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Oelwein man charged with drunk driving, child endangerment

April 25, 2011 By

Police say a man from northeast Iowa was drunk when he rolled his vehicle with his children inside. It happened at about 2 p.m. Friday just north of Stanley.

Fayette County Sheriff’s deputies found a pickup that rolled over in the ditch, but no driver could be found. An investigation determined that Mark Fisher was driving too fast for the corner and lost control. Two children were also in the truck at the time and sustained minor injuries.

They were located later at Fisher’s home in Oelwein, taken to a hospital for treatment, then released. Fisher was arrested and charged with O.W.I., failure to maintain control and child endangerment. His wife, Rachel Fisher, was charged with interference with official acts for telling authorities that she was the driver at the time of the accident.

By Roger King, KOEL, Oelwein

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With:

Governor says response of Iowans honoring fallen soldiers makes him proud

April 25, 2011 By

Governor Terry Branstad says he’s proud of the way Iowans have responded to help the families of Iowa National Guard soldiers who’ve been killed in action. Branstad attended a Council Bluffs soldier’s funeral on Friday and was in Waverly on Saturday for another Guardsman who was killed in Afghanistan.

“The honor guard of the motorcycle people – I think there were over 500 of them in Waverly,” Branstad said today. “There were a number also in Council Bluffs and thousands of people lining the streets with flags and handmade signs, showing their support, their respect, their appreciation.”

Thirty-two-year-old Staff Sergeant James Justice of Grimes was killed Saturday during a mission to rescue the pilots of a downed helicopter in Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border. He is the third National Guard soldier to be killed this month in Afghanistan, part of a massive deployment of Iowa Guard soldiers, the largest since World War II.

Governor Branstad says the Guard has suffered “significant losses” over the past month and it has been “very moving” to see the outpouring of sympathy from Iowans. “It’s something that I think we can be proud of that our state is standing behind and supporting the people that are making such a huge sacrifice in defense of our freedom,” Branstad says.

Branstad served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam Era, as a stateside military policeman.

Filed Under: Military, Politics & Government Tagged With:

Waterloo man dies after car plunges into river

April 25, 2011 By

Waterloo police have identified the man who was found dead in his car after the vehicle plunged into a river. Fifty-year-old Ronald Eugene Fluhr was found inside his 1997 Buick LeSabre after a seven-hour search Sunday afternoon.

Waterloo police say that Fluhr’s vehicle went off of the Conger Street Bridge and into the Cedar River a little after 12:40 Sunday. Rescue and recovery teams spent the rest of the afternoon trying to locate the vehicle, which was eventually pulled out the river a few minutes before nine o’clock last night.

Fluhr’s body was found inside the car and he was pronounced dead. Police have scheduled an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

By Jesse Gavin, KCNZ, Cedar Falls

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Flavor Flav chicken restaurant in Clinton closes

April 25, 2011 By

After about four months in business, the restaurant known as F-F-C in the eastern Iowa town of Clinton has fried its last chicken wing.  The much-publicized Flavor Flav’s chicken restaurant is closed, and that closing caused a series of claims by the namesake of the restaurant and the Clinton businessman who ran the business.

In an interview with the celebrity news outlet T-M-Z, Flavor Flav claimed he pulled the license because the man he put in charge of running the business, Nick Cimino, mismanaged the business. Cimino, in various media outlet interviews, claimed it was the former rapper and reality TV star who is at fault for the business failure.

Flavor Flav already had another business venture underway as it was announced that work will start today on “Flavor Flav’s House Of Flavor” at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

By Dave Vickers, KROS, Clinton

Filed Under: Business, Recreation & Entertainment

Wet weather delays Czech Museum move

April 25, 2011 By

Wet weather is causing problems again for the National Czech and Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids. The museum building was to start moving Tuesday from the area where it flooded in 2008 to a spot close by that is on higher ground. But museum development director, Rod Scott, says wet weather has caused problems with the ramp between the building and its new location.

“It’s gotta be dry. And it’s made of clay, so if anyone’s ever worked with clay, remember in school where you got a little too much water and it just turns to muck?,” Scott said, “So we all came to the conclusion that we’re just going to wait another week and see if this weather pattern changes back to a drier pattern.” The move isn’t very far, but Scott says they can’t take chances with the building.

“The worst thing we can see is not having control of the structure, sliding, getting stuck. Can you imagine trying to find a tow truck that can get a 1,400 ton building out of a bunch of mud?,” Scott asked, “So weather’s one of those things that we just have to deal with.”

Thousands of visitors are expected to come out to watch the move, and the museum will show it on their web cam.

Filed Under: Human Interest

Health Department program targets underage drinking in 23 counties

April 25, 2011 By

The Iowa Department of Public Health has selected 23 counties to participate in a five-year program to reduce underage and binge drinking in the state. Project director Julie Hibben says the effort is being financed by a $10.5 million federal grant. “These 23 counties had the highest need when it comes to underage drinking and binge drinking rates and their consequences,” Hibben said.

“These are the counties that kind of bubbled to the surface with the highest rates of abuse.” The counties chosen to participate in the initiative will serve at least 30,000 Iowans through a number of strategies.

“It could be something like implementing a media campaign regarding binge drinking in the county or policy changes based on data on underage drinking,” Hibben said. Nearly 28% of Iowans 12 years of age and older had consumed more than five drinks of alcohol in one sitting during the past month, according to a recent survey by the Iowa Department of Public Health. The national rate was 23%.

Hibben believes the program will improve the statistics in Iowa. “We know it’s worked in only places, but in Iowa, hopefully it will impact underage drinking and binge drinking and reduce both of those issues in our state,” Hibben said.

The counties selected to participate in the initiative are Allamakee, Appanoose, Audubon, Benton, Buena Vista, Clinton, Delaware, Dickinson, Dubuque, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette, Hamilton, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Lee, Monona, Plymouth, Ringgold, Sac and Woodbury.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Politics & Government Tagged With:

Risky Business youth conference set for Ames Tuesday

April 25, 2011 By

A one-day conference this week will bring together hundreds of Iowa’s youth and adults with the goal of boosting the knowledge of critical issues kids face, while expanding the skills that help teens develop. Gerri Bugg, with the Ames-based Youth and Shelter Services, is organizing the 26th annual Risky Business conference in Ames Tuesday.

Bugg says it’s a one-of-a-kind conference in Iowa. The point of the gathering is to bring youth together with the adults who work with them. It usually brings in about 800 attendees, half of whom are high school students. Bugg said there will be two keynote speakers at the conference, including Dr. Lisa Boesky who’s nationally known just by the moniker Dr. Lisa.

Her keynote is on youth with mental health disorders and she’ll do a workshop on identifying youth with mental health issues. The other keynote speaker is just for the youth, Dr. Rani Whitfield, who’s known at the Hip-Hop Doc, a family physician who uses rap to get his message out to young people.

He’ll also be leading workshops on subjects including childhood obesity and youth substance abuse. Bugg says there will be nearly 50 workshops in a host of areas. Subjects include: technology, alcohol and other drugs, youth philanthropy, fetal-alcohol syndrome, and the future is yours.

The conference runs tomorrow from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Learn more at “www.yss.org“.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Human Interest
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