Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Also inside: Mason discusses cambus accident, Iowa baseball loses to Neb.-Omaha, Campaign supports entrepreneurs.
After more than 12 tumultuous years of back-and-forth divisive debate regarding the treatment of Johnson County’s growing judicial and jail demands, a $43.5 million bond referendum was defeated Tuesday evening, leaving plans for a new justice center in the dust. The bond referendum gathered 13,648 votes with 54 percent voting in favor of the plan. A 60 percent supermajority was needed for the measure to pass. In all, 7,394 ballots were cast to push the two-tier project forward, while 6,226 voted to deny the measure. Longtime advocate and Johnson County Supervisor Terrence Neuzil said the next step for government officials is to hold a May 14 meeting to begin the process of mulling the facilities’ future. “I have a responsibility for the …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Also inside: UI Cambus strikes a 66-year-old pedestrian, Public Space One leaving location, Iowa baseball set for Omaha-Neb..
Johnson County voters will revisit the lingering issue of Courthouse and jail improvements when they return to the polls today to cast their ballots in a special election. With turnout projected to be much smaller than for the proposal’s appearance on the November 2012 ballot, neither side can call which path today’s voters will choose for the proposed justice center. “I am guardedly optimistic and realize that turnout is going to be really low,” said Donald Baxter, the founder of the Facebook group Oppose the Johnson County Jail (“justice center”). “Again, this is one of those elections in which very few people vote, and those who do vote are firmly in favor of [the justice center] or against it.” Baxter’s feelings are shared among …
Monday, May 6, 2013
A letter leaking a white powdery substance was delivered to the University of Iowa residence hall.
A letter leaking a white powdery substance caused the closure of the Mayflower Residence Hall at the University of Iowa Monday, according to a brief report in the Press Citizen. The mail room and the front desk area has been closed and evacuated so the HazMat team can inspect it, the report said. The University was alerted to the letter about 2 p.m. Monday. Police are speaking with the package's sender, the report said.
Though 80 percent of students use texts to communicate only about half would receive emergency alerts from Regent Universities, according to an IowaWatch report.
In a world where nearly everyone has at least one cell phone, only about a third to half of Iowa's regent university students would receive emergency alerts via text, IowaWatch.org reports. Less than half the students at Iowa State University and University of Iowa would receive text alerts and about 60 percent of University of Northern Iowa students would, according to the IowaWatch report republished by the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Read the full report at the IowaWatch website: Student Debt for Iowa’s New College Graduates Remains High. But both Iowa State and University of Iowa report reaching 94 percent of their students with some type of notification system, the report said. The UNI alert system reaches 96 percent of students, …
Also inside: Gay bishop visits Iowa City, Summer hoops leagues set to return, Iowa softball wins five straight.
Officials say the launch of the University of Iowa College of Education’s new brand honors the past and looks forward to the future. On May 3, the College of Education launched its new brand, “Leaders, Scholars, and Innovators,” by throwing a launch party. Interim Dean Nicholas Colangelo said the new brand is more than a new look. “We wanted a look that says we’ve been here, we’ve really accomplished a lot, but we’re moving toward a vibrant future,” he said. Read more here. First openly gay bishop talks marriage equality in Iowa City Robinson said inland United States will be the most difficult place to change people's perceptions of gay marriage. Iowa Supreme Court ruling expands birth-certificate rights for lesbian couples In another …
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Plus, an Ames woman reportedly fought with three police officers; an Urbandale man rescued from a burning car is in legal trouble again; and a University of Iowa student was charged with stabbing two men after an argument.
Iowa has tickled TV satirist Stephen Colbert's funny bone before, and did it again this week. An Iowa hospital came to the attention of Colbert, host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," for all the wrong reasons. "A hospital is no place to be sick, especially if you are an undocumented worker in Iowa," Colbert said during a segment called "The Word." Colbert skewered Iowa Methodist Medical Center, which is part of the Unity Point network that has a clinic in Ankeny, following a news report that the hospital sent the two undocumented patients, who were seriously injured in a car wreck in rural Iowa, in a private jet back to Mexico. Taking a pummeling literally was Cedar Falls. Some serious hail fell on the Cedar Valley early in the …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Study shows mental agility game slows cognitive decline in older people
By Richard Lewis Iowa Now There may be a way for older people to prevent natural aging of their minds, and it could be as simple as playing a video game. That’s according to a study from the University of Iowa, which found that people aged 50 and older who played just ten hours of a game priming their mental processing speed and skills delayed declines by as many as seven years in a range of cognitive skills. “We know that we can stop this decline and actually restore cognitive processing speed to people,” says Fredric Wolinsky, professor in the UI College of Public Health and lead author on the paper published May 1 in the journal PLOS One. “So, if we know that, shouldn’t we be helping people? It’s fairly easy, and anyone can go get the …
Kaeding, an Iowa City native, played nine seasons in the National Football League.
Nate Kaeding decided that nine years of professional football was enough. Kaeding the former Hawkeye, local business owner, and Iowa City West High School graduate announced his retirement today. K Nate Kaeding says he's retiring (CBS Sports) Kaeding suffered an ACL tear in the first game of the 2011 season and a debilitating groin injury last season, and after signing with Tampa Bay in the offseason, he reinjured his groin a few days ago. And that pretty much made his decision for him. Thus, the two-time Pro Bowler leaves behind a career, mostly for the Chargers, in which he made 86.19 percent of his field goal attempts -- making him the fourth-most-accurate kicker of all time. Kaeding still has several local ties in Iowa City, including…
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Also inside: IC rallies against sexual assault, Pay-it-forward initiative hits UI, Wisconsin-Milwaukee tops Iowa baseball.
The state Board of Regents Transparency Task Force held its second of four public forums Wednesday for community members to speak on transparency issues, but a local organization chose to rehash recent ethical complaints. Members from the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and other locals voiced strong opinions about Regent Bruce Rastetter regarding controversies around the regents’ president pro tem. “I’ve been pretty unhappy and disappointed with some of the appointments to the Board of Regents,” local resident Jaime Kearney said. “If Bruce Rastetter continues to remain on the Board of Regents, I think the message we would be giving to the public would be clear — if you have a lot of money and power, you can do whatever you want…
Monday, April 29, 2013
Also inside: NAMI walk raises awareness, Local lawmakers eye health care, Offense wins Iowa football spring game.
The sound of shoes clicking on the cream-colored marble floor echo throughout the long hallway of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Flanked by officials from Waukee and other Iowa towns, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has arrived at work. Read more here. Local lawmakers eye health care as Iowa session nears final days Local legislators hope to reconcile two fundamentally different health care proposals as the Legislature nears its final days in session. Locals hope for farm bill success Local legislators and farmers say they hope Congress will use the American Farm Bureau’s proposal as framework for a new bill. NAMI walk raises awareness for mental illness locally, nationally Johnson County community members came together on April 28 to …
Lyle Muller
2:55 pm on Monday, May 6, 2013
Here is a link to the original story, by IowaWatch.org, a nonprofit news organization that makes its news available to other media without charge. Please check our website. http://iowawatch.org/2013/04/30/campus-safety-alert-systems-for-students-vary-leaving-coverage-gaps/ more ›