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Human trafficking is the focus of meeting in Ames

October 26, 2011 By

Law enforcement officers, social workers and others who work with homeless children are among those gathering in Ames today to discuss the crime of human trafficking. Teresa Downing, an Iowa State assistant professor of sociology, serves on the board of directors for the Network Against Human Trafficking (NAHT).

She says human trafficking in Iowa usually involves homeless teens engaging in “survival sex” – which is sex for money, food, drugs or a place to live. “In the adult entertainment industry, for example, some strip club owners will try to get youth who are down and out, don’t really have a place to go and need money…they’ll try to bring them into the clubs when they turn 18 or so,” Downing said.

Research from the NAHT shows, since 2005, more than 125 victims of labor and sex trafficking have been identified in Iowa. Downing believes the actual number of victims is much higher as many cases go unidentified or unreported. She adds homeless and runaway youths are highly vulnerable to being trafficked.

Downing believes more could be done to keep young people from becoming involved in the pornography or strip club industries. “I don’t think Iowans can keep turning a blind eye to both of these industries and how they endanger children. I think Iowans need to be much more aware of the situation of homeless youth in our state,” Downing said. She wants victims to know they can get help.

“We have laws in place to protect them and help them gain access to the services and legal resources they need in order to restore their lives,” Downing said. The first Iowa Conference on Human Trafficking in I.S.U.’s Memorial Union runs today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

One of the keynote speakers is Bonnie Campbell, a former attorney general of Iowa whose work has addressed trafficking in Iowa and internationally.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, News

Cedar Rapids residents seek to save flooded drive-in restaurant

October 26, 2011 By

A former drive-in restaurant is serving as a rallying point for a northwest Cedar Rapids neighborhood that was devastated by the flooding in 2008. Residents hope to get the city to approve a plan next month to save the A&W where you used to be able to drive up and have car hops on roller skates deliver an icy-cold rootbeer.

Linda Seger lives about seven blocks away in a home that was rebuilt after being destroyed by the flood. She says the impact of the A&W was apparent in the reaction of her grandkids. Seger says the younger grandkids were “absolutely horrified” when they saw the flood debris and destruction at the A&W.

She says the grandkids showed less emotion at the destruction of her house than they did for the restaurant because they had so many memories there. The owner of the A&W accepted a buyout for the property and it was to be demolished, until the effort to save it got underway.

Sue Wesley remembers rootbeers and coney dogs at the drive-in as a kid and is now working with her husband to try and save the structure.

Wesley says their desire is to make it a community gathering place, where older people can come and have coffee and solve the world’s problems, to young people coming in after a football game.

“We want to make it a place for (the) community to come and to just sit back and spend that time developing relationships,” Welsey says. Wesley is working with developer Barron Stark, who says the $300,000 renovation price tag is worth it.

Stark says it’s an historical icon that he thinks would draw people back to the area and something that the city of Cedar Rapids would support. Stark is the only one to submit a development proposal for the A&W and the city will consider it next month.

Wesley and Seger hope the new gathering place could be open by sometime next year.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, Human Interest, News

Zombies are the hot this Halloween

October 26, 2011 By

Zombies

Vampires have finally been staked and they’re no longer the top costume of choice as Iowans shift their Halloween focus to portray another sort of undead spook.

Veronica Dietrick works at The Theatrical Shop in West Des Moines and says this year’s favorite is a familiar fright.

“A lot of people are excited about being zombies,” Dietrick says, laughing. “We’re selling an awful lot of makeup for people to do their own zombie look. A lot of people are spending $15 to $20 just on the makeup.”

Aside from shambling, brain-eating ghouls, she says friendly children’s storybook characters are also making a comeback this year, from Snow White or Cinderella to Alice in Wonderland.

“A lot of the ladies are interested in that,” Dietrick says. “Pirates are an eternal favorite, a lot of superheroes. We get a lot of people who each person has their own unique idea about what they’d like to be.” She says the store’s also helping people who want to resemble someone who’s famous on TV or on the radio.

Dietrick says, “We’re still getting a lot of people interested in dressing up like the ‘Jersey Shore’ people and pop stars and rock stars, everyone from Justin Beiber to Lady Gaga to Michael Jackson.” There’s also a jump in retro-80s rock stars, she says, as people want to go trick-or-treating or to costume parties as David Coverdale of Whitesnake, or Madonna, Slash from Guns ‘N’ Roses or Cyndi Lauper.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: News, Recreation & Entertainment

Iowa looking to bring Derby along on defense

October 25, 2011 By

Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says A.J. Derby will see more time on special teams as the season progresses.

The Iowa City native was the Hawks backup quarterback but he switched to linebacker last week and made one tackle on a kickoff in a victory over Indiana. He says Derby did something he has never had training for and did it better than those who have had the training.

