May 25, 2013

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Concert raises funds for proposed wall honoring veterans

May 17, 2013 By
Artist rendition of proposed Veterans wall.

Artist rendition of proposed Veterans wall.

Singers and musicians from across Iowa will perform 150 years of songs at a benefit concert this weekend to help fund a project honoring American veterans of all wars.

Johnny Audette is organizing “Songs for Soldiers: A 21-Song Salute,” which goes on stage in downtown Des Moines tomorrow night.

“The music of Songs for Soldiers will be a walk through military music, starting from the Civil War and working up towards the current day,” Audette says.

“Some of the musicians will be performing instrumentally and we have some vocalists and singer-songwriters that have come in.”

All proceeds from the one-night-only show are to finance a proposed $200,000 veterans monument at the Des Moines Masonic Cemetery, where Audette is general manager. Engraved paver bricks bearing veterans’ names and messages from loved ones are being sold as an additional fundraiser to offset the cost of the memorial.

“The Armed Forces Wall of Honor will have an 8-foot by 90-foot Walk of Honor which leads up to it,” Audette says. “That’s where the granite pavers from sponsors will go, in the walkway leading up the wall. The wall will be several panels wide. It’s a three-phase project.”

He says it’ll be a place to remember, reflect and recover, honoring all veterans, regardless of their branch of service, location or current status. The concert begins at 7 P.M. Saturday at the Scottish Rite Consistory in Des Moines.

The list of performers includes: Andy Fleming with Brother Trucker, Heath Pattschull with the Heath Allan Band, Heather McClellan, Max Wellman, Tina Haase Findlay with Bella Soul, and Dale Rupp with Abby Normal, Brooke Peters, Kyle Gowin, Rachel Gulick, Cecil Stanley, Christie Chrisman, and Ricc Terranova.

Buy tickets at the door or online at:  tikly.co/-/1526

Filed Under: Human Interest, Military, News

Three flood guages being shut down as part of budget cuts

May 16, 2013 By

Iowa’s many waterways are monitored by about three-dozen carefully-placed flood gauges, except now three of them are being switched off due to federal budget cuts. Sequestration is forcing the gauges to go idle on the West Fork of the Cedar River at Finchford, just north of Waterloo, on the Des Moines River at Humboldt, upstream from Fort Dodge, and on the East Fork of the 102 River at Bedford.

According to Jeff Zogg, senior hydrologist at the National Weather Service: “We’re concerned about the loss of all three gauges because it’s going to affect our ability to predict floods at the locations of these flood gauges as well as the locations downstream.”

The gauge near Waterloo/Cedar Falls has been taking readings for more than 60 years. It’s one of four in the area and Zogg says it was instrumental in monitoring the record flooding on the Cedar River in 2008.

“One way to look at it, imagine you have a business and you have four doors and you have a security system at three of those four doors,” Zogg says. “Three of the four doors, you know who’s coming through. The fourth door, you don’t know who’s coming through. That’s what we’re dealing with — with the Finchford gauge — we have no idea now what going to be coming down toward the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area.”

The gauges monitor both streamflow and water levels and they’ll all be shut down Friday. Zogg says several communities downstream may now receive less accurate river flood forecasts and less advanced notice of flooding due to the shutdown of these gauges.

“As far as the Fort Dodge area, with the loss of the Humboldt gauge, we’re going to lose almost half of what comes into Fort Dodge so that’s going to produce a big question mark for Fort Dodge,” Zogg says. “In Bedford, that stream is more prone to flash flooding, so we’ll have to rely on any other information sources we have to determine what’s happening in the Bedford area.”

As for whether the gauges will be restored, he says that’s a question only Congress can answer.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters, News

Expert says your resume matters in getting a job

May 15, 2013 By

Iowa is about to send a new crop of job-hunting high school and college graduates into the marketplace, and some will find success much faster than others. Susan McBroom, a vocational rehabilitation counselor in Urbandale, says the quality of your resume will quickly determine your odds of going from a job-seeker to someone’s newest employee.

McBroom discusses the most common resume error. “People are not matching the resume to the job that they’re applying for,” McBroom says. “It’s really important that they match their skill sets to the position they’re applying to. If they don’t know their skill set, there’s a resource called O’Net Online that they can find each job broken down to the specific skill set.”

The address for that website is: www.onetonline.org. While a one-page resume was once the rule, McBroom says a two-page resume is now standard, but she says don’t go beyond two pages.

“It takes a recruiter about 15 seconds to look through a resume,” McBroom says. “What I tell new grads is to be sure that if you don’t have a long work history, put things in there that would be internships, big projects, things like that.”

About 90-percent of employers now hire electronically, so having an e-resume that can be attached to an email cover letter is a must. Resumes need to be kept simple, using plain lettering and nothing fancy. Despite the economic downturn of the past few years, McBroom is optimistic about the job market, adding, it’s excellent if you’re looking for positions in the medical field.

“Anything in nursing, certified medical assistant, medication aid, psych aid, and the last two don’t require a four-year degree,” McBroom says. “The job market is getting better. The unemployment rate for ages 19 to 24 is about 12% but that does include new graduates so, it’s really important to have a perfect resume out there.”

Iowa’s jobless rate is about 5%, well below the national jobless rate of about seven-and-a-half percent. Being aggressive is key. Many ads say “no calls” but she says to call anyway, a week after you send your resume, just to see if they got it or have any questions.

