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Parkinson’s vaccine being tested

March 27, 2010 By

Iowans who suffer from Parkinson’s Disease may soon be able to take part in the testing of a promising new vaccine. Researchers say the vaccine would not cure Parkinson’s but could reverse the neurological damage. Dr. Howard Gendleman, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, says hopes the vaccine will be safe to test on humans soon.

Gendleman says, “We’re hoping that within the year to a year and a half, the screening of these patients will be completed and then, we’ll be able to move what we call a phase one clinical trial forward.” It’s hoped the vaccine will bring some relief for those who currently suffer from P-D and for those who may develop the illness. Gendleman says the vaccine is not a cure-all for Parkinson’s.

“This is not a vaccine that will cure it,” he says. “This is a vaccine that will halt its progression.” It’s estimated that one-million people in the U.S. currently suffer from P-D.

“Most of the nerve cells are damaged and not yet destroyed and we can reverse that damage,” he says. “Do we know for sure? No. Do we hope? Yes.” Symptoms of Parkinson’s include impairment of movement, stiffness or balance problems and uncontrollable shaking. For more information, visit the Iowa chapter of the American Parkinson’s Disease Association at “www.apdaiowa.org”. Details on the UNMC study can be found here.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

Gun bill may be final shot out of ’10 session

March 27, 2010 By

Today could be the final day of the 2010 Iowa legislative session.  One of the final bills to clear the legislature may be a measure that would create a statewide standard for issuing gun permits, but there is stiff opposition from some quarters. 

Senator Keith Kreiman, a Democrat from Bloomfield, expects the bill to come up for debate in the senate today. ”I think it’s very common sense,” Kreiman says.  “I think you end up with uniformity.” 

Under current law, sheriffs in each of Iowa’s 99 counties have the authority to decide who gets a permit to carry a concealed gun.  “It’s not only a public safety, but it’s also a little bit of a fairness issue, too,” Kreiman says.  “It shouldn’t matter in what county you are how much you can exercise your constitutional rights.” 

The bill has critics, though, from both ends of the political spectrum.  Some legislators argue the state shouldn’t be in the business of establishing any restrictions on gun ownership, while others say there should be more restrictions and this bill makes it easier to obtain a gun.  Under current law, sheriffs have the discretion to turn down a gun permit application, but the proposal before legislators would force sheriffs to issue permits if the applicant meets a list of basic requirements. 

Kreiman points to another portion of the bill which requires training in how to use a fire arm. ”I think you end up with people with weapons on the persons who are actually trained to carry those safely,” Kreiman says. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed the bill with a unanimous vote Thursday.  If the bill becomes law, permits to carry a gun would be issued for five years and it would cost the applicant $50.  Today,  it costs an Iowan $10 dollars get a gun permit and the permit lasts for just a year. 

The National Rifle Association supports the bill. The Iowa State Sheriffs and Deputies Association opposes the legislation.

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

Panther NCAA run ends with loss to Michigan State

March 27, 2010 By

The record-setting season for the U.N.I. Panthers came to an end Friday in a 59-52 “Sweet 16″ loss to Michigan State in St. Louis. U.N.I. led 29 to 22 at halftime, but the Spartans opened the second half with a 17-5 run and took control, holding the Panthers to only five field goals in the second half.

Guard Ali Farokhmanesh says they had a hard time scoring. He says it was frustrating, as it is whenever you’re not shooting the ball well. Farokhmanesh says you have to give Michigan State some credit for making it tough on them. U-N-I won it’s second straight Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles, they won the school’s first NCAA tournament game in 20 years and advanced to the “Sweet 16″ for the first time in school history.

They upset top seed Kansas in the second round. Farokhmanesh said it was hard to think about the accomplishments after the loss.

He says they enjoyed playing with each other so much, and they didn’t want the run to end. He says they will look back on it later on, but says it’s hard now.

Fellow senior Adam Koch agreed. Koch says it’s tough after the loss to appreciate some of the things they accomplished. Coach Ben Jacobson says their deep bench has allowed them to stay fresh late in the game most of the season, but they couldn’t hit the shots in this game.

Jacobson says they’ve really played well all year long in the last three minutes and they played well in this game, they just missed on a couple of opportunities.

Jacobson agree with his players that all that has happened in the last couple of weeks hasn’t sunk in. “It hasn’t, it will at some point,” Jacobson says. He says the team will have a lot to look back on and a lot to be proud of, but not now, and he says he’s so proud of the effort as things got bigger. Jacobson says they came out on the biggest stage they have been on and were in position to win another game.

Farokhmanesh, Koch and Jordan Egleseder are three senior starters the team will lose next season along with two other seniors. Jacobson says they leave a big legacy. He says the importance that they put on being unselfish and on relationships has had a far-reaching impact. Jacobson says the senior leadership allowed them to have “some success and a lot of fun.”

Adam Koch led the Panthers with 13 points, Kwadzo Ahelegbe had 12. The Panthers finish the season with a school-record 30 wins against just five losses.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

GOP candidates in third district debate

March 26, 2010 By

There was a debate Friday featuring six of the seven Republicans who want to face-off against Democratic Congressman Leonard Boswell in November. Former Iowa State wrestling coach Jim Gibbons, one of the Republican contestants in the third congressional district race, has raised the most campaign cash and that was a topic of discussion in the debate. 

