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Ferentz supports move to synthetic turf

February 6, 2009 By

There was a time when Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz would have lobbied to keep natural grass in Kinnick Stadium but he says new technology and drainage issues make the move to an artificial surface a good one.

The Iowa Board of Regents this week gave U of I officials the green light to replace the grass after drainage problems redeveloped.

Ferentz says the new synthetic surface is much better than the artificial turf that was used during the 1970′s and 80′s. He says changing the surface would have been a big deal 10 years ago, and says he had never been on this surface until a few years ago when the practiced on one at a bowl game.

Ferentz says it’s a whole different situation and a lot of teams have made the switch now for good reasons. Ferentz says drainage issues made it increasingly difficult to keep the grass surface playable. He says it’s ironic that the fields were in their best shape ever, and then they got so much rain that it made them a mess during the Iowa State game.

Ferentz says it makes a lot of sense now to switch to the synthetic turf and it should not be a big factor. The cost of the project is just over two-million dollars. 

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Iowa and Iowa State looking for ways to turn around loses

February 6, 2009 By

The Iowa basketball team needs a shot of confidence and that makes tomorrow’s game at home against Northwestern so important. The Hawks are 2-8 in the Big Ten after Wednesday’s loss at Indiana and will have three of their next four games at home.

Freshman forward Matt Gatens says it’s not fund losing and the sooner they understand that and want to win a little more the will turn things around. Gatens led the Hawks with 22 points at Indiana. Northwestern is 12-7 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten. Gatens says Northwestern has had some big wins this season, and it will be tough going against their zone defense.

Iowa is 12-11 overall. Iowa State coach Greg McDermott says there is no quit in his team as they get set to host Missouri on Saturday. The Cyclones fell to 1-6 in the Big-12 after a loss at Kansas State, their fifth straight setback. McDermot says it’s easy to start pointing fingers and it happens a lot in society when things go wrong, but he says that’s not happening on this team and that’s why he believes they have a chance.

McDermott says the Cyclones really need a win right now and deserve to get a win as he says they are a good group to be around. He says even with the losses, he has enjoyed practices as the players truly want to win and will give it all they have. Missouri is 6-2 in the Big-12 and beat the Cyclones 77-46 in their first meeting in Columbia. 

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DNR cracks down on drunken snowmobilers

February 6, 2009 By

Snomobile riders Snowmobilers are enjoying what Mother Nature has delivered to Iowa this winter.

But, conservation officers with the Department of Natural Resources are finding quite a few of those snowmobilers are driving drunk.

The D.N.R. arrested 10 snowmobile operators for O.W.I. over the last two weekends in north-central and northeast Iowa.

Ken Lonneman, a conservation officer in Clear Lake, says the enforcement projects involved the D.N.R. and the Iowa State Patrol. "They provided an airplane and called us to where the biggest snowmobile activity was…it just makes it more time efficient for us," Lonneman said. Several snowmobilers were also cited for not having registration and failing to stop at an intersection.

But, Lonneman says he was surprised with the 10 drunk driving arrests. "We don’t mean to paint all snowmobilers with the same brush, but on the other hand, there are certain groups of snowmobilers that we are targeting on these evening patrols and they have to abide by the same drinking and driving laws that motor vehicle operators have to abide by," Lonneman said.

Snowmobilers, like motorists on the road, are considered "drunk" if their blood-alcohol level is .08 or more. "What was most shocking about our operation was some of these snowmobile operators were two or three times over the legal limit," Lonneman said. "It wasn’t like they were just a little over, they were way over (the legal limit)."

Despite the heavy snow cover this winter, there have not been any reports of any serious crashes or fatalities involving snowmobiles in Iowa. There are 28,000 snowmobiles registered in the state.  

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Reports of rodents in capitol

February 6, 2009 By

There’s a mouse in the house — and the senate. 

There’s actually more than one mouse in the Iowa statehouse. The Chief Clerk of the Iowa House of Representatives sent an e-mail late Thursday morning, explaining there had been "reports of rodents in the Capitol." He quickly sent a second email, clarifying that when he wrote "rodents" he was talking about mice. He urged folks to take precautions against the "little critters" by storing any food they may bring to work in "hard plastic containers."

