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Man shot by Boone County law officers

November 24, 2008 By

Agents with the Iowa DCI are investigating a shooting involving three central Iowa police officers. Special Agent in Charge Michael Motsinger says the incident started with a 9-1-1 call at 10:30 last night in the town of Boone.

"The caller advised that a male subject was outside and had a handgun in his hand," Motsinger told Radio Iowa. "At that time, the Boone Police Department and Boone County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene." The male subject was located in an alley in the 1700 block of Mamie Eisenhower Road.

Motsinger says the officers confronted the man and at 10:48 pm, a call was placed for an ambulance on the report of shots fired. The male subject was hit by the gunfire. There’s no indication that he fired on the officers.

"The preliminary investigation indicates that three police officers were involved in discharging their weapons," Motsinger said. It is not known how many times the man was hit. His name is not being released and there’s no word on his condition. He was taken the Boone County Hospital and later airlifted to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

ISU economist says economic downturn will hit Iowa eventually

November 24, 2008 By

Iowa State University economist Neil Harl says the country’s economy appears to be "downshifting" because Americans have been living "well beyond their means" and acquiring too much debt.

"The decline has been so precipitous and it’s hitting the heart of our economic system to the point that I don’t think there’s any question that we’re in a recession and it, hopefully, will not get any worse than that," Harl says, "but I think it’s a grim time."

Iowa’s economy is doing well because farmers had a good harvest, with good commodity prices; the state unemployment rate is low and financial institutions here appear solid, according to Harl, but he says the downturn will "hit" the state sooner or later. As for Iowans who’re worried about their investments on the stock market, Harl has some advice.

"What can you ensure? How much of this can you go through? Can you endure a Dow at 5,000?" Harl asks. "I think we’re going to see (a) Dow of 5,000 and if you can’t, you’d better do some liquidating before it’s too late, but if you’ve got enough to get through this, I think the big losses have already taken place."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened higher today after falling to about 8,000 last week and Harl says it’s time for "more meaningful" regulation of the markets. "I think in addition to that we have to take a close look at our policies in other areas that have contributed to this and I think the matter of too much debt — how that can be approached, I’m not certain," Harl says, "Maybe there’ll be enough in this downturn cause people to have more discipline than they’ve had."

Harl says the country’s economy was vulnerable because of several factors — not only the staggering debts that individuals and companies were willing to acquire, but because of job losses in the manufacturing and information technology sectors. Harl made his comments this past weekend on I-P-T-V’s Iowa Press. 

Filed Under: Business Tagged With:

Manheim Steamroller rolls on without founder

November 24, 2008 By

The man behind Mannheim Steamroller won’t be touring with the popular music group this year for the first time in decades. Chip Davis, the Omaha musician who founded the band, is out of commission for a while as he’s recovering from an operation.

“I had neck surgery and had virtually half of my neck rebuilt and I’ve lost quite a bit of the use of my right arm and can’t play the keyboards or play drums,” Davis says. He says it’s been many Christmases since he hasn’t been on the road, taking his unique style of holiday music to the masses.

“I should be back up and running by next year but I won’t be actually going out personally on the tours for the first time in 30 years,” Davis says. Mannheim Steamroller is the biggest-selling Christmas artist of all time, with more than 30-million albums and CDs sold.

Since the demand for Christmas concerts is overwhelming, Davis says they’ve added a new element to their production this year. Davis says: “We have got two companies of Mannheim Steamroller now. We have the original company and students of the original band. They are playing on the East Coast and then the original band will be coming up through the Midwest.”

That original band is going to play in Des Moines on December 12th and 13th, and Omaha on December 22nd and 23rd. Davis is also known for having co-wrote and produced the 1975 hit song “Convoy” by C.W. McCall, a fictional semi driver from western Iowa.

That song sold ten-million copies and Davis used his cut to bankroll the new band, Mannheim Steamroller. For more details, see the band’s website .


AUDIO: Radio Iowa’s Matt Kelley reports Manheim Steamroller. :46 MP3

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment

Iowa Corn Promotions Board celebrates 100th E-85 pump

November 24, 2008 By

The Iowa Corn Promotion Board is celebrating the opening of the 100th E-85 fuel station today in Johnston. Board spokesperson, Shannon Textor, says it’s a big milestone for the gas mix that’s 85-percent corn-based ethanol.

