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One of six kittens found dumped in trash survives, named “Alley”

June 4, 2010 By

Alley the ARL kitten

Alley the ARL kitten

A kitten, believed to be about 6 weeks old, is now being cared for by the Animal Rescue League of Iowa after being found this week in the trash. ARL Director Tom Colvin says the baby girl kitten, now named “Alley,” was one of six kittens found by Waste Management workers in Des Moines early Wednesday morning. “They were found in a garbage bag…when one of their trucks came in and dumped its load,” Colvin said.

Alley was the only kitten still alive. Colvin says Alley is very fortunate, not only to survive, but also because she seems comfortable around people and will eventually make a good pet for a family. “Alley, fortunately, is very trusting of people, definitely likes people and always feels better when she’s around people,” Colvin said. That’s not always the case with abused or neglected pets that end up in animal shelters.

Colvin says it sometimes takes a special person to adopt abused animals. “By all means, don’t be afraid to adopt an animal that’s actually been abused,” Colvin said. “It just may require a little more time, more patience, that type of thing.”

This is the second time in a year Polk County Waste Management employees have found kittens who were thrown away. All of the kittens found in the first case were dead at the time they were found. The Humane Society of the U.S. and the Animal Rescue League are offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the person responsible for dumping Alley and the other five kittens.

Colvin made his comments on the Iowa Public Radio program “The Exchange.”

Filed Under: Human Interest

Hy-Vee Triathlon to feature Olympic hopefuls

June 4, 2010 By

In just four years the Hy-Vee Triathlon has become one of the sports most successful events and a number of world class athletes will be on hand next weekend for this year’s running in West Des Moines. The event includes a one and a half kilometer swim, a 40 kilometer bike race and a 10K run.

Spokesperson Ruth Comer says they offer the biggest one-day purse in the sport of triathlon. She says Olympic hopefuls will also compete as the Hy-Vee Triathlon is an Olympic qualifier for 2012. Comer says this will be the only qualifier in North America this year. Comer says the world championship standings now are very close and doing well will help boost people in international rankings.

Comer says it will also be an Olympic qualifier for athletes from various countries, as each country’s federation can determine if it is a qualifier.

Next weekend’s event will also include a junior and youth triathlon.

Filed Under: Sports

Dam to Dam race set for Saturday

June 4, 2010 By

More than 10,000 runners hit the streets of Central Iowa on Saturday morning for the annual “Dam to Dam” race. The event features and 20K and a 5K run.

Race director Kurt Schaeffer says it starts at the Saylorville Dam and finishes a few blocks from the Center Street dam downtown. He says the event does include a number of competitive runners but it is designed primarily for recreational runners.

Schaeffer says they do not pay big money to the runners who come in to compete in elite positions, and that keeps it a fun run for the average runner.

Filed Under: Sports

Black bear seen roaming northern Iowa

June 4, 2010 By

Residents and conservation officials along the Iowa-Minnesota border report seeing a black bear lumbering through their yards. Worth County Conservation Board Director Dean Mueller says he’s gotten several reliable reports of bear sightings from people in Worth and Mitchell counties.

He says the first report came last Friday when the local conservation officer called and said the bear was in the east end of Worth County, coming in from Mitchell County, while the Mitchell County conservation officer had also spotted it. Some people have gotten close enough to take pictures.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation

Ag Secretary Vilsack, Governor Culver, say Iowa economy improving

June 4, 2010 By
Governor Chet Culver, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, Congressman Leonard Boswell (L-R)

Governor Chet Culver, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Congressman Leonard Boswell (L-R)

Former governor and current U.S. Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, current Governor Chet Culver, and Congressman Leonard Boswell, all Democrats, joined together today to say Iowa is heading toward an economic recovery. Vilsack touted the impact of federal recovery dollars on Iowa.

Vilsack says in Iowa “it’s fairly clear” 31,000 jobs were retained or created by the economic recovery act. “That’s roughly two-point-three percent of Iowa’s workforce. In other words, our unemployment rate, which is relatively low, relative to other states, would be two-point-three-percent higher but for the recovery act,” Vilsack said.

Vilsack says his agency is heavily involved in the economic effort in the state. Vilsack says there are at least 105 projects in the U.S.D.A. in Iowa that he says will create jobs over the course of the next several months. He says expansion of broadband access, business and industry loan programs and 68 community and facility grants are all part of the ag department’s effort to stimulate the economy in Iowa.

Governor Chet Culver, a Democrat, touted a list of 10 things he says show the Iowa financial condition is improving, including an item that says Iowa’s unemployment is the 10th lowest in the nation. Culver was asked about an add by former governor and Republican candidate Terry Branstad that says Iowa’s unemployment is at a 24-year high. Culver says Branstad was governor during that time of high unemployment 24 years ago.

“He has the all-time record for the highest unemployment rate in our state’s history, 8.5%, so I hope Iowans know that fact, and today it is 6.9,” Culver says. Culver says there were 22 counties that had unemployment rates of 10% or higher in 1983 when Branstad was governor, and today there are just two.

