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Fire leaves six homeless in eastern Iowa

August 31, 2009 By

A family of six is homeless after a weekend fire in eastern Iowa. The fire was reported early Sunday morning at an old farmhouse near Troy Mills in Linn County. Several fire departments spent over three hours dousing the flames which destroyed the home. Investigators believe an electrical problem sparked the fire.

No one was in the home at the time of the fire, but two adults and four children lived there. The American Red Cross’ Grant Wood Area Chapter is providing the family with temporary lodging.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Cool weather leads to record lows overnight

August 31, 2009 By

The first day of Autumn is still 22 days away, but plenty of Iowans had to close their windows and throw a quilt on the bed last night — and some likely switched on the furnaces. One Iowa city hit a new record low temperature this morning, while several cities came close. Brad Fillbach, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Johnston, says it was quite chilly overnight.

He says Mason City had a new record low of 38 degrees, breaking the old record of 40, which was set in 1967. Many communities in northern Iowa saw upper-30s overnight while southern Iowa had more temps in the low and mid-40s, well below the norm for late summer. Fillbach says the end of August saw temperatures well under average for the month, following a July that was the coldest Iowa July on record. He says warmer weather should be returning soon.

He’s expecting warmer highs that may reach 80 by the weekend. It was just a few weeks ago, Iowans were sweltering in the upper 80s and lower 90s.

 

Filed Under: Weather

ISU coach ready to start season

August 31, 2009 By

Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads says the Cyclones are ready for a game. ISU opens the season on Thursday night against North Dakota State and it will be Rhoads’ first game as the head coach. Rhoads says it’s Wednesday and they’re right in the middle of preparation for the game Thursday and are excited to have a healthy football team.

Rhoads has placed three walk-ons on scholarship. One of those is Iowa City Regina product Michael O’Connor. The junior is listed as the Cyclones starting free safety. He says O’Connor has been productive and accountable and able to play both safey positions. Rhoads says the Cyclones need to play a game after weeks of playing against their teammates and they start developing bad habits. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sports

UNI suspends two more players

August 31, 2009 By

UNI coach Mark Farley has suspended two more players for this weekend’s game at Iowa. Runing backs Derrick Law and Taylor Brookins have both been suspended for “breaking team rules”. Farley suspended three players last week, including backup quarterback Zach Davis.

Farley says as much as they want to win the game, they will not compromise to do that. He says the problems are more magnified in a game against the University of Iowa. While many of the suspended players are reserves, Law was expected to be the starter at running back.

Farley says Carlos Anderson would have seen some action on Saturday even if Law was not suspended. Farley says he thinks a lot of Anderson and says it will be tough for him to open up in Kinnick Stadium.

Story by Elwin Huffman, KOEL, Oelwein

Filed Under: Sports

ISU, Iowa, UNI open college football season this week

August 31, 2009 By

Game week is here as Iowa, Iowa State and UNI get ready to open the college football season. The cyclones kick it off on Thursday night with a matchup against North Dakota State. It will be the first game for new ISU coach Paul Rhoads and the cyclones hope to better last years 2-10 mark.North Dakota state was 6-5 a year ago and is receiving votes in the pre-seaason FCS poll.

Iowa and UNI come into the season with high hopes and they will matchup Saturday in Kinnick stadium. The Hawkeyes have several starters back from last year’s team that finished with a 9-4 record and beat South Carolina in the Outback bowl. A question mark is at running back where Jewell Hampton aggravated a knee injury he suffered this past summer and his immediate future is unclear. He was not listed on the latest two deep released by the coaching staff.

After making it to the semifinal round of the national playoffs in 2008 the Panthers enter this season fourth ranked in the national poll and they are the precession favorite in the Missouri Valley race.

Filed Under: Sports

DHS assembling medical response team

August 31, 2009 By

The Iowa Department of Human Services is implementing a new policy for cases of potential child abuse. D.H.S. spokesperson Roger Munns says the agency is assembling a team of medical experts to be on call for consultation to help determine the cause of injuries to children.

Socials workers already have access to task forces of police officers, medical officials and prosecutors, but Munns says they aren’t always available on short notice. “These groups meet regularly and they have brief meetings. They’re not paid,” Munns said. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

Domestic violence shelters given state money for renovations

August 31, 2009 By

Sixteen domestic violence and homeless shelters around Iowa are getting state funding for renovations and new construction. Governor Chet Culver visited the Willis Dady Emergency Shelter in Cedar Rapids today to announce that nearly 10-million dollars in I-JOBS funding will go to shelters throughout the state.

“Last year more than 17,000 people sought help at Iowa’s shelters, Culver said. “Nearly 8,000 of these clients were members of families and close to 40% of them were children. As long as there is one family in need of services, it’s our goal and our responsibility, I think, to try to help those individuals and those families.”

Tim Wilson, executive director of the shelter in Cedar Rapids, says there is an increased demand for services. “We have been very full from the spring through the summer on the men’s beds and particularly the family units. Lately, we’ve been turning away many more people than we can actually accommodate,” Wilson said.

Most of the shelters, including the one in Cedar Rapids, are receiving funding for renovations. The I-JOBS money will also help finance the construction of three new facilities in Des Moines, Iowa City and Sioux Center.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts
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