Textor says two years ago there were only 30 E-85 stations in the state. "I think that consumers, and especially Iowans, want the home-grown product that’s grown right here in our corn fields, for energy independence, keeping dollars here at home in Iowa, and it’s also better for our environment," Textor says.

Textor says they’re marking the 100th E-85 pump by selling the fuel at a special price for four hours.

She says E-85 will be sold for $1 a gallon during that time frame. Textor says one out of every 10 vehicles sold in Iowa is a flex-fuel vehicle capable of using the E-85 mix.

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: ,

Donations sought to decorate graves of soldiers in Keokuk

November 24, 2008 By

Wreaths on tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery. A fundraiser is underway to decorate the graves of thousands of soldiers in Keokuk National Cemetery with red-and-green holiday wreaths.

The southeast Iowa cemetery contains graves dating back to the Civil War. Gary Folluo, of Keokuk, is heading up the effort to honor our nation’s fallen heroes.

Folluo says, "The wreaths represent all seven of the military branches and they come with a red ribbon and they have a flag of the particular service." Folluo is one of the founders of Keokuk’s Sons of the American Legion and is general manager of Withers Broadcasting.

The program, Wreaths Across America, began some 15 years ago when a Maine-based wreath company began placing wreaths on the headstones at Arlington National Cemetery during the holidays. The idea quickly spread to many other cemeteries. Folluo says people can donate 15-dollars for a single wreath or any dollar amount.

Folluo says, "For every two that we purchase, the Worcester Wreath Company adds a third wreath. We have a little over four-thousand graves in our national cemetery. Our goal, obviously, is to try to cover all of them." The Keokuk facility is one of the original 12 national cemeteries dedicated on the same day as Arlington.

Folluo says they’ll only be taking donations until Thanksgiving weekend. He says, "Our collection process is going to stop November 28th and we are going to make one check to Worcester Wreath Company and that’ll be the end of our purchase program for this year. This is a continuing program and we will be doing it next year and we encourage everyone in the tri-state area to participate."

The local dedication ceremony and the placing of the wreaths will take place on December 13th at 11:00 AM. Every national cemetery and monument location participating in the ceremony in the U.S. will hold its presentation on the same day at the same hour. For more information or to donate, visit the Wreaths Across America website .

Filed Under: Human Interest, Military Tagged With:

Some disaster victims get free carpet through donation

November 24, 2008 By

While many victims of the June flooding and tornadoes received relief in the form of checks, some 80 northeast Iowa businesses and individuals also got relief they could feel between their toes. Linda King of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says they received thousands of square feet of free carpeting.

King says the carpet came from a company in California that was anxious to help out those people affected by the disasters. King works for the D.N.R.’s Waste Exchange Program which coordinated the carpet exchange.

She says the carpet first came to Des Moines, and the rest was then sent to the Parkersburg area. Some 110 rolls or carpeting, over 50,000 square feet, ended up in the Parkersburg area, after some of the carpet was dropped off in Des Moines.

King says the carpet would likely have gone to waste if it hadn’t been used in Iowa, and it was appreciated. King says the D.N.R. and Iowa Waste Exchange have received at least 50 thank-you’s from the Parkersburg area. The Waste Exchange looks to help companies recycle unneeded supplies that would normally end up in a landfill.

King says they’ve had a lot of calls from other states offering such material since the disasters hit. King says they’ve been very busy giving disaster victims things they can use, such as wood, carpeting and paint that have been donated by other states. For more information about the Iowa Waste Exchange go to the waste exchange link on the Iowa D.N.R.’s website .

 

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation Tagged With:

UNI wins third seed in playoffs

November 24, 2008 By

The UNI football team is seeded third in the FCS national playoffs and will host Maine in the opening round on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers closed the regular season with a 10-2 mark after posting a victory at Southern Utah.

UNI coach Mark Farley admits he was a little surprised by the third seed, and says they are honored by it and pleased with the opportunity to play Maine. He says getting the home game was important. The Panthers were actually an at-large entry and co-Missouri Valley champ Southern Illinois got the automatic bid after beating the Panthers during the regular season.

Farley says he thought they would be a four seed, but some of the games the last day of the season impacted that. This is the second straight year that UNI has earned one of the top four seeds. Farley says they are just excited to be in it and to be at home.

Maine is 8-4 and this will be the Black Bears second trip to the state this season. They opened with a 46-3 loss at Iowa. 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,
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