Iowa's Radio News Network
Boone police are investigating a possible shooting at the Hy-Vee store in Boone. Witnesses at the Boone Hy-Vee say a man was running up and down the aisles yelling and screaming.
Boone police were called and moved all the customers to one side of the store and witnesses say several shots where then fired in the store. There is not much other information available.
Jim Turbes, KWBG, Boone
Democrat Governor Chet Culver kicked off the final full week of campaigning today at a downtown Des Moines restaurant and accused his Republican opponent Terry Branstad of taking it easy on the campaign trail. Culver says Branstad took the entire weekend off from campaigning.
“I think he’s running and hiding from these positions, and they just don’t add up. He has flipped and flopped, they’ve changed their position on the 15% budget cut five or six time in the last six, eight days. I think that’s why they’re going dark. Because they are in a really bad place, we’re gaining momentum, the polls are tightening,” Culver says. While Culver says the polls are tightening, he would not give specifics the poll numbers, other than to say his campaign is closing.
Culver and his Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge plan to visit several cities in the final days of the campaign. Culver was critical of Branstad for bringing in Republican notables like Mitt Romney and Haley Barbour to campaign for him. “Look..I couldn’t feel better about wining this race, Patty Judge and I are taking it to the streets, we’re going to Main Street, Patty has been working tirelessly, the First Lady has been going to dozens and dozens of cities,” Culver said.
Culver was asked about bringing in his own outside help from President Obama. He said he believes Obama will campaign for him in the last few days of the election. Culver got so animated at one point that he stumbled on his own stand on the judicial retention vote.
Governor Culver talks at a campaign event Monday.
“He doesn’t even have the guts to stand up and tell us how he is gonna vote, on an issue that he’s been saying the people need to vote. Well tell us, you’re supposed to be a leader, how are you gonna vote?, Culver said, “I’m voting no, I’m voting yes on retaining those judges. He wants to tell you he’s gonna vote no, but apparently doesn’t have the courage.”
Branstad’s spokesman, Tim Albrecht, says Culver’s attacks show Culver is worried about losing the race.
“Well this is what desperate campaigns do, they go on the attack rather than talk about what they’ll do for the State of Iowa,” Albrecht says, “rather than worrying about our schedule, which includes 36 events over the next seven days, we wish Chet Culver would focus on recovering the 55,000 jobs lost since he became governor. He can’t make up for four years of failed policies in a couple of days of stage campaign events.”
Albrecht says Branstad is the only candidate to visit all 99 counties. Culver says Branstad’s tax cut proposal will go to out-of-state businesses, Albrecht says the cuts will help spur business development.
Albrecht says Branstad is offering tax cuts to keep Main Street alive and Culver must think that’s bad for Iowa. “Chet Culver acts like he’s waking up to the problems on Main Street, that’s because he’s been asleep for the past four years. His actions as governor have been overtly hostile to Iowa’s Main Street businesses,” Albrecht says. Albrecht says the polls Culver quotes don’t show good things.
“His campaign paid for a poll to cook up numbers right before the fundraising deadline, and he was still only at 39-percent,” Albrect says, “so if being at 39-percent in a poll you paid for is momentum, I think that Iowans would have to disagree with him on that.” Branstad will campaign with Mitt Romney in eastern Iowa on Tuesday. Governor Culver plans stops in Washington, Fairfield, and Knoxville Tuesday.
An elderly man in a wheelchair died in an accident in central Iowa this morning. Des Moines police say a dump truck was making a right hand turn near the capitol city’s downtown just before 8 A.M., when it hit and killed a man in a motorized wheelchair.
The man, identified as 91-year-old Cecil Thornburg of Des Moines, was trying to cross the road. The truck driver says he didn’t see the man. Thornburg was pronounced dead at the scene. No charges have been filed.
Photo courtesy of Des Moines police.
A college student was struck by a car and killed over the weekend in Davenport. Twenty-year-old Bethani Werner of Winfield, Illinois, was a student at St. Ambrose University. Police say Werner, who lived nearby, was crossing the street in front of the school a little before 2:30 Sunday morning when hit by a car driven by 36-year-old Mark Ballinger of Davenport.
Werner was pronounced dead at a Davenport hospital. St. Ambrose faculty, staff and students learned about the death Sunday morning in an e-mail from the university president. Police say alcohol was likely a factor, and their investigation is continuing.
By Phil Roberts, Davenport
Fire destroyed a large hog confinement barn Sunday afternoon in Poweshiek County, near the town of Deep River. Some two-thousand to 2,500 head of hogs were lost. Deep River Fire Chief Brandon Wanders says the nursery barn was fully engulfed in flames when fire crews arrived.
Chief Wanders says firefighters worked to prevent the fire from spreading to several other barns. Wanders says it’s not the first time his department has responded to the farm. “We had a fire there three or four months ago, same barn, same location,” Wanders says.
”We ruled that as a heating mat from where it started and with it being cold again, I’m assuming that’s what was going on there again and that’s what started it.” He says the investigation is still underway.
“With the heat mats laying on a plastic floor, it shorted out about three months ago when we were there,” he says. “I’m thinking it was probably something to do with that, I’m assuming.” Wanders estimates the value of the hogs lost is between 60- and $75,000.
By Chris Johnson, KGRN, Grinnell
One person was seriously hurt over the weekend when a large piece of polished marble fell as it was being lifted into place for a monument. Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker says the accident happened around 5 P.M. on Saturday in the town of Avoca.
Danker says a deputy dispatched to the scene arrived to find 43-year-old Mary Beth Jones of Harlan laying next to a marble slab. Witnesses at the scene said a crew was installing the slab using a crane, when it tipped over and landed on the woman’s leg. Jones suffered severe injuries to her lower legs. She was flown by helicopter to Creighton University Hospital in Omaha.
No condition report on Jones was available.
By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic
A Nebraska man accused in a western Iowa traffic crash this summer that killed four motorcyclists has entered a written plea of not guilty. The August 9 crash on Interstate 29 in Harrison County killed four men who were returning home after attending an annual motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota.
The crash occurred in a construction zone when a pickup driven by 21-year-old Andrew Schlichtemeier crossed the center line and hit the four motorcycles. The Iowa State Patrol said Schlichtemeier’s blood-alcohol level was more than four-and-a-half times the legal limit. The Murray, Nebraska man remains in jail on a $200,000 bond. He has entered a written plea of not guilty to four counts of vehicular homicide. Schlichtemeier’s trial is scheduled for December 7.
O.KayHenderson.com