Culver says he feels good about where the state’s economy is as he prepares his run for a second term. “So I am happy to contrast my record against former governor Brantad’s on any issue related to the economy and unemployment,” Culver said. While Culver and Congressman Boswell are both running for re-election, Vilsack said he is not in Iowa to campaign for anyone.

But the former governor did give his assessment of Culver’s chances. “He’s in better shape than I was at this point in time in my re-lection effort, I would have been happy to have been in the place that he is in June of 2002,” Vilsack says, “I’m very confident that Governor Culver is going to be re-elected. I think he has a great story to tell. He has governed during very, very difficult times. Only somebody who has been in that position can fully understand how difficult it has been.”

Vilsack’s comments ironically would also indicate that Branstad has an understanding of the economic problems facing the state, as Branstad was governor during the farm crisis of the 1980s.

Listen to the entire news conference here: Vilsack/Culver 33:00 MP3

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

Democrat says ads attacking Branstad are pay back

June 4, 2010 By

The Iowa Democratic Party’s current chairman is defending the actions of a Democrat-led group that’s running an ad campaign against Republican Terry Branstad.  Branstad’s seeking a fifth term in 2010 and his campaign has called on the group “Iowans for Responsible Government” to reveal their donors.

Iowa Democratic Party chairman Michael Kiernan suggests this is pay back. ”Personally, I love it,” Kiernan says. “I love what’s going on here and let me tell you why: because it’s a taste of their own medicine.” 

Kiernan points to ads run against Democratic Governor Chet Culver in 2008, ads which were bankrolled by a group first called the “Iowa Future Fund,” then renamed the “Iowa Progress Project.”  That group, headed by a longtime Republican Party campaign operative, is a special kind of corporation which does not have to disclose its donors. “Iowans for Responsible Government” is headed by former Iowa Democratic Party chairman Rob Tully and Tully says donors to that group will be disclosed in mid-July — well after next Tuesday’s primary election. Kiernan, the current party chairman, says Tully’s ad campaign against Branstad is “great.”

“I love what Rob Tully’s doing…because he’s holding him to his record which, by the way, the Branstad campaign doesn’t refute,” Kiernan says.  “They’re just mad that they’re running the ads.” 

Branstad campaign spokesman Tim Albrecht responded: “I’m sure Michael Kiernan does love these ads because ultimately they seek to benefit him and his party. This group was formed solely to discredit the Branstad campaign in the days and weeks leading up to the primary.”

Kiernan says if it’s wrong for the Democratic-led group to run ads against Branstad, then it was wrong for the Republican-led group to run ads against Culver in 2008. “Where was all the outrage when they were tearing down on Chet Culver when he was trying to rebuild from the four-largest natural disaster in our country’s history and the largest economic downturn since the Great Depression,  ” Kiernan says.  “…What’s fair (for one side) seems fair for the other.” 

Branstad’s campaign spokesman says “Iowans for Responsible Government” has distorted Branstad’s record. ”Everyone is entitled to freedom of speech but that doesn’t change the fact that this group was formed hastily just last month in order to change course in the Republican primary,” Albrecht says. “And they don’t have to disclose their donors until well after the results (of the primary) are announced.” 

Kiernan, the Iowa Democratic Party chairman, counters that the Iowa Progress Project ran radio ads attacking Culver this year, too — during Culver’s “announcement tour” in May — and that the Iowa Progress Project will never have to disclose its donors.

Albrecht made his comments during a telephone interview with Radio Iowa. Kiernan made his comments this morning during taping of the Iowa Public Television program “Iowa Press” which airs tonight at 7:30.

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

City of Cedar Rapids looks at buying downtown hotel

June 4, 2010 By

The largest hotel in downtown Cedar Rapids could have a new owner soon — the City of Cedar Rapids. City leaders want to buy the 16-story Crowne Plaza which has fallen into disrepair. The Crowne Plaza reopened for business after it was flooded in 2008, but previous owners have failed to make significant upgrades.

The city is currently renovating the adjoining U.S. Cellular Center and wants to build a convention center next door. Patrick DePalma is chairman of the city commission that governs the adjacent U.S. Cellular Center. “The main benefit is having a quality downtown hotel that’s connected to a quality arena and a first-class, brand new events center,” DePalma says.

Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett says having the hotel under city ownership could bring significant improvements to the downtown. “You have a kitchen and you decide you’re going to remodel it, but you only remodel the cupboards and the countertop and you leave the old crappy appliances in place…you don’t get the full effect of the kitchen remodeling,” Corbett says. “And so that’s what we’re trying to do for our town. We’re trying to get the full effect.”

Corbett won’t say how much the city is willing to spend for the hotel or how much upgrades would cost. A report on that is due out next week. On Tuesday, the Cedar Rapids City Council will likely authorize city officials to negotiate a purchase from the current owners of the Crowne Plaza.

Filed Under: Politics & Government
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