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Permanent flood protection under construction in Coralville

June 3, 2010 By

Construction of permanent flood protection in Coralville is underway and scheduled to be completed by this time next year. The flooding by the Iowa River and nearby creeks in 2008 affected nearly 200 businesses in Coralville. Coralville Mayor Jim Faucett says about 80-percent of the flooded businesses have returned, and new flood control measures will encourage more growth.

“The one’s that do come back, now they’re starting to expand, they’re hiring more people, so we put more people to work and they buy more goods and it’s certainly an economic recovery,” Faucett says. The questions whether the businesses would come back if they flood again.

“They’ve been flooded at least three times since ’93, you know, one more time that they get flooded out, I don’t know how they can afford to rebuild,” Faucett says. The new flood protection is a combination of concrete floodwalls, elevated streets, and levees.

Faucett says about $17-million are still needed to protect against flooding from nearby creeks. That’s a concern for Randy Ward, the owner of Randy’s Carpets along the Coralville Strip. “Right now if you’re looking at a building that’s in a flood zone or one that’s not almost everyone would go to the non-flood zone so until (this) flood prevention is done I think it’s going to be very difficult to get new businesses in Coralville,” Ward says.

The cost of the flood protection measures is $27-million. It’s expected to be complete by next spring.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Police blockade used to stop woman in chase

June 3, 2010 By

Police in the Des Moines metro area had to use unusual tactics to stop a speeding car during a chase on Wednesday. Police say the woman dashed away in her car after hitting another vehicle in Urbandale. Officers intercepted her a few blocks away but she refused to stop and darted onto Interstate 35-80.

Police saw there were two young children in the car, so they abandoned the use of stop sticks to blow out the tires. Instead, nine squad cars immediately responded and boxed in the suspect’s vehicle and brought it to a stop. Thirty-year-old Jessica Aberg of Clive faces a series of charges, including child endangerment and assault, as she allegedly hit two police cars. The children, ages three and seven, are now in state custody.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Two die in accident near Monticello

June 3, 2010 By

Two adults were killed and three children are among the injured after a pickup truck crash last night in eastern Iowa. The Jones County Sheriff’s office says it was a single-vehicle rollover accident on Highway 151 near Monticello about 8:30 P.M.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene while a female passenger died after being taken to Jones Regional Medical Center in Anamosa. Four other passengers were also taken to the hospital and one of them was later airlifted to University Hospitals in Iowa City.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

USDA reminder: don’t move firewood around

June 3, 2010 By

As Iowans gear up for summertime camping trips, they’re reminded not to move their firewood along with them as a way to help save trees from a destructive pest. The emerald ash borer is an invasive beetle that’s been steadily creeping across the country since 2002.

Sharon Lucik , a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, says emerald ash borers are now in 14 states and were first found in Iowa last month. “The beetle itself, the adult beetle, does very little damage but it is the larvae that grows and develops under the bark of ash trees,” Lucik says.

 ”It actually strangles the tree not allowing it to acquire food and nutrients.” In the 1930s, Dutch elm disease destroyed about half of all the elm trees in the U.S. and now ash trees are at risk. Millions of ash trees have been killed since the emerald ash borer, or E-A-B, was first found in the U.S. It’s native to China. Lucik says they haven’t been able to develop an adequate pesticide to kill the E-A-B larva.

“Because they’re under the bark, they’re protected, so sprays don’t work,” Lucik says. “There are some treatments that are injected in the tree but the biggest thing we can do is change our behavior regarding the movement of firewood.” Lucik says Iowa campers should never carry their firewood from place to place as the larvae could be under the tree bark.

“When you’re packing the car up with a canoe and the supplies and the tent, leave the firewood at home,” she says. “Wait until to get to your destination and buy firewood locally.” Lucik says it doesn’t matter if the wood is aged.

She says, “We know that EAB can live at least 12 months in cut firewood depending on the moisture content, so there is still a risk even though it’s cut and split.” The beetle was found in May in far northwest Iowa’s Allamakee County, just a few miles from the Minnesota border. Other states where the borers have been found include: Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation

Urbandale to use “zero tolerance” policy for fireworks

June 3, 2010 By

One central Iowa city plans to clamp down on the use of illegal fireworks for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. The Urbandale police department announced it will adopt a “zero tolerance” policy in handling fireworks complaints. Sergeant Dan Stein says the department took another look at the way it handles the situation after last year’s holiday.

