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Snow greets many this morning

March 25, 2011 By

Many Iowans awoke to snow on the ground this morning and more could be on the way over the next few days. This morning’s precipitation created some slick spots on roads, including Interstate 80 between Omaha and Des Moines. National Weather Service Meteorologist Jacob Beitlich says areas of southwest Iowa received the most snowfall.

“Bedford got around four-and-a-half inches, while Mt. Ayr and Creston got around three inches,” Beitlich said. The snow and rain should be ending by midday, but the cold conditions will hang around through the weekend and into next week. “We’re going to end the month with temperatures below the seasonal average…only into the upper 30s. We won’t see a significant warm up here in the next few days,” Beitlich said. Another chance for light snow is expected tomorrow. An even bigger blast of winter is possible early next week.

“On Tuesday, we’re watching a system…hopefully it’ll go further south where we’ll be out of the heaviest snowfall, but that’s bouncing around a little bit so the exact track is unknown,” Beitlich said.

Filed Under: Weather

Boy Scout to be honored for efforts at Little Sioux Scout Ranch

March 25, 2011 By

A Boy Scout from Omaha is being honored today after he helped save the lives of other scouts with his first aid skills following the 2008 tornado that hit the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in western Iowa. Seventeen-year-old Jack Pape is in Washington D.C. where he’s receiving the American Spirit Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation.

“The ceremony itself takes place at Arlington National Cemetery,” Pape says. “That’s going to be a great honor to be surrounded by other Medal of Honor recipients.” Four boys were killed by the tornado and dozens injured at the Harrison County camp, but officials say without the Scout training being put to use by Pape and others, the situation would have been much worse.

In addition to his actions following the tornado, Pape was involved in a second life-saving effort in 2009 when he helped a near-drowning victim by performing CPR at a hotel pool. Pape says, “We were coming out of our hotel room and two boys came running in saying they pulled a little boy out of the pool and he was unresponsive and needed someone that knew CPR to take a look.” He performed CPR until paramedics arrived.

Pape learned that ability and many other life-saving first aid skills in the Boy Scouts. “They just said, ‘Learn this, you just might need it someday so just get it down just in case. Hopefully you will never have to.’” After using the training twice in recent years, Pape says everyone needs to know how to perform CPR and other basic first aid.

Pape has already received the American Red Cross’ highest award and he’ll be featured in the scouting magazine, “Boys’ Life.” For anyone who’s not involved in scouting, he’s a strong supporter of Red Cross first aid and CPR classes. Pape says, “It doesn’t take much time to learn all these skills and it’s something that everyone should know just in case they’re thrown into a situation like this.”

The American Spirit Award recognizes individuals who demonstrate extraordinary skill, professionalism and a spirit of excellence in a challenging situation. On his actions, Pape says, quote, “I didn’t think about it. I just did what needed to be done.”

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Human Interest

Wartburg baseball team to begin play today

March 25, 2011 By

The Wartburg College baseball team opens up Iowa Conference play this afternoon. At one point, the Knights had claimed twelve consecutive league titles, but Wartburg has fallen short of the conference crown in each of the past two years. Wartburg coach Joel Holst says that the Knights will be relying on some new personnel to get them back to the top of the standings in 2011.

The Knights have six players in their starting lineup that are freshman or sophomores, and are also counting on some younger pitchers to give them needed innings out of the bullpen this season. In addition to his own squad, Holst says that Buena Vista and Central should be a couple of the Iowa Conference’s top teams this year.

Holst says that Buena Vista’s 2010 squad was one of the best teams to come through the conference in some time, and the Beavers return their entire pitching staff. He says that last year’s third place team, Central, also has a lot of players back for 2011. Wartburg has many of their top pitchers back from last season, but Holst says that many of them are making the transition from mainly relief work to becoming starters.

Holst says that his coaching staff knew that after last year, his pitchers would be a more veteran group than the guys swinging the bats. He says that Wartburg’s five lowest earned run allowers return for this season. Wartburg opens the conference season this weekend with a series at Coe, Coach Holst’s alma mater. He says that the first step towards a league title is getting off to a strong start in the conference schedule.

Holst believes that playing well to open the league season will help cure his team of some of the inconsistency that they have been dealing with in the preseason. The Knights and Kohawks open up the weekend series this afternoon with one nine-inning game. They’ll play a pair of seven-inning contests tomorrow.

By Jesse Gavin KCNZ Cedar Falls

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

Group worries video taping ban will hurt efforts to police puppy mills

March 25, 2011 By

Activists who fought hard for additional regulations for dog breeders last year are complaining about legislation that would ban activists from shooting undercover video or pictures at Iowa farms. Iowa Voters for Companion Animals say they’re worried the video and photography ban will also apply to so-called puppy mills.

The group’s founder Mary LaHay, says they have had to use undercover tactics to expose problems among dog breeders. “We have some of the pictures that have been obtained in an undercover fashion of dogs from Iowa dog breeding facilities showing some of the horrendous conditions that they’ve been exposed to,” Lahay says. She says the ban would hurt their efforts to keep breeders honest.

She says, “If we take away this option of having any pictures, we have no option of ever pursuing these in a more stringent fashion.” LaHay says graphic pictures are what convinced legislators to crack down on puppy mills in the first place. “Inspection reports are very abstract and really when we introduced the photographs most of which had been acquired in undercover situations, those gave those violations a face, and really made it something the legislators and the public could relate to,” LaHay explained.

