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DNR director holding public forums

July 31, 2009 By

Iowans who have complaints, complements or questions about the Iowa Department of Natural Resources can speak up at a series of public forums starting next week. D.N.R. director Rich Leopold says it’ll be a good opportunity for citizens to share their thoughts about anything when it comes to conservation.

Leopold says he wants to know what’s working and what’s not with "the locals" as far as wildlife management, state areas, regulatory programs and more. The first of the meetings will be held at the Honey Creek Resort State Park near Moravia next Thursday, August 6th, at 6 P.M. Leopold says with the new fiscal year in place, there’s both good and bad news when it comes to D.N.R. activities.

He says state appropriations to the D.N.R. and most other departments have been drastically cut, with the "pain" being felt at many levels in the state parks. Still, he says there’s been good weather this year which has enabled the system to do a lot of promotions, as fishing and hunting licenses and park receipts are up. Once the series of public forums wraps up in late September, Leopold says all of the comments will be compiled.

He says they came back with a "to do list" after every meeting. This year, meetings are also planned in the following cities: Bedford, Bellevue, Clear Lake, Lehigh, Sioux City and Solon. The complete schedule can be found on line at www.iowadnr.gov .

 

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation Tagged With:

MC Newman, Lenox win in 1A baseball

July 31, 2009 By

Mason City Newmans’ Kyle McCann tossed a four-hitter and the Knights put the game away with two runs in the top of the seventh in a 4-0 victory over fifth ranked Alta in the Class 1A state baseball tourney. McCann says he had trouble getting the change-up and curve to work, but he got some runs behind him and says he was able to "float everything in."

It is the first time this post season that the Knights did not end a game early via the ten-run rule. They also took advantage of five errors by the Cyclones. Alta coach Dan Wendel says it was a great season for a program that was making its first appearance at the state tournament.

Wendel says it was a great first year coaching for him with a bunch of seniors and a handful of underclassmen, he hopes they keep going.

Alta finishes the season 31-4.

Lenox scored four runs in the second inning and the eighth rated Tigers rolled to an 11-3 win over fourth rated Lansing Kee. Catcher Tyler Peterson had three of the 12 hits for Lenox. Peterson says they took a lot of batting practice and cranked the pitching machine up so that it was faster than Randy Johnson, knowing they would face the hardest throwing pitcher they have seen this year.

Despite being on the short end of a lopsided score Kee High coach Gene Schultz says it was a great season for his team. Schultz says to get to state has been amazing. He says they didn’t play well and you can’t win at state by doing that. Schultz says Lenox deserves credit for playing very well.

Fort Dodge St. Edmond erupted for four runs in the top of the ninth inning as the second rated Gaels beat number-seven Solon 8-4 to earn a spot in the 2A championship game. St. Edmond catcher Patrick Flannery says the quarterfinal game got them ready as they had to come back in the 7th inning.

Flannery snapped the tie with a run scoring single in the top of the ninth. The loss ended Solon’s bid to become the first high school to win football, boy’s basketball and baseball titles in the same school year. The Spartans end the season with a record of 37-6.

Solon coach Keith McSweeney says "it burns right now," but he says it will get better as they reflect on what they accomplished. 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

House to vote on more "Cash for Clunkers" money

July 31, 2009 By

"Cash for Clunkers" is just about out of cash and the U.S. House will vote this afternoon to provide $2 billion more for the program that was designed to replace gas-guzzlers with new, fuel-efficient vehicles.

Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, was among the early advocates of the "Cash for Clunkers" program.

"When we were setting up this program and authorizing funding for it, there was a thought about setting it up as an initial payment system, with the idea that the funds would be available for a fixed period of time and if the program was successful and beneficial in stimulating the economy, it could be expanded over a broader period of time," Braley said yesterday.

The program’s been available for about a week and federal officials say about 40,000 new vehicles have been purchased through the program. But dealers estimate another 200,000vehicles have been sold this week, too — a huge jump in sales for the beleaguered car industry.

"This is actually doing something to spur the economy both on a national level and a local level," says Mark Zimmerman, owner of the Mark Zimmerman Ford, BMW, Hyundai, Mitsubishi in Cedar Rapids.

Zimmerman’s dealership has sold more than 50 vehicles in the past week, but not all have been "Cash for Clunkers" deals.

"It’s kind of a contagious thing, you know, when you have a friend or a relative or a co-worker that gets a new vehicle, you start thinking about it," he says.

If you were planning to try to trade in your "old beater" this weekend, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said this morning the "Cash for Clunkers" program is still "up and running." Many dealership have been running additional promotions as well, spurring sales at the close of the month.

