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Congressman King speaks about potential foe Christie Vilsack

News

April 28th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

Republican Congressman Steve King says it’s too soon for him to speculate about facing former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack in the 2012 election.

“The Democrats may have a primary. On my side I may have a primary so we can’t presume that that is a match up at this point, although it seems to be likely,” King says. “She placed a courtesy call to let me know that she has an exploratory committee. I think that’s to her credit and we’ll see how this emerges.” Vilsack, who is a life-long Democrat, announced last week she is moving to Ames, which is in the new fourth congressional district where King lives, and will be conducting a “listening tour” with voters in the district. King says he and Vilsack have a “complete philosophical disagreement on how the world looks.”

“That could be an engaging and interesting discussion taking place across 39 counties,” King says. “I was born here. I live here. My roots go down here. Our family for three generations, four generations, I guess more, go down in this part of the state.” Christie Vilsack is also an Iowa native, but her hometown of Mount Pleasant is in southeast Iowa and is not part of the new fourth congressional district. King says it’s “hard to estimate” how tough an opponent Christie Vilsack may be.

“Not having a track record, it’s hard to estimate that. I think that people on her side think so and so I would take her and any opponent very seriously and intend to do my share of this work and put together the best team we can,” King says. “Anytime you have a new district and the extra counties that are added it makes it a more difficult task and certainly I expect that.” After winning a seat in congress in 2002, King has refused to debate his Democratic opponents in the past four elections. And King is making no committment to debating Christie Vilsack.

“Nor am I declining. That’s something that I would think would be discussed between the two camps, if it got to that point,” King says. “But I would just say that most everybody in Iowa knows that I’ve debated a Vilsack many, many times…Tom and I served in the Iowa Senate together as we engaged each other over and over again. And then as he as governor, and I as a senator and then, he as governor and I as a congressman and now he as the secretary of agriculture and I as a congressman.” King suggests he’ll have even more debates with Tom Vilsack before debates Christie Vilsack. King made his comments on the Iowa Public Radio program, “The Exchange”.

(Radio Iowa)

Lane restrictions on I-29 near Missouri Valley begin May 6

News

April 28th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Council Bluffs construction office reports bridge construction work will cause lane restrictions in both directions of Interstate 29 between U.S. 30 (exit 75) and Harrison County Road F-50 (exit 82) near Missouri Valley beginning May 6th and lasting until August 5th, weather permitting.

Traffic in the work zone will be restricted to one lane in each direction. Also, a 13-foot-6-inch width lane restriction will be in place.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey posted speed limits and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles and wear seat belts.

DNE, Local Agencies to Participate in National Drug Drop-off Program

News

April 28th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

Tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement (DNE) will partner with local agencies across the state to participate in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s nationwide prescription drug take-back program. Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue. The DEA says currently, more Americans abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroine combined.

Iowans can turn in their unused, unneeded and expired prescription medications at collection sites across Iowa. To find the site nearest you, surf the web to http://www.justice.gov/dea/

In our area, the collection sites include:

The Hy-Vee Pharmacy at 1605 N. Broadway, in Red Oak

Umba Hall at 300 2nd Avenue, in Underwood.

Hy-Vee Drug Town at 757 W. Broadway, in Council Bluffs

The Greater Regional Medical Center parking lot at 1610 W. Townline, in Creston.

The Glenwood, and Carter Lake Police Departments

And, the Farmers & Merchants Bank in Winterset.

The service is free and anonymous. No questions asked. Tablets, capsules, all other solid dosage forms, and liquids in original prescription bottles will be collected. Syringes will not be accepted.

The event will be held from 4-to-6-pm Friday, April 29th, and from 10-a.m. to 2-p.m. Saturday, April 30th.

Rocha murder – Woolsencroft trial

News

April 28th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

The trial of one of three people charged with the murder of a Council Bluffs woman began Tuesday at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse. On Wednesday, the jury heard testimony in the case against 47-year-old Clarence L Woolsoncroft. Woolsoncroft stands accused of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery and conspiracy in connection with the January 14th death of Tammy Rocha.

Prosecutors say minutes after Rocha and Woolsoncroft had a playful snowball fight, Woolsencroft drove Rocha to a home owned by Lisa A Reeves and her father, Bryan E Reeves. The three are suspected of conspiring to assault Rocha over the theft of a cell phone and some jewelry.

During Wednesday’s proceedings, Dale Mercer, a passenger who rode along with Rocha in Woolsoncroft’s truck the night of the attack, testified that he had never met Woolsoncroft, but Rocha called the man to give them a ride home from the Horseshoe Casino.

