Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads has high expectations for running back Alexander Robinson. The junior led I.S.U. in rushing in 2008 with just over 700 yards and Rhoads feels his style of running fits well with their new spread offense. He says Robinson has a chance to be a special player as he catches the ball well, has toughness, runs over people, and makes people miss. Rhoads says there is also plenty of depth at that position and sophomore Bo Williams and Freshman Jeremiah Schwartz should also get playing time. He says Williams and Schwartz has to realize their style and go out and get proficient at it. He says their style is to run hard, and as soon as they realize that, they will get better. Rhoads says a key for Robinson this season will be to remain healthy. He says Robinson has some history of injury, and he says the great backs don’t miss many games. Rhoads says the more you feed a back the ball, the better they get. Robinson says he likes the potential of the new offense as it spreads things out and give smore space inside. Robinson says that space is important, and if you can make the first guy miss, you have more opportunity to get yards. In the high scoring Big-12, Robinson says the Cyclones need to be prepared to outscore their opponents. I.S.U. opens the season at home on September third.
ISU coach says Robinson has chance to be special
University of Dubuque coach looks to newcomers
University of Dubuque football coach Stan Zweifel will rely on a number of newcomers during his first season as coach. One hundred newcomers will join a handful of veterans back from last year’s team that posted a 2-8 record, the final season under former coach Vince Brautigam. Much of the experience returns on offense where four starters return on the offensive line. Senior Colton Hanson returns at quarterback and was an honorable mention all-conference choice. Zweifel says they had 39 turnovers last year and that’s one are they have to improve. The Spartans turned the ball over 19 more times than their opponents in 2008, and Zweifel says that makes it tougher on your team and easier on the opponent. The Spartans will be extremely young on the defensive line, as only 1 one the 13 defensive tackles is not a freshman. Zweifel says being fundamentally sound is a plus in close games. The Spartans lost four close games a year ago including two games to the two top teams in the league. Dubuque opens this season with a visit to Rockford College on September fifth.
Governor says reelection will be "challenging"
Governor Chet Culver says 2010 will be a "challenging" year to face reelection. "The bottom line is I’m doing everything I can to prepare for a challenging race. Iowa is one of the most competitive states in the nation," Culver says.
"I’ve always prepared well in advance for campaigns and elections. I feel great about the team that we’ve assembled. John Frew and Teresa Villmain are two of the best in the business and we will be ready and we expect to win."
Culver has hired John Frew, a former aide to Senator Tom Harkin, to serve as his chief of staff. Teresa Villmain, a longtime political operative who worked on Tom Vilsack’s campaigns, is Culver’s chief campaign consultant. Culver, a Democrat, doesn’t have much to say about the prospect of facing former Republican Governor Terry Branstad who is considering a return to politics.
"As I said yesterday, I expect a very difficult race next year. It’s unclear at this point who my opponent will be. We’ll find out next June after the Republican primary," Culver said this morning in response to a reporter’s question. This spring Branstad said he would not run again for governor, but Branstad now says he’s considering it after some of his fellow Republicans urged him to run.
State unveils program to push for long-term care planning
State officials, including Governor Culver, announced a new program today that encourages Iowans ages 45 to 65 to plan for their long-term care.
The director of the Iowa Department on Aging, John McCalley, says the program "Own Your Future" is funded by federal dollars.
McCalley says AARP research shows not many people think about long-term care, and says the complex decisions for long-term care are often made in a crisis mode without a lot of planning. McCalley says there are a lot of issues to consider.
McCalley says long-term care is "much more than health care and insurance, it’s about supported transportation, about planning for options to remain in your home, home modifications, and many, many other things." McCalley says research has found a big need for information on the subject.
Kris Gross of the Iowa Insurance Division says a letter from the governor will go out to Iowans next week encouraging them to call or mail in a card requesting a tool kit for long-term care planning.
Gross says a website is being developed that goes along with this that has information on a variety of local resources that people can use to expand their information base. She says they will also have an exhibit at the Iowa State Fair on the program.
Gross says people are facing a lot of things right now and might not be thinking about planning for the future. She says some people may be facing trouble with the economy and losing a job and have to deal with that, but she says hopefully things will turn around and people have to start thinking about what will happen when they hit 65, 75 or 85. Gross says the need for long-term care can happen sooner than 65.
McCalley says those who’re are younger may be involved in long-term care for someone else. McCalley says it’s often at the age of 45 or older where you become a caregiver for an aging parent or spouse that has developed a disability. He says the information in the planning packet can link you with area agencies on aging that offer a variety of services for the person that you’re caring for.
Iowa is sharing three-million dollars in federal money with Colorado, Kentucky and the District of Columbia to implement and advertise the program.
You can call 1-866-PLAN-TLC to get a planning kit.
