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It’s senior night for the Iowa women

February 26, 2009 By

It’s senior night in Iowa City as the Iowa Hawkeye women host Illinois. Five seniors will be honored but it may not be their final game in Carver-Hawkeye. The school will host the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and at 18-9 overall the Hawks have a good shot at landing a spot in the field.

Iowa coach Lisa Bluder says it will be tough to say goodbye to the seniors, but she says it’s helpful to know they will likely be back in Carver for a few more games.

The Hawkeyes have won four straight and stand 11-5 in the Big Ten while the Illini are 4-12 in conference play. Bluder says two of those wins in conference are against Indiana, a team Iowa has split with. She says they will do the senior ceremony after the game to keep the team focused.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

About INS Superior Student Program

February 26, 2009 By

The INS Superior Student program is a companion program to their Athlete of the Week program and recognizes students who excel in any of several areas, including: academic; community involvement; arts, music and theater; church; social organizations and clubs; as well as student entrepreneurs. Kristi Arp, the marketing manager for Iowa Network Services, explains:

Listen/Download MP3

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Council Bluffs teen faces terrorism charge after alleged threat

February 26, 2009 By

A 17-year-old from Council Bluffs faces a terrorism charge after allegedly threatening other students on the school bus. Council Bluffs Public School District spokeswoman Diane Ostrowski says the boy was on the bus between Carter Lake and Council Bluffs when other passengers heard the threat.

It was reported this student mentioned a gun and indicated he would use the gun on students, she says. Ostrowski says one of the passengers told a parent about the threat. The parent then called the school to report it, and that is when the school took action. She says, "The school became aware of the incident because of a parent sharing that information with us so that we would investigate it and involve the Carter Lake Police."

Ostrowski says the boy was confronted and questioned and then taken into custody. He is also out of school while the investigation is underway. "Absolutely, we take every report of a threat like this extremely seriously, take all measures to follow through in determining what exactly happened." The teen was arrested Monday. He was attending Thomas Jefferson High School. 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Entrapment could be a defense for Council Bluffs councilman

February 26, 2009 By

Council Buffs City Councilman Darren Bates claims he only wanted a massage, not sex, when he answered an ad on the website Craigslist earlier this month. Bates was among six men cited during a prostitution sting. Apparently, they all answered the same ad and a meeting was arranged at a Council Bluffs motel.

Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilbur says the issue of entrapment is being brought up. Wilbur says, "If a person wants to raise it and say, ‘They talked me into it, they entrapped me,’ then, that just adds another element that we have to prove." Wilbur says in Iowa, they would also have to prove that the defendant was predisposed to do something like this.

Wilbur says, "We have to prove to a jury, beyond a reasonable doubt, using the totality of the circumstances, what was intended." The next court appearance for Bates is March 13th. At least one other member of the city council has called for Bates to resign.

 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Politics & Government

Sioux City man dies in accident

February 26, 2009 By

A Sioux City man died in a one-vehicle accident this  morning southwest of Le Mars. The Iowa State Patrol reports 26-year-old Ramiro Barba was driving east on a Plymouth County road when he lost control of the sport utility vehicle.

Barba was ejected from the vehicle after it slid into the ditch and overturned. He was not wearing a seat belt. The patrol says the road surface was 100 percent ice covered and rain was falling when the accident happened at 6:45 this morning.

 

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Democrats in legislature say their budget plan is leaner than governor’s

February 26, 2009 By

Democrats in the legislature are proposing a spending outline for the next budgeting year that they say is more than $100 million less than the plan Democrat Governor Chet Culver unveiled in late January. 

Representative Jo Oldson, a Democrat from Des Moines, is chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee. "Iowans are all too aware of what the national financial recession is doing to their own pocketbooks and it doesn’t play out any differently for the state budget," Oldson says.

Democrats in the legislature propose an overall budget of more than six-billion dollars and they say while the governor pared many state agency budgets by about six-and-a-half percent, their plan cuts two percent below that in many areas.

Senator Bob Dvorsky, a Democrat from Coralville, is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "We’re trying to be as fiscally-responsible as we can.  Everyone is suffering in this economy not only in Iowa but across the United States and state government’s no different," Dvorsky say, "so we’re tightening up our belts." 

Democrats occupy a majority of seats in the legislature and therefore control the debate agenda in both the House and the Senate.  House Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha says today’s one-page list of general spending items from Democrats offers few details. "Just standing alone in that chart, they don’t mean a whole lot," Paulsen  says.

Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley of Chariton says he hasn’t been able to review the details either. "Sometimes cuts turn into increases when you study more closely," McKinley says.  "We just don’t know yet."

Democrats say while they’ll use part of the federal stimulus money to ensure there aren’t cuts in the state-run Medicaid program, the rest of the stimulus money probably won’t be used to plug holes in the budget. Republicans say they’re skeptical and charge that Democrats will use much of the federal stimulus money to avoid making budget cuts.

Click on the audio link below to listen to today’s news conferences featuring Democratic legislative leaders and Republican legislative leaders.

 

AUDIO: Democrats then Republicans 28:00 MP3

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Rain, sleet and snow in the forecast

February 26, 2009 By

After some Iowa cities saw high temperatures Wednesday in the 60s, it’s back in the deep freeze today. National Weather Service meteorologist Roger Volhollek, says much of Iowa’s northern half will be seeing rain, sleet and snow.

Volhollek says a good share of the state has temperatures just below freezing at the surface while we’re pulling in warm air aloft which will create a "messy mixture" over northern Iowa this afternoon. Much of the state’s northern half is under a Winter Weather Advisory through 6 P.M.

Volhollek says there’s some light precipitation falling in western Iowa while north-central Iowa will be seeing freezing rain and perhaps thunderstorms, "which could complicate matters." Seven counties in north central Iowa are under a Winter Storm Warning — Emmet, Palo Alto, Kossuth, Winnebago, Hancock, Worth and Cerro Gordo. He says areas of the state that are getting rain this morning could see an unwelcome change later.

He says the rain will change to sleet or light snow this afternoon. Some parts of northern Iowa could get six inches of snow before tomorrow. Volhollek says there’s a possibility for more snow from another winter storm system tomorrow night and Saturday. 

Filed Under: Weather
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