January 27, 2012

You are here: Home / 2011 / Archives for April 2011

No decision “yet” in senate on abortion ban

April 25, 2011 By

A bill that would ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy is among the items that may be discussed this week at the statehouse.

The bill has cleared the House, but has stalled in the Government Oversight Committee in the Iowa Senate. Committee chairman Tom Courtney, a Democrat from Burlington, has said there’s not enough time left in the 2011 legislative session to thoroughly review the bill.

“It’s been my opinion that it was too complicated to do in that short a time,” Courtney says. “But we are considering it and we’re taking a hard look at it.”

Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan sent a letter to Courtney and the rest of the Iowa Senate last Thursday, urging senators to “take action” so Council Bluffs won’t become the home of a clinic that “specializes in later term abortions.” A Nebraska law banning abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy took effect last October and a Bellevue, Nebraska doctor who performs abortions announced he intended to open a clinic in Council Bluffs.

The top Democrat in the Iowa Senate — Senator Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs — has said he would allow the full senate to consider an abortion ban similiar to Nebraska’s if the proposal clears a senate committee. Senator Courtney, the committee chairman, is also the “majority whip” in the state senate, which means he’s part of the leadership team.

“I don’t think anybody wants this doctor to come into Council Bluffs,” Courtney says. “…”It’s really tough and we don’t have a lot of time to do this.”

This Friday, April 29, is the last scheduled day of the 2011 legislative session. Lawmakers can continue meeting after that, but they’ll no longer receive a daily allowance to cover living expenses. Until the legislature adjourns for the year, however, this bill to ban abortions after the 20th week of a pregnancy is still eligible for debate.

“And we just haven’t made a decision yet,” Courtney says.

Legislators face a host of other key decisions in the coming days, as a final version of next year’s state budget is still unsettled.  Governor Branstad, a Republican, has refused to accept budget outlines that do not appropriate money for the next two years. Democrats say it’s risky to draw up spending plans that far in advance, and they worry Branstad would be able to block any changes legislators might want to make in the plan for that second year.  Branstad says he promised voters last year when he campaigned for a fifth term that he would restore financial stability to state government and two-year budgets are part of that.

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

Iowa soldier dies on rescue mission in Afghanistan

April 24, 2011 By

Staff Sergeant James Justice

A spokesman for the Iowa National Guard says one soldier died and one was injured during while trying to save fellow soldiers during a rescue mission Saturday in Afghanistan.

 Colonel Greg Hapgood says 32-year-old Staff Sergeant James Justice of Grimes died and 21-year-old Specialist Zachary Durham of Des Moines was injured as they helped the pilots of a downed helicopter in the Kapisa Province near the Pakistani border.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Military Tagged With:

Plans released for VA hospital that’ll serve western Iowa

April 23, 2011 By

Plans have been released for a massive new Veterans Affairs Hospital that will serve veterans across Iowa’s western third. At one-million square feet, it promises to be the largest public works project in Omaha/Council Bluffs since the 1960s.

Chief engineer Bob Yager says the ultimate price tag is estimated at $560-million. “The big highlights of the building are this large, glass, curved concourse that will allow natural daylight to come into the building and it will be very much an atrium-type space,” Yager says.

“We’ll get daylight onto the first floor and that’s where all of our patient amenities are, our canteen, our coffee shop and things like that will be.” Yager says the Omaha facility will be very modern and easy to navigate. He says it’s difficult to determine a time-table for the hospital due to funding.

He says, “We’re hoping we’ll be able to release some construction early, starting in the summer of 2013 with parking structures and an essential energy plant but that is depending on the FY13 federal budget being passed and having constructions funds in there.” For now, the completion date is set for 2018. Yager says once the new facility us up and in full operation, the current V-A hospital will be demolished. He says something special is being planned for the spot where it now stands.

“We’re looking at a veterans’ memorial being on that site,” Yager says. “It happens to be the highest geographical point in the city of Omaha and we would like to place something there that’s meaningful for veterans on the highest ground in the city and I think that’s going to be a very meaningful tribute to our veterans.”

 The current V-A Hospital was built about 60 years ago and a recent study found the building to be inadequate to meet the needs of patients.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Military

Church program in Cedar Rapids helps the elderly

April 23, 2011 By

Older Iowans face many of the same financial issues as younger residents, but they often have higher medical expenses and conditions that prevent them from being able to work. In Cedar Rapids, a church is helping those senior citizens with a program launched last June.

Mary Jean Carlstedt turned to the Neighborhood Church after her husband, Dave, returned home after a hospital stay for health issues. The church delivered free food and medical supplies to the Carlstedt’s door.

