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Grassley votes "NO" on Sotomayor nomination

July 28, 2009 By

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley voted against the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor this morning in the Senate Judiciary Committee. It’s the first time in nearly 29 years Grassley’s voted "no" on a nominee for the nation’s high court. Grassley says he’s not convinced Sotomayor will be impartial and he’s concerned about her "wild-eyed" statements on race.

Grassley, a Republican, says he "made a mistake" some 20 years ago when he voted for the nomination of Justice David Souter, who’s now stepping down. Grassley says Souter was the only one of the 12 justices for whom he’s voted who "turned out differently from what I anticipated."

"(Souter) talked about the Supreme Court needing to fill vacuums in the law if Congress hadn’t acted," Grassley says. "Well, you know how our system of government works. The legislature makes laws, the Supreme Court interprets the laws and the Constitution, and filling a vacuum because Congress hasn’t acted, is legislating."

Souter is retiring and Sotomayor is expected to fill his seat, as her confirmation is all but certain in the full Senate. Grassley says he saw some of Souter’s legal philosophies in Sotomayor during the confirmation hearings. "I asked her about that and I got a lot of gobbledygook along the same lines of what the Supreme Court’s supposed to do or not do and I see myself voting for another Souter if I vote for her," Grassley says. "I’m not going to make that mistake again."

In an interview on Monday, Iowa native and Nebraska U.S. Senator Mike Johanns said Sotomayor’s comments about being a "wise Latina" are a concern to him, adding, "that’s not what being a judge is about." Grassley, too, says he has concerns about Sotomayor’s comments regarding her ethnic background.

"She tried to overcome a lot of the speeches and wild-eyed statements she made when she was trying to change her tune as the nominee," Grassley says. "I kinda’ felt like it was a ‘confirmation conversion’ and a matter of expediency to look more like a judge and less like a legislator or a political ideologue." Sotomayor is considered a virtual lock to be confirmed by the full Senate next week as the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court.

Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan issued a statement Monday saying: "By voting ‘no,’ Senator Grassley signals he’s out of touch with Iowans and more interested in pleasing Republican Senators on the Judiciary Committee than his constituents back home. Judge Sotomayor is a down-to-earth person who has approached the bench from the real world, not an ivory tower."

Sotomayor was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 13-6 vote. 

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

Des Moines man dies from ATV accident injuries

July 28, 2009 By

A Des Moines man is dead from injuries sustained in an ATV accident in north-central Iowa. The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department was called about 4:25 Sunday morning to a rural area near Rock Falls.

They say 41-year-old Mathew Wade Harvey was eastbound on a road when he struck the rear end of a parked vehicle owned by 24-year-old Kellie Ferden of Plymouth.

Harvey was airlifted to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in Mason City where he died Monday afternoon. The accident remains under investigation by the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department.

 

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

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
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