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Cedar Rapids hopes to find out soon about federal money for events center

April 20, 2010 By

Cedar Rapids officials say they expect to find out by the end of the month whether they’ll receive a federal grant to cover most of the cost for building a new events center. About half of the money for the 67-million dollar project will come from state I-JOBS funding and local bonds.

City officials say they hope the other half comes from the federal Economic Development Administration. City councilman Chuck Wieneke says a new events center will help stimulate the local economy in more ways than one. “We’re dealing with the flood, it’s our main priority but we can’t stop dealing with the future as well and moving forward with this cellular center is going to help this city and help the tax payers and therefore it’s going to help all of those affected by the flood as well,” Wieneke says.

Doug Neuman is the president of the Cedar Rapids Downtown District. Neuman says anchoring a downtown with this type of facility will attract visitors and says a conservative estimate is that it would have a $14-million economic impact annually. That’s in addition to millions of dollars that will go to restaurants and hotels.

If the funding is approved, the project will likely take two and a half years to complete. The Cedar Rapids city council will tonight consider awarding the project management contract to the company led by Governor Culver’s former chief of staff.

Filed Under: Politics & Government

Iowan finds a way to get home despite volcano delays

April 20, 2010 By

Planes are finally taking off from European countries again. That’s after an ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland grounded air travel for days. Tens of thousands of Americans are stuck overseas, including some Iowans.

Iowa City’s Winebrenner Red Carpet Travel Agency received a call from a concerned client last week. University of Iowa Mechanical Engineer Professor Fred Stern was stuck in Turkey and couldn’t find a flight back to America. Travel Counselor Tricia Wasion spent hours searching for a solution.

“We’ve gone through airline strikes and such, but not anything like a volcano,” Tricia Wasion said. “It was very challenging. In my situation, I had to contact three different airlines,” Wasion said. She was finally able to find Stern a flight to Chicago. He returned to Iowa Sunday. Stern travels all over the world to complete his work and frequently encounters delays and cancellations.

“If you travel a lot, you are used to all kinds of situations that can confront you,” Stern said. “That’s why I only take carry-on luggage. I’m very flexible in my travel.” Stern left at a good time. His friends and colleagues remain stuck overseas.

By Mark Geary, KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters Tagged With:

Strike at Palmer College delayed

April 20, 2010 By

Faculty members at Palmer College of Chiropractic were prepared to strike when their contract with the college ran out at midnight Sunday. The Quad City Times says teachers were seen removing boxes of personal items from the school Friday night.

But there’s no strike yet — union officials and college administrators have agreed to extend the negotiations to midnight April 28th. Classes at Palmer run through the middle of June. The college has advertised for replacement faculty members who, along with some administrators, would teach if a strike does take place.

By Phil Roberts, Davenport

Filed Under: Business, Education

Ames man dies in Boone County accident

April 20, 2010 By

A 61-year-old Ames man was killed Monday afternoon in a one-vehicle accident in rural Boone County. The Boone County Sheriff’s Department identified the victim as Joel K. Martin.

The accident happened north of Boone at the junction of 110th Street and Q Avenue. Reportedly Martin lost control of the 2007 Jeep Wrangler he was driving and drove off to the south side of the roadway where it rolled several times. Martin was taken by ambulance to the Boone County Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Iowa college players hoping the NFL calls

April 20, 2010 By

Several Iowa college players will be waiting to hear their name called later this week when the NFL Draft takes place in New York City. The first round is Thursday night and the highest rated college player from the state is Iowa tackle Bryan Bulaga who is expected by many to be one of their first ten players taken. Bulaga spent only three years with the Hawks before coming out of school early.

Iowa offensive coordinator Ken O’Keefe says Bulaga has his whole future in front of him, and says it will take a little developmental time as Bulaga has only been playing for three years. Bulaga is one of three members of last year’s offensive line that are expected to be taken. The list includes Kyle Calloway and tight end Tony Moeaki.

