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Ferentz says Hawks BCS worthy, he’s not going anywhere

December 2, 2009 By

Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz talked about his team’s bowl possibilities and once again dismissed any talk he might leave the school in a meeting with the media Wednesday. Ferentz refused to speculate on the post-season as his team started with a school record nine wins and finished out with a 10-2 overall record. But with the regular season now over, he did make a low-key pitch for his team.

Ferentz says someone asked him if the team was worthy of a B-C-S bowl bid at the end of the season and he said he wasn’t sure because he hadn’t been thinking about it. Ferentz says after thinking about it and watching football over the Thanksgiving weekend, he says the answer is “yes.” He says the things this team accomplished deserve to be recognized.

“As far as our football team, I’m not here to pit us against anyone else, but I think a couple of things that really stand out. If you look at our team, the way they’ve competed on the field, the head-to head results that we’ve had, we did beat six bowl eligible teams, two of them were nonconference teams, we’re proud of that, ” Ferentz says. He says the took on a tough non-conference schedule and embraced it. Iowa beat Penn State, Wisconsin, and Michigan State on the road.

Ferentz says they only lost two games this year, one by a touchdown and were leading that game when their quarterback went down, and took the other game to overtime. He says there’s nothing to be ashamed of in the two teams they lost to, as Northwestern has won 17 games in the last two years and they lost to Ohio State by a field goal in overtime, while the Buckeyes have had “unprecedented success” in the conference over the last five years.

Ferentz says the four losses last year were by an average of three points, with the largest margin being five points. Iowa is thought to be in competition with Penn State for a B-C-S bid. Ferentz says he has great respect for Penn State, but does believe head-to-head results should be figured when it comes down to the selection.

Ferentz says the bottom line is that he has never been to a bad bowl, or had a bad bowl experience and the team will be “very,very enthusiastic” and look forward to the challenge wherever they go. The B-C-S selections will be announced Sunday evening.

The firing of Charlie Weis as Nortre Dame’s head coach led once again to rumors that Ferentz is a candidate for the job. Ferentz was asked about the talk. Ferentz says he has been at Iowa for 11 years now and the people that throw it out in recruiting he tells the recruit to ask the other school about how long their coach has been there. He says he knows his tenure at Iowa is only exceeded by coach Paterno at Penn State and Bowden at Florida State, Mack Brown at Texas and other than them, he doesn’t know who else might have been at a school longer.

Ferentz says he’ll continue to answer the rumors the way he always has. Ferentz says he has told people the same thing for a long time: “I like it at Iowa..I’ve had paychecks from three different places now since 1981, my first fulltime job was here. I’m not a vagabond coach, I like where I am at. I’ve enjoyed very day, ah, not every day, but most days. And uh, I don’t see things changing here.” Ferentz will meet with the media again Sunday evening after the B-C-S selections to talk about the upcoming bowl game.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Drake soccer team continues magical NCAA run Friday

December 2, 2009 By

A magical run for the Drake men’s soccer team continues on Friday when the Bulldogs visit North Carolina in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The winner will advance to the College Cup which is soccer’s version of the final four. Drake advanced with a 6-4 win at Boston College on Sunday.

Drake coach Sean Holmes says every second has been fun, whether they have been sitting in a plane or in a bus, or having dinner. He says there’s no sense of expectation as they are not supposed to win and they just somehow do it.

The Bulldogs left today and Holmes says that will help the team get enough rest before Friday’s game. He says before the Ohio State game they got up at 3 a.m. to fly out 6 a.m. Saturday to play on Sunday. He says they spent their time sleeping instead of preparing.

Holmes says the tournament run has been a source of personal satisfaction for him. It is his 21st year as a coach and 12th at Drake and he says he wasn’t sure in the early years after losing a lot if they would be able to turn the corner. Holmes says they have gone from good to great and it has been smooth sailing since.

Drake is ranked 24th. North Carolina is fifth ranked.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

New Waverly school building will feature a saferoom

December 2, 2009 By

A new building in northeast Iowa will include a school-based saferoom. A groundbreaking ceremony was held this afternoon for a new school in the Waverly-Shell Rock School District that will serve students in grades 5 through 8.

Superintendent Jere Vyverberg says the saferoom will be designed to hold 1,350 students and staff during a tornado or high-wind event. “Obviously, we hope we never have to use it, but having it available certainly adds some comfort – especially with the things that have gone on in Parkersburg so close to us,” Vyverberg said. An EF5 tornado leveled the town of Parkersburg, including a high school building, in May 2008.

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Filed Under: Education, Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Iowa Business Council survey shows little change

December 2, 2009 By

The Iowa Business Council’s fourth quarter survey saw little change expected in the economy in the next six months for the 20 largest businesses in the state. The council uses sales, capital spending and employment projections to rank the outlook on a 100 point scale. Council executive director Elliott Smith says the ranking for the fourth quarter was 47-point-seven, down one point from the third quarter.

Smith says projections for sales and employment were up slightly, while the outlook for capital spending was basically unchanged. Smith says the overall numbers Smith says they were glad to see the employment number go up slightly as he says people want to feel optimistic about the job prospects for the coming year. He says while the employment number is still in the negative sentiment area below 50 on the scale, the increase gives reason for optimism.

