January 27, 2012

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Iowa falls short against Michigan

January 31, 2011 By

Michigan made 10 of its first 11 shots to open the second half of play as the Wolverines raced away to an 87-73 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes in Ann Arbor. There were 13 lead changes in the opening half and Iowa trailed by three at the break.

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery says they had a good focus offensively and defensively were good except for the penetration. He says they did some good things individually, but overall they need more consistency from their top players. Iowa is 1-8 at the midway point of the league race. McCaffrey says they are battling and getting better and he would like to see more consistency individually and collectively.

It was another big game for freshman Melsahn Basabe who finished with a season high 25 points and eight rebounds. Basabe says he was disappointed after a down game at Penn State and watched some film so he could improve. Basabe says a defensive lapse at the start of the second half was costly. He says they struggled to keep guys in front of them as a team and didn’t close out.

Michigan finished the game with 14 three pointers.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Davenport teen dies in car accident

January 31, 2011 By

A one-car crash over the weekend claimed the life of a young man from eastern Iowa. Davenport police say the victim is 19-year-old Nicholas Ryan Germain of Davenport. He was a passenger in a car found upside down in a deep ravine at 7:30 Saturday morning in west Davenport.

Davenport Police Captain David Struckman says Germain was pronounced dead at the scene. Firefighters extricated the driver, 19-year-old Shawn William Spencer of Davenport. He was treated for minor injuries at a hospital. Struckman says the actual time of the crash is unknown at this point.

By Phil Roberts, Davenport

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Supporters of passenger rail still committed to project

January 31, 2011 By

Supporters of a proposed passenger rail line connecting Iowa City, the Quad Cities and Chicago say they’re still committed to the project, despite an apparent setback last week. Governor Branstad made no mention of the rail service in his budget plans presented to the legislature.

Paul Rumler, with the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, says he’s confident the legislature will still provide $20 million in startup funds – but no continued funding. “The main direction that Governor Branstad has his concerns (with) is the operating agreement that would be required – approximately $3 million annually. That’s where we’re looking for alternative sources of payment,” Rumler said.

The ongoing subsidy of the rail line is required as part of a $230 million federal grant to Iowa and Illinois. The project’s total cost is around $310 million. Nancy Quellhorst, President and CEO of the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce, says the $3 million yearly contributions won’t be required until closer to the 2015 start date.

“The good news is that we have several years to work this out. This isn’t money that we need right away,” Quellhorst said. “So we have time to work on this, study what other communities are doing, study what other states have done and determine ways they’ve been able to fund this.”

Branstad has expressed skepticism about the rail line’s projected ridership and job creation potential. The Iowa Legislature appropriated $11.5 million toward the project last year, but House Republicans have included that spending in their budget-cutting plans.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With:

Labeling now required on firewood to prevent spread of emerald ash borer

January 31, 2011 By

While there’s been a lot of talk about labeling food so we know where it came from, a new labeling requirement for firewood is now in effect in the state. Iowa Agriculture Secretary, Bill Northey, says the requirement started with the new year, and those who sell firewood must label it with the state and county where the wood was harvest.

Northey says whole idea is to be able to make sure firewood is not being moved from an area where the emerald ash borer is located, so that bug does not move too. The emerald ash borer was found for the first time in Iowa last year on an island in the Mississippi River in northeast Iowa’s Allamakee County. The bug bores its way into ash trees and eventually kills them.

It has been found in states to the east and north of Iowa, and Northey says they want to do all they can to stop the bug’s spread. He says the bug can only move a mile or two a year by itself, and the fastest way for it to move is for someone to move firewood with the bug in it to a new area. Northey asks for your help in being sure that firewood sold at stores is properly labeled.

Northey says the labels should be on the wood now and if you find some that is not labeled, you are asked to call the Ag Department and let them know. He says the labeling should also be used for someone who has a tree fall down or cuts one down and then sells it for firewood.

Northey says if the wood is from someone where you drove up and they have firewood for sale, they should label the wood and let you know their address so that everyone knows where the firewood came from. He says they haven’t found any evidence yet that the bug has spread from the location in northeast Iowa. The gypsy moth has also become a big problem for trees, as their caterpillars eat all the leaves off trees. Northey says it poses a different type of threat than the ash borer.

