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Lamoni man arrested in Missouri, charged with sex crimes

November 11, 2009 By

A Lamoni man is one of five men from the same family who’ve been arrested and charged with sex crimes against children. 

David Mohler of Lamoni, his father and three brothers were arrested Tuesday in Missouri. The 26-year-old daughter of one of the men approached authorities in mid-August with a series of serious allegations. The men are charged with several felonies, including rape of a child less than 12 years old and bestiality.

A rural property east of Kansas City is being searched. Authorities say they are looking for a body or bodies, as well as glass jars. The victims have told authorities they wrote notes about what was happening to them and buried them in glass jars on that property.

David Mohler, the Lamoni man who is one of the five men arrested, has worked for Graceland University in Lamoni for 27 years.  Police arrested him on Graceland’s campus in Independence, Missouri.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Former lieutenant governor voices support for gay marriage

November 11, 2009 By

A woman who served as Iowa’s lieutenant governor for eight years is speaking out in support of gay marriage.

Joy Corning has recorded a message that you may hear on your home answering machine soon if you’re a Republican voter. Corning closes the 30-second recorded message by asking Republicans to help ensure Iowa moves forward in the fight for “fairness and equality” for same-sex couples.

“Iowa has a well-deserved reputation for being open minded and fair,” Corning says in the message.  “…Our Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of civil marriage for committed gay and lesbian couples, continuing  Iowa’s tradition of protecting the civil rights of all Iowans.”

Opponents of gay marriage are pushing the state legislature to pass a resolution which would let voters consider a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage in Iowa. Corning says while “opponents of gay marriage may be the most vocal,” she believes for the majority of Iowans, gay marriage has had no impact on their lives. Same-sex marriage has been legal here for about six months.

“I made the recording with the idea of having people give some thought to this issue,” Corning said during an interview with Radio Iowa. 

By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, Corning had received one voice mail message from a man who said he objects to gay marriage on religious grounds. Corning is a member of the Plymouth Congregational Church in Des Moines which allows gay and lesbian couples to marry in the church if they are church members or the child of a church member. Corning says her faith plays a role in her “commitment to equality” and her respect for those who hold views different from her own.

“Our motto is: ‘We agree to differ.  We resolve to love and we unite to serve,” Corning said of Plymouth Church.  “And I like to keep that in mind as I make various decisions.” 

Corning said she doesn’t know whether her decision to be an outspoken supporter of gay marriage will make life more difficult for former Governor Terry Branstad.  Branstad chose Corning as his lieutenant governor running mate in 1990 and again in 1994.

“Governor Branstad and I were in office for eight years together and though we had differing viewpoints on some of the social issues, we agreed on basic Republican principles,” Corning told Radio Iowa, “which sometimes these days I think people have strayed from those traditional principles from Lincoln’s time and have concentrated on social issues.” 

The Iowa Family Policy Center issued a strong statement, saying Corning did not represent “Iowa values” and that she holds views which “advance the destruction of the family.” Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats issued a statement, saying Corning is entitled to her opinion, but, according to Vander Plaats, “she is the one who is outside of the mainstream.” 

Read more about this story here.

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

Drake looks to keep perfect in PFL against Dayton

November 11, 2009 By

The Drake Bulldogs look to take another step toward as Pioneer Football League title when they host Dayton this weekend. The Bulldogs are 6-0 in the league race and tied at the top with Butler. Dayton is 5-1 after losing to Butler this past weekend.

Drake coach Chris Creighton says they are one of three teams with the chance to win the championship and his guys “want it bad.” He says they will have to stay focused on doing the right thing on the field. The Bulldogs are 8-1 overall and Creighton says the players are thrilled to be in the title hunt.

Creighton says the guys were recruited by coach Rob Ash who told them they would get a diploma and a championship and he says the players want to come through with that. The University of San Diego has dominated the league the past few years but the Drake/Dayton matchup has been the marquee game in the PFL since the league was formed.

Creighton says Drake and Dayton have 13 championships between them and it has been a very healthy rivalry with a mutual respect among the two schools. Dayton has been known over the years for its defense and Creighton says this season is no different. He says they had a tough time with them last year and Dayton has a lot of players back from that team. Creighton says his team has some confidence going on offense, and they will be okay.

