Iowa's Radio News Network
A showdown over Republican leadership in the Iowa Senate has been cancelled. Senator Bill Dix, a Republican from Shell Rock, had asked Senate Republicans to meet this morning.
His goal was to hold a leadership election and win the job of Senate Minority Leader, which is currently held by Senator Paul McKinley of Chariton. But Dix has cancelled the meeting, which was a surprise to Senator James Seymour, a Republican from Woodbine, when he arrived at the statehouse.
Hungry consumers have a new tool to match their mood with an Iowa restaurant. The Iowa Restaurant Association (IRA) has launched the “Dine Iowa” website and smart phone application.
IRA president and C.E.O. Jessica Dunker says the website and free phone app allow people to search for restaurants statewide and narrow their search options.
“For example, there are 23 amenities that you can search for – so you can look for a restaurant that is gluton-free, or has a children’s play area, or a restaurant that has a patio or drive through,” Dunker said. Consumers can also search for restaurants by location and cuisine type.
Dunker is hoping people who do a lot of traveling in the state will download the Dine Iowa app on their phone. “The purpose is to help people move, potentially, a mile or two in from some of the major highways so they are exploring and experiencing some of Iowa’s more independent restaurants versus something that might be right off the interstate,” Dunker said.
The locator currently contains information on roughly 400 Iowa restaurants. Only restaurants that pay dues to join the Iowa Restaurant Association are part of the program. Dunker notes each restaurant owner controls their menu and other information about their establishment.
“Each member restaurant can go put a special up and have it uploaded to the app,” Dunker explained. “So, you could potentially be seeing what the weekend special is that the restaurant has put on the app as you’re driving across the state.”
Currently, the free Dine Iowa app is available for iPhone and Android. Dunker says it’ll likely be expanded soon to cover other cell phones.
The Vermeer company in Pella is opening an office in the Iowa State University Research Park in Ames in hopes of increasing its connection to the school. Research park director, Steve Carter, says the office for the equipment manufacturer will have 14 employees and focus on a couple of things.
He says it will collaborate with the university to come up with innovations in products and new products. Carter the company recruits a lot of engineering students and they feel having an office close by allows them to “get those young folks engaged with Vermeer, earlier and longer.” Carter says the office on campus is a big bonus in the competition for the best students.
He says it does give companies a “significant” advantage because he says developing research collaborations and building relationships with students takes time, exposure and interaction. Carter hopes other businesses will follow Vermeer’s lead and look to create offices near the university.
Carter says he hopes what Vermeer is doing is a model for other Iowa corporations as a means to connect with the university. Carter says the new office will give Vermeer access to students for internships and to researchers as it looks to move ahead with product improvement and development.
Liz Mathis
Linn County Democrats have formally selected a former eastern Iowa T.V. anchorwoman to be the party’s nominee for an open state senate seat.
Liz Mathis was the only Democratic candidate to step forward to run in the district, which includes the city of Marion as well as northern and western portions of Linn County.
State of Weight in Iowa conference.
Around 200 people from across the state attended a conference in Des Moines today to discuss Iowa’s growing obesity problem.
Matt McGarvey, with The Wellmark Foundation, says a recent study found just over 28% of adult Iowans are obese. That compares to 16.2-percent in 1996.
“It’s not something that just happened overnight, I mean, this is 30 years in the making,” McGarvey said of Iowa’s obesity rate.
“From a community design standpoint or from people changing whether they’re being as active as they could or should be…it’s literally something that has gotten progressively worse since the early 1980s up until today.”
Those who attended the “State of Weight in Iowa” conference heard from several national experts on health. McGarvey says one of the goals is to get community leaders thinking about ways to encourage their local residents to eat better foods and lead more active lifestyles.
He says communities can make policy and environmental changes to help residents make healthy choices. The Wellmark Foundation provides funding to nonprofit groups and cities to establish health initiatives in their communities. McGarvey says this inaugural conference allowed those groups and community leaders to share ideas.
“So, a day like today really helps communities begin to think about what’s possible for them to do in their own setting,” McGarvey said. “That will then, hopefully, make their funding proposals – whether it’s to us or to other organizations – that much more competitive because they’ve been exposed to different ideas that have been successful in other community settings that they can begin to replicate.”
Earlier this month, Wellmark launched the “Blue Zones Project.” The insurance company plans to designate 10 Iowa communities as “Blue Zones” over the next five years, sending in consultants who will show that city’s residents ways to live a healthier life.
The U.N.I. Panthers are on the road this week to play Missouri State. The Panthers opened the Missouri Valley Football Conference race last weekend with a victory over Western Illinois while the Bears are 0-4 with all of the losses on the road to Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Oregon and a last second loss Southern Illinois last week.
U.N.I. coach Mark Farley says they are going on the road and it’s their first football game so they will be excited and he says they have to play at a high level in all segments of the game. With running back Carlos Anderson struggling with an ankle injury David Johnson has provided a lift.
The freshman is averaging 85 yards of rushing per game and has five touchdowns, and Farley says you wouldn’t know he is a freshman if you just watched him on film. Farley says Anderson could be back for this weekend and they will play him if he is ready. He says it is a tough football game and they are not going to save anything for anybody.
Former Panther coach Terry Allen is in his 6th year at Missouri State and says a tough schedule does not get any easier this week. He says U.N.I. is one of the premiere programs in the country with an outstanding experienced defense.
Allen says his team has handled a tough start as well as can be expected, as he says they play Southern tough and handled the adversity and they can hopefully continue to do that.
One person died and another was injured today in an accident early today in Polk County near Runnells. The Polk County Sheriff’s department says 21-year-old James Calhoun of Pleasantville crossed the centerline and his Lexus struck a Chevy Blazer head on. Calhoun was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the blazer, Kimberly Cooper of Runnells, had to be extricated from the vehicle, and was taken to a Des Moines hospital. Her condition is not known. The sheriff’s office says the initial investigation showed a debris trail that indicated the two vehicles were at the least traveling the speed limit.
They are still trying to figure out what caused Calhoun’s vehicle to cross the center line.
O.KayHenderson.com