Mercer said as Woolsoncroft drove the truck north on 35th Street and made a left turn onto Fifth Avenue, Rocha questioned where they were going. Mercer said Woolsoncroft told her he needed to see some people, but Rocha warned him those individuals would attack her. As the truck approached a house at 3510 Fifth Avenue in Council Bluffs, Rocha tried to push the accelerator pedal, but Woolsoncroft was able to brake and put the truck in park. Mercer said three to four people were waiting near the street for the truck to stop.

Lisa Reeves allegedly began to assault Rocha in Woolsoncroft’s pickup before Woolsoncroft allegedly pulled Rocha out of the truck. Reeves continued to assault the woman, who was eventually found in the street with multiple stab wounds. Rocha later died at the Nebraska Medical Center.

Gov. Branstad requests Presidential Disaster Declaration

News

April 28th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has sent a letter to President Barack Obama requesting a Presidential Disaster Declaration as a result of tornadoes and severe storms that occurred in western and northwest Iowa April 9th and 10th.

The Public Assistance Program, which provides assistance to public entities and select nonprofit agencies, is being requested for: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Ida, Monona, Pocahontas and Sac Counties. Public Assistance funding may be used to rebuild damaged infrastructure that may include roads, bridges, culverts, and other public facilities, or to cover costs of emergency work during debris removal after the storms.

Branstad has also requested from the Small Business Administration (SBA) a Physical Disaster Declaration for Monona and Pocahontas counties due to a tornado and severe storms that devastated more than 350 homes and/or businesses April 9-10. The Disaster Loan Program allows for low-interest loans to be made available for the victims of a disaster.

Kansas woman in Iowa, urging state senators to pass late-term abortion ban

News

April 28th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

An Iowa native who was active in getting Kansas to pass a law that bans abortions after the 20th week of a pregnancy is in Iowa, urging lawmakers here to do the same thing. Cheryl Sullenger (SULL-ehn-jer), a Marshalltown native, lives in Wichita, Kansas, where late-term abortion doctor George Tiller worked until he was shot to death. 

“The last thing you want to be known as is the late-term abortion capitol of the country,” Sullenger says. “We experienced that in Kansas and, frankly, it traumatized the community.”

Sullenger says Council Bluffs could become the next Wichita, as a late-term abortion doctor from Nebraksa — LeRoy Carhart — hopes to open an abortion clinic in Council Bluffs. A Nebraska law which took effect in mid-October prevents Carhart from performing abortions in his Bellevue, Nebraska, clinic after the 20th week of a pregnancy. Carhart has said he hopes to open a clinic in Council Bluffs, and the Iowa House has passed a bill that would set up a late-term abortion ban in Iowa. The bill has stalled in a Senate committee. Sullenger, who is senior policy advisor for the anti-abortion group “Operation Rescue”, is urging senators to act. 

“You guys have an opportunity to close that down before it gets here and once things like this get started in a state, it’s very difficult to get them out,” Sullenger says. “But you guys have an opportunity to nip this in the bud and protect women and their viable babies from exploitation.”

Carhart’s website says a “South West Iowa” abortion clinic will be “available soon.” It shows the charge for an abortion performed after the 24th week of a pregnancy would be about three-thousand dollars.

(Radio Iowa)

Atlantic man arrested for public intox

News

April 27th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

An Atlantic man was arrested Tuesday, on a charge of Public Intoxication.  Authorities say 19-year old Cody Pleis was brought to the Cass County Jail & held pending a court appearance.

Council Bluffs resident sentenced to 15-months in jail for illegally possessing a firearm

News

April 27th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

Authorities say a Council Bluffs man was sentenced Tuesday in Federal Court to 15-months in prison for being in possession of a firearm while subject to an order of protection. United States District Judge John E. Jarvey also ordered Bret David Hauptman to serve a three year term of supervised release following incarceration.

Hauptman plead guilty last November, to knowingly possessing a .22-caliber rifle on May 29th, 2010. The weapon was discovered on that date by Council Bluffs Police, when they responded to a disturbance call at a residence in Council Bluffs. During their investigation, authorities learned that the Pottawattamie District Court had entered an Order of Protection on April 29th, 2010, restraining Hauptman from harassing, stalking, or threatening his wife.

The investigation was conducted by the Council Bluffs Police Department, the

Pottawattamie County Attorney’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District

of Iowa.

