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15 businesses, groups honored with environmental awards

July 29, 2009 By

Fifteen Iowa businesses and groups have been honored with "Environmental Excellence Awards."

The Vermeer Corporation of Pella was honored for its environmental record, as was an auto body shop in Davenport. Iowa Department of Natural Resources director Rich Leopold  says Arnold’s Body Shop is a trend-setter.

"Arnold’s was the first Iowa-based body shop to switch to water-based coatings from solvent-based coatings," Leopld says. "As a result hazardous materials and paints and hazardous air pollutants have both been significantly reduced."

The Holiday Lake Owners Association of Brooklyn, Iowa and the City of North Liberty were honored for water quality efforts. Muscatine Power and Water as well as the Dupont facility in Fort Madison were recognized for helping to reduce the amount of garbage destined for landfills. Leopold praised all the winners.

"As someone who witnesses daily the effects that we have on the environment, both positive and negative, it is inspiring and rewarding to me to see iowa’s businesses, schools, organizations and citiszens make environmental protection a priority."

Governor Chet Culver handed out the awards during a ceremony in his statehouse office.

"These award winners have proven that the economy and the environment can go hand-in-hand," Culver said, "and that the opportunities for our state are only enhanced, not limited, when we consider natural resources in our decisions."

A Mason City company that makes hollow metal doors and door frames was honored for changes made in production that have dramatically lowered energy costs. The Buffalo Bill Museum in Le Claire, Iowa, was honored for the energy-efficient structure it built to protect the Lone Star, a 19th century riverboat. Three utility companies were honored, too, and two environmental education programs were singled out for recognition.

 

Filed Under: Business, Environment & Conservation, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , , ,

SC North downs Marshalltwon in 4A tourney

July 29, 2009 By

Dean McArdle tossed a five hitter and struck out seven as top ranked Sioux City North topped Marshalltown 4-1 in the class 4A opener. The Stars improve to 34-7 and in the process avenged a first round loss to the Bobcats a year ago.

Sioux City North coach Brian Drent says the experience gained from playing in the tournament last year was a plus this time.

Marshalltown pitcher Jimmy Six had a strong outing as well but he overthrew first base with two outs in the fifth inning and North scored two runs on the play to take a 3-1 lead.
Six bounced back and gave up only six hits in the contest and walked only two.

The Bobcats end the season with a record of 26-16. 

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NASCAR driver talks about dangers of distracted driving

July 29, 2009 By

Kyle Petty, Michael Annett. (l-r) Professional race car drivers visited the Des Moines campus of the Nationwide Insurance company today as part of a safety campaign to highlight problems with distracted driving.

NASCAR driver, Kyle Petty, says distracted driving is a problem that’s gone beyond kids with cellphones.

Petty says when Nationwide started its driving while distracted program, it was targeted at high school kids. But he says recent studies on truck drivers, and bus drivers and recent accidents with commuter trains have shown the need for an expanded message.

"This is an important message to get out,I don’t care if you’re driving a bobcat or a lawnmower around your yard, you need to pay attention. That’s how simple it is," Petty says.

Petty was joined by Des Moines native Michael Annett and Brad Keselowski who both will drive in the Nationwide NASCAR race at Newton Saturday. He says it’s important to have the younger race car drivers talking about distracted driving too.

Petty says a big deal is made of the "Swine Flu" epidemic, but he says distracted driving is an epidemic too, and it’s important to have younger drivers to talk to teens about distracted driving, as it has a huge impact on the teens.

Petty says professional racing is totally different from everyday driving which should be "defensive" driving — while professional racers have to drive offensively. "We have to make things happen, that’s why you see guys running so close together and some of the things that happen on the racetrack, is because of being overly aggressive. On the highway you have to be incredibly passive, you have to be the other way. You need to pay attention," Petty says.

He says on the road you have to be aware if a person is going to step onto the road, if kid on a bike is going to pull out, or if someone ahead of you is going to stop. Petty says if you are tuning the radio, talking on your phone, or texting, you can have that full attention.

"If you’ve looked down for a second to type ‘hi how are you?,’ and you look up and the car stopped in front of you, then what do you do? Then it causes a chain reaction," Petty says.

Petty says the issue hit home personally with him last year when a woman talking on a cellphone pulled out and hit and killed one of his friends who was riding a motorcycle.  

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University of Iowa says it set another record for grant funding

July 29, 2009 By

The University of Iowa says funding for research set another record in 2008 despite the major flooding that displaced and interrupted many programs. U-I, interim vice president for research and economic development, Jordan Cohen, announced the numbers today.

He says the total external awards were almost $430-million, with the largest amount coming from federal funding. Cohen says this was a 10.3% increase in funding over last year. Cohen says much of the research money goes to the University Hospitals.

Cohen says a large percentage of the research awards came from the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes for Health (N-I-H) and Centers for Disease Control. He says while health research is a focus of that funding, a lot of the N-I-H funding is distributed across many colleges in the university.

Cohen says this was the seventh straight year the school set a record for external funding and says it’s a “remarkable accomplishment” given the economic situation. Funding from the Department of Health & Human Services was $216.4 million dollars, up 5.5%.

Filed Under: Education Tagged With:

Charles City police investigating bottle bombs

July 29, 2009 By

Charles City police are investigating the discovery of what are being called "MacGyver-style" homemade bombs on a school playground. Police Captain Brad Gibson says there have been two recent cases at Washington Elementary School where they’ve found "dangerous" explosives — made from plastic pop bottles.

