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High Trestle Trail now open in central Iowa

April 28, 2011 By

A central Iowa bike trail that’s been nearly a decade in the making is finally open. The High Trestle Trail covers 25 miles and connects fives towns through four counties.

Cathy Engstrom, with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, says the centerpiece of the new trail is a massive bridge spanning the Des Moines River. “As far as we can tell, it’s among the top five pedestrian bridges in the world in terms of size,” Engstrom said. “It’s 13 stories tall and half-a-mile long with some amazing artistic features.”

The entire trail, including the bridge, follows a former railroad line once owned by Union Pacific. While the High Trestle Trail isn’t among the longest trails in Iowa, Engstrom says it’ll probably draw the most tourists. “In terms of this iconic bridge, it is really a dramatic, eye-catching trail that has drawn attention…we’ve been getting media (coverage) from Chicago, Minneapolis and all over,” Engstrom said.

The trail – which runs from Ankeny to Woodward and passes through Slater, Sheldahl and Madrid – cost $15 million. Engstrom says federal funding paid for most of the construction costs. State funding and more than 1,000 private donations also made the trail possible. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for Saturday with activities planned in each of the towns along the trail. For more information visit: www.inhf.org.

Filed Under: Human Interest, Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With:

On-line poker study bill moving ahead

April 28, 2011 By

A once-controversial gambling bill has sailed through a House Committee, drawing support from some ardent gambling opponents. The vote in the House State Government Committee was 20 in favor and only three opposed to legislation that calls for a study of how the state’s casinos might run an on-line poker network.

Representative Stewart Iverson, a Republican from Clarion, says requiring the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to conduct a study of online betting is a good first step. “I think it behooves all of us in the state to really find out how big internet gambling is in the state of Iowa,” Iverson says.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Farmer says patience is key with the weather

April 28, 2011 By

The cold, rainy weather has put the planting season well behind normal across the state, but a veteran north Iowa farmer says patience is part of the profession. Floyd County farmer, Mark Kuhn, says times have changed the business of farming, and that may put more on the line for some.

Kuhn says farmers are farming a lot more acres now and it takes some time even with big equipment to get things planted. He says inputs cost a lot more now too and you want to get the most value you can. But Kuhn says it’s not time to panic, there is still plenty of window left to plant, and they’ve been through this before. The May 10th deadline means is when agronomist say corn needs to be planted to give corn the time to mature without losing yield.

Kuhn says the loss is something like a bushel a day up through May 20th and then a couple of bushels a day after that. So he says producers would think about switching varieties at that time, but Kuhn says it’s way too early to think about it. Kuhn says the soil temperature is a big factor in planting.

Kuhn says it needs to be 50 degrees in the soil for the corn to germinate, and the temperature right now at four inches is 48 degrees. He says it was below that a few days ago and even colder and was closer to freezing when it snowed. Kuhn says any corn that was planted is swelling up in the ground and not growing. Kuhn farmed for decades with his father, and his dad was always happy to get planting by his birthday on May second.

Kuhn says some years his dad was in the field and some years he wasn’t. He remembers one year where they were planting on May second and his dad was driving the tractor with one hand and shielding the snow from his face with the other hand. The planted awhile and then quit. Iowa State keeps track of the soil temperatures in counties across the state and posts them on their website at: www.extension.iastate.edu.

By Chris Berg,KCHA, Charles City

Filed Under: Agriculture, Weather

Wrestling tournament, weight classes to change

April 27, 2011 By

Big changes are in store for the state high school wrestling tournament. Beginning next year, the state dual team and traditional wrestling tournaments will be held the same week in Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Alan Beste with the Iowa High School Athletic Association, says they will have a dual tournament on Wednesday and then a three-day regular tournament Thursday through Saturday.

Since 1994 the state dual team tournament had been held after the traditional state tournament was over and Beste says the move should help bring it more attention. He says it has had the appearance that things were over after the individual tournament, and they hope this will give more attention to all wrestlers.

