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Iowa National Guard soldiers welcomed home in Waterloo

July 28, 2009 By

Family and friends greeted 65 National Guard soldiers at a welcome home ceremony in Waterloo Monday. The 211th General Support Aviation Battalion spent nearly a year in Iraq and Afghanistan. While many military members call their comrades brothers and sisters, some are actually siblings. Staff Sergeant Travis Klein spent the past year serving with his two brothers in the Middle East.

"Our goal is everybody goes and everybody comes back. We did that," Travis said. First Lieutenant Sheldon Klein say he and his brothers only saw each other once during their time overseas. "It was just kind of a fluke deal. We were all there in the same spot at the same time. So, that was a real treat," Sheldon said.

After they take some time to relax at home with their immediate family members, Sheldon says the brothers plan to spend a lot of time together. "Once the dust settles a little bit maybe we can sit back and think of it, but I’m absolutely and completely proud of my brothers," Sheldon said. The Klein brothers have a history of military service in their family. Their dad was a member of the military as well.

 

Filed Under: Military Tagged With:

Iowa moves up in Kids Count survey

July 28, 2009 By

Iowa ranked in the top ten again this year in the annual “Kids Count” survey that ranks states based on 10 factors that are supposed to make them good places to raise kids. Michael Crawford, the director of Iowa Kids Count, says Iowa moved up from its eighth place ranking last year.

Crawford says Iowa ranked sixth this year in the national data book, and he says the state has consistently ranked in the top ten in the 20 years the book has been put out. He says however, when you look at the last seven years, the state still has some areas to improve. Crawford says there are a couple or areas of concern.

He says percentage of babies born at a low birth rate, or below five-and-a-half pounds has increased by about 13% since 2000. Crawford also says the number of kids living in a family where no parent has full-time, year-round employment, has increased by 17% since 2000. Crawford says there are many good signs too.

Crawford says the state does well in the mortality rates, with infant mortality, and child and teen death rates all decreasing more than 20% since 2000. Crawford says this report only includes data through 2007, so this report does not give a true picture of the current economic factors that impact on the lives of Iowa kids.

Crawford says the economic downturn started 12 to 18 months ago, so this data won’t reflect that. “So I think next year the numbers may even be worse for some of the economic indicators. New Hampshire ranked as the top state in the survey, followed by Minnesota, Utah, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

You can see the entire survey, and more individual data on the  Kids Count website . 

 

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Human Interest

Video of lawmaker’s arrest released

July 28, 2009 By

A state legislator can be heard on video tape claiming that a legislator cannot be arrested and documents related to his arrest suggest he also claimed to have been drinking with the governor.

The video from the camera mounted in an Ankeny cop’s squad car was obtained by WHO-TV in Des Moines and played on its 10 o’clock newscast last night. The tape was a routine recording made by the policeman who stopped Representative Kerry Burt at around two o’clock in the morning on February 11.

Burt, a Democrat from Waterloo, can be heard saying he’s a fireman and asking to be let go as a "professional courtesy." But also claimed legislators have special immunity and cannot be arrested.

Then, Burt offered up this: "It’s not so much what I’ve been drinking, it’s who I’ve been drinking with."

According to the cop, Burt then whispered in his ear that the governor was his drinking partner.

Governor Culver’s press secretary confirms Culver attended the same reception and dinner in downtown Des Moines that Burt had, but Culver press secretary Troy Price says the governor was home at Terrace Hill by 8:55 that evening, about five hours before Burt was stopped by the cop.

Burt, a former University of Iowa football player, was first elected to the Iowa House last November. Burt is challenging his drunken driving arrest and his trial is scheduled for late next month.

Earlier this month the chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa called on Burt to resign after a state audit found Burt had listed a relative’s home address as his own to enroll his children in the Price Lab School at the University of Northern Iowa, saying himself over $35,000 in tuition.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Baseball tourney features extra innings, close games

July 28, 2009 By

Second rated Fort Dodge St. Edmond scored six runs in the top of the seventh to rally past number five Council Bluffs St. Albert 11-8 in a 2A quarterfinal. St Edmond jumped out to a 5-1 advantage but the Falcons rallied with four runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth to take an 8-5 lead into the final inning.

St. Edmond coach Joe Shanks who says the Gaels remained confident despite the three run deficit, as this group doesn’t know how to quite. He says they were cheering each other on in the dugout and then some things started happening to turn it in their favor.

The loss ends the season for St. Albert. The Falcons finish 24-5. Coach Ken Schreiber says he’s proud of his kids for playing with a lot of heart and determination.

It was the second longest scoreless game in tournament history and in the end fourth ranked Cherokee came away with the victory as the Braves scored in the bottom of the 11th to edge Gilbert 1-0. Senior lefthander Ben Bergman scattered four hits and struck out ten hitters as seventh rated Solon got by Sumner-Fredricksburg 5-1 in the class 2A opener at the state high school baseball tournament.