Hobo Convention opens today in Britt
For nearly 11 decades, the northern Iowa town of Britt has hosted the National Hobo Convention, which opens today and runs through Sunday in the Hancock County community. Darcy Eisenmen, one of the event’s organizers, says they expect hoboes and visitors from across the country to attend. Eisenmen says the lighting of the "jungle fire" in the Hobo Jungle will kick the convention off, while Friday’s events will include a hobo memorial service at Evergreen Cemetery to honor those who have died in the past year and chose to be buried there. She says hoboes are beloved in this town, which has hosted the event for 109 years. Eisenmen says, "We have a hobo art gallery here in the municipal building where a lady from town here has painted each and every hobo and she has those on display." The big hobo parade starts Saturday at 10 AM, followed by the crowning of the National Hobo King and Queen. Afterward, there will be free Mulligan Stew for everyone in attendance, a concoction of beef, potatoes, carrots, peppers, cabbage, turnips, parsnips and tomatoes. "There’s always entertainment at the Hobo Jungle in the evening," Eisenman says. "Everybody’s welcome to go down there and visit with the hoboes and sing around the campfire." She says there are many legends about how Britt was selected to host this annual summer festival. "I think it maybe started out as a joke but it turned into something that, of course, has continued for well over a hundred years," Eisenman says. Don’t confuse a hobo with a bum, she says, as bums don’t work but hoboes work and ride the rails from one job to the next. For more information about the convention, see the Britt website .
Senator Harkin wants income limits on "Cash for Clunkers" program
Iowa Senator Tom Harkin proposes setting income limits on the popular Cash for Clunkers program which, if his amendment passes, could stop the program dead in its tracks by tomorrow as it’ll run out of financial fuel. Harkin, a Democrat, says he’s "duty-bound and conscience-bound" to introduce the amendment that would put a cap on who would qualify for the rebates — and who wouldn’t qualify. "Under the present Cash for Clunkers program, someone making $400,000 a year can get $4500 to buy a car," Harkin says. "Someone making $2-million a year can get $4500 to buy a car. That doesn’t seem to make sense to me." He says someone like Microsoft boss Bill Gates should not be able to qualify for the government cash. The program was designed to encourage people with gas-burning older cars to trade them in for more fuel-efficient new models, but the Obama administration says the program will go broke by Friday. The U.S. Senate today is expected to vote on a two-billion dollar injection of funds. Harkin says with his income cap in place, the money being devoted to Cash for Clunkers will be able to go farther. "An individual with income below $50,000 or a family with income below $75,000 a year would be the ones who would get the money," Harkin says. "If you limit it to that, if you put those caps on it, you could give them more money to buy a new car and these are the people who are really stressed out." He says the moderate-income earners may not have the cash to buy a new vehicle otherwise and are more likely to be driving around in a gas guzzler. The Senate needs to pass the House version of the bill if the president is to sign it right away. If Harkin’s amendment passes, he fully realizes the bill would be kicked back to the House for another vote, but the House is already in recess. "Even if it delays the program, that would not be a tragedy," Harkin says. "There are many reports of dealers who’ve developed a shortage of certain well-selling cars under the program but there are still plenty of other cars out there." Harkin says he’s seen reports that four out of five cars being sold under the Cash for Clunkers program are foreign-made, so he says there should be an abundance of American-made vehicles that are fuel-efficient and ready for sale. Harkin says he’s not concerned that his amendment’s passage might mean the program will run out of gas, at least temporarily. "I just don’t buy that idea that we’ve gotta’ rush to judgment here," Harkin says. "Last time I was rushed to judgment on something like this was last year on that TARP program and I’m not going to get rushed into this ‘sky-is-falling’ scenario again. Not again. I’m not going to get rushed into it. Just because the House passed it and they went home, therefore, we can’t change it? Nonsense." Harkin says he does not anticipate his amendment will get sufficient votes to pass. He says most Democrats want to simply pass the House version and move on, and he adds, "I don’t think the Republicans will vote for it because they just like the rich people to get their money."
Governor "disturbed" by atheist ads on buses
Governor Chet Culver says he sides with those who were upset by advertising signs placed on Des Moines city buses that said "Don’t believe in God? You are not alone."
The ads sponsored by the Iowa Atheist and Free Thinkers group have now been pulled off the buses. Culver was asked about the ads at an event today.
"I was disturbed personally…by the advertisement, I can understand why other Iowans were also disturbed by the message that it sent. But, we’ll see how it unfolds," Culver says. Culver would not say whether he felt the atheist group had a free speech right to have the messages on buses.
Culver says:" I think it’s a great question for the attorney general and for legal scholars to kind of sort through that, that balancing act between free speech and the type of message that is being sent. But I do again understand that people were actually not wanting to get on the bus, they were so disturbed by the message that was being sent."
The advertising director for the Des Moines Area Regional Transit (DART) system says the agency’s board never approved the signs, but the president of the atheist group said the signs had been approved. Officials says they got complaints as soon as the signs went on the buses.
See what the Iowa Atheist and Free Thinkers told Radio Iowa about the bus ads here .