Stein says the department received a number of citizen’s complaints last year about fireworks. Stein didn’t have an exact number of complaint calls the department received last year, but said none of them involved major problems.

Stein says the fireworks for the most part have been a nuisance issue, though they did have a couple of small fires — one was to a picnic bench. “We want to be sure that all of our citizens are safe, and that they enjoy the holiday,” Stein says.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Legislator presents himself as “someone new” for governor (AUDIO)

June 3, 2010 By

A Republican who’s been a state legislator for nearly a decade is seeking the G.O.P.’s 2010 nomination for governor.  

Rod Roberts has represented the Carroll area in the Iowa House, winning five times in a district that has far more registered Democrats than Republicans. Roberts touts his ability to appeal to Democrats and independents in that district. During an appearance in Sac City last June, Roberts said the 2010 Republican nominee for governor must be “friendly and approachable” if the G.O.P. hopes to defeat Democrat Chet Culver in November.

“We need to be as thoughtful and considerate about the messenger who carries our message as the message itself,” Roberts said.

Roberts is a graduate of Iowa Christian College. He has served as director of development for the Churches of Christ and Christian Churches in Iowa since 1981. He also served four years on the public school board in Carroll before he ran for the Iowa House. Now, as a gubernatorial candidate, Roberts has stressed that it’s time for all politicians to “be real” with voters. He’s proposed elimination of the corporate income tax and a 10 percent reduction in state income taxes on individual Iowans.

“To be respectful of the hardworking taxpayers of this state means that we should be responsible in Des Moines with the taxpayers’ dollars,” Roberts said at a Dallas County Republican Party picnic last August.

Roberts suggests he’s positioned himself as an alternative for last-minute vote-switchers who are tired of what he calls the “sniping” of his competitors. “There’s a weariness that’s crept in,” Roberts said during a recent appearance on Iowa Public Television.  “…It’s like, ‘You know what? We’re looking for someone new to get behind and support.’” 

Roberts faces Terry Branstad and Bob Vander Plaats in the June 8th Primary.

Listen to Radio Iowa’s profile of Roberts: capprofileRR

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

Vander Plaats making third try to governorship (audio)

June 3, 2010 By

A former teacher and coach wants to be the Republican who faces off in November against Democrat Chet Culver, another former teacher and coach who is currently Iowa’s governor. 

Bob Vander Plaats taught and coached in Boone, Jefferson, Marcus and Sheldon. He’s now working as a business consultant and making his third try for the Republican Party’s gubernatorial nomination. 

Back in 2002, in his first campaign, Vander Plaats finished third in a down-to-the-wire G.O.P. Primary, with about 31 percent of the vote. Nearly four years later, in February of 2006, Vander Plaats ended his second campaign for governor to become Jim Nussle’s running mate. “(It) puts personal agendas and petty politics aside,” Vander Plaats said during a rally to announce the Nussle/Vander Plaats ticket.  “Checks ‘em at the door.”

In 2007, Vander Plaats became an author when his book “Light from Lucas” was published. It’s about one of Vander Plaats’ four sons who is severely disabled. “It was always my goal with Lucas, where a lot of people would question his purpose, that his life would have impact,” Vander Plaats said during an interview with Radio Iowa. “…That’s part of the reason for writing the book.” 

Also in 2007, Vander Plaats endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and campaigned extensively with the former Arkansas governor.

During nearly a decade as a candidate, Vander Plaats has advocated everything from new taxes on the porn industry to elimination of the corporate income tax. In the past year, Vander Plaats has been at the forefront of the push to end gay marriage in Iowa. And Vander Plaats stresses that his Christian beliefs guide his decision-making. 

“As a candidate for governor I know who I am, I know whose I am and I know who I serve.  That is where the baseline is with me,” Vander Plaats said during a speech earlier this year at a meeting of Iowa parents who home school their children. 

Vander Plaats faces Terry Branstad and Rod Roberts in the June 8th Primary.

Listen to Radio Iowa’s profile of Vander Plaats: capprofileBVP

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