“When you’re horsing around with a really sick husband…to have those things brought to us…it was really nice,” Mary Jean said. Neighborhood Church Pastor Jim Coyle  and Reverend Jerry Fagerland created the program to help seniors. Since last summer, Fagerland says the church has given away nearly $90,000 worth of supplies and almost 25,000 pounds of food.

“It’s a population that often gets overlooked and under-served. So, the need is just huge,” Fagerland said. Carol King appreciates the help she’s received from the program. “They give me things I never expected,” King said. “What do people that have less than I do? What are they doing? A lot of them have children.”

Within the past year, church members have helped at least 1,000 seniors.

More information: www.neighborhoodchurchcr.com

By Mark Geary, KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Human Interest, Religion

Pony Express rides this weekend for Camp Sunnyside

April 23, 2011 By

An Easter weekend tradition is underway today as the annual Pony Express Ride gallops into action to benefit Camp Sunnyside in Ankeny. Carole Bailey, spokeswoman for the Pony Express Riders, says between 200 and 300 riders on horseback will be trotting into central Iowa from all over the state.

Several of the rides start at the Minnesota border and meet at the John Deere Works in Ankeny and then they all ride in “parade style” to the camp, bringing the donations they’ve worked all year to raise. Bailey says the riders have brought in an enormous sum of money for the camp over the years.

This is the 44th annual ride and over the last 43 years, they’ve raised more than $8.7 million to help support the Easter Seals camp. Last year’s ride netted 250-thousand dollars. She says the Pony Express’ goal is to raise money so children and adults with disabilities can attend the camp. Bailey said the riders are a brave bunch, no matter what the weather is doing.

She notes they’ve made the ride in 80-degrees under sunny skies and in 20-degrees in the snow. The annual victory party and dance will be held tonight at the Lake Robbins Ballrooom near Woodward. For more information, visit “www.ponyexpressridersofiowa.org” or “www.ia.easterseals.com“.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Human Interest

Vilsack confident ’11 corn crop will meet demand

April 23, 2011 By

Livestock producers have been expressing concerns about a limited supply of corn if the 2011 growing season proves difficult for farmers, and livestock producers have to compete with ethanol plants for corn.

The National Pork Producers Council has called for a “corn contingency plan” that would direct where dwindling supplies may be used, but U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is reluctant to discuss such a move, as he says the “markets are pretty sensitive” to the proposal. 

[Read more...]

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

State senator questions ethics of proposal for Harkin institute at ISU

April 22, 2011 By

A state senator is asking the president of the Board of Regents to delay a decision on a proposal to create a public policy institute named for Democratic U.S. Senator Tom Harkin at Iowa State University. State Senator Sandra Greiner, a Republican from Keota, says she has some serious questions about the proposal.

“My basic concern is the impropriety of a seated senator…whose organization would be soliciting funds to run their institute from the same people who would possibly be seeking regulation from that senator,” Greiner says. Greiner says this is the same type of thing that was part of the ethics investigation against Democrat New York Representative Charlie Rangel.

Greiner says it is not a partisan issue, as there have been similar things that have happened with Republicans who have created outside foundations and then seek donations to run the foundation from the very people they are regulating. “As a member of the oversight committee I don’t want to see this come into my committee to have to deal with,” Greiner says, “I just think it has to be nipped in the bud.”

She says in her letter  ( Greiner Letter PDF)   that it is clear the proposal has been discussed in length internally among the Regents and Iowa State, while the legislature and the governor have been “kept in the dark about the proposal.” “Particularly I think it was…not the wisest thing to do to move forward with this without at least alerting the governor,” Greiner says.

She says she doesn’t know that the legislature has to sign off on the issue, but said at the least it would have been a courtesy to notify the governor. Greiner wants the board to delay any action on the issue. “If it’s a good idea, it needs to be vetted and move forward,” Greiner says. She says she’s just not aware of successful organizations like this where the person whose name is at the top of the organization is making appropriations or regulatory decisions that involve the people who’re making contributions to maintain the institute.

“I just think it’s the wrong thing to do,” Greiner says. The proposal before the Board of Regents says the institute would honor Harkin and the “senator’s policy concerns, including those related to agriculture, education, international affairs, disabilities, nutrition, health, and labor, will guide and direct the proposed institute’s teaching, research, and outreach priorities.”

The proposal says the institute would also hold Harkin’s papers from the over 35 years of his service in the U.S. House and Senate. It says the institute would be nonpartisan and be funded through gifts. The Regents are scheduled to meet at Iowa State University Wednesday. Harkin’s wife Ruth is a member of the board.

A spokesperson for the Board of Regents told Radio Iowa president Miles was unavailable for comment due to the holiday, and it was too early to speculate on the impact of Greiner’s letter as they have just received it.

See the Regents proposal here: Harkin Institute PDF

Filed Under: Education, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »