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Weather won’t hurt Drake’s chances to host the Olympic trials

June 25, 2010 By

Iowa’s hot summers won’t hamper an effort by the city of Des Moines to host the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials at Drake Stadium one day.

Since 2000 the trials have been held in Sacramento or Eugene, Oregon, two places that are much more temperate than the state of Iowa which has an average July temperature of just over 85 degrees.

Doug Logan who is the C.E.O. of U.S.A. Track and Field says they face weather challenges everywhere they go. He says the fans have to adjust to the weather conditions and so do the athletes. He says he was at Drake a couple of years ago and there was Friday when people were in shirt sleeves and a Saturday where they wore parkas, so “it’s not that big a deal.”

Logan says Drake Stadium has most of the things required to host the Olympic Trials. He says there is a little tweaking that needed to be done, but he says there’s a “real coming together with the community and Drake.”

Drake is hosting the U.S.A. Track and Field Championships this weekend.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

Lynville-Sully softball team off to good start

June 25, 2010 By

A young but talented Lynnville-Sully softball team is putting together an outstanding season. Coach Stacey Alberts’ team is ranked eighth in the latest class 1A poll from the girls union and takes a 16-1 record into tonight’s game at Tri-County. Albert’s says they knew they would have a good team even though they only have one senior. She says they’ve played together since they were eighth graders and knew what the kids could do.

Alberts says the Hawks have been solid in all phases. She says they play tough defense and put the ball in play offensively while running the bases aggressively. As the wins mount the Hawks are gaining even more confidence. Alberts says they had a lot of confidence coming in off of good seasons in other sports.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

Just one state road still closed by flooding

June 25, 2010 By

There’s been some drying time across the state and Iowa Department of Transportation spokesperson, Dena Gray-Fisher, says that has allowed nearly all of the state roadways that were closed by flooding to reopen. Gray-Fisher says the only state road that is still closed in Iowa Highway five in Warren County near Hartford, and only one lane is closed.

Gray-Fisher says roadways have to be inspected after the water covers them. She says one of the things they take a look at are the bridges to be sure they haven’t been undermined, and they also look for erosion of the roadway and the shoulders of the road. Gray-Fisher says the heavy rains recently caused some roadways to be closed very quickly, and she says you should be aware of the conditions in your area.

Gray-Fisher says there continues to be flood warnings throughout the state, and she says with more rain forecasted for tonight, there are many rivers at or near flood stage, and conditions can change. Gray-Fisher says don’t take any chances in driving through water that covers a roadway.

“Turn around, don’t drowned, that’s the message we always want, you never know what could be under that water,” Gray-Fisher says. While the damage from the recent flooding isn’t expected to be major for most state roads, Gray-Fisher says county roads have suffered much more damage — especially the gravel roads.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Weather Tagged With: ,

Republican A-G, Secretary of State candidates want immigration crackdown

June 25, 2010 By

The two Republicans who’re running for attorney general and secretary of state say the state of Iowa should take some steps to crack-down on illegal immigration. Brenna Findley is the Republican nominee for attorney general.

“I think it’s important that we do enforce immigration law and particularly with respect with criminals or people who come into contact with the criminal justice system,” she says. A recently enacted Arizona law directs Arizona law enforcement to more actively pursue suspected illegal immigrants.

[Read more...]

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

Sioux City man who admitted to killing wife dies in prison

June 25, 2010 By

A Sioux City man who admitted killing his wife a year-and-a-half ago has died in prison. A spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Corrections says 51-year-old Timothy Leon Sohler died Wednesday at University Hospitals in Iowa City.

He was an inmate at the Anamosa State Penitentiary. The cause of death is unknown. Results of an autopsy and toxicology testing could take up to six weeks.

Sohler was sentenced to 25 years in prison last November after pleading guilty to attempted murder in Woodbury County. He was originally charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of his wife, Susan, in their home on December 22, 2008.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Poison expert says be careful with tiki torch fuel

June 25, 2010 By

It’s the first weekend of summer and as the sun goes down on many backyard picnics, Iowans will light those bamboo tiki torches. Joan McVoy, a registered nurse and an expert in poisons, urges people to use caution with those torches, as the fuel may resemble a popular beverage.

“It looks really similar to a big jug of apple juice,” McVoy says. “What’s happened in the past, every year, someone puts it in the refrigerator and they think it’s apple juice and then they serve it up to the kids. Or else, since it is such a big container, people will put it into another container, like a cup, and then try to pour it into the tiki torch.” McVoy says the fluid is a hydrocarbon — which is similar to lamp oil or gasoline — and it’s bad news if it’s swallowed.

“You’re going to have some burping and belching and all those fumes that you burp up are flammable,” McVoy says. “What happens is when people start to swallow, it tastes really bad, like kerosene and they aspirate and it gets down into their lungs. Once that happens, it coats the lungs and they can’t exchange oxygen very well so they get symptoms like coughing, difficulty breathing, chest tightness.”

McVoy says the torch fuel, and all dangerous chemicals, need to be kept in their original containers and out of the reach of children, away from food and preferably in a locked cabinet. The Iowa Poison Center hotline is 800-222-1222.

By Karla James

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

Supreme Court rules lawsuit over snowy wreck should go forward

June 25, 2010 By

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled a lawsuit against the state involving an accident during a major winter snowstorm can go forward. Martin Waters was a passenger in an SU.V. that skided out of control on icy Interstate 80 in Madison County early in the morning on February 9 of 2004.

The S.U.V. slid into another vehicle that had earlier gone off the road in what had been a severe winter storm, and Waters was injured. An Iowa State Trooper had check the first vehicle earlier and determined it was off the traveled portion of the road,  and with a tow ban in place ,  it could stay where it was. Waters sued the state patrol and Iowa Department of Transportation for not removing the vehicle, and also for what he said was failure to warn of slippery conditions, and failure to follow snow, ice, and obstruction removal policies.

The district court dismissed most of Waters claims based on immunity given to the government in such cases. It did leave open the claim that the D.O.T. was given enough notice to have removed the first vehicle before Waters’ accident. The appeals court threw out that claim.

But the Iowa Supreme Court overturned the appeals court and said it is up to the district court to decide if the D.O.T. should have removed the vehicle during a snowstorm of the magnitude experienced at the time of the accident. So the case now returns to the district court for a trial.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Fires/Accidents/Disasters
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