The junior center averaged 18 and a half points and 11 rebounds in a pair of victories. Kreiger-Coble scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in a win over Washington and for the week was nearly perfect from the field. He made 17 of 18 shots.
Class 4A: Brandon Voss, North Scott
January 12, 2010 By
The junior guard scored 24 points in a victory over Bettendorf. Voss was four of five from three points range and connected on all eight free throw attempts. He is shooting better than 40 percent from behind the arc on the season and nearly 90 percent from the foul line.
Washington man charged with killing his wife
January 12, 2010 By
James Dean Blum
A 70-year-old southeast Iowa man was arrested Monday afternoon in the slaying of his wife at their home in Washington. James Dean Blum is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Patricia Blum.
James Blum had told 9-1-1 personnel that he had possibly killed his wife. Patricia Blum was later pronounced dead at the Washington County Hospital. In an affidavit signed by a Washington police officer, Blum admitted that he killed his wife by “smothering her, after she had backed into the garage door.”
Blum said the couple had been having “disagreements for several weeks.” He went on to say that he “meant to kill his wife, and that he held her face down on the couch for two to three minutes until she stopped breathing.”
The document also shows Blum said that “his wife pleaded with him to let her go while he was holding her down.” The Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office is expected to perform an autopsy on Patricia Bloom’s body. At an initial court appearance this morning, Blum’s Bond was set at $100,000 cash only. He remains in the Washington County Jail. His next court appearance is scheduled for January 20, 2010.
By Nick Wilkens, KCII, Washington
Cedar Rapids police investigate murder
January 12, 2010 By
Cedar Rapids police are investigating a fatal shooting following a break in at an apartment. Police say three people forced their way into the apartment and 26-year-old Kevin Bell was shot.
Bell was taken to a Cedar Rapids hospital and later flown to University Hospitals in Iowa City, where he died. Six other people were in the apartment at the time and police are still trying piece together the details of the shooting.
The police department release these descriptions of the three suspects:
-The first suspect was a light skinned black male, 18 years old, 5’8” to 6’ with a slender build. He had short hair. He was wearing a dark coat with a dark hoodie.
-The second suspect was a very dark skinned black male, 18 years old, about 5’5”. He was heavy set with rounded cheeks.
-The third suspect was a light skinned black male, 18-19 years old. No other description was given.
Police are asking anyone with information on the shooting to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-CR-CRIME.
Two northeast Iowa school districts look at closing buildings.
January 12, 2010 By
Two northeast Iowa school districts have scheduled public meetings to discuss closing buildings to save money. The Independence School District is considering shuttering one of their buildings to help save the district from financial ruin.
The district could have a negative fund balance of one-point-five-million dollars by the end of the school year, and the school’s spending authority will decrease from $1.6 million to $1.3-million. According to the superintendent, if things continue as is, the district will be bankrupt in two years, and the state would then come in and close it down.
The proposed one-million dollars in cuts, include closing East Elementary and moving those students to West Elementary. Other grades would also be shifted around. The Oelwein Community School Board is considering closing one of the elementary buildings to save money.
The district is facing a large deficit, and the district finance committee has come up with a budget management plan. One of the highlights includes closing Harlan Elementary or closing Parkside Elementary and using Parkside as an alternative school. Another part of the plan is to cut 16 teaching positions over the next three years.
By Roger King, KOEL, Oelwein
Culver asks legislators to provide schools a “shot in the arm”
January 12, 2010 By
Governor Chet Culver is calling on legislators to send more state aid to Iowa’s K-through-12 public schools. The opening paragraph in the “Condition of the State” speech Culver delivered at the statehouse this morning used the word “extraordinary” to describe the challenges facing state lawmakers this year.
“There’s much to do, and no time to waste,” according to the governor.
Twice in the speech Culver called on legislators to help ensure the 21st century will be “Iowa’s Century.” And Culver offered a defense of the way he and his fellow Democrats in the legislature have handled the state’s finances.
On education, Culver asked that legislators send K-through-12 public schools in Iowa $100 million to make up for some of the across-the-board cut he ordered in October, plus Culver says legislators should keep the commitment they made and provide a two percent increase in general state aid to schools for the academic year that begins this fall.
“This will be a real, short-term shot in the arm for some of our schools, especially in rural districts, which are already cash-strapped, with depleted reserves,” Culver said.
Read Culver’s entire speech here: Condition of the State 1-12-2010
Republicans say they found little in the speech to cheer. And House Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha suggested Culver stuck to a self-serving core message: “The theme: I’m running for governor. I mean, that’s what I got out of it.”
House Speaker Pat Murphy, a Democrat from Dubuque, called it the best speech Culver’s ever given. Murphy said the governor’s education spending proposals are aggressive in a year when legislators are cutting budgets.
“Oh, I think it’s going to be tough,” Murphy told reporters. “But quite frankly that’s one of the Democrat high priorities so I think we would like to see if we can achieve that.”
You can read a live blog of Culver’s speech here.
(This story was updated at 11:42 a.m.)
Photo by Robert Nandell
Iowa receives federal funding for drug treatment
January 12, 2010 By
Iowa has received $2.8 million in federal funding to fight illegal drug use and support drug treatment programs. The federal grants target six programs in the state. Gary Kendell, Director of the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy, says $750,000 will be used to develop a Pseudoephedrine Verification Network.
The electronic database will connect Iowa pharmacies and help law enforcement identify individuals who are exceeding the limit placed on purchases of the drug used to make methamphetamine. “Without the federal money, we probably wouldn’t be able to make it a reality,” Kendell said.
”We were successful last session, on the state level, in getting the authorizing language but it didn’t provide any funding. So, we went to our congressional delegation and our senators and congressmen really came through for us.” Kendell believes the new electronic system will help reverse the resurging number of meth labs in the state.
“The majority of those labs that are occurring, they’re getting their pseudoephedrine through ‘smurfing’ – which is going from pharmacy to pharmacy and buying the limit of pseudoephedrine at each pharmacy,” Kendell said. “So, with implementation of a system like this, we’ll be able to have information on who’s exceeding their limit.” The new system is expected to be operational by July.