Ferentz says it may take a while before Derby sees time at linebacker but he can make an impact on special teams. He says the goal is to get him going as soon as they can. Ferentz says the move to linebacker was made to strengthen the linebacking corps and get Derby on the field.

He says with quarterbacks, only one can play, and it’s not like runningbacks where you can rotate them through. Ferentz says with the need at linebacker, it seemed like a logical move.

Defense continues to be an issue. The Hawkeyes gave up 31 points two weeks ago and 24 in the win over the Hoosiers. Ferentz says the first thing that jumps out is that they need to do a better job on third down. Ferentz says they will continue to work hard to improve on defense but a drastic change in style at this point is not going to happen.

He says they will make adjustments that will help them, but can’t just change the defense because it means you have been wiped out at a position or are hitting the panic button. The Hawkeyes have had their troubles against dual threat quarterbacks and they will face another this week in Minnesota’s Marqueis Gray.

Ferentz says he’s a strong powerful runner when he takes off and has a strong arm.

Iowa is 5-2 while the Gophers are 1-6.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: ,

Creighton economist says holiday sales may be slow this year

October 25, 2011 By

Santa’s sleigh may be lighter this holiday season. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says consumers in Iowa and nationwide are continuing to show signs of hesitation about buying, so merchants are beginning to make plans for another slow December.

“Retailers are very guarded on what’s going to happen,” Goss says. “As a result, they’ve been very cautious in terms of expanding their inventories. They’ve pared them back fairly significantly.” Iowa and the Midwest are in better shape than many other states and regions, Goss says, and growth in holiday sales here ought to be higher than elsewhere, too.

“In my judgment, we’re going to see growth from last year of about 3 to 4%,” Goss says. “At the national level, it’s going to be about half that, 1 to 2%.”

With consumer confidence tanking, he says that projection is a far cry from where it would ordinarily be during a healthier economy.

“While it’s not as good as we’d like to see, a normal expansion would be in the six to seven-percent range but still, it’s much better than what we saw last year,” Goss says.

By Karla James

Filed Under: Business, Featured Story, News

Study finds mortgage problems hit regardless of age, education and race

October 25, 2011 By

A study by a University of Iowa researcher found that age, education and race were factors that didn’t follow the norm in determining who would be impacted by the mortgage crisis. Jerry Anthony examined bankruptcies from 2007 where people had become “house broke” or faced a mortgage payment that became too big.

Anthony says he was surprised to find that people over the age of 40 were not more financially stable than younger homeowners. He says the study found people over the age of 60 paid a higher percentage of their income on housing than people under the age of 40.

Anthony says you would expect people over the age of 60 to have paid off most of their mortgage, and have lower mortgage costs, but he says that wasn’t the case. Anthony, an associate professor in the school of urban and regional planning, says older people tend to carry more debt, and lenders seemed to target them.

Anthony says “predatory lenders” took off between 2006 and 2007, and “targeted people of that older generation in a pretty systematic manner.” He says the lenders would offer loans against the equity in homes and that gave people a bigger debt load. Anthony says education didn’t help people stay away from problems, as the study found those with less education had lower housing costs.

Anthony says people were perhaps too smart for their own good, as they consolidated all of their unsecured loans into a mortgage secured by their home. He says that can lower the interest rate and give you a tax deduction for the loan interest, but he says on the down side, if you miss mortgage payments, lenders are going to come after your house.

Anthony says if you miss a few credit card payments, the credit card companies are not going to come after your house. The study also found the mortgage problems didn’t follow the tradition trends when it came to race.

Anthony says all research from the past has been consistent in finding that Hispanics and African-Americans paid more for their housing when compared to whites. But he says this study found no race differences when it came to the bankruptcies, which he says was surprising.

Anthony says there’s plenty of blame to go around for the mortgage crisis, from predatory lenders to naive consumers. Anthony says people should re-think the idea that owning a home is always the best way to go. He says it depends on how long you plan to stay in the home and how much you would have to pay in rent.

Filed Under: Business, News Tagged With:

Cooler weather is on the way to stay

October 25, 2011 By

A drastic change in the weather is on the way. National Weather Service meteorologist Craig Cogill says today’s unseasonably warm temperatures in the 70s and 80s will soon be history.

“We’re looking at temperatures dropping tomorrow into the low to mid 50s, so a good 20 to 25 degrees cooler for highs,” Cogill said. The cold front that’s expected to move through the state tonight will bring an extended period of below normal temps.

“We’re not really looking at temperatures getting up into the 70s or even the 60s through the weekend,” Cogill said. “This could be the end of the 70s probably for the year and maybe not until next March or April.”

The cold front will bring cloudy conditions, but only a slight chance of isolated light showers tomorrow – mainly over southern Iowa. Clear, but cool conditions are forecast Thursday through Saturday with highs in the 50s and overnight lows in the upper 20s and 30s.

Cogill that coldfront won’t bring a lot of moisture with it, but things will be colder.

Filed Under: News, Weather
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