Iowa's Radio News Network
An Iowa team rallied to post its first victory at the Little League World Series Sunday. The squad from Urbandale scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth to edge Mercer Island, Washington 5-3.
First baseman Jake Quirk had the big hit, a two run homer that gave the Iowans the lead after they trailed in the game 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth. Next up is a matchup tonight against Staten Island, New York. A victory would qualify the Iowa team for the U.S. semifinals.
The Iowa Corn Growers Association and Iowa Corn Promotions Board have announced an agreement to sponsor the games between the two biggest state schools. Iowa State University athletic director, Jamie Pollard, talked about the agreement.
Pollard says the two groups have stepped up to a level where they will be the top sponsors in the Cy-Hawk series, including promotions before the football game and the basketball game between the two schools. Pollard says the sponsorship is a natural for the schools. [Read more...]
An experienced crew of linebackers will lead the Iowa defense while a young defensive line matures. Outside linebacker A.J. Edds says it will take a while for the defense to adapt to the loss of Mitch King and Matt Kroul up front. He says that means they have to make more plays up front with everyone stepping up the play to fill in for the loss of King and Kroul.
Iowa’s defense over the past few years has been as simple as it has successful and Edds says it is a philosophy based on team defense. He says they know how to play off each other and he says they are just a solid fundamental team. Edds says the philosophy begins with limiting big plays.
Edds says the Hawks play a style that fits their personel and he says knowing you limitations is important and then carrying that out.
Iowa opens September fifth at home against U.N.I.
A Webster City pastor says it will take some time for congregations to adjust after a vote by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America to lift a ban on allowing gay and lesbian couples to serve as ministers of the church. Until now, gays and lesbians had to remain celibate to serve as clergy. Reverand Mike Kroona says he is relieved that after eight or 10 years of discussion, the church has at least made a decision. Kroona says "there’ll be some who’ll be concerned about it." He says the social statement passed with the issue notes that "the church is not of one mind" and there are people on both sides of the issue. Kroona says now that the vote is done, they have to move forward. He says the important thing to remember is that "we recognize we can be together even though we don’t agree." Kroona says it will be "a struggle" but he says he’s hopeful that "the spirit was a part of that decision, I’m trusting that it was, and as we move along, whether we have some choppy water or not, that the spirit will continue to guide and lead us." The decision was made at the church’s conference in Minneapolis.
Congressman Bruce Braley went to a Quad Cities car dealership to mark the last day of "Cash for Clunkers." Braley introduced the idea this spring and, according to the D.O.T., about 700,000 vehicles have been purchased through the program. "One of the most successful aspects of this program is it is getting old gas-guzzlers off the road, average improvement in fuel economy of 10 miles per gallon," Braley says. "But it’s going a lot more than that. Just last week General Motors announced it was hiring more people back because the demand is getting great for these vehicles." Craig Miller is general manager of Lindquist Ford in the Quad Cities. "We sold 91 units for $2.3 million at Lindquist Ford in sales. At Clinton Auto Group we sold 58 units for $1.4 million in sales," he says, "so combined between our two stores we sold 149 units and (made) $3.7 million in sales." In a demonstration for the media gathered at the auto dealership, Braley poured to a special liquid into a "clunker" truck and the truck ran ’til it sputtered and died. The "Cash for Clunkers" program officially ends at seven o’clock tonight. Some dealerships had stopped offering the incentive, as they’re still waiting for the federal government to pay the $3,500 to $4,500 for each clunker trade-in they’re recorded since the program started in July.
A language arts teacher in a Des Moines suburb has been selected as the 2010 Iowa Teacher of the Year. Sarah Brown Wessling has taught at Johnston High School for 10 years and is chair of the school’s English department. Johnston School Board member Tyler Buller nominated Wessling for the award. Buller, a 2006 Johnston graduate, says he came up with the idea after talking with friends about things they remember from high school.
"We all remembered a couple of the projects that we did for her class, including a couple that I think really prepared us for stuff that we’re doing here in the quote ‘real world,’ whereas a lot of other things in high school you forget about," Buller said. Wessling’s tenure as Iowa Teacher of the Year will begin in January. Buller says Wessling is successful because she asks her students to focus on the meaning of their assignments.
"One the biggest things Sarah does that makes a huge difference is she gets students to ask questions not only about what they’re reading, but also about the world around them," Buller said. "She gets students to think about how something that might seem obscure or arcane, like symbolism in Frankenstein, and how that actually applies to the real world, how we think about everything around us and how we interact as people."
Buller graduated from Drake University last spring and is in his first term as a school board member. He believes Wessling’s teachings continue to improve his writing skills. "I can work on a policy for the school board that carries the force of law within a school and the tighter my writing is and the better my writing is – the better I can do my job," Buller said.
"I think she was a huge part of that." Wessling will be recognized at a luncheon, along with the other finalists for the award, on October 9th at the University of Northern Iowa. The other finalists for the award were Janet Coon from Sioux City, Steven Locke from Bellevue, Randolph Lyon from Dubuque and Andrea Stewart from Muscatine. The Iowa Teacher of the Year award is presented by the Iowa Department of Education.
A central Iowa man was recently elected president of the Buick Club of America. Rick Young of Jewell says he’s long had a passion for the General Motors-made car. He’s owned many Buicks over the years and Young says he’s thrilled to now be at the wheel of this select group of car collectors. He says next year’s national convention will be in Ames, which will bring some 600 Buicks to Iowa from all over the country. That’s scheduled for July of 2010 and will include a "drive to Jewell" event. Young say the club has a long history, as it was founded more than a century ago by David Buick himself, who started the company that went on to become General Motors. "We have an interest in preserving all information about antique cars and anyone who has a Buick, if it’s a ’93 LeSabre, if it’s a 1950 Buick Special, one of the more prized cars, anyone is welcome," Young says. The club has some nine-thousand members. Find more information online at www.buickclub.org .
O.KayHenderson.com