February 9, 2012

You are here: Home / 2010 / February / Archives for 5th

UNI likes home help in keeping on top of MVC

February 5, 2010 By

The U.N.I. Panthers have built a big home court advantage in the McLeod Center and they hope that continues on Saturday night when they host Southern Illinois. The Panthers are unbeaten at home this season and the fans are responding. The last three home games have averaged more than 6,500 fans.

Coach Ben Jacobsen says the fans are really into the game and the team loves coming out of the tunnel to a packed arean. He says the students are helping provide a great atmosphere, which he says is as good as it has been in a couple of years.

The Panthers will try to use the home court to their advantage down the stretch. They play four of their final seven games at home.

Panther center Jordan Egelseder is enjoying his senior season and says the fans are big part of it. U.N.I. is 20-2 overall and ranked 24th in the latest AP poll.

Egelseder says all the seniors stayed on campus and continued working out and so far that work has paid off for them. U.N.I. is 11-1 in the Valley and has a three game lead in the standings. Jacobsen says the only thing his team needs to be concerned about right now is Southern Illinois.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Iowa State to wear pink against Kansas State

February 5, 2010 By
Pink ISU uniforms.

Pink ISU uniforms.

The Iowa State Cyclones host Kansas State in Big 12 action on Saturday. Iowa State is 2-5 in the Big-12 while the 10th ranked Wildcats are 5-3.

Iowa State coach Greg McDermott who says K-State will test their toughness as they are very talented and can beat you a lot of different ways. He says they are physical and tough and will foul you every posession and you have to be tough enough to play through that. It is a breast cancer awareness game and the Cyclones will wear pink uniforms.

Forward Craig Brackins says the Cyclones need to avoid the scoring droughts that have hurt them in a number of games. In Wednesday’s 21 point loss at Baylor, the Bears broke the game open with a 7-0 run early in the second half. Brackins says it is hard to win on the road and they need to protect their home court and regroup.

The Cyclones are 13-9 overall while Kansas State is 18-4.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Iowa and Drake look for conference wins

February 5, 2010 By

The Iowa Hawkeyes will be on the road Sunday in the Big Ten to take on 13th ranked Ohio State. Less than two weeks ago the Hawks led for most of the way before Ohio State rallied for a win in Iowa City.

Iowa coach Todd Lickliter says they played tough, but only for 37 minutes and it will take a 40 minute effort to have a chance. He says they will know what to do, but doing it is the thing.

Iowa shot just 29 percent in a loss at home to Illinois and forward Jaryd Cole says they need to find a way to start scoring.

Iowa is 2-8 in the Big Ten. Ohio State is part of a four-way tie for second at 7-3.

As Josh Young goes so goes Drake. The senior guard has bounced back from a slow start to the season and has helped lead the Bulldogs back to a 6-6 Missouri Valley Conference record after an 0-4 start. Coach Mark Phelps says improved health may be the biggest factor. Young had ankle surgery in the off season then had to bounce back from a hip pointer that caused him to miss the season opener.

Phelps says young is the consimate professional when it comes to handling himself on the court and in practice. He says Young has stepped up his personal individual work. Young has averaged over 18 points in the last six games.

The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday night with a visit to Illinois State.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: , ,

Forum to focus on PE and health

February 5, 2010 By

Researchers say an estimated 155 million school-age children and adolescents around the world are either obese or overweight. An event at the University of Northern Iowa this spring will attempt to address the problem.

Christopher Edginton s director of the U.N.I. School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services. He’s says the Global Forum for Physical Education is an invitation only event scheduled for May 13 and 14.

“We have confirmation of 70 invited delegates…the top physical educators and health educators in the world. They’re coming from 30 countries,” Edginton said. The delegates will spend much of their time in Grundy Center, located 30 miles southwest of the U-N-I campus in Cedar Falls.

U.N.I. professors and students have partnered with Grundy Center Schools on a program that could change how physical education is taught in schools. Edginton says the curriculum involves students equipped with heart-rate monitors, pocket size computers and other fitness technology.

“Children are learning in different ways today and we need to insure that the environments that are organized reflect contemporary knowledge and skills that 21st century learners have at their disposal,” Edginton said. The forum is designed to examine how universities and schools are preparing future K-12 health and physical education teachers.

“Many physical education programs are built around a sport model or a skill acquisition model,” Edginton said. “We really want

broader themes – nutrition, stress – and ways we can promote these ideas throughout a person’s entire life.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 19% of children between the ages of 6 and 11 in U.S. are obese.