Bergman says he felt alright, and got stronger as he got into the game and the game went on. Solon improves to 37-5 and advances to Thursday night’s semifinal round. Sumner-Fredricksburg’s lone run crossed in the second inning on an RBI single by Kyle Kleman.

Sumner-Fredricksburg coach Tom Nuss says they haven’t seen many lefthanders that can throw that well. He says they didn’t get the clutch hit they needed. Nuss who says the Cougars had a great season. They finish with a record of 33-11.

Dyersville Beckman held off a late rally by third ranked Interstate-35 for a 5-4 victory. The roadrunners scored three times in the bottom of the seventh and had two runners on base when the game ended. 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

Volunteers needed to help build Parkersburg playground

July 28, 2009 By

Plan for Parkersburg playground. Volunteers are needed to help build a playground at the Parkersburg Elementary School.

Diane Manifold is coordinating the effort and says much of the old playground equipment was destroyed in the May 2008 tornado that leveled much of the town in northeast Iowa.

Other playground had to be removed to make room for portable classrooms, as elementary students from Aplington were moved to Parkersburg.

“Between what was destroyed by the tornado and what had to come down for purposes of housing the kids, we probably lost 90-percent of our equipment,” Manifold said. The additional, portable classrooms were needed because the high school in Parkersburg was destroyed.

During the last school year, high school students attended classes in the Aplington elementary building. A new high school will open this fall. Volunteers will build the new playground between August 5th and 10th. Manifold says they’ll take all the help that can get.

“Just about anybody can help out, there’s something for everyone,” Manifold said. The 200-plus students that attended Parkersburg Elementary this past school year had very little equipment to play on outside the school.

“The kids just basically ran around, the ground is just beat to death from so many kids playing. They just didn’t have anything to do. It was really hard to keep the kids entertained at recess with the lack of any kind of equipment,” Manifold said. “So, they are going to be really surprised when they come back at the beginning of the school year and see what they have to play on.”

This is the third volunteer playground rebuilding project in Parkersburg. Combined, the projects cost nearly $500,000. Much of the playground equipment was purchased through local fund-raising efforts and a matching grant from the Miracle Recreation Equipment Company based in Missouri. This third playground is additionally funded by the Aplington-Parkersburg School District.

 

Filed Under: Human Interest

State asks for drop in fines on Agriprocessors

July 28, 2009 By

Iowa Workforce Development has asked the bankruptcy judge handling the Agriprocessors case to cut the $10-million in fines against the Postville meatpacking plant. Workforce Development spokesperson, Kerry Koonce, says they felt this was the best way to see the company pays something for the violations.

Koonce says the requests asks the judge to cut the original fines down to one-million dollars and puts into the settlement process that the claim is a priority claim that would get paid right after secured debts. Koonce says changing the status of the fines is key to getting any money that’s available.

She says the original fine falls in line with other unsecured debt, and she says it looks likely there wouldn’t be funds to pay the fines unless its status is changed. Koonce says they are awaiting to hear back on the proposal and hope the judge agrees with the state.

Koonce says everyone wants to see the case get settled, and wants the company to come out of bankruptcy since a buyer is lined up.

"Hopefully since it has been agreed upon by both parties, hopefully the judge will look favorably on it and agree to this," Koonce says. Koonce says they are asking for the fines to be reduced, but that doesn’t take away from the impact as they are going after the fine they can collect.

Koonce says they are still punishing the company and in no way taking away from the fact they believe the company violated the regulations. Iowa Workforce Development alleged that Agriprocessors made illegal deductions from employee paychecks.

Agriprocessors went into bankruptcy in the wake of an immigration raid in May of 2008 where nearly 400 workers were arrested. S-H-F Industries — a company formed by a Canadian businessman and his son-in-law — has agreed to purchase the plant for eight-and-a-half million dollars.

 

Filed Under: Business, Crime & Courts Tagged With:

Demand high for free lunch program

July 28, 2009 By

A record number of new students are enrolled in Iowa’s “summer food service” program this year. The federally-funded program allows schools and other non-profit organizations to serve meals during the summer to low income school children who qualify for free or reduced price lunches during the school year.

While there was greater demand for the free meals this year, 14 more Iowa school districts and five more Iowa non-profit agencies began offering the service this summer and that helped expand enrollment, too.

“Behaviors frequently, I think, are improved because kids aren’t thinking about their stomach or being irritated because of hunger,” says Rod Bakken, an Iowa Department of Education consultant. “…I think that actually kids are generally mentally and physically more healthy and more ready to come back to school in the fall.”

The number of Iowa kids getting these free, summertime meals has increased 232 percent since 2002. Bakken says another side benefit of the program is the students get to interact with school personnel during the summer.

“These kids just see one more smile every day…They have a sense from that that they’re cared for,” he says. “…I don’t think there’s anything negative that comes from that.”

Last summer, the federal government spent over a million dollars to pay for these meals for school kids. Eighty-six different schools and non-profit groups are participating in the program this year, with food being served at 210 different sites around the state. A summer feeding site must be located in a school district or an area where 50 percent or more of students qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch.

 

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Summer/

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Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Education, Human Interest Tagged With:
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