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Possible tornadoes uproot trees, damage homes in eastern Iowa

May 23, 2011 By

Storm damage in rural Fayette Co.

National Weather Service teams are surveying damage from three possible tornadoes in eastern Iowa.

Bill Gregor and his wife huddled in their basement as the storm roared through Sunday afternoon in a rural area between Marengo and Ladora. “My wife just came down in the basement, woke me up and said get in the closet,” Gregor said.

Although he didn’t see a tornado, Gregor said it sounded like a freight train rolled through his front yard. “You could hear glass crashing, stuff breaking, crunching, cracking,” Gregor said. The storm uprooted large trees, tore off part of the Gregor’s roof and scattered pieces of their home.

Within an hour, emergency crews, neighbors and even strangers stopped to help clean up the mess. “There were people pulling up left and right, asking how they could help,” Gregor said. Other possible tornadoes were spotting near North Liberty and Parnell. In some cases, large hail accompanied the storms.

While there have been no reports of injuries in Iowa — Joplin, Missouri, was heavily damaged by a tornado last night, with at least 89 people killed. A Joplin hospital was among the hundreds of structures hit.

by Jillian Petrus, KCRG-TV and Pat Curtis, Radio Iowa

Hail in Iowa County (photo submitted by Jeff Garringer)

Storm damage in Fayette Co.
Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Weather

Branstad to Romney: compete in Iowa (audio)

May 23, 2011 By

Governor Branstad says if he has a chance later this week, he’ll tell Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney a “skip Iowa” strategy isn’t the right path to the presidency. 

Iowa’s Caucuses are the first scheduled contest in the nominating process, and later this week Romney will make his first appearance in Iowa this year.

“I understand if you’re from Massachusetts, you’re at a disadvantage when you’re competing with people from neighboring states,” Branstad says. “Nevertheless, I do think it’s important to compete here and maybe you don’t have to win, but doing relatively well — and he’s considered the national front-runner, so I think being in the top three is important in Iowa.”

The former governor of a neighboring state has formally launched his campaign in the past 24 hours. Tim Pawlenty posted a video on his campaign website on Sunday and plans to deliver a speech in Des Moines over the noon hour today. 

“I’m encouraged about the fact that Governor Pawlenty has chosen to announce in Iowa, not in Minnesota,” Branstad says. “And he also has chosen to do it at the Historical Building which is where I announced my candidacy for governor, so I consider that to be a complement.”

As for the politicians who’ve considered running and then decided against launching a campaign for the White House, Branstad says he can understand why people are leery of the “scrutiny” presidential candidates face.

“Some people just don’t want to have to go through that,” Branstad says. “But if you want to run for president of the United States, you know, you’d better expect the fact that anything and everything that’s ever happened in your life or in that or your family will be carefully and meticulously reviewed and scrutinized.”

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels announced Sunday he would not run for president. Daniels, in a written statement, said he loves his country, but he loves his family more — and his family did not want him to run.

Branstad made his comments during his weekly news conference.  Listen to the audio from that news conference here.

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

INS Superior Student: Megan Kelchen

May 23, 2011 By

INS salutes Megan Kelchen from Cascade High School as this month’s superior student.

Megan has a gpa of 3.77 and has been a member of the National Honor Society the last two years as well as a member of the Dubuque Area Leadership Council. Her activities that she is involved in are golf and cross country. Other high school activities that Megan is involved in include student council which she has been involved in all four years. She is also a representative and a class officer for SAD. She is a member of the Spanish Club. Megan has been in band for eight years. Community wise, Megan involved in our church as an Adelaide and a youth minster. She has helped with spring and fall clean up in the Cascade community. She has also been active in the Cystic Fibrosis Walk as well as the Relay for Life events that have happened in the community. She plans to attend college to study business marketing.

INS Superior Student

Congratulate Megan Kelchen the INS Superior Student next time you see her.

INS and your local independent telephone company…actively supporting student achievement and the youth of Iowa’s future.

 

Filed Under: INS Superior Student

Iowans shouldn’t move firewood due to tree-killing bug

May 23, 2011 By

The USDA is launching a campaign urging campers and anyone else to never move firewood from the area where it was cut. Agency spokeswoman Sharon Lucik says the cold weather has no impact on a destructive pest, the emerald ash borer, which stows away on firewood.

“During the winter months, it just stays under the bark and then it’s right around this time, when the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, that’s the turnkey for it to finish its lifecycle,” Lucik says. “Right now, some adult beetles may be flying in Iowa.”

