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AG: hire special prosecutor to probe Culver campaign contributions

May 5, 2010 By
Attorney General Tom Miller

Attorney General Tom Miller (file photo)

The attorney general says it’s time to hire a special prosecutor to investigate contributions to Governor Culver’s reelection campaign that came from casino-connected people.  

Culver has publicly called on the Racing and Gaming Commission to grant four new casino licenses. The state Division of Criminal Investigation has been reviewing three Culver campaign contributions which came from employees of Peninsula Gaming.  That’s the company seeking a license for a new Fort Dodge casino.

Donn Stanley, a former deputy in the attorney general’s office, has just left to take over Culver’s reelection effort.  Attorney General Tom Miller says he believes there’s no “actual” conflict of interest in having his office involved in the investigation of those campaign contributions, but Miller says there is an “appearance of a conflict of interest.” That’s why Miller’s recommending the state Executive Council hire a special prosecutor to work on the case.

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

Morningside softball looks for tournament title

May 5, 2010 By

After winning the Great Plains Athletic Conference regular season title the Morningside softball team will try to add the conference tournament title later this week in Hastings, Nebraska. The top seeded Mustangs take on Concordia this Thursday afternoon in the opening round.

By winning the regular season title Morningside qualified for a trip to the national tournament in Decatur, Alabama, but coach Jessica Jones-Sitzmann says her team remains motivated.

Jones-Sitzmann says they now need to focus on a new chapter in the tournament and know that any team can win it. The Mustangs claimed their second straight regular season title by winning their final 11 games. She says they knew the conference was going to be tough and they had different people step up in every game so the team could excel.

Jones-Sitzmann says they would like to maintain the momentum they finished the regular season with. She says their goal from the beginning was to win the conference and the tournament. Concordia is the eighth seed and finished the conference race with a record of 12-12.

Morningside is 35-7 overall. Dordt College is the fifth seed and will take on fourth seeded Midland Lutheran on Thursday afternoon.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

Hamilton County Speedway to celebrate 100 years

May 5, 2010 By

Iowa’s oldest speedway will celebrate its 100th birthday this summer. The Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City opened in 1910 and will mark the occasion on the night of July third.

Holly Myers if Hamilton County Fair secretary says they will have special prices and there will be a series of events leading up to the races. There will be a free car show, vintage race car displays, a simulator.

There are races at the track every Saturday through late August.

By Pat Powers KQWC Webster City

Filed Under: Sports

State dedicates new Hygienic Lab building

May 5, 2010 By
State Hygienic Lab at night.

State Hygienic Lab at night.

Researchers and scientists at the State Hygienic Laboratory are preparing to move into a new building in Coralville. Lab director Christopher Atchison says the current facility is a converted tuberculosis hospital which opened in 1917.

“We need a more secure and flexible facility than the space we’re in now,” Atchison said. Employees will move into the new facility on the University of Iowa’s Oakdale campus sometime in June.

The new $38-million lab features open architecture with plenty of space for testing disease outbreaks. “Additionally, we know the threat of bioterrorism remains a real possibility. This laboratory provides additional security so we can not only follow up on any specimen that is submitted to us, but frankly, it’ll be a safer place for our employees to work,” Atchison said.

In addition to addressing emerging diseases and bioterrorism, the State Hygienic Lab is responsible for helping preserve water, soil and air quality in Iowa. Atchison says the new facility will be one of the premiere hygienic labs in the country. “Minnesota has a recently constructed lab and we think this will compare very favorably to that,” Atchison told Radio Iowa. “But, across the country, I think there are going to be fewer than a dozen labs that have the kind of capability that this lab does.”

A building dedication, ribbon cutting and public tours of the new lab are taking place this afternoon (Wednesday). The lab is located at Highway 965 and Oakdale Blvd. in Coralville. Public tours run from 1:00-2:30 p.m. A building dedication ceremony will begin at 3:15 with a ribbon cutting at 4:00.

Photo courtesy of Tom Jorgensen

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Politics & Government

Congressman Braley supports campaign disclosure legislation

May 5, 2010 By

Congressman Bruce Braley is supporting a bill that would require corporations to disclose how much they spend on political campaigns. The bill has been drafted in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision which opened the door to unlimited corporate spending on elections.

