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Census estimates show continued shift to metro areas

March 26, 2010 By

The 2010 Census count is underway, and the final estimates based on the last census show Iowa continued its pace of slow population growth. The coordinator of the State Library’s Data Center program, Beth Henning, says the population grew near the bigger cities between 2008 and 2009, while it dropped in more rural areas. She says metropolitan counties grew by 8.9% while non-metropolitan counties lost 2.1% of their residents during the decade.

More than 56% of Iowans now live in metropolitan areas. A county with suburbs to the west of Des Moines still sees the biggest gains.

Henning says Dallas County continues to be the fastest growing county in Iowa and ranked 28th nationwide between 2008 and 2009. Dallas County grew by over 50%. There were 22 counties that gained population, while 77 lost population. Henning says the current count will let us see how accurate those population estimates are.

Henning says they found the annual estimates were low in the 1980′s and 1990′s, so they are anxious to see how the estimates match up with the actual census count that’s underway. Henning says the impact of the county is why there’s so much effort out into getting everyone to participate.

Henning says she can’t stress how important it is for people to complete the census forms as the count is the starting point for the estimates that take place for the next 10 years. Iowa’s population is currently estimated at just over three-million people. You can see more about the population estimates for individual counties on-line at: www.iowadatacenter.org.

Filed Under: Human Interest

Purple fever grips state as Panthers take the court tonight

March 26, 2010 By

Northern Iowa’s journey to the sweet 16 in the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament has brought a boost to some businesses in the state.  Cory Moore manages The Stadium, a sports apparel and accessories shop in downtown Des Moines. “We’ve had a ton of customers coming in looking for U.N.I. apparel…well above what we normally would” Moore said. (see video below)

 

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

ISU women ready for challenge of unbeaten UConn

March 26, 2010 By

The Iowa State women will try to pull a shocker on Sunday when they take on defending national champion Connecticut in the “sweet sixteen” of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. The Cyclones advance by rallying past Wisconsin-Green Bay 60-56 on Tuesday night while top ranked UConn is riding an NCAA record 74-game winning streak and all of the wins have been double digits.

Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly who says the Cyclones look forward to the challenge, one he calls will be the greatest challenge he has even been a part of. Fennelly says you either accept the challenge or go home. He says it would be an upset of monumental proportions and they will enjoy the fun of being in the Sweet 16.

He says they will play hard and be ready to go. Fennelly says if you are competitive and tough-minded, you want to be challenged against the best, and they will have that opportunity Sunday.

UConn’s closest game this season was a 12-point victory over second ranked Stanford. Fennelly says “it’s absolutely amazing what they have done,” and he says they may be the best woman’s team in history.

Iowa State is 25-7. UConn is 35-0 and the winner will advance to the regional final on Tuesday to take on either Mississippi State or Florida State.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

2010 legislative session may be nearing completion

March 26, 2010 By

Lawmakers aim to close down the 2010 Iowa Legislative session within the next 48 hours.  Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs says the goal has been to dramatically shorten the session from its scheduled 100-day run.

“Every day we’re not in session saves $35,000 to $45,000.  By getting out 20 days early, that’s $800,000.  That’s a number of people’s jobs in this state,” Gronstal says.  “We’re trying to do our part. We’ve effectively said, as legislators, we’re going to furlough ourselves.”

Legislators made some final decisions Thursday, with still more looming today — including a possible debate over gun rights.  A bill backed by the National Rifle Association could be among the last to clear the legislature.  It would set a statewide standard for issuing gun permits, replacing the current system which gives the sheriffs in each of Iowa’s 99 counties the authority to decide who gets a permit to carry a gun and who doesn’t. 

As lawmakers veer from debates about guns to the state’s nursing shortage to greyhound racing, Gronstal says the timing of the legislature’s shut-down depends in large part on the ability of the legislature’s computer system and printers to keep up with the drafting and redrafting of hundreds of details.  

“It’s a question of how quickly we can push the paper,” Gronstal says. 

House Democratic Leader Kevin McCarthy of Des Moines spent much of Thursday ironing out the final details of the state budget plan. ”So basically, it’s the dotting of the i’s and crossing of the t’s,” McCarthy says. 

Crossing certain “must do” items off the legislative agenda has taken hours, if not days for lawmakers to accomplish.  And some proposals are getting crossed off the “must do” list.  Representative Jeri Huser of Ankeny had pressed to get  non-profit groups that receive taxpayer dollars to operate under the state’s open meetings and open records law.  The move was prompted by the scandal at the Iowa Association of School Boards.

“It’s about people trusting government and, right now, there is no trust in government,” Huser says.