Smith says businesses are still in a wait mode on whether the economy has made the move to a turnaround. He says companies are still evaluating the impact of the various incentive packages, and stimulus measures over the last several months and haven’t been able to really judge the degree of success of those programs yet. While the holiday sales season doesn’t directly impact the businesses in the council, Smith says the sales are an indicator that is watched.

Smith says “optimism tends to radiate outward and if people are feeling comfortable in retail purchases, that means they are feeling comfortable in the jobs they have to generate that income.” Smith says while they’d like to see all the numbers in the survey moving up, holding steady is a positive sign.

Filed Under: Business Tagged With:

Chamber Alliance seeks property tax reform, more money for rail

December 2, 2009 By

A group that represents the 17 largest chambers of commerce in Iowa is urging Iowa lawmakers to increase funding for railroad projects.  

Dan Culhane, president of the Ames Chamber of Commerce, says the state needs to expand rail service into more industrial business parks.

“More and more companies, as they work to trim costs, are seeking rail service to move raw materials and finished goods,” he says.  “I know that in the Ames community, first hand, we see more and more prospects at an annual basis that are continuing to look for rail service sites and so this is a critical piece to economic development here in Iowa.”

The Iowa Chamber Alliance released its annual list of legislative priorities today. The group is, again, pressing legislators to reform the state’s properly tax system. Commercial property in Iowa is taxed at 100 percent of its valuation, while residential property is taxed at 46 percent of the assessed value. 

Bob Mundt, president of the Council Bluffs Area Chamber of Commerce, says it’s hard to attract new businesses to Iowa when they face huge property taxes here.

“According to the most recent 50 state property tax comparison study, Iowa’s urban commercial property tax rates have moved from fifth highest in the nation in 2006 to second highest in the nation in 2008,” Mundt says.

Mundt  says counties should be allowed to lower commercial property tax rates and, in some cases, replace the revenue with user fees or franchise taxes.  He says hat would let local residents vote on a tax structure that best suits the needs of their county.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

Braley has “serious reservations” about Obama’s Afghan war plan

December 2, 2009 By

Congressman Bruce Braley says he has “very serious reservations” about the Afghan War plan President Obama outlined Tuesday night.

“As I listened to the president’s speech, he went to great efforts to try to make the case for why he is escalating the war in Afghanistan,” Braley says.  “But I didn’t have a strong feeling at the conclusion of his speech the he had made the case that is going to be convincing to the American people about why this additional buildup is going to accomplish the goals that he set out.” 

Braley suggests Obama should have listed some “clear cut” benchmarks about an “exit strategy” in the speech.  Obama said he wants to bring the war “to a successful conclusion.” 

“I’m not sure anybody knows right now what that means,” Braley says.

President Obama has said the main target in Afghanistan — and in nearby Pakistan — is Al Qaeda, the terrorist network behind the September 11th, 2001 attacks on American soil.  Braley says the cost of reaching that objective must be clearly explained to the American people.

“This war has already been going on for nearly nine years — almost twice as long as World War II where we fought the largest single military engagement in the history of the world on two fronts, in two oceans, and there is a limit to the patience of the American people and I think that that patience is being tested,” Braley says.

Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, is in the middle of his second term in the U.S. House, so he was not a member of congress in 2001 when all but one member of the House voted to authorize the war in Afghanistan.  Braley says President Obama hasn’t yet convinced a majority of House Democrats that an escalation of the war in Afghanistan is necessary.

“The president still has a lot of clarification in terms of the specific details of his proposal before he will be in a position where it will have widespread support among members of the Democratic Caucus in the House of Representatives,” Braley says. 

Braley made his comments Wednesday afternoon during a telephone conference call with reporters.  The other four Iowans who serve in congress issued written statements late Tuesday and on Wednesday, following the president’s speech.  Congressman Dave Loebsack, a Democrat from Mount Vernon, has said he will “carefully…review” the president’s plan, but Loebsack isn’t saying much beyond that.  Congressman Leonard Boswell, a Democrat from Des Moines who is a Vietnam Vet, issued a statement saying he is “pleased” President Obama does not plan to make Afghanistan an “open-ended nation building exercise.”  Boswell added that “there are no easy solutions in war, but President Obama’s plan provides a clear strategy to transfer control to Afghan forces and to bring our men and women home.” 

Congressman Tom Latham, a Republican from Ames, said he applauds President Obama’s “increased commitment to training Afghan forces,” but Latham criticized the president for setting an “arbitrary withdrawal date.”  Congressman Steve King, a Republican from Kiron, said by “announcing an exit strategy” Obama has ensured “defeat” in Afghanistan.

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

Culver, at Farm Bureau meeting, defends record

December 2, 2009 By

During a speech this morning at the Iowa Farm Bureau’s annual meeting, Governor Culver offered a defense of his three-year record as governor and outlined some of the proposals he’ll ask legislators to approve in 2010.  

Culver ordered a 10 percent across-the-board cut in the state budget in October and Culver plans to ask legislators to pare even deeper in next year’s state spending plan. During his speech to Farm Bureau members, Culver, a Democrat, offered this rhetorical stiff-arm to Republicans.

“We can debate all day long about how we got here, what caused it.  I don’t think that’s very productive,” Culver said.  “The question is: what are we going to do about it?” 

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Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,
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