A spokesman for the Iowa Department of Administrative Services says the "varmint eradication vendor" hired by the state reports there’s been an increase in the mouse population across Des Moines. Officials say the campaign against the mice is wide-ranging, and even involves "old-fashioned" spring traps.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With:

Financial expert says state faces major challenges in balancing budget

February 6, 2009 By

A financial expert from a D.C. think-tank says Iowa policymakers face a "major challenge" in balancing the state’s budget. Nick Johnson of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says Iowa is among 46 states facing a budget shortfall.

"Iowa’s shortfall is relatively small compared to other states, but it’s growing rapidly and I think it’s a major challenge for the state," Johnson says. Johnson testified before the Iowa Senate’s tax-writing committee on Thursday afternoon. Johnson encouraged legislators to avoid laying off government workers, or cutting too deeply into the state budget.

"You’re taking away money businesses and non-profit organizations that provide necessary services and that actually makes the recession worse. Fortunately, there are alternatives," Johnson said during an interview with Radio Iowa. "One alternative is to make use of the money that’s in the federal economic recovery bill which should be enacted in the next couple of weeks — which will contain a substantial amount of funds for Iowa for its budget."

Officials estimate the economic stimulus bill making its way through congress would provide one-and-a-half billion dollars to Iowa. Johnson warns the budget problems Iowa and other states face won’t be over soon. "The unemployment rate is still rising and is probably going to continue to rise for another six months to a year. That means that state revenues will suffer for another year to a year-and-a-half," Johnson said.

"People who’ve lost their jobs aren’t paying income taxes. Consumption is way down and that has an impact on sales taxes." Tax payments to the State of Iowa have dropped dramatically. December 2008 tax collections were 15 percent lower than in December of 2007. 

Filed Under: Politics & Government

Study finds smoking may shorten lives by decades

February 6, 2009 By

Most everyone has heard smoking can be hazardous to your health, but a new University of Iowa study finds heavy cigarette smokers may be shortening their lives by a decade or more. Researcher Dr. Toru Nyunoya, a U-of-I professor of internal medicine, says they’ve made a connection between premature aging and smoking.

"Smoking can accelerate the aging process and shorten the lifespan by an average of more than ten years," Dr. Nyunoya says. The research finds a link between a rare, hereditary premature aging disease and cell damage that comes from smoking. A key protein that is lost in Werner’s syndrome is also decreased in smokers with emphysema, and this decrease harms lung cells that normally heal wounds.

Nyunoya says you can see it on many smokers’ faces — they look older than their years. He says, "As appearance, you can see skin wrinkling and most people die commonly with arterioscleroisis disease, coronary artery disease, stroke or also cancer." The findings appear in the February 6th issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 

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Bill would require clergy to report child abuse suspicions

February 6, 2009 By

A bill that would require clergy in Iowa to report suspicions of child sexual abuse is on the debate schedule in the Iowa House next week. House Democratic Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Democrat from Des Moines, says if the bill becomes law, clergy would be added to a list of "mandatory" reporters of child sex abuse.

"So that if clergy becomes aware that another colleague of theirs in the clergy had committed a form of sex abuse, they would be required to report that to the law enforcement authorities — like teachers do, like doctors do — under the law," McCarthy says. McCarthy expects some legislators may raise objections, as a similar bill was debated in 2004 and failed to pass the legislature. But McCarthy says he’s read reports of hundreds of confirmed cases of clergy abuse and that’s why he’s pushing the bill forward for debate.

"It’s an issue that’s been out there enough that I think it makes sense for the protection of children," McCarthy says. The proposed bill would not force clergy to reveal child sex abuse incidents which they learn about through confession or in confidential sessions.

 "Penitential communication" are the legal words used in the bill to describe those two exceptions. The Iowa Catholic Conference has registered in favor of the bill, along with Prevent Child Abuse Iowa. Opponents include the Iowa Bar Association and the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Religion Tagged With:
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