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Fire destroys two Oelwein businesses

May 10, 2010 By

A weekend fire destroyed two Oelwein businesses and left several families homeless. Fire crews from Oelwein and several other communities were called out just before 10:30 Friday night to the West Charles Mall antique store and Kirby vacuum cleaner store, where a blaze apparently began in one of the upstairs apartments.

Oelwein Fire Chief Wallace Rundle says crews tried to control the fire in the hallway and thought they were making progress but the flames reached the three ceilings and the attic and “got away from us,” forcing all firefighters to pull out of the building. He says the damage is extensive.

The apartments were gutted by fire, while the first floor is intact but it has heavy water damage.

The vacuum cleaner shop was destroyed. Rundle says it’s fortunate that no one was injured. He says smoke is still rising from some areas as crews work to put out hot spots which remain from the big fire. The chief was asked if they have an indication yet of what may’ve caused the blaze.

The cause is still unknown and all residents of the apartments were at home when the fire broke out, so interviews are continuing. He says it was “kinda’ scary” for some of them to have to evacuate so quickly as the smoke was getting thick. Rundle was also asked if the buildings, located just off the downtown, will have to be torn down.

He says the Kirby store is totaled but the antique store is still intact and he’ll defer to the insurance company about what the next step will be.

By Roger King, KOEL, Oelwein

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Former president Clinton to attend funeral of Ed Campbell

May 10, 2010 By

Former President Bill Clinton will attend a funeral in Iowa today, paying tribute to former party chairman Ed Campbell. Campbell is a long-time Iowa Democratic Party stalwart. He served as an aide to Harold Hughes when Hughes was Iowa’s governor and a United States Senator.

Campbell also managed John Culver’s successful campaign for the U.S. Senate before becoming chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party from 1977 to early 1982, helping establish Iowa’s Caucuses as a crucial first stop for presidential candidates. The Campbell-Clinton connection dates back to 1992.

Campbell endorsed Bill Clinton early in that campaign — while Iowa Senator Tom Harkin was running for president, too. Campbell’s wife, Bonnie Campbell, served as Iowa’s attorney general, ran for governor in 1994 and then took a job in the Clinton administration, leading the newly-created Violence Against Women office in the Justice Department. Bill and Hillary Clinton issued a statement of sympathy over the weekend. Clinton said he and Hillary “were blessed to have Ed’s friendship, support, and sage advice.”

The funeral is scheduled to start at noon in Des Moines. Campbell, a Fort Dodge native, died last Thursday at the age of 75 after a long battle with cancer.

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

UNI preparing for Dalai Lama visit

May 10, 2010 By

Officials at the University of Northern Iowa have just over a week to prepare for a visit from the Dalai Lama. A planning committee has been hard at work since September 2008 when the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet accepted U.N.I’s invitation to Cedar Falls.

U.N.I. Director of Public Safety Dave Zarifis says the number of law enforcement officers needed to handle the event is four times that of a Presidential visit. “We plan on utilizing members from various law enforcement agencies with our staff, plus the state public safety department staff,” Zarifis said. “But, ultimately we’ll do it in a manner that’s not too intrusive and still provides for a pleasurable event for those who are attending.”

The 74-year-old Dalai Lama’s visit is set for Tuesday, May 18. He’ll take part in a panel discussion on “Educating for a Nonviolent World” in the morning and deliver a keynote address titled “The Power of Education” in the afternoon. Both events will take place inside U.N.I.’s McLeod Center.

Zarifis says he wants attendees to enjoy the experience, but also wants them to know security will be extremely tight. “There are certain things that will be and won’t be allowed inside the venues for the safety of the crowd and His Holiness,” Zarifis said. “I wouldn’t bring a lot of stuff that may set a detector off because it’ll slow the access into the facility.”

The keynote address is sold out, while a few hundred tickets remain for the panel discussion. The Dalai Lama has millions of followers, but Zarifis’ department is also preparing for protesters. A protest area will be set across the street from the McLeod Center. “If we do have people in that area, we’ll have a representative from our department who will meet with them and just guide them through what our perimeters are,” Zarifis said. “We’ll allow them to do what our constitution allows them to do, but in a manner that is safe for not only themselves, but for others in attendance.”

