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Council Bluffs fest kicks off weeklong RAGBRAI

July 18, 2009 By

The statewide bicycle ride RAGBRAI is scheduled to start tomorrow in Council Bluffs, as the Missouri River town plans for one of its largest-ever celebrations. Larry Foster, the city’s parks director, says organizers of the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa wanted something unique.

Foster says, "It was clear they were looking for a send-off here in Council Bluffs that was different than most other places." He says they put together 21 committees that are involved in everything from food to public safety. A big part of the event is entertainment and he promises there will be great music tonight.

He says, "We are kicking off the event with Ribfest, with big activities associated with that and outside, at the MAC Center, are the Bare Naked Ladies." Foster says you don’t have to be a participant in RAGBRAI to attend the send-off event. He says, "For $15, you can walk up and get a chance to see a nationally-known recording group and the perfect band, we think, for RAGBRAI."

Foster says a huge crowd is expected. "We are looking at between 15 and 18-thousand people so it will be one of the biggest events that’s ever been held in Council Bluffs," he says. They have made available 50-plus acres of camping at the Mid-America Center.

At least 15-thousand people are expected to participate in the annual bike ride across the state.

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment

Loebsack votes for committee’s health reform package

July 18, 2009 By

Congressman Dave Loebsack, a Democrat from Mount Vernon, is a member of the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee — a panel which approved its own health care reform plan on Friday.

"I’m very happy that I got an amendment to the bill included and what this amendment will do is increase the workforce of direct care workers and those workers are very, very important for longterm care, especially. There was nothing in the bill related to this," Loebsack says. "…I’m also an original sponsor of legislation preventing insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions."

According to Loebsack, that proposal was included in the committee’s bill, too.

The House Education and Labor Committee did not work on the issue of Medicare reimbursement rates, however. Iowa doctors, hospitals and other health care providers are routinely paid less for services to elderly Iowans who’re on Medicare compared to health care providers in other, more urban states.

"We’re not where we want to be yet on Medicare reimbursement reform and the Medicare payment reform. We’re making some progress on that," Loebsack says. "That’s not part of the Education and Labor Committee’s jurisdiction, but I am working very hard on that with colleagues from other parts of Iowa and other parts of the country."

Iowa has had the nation’s lowest Medicare reimbursement rate for the medical services elderly Iowans receive.

The health care reform bill cleared the House Education and Labor Committee on a 26 to 20 vote, with three Democrats crossing party lines and voting no. Loebsack voted for the bill, but Loebsack says he needs to see progress on the Medicare reimbursement issue in the final package.

"I think it’s a good idea to get this thing fineshed, obviously, but keep in mind that I’m still working on the Medicare issue myself and so I’m not fully there myself," Loebsack says. "That’s a very significant issue not only for Iowa but for 16 states and areas in states that might be high reimbursement states, so this is something that I’m going to continue to work on."

Five congressional committees have been working on their own versions of health care reform. Three committees have passed a bill.

 

Filed Under: Human Interest, Politics & Government Tagged With:

Freedom Rock artist gains exposure through Iowa Lottery

July 18, 2009 By

Freedom Rock An artist from Greenfield is about to gain more recognition thanks to the Iowa Lottery and veterans groups. The lottery released a new scratch game this week called The Freedom Rock. The ticket features an image of a large boulder located in the western Iowa town of Greenfield that Ray "Bubba" Sorensen has painted with patriotic images since 1999.

The 29-year-old Sorenson says he was inspired to paint on the then graffiti covered rock after seeing the movie "Saving Private Ryan." "I painted ‘thank you veterans for our freedom’ and (a depiction of) the flag raising at Iwo Jima," Sorenson explained at an Iowa Lottery press conference. "I thought that would kind of be it…it would get painted over and it did. But, local veterans asked, ‘hey, would you paint that again for Memorial Day? We really liked that.’" Sorensen agreed, but took it a step further and painted all the way around the 56-ton, 25-foot high boulder now called The Freedom Rock.

Veterans from across the country stop in Greenfield on a regular basis to look at the rock. In May of 2006, a group of motorcycle riding vets – traveling from California to Washington D.C. – stopped to ask Sorensen for a favor. They wanted to sprinkle the ashes of some Vietnam War vets who recently passed away around the boulder. "In May, out at the rock, there’s usually 30 to 40 mile per hour sustained winds and I said ‘the ashes are just going to blow away, so why don’t you dump (the ashes) in the paint can and I’ll paint ‘em right on the rock and they’ll be here forever,’" Sorensen said. "So, that day I added seven Vietnam veterans." The veterans’ ashes are part of a helicopter Sorensen painted on the rock. "I’ve continued to add veterans every year and the total is up to 16 different Vietnam veterans’ ashes painted into that helicopter," Sorensen said.

Sales of The Freedom Rock scratch game will benefit the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund. Sales of other lottery games that benefit veterans’ groups started in July 2008. Lottery officials say the games raised around two-point-seven million dollars in fiscal year 2009.

Filed Under: Human Interest, Military