Gilbert guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and the evidence raised more than mere suspicion that Gilbert was the person who took the missing package of money.
Racing and Gaming Commission approves two studies on prospects for new casinos
November 13, 2008 By
The state Racing and Gaming Commission voted to double down today and decided to conduct two studies on the potential for new casinos in the state. Commission chair Greg Seyfer of Cedar Rapids says they felt they could afford both studies.
Seyfer says the two proposals were the lowest of the four cost-wise and they felt two studies would give them that much more information to make the decision. One study by the Innovation Group of Littleton, Colorado will cost $106,500, and the other from the G-V-A Marquette Advisors of Minneapolis will cost $75,000.
Seyfer says both companies will study the same thing. “The key is, do we have any underserved markets? Then do we have any markets that are already served, but are underutilized…are we missing any spots where it might make sense to have another casino?,” Seyfer says.
The commission has asked the companies to include a specific focus on Webster, Wappello, Franklin and Lyon counties. He says those are the counties the commission knows have shown an interest in new casinos and the commission feels they owe it to those counties to know they are a part of this study. Seyfer says the studies will take about six months to be completed.
Seyfer says they are looking to get the studies back by May 15th or earlier, and he is not sure if that would give the commission enough time to review the studies and make a decision on new licenses at their June meeting. The commission granted four new gambling licenses in May of 2004. They later decided to wait to award any new licenses until getting another study of the gambling market in the state.
Iowa Power Fund puts millions into energy research
November 13, 2008 By
The Iowa Power Fund Board Wednesday approved a total of 2.69-million dollars in awards for three projects in the state. The largest award, for 1.5 million dollars, is for Ames-based Cellencor. Power Fund Board spokesperson Jessica Zopf says the company is trying to develop ways for the biofuels industry to reduce energy use.
She says Cellencor has launched a project to cut carbon output and improve efficiencies with the biofuels drying process. Another Ames-based company, Renewable Energy Group, is receiving 740-thousand dollars for a 1.2-million dollar research project involving alternative energy. Zopf says REG is studying feedstocks, moisture absorption and methods to measure low levels of particulate matter in biodiesel. REG officials say they’ll work with Iowa community colleges to provide product samples and internships for students.
Another 450-thousand dollar award is being directed toward Des Moines-based AmeriCorps, which is developing a public education program focused on energy conservation and energy efficiency. The Power Fund Board also discussed a 14.7-million dollar award for Project Liberty, located in Emmetsburg. Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based POET is leading the Project Liberty effort to develop ethanol from corncobs and grasses. The Power Fund award, however, is under review by POET.
"It’s a 20-page (contract) and we want to make sure that it works for them as well as it’s going to be working for us," Zopf said.
The Iowa Power Fund Board also committed 7.9-million dollars in funding for seven additional projects, which are still under contract review.
Floodwall for Oakville halted due to "artifacts" discovery
November 13, 2008 By
Plans for a new levee to protect the small eastern Iowa town of Oakville could be delayed because of artifacts discovered in the project’s path along the Iowa River.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Ron Fournier says a cultural assessment, required by federal law, turned up the artifacts and four archaeological sites.
The artifacts are believed to be more than one-thousand years old. Fournier says he can’t disclose exactly what was found or where workers made the discovery. Federal officials and the Iowa State Historical Preservation Office will examine the findings and determine if the area deserves a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.
Fournier says it’s not uncommon for workers to find historic artifacts while working on levees. “Especially when you’re talking about areas along the rivers in the Midwest,” Fournier said. “They do date back quite a bit to the settlement days, so we do uncover stuff. It’s not on a regular basis…from what I’m aware of, we haven’t found anything significant in the past couple years.”
The discovery could delay construction on the final levee until after next year’s flood season. If that happens, federal officials say they will raise the temporary levee – which was constructed in July – by five feet. “Even though we found the artifacts, we are not going to let flood protection take a backseat,” Fournier said. “We certainly are going to work as fast as we can to complete the archeological surveys and whatever work might need to be done.
But, we are certainly going to work to ensure the citizens of Oakville have flood protection in the spring, whether it’s actually completing the final levee or building up that temporary levee system.” The flooding that hit Iowa in June buried Oakville and more than 22-thousand acres of area farmland under water. All of the Louisa Couty’s town’s 400-plus residents were forced to evacuate following a levee breach.
Iowa tech firms weather economic storm
November 13, 2008 By
While the economy has forced several Iowa businesses to look at layoffs, leaders in the information technology industry say they’re weathering the economic downturn. Mike Lang is the C-E-O of Alliance Technologies and on the Technology Association of Iowa board of directors. Lang says the technology sector is fairing very well, as they have the benefit of serving all other industries, so they are diversified and can manage in the downturn.
Lang says there are some areas of the technology sector that are struggling. He says companies that support the auto and financial industry are down, but overall he says the majority of the technology services and software companies are supporting a variety of industries. Lang says one of the problems for the tech companies has been keeping qualified graduates in the state.
He says they also compete against large companies that have their own I-T departments — but the downturn in the economy has be a benefit of sorts. Lang says right now the larger firms aren’t doing a lot of hiring, and some are cutting employees, so he says it’s probably the best it has been in years when it comes to finding quality employees. Lang says the business clients he talks with aren’t sure how long this economic downturn might last.
He says the business leaders are in a "wait and see" mentality, as the one thing they agree on is it’s going to be an up and down market in the near future, and no one can predict when it might turn around for good. Lang says though, Iowa’s businesses appear to be in better shape than those in other states when it comes to handling the downturn.
Iowa House leaders plot 2009 agenda
November 13, 2008 By
A top statehouse Democrat is establishing a "Rebuild Iowa" Committee in the Iowa House that will start meeting in January. House Speaker Pat Murphy, a Democrat from Dubuque, says the panel will address flood recovery efforts. Murphy and other Democrats who’ll serve in the Iowa House met yesterday to chart an agenda for the 2009 legislative session — and Murphy says Democrats have no plan to raise taxes.
"We are sitting in much better shape than, quite frankly, most other states are. We have $624 million in reserve funds," Murphy says. "…We’re handling things in a very fiscally-responsible fashion and we will continue to do that."
House Democratic Leader Kevin McCarthy of Des Moines admits it will be "tougher" to draft a state budget. "But there are places in the budget to be able to adjust," McCarthy says. "Keep in mind we’re in a position of strength with $624 million in our cash reserve funds so unlike a lot of states right now that don’t have reserve funds, we’re in a position to be able to withstand this national economic effect on Iowa."
McCarthy and Murphy were reelected to their leadership positions by their fellow Democrats. McCarthy notes six African-Americans were elected to the House last week. "We’re very proud that for the first time ever we have the largest number of minorities that will be serving in the Iowa Legislature," McCarthy says. "…So we’re a much more diverse caucus, much more reflective of the state of Iowa as a whole."
A record six African-American representatives, including two who were elected last week, will be sworn into office in January. Kerry Burt of Waterloo and Phyllis Thede of Davenport will join State Representatives Deborah Berry of Waterloo, Helen Miller of Fort Dodge, Ako Abdul-Samad of Des Moines and Wayne Ford of Des Moines, who were all reelected on November 4th.
