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Democrats pass bill to aid some military spouses

January 26, 2010 By

Democrats in the Iowa House have approved a bill which would extend unemployment benefits to the spouse of a soldier who’s reassigned or deployed and the spouse is forced to quit their job and relocate. 

Representative Ray Zirkelbach, a Democrat from Monticello, was part of an Iowa National Guard unit that served nearly two years in Iraq.  He said it’s not a unique concept.

“Thirty-seven other states think that supporting the spouses of military personnel, male or female, is something that’s valuable and that we need to provide those benefits so they’re not faced with a hardship,” Zirkelbach said. “Imagine in today’s economy somebody quitting their job, possibly selling their home in order to relocate and…on top of that, having the stress of the deployment.” 

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

MVC leader UNI faces a surging Drake team

January 26, 2010 By

The Missouri Valley Conference leader will host the league’s hottest team when 25th ranked U.N.I. meets Drake on Wednesday night. At 8-1, the Panthers have a two game lead on Wichita State as the second half of the conference race begins. After an 0-4 start, the Bulldogs have ripped off five straight wins and began the week as part of a four-way log jam for third.

U.N.I. coach Ben Jacobsen says Drake’s seniors are really playing at a high level right now and they have a lot of confidence and that has carried over to the younger players. The Panthers are unbeaten at home this season and have won nine straight in the McLeod Center dating back to a 47-46 loss to Drake last season.

Jacobsen says protecting the home floor is something they talk about allot for a long time and says they have gotten better at that over the last two years. He says it is “extremely important to play well on your home floor.” Jacobsen believes the Valley is good enough to get more than one team in the NCAA Tournament.

U.N.I. was the only Valley team to make it last season and two years ago Drake was the lone entrant. Jacobsen says last year his team did not have a good non-conference start, and that kind of mess up the league after they got going. He says the league is in better position this year to get more than the automatic bid.

Drake coach Mark Phelps says U.N.I. is clearly the team to beat in the league race. He says when people talk about them, you hear they are well-coached and don’t make mistakes. Phelps says they also take advantage of your mistakes, but he says people don’t talk enough about U.N.I’s talent.

Three weeks ago Drake was 5-11 and looked like it was headed toward a lost season. With a win this evening the Bulldogs would move to the .500 mark. Phelps says it’s a huge game because it is the next game and they want to keep the momentum going. He says as an in-state game it gets a lot of attention too and is very important to them.

U.N.I. is 17-2 overall.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: , ,

Wallace taking wait and see attitude about new coach

January 26, 2010 By

Former Iowa State quarterback Seneca Wallace is back in Iowa to promote a financial literacy program for high school students. Wallace talked about his career and says he has been lucky to remain with the Seattle Seahawks.

Wallace says he has been blessed to be in the N.F.L. for eight years and especially on the same team. He says there are a lot of guys who have already been on several teams in only a couple years in the league. Wallace says it’s a credit to his determination and his ability to do several things.

Former U.S.C. coach Pete Carroll has been hired to take over the Seahawks. Wallace says he will wait to see what happens before he decides if it is a good move for the team, as he says former coach Jim Mora was highly touted when he came in. He says the Mora hiring kind of backfired as they only went 5-11, and Mora was supposed to be an energetic coach who could relate to players.

Wallace says the same things are being said about Carroll, although Carroll did not have a great record when he coached in the N.F.L. before. He says it will be refreshing to have a new approach and hopefully they can improve their record. Wallace says he tries to keep up with the Cyclones as much as he can.

As for the N.F.L., he is not making any predictions on how the championship game will turn out. Wallace says he said a long time ago that the Saints would be good, and says he knows from playing Indianapolis that they are a tough team. He declined to pick one team over the other, but said it should be a well-played game by two good teams.

Wallace played quarterback for Iowa State in 2001 and 2002 under Dan McCarney.He was taken in the fourth round by the Seahawks in 2003 and has been the backup quarterback as well as playing wide receiver.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Former ISU, current NFL QB talks financial literacy with students

January 26, 2010 By

Former Iowa State and current Seattle Seahawks quarterback Seneca Wallace is helping unveil an interactive video game designed to teach high school kids about financial issues. The “Financial Football” computer game uses a variety of financial questions to allow teams to move up and down the field in a mock N.F.L. game.

Visa, the N.F.L. and N.F.L. players worked together on the game. A copy of the game is going to all high schools in Iowa through the state treasurer’s office. Wallace was on hand at Des Moines East High School to demonstrate and play the game with students. Wallace says he thinks it’s important to talk with kids about financial issues, especially as they come out of high school. He says parents have been taking care of students and they now are on their own and can get into financial trouble.

Wallace says there are numerous cases of high-paid sports stars who didn’t know how to handle their money, but he says it applies to everyone. Wallace says a lot of times people think they are making good money and don’t think they need to understand the importance of managing money and saving. He says you need to save more when you are making more money, as he says you never know when there might be an illness or something else that requires a lot of money. Wallace says he’s always felt that managing your money is important.

Wallace says he was raised “pretty well” but did not grow up with everything he wanted, and he learned to save for some things he wanted and put the rest away. The financial game also comes with lesson plans that schools can use to teach financial literacy. A Visa representative says Iowa is one of 25 states that will use the program. You can get a copy of the game on-line at: www.iowa.financialfootball.com.

Hear Radio Iowa’s Dar Danielson report on Seneca Wallace and financial literacy here:
Financial literacy report :55 MP3

Filed Under: Business, Education Tagged With: ,

Class 3A: Kyle Rosacker, Forest City

January 26, 2010 By
Filed Under: INS Player of the Week, Sports

Class 1A: Heath Huntley, Sidney

January 26, 2010 By
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

Filed Under: INS Player of the Week, Sports

Weather keeps State Patrol busy with stranded motorists, accidents

January 26, 2010 By

Since Sunday, Iowa State Patrol Troopers have been helping hundreds of stranded motorists and investigating crashes. Courtney Green, spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, says a typical day might involve a few dozen calls. Monday was anything but typical.

“At the height of the blizzard, in that 24 hour period, we (received) 2,167 Com Center calls,” Green said. “Those are hundreds of calls for trooper service, several property damage accidents and personal injury accidents.”

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Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Weather Tagged With:
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