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Cyclones return to action at home against Texas

September 26, 2011 By

The Iowa State Cyclones get ready for their Big-12 Conference opener at home this weekend against 17th ranked Texas. The Cyclones are 3-0 and have not played since a September 16th win at UCONN.

I.S.U. coach Paul Rhoads says they accomplished everything they wanted to during the week off, which was to rest, rehab and recruit. He says they had a very good practice to get the week started.

The Cyclones may be considered a surprise to many around college football but not to the players and coaches. Rhoads says they think they are improved everywhere from talent on campus to their development and knowledge of what they are doing.

Iowa State beat Texas in Austin last year and the Longhorns finished the season with a record of 5-7. Rhoads says this Texas team is much better. He says they have a different energy that you can see in how they play. A third straight sellout is expected and Rhoads says the atmosphere on Saturday night will be electric.

He says it will be everything the first two home games have been and he says the players appreciate that. The Cyclones are 3-0 despite slow starts and Rhoads says they hope to change that. He says they continue focusing on the game plan and executing overall at the start of games.

Rhoads says the Cyclones know that if they can pick off Texas they will get into the national rankings for the first time since 2002. He says he doesn’t put his head in the sand on those type of things and says they would love to be ranked, but they have to go out and earn it and beat a “tremendous, tremendous football team.”

Like Iowa State, Texas opened the season trying to get into the top-25. Now, The Longhorns hope to climb even higher.

Texas coach Mack Brown says it was the first time they have been out of the top 25 since he took over and they feel they should be in the top five. Brown says he has been impressed with the Iowa State defense as they are tough up front and have a great secondary with two guys he says will be in the NFL next year.

Brown feels the Cyclones deserve to be rated as he says they are fighting hard and have better players than they have had in many years.

Brown says this will be a tough challenge for his team with a huge crowd and he says they got outplayed, outcoached and out hit in their loss at home to the Cyclones last year.

Texas is also 3-0.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Latham blames Democrats for stalemate over spending bill

September 26, 2011 By

Congressman Tom Latham speaks at a forum in Waukee.

The federal government runs out of money at midnight on September 30th and Republican Congressman Tom Latham blames Democrats for this latest stalemate over government spending.

“The people in the Democrat leadership are saying that,’We can get a partisan advantage by having a government shut-down,’” Latham says.

“I’m sorry. That’s just simply wrong.”

The Republican-led U.S. House has passed legislation that would keep the federal government running through mid-November and provide additional money for federal disaster relief.

Democrats are balking at Republican cuts in an energy department program, and Senate Democrats say the House G.O.P. plan doesn’t provide enough for disaster relief.

Latham says he won’t support any package that doesn’t have some cuts to correspond with the increased spending. “I’m very hopeful at least that they will in the end decide to pick up the House bill, pass it as it is. This just funds the government through November 18. This is not a long-term situation. Let’s get this done now. Get the money to FEMA to help people who have disasters…there’s an immediate need to get disaster relief out now.”

Latham spoke with reporters after holding a town hall meeting in Waukee this afternoon.

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

Regents set to name new ISU president Tuesday

September 26, 2011 By

The State Board of Regents is expected to name a new president for Iowa State University on Tuesday. The two finalists for the job are Steve Leath, a vice president at the University of North Carolina and Kumble Subbaswamy, the provost at the University of Kentucky.

Both men held forums on campus last week where they talked about themselves and took questions from the public. The regents will get an introduction from each candidate Tuesday, beginning with Leath at 10:30.

Each candidate’s opening remarks will be followed by a one-hour closed session where the regents will discuss what they’ve seen and heard. The announcement of the new president is set to happen at four p-m. The new president will be the 15th at the university in Ames and he will replace Gregory Geoffroy, who is retiring.