SHELBY COUNTY RESIDENT SENTENCED TO EIGHTY-SEVEN MONTHS FOR MANUFACTURING METHAMPHETAMINE

News

April 27th, 2011 by Ric Hanson

A Shelby County man was sentenced this week to more than seven-years in prison on drug charges. The U-S Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Iowa says 50-year old Rodney Dean Brewer, of Elk Horn, was sentenced Tuesday to 87 months of imprisonment for manufacturing methamphetamine at his residence in Shelby County.

United States District Judge John E. Jarvey also ordered Brewer to serve a four year term of supervised release following incarceration.

On January 14th, Brewer plead guilty in a Council Bluffs federal court, to intent to manufacture methamphetamine on or about July 26th, 2010. A search warrant executed on that date at Brewer’s residence located at 4235 Union Street in Elk Horn, resulted in the discovery of an active methamphetamine lab. During the investigation by law enforcement it was determined that Brewer had been actively manufacturing for over six months at the residence.

The investigation was conducted by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the Audubon

County Sheriff’s Office, the SWIN Task Force, the Shelby County Attorney’s Office, and the Division of Narcotics Enforcement.

Major Changes Coming to High School Wrestling

Sports

April 27th, 2011 by Jim Field

BOONE – Wednesday, the Board of Control of the Iowa High School Athletic Association
adopted changes for the Traditional State Wrestling Tournament and the State Dual Team
Tournament.
The changes place the tournaments back-to-back in Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, and
comes with the support of the Wrestling Coaches Advisory Committee, discussions with the IHSAA
Representative Council, Board of Control and administrative groups, all supporting a three-day
traditional tournament, which will be contested in eight sessions. The change is effective in 2012
with the Dual Team State Meet on February 15 and the Traditional State Tournament, Feb. 16-18.
The Board of Control of the Athletic Association wants to thank the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar
Rapids where the State Dual Team Wrestling Tournament was since 1994. They were excellent
hosts for 17 years and their hospitality was second-to-none.
While the Cellular Center is not available for the 2012 dual team tournament due to renovations,
that is not the primary reason for the change. Changing the individual state tournament to a 3-day
format allows the state duals to be wrestled on eight mats in Wells Fargo Arena.
A three-day tournament was abandoned when Veterans’ Auditorium started its initial renovation
in 2003 and the number of place winners was expanded from six to eight. Due to those factors,
the crowds could no longer be adequately accommodated under the three-day state format.
Helping facilitate a return to a three-day state tournament are the fact that the quarterfinal and
semifinal rounds, and the corresponding consolations, will be wrestled on Friday; session starting
and ending times have been adjusted; and wrestling will take place on Saturday morning, which
was previously the IWCOA coaches’ breakfast and business meeting. Under the new format,
wrestlers losing in the quarterfinals will also have the opportunity for more recovery time before
their next competition.
Attendance at the traditional State Wrestling Tournament has averaged over 73,000 in the past
12 years and has had 22 straight Saturday night sell-outs. The State Dual Team Tournament,
which celebrated its 25th year this season, has averaged nearly 5,200 during the same period.
Time schedules for the traditional state tournament and the state team duals are posted on the
IHSAA website. The links to those schedules are:
http://www.iahsaa.org/wrestling/2012_State_Wrestling_Schedule.pdf
http://www.iahsaa.org/wrestling/2012_State_Dual_Schedule.pdf
The new changes also address a concern that teams that qualify for the State Dual Team
Tournament will not have wrestlers trying to hold their weight for an 18-day period. By having the
qualifying teams in Des Moines on Wednesday, there will be no need for excess travel in returning
home to work out wrestlers who did not qualify for the traditional tournament.
Following the Board of Control decision, the IHSAA immediately notified member schools
administrators and coaches via a mass email.
Assistant Executive Director Alan Beste, who is the IHSAA administrator at both wrestling
tournaments, commented on the changes by saying, “These changes are good for high school
wrestling in Iowa. Since going to a four-day state tournament the length of the tournament and
related loss of school time have been the major concerns of school administrators.”
Mr. Beste added, “Wrestlers who did not qualify for the state individual tournament, but who
needed to maintain their weight for state dual team has long been a concern of wrestling coaches.
These changes address those concerns and allow state duals to be wrestled back to eighth place.
Rick Wulkow, Executive Director of the Athletic Association, and the Board of Control, have been
advocates for addressing the concerns expressed by administrators and coaches for a number of
years and have now found a way to address those concerns.”
In other action items at Wednesday’s meeting, the Board of Control approved (1) the sites of the
Co-ed Track and Field District/Regional Meets; (2) assignments of team to baseball District and
Substate Tournaments; (3) approved a newly developed officials’ evaluation instrument that can be