Northey says the gypsy moth has caused a lot of damage, mainly in the northeast and eastern Iowa area. He says they are looking at some control treatments for the moth. But he says the gypsy moth larva don’t burrow into the wood like the emerald ash borer, and don’t pose the same threat from moving firewood. A quarantine is in place for wood in Allamakee County so it can’t be transported out of the area.

There are several websites with information on the emerald ash borer, including: www.IowaTreePests.com; www.iowadnr.gov, and www.extension.iastate.edu/PME/EmeraldAshBorer.html.

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business, Environment & Conservation

Catholic schools celebrated this week

January 31, 2011 By

Thousands of students in the state’s largest chain of private schools are observing Catholic Schools Week. Many schools are holding open houses, special worship services and community events to mark the week. Jeff Henderson is superintendent for the Archdiocese of Dubuque and says they’re focused on this week’s theme of “A-plus for America.”

“We believe certainly in the importance of the program and how we are preparing our students for the future,” Henderson says. “We look at this as our way of saying thank you and celebrating what we do each and every day in our classrooms.” Henderson says there are 16-thousand students from day care and pre-kindergarten to high school attending 54 education centers in the 30-county area that makes up the Dubuque Archdiocese. He says Catholic schools offer a variety of choices for students.

“We have more freedom to teach,” Henderson says. “I think, a lot of times, people think we’re more restrictive but, in essence, we’re a lot less restrictive. When you think about the history of the planet, even the history of the United States is immersed very heavily in faith-based programs, faith-based education, just faith in general.” Henderson says one of the biggest challenges facing Iowa’s Catholic school system is the budget situation. He says they need to get more creative in finding ways to finance the schools.

“We face the same challenges that a lot of people are facing right now which centers around finances,” Henderson says. “The recession has really hurt parishes. It’s hurt schools because people are in a position where they just cannot give the way that they’ve been able to give in the past.”

Learn more about the week and the Archdiocese of Dubuque at “www.arch.pvt.k12.ia.us“, the Des Moines Diocese at “www.dmdiocese.org“, the Davenport Diocese at “www.davenportdiocese.org” or Sioux City at “www.scdiocese.org“.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Education, Religion

Pawlenty says Obama “whiffed” in address to nation

January 31, 2011 By

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a probable G-O-P presidential candidate, says President Obama “whiffed” last week by failing to adequately address the nation’s fiscal crisis. “It’s a matter of eighth grade mathematics. I mean, you can look at the spending; you can look at the revenue; they don’t add up,” Pawlenty says.

“…President Obama doesn’t get it. The amount of money that he proposed to reduce over the next 10 years is a spit in the ocean. It’s a joke. He stepped up to the plate at the State of the Union the other night to address the country and he swung and missed. I mean, the biggest issue facing the country is the out-of-control spending and deficits in government and he completely whiffed it.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With:

Fishing has been good under the ice

January 29, 2011 By

While most people don’t like the winter cold, it is appreciated by those who like to drop a line through the ice to catch some fish. The chief of the D.N.R. fisheries bureau, Joe Larscheid, says there’s been a lot of enjoyment this winter in one of the best ice fishing seasons in recent memory.

He says it’s “been an excellent ice fishing season, and you can’t say enough about that.” Larschied says several factors have combined to help those who want to try their luck on a lake. Larscheid says there has been a lot of good ice and he says there are also a lot of good fish populations. He credits efforts to renovate lakes, which he says have produced lots of eight to nine-and-half-inch bluegills. Larcheid says you can catch your limit of bluegills pretty easily in many areas.

Ice fishing is popular because it doesn’t cost a lot to buy the gear to get started. “That’s the beauty of ice fishing, it’s the great equalizer, you don’t need boats, you don’t need fancy equipment,” Larschied says. He says everyone has the same access via the ice, and once you find the hot spot where the fish are lurking, you can do well.

Larschied says the number of people who fish during the winter is lower, but more fish are caught through the ice per angler in the shorter season than are caught during the spring, summer and fall. Those heading out to ice fish should be sure they renewed their licenses, as 2010 licenses expired on January 10th.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation Tagged With: ,
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