Drake closes out the season next week at Butler.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Des Moines ceremony honors Iowa veterans

November 11, 2009 By
Veterans say the pledge of allegiance.

Veterans say the pledge of allegiance.

Veterans Day celebrations across the state today included the annual event at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines.   

There was the traditional service music honoring veterans and Pat Palmershiem, the executive director of the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs spoke about the sacrifice given by those who serve.

Palmershiem says the price paid by veterans is real, as real as a life lost, a horror endured or a body torn and disabled. Palmershiem says veterans continuing paying the price long after the war ends.

(Dar Danielson’s  report on Vet’s Day :64 MP3)

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Human Interest, Military

UNI faculty union agrees to reopen its contract

November 11, 2009 By

The University of Northern Iowa’s faculty union has agreed to reopen contract negotiations with the Iowa Board of Regents. The move could give leaders of the institution more options as they work to trim $8.9 million from the university’s budget. The current budget cutting plan includes furloughs to save $1.8 million.

Chris Martin is a spokesperson for U.N.I.’s United Faculty. He says the union is interested in discussing the “economic planks” of the contract, but any negotiated agreement would need to be ratified by union members. Martin says the action to reopen contract talks is rare, but seems necessary in light of the state ordered 10% across the board budget cuts.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Education Tagged With:

Group gives gifts to children with cancer

November 11, 2009 By
Shopping for kids.

Aiming for a Cure Foundation shopping trip.

Two children who are fighting cancer are on a $5,000 shopping spree at a Coralville department store this  afternoon. The two are patients at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital in Iowa City and the toys, games, crafts and DVDs they’re buying are for other patients in the pediatric oncology unit.

Jody Ries founded the Aiming for a Cure Foundation, which provided the spending cash. “Last year, the two kids that did that were just smiling the whole time,” Ries says, thinking how much fun the other patients will have playing with the various toys or watching the movies. “It’s just fun to watch the kids and know how much enjoyment they’ll have out of this.” She says this is an annual tradition that’s funded by her non-profit group.

“They’ll pick toys that they enjoy to play with and toys that they think the other kids will want to play with, just updating new movies, the games, the board games,” Ries says. “Anything they enjoy, they’ll pick out for other kids.” Each year 50-to-60 children are newly diagnosed with cancer at the U-I Children’s Hospital.

At any one time, hundreds more are being treated. Ries lives in rural Linn County near Central City. Her 12-year-old son, Ben, died in 2005 after a five-year battle with brain cancer. She says, “We started Aiming for a Cure as a way to give back to the university for the care that we were given while Ben was staying there and just the tremendous support that we got and how important Child Life was to him, knowing there were always things for him to do and take his mind off what he was going through.”

One of the primary fundraisers is an annual two-day pheasant hunt in Riverside, followed by a banquet in Iowa City. For more information, visit: “aimingforacure.com“.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Human Interest Tagged With: ,

Cyclocross drawing interest in Iowa City

November 11, 2009 By

Organizers of this month’s eastern Iowa bicycle race known as a “cyclocross” say the sport and the event are seeing phenomenal growth. The event is drawing some of the world’s top bike racers, including competitors in the Tour de France.

Dr. John Meehan, one of the founders of Jingle Cross Rock, says they’ve surpassed participation records for the three-day race, which benefits the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. He says they’ve already exceeded all prior pre-registration numbers from previous years and with two-and-a-half weeks left before the event, the numbers are expected to balloon well over a thousand participants before the event arrives. Participants use hybrids, a cross between road bikes and mountain bikes.

Meehan, who is a U-I graduate and now practices in Seattle, Washington, says there’s something very distinctive — and challenging — about the cyclocross. “You have to hop off the bike, pick up the bike and carry it over these barriers that are about knee high, they may be logs, they may be wood planks,” Meehan says. “They’re what’s called forced dismounts, meaning you have to get off the bike.

As you jump over the barrier, you set the bike back down and you jump back on it and you keep on going. That’s what makes it quite different from regular bike racing and that’s why it’s like a steeplechase.”

The event is scheduled for November 27-29 at the Johnson County Fairgrounds in Iowa City. To learn more, visit the website: ww.jinglecrossrock.com.

Filed Under: Sports
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