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Iowa ACLU sues Atlantic School District over strip search information

February 25, 2010 By

The Iowa A.C.L.U. is filing an open records lawsuit to force the Atlantic School District to reveal the punishment given two school officials who conducted a strip search of five high school girls last August. A.C.L.U. executive director, Ben Stone, says the school did identify the individuals involved, but never released their punishment.

Stone says,”We feel it’s important to not allow any school district to conceal the consequences…for people who violate the law,and so we feel we need to pursue a court case to force the Atlantic school system to reveal the discipline, if any that was given out to the school officials who did this search.”

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Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Education

Deere bringing back workers in Davenport, Dubuque

February 25, 2010 By

Some laid off Deere and Company workers in Iowa are headed back to their jobs. The farm equipment manufacturer says it will recall 65 workers to its plant in Dubuque and another 52 to its Davenport Works.

They’ll report to work March 8th. A Deere spokesman says the recalls are needed to meet increased sales of construction and forestry equipment and to replace workers who have retired.

Last March, the Moline, Illinois-based company laid off more than 200 workers in Dubuque and more than 100 in Davenport.

By Phil Roberts, Davenport

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business Tagged With:

Man dies in Williamsburg fire

February 25, 2010 By

A fatal fire is under investigation in east-central Iowa. The State Fire Marshal is looking into a mobile home fire that was reported around 9:20 Wednesday night in Williamsburg.

Investigators say a 39-year-old man was alone in the trailer when the fire broke out and he died at the scene. His name is being withheld. The trailer is a total loss. The cause of the fire is not known yet but officials say it does not appear to be suspicious.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Body found in Plymouth County

February 25, 2010 By

A body found on a rural road in northwest Iowa has been taken to the State Medical Examiner’s office. A motorist called 9-1-1 in Plymouth County Wednesday afternoon to report she’d seen someone lying on a gravel road near a vehicle about nine miles east of Hinton. Plymouth County Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo says deputies found the body of a male and a vehicle.

The rural area was searched by law enforcement and an Iowa State Patrol plane. Van Otterloo says his office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation are concentrating on identifying the dead man and determining how he died.

By Joanne Glamm, KLEM, LeMars

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

House debates bike safety bill

February 25, 2010 By

All bicyclists on Iowa roads would have to wear bright colors to make them more visible to motorists under an amendment offered by Republican state lawmakers. Democrats resisted the idea during debate Wednesday on a bicycle safety bill. Representative Janet Peterson, a Democrat from Des Moines, rides in the statewide bike ride RAGBRAI every year.

Peterson told Representative Clel Baudler, a Republican from Greenfield, that the clothing requirement won’t work. Peterson says, “So everyone on RAGBRAI would have to wear, first off, a shirt, because I know there’s a lot of people on RAGBRAI with not a lot of clothing.” Baudler responds, “We have problems with RAGBRAI not being able to visibly identify the drivers.”

Baudler’s amendment would also require reflective clothing at night. Peterson notes the thousands of bike riders on the annual trek across the state often go to great lengths to distinguish themselves with costumes and other unique attire. Peterson says: “And secondly, they’d have to wear some form of yellow, orange or fluorescent. You’re going to make a lot of RAGBRAI teams angry with this amendment.” Baudler, a retired state trooper, responds: “I appreciate your concern. My concern is with the safety of the riders.”

Baudler says cyclists should have the same requirements as the operators of any other slow-moving vehicle. House Democrats are trying to get a bicycle safety bill approved this year by scaling back what the Senate passed last year.

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With: , ,

U-I President says stimulus money helping with research jobs

February 25, 2010 By

University of Iowa President Sally Mason says federal economic stimulus money is keeping professional and scientific jobs on the Iowa City campus while other campus employment shrinks. Mason says they’ve received over $50-million in stimulus money for research proposals, which she says has kept the workforce strong through “these very, very tough times.”

Mason says that’s good news for now, but the university will be facing what she calls a “cliff“ when research stimulus funding ends. Mason says the worry is what happens when the money goes away as the money was distributed in two and three year grants. Mason credits university researchers with aggressively pursuing federal funds, leading to their success in winning the 52-million dollars for projects.

Filed Under: Education Tagged With:

Volunteers chip in on Aaron Eilerts day of service

February 25, 2010 By

Iowans remembered a young man from north-central Iowa Wednesday with the 2nd annual Aaron Eilerts Day of Service and Giving. Across the state, school children and others took part in service projects to honor the boy scout who died – along with three other scouts – in a tornado that struck a boy scout camp in western Iowa two years ago. A ceremony in Eilerts’ hometown of Eagle Grove featured several speakers, including fellow boy scout Thomas Auen of Sioux City.

“He always smiled and always had a joke to make the day easier to handle,” Auen said of Eilerts. “He really made an impression on myself and the way I look at life each and every day.” Auen was at the Little Sioux Boy Scout Camp on the night of the tragedy two years ago. He says Eilerts improved the lives of everyone he met.

“I’m almost certain it’s what he wanted to do most…just change people and their outlooks from the pessimistic to the optimistic, so we could all continue on with a smile on our face and laughter in our hearts,” Auen said. Aaron’s mother, Carol Eilerts, thanked everyone for remembering her son on what would have been his 16th birthday.

“It is a day that is very difficult for us,” Eilerts said. “But being able to be here with you and seeing the caring and compassion of everyone is like someone taking our hands and leading us out of the storm and back to the rainbow. Thank you for that. Happy 16th birthday, Aaron.” The three other boy scouts killed in the June 2008 tornado were from Omaha.

<http://www.eagle-grove.k12.ia.us/robert_blue/aaron_eilerts_day>

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Human Interest
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