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Number of students missing school with H1N1 dropping

November 10, 2009 By

State health officials say it appears school absenteeism related to H1N1 is declining, but the new flu virus is increasing among adults. To date, 16 Iowans – 15 adults and one child – have died from H1N1, while nearly 500 people have been hospitalized. Dr. Ann Garvey with the Iowa Department of Public Health says most Iowans are recovering from the illness without complications, but there are several warning signs that should prompt people to seek medical attention.

Those signs include difficulty breathing or chest pain, purple or blue discoloration of the lips, vomiting, feeling dizzy when standing and the inability to urinate. Garvey says seasonal flu activity in Iowa has not arrived and probably won’t peak until February or March. While H1N1 has claimed 16 lives, seasonal flu and pneumonia contributes to nearly 1,000 deaths in the state every year.

“The difference with seasonal influenza is we tend to see those mortalities in older individuals, whereas we’re seeing many of our (H1N1) deaths in the 25-to-49-year-old age group,” Garvey said. Most of the H1N1 fatality victims in Iowa had risk factors that increased the chance of complications.

You can find out more about H1N1 on the Health Department’s website here.

Filed Under: Education, Health & Medicine

Iowa arts proponent says follow Minnesota’s funding plan

November 10, 2009 By

Supporters of the arts in Iowa say the state should look at the approach taken by neighboring Minnesota when it comes to funding. Residents of Minnesota approved a constitutional amendment last November that guarantees a portion of sales taxes will go to fund the arts. The President of the Iowa Cultural Coalition, Regina Smith, says a constitutional amendment to fund the arts in Iowa is a good idea.

“Just having our youth involved in the arts and grow up with these cultural experiences, is really important for our future leaders in the state to have that open mindedness from being involved in the arts throughout their life,” Smith says. Smith says she doesn’t know whether her coalition will try to build support for an Iowa arts constitutional amendment.

The Executive Director of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, Sheila Smith, spoke about the issue at an arts forum in Cedar Rapids. Smith says the effort to pass a constitutional amendment started in 1991. She says it takes a lot of education to let people know the importance of the arts to tourism, to education and the economic vitality of towns and cities. Smith says Minnesota is the only state to constitutionally guarantee funding.

Smith says: “We are going to be the Paris of the Midwest because of this funding. And I’m really excited, I get calls all the time, about, well we’re thinking about moving our organization up to Minnesota because the arts are so important to Minnesotans.” The vote in Minnesota is expected to lead to about $46-million in funding for the arts. State funding for the arts in Iowa is about $1.7 million.

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment

Senators cautious about Fort Hood shooting speculation

November 10, 2009 By

Both of Iowa’s United States Senators are exercising caution in speculating about the gunman who killed 13 at a military installation in Texas last week.  Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Cumming, Iowa, cautions against jumping to conclusions. 

 ”Like all Americans I am shocked and appalled and, of course deeply saddened by this senseless attack on our brave young men and women who are defending our country and my thoughts and prayers are with the 13 killed and the 30 wounded and their families,” Harkin says.  “Now, there’s a lot of speculation about what may have motivated this attack.  I don’t know what goes through the mind of any person who would commit such a horrendous action and crime.” 

[Read more...]

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

Grassley, Harkin consider troop “surge” in Afghanistan

November 10, 2009 By

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says he believes a “surge” of more U.S. troops into Afghanistan is what’s needed, while Democratic Senator Tom Harkin says he’s reluctant to see an “escalation” in Afghansitan. 

President Obama is nearing a decision on troop commitments in Afghanistan. Grassley says it appears the generals in charge have the same goals for Afghanistan that they had for Iraq.

“I saw a surge work in Iraq and it looks to me like Iraq is moving down the road to being more peaceful and having a democratic government,” Grassley says.

President Obama is scheduled to meet with his military leaders and members of his foreign policy team tomorrow to discuss plans for Afghanistan.  The top general in Afghanistan has asked for an additional 40,000 troops.  Grassley says he plans to support what the generals on the ground recommend.

“Since I voted to put people in harm’s way in Iraq and Afghanistan several years ago with a vote, it seems to me I have an obligation to make sure that whatever is needed there is provided,” Grassley says. 

Senator Tom Harkin, Iowa’s other U.S. Senator, isn’t convinced a troop surge is the answer.    

 ”My bottom line is number one: we can’t stay there forever. Number two: we can’t shoulder the burden by ourselves. Number three: it’s the kind of situation that I don’t think lends itself to a ‘military solution,’” Harkin says.  “It’s got to be a little bit of military and a little bit of political solution.” 

Harkin discussed the situation in Afghanistan during a weekend appearace on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” program. ”I want to see more of a plan and it doesn’t have to be public — I mean, we’re ‘top secret clearance’ (as United States Senators). I get all these briefings and stuff. If they want to make it public, if they’ve got some way that they want to do things…What is the end goal? How do we get there? What happens afterward? I’d like to know that. I don’t see that out there right now,” Harkin said.  “…I’d like to see that before I’d support sending any more troops.” 

President Obama recently told ABC News that the “prospects of a functioning Afghan goverment are enhanced (and) that the prospects of al-Qaida being able to attack the U.S. homeland are reduced” if additional U.S. troops are sent to Afghanistan.