Senator Pat Ward, a Republican from West Des Moines, was among those who supported the new “openness” for many of the state’s non-profit groups.

“I believe having open meetings, open records and sunshine is very important,” Ward says.  “And I think a lot of the problems that we’ve seen…(at) the Association of School Boards would have been avoided if we had more openness in any organization that receives public money.” 

But it appears legislators, instead, will study the issue over the next few months rather than endorse such a requirement.  That study was included in a larger package that received Senate approval Thursday.

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

Study says Iowa teens buy alcohol at same rate as rest of nation

March 25, 2010 By

A federal study finds Iowa teenagers are drinking alcohol and buying it for themselves at a rate that’s dead even with the national average. A campaign of public service announcements is being launched on the radio in hopes of bringing the numbers down. Fran Harding, director of the U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, says the PSAs target Iowa’s moms and dads.

Harding says, “Our campaign that we’re rolling out today focuses on giving tips to parents so that they can learn to talk to their young people earlier and more often.” Harding says the survey found alcohol is still the most widely-abused substance by youth between the ages of 12 and 20. With end-of-school-year events like prom and graduation approaching, she says temptation for alcohol abuse is ramped up.

“Parents tend to talk to their children after a problem is in front of them or around prom time, and then they don’t talk about it again,” Harding says. “We want parents to know that we need to talk to them earlier, ages 12, 13, 14, if not even earlier than that, and to talk to them often so it becomes more of a regular conversation.”

The launch of the PSA campaign is accompanied by a new website, “stopalcoholabuse.gov”, which Harding says has helpful, interactive tools for parents. She says, “Parents can go into the website and plug in the age and the gender and the particular situation they would like to address with their young person and get actual questions and feeders and information and programming and connect them with programs around their neighborhood.”

Research shows that children who start drinking before age 15 are six times more likely to have alcohol problems as adults. The National Survey of Drug Use and Health questioned 12 to 20-year-olds. It found, both nationwide and in Iowa, about 28% of those surveyed had used alcohol in the previous month and about nine-percent had bought it for themselves in the previous month.

The states with the lowest numbers on the survey are Alaska and New Mexico, while the highest numbers are in Louisiana and the District of Columbia.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine Tagged With:

Education funding under discussion at statehouse

March 25, 2010 By

Iowa currently ranks 26th in the nation when it comes to average teacher pay. The across-the-board cut in state spending that was ordered last October reduced state support of schools, too, so that teacher-pay ranking has probably dropped and may drop more. Mary Jane Cobb is executive director of the Iowa State Education Association, the state teachers’ union.

“What we all understand is the rankings that came out recently that us at 26th in the nation didn’t include any of the cuts that we’re talking about,” Cobb says. “And so I’m concerned that the next round of rankings that are going to come out will show us having slipped.”

According to the National Education Association, the average salary for a K-through-12 teacher in Iowa is 48-thousand dollars a year. Democrats who control the legislature’s debate agenda say schools will get a general increase in state aid, along with a bit more than $100-million to plug some holes in school budgets.

Republicans like Representative Mike May of Spirit Lake — a retired teacher — say that’s not enough. “The comment is constantly made in here that…’Well, those folks at the local level are going to have to make cuts, too. They’re going to have to scrimp and save, just like we have to,’” May says. “…What do you think they’ve been doing over the past several years, over the last two years in particular? Do you think they haven’t been throwing things overboard?”

To critics who say the state isn’t spending enough on schools, Governor Culver says the state’s K-through-12 schools will get more money from the state for the next academic year. “It may be the only area in the whole budget that will get an increase in state funding,” Culver says. “And that shows our commitment to our public schools, to our teachers, to our kids and to our administrators.”

According to Culver, he and Democrats in the legislature have agreed to send more than $2.4 billion to Iowa’s K-through-12 public schools for the next academic year, an increase of about 65 million.

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

Large amount of cash found in drug stop

March 25, 2010 By

A drug dog made a big bust this week after authorities pulled over a semi for a traffic violation in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area. Deputies with the Douglas County, Nebraska Sheriff’s Department searched the rig after they became suspicious of its contents. Chief Deputy Marty Bilek says they discovered a huge pile of cash.

“There was about $1.2 million hidden in the back of the truck,” Bilek said. “The truck was otherwise loaded with pallets of exotic cheeses.” The money was found in two large boxes. Bilek says investigators believe two people who were in the semi have ties to El Salvador and the M-S-13 gang.

The money seizure on Wednesday was the third for deputies in Omaha/Council Bluffs in the past week. Bilek says the first one was for $320,000 and the second was for nearly $100,000.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With:
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