The insect was first discovered last year in northeast Iowa’s Allamakee County but hasn’t been found anywhere else in Iowa. Lucik says it’s hoped campers are getting the message from the campaign, “Promise Not To Move Firewood.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Agriculture, Environment & Conservation

Branstad may not be able to lead trade trip next month (audio)

May 23, 2011 By

Iowa’s lieutenant governor may lead a trade mission to China and South Korea next month if legislators and Governor Branstad don’t resolve their differences over the state budget.  Branstad is scheduled to be gone on the trade trip from June 6-16. 

“We do intend to go forward with the trade mission. If the legislature has not concluded, then I’m going to ask the lieutenant governor to lead it,” Branstad says. “We have about 40 people who are intending to go. That’ll be the largest trade mission I’ve been involved in since the first one I was involved in back when we went to Hong Kong, Korea and Japan back in 1984.”

Branstad just signed a letter with 20 other governors, urging congress to approve new trade agreements with Columbia, Panama and South Korea.  Branstad is expressing optimism his budget talks with legislators will wrap up soon and he’ll be able to make the trip to South Korea and China next month.

“I intend to work with the legislature and I’m very optimistic.  I think we saw some movement late last week. I think there’s some interest in trying to get things resolved,” Branstad says. “…If it’s not concluded in time for the trade mission, I feel very confident the lieutenant governor can lead that trade mission and it’s important and we want to see that it goes foward.” 

Most members of the Iowa House and Senate have been away from Des Moines this month as legislative leaders meet privately with the governor and his staff to hammer out the details of a plan for the state budgeting year that starts July 1st.

“You know, I’m pretty encouraged that we’re getting fairly close on some of the numbers…The details have to be worked out,” Branstad says. “But we’re going to very diligently and patiently work with both the House and Senate leadership to try to resolve those things and hopefully in a constructive way that can get it done in the not too distant future.”

Branstad says it appears to him there is “consensus” developing on a property tax relief package, although the governor is not releasing details on the tax plan or on the state spending decisions which are being discussed in private statehouse meetings.

Listen to the governor’s weekly news conference: BranstadMay23

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Pawlenty is in; Iowa speech to follow

May 22, 2011 By

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty launched his campaign for president today in a video posted on the internet.

He’ll be in Des Moines Monday to deliver a campaign kick-off speech. During an interview with Radio Iowa earlier this month, Pawlenty suggested the nation’s problems require a new approach — from a new president.

“We have a country that’s facing unbearable levels of unemployment. We have $4 a gallon gas,” Pawlenty said. “We have a federal government that in terms of its spending and in many other respects is utterly out of coontrol and the country needs a change in course.”

Pawlenty has hired a team of consultants with experience in past Iowa campaigns, including the manager of Mike Huckabee’s successful 2008 Iowa Caucus effort as well as a former chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa. Doug Gross, a Des Moines lawyer who supported Mitt Romney in 2008, says Pawlenty could finish “surprisingly well” in the 2012 Iowa Caucuses because of the way he’s making his case to voters. 

“Pawlenty, I think, is playing this right right now,” Gross says.

Pawlenty has made a number of trips to Iowa to lay the groundwork for a presidential bid. Last year, Pawlenty helped Iowa Republicans raise money for their 2010 campaigns. He’s been consistently stressing an economic message in his public appearances. During a speech in Dubuque last summer Pawlenty touted the tax cuts signed into law by both President Reagan and President Kennedy.

“You can make a very good case based not on political rhetoric, not on right-versus-left or on people shouting at each other,” Pawlenty said, “just go back and look at those actions and the results. And they’re very positive.”

Pawlenty, though, has not yet unveiled his specific ideas for federal tax cuts.

The Republican presidential field shifted a bit this weekend. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels had been considering a bid for the Republican Party’s 2012 presidential nomination but announced early Sunday morning that he would not run.  On Saturday, former Godfather’s Pizza C.E.O. Herman Cain announced he is running.

By week’s end, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney will make his first campaign-style appearance in Iowa this year.  Three-time presidential candidate Ron Paul will be in Iowa Monday and Minnesota Congressman Michele Bachmann will be in Iowa later this week.  Bachmann has indicated she is nearly ready to jump in the race.

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

Uptick in holiday travel expected, despite high gas prices

May 21, 2011 By

Even though gasoline prices are flirting with four-dollars a gallon across Iowa, it’s not expected to keep motorists from heading down the road for the upcoming holiday. Gene LaDoucer, spokesman for AAA-Iowa, says this Memorial Day weekend should actually be busier than a year ago.

“Despite the sharp increase in gas prices since last year, we do expect a slight increase in the number of travelers,” LaDoucer says. “About 100,000 travelers more this year than last year, so we’ll see about 34.9-million Americans traveling over the weekend.”

The motor club says gasoline prices are averaging $3.88 a gallon statewide, compared to $2.79 a gallon a year ago. Still, he says there will be an uptick in travelers. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Human Interest, Recreation & Entertainment
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