While social media sites are popular, McBroom doesn’t recommend being on one unless it’s private and visible by only a limited number of people. If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, she says: “Be careful what you put out there. Employers do research social media. If possible, set your Facebook to private. Keep in mind, others may access information from it.”

Filed Under: Education, Human Interest, News

Meredith Corporation buys three magazines

May 15, 2013 By

There’s one sure way to beat your competitors, buy them. Des Moines-based publishing giant Meredith Corporation already produces two magazines targeting moms and dads — called “Parents” and “American Baby.”

Meredith announced it’s purchasing three competing publications, “Parenting,” “Babytalk” and “Conceive.” The sale price was not released.

All three of the competing magazines will publish their last issues in September. Subscibers will be sent the Meredith titles instead.

Filed Under: Business, News

It’s Craft Beer Week in Iowa

May 14, 2013 By

With temperatures bounding into the 90s today, it’s a happy coincidence for Iowans who like to sip suds from a frosty mug or an icy bottle. Many of the state’s beer microbreweries are pairing their beverages with an array of entertainment this week, according to Jessica O’Riley, communications manager in the Iowa Tourism Office.

“Craft Beer Week is intended to be a fun week to highlight the craft beer industry in Iowa,” O’Riley says. “It’s actually National Craft Beer Week but of course, you can celebrate right here in Iowa.”

The industry has more than doubled in size in recent years in Iowa and continues to grow. The state is now home to 33 microbreweries, with 15 opening since early 2012 and several more planning to open soon.

“So often, the breweries and wineries have special events all the time with music on the weekends or in the evenings,” O’Riley says. “The thing we’re finding with a lot of the craft brewers, they’re located on bike trails. So if you’re out biking and you need to take a little break and refresh yourself, stop by one of the breweries.”

A state law change a few years ago allowed Iowa beer makers to begin brewing varieties with higher alcohol content, which helped spark the industry’s growth. Plus, O’Riley says, Iowans like being able to patronize establishments that are close to home.

“There’s a movement for people to buy local, eat local,” O’Riley says. “It means something more when you can talk with the brewer. So often they’re so passionate about their endeavor that they’re happy to tell you about all the ingredients and how it comes about. There’s just that movement for beer, wine and food.”

Find the various microbreweries across the state at: www.iowatourism.com

Filed Under: News, Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With:

Grassley says goverment is becoming “a threat to freedom and liberties”

May 14, 2013 By

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says two big stories out of Washington, D.C. in the past few days show the federal government is becoming “a threat to freedom and liberties.” In one instance, the Internal Revenue Service has admitted targeting conservative political groups with ties to the Tea Party or that had “patriot” in their names.

“There needs to be full accounting from the agency, including details of who was involved,” Grassley says, “An IRS official publicly stated last Friday that the agency had targeted certain groups after the IRS denied this kind of Nixonian activity last year.”

Grassley, a Republican, says he’s heard at countless town meetings in Iowa how people don’t trust the federal government and speak out about it getting bigger and more powerful.

“Now the fact that the IRS was targeting certain groups for political reasons crystallizes the distrust in a very big way,” Grassley says, “because of the IRS’ reach into taxpayer information and the intimidation that comes from the agency.”

It’s also reported the U.S. Justice Department dug into two months of Associated Press reporters’ and editors’ work and personal phone records. Grassley says that’s equally as distressing.

“The Constitution was written not to power government over people but to protect the people from the government,” Grassley says. “When government exercises power that goes beyond the Constitution, it becomes a real threat.”

Not only were the government’s actions unconstitutional, Grassley says, “but it’s a threat to the freedom and liberties guaranteed to the people by the Constitution.”

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

Two new websites help with vacation planning via car or bike

May 13, 2013 By

The state is launching two new interactive websites to help visitors and locals plan Iowa vacations, whether they’re traveling by car or bicycle. Mary Stahlhut, at the Iowa DOT, says the new IowaByways.org website is focused on spotlighting Iowa’s two national scenic byways and nine state scenic and heritage byways.

“The Iowa Byways site provides you a great look at all that Iowa has to offer in rich Midwest history and natural resources,” Stahlhut says. “Along the byways, you can find a lot of history, cultural and scenic and recreational opportunities and it’s going to be a great resource for travelers coming to Iowa and for Iowans who don’t know what’s in their back yard.”

The search function offers visitors the ability to search the website by cost, by type of event or attraction and by category — like arts and culture, dining, events and festivals, historic sites, natural areas, recreation, and shopping. “Once you log on, you can create your own travel,” Stahlhut says.

“You can list all of the things that you want to do and create an itinerary and save it. You can share it with others and you can even access it with your smartphone.” She says the website will be updated regularly by local byway organizations.

“What you’ll find on the Iowa Byways site is a lot more detail about our local communities’ development for sharing their resources and historic and cultural background things that are available,” Stahlhut says. “Also, there’s a new Iowa Byways travel guide that’s just rich with maps and details of where you can find all these different types of amenities.”

Sign-up is free and you can create trips by selecting events, attractions and travel services of interest, or add something from your list of favorites. The byways website is linked to a new web version of one of the Iowa DOT’s most popular publications, the Iowa Transportation Map for Bicyclists.

The interactive map helps cyclists to plan their trips and find bicycle trail routes and amenities, right down to available rest stops and restaurants. It shows bike lanes, paved trails, unpaved trails, roads with paved shoulders, sidepaths and bicycle-friendly roads. It even shows the locations of bike repair shops.

Filed Under: News, Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With: ,
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