The bill attempts to exempt animal shelters, pet shops, and kennels. But LaHay says attorneys who’ve read the legislation say it could easily be misinterpreted. The legislation targeting animal rights activists was approved by the House last week, but Democratic leaders say it will not pass the Senate in its current form.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With:

Latham says Obama has failed to answer questions about Libya

March 25, 2011 By

Iowa Congressman Tom Latham, a Republican from Ames, says President Obama has failed to answer a number of questions about the U.S. military mission in Libya. “How do we get out of this? What are the costs? What’s the end game? How do we declare victory? All of those questions are unanswered,” Latham said.

Earlier this week, President Obama said the United States will remain involved in Libya for as long as Mammar Gadhafi remains a threat to his people. He added that the U.S. will hand off lead responsibilities to other countries within “days and not weeks.” Latham said he’s upset Obama authorized U.S. missile attacks without consulting leadership in Congress first.

“While it technically is legal for the president to engage in this type of situation, it’s normally made when the United States is under some kind of threat itself – which in this case, it really is not,” Latham said. Obama said the U.S. has a national interest in preventing government-sponsored atrocities and the attacks on Gadhafi’s air defenses “have already saved lives.”

Latham questions what the U.S. has to gain from Libya and what the cost will be for taxpayers. “They’re shooting off all these Tomahawk missiles at about a million-and-a-half dollars a piece,” Latham said. “There’s a lot of unanswered questions. You could say, ‘is it because of oil?” That’s probably why we would care at all about Libya. But, the fact of the matter is, it’s only about two-percent of the world’s oil production.”

Latham made his comments on Wednesday during a stop in Webster City. Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, sent a letter to President Obama on Wednesday – questioning the costs of the Libyan conflict to taxpayers.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

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

Half dozen potential presidential candidates in Iowa this weekend

March 24, 2011 By

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann says she’s encouraged by the reception she’s getting in Iowa, and she’s inching closer to a run for the White House.

“It’s great to be in Iowa.  Is there any other place?” Bachmann said Wednesday afternoon at a statehouse rally for parents who “home school” their children.  She’s among a handful of potential presidential candidates who’ll appear at an event this Saturday that’s been organized by Iowa Congressman Steve King. 

As she has on previous trips to the state, Bachmann is stressing her Iowa roots. ”I’m an Iowan myself.  I was born here in Waterloo and I was raised here in Waterloo and Cedar Falls.  I’m also a seventh-generation Iowan,” Bachman said during a two-minute-long question-and-answer session with Iowa reporters this week.  “Our family were early pioneers to Iowa.”

Bachmann has said she wants to be “part of the conversation” about replacing President Obama with a Republican in 2012. Some of Bachmann’s supporters indicate the timing of her decision on a race for the White House is partly dependent on the timing of televised debates featuring the roster of Republicans who’re running for president.  The first two debates of the season are scheduled in early May.

“There’s a natural order when a decision will have to be made.  Clearly, sometime before this summer a decision will have to be made,” Bachmann told Iowa reporters Wednesday. “And so it’s been exciting to come back home to Iowa and talk to people about the issues that are important to them.”

Bachmann met privately with the 24 Republicans who serve in the Iowa Senate. After that meeting, Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley of Chariton called Bachmann a “dynamo.”

“Our members were very enthused with her enthusiasm, her grasp of issues,” McKinley said.

But Bachmann’s just one of several potential presidential candidates who’ve already made a trek to the statehouse to court Republican legislators. ”You almost trip over presidential candidates in this state,” McKinley joked. “And we welcome them all to share their ideas.” 

A half-dozen Republicans who’ve said at one point or another that they’re contemplating a presidential campaign will appear Saturday at an event in Des Moines organized by Congressman Steve King.  Bachmann is on that list, along with Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, former Godfather’s Pizza C.E.O. Herman Cain and former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton.

A private gathering of 600 pastors in Des Moines is drawing many of the same candidates.

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

Vander Plaats response to criticism from former supporter

March 24, 2011 By

A well-known conservative activist in Iowa says an insider who worked on his campaigns for governor is trying to ride his coat-tails into the spotlight.

Dan Moore, a Sioux City attorney who backed the three bids Bob Vander Plaats made for governor, held a news conference in Des Moines this morning, accusing Vander Plaats of making “senseless attacks” on the state’s court system.  Vander Plaats dismisses the criticism.

“Iowans had their vote on November 2, 2010,” Vander Plaats said during a telephone interview with Radio Iowa. “They agreed with me in a very historic vote.”

Iowans voted three Iowa Supreme Court justices off the bench — justices who had joined in the court’s unanimous ruling on gay marriage.  Vander Plaats questions Moore’s motives. 

“He’s never called my cell phone, which he has, and he’s never been to my house — he knows where I live — to talk about these issues,” Vander Plaats said. “So I think Dan’s probably more interested in the spotlight and the only way he can get in there is by using my name.” 

Moore, a past president of the Iowa State Bar Association, resigned from his role as treasurer of Vander Plaats’ campaign committee last July when Vander Plaats announced he would lead the effort to oust the supreme court justices. Moore then played a role in the unsuccessful campaign to support the justices.  During today’s news conference, Moore cited a recent Des Moines Register poll which found 45 percent of Iowans “disapprove” of Vander Plaats and his agenda. Vander Plaats suggests Moore was trying to show his “lawyer friends” he is “standing up” to Vander Plaats.

“I’ll take results over a poll any day and the results are clear.” Vander Plaats said. “Iowans voted. They had a decisive voice.  The courts way over-stepped their bounds. They inserted politics into the system and they’re the ones that violated the constitution that that’s why we voted them off the bench.” 

Vander Plaats is now the C.E.O. of The Family Leader, an Iowa-based organization that has been at the forefront of the statewide debate over gay marriage.

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