done on-line; (4) reviewed the joint bowling committee recommendations for action later; and (5)
reviewed the current scrimmage, jamboree and practice location rules in basketball.
New Weight Classes
The wrestling changes come at the same time the NFHS adopted rule changes for the coming
year especially for weight classes. Effective this coming winter is the most significant change in
weight classes in 23 years with an upward shift of the weight classes, beginning with the 103-
pound class moving to 106 pounds, which resulted in new weights for 10 of the 14 classes. The
changes in weight classes, along with 17 other rules revisions, were subsequently approved by the
NFHS Board of Directors.
The 14 weight classes approved by the committee for 2011-12 are as follows: 106 (pounds), 113,
120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220 and 285. Three middle weight classes –
145, 152 and 160 – were retained, although they are 7-8-9 in order now rather than 8-9-10. The
largest weight class (285 pounds) remains unchanged as well.
“The change in weight classes resulted from a three-to-four year process utilizing data from the
National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Optimal Performance Calculator,” said Dale
Pleimann, chair of the NFHS Wrestling Rules Committee and former assistant executive director of
the Missouri State High School Activities Association. “The rules committee was able to analyze
data from almost 200,000 wrestlers across the country, with the goal to create weight classes that
have approximately seven percent of the wrestlers in each weight class.
“Throughout the process, each state association was kept completely informed and was provided
multiple opportunities for input. The results of the last survey of each state association indicated
that the majority of states favored a change, and the committee listened and acted accordingly.”
The last wholesale shift in weight classes occurred in 1988, when the lowest weight class was
increased from 98 to 103 pounds. The only other changes since then were in 2002, when the
number of classes went from 13 to 14 and the 215-pound weight class became mandatory, and in
2006, when the 275-pound class was increased to 285 pounds.
Other National Rule Changes
Among changes in wrestling holds, the Figure 4 around the head has been ruled an illegal
hold/maneuver. Previously, the Figure 4 was illegal around the body or both legs. “This move was
being used by high school wrestlers more and more on the head, so to minimize the risk of injury,
the committee voted to outlaw the Figure 4 on the head as well as around the body and both legs,”
said Bob Colgate, NFHS assistant director and liaison to the Wrestling Rules Committee.
Another significant change was made in Rule 2-1-3, which now makes the boundary line
inbounds and, thus, expands the wrestling area. Previously, a wrestler was out of bounds if he or
she was touching any part of the 2-inch-wide line which marks the wrestling area.
An additional exception was added to Rule 8-2-1 stating that if the second injury time-out is taken
at the conclusion of the second period, and the opponent already has the choice at the beginning
of the third period, the opponent would then have the added choice at the first restart after the
beginning of the third period.
“Previously, at the end of the second period and before the third period, Wrestler A takes his or
her second injury time-out, which now gives the choice to Wrestler B,” Colgate said. “However, it’s
already Wrestler B’s choice by virtue of the original flip of the disk. Therefore, Wrestler B gains no
advantage or benefit from Wrestler A’s second injury time-out. With this change, Wrestler B would
now have his or her choice at the first restart after the beginning of the third period.”
In other changes, a revision in Rule 3-1-13 allows the referee the flexibility to determine his or
her best position to monitor the clock and wrestlers during injury, blood or recovery time-outs. Also,
language in Rule 6-2-2 was changed from “forfeit” to “disqualification” to reflect correct terminology.
The rules committee also devoted considerable time to developing rules for multi-team dual
meets and team-formatted tournaments. Previously, the NFHS Wrestling Rules Book addressed
only dual meets and individually bracketed tournaments. Definitions for individually bracketed
tournaments, dual meet/team-formatted tournaments and combination tournaments will be
contained in Rule 1-3.
“In recent years, high school wrestling has moved from dual meets and individually bracketed
tournaments to tournaments incorporating a dual meet/team format,” Pleimann said. “The new
Rule 11 will provide rules coverage for this type of tournament format.”
“High school wrestling is in great shape across the country as participation numbers continue to
increase. The rules committee did propose 18 changes to the rules book, but approximately twothirds
of those changes resulted from incorporating the new dual meet/team format rules,”
Pleimann added.
The final change is one that has been approved by the NFHS Board of Directors for use in all
NFHS rules books regarding the meet referee’s jurisdiction. The rule extends the clerical duties of
the referee beyond the end of the meet through the completion of any reports required from actions
that occurred while the referees had jurisdiction.
Points of emphasis adopted by the committee for 2011-12 include communicable diseases, injury
time-outs, coach/referee conference, and concussion recognition and management.