Filed Under: Education Tagged With:

Tree assessment underway along flood path of Missouri River

September 26, 2011 By

After standing in flood water for months, many trees along the Missouri River are damaged, dying or dead. A workshop will be held tonight in the Sioux City area to teach residents how their water-logged trees may be rescued. Arborist Graham Herbst is starting the long process of assessing flood-damaged trees in the region.

Herbst says early inspections show most smaller trees along the waterway didn’t survive the flood and many more mature trees are wounded.

“We are seeing some die back amongst smaller trees, things that haven’t been able to establish very well yet, and trees that are well into maturity and have too much foliage to keep alive with the flooding,” Herbst says.

“There’s going to be long-term implications over the next couple of years, if not longer.” Herbst says half of a tree’s living tissue is underground, so the moving water could have caused erosion around a root system or a build-up of silt. Both can be fatal for a tree.

He says, “Whether you have erosion around the soil, which can affect stability, or you have sediment deposits which are going to continue to make it hard for the tree roots to get oxygen out of the ground, so one way or another, both have negative impacts on the tree’s growth.”

There is a small bit of good news regarding unwanted trees along the river. “Trees that are not quite as adapted to this area and being inundated by flood waters on a regular basis will be the first to go,” Herbst says. “In a lot of cases, those are trees that are not native to here and sometimes creep in and crowd out native species so, that’s the good side of things.”

Herbst says trees that are damaged beyond repair will have to come down as they are a safety hazard. Some symptoms of damage include a leaning trunk, exposed roots, early fall coloration and leaf drop. Two workshops on caring for flood-damaged trees are planned. One will be held tonight at the South Sioux City High School auditorium from 6:30 to 8 P.M.

Another workshop will be held Thursday at the Fontenelle Nature Association in Bellevue, Nebraska, (just south of Omaha) from 6:30 to 8 P.M.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, Fires/Accidents/Disasters

Radio Iowa High School Football Poll 9/26/11

September 26, 2011 By

Class 4A
1. Cedar Falls (5-0), LW #1 vs Dubuque Wahlert
2. Iowa City High (5-0), LW #2 vs CR Washington
3. WDM Valley (5-0), LW #3 vs Ames
4. Ankeny (6-0), LW #4 vs #10 Dowling Catholic
5. Linn-Mar (5-0), LW #5 vs Dubuque Senior
6. S.E. Polk (4-1), LW #7 vs Urbandale
7. Davenport Assumption (5-0), LW #8 @ Pleasant Valley
8. Bettendorf (4-1), LW #9 vs Burlington
9. Iowa City West (4-1), LW (X) vs CR Xavier
10.Dowling Catholic (4-2), LW #6 @ #4 Ankeny

 

Class 3A
1. Webster City (5-0), LW #1 vs Humboldt
2. Clear Lake (5-0), LW #2 @ Ballard
3. Carroll (5-0), LW #3 @ Lewis Central
4. Solon (4-1), LW #4 @ South Tama
5. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (5-0), LW #6 vs Storm Lake
6. ADM (Adel) (5-0), LW (X) @ Carlisle
7. Denison-Schleswig (5-0), LW #7 @ Spencer
8. Waverly-Shell Rock (5-0), LW #8 @ Crestwood
9. Sioux City Heelan (4-1), LW #9 @ Sergeant Bluff-Luton
10.Union (LaPorte City) (4-1), LW #10 vs Maquoketa

Class 2A
1. Iowa City Regina (5-0), LW #1 @ Camanche
2. West Marshall (5-0), LW #2 @ Baxter CMB
3. PCM (Monroe) (5-0), LW #3 @ Pella Christian
4. Mediapolis (5-0), LW #4 @ Albia
5. Spirit Lake (6-0), LW #5 Idle
6. Fort Dodge St. Edmond (5-0), LW #7 vs Roland-Story
7. Osage (5-0), LW #8 vs Iowa Falls-Alden
8. North Fayette (4-1), LW #9 vs #10 South Winneshiek
9. Carroll Kuemper (4-1), LW #10 vs Cherokee
10.South Winneshiek (5-0), LW (X) @ #8 North Fayette

