May 22, 2012

Anita man says his Chihuahua saved him from fire

It’s said the dog is man’s best friend — and a tiny canine is credited with saving his master’s life during a house fire about 8 o’clock this morning in southwest Iowa. Randy Claussen, of Anita, says his pint-sized hound, a Chihuahua named “Ce-Ce”, is a hero.

“I woke up and my dog was barking at my bedroom door, he woke me up,” Claussen says. “I opened the door to see what was going on, a big cloud of black smoke came in so I hurried up and shut it, threw on some pants and shoes and went out the back bedroom window.”

Ce-ce also got out and will live to bark another day. Claussen’s wife, Theresa, had left just minutes earlier to take the couple’s children to school. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fire, but Claussen suspects it may have been an electrical malfunction.

He says the fire might have been caused by a space heater, but when he got outside, he could see flames by the front bedroom window, which is where a lamp was plugged in. Firefighters from Anita and Wiota battled the fire.

Their efforts were hampered by a large amount of combustible material in the home. Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon says the Red Cross would be working with the family to find housing and the basic necessities.

By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic

Class 1A: Brandon Doughan, Algona Bishop Garrigan

The senior forward averaged over 20 points, nearly eight rebounds and three assists in three victories. Doughan poured in 35 points on 14 of 22 shooting, added eight rebounds and dished out five assists in a win over Clear Lake.

Class 2A: Matt Westra, Western Christian (Hull)

The junior forward averaged nearly 19 points and just over eight rebounds in three games. Westra scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a win over Cherokee and in a loss to Sioux City Heelan poured in 26 points and added seven rebounds. Westra made 10 of 15 shots in the game.

Class 3A: Kasey Semler, Marion

The junior guard averaged nearly 18 points and three assists in three victories. Semler scored 17 points and dished out four assists in a victory over Center Point-Urbana. He also had 17 points and four assists in a win over Benton. Semler shot 55 percent from the field during the week.

Class 4A: Will Artino, Waukee

The senior center averaged 18 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots in three games. Artino scored 16 points, hauled down 16 rebounds and blocked three shots in a victory over Fort Dodge. He also had 21 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots in a win over West Des Moines Valley.

Search for missing ISU student scaled back

Iowa State University Police say they’re scaling back search efforts for a missing student. Twenty-one-year-old Jon Lacina of Grinnell was reported missing on Saturday morning. A weekend search of the I.S.U.  campus involved around 250 people, a helicopter and a dive team that searched Lake LuVerne.

On Monday, custodians and other campus employees dug through snow banks and scoured buildings – but found no signs of Lacina. University spokesperson Annette Hacker says the focus will now shift to the “investigative elements” of the search. “That includes looking more deeply at computer records, other electronic information, interviewing family, friends, acquaintances and anyone who may have more information about Jonathan Lacina’s whereabouts since January 22,” Hacker said.

Lacina, a senior graphic design major, was last seen on January 22, but wasn’t reported missing until January 30. “I think when you have any student, who are adults on a busy campus – particularly design students who are coming and going at all hours and working on projects for long periods of time – several days can pass between when friends see each other or when family members check in,” Hacker said.

Lacina was reported missing by his father. Lacina’s last sighting was at a small party at a friend’s Campustown apartment. Alcohol was present at the gathering, but Lacina was not believed to be intoxicated when he left at 9:30 p.m.

Hacker says Lacina was in “good spirits” and told friends he was going home. A check on Lacina’s bank and cell phone records have not turned up many clues. Hacker says those items and his building access cards haven’t been used since the night he disappeared. University police say they have not discovered anything that would suggest foul play.

Authorities say they’ll continue to search the campus, although the search won’t be as “intensive” as the last three days.

Anyone with any information on Lacinda is asked to call I.S.U. police at 515-294-4428.

Grassley says Obama budget would create negative environment for small businesses

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is questioning U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner this morning about the massive budget that was proposed Monday by President Obama. Grassley, a Republican, says the 3.8-trillion dollar spending plan would create a “negative environment” for America’s small businesses, which he says would otherwise be helping to speed an economic recovery.

Grassley says, “My focus will be on tax burden fueled by the continued increase in government spending and the impact it’s having on job creation and, of course, on the federal budget deficit.” He says the tendency in Washington is to raise spending and increase taxes — which is exactly what he says is going on in the president’s new budget.

Grassley says, “The explosion in spending is driving the deficit, $1.6-trillion this year in the president’s budget, and of course, I’m worried about this leading to hyper-inflation.” Small businesses create 70% of the new jobs in this country and Grassley says the new budget will hurt that trend.

“I believe Congress ought to back off the marginal tax rate hikes,” Grassley says. “Small businesses can’t recover if they’re buried in new taxes along with uncertainty about other tax increases, new mandates like health care, as an example, and a lot of new regulations.” Grassley says the president’s proposed budget has some tax relief that would encourage investment and hiring, but he says “the tax increases in the budget dwarf the tax relief.”

Grassley is the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which is questioning Secretary Geithner today.