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

I.R.S. has unclaimed refund checks for Iowans

November 10, 2009 By

Hundreds of Iowans didn’t get their federal tax refund checks earlier this year and the Internal Revenue Service is trying to give folks their due. I.R.S. spokesman Christopher Miller says the checks were all returned to the agency by the postal service as “undeliverable,” for whatever reason.

“The I.R.S. is looking for around 555 Iowans who have checks waiting for them,” Miller says. “We have, at the I.R.S., a total of just under a half-million dollars for Iowans in undelivered refunds, and that’s an average check of about 900 bucks.” Nationwide, more than 100,000 taxpayers had about $124-million in refunds returned to the I.R.S., averaging around $1,150. Miller says there are a variety of things that would cause a refund check to be sent back to the I.R.S..

“Typically, these are checks that the I.R.S. sent out to taxpayers that came back as ‘undelivered’ because of an address error,” Miller says. “Maybe the taxpayer has moved or gotten married or gotten divorced and they simply forgot to update their information with the I.R.S.. As soon as they do that, we can send the check out to them again.” He says one way to avoid this problem would be to sign up for direct deposit next year, so the refund is transferred directly into your account and there’s no check to get lost. Miller says it’s a quick process to find out if you are among the 500-some Iowans who are still owed a federal refund.

“Just go to I.R.S..gov and look for a little tool called ‘Where’s My Refund’ and update your information and we’ll ship it back out to you,” Miller says. “If you don’t have a computer, there’s a toll-free number. You’re going to need your Social Security number, your filing status and the amount of your refund, which you get from your return from last year, and then we’ll be able to ship the check out to you.” That toll-free number to call is 800-829-1954.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With:

Project seeks another look at prison sentences for women

November 10, 2009 By

Advocates for victims of domestic violence are working on a project that seeks to reduce the prison terms of women who committed crimes in cooperation with abusive partners. Laurie Schipper at the Iowa Coalition against Domestic Violence says they hope the “Skylark Project” can use a modern understanding of domestic violence to sway the parole board and the governor in favor of women who’ve already served years in jail.

Schipper says all the candidates based on past interactions with the criminal were all terrified that they would be hurt or killed if they didn’t do what he had said. She says they had been conditioned to say everything the man said to do or there would be consequences, and they were far more afraid of him than of the criminal justice system.

One example is 51-year-old Susan Ross who is serving a 100-year sentence for helping her husband Anthony hide evidence after he shot and killed an acquaintance in the basement of their Des Moines home six years ago. Ross said she wanted to call police, but was afraid of what her husband would do to her.

“Anthony said ‘no we can’t call the police’. And he told me that I had to come down and help him clean up. I didn’t stop to analyze it. I just knew from past experiences that if I didn’t do what he wanted or what he said, then there would be hell to pay. So I helped him finish cleaning up,” Ross says. Ross admits she’s guilty of destroying evidence in a homicide. But advocates for battered women say the guilt of women like Susan Ross is not that cut and dried.

The coalition selected five candidates at Mitchellville that they say can articulate clearly the link between her abuse and her complicity in the crime. And each woman must have served a significant portion of her sentence to show the parole board she’s already paid a price. University of Iowa law professor Linda McGuire says many women in prison today went to jail at a time when the psychology of domestic violence was not on the radar of judges and attorneys the way it is now.

McGuire says: “We’re now using that increasing sophisticated understanding to apply to all sorts of crimes. These that are class A felonies in Iowa, but even cashing the check for example in a financial crime. Well, was she threatened that if she didn’t do that that she was going to be beaten.” The case of Dixie Shanahan, a woman who made headlines in Iowa when she killed her abusive husband and hid his body in the couple’s Shelby county home, got Schipper involved in the issue.

Governor Vilsack granted a commutation of Shanahan’s 50 year sentence. U-I law school students and recent graduates are coaching the women, but Schipper says they know it can be a long hard process. “ The standards of the parole board and the governor are very high, for the good of the safety of the public,” Schipper says. In fact, Skylark’s first candidate, a woman serving life without parole for first degree murder, did not succeed. In denying commutation, Governor Culver cited the serious nature of her crime.

Now advocates are awaiting the governor’s decision on a second candidate, another lifer. In her case, the parole board unanimously recommended that the governor commute the sentence. By comparison, a pioneering program similar to Skylark has been in place in Michigan for nearly 20 years. Only this year did any inmates get their sentences reduced.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Historic hotel in Cedar Rapids will be demolished

November 10, 2009 By
Cedar Springs Hotel, then and now.

Cedar Springs Hotel, then and now.

A 125 year old hotel overlooking the Cedar River in Linn County will be demolished this week. The Cedar Springs Hotel was built in 1884 by a railroad company for workers in a nearby rock quarry.

It was purchased by Adolf Biderman in 1914. Pat Biderman, Adolf’s granddaughter, is the current owner of the property near Palisades-Kepler State Park. She says the building became uninhabitable in the 1970s and was basically destroyed in last year’s flood.

“It was a beautiful building,” Biderman said. “It was a two-story (hotel) with two porches facing the river and the main yard.” The long vacant hotel is one of 18 flood damaged properties being demolished this week. Biderman says she remembers days when the hotel was bustling with activity.

“People had their wedding receptions out here. Cornell (College) would have a day every spring when students would come out and play baseball and have picnics. There was just an awful lot of activity going on out here in the summertime,” Biderman said.

About 20 years ago, Biderman sought help to preserve the 11-room hotel, but didn’t have any luck.

Filed Under: Human Interest
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