February 9, 2012

You are here: Home / 2010 / March / Archives for 4th

Manson Northwest Webster to face Mt. Vernon in 2A title game

March 4, 2010 By

Second ranked Manson Northwest Webster outscored third rated Odeboldt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove 11-2 to close the game in a 40-31 victory in a 2A semifinal. The Cougars earn their first trip to the championship game and avenged their only regular season loss in the process.

Cougars forward Lauren Christianson says they wanted to beat Battle Creek and send them home. She led the way with 13 points. Manson-Northwest Webster lost a year ago in the semifinal round.

Christiansen says advancing to the title game is everything they’ve dreamed up through all their practicing and work.

Odebodlt-Arthur/Battle Creek-Ida Grove coach Pat Miller says the Cougars size advantage was a factor down the stretch. He says htey knew rebounding was going to be tough, but he is proud of their effort and where they ended up.

Mount Vernon is a victory away from being number one when it counts. The unranked Mustangs moved into the 2A championship with a 47-38 win over Roland-Story. Taylor Dicus says to be in the championship game is a great honor and they came out with a lot of energy. She says they made some adjustments at halftime and that allowed them to win the game.

Dicus finished with 13 points for Mount Vernon. She has no idea why the Mustangs are unranked despite their 24-3 record. Dicus says it’s just nice to be here and they don’t care if they are not rated.

Maddie Oliver led Roland-Story with 20 points and 15 rebounds. The Norsemen finish the season with a record of 25-2. She said no one expected them to be here and they are proud of the way they played this season.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

Officials have different plans for organs of man who died in shooting

March 4, 2010 By

A tug-of-war has erupted over the organs of a man who was shot to death in northwest Iowa this week. Fifty-year-old Levi Hofer was an organ donor and since he died in South Dakota, Minnehaha County, South Dakota, Coroner Brad Randall went public with his feelings about how the body should be used. He says Hofer was thoroughly examined when he came in, and there was no evidence of any injury below the head, so the organs should be donated.

Lyon County Attorney Carl Peterson asked for Randall’s statutory authority to be dissolved to prevent the organ donation. Judge Pat Riepel agreed and granted the order. Peterson says he did not want to prevent organ donation, but says that for an autopsy, the body has to be in pristine condition.

According to an organ donation expert from LifeSource, hearts, lungs, and kidneys are not viable after an autopsy.Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Aaron McGowen’s office says they have jurisdiction over the case, but they turned that over to Lyon County authorities since the crime happened there.

The woman who has admitted to killing Hofer is now charged with second-degree murder. Fifty-two-year-old Laura Lowe shot Hofer, her live-in boyfriend, on Sunday night. He died Wednesday at a Sioux Falls Hospital. A man who lived in their basement, 60-year-old Larry Griffin, is charged as an accessory after the fact. Lowe is being held on a $150,000 bond. Griffin is being held on a $3,000 bond.

By Scott Van Aartsen, KIWA, Sheldon

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Health & Medicine

DNR issues air warning for east-central Iowa

March 4, 2010 By

The Department of Natural Resources says air monitors in east-central Iowa recorded pollution today above the minimum level set by the E.P.A. The D.N.R.’s Eddie Elkin says the minimum is 35-micrograms. He says the level was 50 in Iowa City and Muscatine, with an average of 45 in Cedar Rapids and 49 in Waterloo.

The number measures what are called “fine particles” in the air. Elkin says the weather is holding the particles in the air and causing the high readings. Elkin says there’s a temperature inversion and a stagnant air mass that doesn’t allow the particles to disperse. He says there’s a daily cycle from the nighttime to the morning, where pollution levels rise and then drop as the temperature warms up.

The pollution levels rise again when the temperature drops. Elkin says the fine particles are emitted by vehicle traffic and other sources such as manufacturing plants. He says the air can cause problems for people with illnesses such as heart or respiratory disease.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, Weather Tagged With:

Families USA says lack of health care reform will lead to deaths

March 4, 2010 By

A report from a non-partisan group predicts the failure to enact health care reform this year will lead to nearly 300,000 premature deaths nationwide in the next decade, along with the deaths of hundreds of Iowans. Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, says the report also looked at the past decade-and-a-half and found thousands of needless deaths.

“Approximately 295,000 people died due to a lack of health coverage,” Pollack says. “Here’s what we learned about that 15-year period. In Iowa, about 1,600 people between the ages of 25 and 64 died due to a lack of health insurance coverage.” Pollack says they also have estimated statistics for the next ten years if there’s no health care reform.

“In Iowa, we estimate that approximately 1,500 people will die in the next decade due to a lack of health care coverage, if health reform fails,” Pollack says. “On average, that would be approximately three (Iowans) dying per week over the next 10 years due to lack of health coverage.”

Pollack says this is because those who are without insurance, or who are under-insured, are less likely to have regular check-ups. They’re also not screened for possible illnesses and get no preventative care. Many people without insurance delay care even if they are in pain, just hoping it will go away. He says this needs to change.

“Hundreds of thousands will die needlessly and prematurely over the next decade because our terribly flawed health care system excludes these ordinary Americans,” Pollack says. “Failure to pass health care reform, in effect doing nothing to make health coverage and care affordable, results in a huge and terrible cost.”

Pollack says if Congress fails to pass health care reform, “we may continue to pay in tragic, unnecessary deaths for years to come.” The report from the non-profit Families USA is called: “Lives on the Line: The Deadly Cost of Delaying Health Reform.” To read more, visit: “www.familiesusa.org“.

 

By Karla James

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

Wind project announced for Hamilton County

March 4, 2010 By

Another wind power project is being announced for north-central Iowa. California-based EnXco plans to build a wind farm in southwest Hamilton County and will open an office in Stratford next week. EnXco spokeswoman Melissa Peterson says the landscape in the area will change in the next few years.

It’ll be around 200-megawatts in size or about 134 wind turbines, enough to power 60,000 to 70,000 homes. Peterson says the project will start in the next few years as EnXco officials meet with property owners in the area where the proposed wind turbines will be built.

She says construction won’t likely start until 2013 or ’14. EnXco was also responsible for building the wind turbines that dot a stretch of Interstate 35 near Williams.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation Tagged With:

Legislators say they’ll stay out of casino licensing decision

March 4, 2010 By

Legislative leaders from both political parties say they’re staying out of the fray when it comes to deciding whether four communities should be allowed to host new, state-licensed casinos. 

Governor Chet Culver said this morning that the Racing and Gaming Commission should award new casino licenses to Fort Dodge, Ottumwa, Tama and Larchwood in far northwest Iowa.  Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs isn’t following suit.

“I have always felt the need for the legislature to stay out of direct discussions.  Let the Racing and Gaming Commission do this,” Gronstal said late this morning.  “If we get to the place where the legislature’s going to decide how many and where the licenses are going to be, I think that’s a very messy place.” 

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Politics & Government, Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With: , , , ,

Harkin disputes claim health care bill funds abortion

March 4, 2010 By

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin is disputing claims from members of his own party that the health care reform package contains money for abortions. Michigan Representative Bart Stupak is among a dozen House Democrats who will vote against the health care overhaul, claiming it would “directly subsidize abortions.” Harkin says that’s not the case.

“Mr. Stupak, sadly, is totally misinformed,” Harkin says. “I hope he reads our bill and I hope he talks with people here. We have plenty of people who share his philosophy on that who voted for our bill in the Senate, that’s 60 votes.” Stupak and the other Democrats say they’ll vote “no” on the measure unless a provision subsidizing abortion is removed. Harkin says there is no such provision.

“We have a number of senators on our side who share his philosophy,” Harkin says. “Mr. Stupak is just sadly mistaken. There is no money, there is no provision in the Senate bill that allows the federal government to subsidize or otherwise pay for abortions. Simply not so and saying it doesn’t make it so.”

President Obama is calling for an “up or down vote” on health care reform within a few weeks. New rules would deny Republicans the chance to filibuster and block a vote. Harkin sides with the president, saying it’s time for a vote. “For more than a year, Republicans have done everything in their power to delay, obstruct and to kill reform,” Harkin says.

“I suppose that’s their right, if they want to do it. Just as surely, Democrats were overwhelming elected to the majority in Congress and the White House. We have a responsibility to govern and get the job done and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Iowa’s other U.S. Senator, Republican Chuck Grassley, released a statement saying:
“We spend too much on health care, and we don’t get enough value for the dollars we spend. We should undertake reforms that can lower cost and improve quality without jeopardizing our economy by raising taxes or making coverage even more unaffordable with higher premiums. The President continues to try to accomplish his agenda by passing a massive health care reform bill. Beyond the fact that the bills continue to be written behind closed doors and include a limited number of Republican ideas, the legislation is so badly flawed that it will take more than token updates to fix them.”

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,
« Older Posts