Competitor Dave Funk criticized Gibbons for a campaign fundraiser that was hosted by former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert.  Funk, a retired airline pilot, questioned Hastert’s integrity and blamed Hastert for tainting the Republican brand.

“I don’t care if they are the former speaker,” Funk said.  “(He’s) the very person who ruined our reputation as fiscally responsible.” 

Funk accused Hastert of using his position as a congressman to bolster a personal real estate investment. “We don’t need the likes of Dennis Hastert in the third district, a man who not only personally benefitted and profitted to the tune of tens of millions of dollars with fraudulent earmarks and the abuse of earmarks, to come in here and raise money for anybody,” Funk said. 

Hastert is a former wrestling coach and Gibbons said he’s honored to have Hastert as a financial supporter. “A lot of people have big drug companies, big oil companies,” Gibbons said. “I’ve got big wrestling.”

Gibbons also defended his fundraising. ”You talk about hard work, anybody that knows what it takes to be able to raise money knows that in this economic environment it is a lot of hard work.  I’ve dedicated my life — I’ve let go of my career as a financial advisor to pursue this full time,” Gibbons said.  “I make no apologies for where we are.  I’m excited about where we are.” 

State Senator Brad Zaun, another one of the candidates in the third district, criticized both Gibbons and Funk for holding campaign fundraising events in Washington, D.C.  ”Money can’t buy campaigns and it shouldn’t,” Zaun said. “The fact of the matter is of the top three candidates I’m the only one that hasn’t been out to D.C. with my hand out.  The fact of the matter is Washington, D.C. is broken.  I run a grassroots campaign.  That’s what I’ve always been successful doing.”

The forum was sponsored by IowaPolitics.com and featured three other third district candidates: retired architect Mark Rees, Urbandale physician Pat Bertroche, and West Des Moines businessman Scott Batcher.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Unemployment rate goes up slightly in February

March 26, 2010 By

Iowa’s jobless rate increased one-tenth of a percent last month, rising to the highest level in nearly 24 years. Kerry Koonce is a spokesperson for the Iowa Workforce Development  agency which tracks the unemployment numbers. She says Iowa’s unemployment rate hit 6.7% in February, up from 6.6% in January. It’s the highest unemployment rate in the state since the July 1986 rate of 6.8%.

Koonce says most sectors of the economy actually recorded job gains last month. One exception was leisure and hospitality, which shed 1,700 jobs. “We were still seeing increases in that category (in January) when we would have normally seen losses coming out of the holiday shopping season,” Koonce said. “So, we’re seeing those losses now. Those individuals held on a little bit longer than usual to those jobs.”

Despite the slight jump in unemployment, the total number of working Iowans actually grew by 200 people from January to February. Koonce believes that’s a sign of a rebounding economy. “While we added jobs in both January and February, which is positive, it’s going to take until probably the third quarter of 2010 before we really begin adding significant numbers of jobs and bring us back to the numbers with lost pre-recession,” Koonce said.

Iowa’s 6.7% unemployment rate is a full three percentage points lower than the U.S. jobless rate of 9.7%.

High/low county unemployment rates for February 2010:

  • Allamakee – 12%
  • Lee – 11.7%
  • Muscatine – 11.3%
  • Johnson – 4.8%
  • Lyon – 4.9%
  • Carroll – 5.1%
Filed Under: Business Tagged With:

IASB fires executive director over money issues

March 26, 2010 By
IASB president Russ Wiesley, attorney Nolden Gentry.

IASB president Russ Wiesley, attorney Nolden Gentry.

The Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) has fired executive director Maxine Kilcrease in the wake of the investigation of her alleged mishandling of the associations funds.

 I.A.S.B. president Russ Wiesley spoke with reporters today at the I.A.S.B. office in Des Moines.

“We believe this to be in the best interest of the association. As a board we feel we were misled and blocked form information and it has caused a huge amount of distress for this Iowa organization that we so deeply care about,” Wiesley says.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Education

Des Moines man admits to injuring his son

March 26, 2010 By

A Des Moines infant is hospitalized in serious condition and police have charged the baby’s father with Child Endangerment. Des Moines Police Sergeant Lori Lavorato says 18-year-old Paul Russell Davis admitted he caused the injuries.

“He said he grabbed the child out of the baby swing, threw him into the crib and eventually grabbed him out of the crib and shook him in an attempt to keep him awake – but in fact, that actually made him go limp,” Lavorato said.

The child, five-month-old Christopher Davis, is expected to survive. The baby was taken to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines just before noon Thursday. Lavorato says the infant suffered a fractured skull, a broken neck, brain injuries and had multiple bruises on his body.

Davis told investigators the incident happened after he and his wife, 16-year-old Kayla Phipps-Davis, got into an argument. Kayla left their apartment to take a walk and calm down. When she returned 30 minutes later, they took the baby to the hospital. Lavorato says the Iowa Department of Human Services has taken custody of the child.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts
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