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Grinnell native invited to U.S. Olympic diving trials

March 29, 2011 By

A University of Iowa diver will get a chance to make the U.S. Olympic squad next year. Hawkeye senior Diedre Freeman earned All American honors at the NCAA swimming and diving championships earlier this month in Austin, Texas. Freeman will compete in the synchronized diving event at the trails with her Iowa teammate Veronica Rydze a year and half from now.

Freeman says she can’t believe she was one of the select few to be invited to the trials. She also expects to qualify in the three meter diving, an event she finished second in at the Big Ten championships. She also finished third in the one meter diving. Freeman says she was the underdog going into both finals as she was 8th in one and 7th in the other and was not nervous and “had the meet of my life twice.”

Freeman is in good company after breaking Iowa records in both events. She says both records were set by Olympic qualifiers, and she says she didn’t realize she was up to that level yet.

The Grinnell native did not even start diving until her freshman year in high school. She says the swim coaches at Grinnell knew a lot about swimming, but not a lot about diving, and she had to break a lot of bad habits when she got to college.

With her collegiate career complete Freeman will turn her attention to the World Cup trials in May.

By John Martenson, KGRN, Grinnell

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

Defensive line a focus of Iowa spring drills

March 29, 2011 By

The defensive line will get plenty of attention during spring drills for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Adrian Clayborn, Christian Ballard and Karl Klug are gone from last year’s defense and a number of new faces looking to move into the lineup.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says it’s similar to what happened last year with the offensive line, where they had a lot of good veterans graduate, but had some good leaders coming back. He says while a number of young players will be counted on there may be more depth this year.

Ferentz says he can envision them playing 6 to 8 guys this year compared to being locked in at 5 last year. One of those in the mix is freshman Carl Davis. The 300-pound native of Michigan redshirted in 2010, and Ferentz says he probably could have been brought in a little bit, but they decided to hold him back and believes that was the right decision.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Bill attempts to comply with ruling on juvenile crimes

March 29, 2011 By

A bill that passed the Iowa House last night would bring state law into compliance with Supreme Court rulings on parole for prisoners who committed their crimes when they were juveniles. Teens may still be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murder, but the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled life-time prison sentences for teenagers convicted of other “Class A” felonies like rape or kidnapping are unconstitutional.

It’s now up to Iowa legislators to decide how long those teens should spend in prison before being paroled. Representative Julian Garrett, a Republican from Indianola, says the House bill would let judges sentence teens convicted of rape, kidnapping, or serious drug dealing to as much as 45 years in prison.

“That’s not an unpopular idea, to give sentencing judges some discretion on how they sentence the defendant,” he says. Representative Mary Wolfe, a Democrat from Clinton, says the Supreme Court ruled there must be some “meaningful and realistic possibility for release” from prison for these teens.

“They use that word ‘meaningful’ over and over again,” Wolfe says. “…I don’t think the bill, as written, does either of those things.” If the bill becomes law, Wolfe predicts every sentence a judge hands down in cases involving juveniles convicted of rape or kidnapping will be appealed.

“We would be doing everyone a favor, including the victims of these offenses, if we play it safe…instead of pushing the envelope, trying to make this as punitive as possible,” she says. Garrett describes the bill that cleared the House as a compromise.

“The County Attorneys recommended just a flat 45 years. The Bar Association…recommended 25 years and we’ve kind of struck a middle ground here,” Garrett says. “And we’ve decided…that we should give the judge discretion.” The bill passed the House on an 81 to 17 vote. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With: , ,

Cancer survivors plan trek up Mt. Everest

March 29, 2011 By

A group of Iowans will partner with Charlie Wittmack, the first Iowan to climb Mount Everest, to climb part way up that mountain to highlight the personal battles they’ve had with cancer. They’re calling it “Above & Beyond: Cancer Survivors Trek to Everest.” Twenty-eight-year-old Brandon Sickler of Des Moines is a leukemia survivor, and says those on the trip want to make a statement about beating cancer.

Sickler says they want to show people that cancer is “not an end all, but it’s just maybe a detour, a speed bump in life, but life keeps on going, and you can keep on pushing it.” Stickler says this adventure is also way for him to confirm he’s overcome his personal battles against the disease.

He says he let cancer win in his mental battles, and his physical fitness level after his cancer. Sickler says when he heard that a whole group of cancer survivors was training for the event, his mental barriers gave way. Sickler says he gained support from seeing what the others were doing.

