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Checkoff helps fund child abuse prevention programs

October 27, 2009 By

Officials at the Iowa Department of Human Services say Iowans have contributed tens of thousands of dollars for child abuse prevention since a new tax checkoff program went into effect this year. Spokesman Roger Munns says the funds will help alleviate budget cuts at D.H.S.

“Something like $56,000 has been collected and we anticipate that it will generate about $70,000 this year,” Munns says. Munns says child abuse prevention will still receive about one million dollars, but some funds will be cut in order to avoid laying off frontline staff.

Munns says, “By that I mean our assessment workers who actually go out and determine if there was abuse and then the case managers who help the families once abuse has been determined.” Munns says they have already eliminated the positions of 80 investigators and case workers. The tax checkoff dollars go directly to the private social service agency Prevent Child Abuse Iowa.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With:

Motorcyclist dies in Hardin County

October 27, 2009 By

The Iowa State Patrol is investigating a fatal motorcycle crash in Hardin County. The accident happened Monday south of Eldora on County Road S-62. The driver of the 2004 Kawasaki motorcycle was traveling eastbound when the cycle crossed the center line, entering the north ditch with the cyclist being ejected. The name of the victim has not been released.

Contributed by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Weather continues to be a problem for the harvest

October 27, 2009 By

The latest state crop report shows wet weather continued to set back the harvest. The report from the U.S.D.A. says field work came to a halt about midweek with heavy rain falling across much of the state. The soybean harvest has reached just 47%– 39 percentage points behind last year and three weeks behind the five-year average.

The report says nearly all of Iowa’s corn crop is now reported mature — but just 12% of the corn has been pulled from the fields — which is seven percentage points behind last year — and 19 days behind the five-year average. Moisture content of all corn in the field is estimated at 27% or 7% higher than the five-year average. Moisture content of corn being harvested is estimated at 23% or five percentage points higher than the five-year average.

Filed Under: Agriculture, Weather Tagged With:

Alzheimer’s training program halted by budget cut

October 27, 2009 By

Officials with the Iowa Department on Aging are scrapping a program to improve training for the care of patients with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia to meet the state budget cut. Department director John McCalley says the legislature ordered the department to establish training standards for dementia care, but with available money.

McCalley says the bill directed the department to develop these standards within the appropriations that are available to the department, and “clearly the appropriations are no longer available to the department.” McCalley says it was either eliminate the program, or cut services for senior citizens.

McCalley says, “It breaks my heart to have to do this to the dementia education standards project, but if you ask members of the general assembly if they want us to develop standards or cut meals to an older adult, I think they’d want us to continue the direct services instead.” The state will cancel its contract with the Alzheimer’s Association which had been developing the training standards. McCalley says the association has expressed doubt that it will continue the work without state funding.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Politics & Government

Gas prices expected to continue to rise

October 26, 2009 By

Gasoline prices jumped in Iowa in the past week and fuels analysts say those pump prices will likely continue to rise for the next week or more. Self-service regular unleaded gas is averaging $2.64 a gallon statewide. That’s up 12-cents in a week and 23-cents in a month. Rose White, spokeswoman for Triple-A-Iowa, says the increase can be blamed on the strengthening U.S. economy.

“Inventories right now look very good,” White says. “They’re up about ten-percent for both gasoline and crude oil. There haven’t been any issues with hurricanes this season and all major U.S. refineries are operating as normal and demand is relatively flat.” White says the value of the American dollar continues to tumble on world markets and that’s one reason why oil prices are edging back up.

“Positive economic news and investment optimism,” White says. “The weakness of the U.S. dollar, which is down about 11-percent over the past six months, it makes oil cheaper for foreign investors to buy and that is helping to drive up the market price.” White says the price climb isn’t done as all of the price hikes haven’t yet funnelled down to the retail level. While the statewide average for gas is now $2.64 a gallon, that’s three-cents below the national average.

The all-time high average price for a gallon of gas in Iowa was just over $4, set in July of 2008.

Filed Under: Business

Tourism office will keep advertising in the midwest

October 26, 2009 By

The Iowa Department of Economic Development, in spite of budget cuts, will continue to run a television advertising campaign in major Midwest markets. Nancy Landess, manager of the D.E.D’s Iowa Tourism office, says they’ve spent close to a million dollars on ads encouraging tourists from neighboring states to visit the Hawkeye state.

“Chicago and Minneapolis are markets that we have targeted, and we have had television ads in those markets the last two years,” Landess said. ” We plan to have television again in those two markets again next spring.” But, she says they will cut the program by $100,000 as a result of the governor’s 10% across the board cut.

Landess says the ads feature Iowa communities. “Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Dubuque…they are all investing some of their own advertising budget…we do some filming in their communities and then they are the featured attractions in our ads that are placed in these out of state markets,” Landess said. The tourism division will also save money by printing fewer copies of the Iowa Travel Guide. Budget planners warn that the reductions will result in fewer tourists spending money in Iowa.

Filed Under: Politics & Government, Recreation & Entertainment

Arnaud and Robinson could play for ISU this week

October 26, 2009 By

Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads says it is time for the Cyclones to look ahead. I.S.U. is coming off its first victory at Nebraska since 1977 and now prepares for a visit to Texas A@M. Rhoads says the great thing about sports, win or lose, you have to get back up and go back to work the next morning.

Rhoads says the Nebraska victory was a big one for the program, as he says to beat a program as rich in tradition as Nebraksa in their stadium is history. “And it’s great history and we’re proud of that, but that will do nothing for us as we go into the week against Texas A&M,” Rhoads says.

Texas A@M is 4-3 and followed up a 62-14 loss to Kansas State with a 52-30 win over Texas Tech. Rhoads says trying to compare college scores is a complete waste of time that you’ll get nothing out of, and he says they reminded the team of that. At 5-3, the Cyclones are a victory away from being eligible for a bowl game.

Rhoads says the bowl is what you start the season to play for, as he says you don’t start wanting to get three wins. He says getting to a bowl should be the goal every season and right now they are not talking about it. Rhoads says the Cyclones are a confident team that feels good about themselves. He says they should feel good about themselves, and they have a reason to feel good because they work hard every day and prepare for the games.

Rhoads says this team prepares as well as any team he’s been around in 21 years of coaching, and they will have to continue to do that as they head into the 9th game of the season. The Cyclones played without quarterback Austen Arnaud and running back Alexander Robinson due to injury.

Rhoads expects both to play this week, as he says Robinson ran Sunday, which he hasn’t done since before the Army game. He says Arnaud practiced, but did not throw as their choice to give him more time to recover.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,
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