(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Senate has waded into the controversy over construction of a new 19-and-a-half million dollar football stadium in Des Moines. Last month the Des Moines School Board unanimously approved the plan to partner with Drake University on a four-thousand seat stadium to serve as the home field for the football teams from four Des Moines area high schools and for the Drake men’s and women’s soccer teams.

More than seven-thousand people signed a petition calling for a public vote on the stadium project, but school officials say it didn’t meet the legal requirement for a referendum. Senator Jake Chapman’s bill seeks to force a public vote on the project. “Are we going to deny 7000 people’s right to be heard at the ballot box?” Chapman asked. “It is shameful what has happened.”

Senator Zach Nunn of Bondurant says there’s better use for local option sales tax money than for a football stadium. “Have we fixed every roof in a Des Moines Public School?” Nunn asked. “…Have we gotten to a point where students in North or East or Lincoln or Roosevelt have the ability to learn from home with the technology that this money was intended to provide?”

Senator Bill Dotzler of Waterloo says the high schools involved have significant numbers of minority students.  “It can be viewed as another slam of our minority populations of pulling something that is so central to a high school, their football field, and putting it in a different area of a community,” Dotzler said.

A senator from Ames says state law allows schools to use sales tax revenue for athletic facilities and the legislature shouldn’t try to micromanage local school board decisions. The bill passed the Senate last (Thursday) night on a 47-to-two vote. It’s unclear if the bill has a future in the House.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa legislature has voted to forbid the use of credit cards for wagering on sporting events through Iowa-based casinos. Senator Tony Bisignano, of Des Moines, says that’s a big deal. “If you want you lose your paycheck, that’s fine. I don’t know how long you get away with that from your family, but with a credit card, you can run a debt that can’t possibly be paid and so I thank the body for clarifying that,” Bisignano says. “We never did legalize it, but it got to be interpreted by fantasy sports that they have been using credit cards and this body has spoken.”

Last year lawmakers legalized sports betting to be run through the state’s casinos, but Representative Mike Sexton of Rockwell City says the legislation did not specifically mention this prohibition. “We have established in the State of Iowa that you are not allowed to use credit cards for other forms of gambling,” Sexton says.

For example, Iowa is among the 21 states that prohibit credit cards from being used to buy lottery tickets. In the few states where wagers can be backed with credit rather than cash, credit card companies treat gambling charges as a cash advance. It means there’s an initial fee and interest charges begin immediately.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior defensive end Chauncey Golston has been named to the 2020 Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List. The announcement was made by the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, which is responsible for honoring the nation’s best IMPACT player at the end of the season.

The 42 nominees represent the finest in college football defensive players who have had the biggest IMPACT on their teams both on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity. The Lott IMPACT Trophy has raised more than $1.6 million for scholarships and other youth-related charities throughout the country.

Golston (6-foot-5, 272-pounds) started all 13 games at defensive end in 2019, recording 47 tackles, including 26 solo stops and 21 assists, with 9.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, one interception, five pass break-ups and seven pressures. Golston led the Big Ten and ranked sixth nationally with three fumble recoveries last season.

The Detroit, Michigan, native was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection by league coaches and media last season. Golston also earned Iowa’s team hustle award on defense.

The Lott IMPACT Watch List includes 16 linebackers, 15 defensive backs, and 11 defensive linemen. Nine players from the Big Ten Conference are included on the Watch List, which is tied for the most nominees from any conference.

Former Hawkeye linebacker and current Denver Bronco Josey Jewell won the award in 2017. A.J. Epenesa (2019) and Anthony Nelson (2018) were named to the Watch List the past two seasons. Desmond King was a semifinalist for the award in 2016, and James Morris was a finalist in 2013.

Finalists will be announced at the 17th annual Lott IMPACT Trophy Award Show, Dec. 17, at The Pacific Club in Newport Beach, California. Candidates are evaluated during the season with a Player of the Week chosen each week (and his school receiving $1,000 for its general scholarship fund).

The Hawkeyes kickoff their season Sept. 5 against Northern Iowa. For ticket information, visit hawkeyesports.com/tickets.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Board of Regents has approved construction of a new women’s soccer complex at the University of Iowa. Senior Vice President of Finance Rob Lehnertz say the three-point-nine million dollar project will include a new two-story, 84 hundred square foot facility.

Lehnertz says the project is expected to take just over a year to complete.

The UI soccer team currently utilizes space for locker rooms and offices at a remote location from the soccer field, the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.