The legislation would require corporate C-E-Os to appear in campaign ads, similar to how candidates say, “I approved this message,” in radio and T.V. ads. Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, says congress has an “obligation” to respond to the court decision.

“Voters increasingly are demanding transparency in how money is spent in political campaigns,” Braley says. “They want us to try to lessen the influence of corporate lobbyists and foreign money in elections and I think that’s what the DISCLOSE Act is designed to do.”

DISCLOSE stands for “Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections.” A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate, backed by Democrats. The House bill Braley’s backing also has the support of two Republicans. “It should be the type of issue that is nonpartisan,” Braley says. “We all want to make sure that elections are fair, that they’re not subject to undue influence to excess spending by foreign corporations and foreign nationals and we want to make sure the voters know who is funding the ads that are being used in political campaigns.”

The House bill would prevent corporations like Boeing that are government contractors from spending money on elections. Any company that received bailout money would be prevented from spending money on elections, too. That means neither G.M. nor Bank of America would be able to buy ads or contribute directly to candidates to try to influence the outcome of elections.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With:

Some ask state to consider overall impact of more gambling

May 5, 2010 By

While most of the people who spoke at Tuesday’s hearing on new casino licenses had a direct ink to the four counties involved, a few spoke about the overall impact of gambling on the state. Danny Carroll, chairman of the Iowa Family Policy Center’s Board of Directors, argued that more gambling will harm children.

“We turn a blind eye to the damage, to the suffering, that comes because of expanded gambling in the State of Iowa,” Carroll said,”some how we have figured out a way to deny it, to compromise what we know to be right.” Carroll says visions of dollar signs make people look beyond the impact on families.

Newton Realtor, Dan Kelley, led the group that opposed gambling in Jasper County and saw the gambling referendum voted down.

Kelley told commissioners: “We asked our families, friends and neighbors when weighting their decision to consider the most vulnerable among us — the gambling addict and their loved ones. We asked them to consider the family broken by the weight of gambling addiction. We asked them to consider the child who goes hungry or coatless because of a parent’s compulsion. We asked them to consider the embezzler led to conviction because of a mountain of gambling debt. These people and those that would fall into the same trap, would not benefit from a casino.”

Kelley says their message overcame the proponents of gambling that were better financed. Kelley says he understands why communities might think a casino is the answer. He says being from Newton he can sympathize with those who are proud of their communities and the challenges they confront. Kelley says there’s probably no where in Iowa where the loss of manufacturer jobs has hit harder than in Jasper County. But Kelley said the loss of those jobs gave them an opportunity to redefine themselves. He says Newton is rebuilding, economically without a casino

Most of those who testified Tuesday before the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, though, spoke about one of the four casino license applications. Representative Marcia Frevert of Emmetsburg suggested a casino in Fort Dodge would eat into profits at the Wild Rose Casino in Emmetsburg.

Frevert told the commission the positive efforts of the citizens working and investing together to achieve an improved economy should be allowed to flourish. “Please do not vote to diminish and cannibalize one community for the sake of another,” Frevert said.

The Racing and Gaming Commission will make a final decision on awarding any new licenses at its meeting on May 13th.

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

Search on for best pork tenderloin

May 5, 2010 By

While Iowa’s best burger was crowned this week by the state’s beef industry, Iowa’s pork producers are also searching out the state’s tastiest breaded pork tenderloin. Alison Swanson, spokeswoman for the Iowa Pork Producers Association, says the annual title is much-coveted among restaurants from Sioux City to the Quad Cities.

This is the eighth year for the contest. Last year’s top tenderloin was from Goldie’s Ice Cream Shop in Prairie City. Swanson explains how Iowans can enter their favorite restaurant in the competition, as the eateries’ owners can’t nominate themselves.

To be considered, each restaurant has to be nominated by at least three people. The nomination forms can be found in publications like Iowa Farmer Today and on the website, www.iowapork.org. Swanson tells what the judges look for in the perfect tenderloin.

She says they’re judged on taste — how the pork tastes, how the breading tastes and whether they complement each other well, and also on appearance as presentation is important.

The winning restaurant will be announced October 1st as the kickoff to Pork Month. The entry deadline is June 11th. A few days ago, the Iowa Beef Industry Council named Iowa’s best burger as being the mushroom swiss burger from the Sac County Cattle Company, a restaurant in Sac City.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Human Interest
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