Recent studies indicate the costs from childhood obesity-associated illnesses in the U.S. have risen from $35 million to $127 million in the past decade.

Filed Under: Education, Health & Medicine Tagged With:

Key Republican unsure gambling proposals can pass

February 5, 2010 By

The lead Republican working on a package of gambling-related proposals says it’s hard to predict whether legislators will embrace the ideas the small group of House members are considering. 

One idea calls for allowing large poker tournaments in facilities like convention centers that are adjacent to the 17 state-licensed casinos., as current law requires those tournaments to be held on the existing gaming floor.  Representative Doug Struyk, a Republican, is from Council Bluffs which has three state-licensed casinos.  He says under current law, poker tournaments are held on what’s considered the “gaming floors” of the casinos where slot machines are often bolted down.

“If you want to have a poker tournament, you need to have a lot of poker tables.  You would have to take all of those machines out, put the poker tables in — so you’ve stopped all that gaming, went to something else, and then you get to change it all again three or four days later,” Struyk says. “It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.”

Another idea would allow the state’s casinos to take bets on professional sports, if congress lifts a ban on sports betting in most states.

“It’s always interesting to think about including something that’s technically illegal at the present time, but we would have enabling legislation should the Supreme Court or congress — however it comes about — decide that it is acceptable for other states,” Struyk says, “because of the equal protection argument.” 

A third proposal would allow some casinos to pay the state a fee to avoid having to be subject to county-wide gambling referendums every eight years.  Struyk says he’s not sure what may be in the final package – -and he’s not sure there are enough votes to pass a gambling bill in the House.

“This is not a slam dunk.  Are there 51 votes for gambling expansion?  I couldn’t tell you.  Is it inevitable that we talk about gaming because we’re looking at ways to bring in more revenue?  You betcha,” Struyk says. “But is it inevitable that we pass a bill or even bring a bill to the floor?  No.  We need to have 51, hopefully moe than 51 (votes) before we even think about bringing it to the floor.”

Struyk made his comments on the Iowa Public Television program, “Iowa Press.”

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

Appeals court upholds sentence for former CIETC leader

February 5, 2010 By

A federal appeals court has upheld the seven-year sentence given to the former C-E-O of a central Iowa job training agency for misusing federal funds. Ramona Cunningham was sentenced after pleading guilty to charges in the corruption scandal at the now defunct Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium or CIETC.

A state audit in 2006 found that Cunningham, a high school drop out, was paid nearly $800,000 during her last two-and-a-half years with CIETC. The audit also found big bonuses and salaries were given to other CIETC officials.

Cunningham eventually pleaded guilty to eight of the 30 criminal counts against her — but then appealed seeking to reduce her 84-month sentence. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Cunningham’s sentence was correctly enhanced under the U.S. sentencing guidelines for obstruction of justice, based on her ordering destruction of evidence that would have shown inconsistencies in CIETC’s reporting practices prior to an audit; and that Cunningham qualified for a sentencing enhancement based upon her role as a leader and organizer of criminal activity.

The Court of Appeals also found that the sentence was not “substantively unreasonable”; instead, the court found that imposition of this sentence was “amply supported by the record” and did not represent an abuse of discretion by the sentencing judge.

See the entire ruling on the courts website here: www.ca8.uscourts.gov.

Filed Under: Business, Crime & Courts

Winter Dance Party is underway at Surf Ballroom

February 5, 2010 By

The annual Winter Dance Party is underway at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. This year marks the 51st anniversary of the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, the “Big Bopper” J-P Richardson and pilot Roger Peterson who were killed in a plane crash after the rockers performed at the Surf.

Surf Ballroom executive director Laurie Lietz says tonight will be the traditional “sock hop”, and will feature an all-star lineup of the Original White Sidewalls, Stan Perkins, Tommy Jennings, McKenna Medley and The Vees. There will also be the customary dance and costume contests as well. They have a number of headliners set to perform Saturday.

She says the lineup includes Fabian, The Crickets, The Orlons, Lesley Gore, and Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers. Lietz says the Winter Dance Party festivities helps out Clear Lake’s economy every year. She says it gives the resort community a boost in the middle of the winter. Lietz says it is an important event, especially in this economy.

Lietz says the conservatively estimate the impact at 750-thousand dollars to the area’s hotels and restaurants each year. Last year’s 50th anniversary celebration likely brought twice as much tourism revenue to the Clear Lake area. For more about the Winter Dance Party weekend events, you can look online at www.surfballroom.com.

By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment
« Older Posts