In three games the sophomore second baseman drove in six runs and also crossed the plate four times. Roland did much of his damage in a victory over Adel-DeSoto-Minburn. He was three-for-four at the plate with two home runs, a double, four RBI and also scored three runs.
Class 4A: Ben Sigmund, Des Moines East
July 14, 2009 By
The junior second baseman batted .571 for the week with eight hits in 14 at-bats. He slammed three homers, drove in eight runs, scored nine runs and had two stolen bases. Sigmund slammed a pair of homers, scored three runs and drove in three in a victory over Des Moines North. He also homered and drove in three runs in a win against Ottumwa.
Flood Recovery Director on the job in Cedar Rapids
July 14, 2009 By
The city of Cedar Rapids now has a Flood Recovery Director on its payroll. Greg Eyerly started his new job on Monday. He previously served as the city’s Utility Operations Manager.
Flood victim Melissa Erlacher has watched her once vibrant neighborhood become a virtual ghost town. Now, she has a message for Eyerly. "Focus on the neighborhood. Not so much the downtown businesses. That’s where I’ve been told where most of the money has gone," Erlacher said.
Eyerly says he’ll work hard to push the recovery process forward. "The number one priority is to get funding flowing into Cedar Rapids and to work with the state to ensure we can distribute that as quickly as possible," Eyerly said. He says it’s important to focus on the neighborhoods, but they won’t be his only priority. "We’re all mutually dependent on each other," Eyerly said. "We need affordable housing and good neighborhoods and places to live. We need a vibrant business community and we need public infrastructure."
The city and the business community are both contributing to Eyerly’s salary, which is around $114,000.
Bald eagle, peregrin falcon may no longer be "endangered"
July 14, 2009 By
A legislative committee today will review plans to take two once-threatened birds off the state’s endangered species list.
The Legislature’s Administrative Rules Review Committee must sign off on a proposal to reclassify the bald eagle and the peregrine falcon as "birds of special concern," but no longer endangered.
Department of Natural Resources biologist Stephanie Shepherd says the two species will still get plenty of protection.
"You know, you can’t bother their nest. You can’t cut down bald eagle nesting trees. You still can’t do any of that stuff," Shepherd says. "So we still feel they are going to have plenty of protection."
By the 1970s, there were few if any bald eagles and peregrin falcons in Iowa, but efforts to help the birds nest in certain areas — even on tall buildings in urban settings — have been successful. Shepherd says wildlife experts will continue to keep close watch.
"Both of these birds are also greatly protected under federal laws as well, so they do have a lot of protection from being harassed or injured or having anybody do anything harmful to them," she says.
State penalties for harming bald eagles or peregrin falcons will be lowered if the Administrative Rules Review Committee endorses the move to classify the birds as species of "special concern" rather than protected species.
New Lottery scratch game to support veterans
July 14, 2009 By
The Iowa Lottery has released a new scratch ticket that will raise money to support war veterans.
The "Freedom Rock" game features an image of the giant boulder, also dubbed The Freedom Rock, that’s located near the western Iowa town of Greenfield. For over a decade, local artist Ray "Bubba" Sorensen has painted patriotic images on the 56-ton, 25-foot high boulder.
Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says they approached Sorensen about the idea nearly a year ago. "This is a way for us at the lottery to honor the work of a local artist and help veterans at the same time," Neubauer said.
The Iowa Legislature approved the production of scratch and pull-tab games to benefit veterans in 2008. The sales began just over one year ago with estimates that the games would raise between $2 and $3 million in proceeds annually for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund . Lottery officials expect sales of the patriotic themed games will reach $2.7 million for fiscal year 2009 .
"So we’re going to be on the upper range of the scale we gave legislators when they asked us about this project," Neubauer said.
Kent Hartwig with the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs says that money will help hundreds of needy veterans. He says qualified veterans can receive assistance in paying for vision, hearing and dental care, prescription drugs, emergency housing repairs, counseling services and more.
Neubauer believes the new scratch tickets will be available at all
Iowa Lottery retailers by Friday. The tickets cost $2 and players can win up to 10 times on each ticket. The prizes range from $2 to $777,000.
Grassley resumes "vigorous" grilling of Supreme Court nominee
July 14, 2009 By
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is among the Republicans grilling U-S Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor today as confirmation hearings resume before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
While Grassley raised doubts about her impartiality during Monday’s opening statement, he admits unless Sotomayor makes a serious blunder, she’ll likely win confirmation as the first Hispanic justice. The Senate has 60 Democrats and 40 Republicans.
Grassley says, "It’s hard to see how ten Democrats may turn against her and I wouldn’t even project that all Republicans might be against her so I would say you oughta’ wait until Thursday or Friday to make any judgments about that."
Much of Monday’s time was taken up by lawmakers making speeches and Sotomayor only had five minutes to address the panel. Today, it’ll be more of a question-and-answer format. Grassley says, "You’re going to find a lot of vigorous and in-depth questioning by Republicans, probably the same for Democrats, Democrats more defending, Republicans more trying to find out where she’s coming from."
Grassley has already raised questions about whether the nominee would follow the letter of the law or her personal opinions when making a ruling. In Monday’s brief statement, Sotomayor said her one benchmark was "fidelity to the law," a comment Grassley is curious to hear her expand upon.
"We don’t know whether she’s pandering or whether she’s sincere," Grassley says. "If she’s sincere, she’s going to quiet a lot of criticism that interest groups and Republicans, for the most part, have raised about her. But we’ve gotta’ get into it in-depth and find out."
During Monday’s hearing, Sotomayor vowed to be impartial and told senators the law will always command the result — "in every case.’
Trucker claims he was kidnapped & robbed
July 14, 2009 By
Police in Council Bluffs report a truck driver was allegedly kidnapped and robbed Sunday.
James Welch told authorities he was in his semi tractor (no trailer attached) on the lot of Sapp Brothers Truck Stop, when two black males brandishing guns entered the tractor. Welch said he was bound and put in the sleeper portion of the cab, while the two men drove around for several hours making occasional stops and picking-up a trailer.
The tractor and Welch were then left in a parking lot near 13th Street and Locust in Carter Lake, where he was able to free himself and contact Carter Lake Police. Welch reported several items were stolen from him, including an A-T-M card. The suspects allegedly forced Welch to give-up his PIN number. Records indicate the card was used at a local gas station in Council Bluffs. Security footage shows a black male at the ATM machine at the time the card was used.
The unidentified man left the area in a white mini-van with plates unknown. Authorities say because they are continuing to investigate the incident, no other information is being released.
If you have information that might prove helpful, you’re asked to contact the Bluffs’ P-D’s Criminal Investigation Division at 712-328-4728.