“It was like, okay, if they can do it, I can do it, and I’ll train with them and I’ll run with them,” Sickler says. Pretty soon he says he was back in shape, and while he says he still has a ways to go to be in the best shape in his life, he is much closer to that goal. Sickler hopes the groups effort to climb the mountain will be an inspiration to others who face the same battles with cancer.

Sickler says it will show that “you can still go out and do magnificent things, and challenge yourself and push yourself to new limits.” He says it will show the public that has never experienced cancer that survivors can still go out and do anything they put their minds to. The cancer survivors will head up the mountain to the south base camp at an altitude of over 18,000 feet. The trip will take 10 days going up and four days coming back down.

The group begins the trek up the mountain on April sixth. Several cancer fighting organizations are sponsoring the trip along with the partnership with Wittmack. Wittmack is in the midst of what he calls a World Triathlon Adventure which will culminate in his ascent to the summit of Mt. Everest. You can see more about the cancer survivors adventure on Wittmack’s website at: www.theworldtri.com.

Some of the other Iowans involved in the cancer survivor event are: Justin Anderson of Clear Lake; Theresa Britt of Ankeny; Gail Endres of Milo; Linda Hoskins of Albia; Trace Kendig of Adel; Karen Parman of Colfax; Peggy Jo Scott of Adel; Lynne Vestal of Clive, Kathy Wennihan of Des Moines.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Human Interest Tagged With:

Grassley expects hearing on EPA attempts to circumvent lawmakers

March 29, 2011 By

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the federal agency that’s supposed to be looking out for the environment is more focused on looking out for itself. Grassley says there will be debate and a vote on the Senate floor as soon as today on legislation that aims to reel in the power-grabbing bureaucrats.

Grassley says, “This is a response to the ongoing effort of the Environmental Protection Agency circumventing Congress with stupid regulations that would drive up the cost of gasoline and electricity for individuals, families and employers nationwide.”

Grassley says the EPA’s “over-regulation” of things like carbon dioxide emissions will hurt Iowa, the agricultural industry and eventually, the entire nation’s still-fragile economy.

Grassley says, “The agency has tried to manipulate the Clean Air Act of 1990, and that happens to be a bill I voted for, and give itself more power than the law allows.”

 During recent public meetings in some 20 Iowa counties, Grassley says people at virtually every gathering raised concerns about the EPA’s actions, including agency efforts to more tightly regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

“Why do they regulate? Well, why do cows moo? Why do pigs squeal? Regulators regulate. That’s what they’re for. They’re bred for that,” Grassley says. “These policies should be debated by Congress, not by faceless bureaucrats. Congress is there to reflect the will of the people.”

He says Congress is held accountable for its decisions, not the “unelected bureaucracy” of the EPA. “Costly and burdensome regulations,” he says, will “get in the way of job creation.”

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

Allergy season is underway

March 29, 2011 By

It’s chilly, trees are still bare and flowers are far from budding, but people’s allergies are beginning to act up. Michael Sandberg is an allergy sufferer who just returned to Iowa from vacation. His allergies attacked the moment he got off the plane.

“I have a runny nose, watery eyes and congestion,” Sandberg said. “I’m nasally, full and the normal seasonal allergies are in play.” Allergist Holly Brown of Allergy Partners of Cedar Rapids says it’s not uncommon for people to begin sneezing this time of year – even with the snow and cold temperatures.

“It is almost April. People feel like allergy season is early this year, but actually, it’s pretty much on time. We’re just having a bit of unseasonably cool weather,” Brown said. Brown and other allergists say they see more and more patients every year. Overuse of hand sanitizers and soap could be part of the problem. Brown says some scientists believe killing off all bacteria all the time has weakened people’s immune system.

“In Third World countries, they don’t have allergies. In industrialized countries, we have lots of allergies,” Brown said. “We see lots of new patients every year. So, definitely, it’s something on the rise.” Allegra, a popular allergy medication prescribed by doctors, just became over-the-counter. The move makes the drug easier to get for some, but in some cases, also more costly because insurance companies are less likely to cover Allegra.

By Mark Geary, KCRG, Cedar Rapids

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

House passes bill to restructure Department of Economic Development

March 29, 2011 By

The Republican-led Iowa House has endorsed a bill that gives the Iowa Department of Economic Development a bit of a face-lift, with a new name and new structure. The state agency would be replaced with a public-private partnership and Representative Steve Lukan, a Republican from New Vienna, says that sort of “evolution” is necessary.

“A business that existed 50 years ago must certainly have changed operations to stay alive and be open for business today. In most businesses, systems change year to year to stay competitive and flexible,” Lukan said. “So, too, must the state and state agencies to meet the needs of the people we serve.”

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Filed Under: Business Tagged With: ,
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