 

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

World War Two vets prepare for "Honor Flight"

July 31, 2009 By

A delegation of World War Two veterans from central Iowa will take part in the latest in a series of so-called Honor Flights to Washington D.C. early next month. Jeff Ballenger, of Omaha, is coordinating the one-day chartered trip for 350 central Iowa veterans.

"We’ll be flying out of Des Moines on August 11th, bright and early in the morning," Ballenger says. "The day before that, we’ll be having a pre-flight dinner where there’ll be a chance for the World War Two veterans to get together for some entertainment — some music and some good food."

Ballenger says the purpose of the Honor Flight is to allow these veterans to see the memorial dedicated to them in the nation’s capitol. Besides the World War Two Memorial, they’ll see the Iwo Jima Monument, the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, as well as the Korean and Vietnam memorials and Arlington Cemetery.

The Des Moines-based grocery chain Hy-Vee donated more than $250,000 to make the flight possible. While a few previous Honor Flights have taken veterans from western Iowa to Washington D.C., Ballenger says this flight is the first one originating in central Iowa.

"It should’ve been done many years before," Ballenger says, "but you know what? The memorial has been built and now I think we owe it to these veterans for them to have an opportunity to see it. We’re losing 1,100 World War Two veterans a day in this country, so time is running out." Ballenger said there is a possibility for yet another Honor Flight from Iowa later this year.

Find information on making a tax-deductible donation or for a veteran to apply for a future flight  here .

 

Filed Under: Human Interest, Military

Kimballton worried about potential fees for Little Mermaid

July 31, 2009 By

A New York-based group that tries to protect the copyrights of thousands of artists is demanding nearly four-thousand dollars from a Michigan town for a statute that’s very similiar to a bronze statue in a small western Iowa community.

In 1913, the "Little Mermaid" statue was erected in Copenhagen, Denmark to celebrate the work of Danish author Hans Christian Anderson.  Many North American communities, like Greenville, Michigan, have celebrated their Danish heritage by erecting a likeness of the "Little Mermaid."

Annette Anderson of Kimballton says about 30 years ago, an art student made her town’s replica which stands in the city park. "We’ve all seen pictures of the one in Copenhagen Harbor, so we know what it looks like. Sizewise, she’s pretty much the same," Anderson says.

"We’re a very small community. We’re very proud of our Danish heritage and that is why we have our mermaid." A few years ago the "Little Mermaid" in Kimballton was resculpted in bronze. Anderson says they got the permission of the former art student who made Kimballton’s "Little Mermaid."

"We were very careful, when we wanted to recast our statue, that we did it correctly," she says. It was hard to raise $40,000 for that project, according to Anderson, and she says it would be hard to raise the money for a licensing fee.

The fee would go to the family of the artist who made the original "Little Mermaid" in Denmark 96 years ago. Anderson learned of the controversy when she got a call from a Wall Street Journal reporter.

"It was a shock to us," Anderson says. "We had never heard of anything like this." Danish artist Edward Eriksen created the "Little Mermaid" in 1913. The "Artists Rights Society" in New York has told the town in Michigan it must pay a 38-hundred dollar licensing fee, or take down its "unlicensed reproduction" of the famous statue.

Eriksen died in 1959 and the New York group claims copyrights on an artist’s work last for 70 years after their death. That means the copyright on Eriksen’s "Little Mermaid" would last until 2029. 

Filed Under: Human Interest

Reunion in the Wildwood for the Little Brown Church

July 31, 2009 By

Little Brown Church A few hundred couples from around the country are expected in the northeast Iowa town of Nashua this weekend for a wedding reunion at a historic church.

The Little Brown Church in the Vale, which opened in 1864, has hosted nearly 73,000 weddings.

Pastor Jim Mann says the 57th annual Wedding Reunion at the church will begin on Saturday, but will be highlighted by the Sunday morning service.

He says old hymns will be sung at 10:15 Sunday morning, followed by a worship service that will include a renewal of wedding vows.

At 11:30 a.m., a picnic lunch will be provided along with various entertainments. “During that time, we’ll be awarding prizes for those that have been married the longest…whoever’s come from the farthest or some other prizes,” Mann said.

The Little Brown Church still hosts nearly 250 weddings and thousands of tourists every year. Mann says one couple stopped by last Friday and timed their visit for precisely 3 p.m. because they held their wedding at the church at that time exactly 50 years ago. More information about the church and the wedding reunion is available at  here .  

AUDIO: Radio Iowa’s Pat Curtis reports on Little Brown Church. :45 soc

Filed Under: Human Interest, Religion
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