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Update: 8 day agreement finalized to allow Orange Bowl on cable

December 31, 2009 By

Iowa football fans who are Mediacom Cable subscribers will now be able to watch the Orange Bowl next Tuesday night in the comfort of their own homes. Sinclair Broadcast Group and Mediacom have agreed to an eight-day extension of their retransmission agreement that was to expire at midnight tonight.

If a deal had not been reached, Mediacom customers in Des Moines would have lost their Fox-TV affiliate and customers in Cedar Rapids would have lost both Fox and CBS stations. Mediacom spokesperson Phyllis Peters says the extension agreement followed a number of requests from government officials that the Federal Communications Commission get involved in the dispute.

“Over the next eight days, we’re going to work to reach a mutually agreeable contract just as we’ve been working hard to do over the last few months,” Peters said. “It’s just eight days, but it comes as a result of many leaders and officials from Iowan and elsewhere weighing in.”

Sinclair officials contend their channels are worth more money than Mediacom is willing to pay for retransmission rights. Peters says Sinclair used the Orange Bowl and other college bowl games as a way to gain negotiating leverage. “They didn’t really do themselves any good in using those tactics,” Peters said.

“But, thank goodness they were pressured enough by the FCC to say, yes, they will now demonstrate good faith negotiations by at least agreeing to an eight-day extension.” Mediacom has roughly 250,000 customers in the Cedar Rapids and Des Moines markets.

Filed Under: Human Interest, Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With: , ,

Blue moon marks end of the year

December 31, 2009 By

Iowans may notice a big, bright full moon in the sky during their New Year’s Eve partying, but it’s much more than that. Tonight’s full moon will be the second full moon this month. The first was on December 2nd.

That makes tonight’s full moon a blue moon. Amateur astronomer Lynn Zeleski says blue moons are rare. Zeleski says, “The lunar cycle is like 29-and-a-half days so with the calendar that sometimes has 30 days and sometimes 31, it occurs a little more often, about every two and a half years.”

But tonight’s blue moon is also on New Year’s Eve, a much more rare occurrence. She says, “They happen only about every 19 years so they’re going to have to wait until 2028 for the next one.” Zeleski says a blue moon is all in the timing.

Early, like winter, spring, summer, fall and then we have our mid-full moon and our late one,” she says, “so the blue moon throws our calendar off so we just call it a blue moon.” The first written reference to a blue moon dates back to 1883, when a volcano named Krakatoa exploded in Indonesia.

The moon, seen through the ashes the eruption, had a blue hue. The phrase blue moon was first used to refer to the fourth full moon in a three-month season in the Maine Farmer’s Almanac in 1932.

Filed Under: Human Interest

December ranks 2nd on the all-time snow list

December 31, 2009 By
Snowy street.

Snowy street.

All of the information isn’t tallied yet, but the state climatologist says it is evident that December was a record month for snow. Harry Hillaker says the snow right up through the final week of the month ensured a top spot.

Hillaker says the statewide average for December of 2009 is 23.3 inches of snowfall.  That puts the month in second place for the snowiest calendar month, surpassing February of 1962 when the state got an average of 22.2 inches.

The all-time snowiest month was December of 2000, with 25.5 inches.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Weather

Agreement in the works to allow cable customers to see Orange Bowl

December 31, 2009 By

There’s word today that an agreement could allow thousands of Iowa cable customers to see the University of Iowa play in the Orange Bowl next week. An agreement between the Mediacom Cable company and Sinclair broadcasting expires at midnight tonight, and if action isn’t taken, Sinclair stations KDSM in Des Moines, KFXA in Cedar Rapids, and KGAN in Cedar Rapids will stop being transmitted to Mediacom cable customers.

In a letter to Congress today, Mediacom chairman and chief executive officer Rocco Commisso says he’s received a tentative indication that Sinclair may consider a very short-term extension of their agreement. The case involves some 250,000 cable subscribers in Iowa.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has asked the Federal Communion Commission to mandate interim carriage rights for Mediacom until a new contract is negotiated.

Filed Under: Human Interest Tagged With: , ,

Genealogical Society Library seeking help with ceiling repair

December 31, 2009 By

Last week’s winter storm endangered some of the state’s historic artifacts located in Des Moines. Heavy snow and rain caused the collapse of a ceiling on part of the Iowa Genealogical Society Library. Officials say they were planning to replace the flat roof ceiling because of deteriorating conditions, but the early winter delayed that work.

Now, the library is asking for donations to help cover the $60,000 in damage from the roof collapse. A press release states the incident nearly destroyed “irreplaceable family history volumes.” Plastic sheeting is being used to protect equipment and books while temporary repairs are being made. The library is scheduled to reopen on Monday.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Human Interest, Weather

Grassley says it may be time to address grandparent issues

December 31, 2009 By

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he hasn’t considered backing the idea of federal legislation on grandparents’ rights, but thinks the time may be coming to address the issue. Grassley says cases are becoming more frequent where one of the child’s parents dies and the other parent refuses to allow grandparents visitation rights.

Grassley says, “I would do things that would help to facilitate grandparents having access to children.” The question arose following recent reports that attorneys in Iowa have called for changes in state law to make it easier for the court to grant visitation. Iowa Legal Aid has reportedly logged 15 calls about the problem in the last 12 months. Grassley has nine grandchildren and four great-grandkids and says the bond is extremely precious.

“Particularly, where grandparents have had some involvement with the raising of children and then because of a death or divorce, something interferes with that relationship,” Grassley says. He adds, it’s very important for there to be established relationships between grandparents and their grandchildren. In cases where a parent dies or there is a divorce, grandparents sometimes face a tough time getting over the hurdles established by the law, allowing for visitation. They have to prove a parent is “unfit” to make decisions about whom the child sees.

By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Three charged in Dubuque apartment burglary

December 31, 2009 By

Three young men from Dubuque are being held for allegedly burglarizing an apartment. At about two A.M. Wednesday, officers were called on the report of some suspicious activity involving people loading items into a vehicle. The car driven by 19-year-old Brandon Horkheimer was stopped a short distance from the scene and police found items inside the vehicle taken in a burglary at a nearby apartment.

The residents of the apartment told police their home had been burglarized by three people armed with guns and wearing masks. Authorities executed a search warrant at Horkheimer’s home, where additional evidence was seized. Horkheimer, along with 20-year-old Kevin McGovern of rural Dubuque and 20-year-old Deangelo Jones of Dubuque were arrested and charged with first degree burglary. Horkheimer was also cited with interference with officials acts.

By Roger King, KOEL, Oelwein

Filed Under: Crime & Courts
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