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“Marker bandits” gain national attention

October 29, 2009 By
Joey Miller (top), Mathew McNelly

Joey Miller (top), Mathew McNelly

A couple of young men from western Iowa who recently ran into some trouble with the law are gaining national attention for their bizarre mug shots. Twenty-three-year-old Matthew McNelly and 20-year-old Joey Miller are accused of trying to break into an apartment in Carroll last Friday night.

The occupant of the apartment called police and reported the men fled in a vehicle. Carroll Police Chief Jeff Cayler says McNelly and Miller had used a permanent marker to blacken their faces.

“It’s a little weird,” Cayler said. “I’ve been here long enough that I’ve seen a lot of things, but this one’s a little different compared to most. I mean, just the face thing is what sets it apart. The guy saw them get out of the car, so it wasn’t like they were invisible.”

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Filed Under: Crime & Courts

China will reopen markets to U.S. pork

October 29, 2009 By

China is agreeing to reopen its massive markets to U.S. pork products, a major boon for Iowa, the nation’s largest pork producer. U.S. Agriculture Secretary and former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is in China and made the announcement this morning. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin says the course reversal will mean a huge revenue boost for Iowa hog farmers.

“That is great news,” Harkin says. “It’s something that I’ve been pushing for a long time. I sent a letter earlier this year to the administration telling them to increase their pressure on China.” U.S. pork imports were cut off by China several months ago after the initial scare from H-1-N-1 flu, what some people called “swine flu,” though the influenza has no direct link to pork. Harkin says the World Trade Organization should’ve blasted China over its shaky claims.

“It really was a violation of WTO,” Harkin says. “There’s absolutely no scientific justification for what they did. So this is a big deal and it’s going to be very big for Iowa.” The U.S.D.A. says in 2008, China was the U.S. pork industry’s fastest-growing market, accounting for between 560-million and 700-million dollars in U.S. exports. Iowa pork producers supplied about one-third of those products to China, so the Chinese market reopening could mean more than $230-million in renewed business for Iowa producers. Harkin notes, as many as 16 nations had banned American pork at the start of the flu outbreak.

“There are some but I don’t know how many are left,” Harkin says. “Some of these are very small. China, of course, was the big problem and the big market. The rest of these don’t add up to as much as that.” In a news release, Secretary Vilsack says, “China’s intent to remove its H1N1-related ban on U.S. pork marks an important step forward in cooperation between the countries on agriculture issues.”

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

Study shows exercise in mice can help fight flu

October 29, 2009 By

A study by Iowa State University researchers shows a treadmill or running shoes might be something to add to your arsenal of weapons to fight the flu. Professor Marian Kohut studied the impact of the flu on mice who had been given regular exercise on a treadmill.

Kohut says moderate exercise performed for several months did end up reducing the amount of the virus in the lungs of the mice and those that exercised also had less of the “inflammatory factors” that caused inflammation in the lungs. Kohut, an associate professor of kinesiology, says the benefits of even a small amount of exercise were apparent in the mice.

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Filed Under: Health & Medicine Tagged With:

Congressman King defends Rush Limbaugh

October 29, 2009 By

Congressman Steve King defended radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh Wednesday during a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C.  King, a Republican from Kiron, Iowa, pressed National Football League commissioner Paul Goodell over the controversy surrounding Limbaugh’s now-abandoned bid to buy the St. Louis Rams.

“I would point out that you have a couple of owners that have performed lyrics in songs that are far more offensive — in fact, I don’t think anything that Rush Limbaugh said was offensive, but with Fergie and J-Lo — they have between the two of them — alleged that the CIA are terrorists and liars.  They’ve promoted the sexual abuse of women.  They’ve used the ‘N-word,’ verbal pornography, recreational drug use, etc.,” King said.  “And they are owners of the Dolphins.” 

After King spoke for about three minutes, Goodell responded.

“I’m not shining any kind of a light on Rush Limbaugh here.  I’m not an expert on all of his quotes…He was not even under active consideration as an NFL owner,” Goodell said.  “…I’ve stated this several times before that we had not started a process to review ownership groups. They had not even determined to sell the St. Louis Rams.” 

King interrupted Goodell at this point and their discussion turned to comments Limbaugh made a few years ago about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

“You were speaking directly of Rush Limbaugh.  You said the comments that Rush made specifically about Donovan I disagree with very strongly,” King said.  Goodell responded:  “I do, because I think that Donovan McNabb is an outstanding young man.  He’s an outstanding young quarterback. It has nothing to do with the color of his skin.” 

Earlier in the exchange, King read Limbaugh’s quotes about McNabb aloud.

“I would point out for the committee the statement that Rush Limbaugh made is this that it seems to be the one that survives the criticism and that is, ‘I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL.  The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well.  They’re interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well. McNabb got a lot of the credit for the performance of the team that he really didn’t deserve.’ Now, I’ve scoured this quote to try to find something that can be implied as racism on the part of Rush Limbaugh and I can’t find it,” King said.  “There is an implication of racism on the part of the media.”

Watch King’s five-minute discussion with Goodell during a House Judiciary Committee.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

Program offers help paying rent

October 29, 2009 By

Iowans who are struggling to pay their rent could qualify help under a new program launched Wednesday. The effort, called Iowa Rental Help, is being financed by $11-million in federal funding. Ashley Jared is a spokesperson for the Iowa Finance Authority, the state agency administering the program.

“Basically, Iowa Rental Help can provide qualified Iowa renters with rent and utilities payments for a total of 18 months,” Jared said. “In addition to renters, the program can also help homeless individuals and families as well as current homeowners who need to get out of their homes and move into a rental.”

An individual or family can qualify for help if they earn less than half of their area’s median income. The assistance can include budget counseling, moving and storage cost assistance and help with security deposits. Jared believes the program could help ease overcrowding in homeless shelters.

“One of the goals of Iowa Rental Help is to get people out of homeless shelters and into permanent housing,” Jared said. Property managers and community service providers are also encouraged to get involved in the program. Jared says all the information they need is on the program’s website, www.IowaRentalHelp.com.

“They can download or order brochures to have available to their tenants. All payments from Iowa Rental Help are directly to the landlord, so it’s definitely a benefit for them to know about the service – as well as to their tenants to help them in a time of need,” Jared said. In addition to the website, Iowans can learn more about the program by calling (877) 386-9104 of texting ‘RENT’ to 30644.

Filed Under: Politics & Government
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