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Iowa softball team opens regional play in Atlanta

May 14, 2009 By

The Iowa softball team opens an NCAA regional on Friday in Atlanta when the Hawkeyes take on Auburn Friday afternoon. The Hawkeyes finished the regular season with a record of 42-14 and take on an Auburn squad that has lost six of its last seven games.

Iowa coach Gayle Blevins says Auburn has had a rough last couple of weeks, but she says that doesn’t mean anything now. Auburn is 29-27 overall. Blevins says a tough early schedule is great preparation for regional play. She says they’ve been real road tested and that is the reason they travel so much, is to be comfortable wherever they go in postseason.

Iowa is the second seed in the tournament. Top seeded Georgia Tech is the host and will take on Boston University in the other first round game. 

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Iowa Speedway nears sellout for opening week

May 14, 2009 By

The opening weekend of racing at the Iowa Speedway is nearing a sellout. The action will be highlighted by the NASCAR Camping World Series race on Sunday afternoon.

Track president Jerry Jauron says they still have a couple of a thousand tickets left for Saturday and Sunday, but they are selling fast. One of the big draws Sunday along with the race is the legendary Richard Petty who will be taking questions from people.

Jauron expects the speedway to smash attendance records this season. He says when they went from 5,000 to 20,000 season tickets in 2008, then they knew they would be looking at a record season in 2009.

The racing at the  Iowa Speedway   begins Saturday night with Late Models and Super Trucks. 

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DMACC looks for trip to Junior College World Series

May 14, 2009 By

The Des Moines Area Community College baseball team will try to earn a second straight trip to the Junior College World Series when the Bears travel to Madison, Wisconsin for the North Plains district tournament. The Bears will play Miles Community College of Montana in their first game.

The other team in the field is host Madison Area Technical College. DMACC coach Dan Fitzgerald says they are two well coached and disciplined teams. The Bears have won 11 straight games and take a 51-9 record into the tournament.

Fitzgerald says all they can do now is survive and move on. The tournament begins on Saturday. 

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DNR says brush up on safety before taking out boat

May 14, 2009 By

Boat owners are preparing their vessels for another summer on Iowa’s lakes and rivers. Susan Stocker, boating education coordinator with the Department of Natural Resources, says it’s also a good time to brush up on water safety. On average, there are 54 boating related crashes in Iowa every year.

Stocker says there were no fatalities on Iowa waterways in 2008, but there were 10 in 2007. Many of the boating fatalities two years ago involved smaller boats that hit low head dams. Stocker says the D.N.R. has since posted more signs warning boaters about the dangers of low head dams on rivers and streams.

This year, the D.N.R. has partnered with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary on a safety measure at more than 150 boat ramps in the state. Workers have painted "Life Jacket Zone" directly on the concrete ramps. "We want boaters to think about the importance of wearing their life jackets as they’re launching their boat," Stocker said.

Nearly 90% of the drowning victims from boating accidents in the U.S. were not wearing life jackets. There are more than 232,000 boats registered in Iowa. May 16th through the 22nd is designated as National Safe Boating Week. 

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U-I study seeks cancer caregivers

May 14, 2009 By

When a volcano vents steam, explosive eruptions can often be avoided. The same can be said for people who vent their frustrations. A University of Iowa study is seeking people 55 and older who are the primary caregivers for a friend or family member who’s in the later stages of cancer. U-of-I nursing professor Howard Butcher plans to have the caregivers write in a journal about their daily experiences.

"The writing process itself somehow helps people gain a deeper understanding into their own experience and that new understanding creates a cognitive shift or a different frame of reference," Butcher says. "That new insight actually leads to or mediates physiological and psychological changes."

Butcher, the principal investigator for the study, says the caregivers will only be writing for 20 minutes at a time on six separate days over several weeks. He predicts the journaling will help them to let off a little steam, and eventually, feel better.

Butcher says, "We know that people who don’t talk about, or in this case, write about their thoughts and feelings tend to be more stressed, so it makes sense that when people ventilate and get their feelings out, that it would actually do the opposite — that is, promote health and well being."

Tending to a dying friend or relative day-in and day-out can bring about a host of feelings and frustrations. Butcher believes the study participants will see a positive impact on their own health. "I’ve done this study before with Alzheimer’s caregivers and the journaling that the caregivers were doing was very successful," Butcher says. "I found that, in the study, it reduced their stress. The journaling in this study for cancer caregivers is the same but I just wanted to see if it works in another population."

Butcher says the caregivers for the study do -not- need to be in the Iowa City area as much of the correspondence is done through the mail. Participants will be compensated for their time. For more information, call (319) 335-7039 or send e-mail to: howard-butcher@uiowa.edu .

 

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Iowa City neighborhood fight expands with several arrests

May 14, 2009 By

Over one dozen people have now been charged after a series of fights surrounding one neighborhood in Iowa City. Iowa City Police responded to a large fight involving some 60 people at a Mother’s Day barbecue that initial reports said might involve guns and knives.

Police did not find any guns or knives, but determined some people had been armed with baseball bats and pieces of lumber. The fight apparently broke out during a football game being played at the barbecue and one person ended up requiring stitches for a split lip. Two people was arrested shortly after the May 10th fight, and five more were charged as the investigation continued.

Police then responded to what was described as a retaliatory fight on May 12th and six juveniles were charged with rioting. Police say the problems continued on Wednesday when a fight broke out at City High school that was sparked by the original May 10th fight. One girl was arrested at the high school and charged with assault causing injury and another was charged with disorderly conduct.

So far the fights have led to just a few minor injuries. 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Ceremony honors peace officers killed, injured in line of duty

May 14, 2009 By

Peace officer memorial. A ceremony was held on the statehouse grounds today to honor Iowa peace officers who’ve died in the line of duty.

Prayers, music and a 21-gun salute were among the actions taken to pay tribute to the 141 men and women who have their names carved in a granite memorial to fallen Iowa peace officers.

"Be with the families and friends of those remembered and honored," a chaplain said as he delivered the invocation. "Comfort and strengthen them."

Iowa Public Safety Commissioner Eugene Meyer was the master of ceremonies. "I’m pleased to report to you today that no Iowa law enforcement officer has died in the line of duty during this past year," Meyer said. "That said, far too many were injured in the line of duty. Most, not all, have returned to work."

A Cedar Rapids policeman who was severely beaten in March was just released from the hospital last week and continued to recover from his injuries.

The names of five Iowa policemen who were killed between 1880 and 1911 were read at the ceremony, as state officials work to review records and ensure names on the national list of peace officers killed in the line of duty are added to the Iowa Peace Officers Memorial in Des Moines.

Governor Culver asked the crowd to join in a moment of silence to honor the dead, as well as the living. "Men and women on the front line, those law enforcement officials across this state deserve enormous credit for the sacrifices they make every day," Culver said.

Three lawmen in uniform placed a wreath of flowers near the base of the granite monument to Iowa’s fallen peace officers, then guns were fired in a formal salute. A trio of bagpipes played "Amazing Grace" but just one of the bagpipers played the closing verse as he slowly walked away into the distance. 

Listen to the entire ceremony by clicking on the audio link below.

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