February 23, 2012

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Warrior Dash to make its Iowa debut this summer

February 22, 2012 By

Competitor jumps over fire in a Warrior Dash event.

An extreme sporting event that’s popular in America’s big cities will come to Iowa for the first time this summer. The Warrior Dash is a five-K running race with about a dozen obstacles through with participants navigate.

That includes leaping over pits of fire, climbing vertical walls and crawling through a field of mud over which barbed wire is strung.

Race director Munirah McNeely says they’re called “obstacles from hell” for a reason. “The best thing about the Warrior Dash is it provides a challenge for participants,” McNeely says.

“It’s not meant to be easy but it’s meant to be attainable. As long as you’re willing to challenge yourself, anyone can really do it.” Those who complete the course are rewarded with a Viking-style helmet, complete with fur and horns, in addition to a medal and a t-shirt.

McNeely says there will be dedicated hard-cores at the event who are training and bent upon reaching the finish line first, but most are honestly just hoping to finish.

Participants in the Warrior Dash.

“We do have a number of participants who are coming out that are trying to win our awesome Warrior Helmet award, however there is a large demographic that comes out and it’s their first time running a 5K, or they want to do an event with their friends that’s a bit different,” she says.

“It’s about the experience. It’s about challenging yourself.” Waves of runners are sent off at various times throughout the day and there’s a line-up of local bands playing at the outdoor festival for all finishers. McNeely says the competitors come in all shapes and sizes.

“The average age is around 30 but really we have a wide athletic demographic, from triathletes to others who maybe this is their first time running a 5K,” McNeely says. “That’s what makes the event exciting is that there’s going to be a large group of people who are just out there, trying to tackle it on a different level.”

The Warrior Dash will be held July 14th just west of Des Moines, near Earlham. This year, the events will be held in 62 cities around the world. Learn more at: www.warriordash.com.

Filed Under: Human Interest, News, Recreation & Entertainment

Eagle population down at Desoto Bend

February 21, 2012 By

A mid-winter survey of Iowa’s bald eagle population finds warmer weather is having no impact on eagle numbers, but there are far fewer of the majestic birds at a western Iowa park than usual. Greg Wagner, spokesman for the Nebraska Game and Parks Division, says the DeSoto Bend National Wildlife Refuge, which straddles the Missouri River, is seeing precious few of the big birds.

Wagner says, “There’s over 50 bald eagles on the refuge property, but generally, we’ll have over one-thousand bald eagles that hang out with us over the winter period.” Since the eagles enjoy feeding on fresh fish, they usually congregate near open water which is typically scare during the winter.

The milder weather, Wagner says, is letting the eagles fan out. “Obviously ground cover was exposed,” he says. “There were more open water areas so this is the first major concentration up at Desoto that we’ve had.” Even with reduced numbers, Wagner says the bald eagles aren’t shy. They can be easily viewed from several areas in the refuge.

He says, “Take that tour road by the river to see the eagles in the tall perch trees trying to eat fish, in the backwater pools and also in the river. The DeSoto Bend National Wildlife Refuge is located along Highway 30 between the towns of Blair, Nebraska, and Missouri Valley, Iowa. Due to last summer’s flooding, the Steamboat Bertrand Museum is closed and several trails and roads are closed, too.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, News

Grassley says cyber-security bill is a step backwards

February 21, 2012 By

Anyone who uses e-mail, the Internet or credit cards should be concerned about cyber-security, but Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says new legislation in Congress would be a step backward in keeping our accounts safe. Grassley, a Republican, says a cyber-security bill that’s backed by the Obama administration was introduced in the Senate last week and it appears to be on the fast track toward approval.

“The proposal is seriously flawed,” Grassley says. “It’s kind of heavy-handed on the part of the federal government and I think it’s unnecessarily costly. Ironically, it would likely slow down the ability of the United States to respond to these cyber threats.”

Grassley says the proposed legislation is an expansion of government bureaucracy that will slow our response to cyber-threats and may even make the nation more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. He says he’s joined a small group of senators who are working to create an alternative bill.

“Our approach focuses on getting government and private sector working together, rather than having government drive everything,” Grassley says. “We want to encourage free flow of information between network managers. We want to encourage investment and innovation and cyber-security.”

He says the alternative legislation aims to address cyber-security threats “without the overreaching hand of the government.” Grassley says the focus should be on reforming existing federal government agencies, streamlining regulation and looking for efficiencies that will strengthen the country’s capacity to deal with cyber-attacks.

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

Documentary tells the story of the Underground Railroad

February 20, 2012 By

A new documentary film and book tells the story of the Underground Railroad which slaves followed through Iowa to find freedom in the mid-1800′s. Filmmaker Gary Jenkins of Kansas City says he was reluctant to tell the story until a friend and a descendant of a slave urged him to see the remains of an underground railroad stop in Quindaro, Kansas. Jenkins says he saw where runaway slaves hid in cellars, wells and secret rooms.

“I didn’t really want to do it and one day I rode my motorcycle over to Quindaro and found it and walked down in and looked at the ruins,” Jenkins says. “I was inspired standing there in the actual place where I knew Jimmy’s great-grandfather, George Washington, had come across the frozen Missouri River, had gotten help, got into the Union Army and lived out a full life.”

That stretch of the Underground Railroad along the Missouri-Kansas border was considered one of the most dangerous escape routes. To reach Canada, freedom seekers had to dodge professional slave catchers, federal marshals, and Missouri slave holders. Jenkins says it was a region-wide effort.