 

Class 1A
1. Emmetsburg (5-0), LW #1 vs #5 West Lyon
2. Council Bluffs St. Albert (5-0), LW #2 @ Griswold
3. Woodward-Granger (5-0), LW #3 vs South Hamilton
4. Dike-New Hartford (5-0), LW #4 @ #7 Aplington-Parkersburg
5. West Lyon (4-1), LW #5 @ #1 Emmetsburg
6. Logan-Magnolia (5-0), LW #6 @ Tri-Center
7. Aplington-Parkersburg (4-1), LW #7 vs #4 Dike-New Hartford
8. North Cedar (5-0), LW #8 vs Alburnett
9. Panorama (5-0), LW #9 @ Wayne (Corydon)
10.Lawton-Bronson (5-0), LW #10 vs Prairie Valley

 

Class A
1. North Tama (5-0), LW #1 vs #5 Postville
2. LeMars Gehlen (5-0), LW #2 vs Clay Central-Everly
3. Lisbon (5-0), LW #3 @ English Valleys
4. West Hancock (4-1), LW #4 vs Northwood-Kensett
5. Postville (5-0), LW #5 @ #1 North Tama
6. Bedford (6-0), LW #6 @ EHK-Exira
7. Lone Tree (5-0), LW #7 @ #9 B-G-M
8. Mason City Newman (5-1), LW #8 @ Colo-Nesco
9. B-G-M (Brooklyn) (4-1), LW #9 vs #7 Lone Tree
10.Lynnville-Sully (4-1), LW #10 vs Belle Plaine

 

Eight-man
1. Armstrong-Ringsted (6-0), LW #1 vs Harris-Lake Park
2. N.E. Hamilton (5-0), LW #2 vs Riceville
3. Fremont-Mills (5-0), LW #3 vs Stanton
4. West Bend-Mallard (6-0), LW #4 vs Graettinger-Terril
5. Janesville (5-0), LW #5 vs Clarksville
6. East Mills (5-0), LW #6 vs Villisca
7. Preston (4-1), LW #7 @ Dunkerton
8. Newell-Fonda (5-0), LW #8 vs Remsen St. Mary’s
9. Kingsley-Pierson (5-0), LW #10 @ Laurens-Marathon
10.Midland (Wyoming) (6-0), LW (X) @ Lansing Kee

Filed Under: Radio Iowa Poll, Sports

Bettendorf company ordered to pay $55,000 for waste violations

September 26, 2011 By

An eastern Iowa steel company will pay some big bucks for hazardous waste violations.

The U.S. E.P.A. says Sivyer Steel Corporation of Bettendorf has agreed to pay a civil penalty of nearly $55,000 and clean up the residual used oil that may have leaked from its storage tanks.

That’s part of a settlement with the E.P.A. for violations of federal hazardous waste regulations at the facility. The agency inspected Sivyer Steel, which produces and finishes steel castings, in March of 2010 and found several violations pertaining hazardous waste.

As part of the settlement, Sivyer Steel has 30 days to show that hazardous waste containers are properly maintained and labeled, and to clean up all areas of its facility contaminated by leaks of used oil.

By Phil Roberts

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Environment & Conservation, Politics & Government

Colorado company seeking to build energy plant in Mason City

September 26, 2011 By

Plans are being made for a Colorado company to open a new alternative energy plant in north-central Iowa. Creative Energy Systems of Larkspur Colorado has submitted a proposal to the Mason City City Council for a ten-year tax abatement plan.

The proposal would allow the company to construct a plant that would take waste material that would be headed for the Landfill of North Iowa and turn it into a synthetic gas, which in turn would be used to generate power for Alliant Energy. The president of Creative Energy Systems says that the plant would create between 50 and 60 jobs.

The council is scheduled to take up the tax abatement plan at its October 4th meeting.

By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City

Filed Under: Business, Politics & Government Tagged With:
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