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Drake prepares to open MVC play

December 28, 2009 By

The Drake basketball team opens Missouri Valley Conference play on Tuesday night at home against Bradley. Drake coach Mark Phelps says all the players have returned to campus even though it took a little longer due to the weather over the weekend. Phelps says they were due back on the 26th but had some guys who couldn’t get back, so they practiced with what they had.

Drake is 5-7 on the season but Phelps says the Bulldogs are a confident team heading into the start of conference play. He says they realize they have been close in 6 of 7 losses and they recognize they have pieces to play at a high level, they just need to do it more consistently.

Junior guard Ryan Wedel has been a key addition to the Bulldogs. The transfer from Arkansas State leads the team in scoring. He says Wendel is doing a great job and is playing very well, but says he can still get better and had not fully gotten his game legs after sitting out one year.

After jumping out to a quick start Bradley is 5-5 but Phelps says the Braves showed how good the could be when they knocked off Illinois. He says they are a talented, well balanced team that will be hungry after losing three games.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Another “safe haven” baby; 14th since 2001

December 28, 2009 By

Iowa’s “safe haven” law has been used for the 14th time and an unwanted baby will soon be adopted. Roger Munns, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Human Services, says the baby was born on December 21. 

“A newborn baby boy was brought to an Iowa hospital shortly before Christmas after a home delivery.  The mother said she did not want the child so it was turned over to the DHS and we, in turn, placed it with a pre-adoptive foster family that intends to adopt the child,” Munns says. “The child is healthy and there will be court hearing to terminate parental rights that will be held within a month.” 

Iowa’s “safe haven” law allows a mother to leave her baby at a hospital or other health care facility, without fear of being prosecuted for abandonment. The law was passed in 2001, after the death of a newborn who was named “Baby Chelsea” by townsfolk as she was found, frozen and abandoned, near the small, eastern Iowa town of Chelsea. “Baby Chelsea’s” teenage mother later pleaded guilty to child endangerment and involuntary manslaughter, and was sentence to 10 years in prison.

“And the thought at the time was that ‘if people only knew that they could bring their unwanted children to a hospital or some other safe place, that there wouldn’t be an incriminations’ — that’s why they passed the safe haven law,” Munns says.  “And it has worked to save, now, the 14th child.” 

Munns says the other 13 babies have all been adopted.

“It is the intent with a family that has already been cleared for foster parenting and who has made it known that, if they had the opportunity, they would adopt an infant,” Munns says. 

Unwanted babies who are 14 days old or younger may be left at any health facility in the state, with no questions asked.  As in this case, the baby is turned over to the Department of Human Services and the agency places the infant with what it considers “pre-adoptive” parents.  Details of this latest case, as with all 14 “safe haven” babies in Iowa, are not being released the D.H.S. “in order to protect the identity of the parents and the child.”

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Health & Medicine, Human Interest, Politics & Government Tagged With:

DNR may rope off parts of state parks due to budget cut

December 28, 2009 By

Declining state revenues could limit Iowans’ access to areas of state parks next year. Iowa Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Kevin Baskins says just over half of the D.N.R.’s $15.4 million budget comes from the general fund. “If you look over the last two fiscal years, our appropriation has dropped about 26%. So, obviously, that’s starting to have an impact on some of things that we can do in state parks,” Baskins told Radio Iowa.

The D.N.R. doesn’t plan to close any of the 85 state parks, but could rope off areas of parks that aren’t used much by the public. “One of the biggest examples of that is around the Great Lakes. There’s a number of areas around the lake that we own, that (include) public access to the lake, but may not have the lodges or camping that are traditional to most of our state parks,” Baskins said.

“Those are areas that we’ll probably look at reducing maintenance on at this point.” Baskins says further budget cuts could eventually force the D.N.R. to completely close lesser-used parks. He says there are no plans in place to raise the fees that people pay to rent cabins, lodges or campground spaces.

“That is something that we have looked at,” Baskins admitted. “We’re a little bit reluctant to do it because that obviously impacts park visitors and the citizens of Iowa if we raise fees.” Iowa’s state parks draw around 14-million visitors per year. There are several initiatives in the works that could benefit the state parks.

Baskins says the D.N.R. has applied for $40 million in stimulus funding to pay for things like new cabins, playgrounds and beach buildings. In addition, a private foundation is hoping to raise cash for the parks.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With:

Vilsack says he must “walk the walk” on better eating choices

December 28, 2009 By
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, with HyVee CEO.

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, with HyVee CEO Ric Jurgens.

U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says Americans have “serious challenges” with sodium and sugar and a U.S.D.A. pilot project in the new year will try to find a way to steer shoppers to more nutritious food. 

Vilsack toured a Hy-Vee near the Des Moines airport this morning to see a new system which rates the nutritional value of grocery products.

It’s called the NuVal system. Coffee creamer, for example, gets the lowest score of one, while unsweetened shredded wheat in the cereal aisle gets an 83 out of 100.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business, Health & Medicine, Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

Blowing snow causing trouble on roadways

December 28, 2009 By

The snow has stopped, but high winds are continuing to cause problems by blowing the snow on the ground across roadways. One of the worst areas is on Interstate 80 between Mitchellville and Altoona. Iowa State Trooper Doug Cutts says there’s no way to counter the slick spots caused by the blowing snow.

He says they can’t put sand on it, as it blows off the road, and salt brine doesn’t work because the temperatures are too low. Cutts says they’ve seen this problem before.

Cutts says it’s a problem every winter and until the wind dies down, it’s going to be a continuous problem. Cutts says there were several cars in the ditch along the interstate, with some upside down.

By Randy Van, KCOB, Newton

Filed Under: Weather Tagged With:

Iowa is 163 today

December 28, 2009 By

Iowa turns 163 years old today. Iowa became the 29th state on this date in 1846. Now listed as one of the top ten safest states in which to live, according to insurance company data, Iowa is often referred to as the “American Heartland” and as the “Food Capital of the World.”

After the Louisiana Purchase around the turn of the century, French colonial settlers laid the foundation for an agriculture-based economy in what’s termed “The Heart of the Corn Belt.” Iowa’s economy has transitioned to a diversified economy of advanced manufacturing, processing, financial services, biotechnology, and now green energy production. Governor Culver touts Iowa as a leader in wind energy.

By Kristan Gray, KMA, Shenandoah

Filed Under: Human Interest

Snowfall builds to record level in many areas

December 28, 2009 By

Some of the recent snowfalls have not been record-breaking by any means — but when added all together — they’re leading to overall records across the state. National Weather Service forecaster, Brad Small, says the latest record fell in the capital city.

Small says Des Moines set the record for the highest snowfall on record for December at 27.2 inches, and that puts the city in third place for the highest monthly snowfall. Small says the record snowfall has left all of Iowa with white stuff on the ground.

He says the amounts vary from one foot around central Iowa to two feet in northwest Iowa, and some areas have over two feet. Small says having over one foot of snow cover this time of year is unusual. Small says Iowa’s just hasn’t had any break in the pattern that produces snow.

Small says we had the big snow that produced over one foot in parts of the state, but there have been continual snows that have added up to the extreme totals. Small says those snow piles that are predominant around driveways and parking lots won’t be going away anytime soon.

Small says there won’t be any melting as the temperatures are going to get colder as we head to the new year and there could be more snow on Wednesday, which would add to the snow totals. Small says the snowpack will work to keep temperatures colder.

Filed Under: Weather
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