He says, “They had this cadre, this organized group of Kansans and Iowans and Nebraskans who banded together and helped people escaping out of Missouri and got them on this kind of complicated, over a-thousand mile journey to at least Chicago where there was a large free black population, and some of them went around to Ontario, Canada, through Detroit.”

The escape routes began along the Missouri/Kansas border, north to Nebraska City, Nebraska, east across the Missouri River through Tabor, Iowa, then east into Illinois and north to Chicago. The 75-minute documentary film is called: “Freedom Seekers: Stories from the Western Underground Railroad.”

It premiered last week in Kansas City. The companion book is “John Brown and the Last Train.” Learn more at the website: “lifedocumentaries.com“

Filed Under: Human Interest, News

Survey shows wide distribution of eagles across the state

February 17, 2012 By

Eagle flying. (DNR photo)

Some bald eagle lovers feared this winter’s warm start might mean there would be fewer of the majestic creatures soaring across Iowa’s skies, but that’s evidently not the case.

Pat Schlarbaum, a wildlife diversity technician with the Iowa D.N.R., says Iowans are having thousands of chances to see the big birds.

“The midwinter bald eagle surveys have been completed,” Schlarbaum says. “There was quite a wide distribution of eagles. In a typical winter, they would be concentrated where there’s open water, but there are eagles to see, probably upwards of 3,000 that reside in Iowa each winter.”

While parts of Iowa were repeatedly in the 60′s and 70′s during January, Schlarbaum says the unseasonably warm spell had little impact on the eagles’ usual migration patterns.

“We have not detected any downturns in the eagle population,” he says. “In fact, there were over 300 nesting attempts last year, so all those young are included in this year’s opportunity to see our national symbol in all its glory.” Eagle watching events are planned in several Iowa locations for the next few weeks. Schlarbaum says the D.N.R. brings in experts to deliver educational talks about the eagles.

“There are also viewing opportunities for the wild birds,” he says. “We have spotting scopes and viewing professionals there to assist the public. It’s really a well-rounded family activity.”

Events planned over the coming weeks include: Des Moines Lunch with Eagles, Friday, Feb. 24; Prairie du Chien Eagle Watch, Saturday, Feb. 25; Saylorville Bald Eagle Watch, Polk City, Sunday, February 26; Red Rock Bald Eagle Watch, Pella, March 2-3; Linn Grove Eagle Watch, Saturday, March 3.

For more details, visit: “www.missriver.org“.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, News Tagged With:

Bedside phones could lead to sleep texting

February 16, 2012 By

Do you sleep with your cell phone on a bedside table? You may want to move it. The director of a sleep disorder clinic in Omaha says he’s seeing patients from Iowa and Nebraska, mostly teens and young adults, who are sleep-texting — that’s right, texting while they’re asleep.

Dr. Michael Summers says, “The transition from wake to sleep and sleep to wake happens fairly abruptly and you still may be in and out of that either wake or sleep state and that is where these occur.” Summers believes sleep-texting is a lot more common than you might think.

“The frequency of it really increases if you’re sleep-deprived,” he says. “You combine that with certain sleep medications that can make parasomnias more common and you’re starting to see this become more of an issue. It’s probably fairly under-reported, at least sleep-texting, because admittedly, some people may send things that are a bit embarrassing to talk about.”

Summers blames the phenomenon of sleep-texting on sleep deprivation. He says, “Most people average around seven hours, or less, of sleep per night and a vast majority of studies show that most people need at least nine hours of sleep per night.” He says sleep deprivation does take its toll on a person and it can carry over into their awake time.

“You are more prone to making mistakes,” Summers says. “You’re less efficient. Chronic sleep deprivation decreases response times, so when you’re driving, you may not be able to react as quickly. You may do what we call automatic behaviors where you’re driving and you may go into this zone-like state where you drive by your exit.”

Too little sleep can also lead to sleep-eating, night terrors, restless leg syndrome, sleep paralysis, chronic pain and teeth grinding. Summers, whose clinic is at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, says the first step in stopping these episodes is to get more sleep.

He recommends that at a certain time, electronics are turned off. He says never get into bed with your cell phone. If you need it in your bedroom, put it out of reach.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, News

Harkin touts bill he says will create jobs

February 16, 2012 By

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin is preparing to introduce sweeping legislation which he says is America’s “best bet” for keeping pace with countries like China and other emerging economic giants. Harkin, a Democrat, says his Rebuild America Act will bolster the economy and the middle class in a comprehensive fashion.

“The bill has many elements, including investments in infrastructure, education and research that are very much in line with the president’s proposals,” Harkin says. “My bill also places a strong emphasis on expanding America’s manufacturing economy.”

China’s vice president is currently in Iowa discussing agricultural trade and Harkin notes, China’s economy has thrived thanks to extraordinary investments in manufacturing and infrastructure. He says the U.S. could learn from that example by ramping up investments in those areas.

“Many countries across the globe have high wages as well as strong environmental and safety regulations, just as we do, but these countries are doing a much better job of creating and attracting manufacturing jobs,” Harkin says. “Why is that? They’ve taken smart aggressive steps to support their domestic manufacturing sectors.” Harkin says his bill will mandate the development of a national manufacturing strategy.

“The aim is to provide additional support for domestic manufacturers to innovate, receive financing and carry out research, development and production in the United States,” Harkin says. “In addition, my bill will promote domestic manufacturing by reforming the tax code, by reducing rewards for shifting jobs overseas, and finally, it will more fully revisit our trade laws to insure they reflect a fair trade agenda.”

Harkin says the aim of the strategy is to pursue policies that create good jobs and provide lasting benefits for the economy. He couldn’t provide an exact timeline for the legislation but says he will introduce it “in the coming weeks.”

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