O’Keefe says when you see their draft status and where they are headed, he says it draws notice. Iowa corner Amari Spievey left school early and is considered a middle round prospect as are linebackers Pat Angerer and A.J. Edds.

Iowa defensive coordinator Norm Parker says he thinks they have a chance with the right team. He says Angerer will impress any team that drafts him, as he is a good athlete, but he is just not a big guy. Parker says Angerer is as talented athletically as former Hawkeye Chad Greenway, but he just doesn’t make you say “wow” when he walks in the room.

Parker says for all the players the draft is only the beginning. He says it is like signing a national letter of intent for college, it means you are on the team and then you have to go out and play.

Two players off the U.N.I. defense could get drafted, including defensive end James Ruffin. U.N.I. coach Mark Farley says Ruffin is being looked at as a defensive end or linebacker, depending the scheme a team plays. He says a big surprise has been free safety Quentin Scott. Scott played in the Texas versus the nation all-star game and impressed people. Farley says he also did well in pro workouts and he thinks he has a great chance to get on a team.

The highest rated Iowa State players in the draft are punter Mike Brandtner and offensive lineman Reggie Stephens. Rounds two through three will be on Friday and and final four rounds of the draft are on Saturday.

Elwin Huffman, KOEL, Oelwein also contributed to this story.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: , , ,

Albert Young hopes to fill back up role for Vikings

April 20, 2010 By

Former Iowa standout Albert Young hopes to become the backup at running back to Adrian Peterson for the Minnesota Vikings. Young spent last season as the third team running back but the opportunity to move up occurred when Chester Taylor signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Bears.

Young says he likes to emphasize the fact that the job is not his, but he says the opportunity is there and he wants it and needs to act upon it. Young says he knows the Vikings could bring in a free agent running back or get one in this week’s draft. He says he can only control what he can control.

Young says having been with the Vikings for a couple of years is an advantage for him, as he says you have to know the system to know what is going on. He says Adrian Peterson is the main ball carrier and when he comes in on third down, he knows he has to protect Brett Favre.

Young appeared in seven games for the Vikings in 2009.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Lottery director says sales have picked up with warm weather

April 20, 2010 By

The C.E.O. of the Iowa Lottery says things have picked up after a tough winter and he expects them to meet their revenue projections. Terry Rich says sales were over two million dollars above the budget projection for March. Rich says the sales have been doing very well, and he says compared to other gaming interests across the U.S. and Iowa, they are ahead of everyone.

He says January, February proceeds were down due to the weather, but he says March and April are coming back with help from the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots. The lottery also got an $800,000 boost from the raffle drawing. Iowa started selling the Mega Millions game in February along with Powerball. Rich says they expect to see some increased revenue from Mega Millions down the line.

He says states that had Powerball have seen incremental increases, while the states that started selling Powerball along with Megamillions, saw a marked increase in revenue because of large Powerball jackpots. Rich says they expect to benefit once the Powerball jackpot is won and drops down, and the Megamillions jackpot increases.

Right now he says they sell four Powerball tickets for every Megamillions ticket in Iowa. The Iowa Lottery has turned just over $43-million to the state so far this fiscal year, which is 5.4% below the projected budget.

The Iowa Lottery could see 21 employees take the early retirement program if they don’t change their minds by the June deadline. Rich says they expect to fill all but nine of those positions with new hires.

Rich says they will have to do what they can in the short term to find people to fill those spots to ensure they have enough people out to get the tickets in the store. Rich says the retirements will have an impact on the lottery’s budget for this year. Rich says the Iowa Lottery generates revenue and is known as an authority, so they have to take all the expenses for the people who retire this year. He says that will give them a $1.1 million expense hit to their budget. Rich says they should be able to absorb that expense and still make their budget goals.

The Iowa Lottery will also ask for a waiver on the budget cutting process that requires a cutback in supervisory personnel. Rich says they have some security concerns over cutting back in that area because the lottery handles money at various locations in the state and needs the proper supervisory control to ensure there are not problems.

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With:
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