Filed Under: Education, Human Interest Tagged With:

American Cancer Society launches “Chose You” campaign

May 10, 2010 By

The American Cancer Society has launched a campaign called “Choose You” aimed at woman. Chuck Reed is a spokesperson for the Iowa Chapter of the society. Reed says the “Choose You” program is designed to encourage women to set aside 30 minutes a day for themselves. He says the American Cancer Society did a survey and found that 95-percent of women said they need to improve their lifestyles. Reed says women tend to be more proactive in keep those around them healthy than they are for themselves.

“Women are often the chief health officer of the house, you know always reminding the husband…to go to the doctor to get your checkup, and they drive the kids to their appointments — but for themselves, they often put themselves last,” Reed says. Reed says surveys show women don’t realize that changes in lifestyle can dramatically cut their cancer risk.

He says women can make healthy lifestyle choices — things like stopping smoking, eating better, getting 30 minutes of exercise a day five days a week — which can all drastically cut their chances of getting cancer. Wednesday May 12 is designated as “Choose You Day” and Reed says women are encouraged to wear blue and think about their whole health. He says other campaigns have successfully targeted individual cancers, but they want women to think about the bigger picture.

“You know, while pink is often tied to breast cancer, there is a lot more cancer out there then just breast cancer, you know, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, skin cancer, all those things I think a lot of people take for granted, they focus on pink and breast cancer, but there’s a lot more to it than that,” Reed explains.

Reed says one in right women will get breast cancer in their lifetime, while one in three women overall will get cancer in their lifetime. You can go to the ChooseYou.com website to find out more about the program and to get hints for improving your overall health.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine Tagged With:

Legislative panel to review rules for morel mushrooms

May 10, 2010 By

Later today a legislative panel is scheduled to review new rules for selling morel mushrooms. Until recently, state rules required someone with advanced training to inspect any wild mushrooms for sale in restaurants or grocery stores in Iowa — to check that they weren’t the poisonous kind.

But Representative Marcie Frevert, a Democrat of Emmetsburg, says those rules virtually prevented any morel mushroom sales in Iowa — because few Iowans met the training requirements. “They had listed the mycological advanced degree identifical expert,” Frevert, “and that there would be more requirements than what the state had available.” Now, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals has implemented a three-hour training course for mushroom inspections. Frevert says it means mushroom hunters can take the training and then cash in on the rare crop.

“People searching and finding them for their own use are perfectly fine, but if they are planning to sell to a legitimate market, this actually makes it easier,” Frevert says. Frevert is chair of the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Review Committee which will review this rule change during their meeting today at the statehouse. The three-hour training course is already being offered to certify morel inspectors.

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With:

Search suspended for man in the Mississippi

May 10, 2010 By

The search for a man who fell into the Mississippi River was called off Sunday. It started with Bettendorf Police chasing a stolen car about 8 o’clock Saturday night. The chase went across the I-74 Bridge into Moline, then back to Bettendorf.

The driver of the stolen car stopped on the bridge. Police took a passenger into custody. But they say the driver ran from them, stepped over a railing and began climbing down the bridge. He then jumped or fell into the icy water below. The unidentified man swam for a while but soon began yelling for help, then disappeared beneath the surface.

Crews searched for him Saturday night and Sunday morning with no success before calling off the search. The passenger, 36-year-old David Minor of Davenport, had an outstanding warrant from Davenport and is in Scott County Jail.

By Phil Roberts, Davenport

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Soldier from Perry dies in Afghanistan

May 10, 2010 By

A 19-year-old Marine from central Iowa died in Afghanistan Friday. Lance Corporal Joshua Davis was a 2009 graduate of Perry High School where he played on the football team and wrestled.

Davis was killed in combat in the Helmand province in southwest Afghanistan. Some of the heaviest fighting of the nine-year-old war has happened recently in that area as U.S.-led forces try to drive the Taliban out.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Military
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