February 9, 2012

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Lickliter likely will miss UNI game

December 7, 2009 By

Iowa basketball coach Todd Lickliter is expected to miss tomorrow night’s game at UNI. Lickliter was not at Saturday’s victory over Prairie View A&M after undergoing what school officials described as a serious procedure to relieve severe headaches. Lickliter could return for this weekend’s game at Iowa State and in the meantime assistant coach Chad Walthall has assumed the role of head coach.

Walthall says they are busy preparing, and says it has been difficult, but they have worked hard to prepare for U.N.I.

Walthall has head coaching experience. At one time he directed the program at Loras College. He says this is a little bit different microscope, but you still prepare. Walthall says they would like to see Lickliter return as fast as possible, but will hold down the fort until he returns.

Walthall says while the players have done a good job in Lickliter’s asbsebce he admits it is a distraction. He says it is certainly not normal and they are not pretending that it is normal, but he says they are trying to handle it the way Lickliter would want them to handle it. He says the coach always tells players they will face things that are not perfect and have to move on and handle them.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Fire Marshal says get fireplace checked before use

December 7, 2009 By

State public safety officials are reminding Iowans who have a wood burning fireplace in their home to have it inspected by a professional. State Fire Marshal Jim Kenkel says keeping the chimney clean and the exhaust system in good condition could prevent a disaster.

“Over a period of time, the chimney has a tendency to wear out and get holes in it, so that’s why it’s important to have it checked so that the heat going up the chimney doesn’t extend out into the combustibles that surround it,” Kenkel said. A fire in Cedar Rapids over the weekend that caused significant damage to a home is blamed on problems with a fireplace.

Kenkel says chimneys should be inspected and, if necessary, cleaned at least once a year. Kenkel also recommends that fireplace users burn only dry wood. Wood that’s burned when wet can accelerate creosote buildup in the chimney. Creosote is a chemical substance that forms when wood burns and can cause a chimney fire if not removed through cleaning.

The fire in Cedar Rapids was reported early Sunday morning. The owners of the home were alerted by working smoke alarms and escaped without injury.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

ISU researcher creates H1N1 vaccine for pigs

December 7, 2009 By

An Iowa State University researcher has developed a vaccine that’s being used to prevent the spread of the H-1-N-1 virus in hogs. Animal Science professor Hank Harris has sent 20,000 doses to an Indiana farmer whose pigs had already contracted the disease. Harris says most of the calls for the vaccine come from veterinarians in the midwest that want to keep pigs from getting the virus.

He says flu vaccines are fairly common in pigs and many have been requesting that his strain be added to their armament of flu vaccines they’re already using. Harris says they aren’t sure how often pigs might pick up the H1N1 as there have only been the report in Indiana and at the Minnesota State Fair.

“And other than that we’re unsure because there hasn’t been any reports,” he says. Harris says the Indiana pigs appear to have picked up the H1N1 virus from their human handlers.

Filed Under: Agriculture, Health & Medicine Tagged With:

Santa line lets kids call the man in the red suit

December 7, 2009 By

Some Iowa parents may be hesitant to take their kids to see Santa Claus at the busy shopping mall this year, for fear they might be more susceptible to H1N1 flu. Anne Gaskell is the founder and CEO of a Sioux City-based business that arranges personal phone calls to kids from Santa himself, which she says is a much healthier alternative.

“There’s a lot of little kids out there fighting the sniffles and Santa’s right there having them sit on his lap and maybe when they’re not using a Kleenex, Santa could catch that flu, yes” Gaskell says, laughing. “Santa by phone is a lot safer.” Gaskell’s business, Santa Speaking, says they’re seeing a 35-percent increase in the number of calls scheduled this December compared to a year ago. Gaskell, a mother of three kids under age nine, explains why she created the company to coordinate the long-distance calls from the North Pole.

“Standing in line at the mall seemed to be a little terrifying for a couple of my children and when they got to the front of the line, Santa didn’t know all that he was supposed to know,” Gaskell says. “Kids can be quite frightened of sitting on Santa’s lap. They have that stranger anxiety or Santa anxiety at a certain age and I thought there had to be a better way to make Santa more representative of his legend, of being the all-knowing Santa figure.” Gaskell says with the service her company provides, kids can talk with Santa directly without having to stand in line at the mall, and without needing hand sanitizer.

Parents can go onto the website and schedule a convenient date and time for the phone call while providing details like the names of friends, family members and teachers and the favorite types of toys they like playing with, Gaskell says, all of the nitty-gritty details, topped off by whether they’ve been naughty or nice. Depending on the length of the call and whether parents want the conversation recorded and sent to them on CD or MP3, the cost of the calls ranges from $22 to $50. For details, visit “www.santaspeaking.com“.

Filed Under: Human Interest

“Unexpectedly good” news about Iowa economy

December 7, 2009 By

A University of Iowa economist says the Iowa economy may have started to turn around in the third quarter of this year, but another member of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors warns this may be a “jobless recovery.” 

Charles Whiteman of the University of Iowa says some economists “saw the turn” a couple of months ago in the national economy, and he says the state’s economy seems to be emerging from a “deep trough” as personal income taxes paid to the state were up, ever-so-slightly, in the second quarter — by a little less than half a percent.

[Read more...]

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

More snow is on the way

December 7, 2009 By

After a moderate snowfall on Sunday night, forecasters say a much larger winter storm system is heading towards Iowa. Craig Cogil, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, says the Winter Storm Watch runs from late tonight through Wednesday afternoon.

He says it’s for a “really intense storm” that should bring snow tonight, continuing into Tuesday, with the potential for eight-to-12 inches across much of Iowa. Cogil said the heavier band of snow being forecast will be in a band from Creston to Des Moines to Waterloo. He said the big concern with the snow is the wind accompanying the storm.

Cogil says there will be very strong winds of 25 to 30 miles an hour with gusts up to 45 miles an hour that will likely bring blizzard conditions by daybreak on Wednesday. Cogil said once the system pulls out of Iowa on Wednesday, we should be in for smoother sailing.

He says the rest of the week should be “relatively tranquil” but colder than it’s been lately. Overnight, parts of Iowa received one to two inches of the white stuff.

Contributed by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Weather

Mt. Pleasant woman won’t be charged in suicide pact

December 7, 2009 By

Authorities say a Mount Pleasant woman who was apparently involved in a suicide pact will not be charged for shooting her boyfriend in early November. According to an Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation report, an autopsy showed 37-year-old Ryan P. Scarff died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. They say a second “non-contributing” gunshot wound was also found.

A news release from the state agency says an investigation showed that Scarff and Melissa D. Lonski had entered into a “joint suicide pact.” The release says the two tried to take their own lives by succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning, and when this failed, Scarff fatally shot himself. It indicates that “during a state of panic” Lonski shot Scarff again, “not wanting him to suffer from the initial gunshot wound.” According to the D.C.I., that second gunshot wound did not contribute to Scarff’s death.

Contributed by Nick Wilkens, KCII, Washington

Filed Under: Crime & Courts
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