Beste says the merger became possible when the traditional tournament was changed back to a three-day event. There will now be four days of wrestling with the duals and individual tournament.

Next year the state dual team tournament will be February 15th and the traditional tournament will be February 16th through the 18th. Changes are also coming to the weight classes for next season. Beste says they are the most significant changes in more than 20 years. Beste says the lowest weight class moves from 103 to 106 and there are now five weight classes in the upper weights from 170 on up rather than four.

Beste says the changes will mean more opportunities for upperclassmen and fewer opportunities for underclassmen. He says some of the underclassmen weigh in the 90′s and the thought is that some juniors and seniors can make it to 106, where before they couldn’t make the 103 weight.

Beste says there will still be 14 weight classes.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

Iowa Energy look for D-League title

April 27, 2011 By

Carroll native and fomer U.N.I. player Nick Nurse hopes to claim his first championship as a professional basketball here is the U.S. when the Iowa Energy try to close out the NBA D-League championship series at home tonight when they host Rio Grande Valley. Nurse won several titles while coaching over seas for more than a decade. Most of that time was spent in the British Basketball League.

Nurse says they won three championships there and some other competitions. Nurse says this would be even more special if the Energy are able to close it out. He says it would be the first championship for the franchise and he has been excited to see the interest grow around the team.

After a short stint in college Nurse went to Europe and has spent nearly his entire career in the pro ranks. He went over in 1995 and wanted to get some coaching experience and they won a championship in his first year and was asked to come back. Nurse says 10 years flew by pretty quick and then he got the chance to be a pro coach.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Iowa native urges lawmakers to pass late term abortion ban

April 27, 2011 By

An Iowa native who was active in getting Kansas to pass a law that bans abortions after the 20th week of a pregnancy is in Iowa, urging lawmakers here to do the same thing. Cheryl Sullenger, a Marshalltown native, lives in Wichita, Kansas, where late-term abortion doctor George Tiller worked until he was shot to death.

“The last thing you want to be known as is the late-term abortion capitol of the country,” Sullenger says. “We experienced that in Kansas and, frankly, it traumatized the community.” Sullenger says Council Bluffs could become the next Wichita, as a late-term abortion doctor from Nebraska, LeRoy Carhart, hopes to open an abortion clinic in Council Bluffs.

A Nebraska law which took effect in mid-October prevents Carhart from performing abortions in his Bellevue, Nebraska, clinic after the 20th week of a pregnancy. Carhart has said he hopes to open a clinic in Council Bluffs, and the Iowa House has passed a bill that would set up a late-term abortion ban in Iowa.

The bill has stalled in a Senate committee. Sullenger, who is senior policy advisor for the anti-abortion group “Operation Rescue”, is urging senators to act.

“You guys have an opportunity to close that down before it gets here and once things like this get started in a state, it’s very difficult to get them out,” Sullenger says. “But you guys have an opportunity to nip this in the bud and protect women and their viable babies from exploitation.”

Carhart’s website says a “South West Iowa” abortion clinic will be “available soon.” It shows the charge for an abortion performed after the 24th week of a pregnancy would be about $3,000.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Woman faces charges in accident that killed two children

April 27, 2011 By

An 18-year-old woman is facing charges for a traffic crash in southwest Iowa that killed two children. Karli Jo Brown of Essex was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of serious injury by motor vehicle.

The crash happened on November 28 of last year on Highway 48 south of Red Oak. Brown’s vehicle collided head-on with a car driven by Nina McNeese of Cumberland. McNeese was injured while her two children, four-year-old Alex Todd and five-year-old Maliki Todd, were killed in the crash.

An investigation by the Iowa State Patrol determined Brown was passing two other vehicles in a no-passing zone and may’ve been texting on her cell phone. Brown was released from jail on $10,000 bond.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Fires/Accidents/Disasters
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