He says they’ve over-pressure explosive devices where someone mixed chemicals in a bottle and screwed the cap back on, with the chemical reaction causing the bottle to expand and eventually explode, spraying the chemicals all over. Gibson says parents taking their children to the playground will want to look around to make sure there aren’t any bottles laying around.

He says it’s up to the parents to make sure their kids are safe and if you see a bottle, possibly with chemicals or tin foil around it, stay away and call the police to have them check it out. Police originally found two unexploded bottles, but in another instance found seven bottles on the playground and some of them had exploded. Gibson says they hope to find out who is putting the bottle bombs out on the playground before someone gets hurt.

If you see a suspicious bottle or have any information about who may be putting the bottles out on the playground, Gibson asks that you contact the Charles City Police Department at (641) 228-3366. "MacGyver" is a reference to a TV show that first aired in the mid 1980s about a resourceful secret agent.

 

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Prairie area near Jefferson designated as state preserve

July 29, 2009 By

Carroll Perkins, Governor Culver. (l-r) The governor has designated 30 acres of privately-owned land in Greene County as a state preserve.

A brief ceremony was held in the governor’s office earlier today to sign and notarize the documents which declare the tract of land the Perkins Prairie State Preserve.

Carroll T. Perkins of Jefferson has owned the land since the 1960s. "This is the only piece of property that I’m aware of in this part of the state that has the characteristics that it has, that it is a natural prairie," Perkins says. "I’m doing it because I love it, I admire it and I want it to remain for people that come long after me."

Perkins has created a trust to finance maintainence of the area, which is located southwest of Jefferson. The act of designating it as a state preserve extends certain legal protections over the property which, for example, prevent the construction of buildings on the 30 acre preserve.

"I would like to have the students in the area be able to experience the prairie, to be able to come in and walk in this tall grass that’s native (to Iowa)," Perkins says. "When it’s truly native, it’s over my head and it’s wonderful to go through."

Perkins and his son-in-law have restored the area to its native state. "This is something I’ve worked on for at least 20 years," Perkins says. "In the beginning there were a lot of invasive species, trees and a lot of shrubs that needed to be removed. Most of that’s been done."

Iowa Department of Natural Resources director Rich Leopold says it’s not very often the state gets to dedicate ground as a preserve. "Perkins Prairie is our newest state preserve and only one of a few that are privately owned," Leopold says.

Almost 100 parcels of land in Iowa have been designated as state preserves. Some are smaller than an acre; others are almost 10,000 acres. A state law passed in 1965 started the process of protecting natural and historic tracts of land as state preserves.

 

Filed Under: Agriculture, Environment & Conservation, Human Interest Tagged With:

Culver stops short of calling for lawmaker’s resignation

July 29, 2009 By

Representative Kerry Burt (far left) listens to Governor Culver during an event at the capitol earlier this year. Governor Chet Culver isn’t calling for a state legislator’s resignation, but the governor says he expects fellow Democrat Kerry Burt of Waterloo to be facing not one but two criminal cases soon.

Burt was elected to his first term in the Iowa House this past November.  In February, Burt was arrested Ankeny and charged with drunken driving. Recently-released video of Burt’s arrest shows Burt claimed to have been drinking with the governor that evening. During a brief question-and-answer session this morning with statehouse reporters, Governor Culver was asked about Burt’s claim.

"I was with Mr. Burt for all of about 30 minutes at a dinner with about 15 people. I have no idea what he did after I left that dinner at 8:55," Culver said. "I was home at nine o’clock. He was arrested at 2 a.m. and I have no idea, really, what he did between nine and two."

Culver insisted he’s not peeved Burt tried to "name drop" to try to get out of the drunken driving arrest.

"In this job you get used to kind of rolling with the punches," Culver said. "And (Burt) had a (0.13) blood alcohol level and he said a lot of things, I’m sure, that he regrets at this point."

Burt at one point is heard on the video tape claiming legislators cannot be arrested and, at another, he asks the policeman to be let go as a "professional courtesy" to a fire fighter. Culver isn’t calling for Burt’s resignation, however.

"That’s really a decision Mr. Burt needs to make along with his family and his constituents and perhaps his lawyers," Culver said. "But we have two criminal proceedings moving forward and the outcome of those proceedings might impact his decision, I would imagine."

A state audit concluded Burt used a relative’s address to enroll his children in the Price Lab School at the University of Northern Iowa, thereby saving over $35,000 in tuition. Culver denies having "inside information" about a pending indictment in that case, but nonetheless Culver hints Burt’s August trial on the drunken driving charges may not be Burt’s only trial.

"I expect there will be information forthcoming with more details," Culver said.

Culver himself provided a few details about his own drinking on the evening Burt claims to have been out on the town, drinking with the governor. Culver notes that he did attend the same Iowa Pharmacy Association legislative reception as Burt, followed by dinner in Des Moines with Burt and about a dozen other legislators.

"There was some alcohol that was served at the pharmacy reception," Culver said. "I had a glass of wine and had a quick dinner and went home."

The arrest report released this week by Ankeny police indicates the policeman who pulled Burt over heard metal grinding on the pavement and saw one of the tires on Burt’s vehicle was shredded. Burt told the cop he had hit a concrete barrier along Interstate 35.

"Obviously this is a very serious legal matter and I think very troubling to see how dangerous this situation really was," Culver said. "But because it’s a pending legal matter I’m not going to comment further."

Listen to all of Culver’s comments by clicking on the audio link below.

AUDIO: Culver comments on Burt…MP3 3 min

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