December 1, 2007
1830z
The city of Ames snow ordinance went into effect at midnight Friday. Snow routes are marked by red, white and blue signs, and cars parked on snow routes will be ticketed and towed. All cars should be moved to off-street parking or to streets that are not designated snow routes. It is important to remember the snow ordinance remains in effect until the streets are completely plowed from curb to curb and it has stopped snowing.
To assist in the plowing efforts, all Ames residents are asked to remove parked cars from residential streets. However, only those on snow routes are required to move them.
To assist in the plowing efforts, all Ames residents are asked to remove parked cars from residential streets. However, only those on snow routes are required to move them.
Cedar Rapids Gazette
Militant Raid on Iraqi Village Kills 13
By LORI HINNANT
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Dozens of suspected al-Qaida militants showered a Shiite village with mortar rounds early Saturday, then stormed the streets, killing at least 13 Iraqis, torching homes and forcing hundreds of families to flee, police said.
Some villagers fought back, leaving three gunmen dead in the heart of one of Iraq's most violent regions.
Even with nationwide violence ebbing to the lowest levels since January 2006, American commanders have warned that security is precarious in northern Iraqi regions such as Diyala - where Saturday's attack took place - as al-Qaida and other militants have moved there to avoid coalition operations.
The militant attack on Dwelah, about 45 miles north of Baghdad in Diyala, began about 6:30 a.m. with the mortar rounds, then 50 to 60 suspected al-Qaida fighters streamed in and opened fire, a police officer said.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ?SITE=IACED&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Updated December 01. 2007 2:12PM
Travel not advised in Eastern Iowa
The Gazette
The Iowa Department of Transportation is advising against travel on Interstate 80 east of Des Moines, and the Des Moines International Airport will be closed until this afternoon, as an icy winter storm strengthens its hold on the state today.
Travel is also not being advised in Linn County, according to Linn County Sheriff Don Zeller.
According to the Iowa State Patrol, travel is not advised on I-80 from Highway 169, just west of Des Moines, east to the Illinois border, and on I-35 from the Missouri border to just north of U.S. 20.
The weather predictions seem to be on target for today, and a call from Mark Bowden, Gazette Executive Editor, confirmed things are getting a little dicey outside.
http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071201/NEWS/712010022/1002/NEWS
Dec 1, 4:20 PM EST
Snow and Ice Hit Midwest States
By NAFEESA SYEED
Associated Press Writer
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Snow and ice plastered a wide area of the Midwest on Saturday, disrupting campaigning by presidential hopefuls, making highways hazardous and closing Des Moines' airport.
The National Weather Service posted winter storm and ice warnings across parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, the eastern Dakotas, Illinois and northern Michigan, although some warnings were lifted by midday. Six to 16 inches of snow was forecast in parts of Minnesota.
Much of Iowa was hit by snow, sleet and freezing rain.
Officials decided to close Des Moines International Airport after a United Airlines plane slid off a taxiway as it was heading to a runway for a flight to Chicago's O'Hare, said airport spokesman Roy Criss. He said none of the 44 passengers was injured.
The airport reopened by mid-afternoon. "We've had some cancellations but quite a few flights are gearing up - they're late but there going to be taking off," Criss said.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WINTER_STORM?SITE=IACED&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Hunting accidents dramatically decrease in Iowa
By Orlan Love
The Gazette
orlan.love@gazettecommunications.com
With the shotgun deer season opening today, Iowa hunters are on track for their safest hunting year ever.
With no deaths and just 10 hunting-related gunshot injuries so far, 2007 could be even safer than last year's record-low totals of no deaths and 14 injuries in 19 incidents.
Search the database of the hunting accidents in Iowa
Since 2004, the state has had just one hunting-related gunshot fatality — a record that stands in marked contrast with the carnage of 40 years earlier, when 66 hunters died of gunshot wounds from 1964 to 1967.
Many factors have contributed to the dramatic improvement — chief among them the education of a generation of hunters through mandated safety classes and an accident investigation program designed to determine the specific causes of each accident so they can be incorporated into the 1,800 hunter education courses taught each year in Iowa.
Still, accidents happen, even to graduates of hunter safety classes like James Knebel, 57, of rural Homestead, who fired the shotgun slug that killed Iowa's last hunting-related gunshot victim, his 31-year-old son, Scott Knebel of North Liberty, on Dec. 4, 2005.
http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071201/NEWS/712010002/1001/NEWS
How much University of Iowa trash is recyclable?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Rz634kF-g&eurl=http://www.gazetteonline.com/
Edwards calls for 'smart, safe' trade
By James Q. Lynch
The Gazette
james.lynch@gazettecommunications.com
IOWA CITY - Just in time for the Christmas shopping season, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards has laid out "a concrete and common-sense" product safety reform agenda for keeping American children and families safe.
In Iowa City last night, the former North Carolina senator called for "smart and safe" trade policies to protect American workers from low-cost labor competition overseas and lift up workers around the world.
Written properly, trade policies should be a tool of the nation's foreign policy, Edwards told more than 400 in a speech to the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council at the hotel Vetro.
For Edwards, it's personal.
"I did see what happened when the mill in my hometown closed," he said, referring to the mill where his father worked. Edwards said it closed because of unfair trade practices. "I take this very seriously."
Those weren't the only jobs lost, Edwards said. Under the Bush administration, he said, 5 million jobs have been lost to unfair trade practices, especially NAFTA.
http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/IOWACAUCUS/711300027/1063
Ames Tribune
Dodd seeks firefighter union support
By Luke Jennett, Staff Writer
12/01/2007
By Nirmalendu Majumdar/The Tribune
Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is greeted by Ames firefighters after he arrived for a campaign stop with Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., Friday in downtown Ames.
Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd appeared at the American Legion Hall Friday in Ames to ask for caucus-day support from members of the International Association of Firefighters.
"Look, I know I'm not as well-known as some of the other candidates, and I'm not as well-financed," he said. "But I believe that if I can get the vote I think I can out of Iowa, believe me, I'll be a household name in 24 hours."
Dodd, a U.S. senator from Connecticut, appeared with U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., and International Association of Firefighters general president Harold Schaitberger as part of the rolling "Firefighters for Dodd" bus tour that has been snaking its way across Iowa since starting Thursday in Council Bluffs.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19075047&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Ames turns tables on Urbandale in second half
By Jeff Stell, Staff Writer
12/01/2007
Urbandale scored 26 points in the first half of Friday's game with Ames in the Ames High gym but failed to reach even half of that total in the second half.
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That tells the story of the Little Cyclones' 50-38 triumph. Trailing 26-22 at halftime, the Little Cyclones (3-1) put the clamps on the J-Hawks in the final two periods, outscoring them by a 28-12 margin. The J-Hawks made just five of 22 shots in the second half.
"The biggest thing is we just defended a lot smarter in the second half, and the kids were a lot more focused," Ames coach Joel Sullivan said. "We didn't give up layups, and we didn't give up open looks. We were fortunate that when Urbandale had open looks, they were missing them."
The Little Cyclones used a 15-0 run in the third quarter to outscore the J-Hawks 15-4 in that period. Trisha Nesbitt had six points in the quarter and all five Little Cyclone starters had a basket.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19075108&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554325&rfi=6
Reflection of lights
12/01/2007
By Nirmalendu Majumdar/The Tribune
The holiday light display is reflected on the pond at Reiman Gardens in Ames.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19075051&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Clinton knows politics is about compromise
By Dan Gearino
11/30/2007
NEWTON - After a speech on renewable energy, Hillary Clinton had time for a few questions.
Her campaign soon would be in damage-control mode because of one of those questions. A young woman stood up and asked about global warming. She later told her college newspaper the question had been planted by Clinton's staff.
But it was another question on that November afternoon, clearly not planted, that may say more about Clinton and her presidential campaign. A man asked how she would fix inequities in current trade deals.
She said there are no simple solutions, which wasn't the answer some in the audience wanted, here in a city that has just been abandoned by appliance-maker Maytag.
"What I am looking for is not a stale debate between, 'We're for trade' or 'We're against trade,' because I still think trade can be beneficial to America. I'm looking for smart trade," Clinton said, part of a much longer answer.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19074648&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Davenport man riles Ron Paul supporters in YouTube debate
By: Ed Tibbetts, Quad-City Times
11/30/2007
Mark Strauss, the Davenport man who got to ask a question on the nationally televised CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate this summer, made yet another appearance at the GOP version Wednesday.
Strauss, a 49-year-old manufacturer's representative, plaintively told Republican hopeful Ron Paul he couldn't win the nomination and asked whether he would "let America down by not running as an independent."
His question, like all the others, was submitted by video.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19073322&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
12-year-old charged in armed robbery
By: Luke Jennett
11/30/2007
Deandre Williams, of Ames, has been referred to Story County Juvenile Court on charges of first-degree robbery, a class B felony.
Cmdr. Jim Robinson of the Ames Police Department said the incident occurred at 1:17 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24. The victim, Chelsea McMillen, called police and reported that she was selling trees at 413 Northwestern Ave. when she was approached by a group of male juveniles, which she described as being between the ages of 10 and 12. One member of the group displayed a knife at McMillen and demanded money.
The group fled northbound with an undisclosed amount of cash. A follow-up investigation by Ames police led to the arrest of Williams.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19073315&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Commission backs change to land use plan
By: Laura Millsaps
11/29/2007
Planning and Housing Director Steve Osguthorpe gave the Ames City Council what it wanted, and Wednesday night the Planning and Zoning Commission changed direction yet again.
The commission recommended the City Council approve changes to the land use policy plan that would allow for the possibility of a proposed Fareway grocery store and convenience store at Stange and Bloomington roads.
However, the commission removed from the proposed changes some of the restrictive language the City Council had specifically requested of city staff, sending yet another version of land use plan amendments to the City Council.
The commission voted 6-1 in favor of recommending the amended text to the City Council. Commission member Norman Cloud voted against the recommendation.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19068709&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Racist fliers found at ISU and Slater
By: Luke Jennett
11/28/2007
Handwritten fliers bearing racist terms were found on the Iowa State University campus Monday, as well as in the doorways of two residences in Slater.
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The flier, pinned to a bulletin board at ISU's Davidson Hall Monday and in a magazine rack at the ISU Armory this morning, is a photocopy of a hand-written note saying, "Vote for Edwards, Not the Bitch or the Nigger. Vote for the White Man!" This same note was found in the doorways of two residences in Slater.
The flier is signed with the name of a local man, saying the message was "paid for" by him and noting that he was a graduate of Harvard University in 1977. Authorities say they have not yet linked the fliers to the purported author.
The Tribune has chosen not to reveal alleged author's name at this time.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19066068&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Many agree discussion on racism is a good beginning
By: Laura Millsaps
11/28/2007
By Laura Millsaps
Staff Writer
It's a start.
Many members of the public who spoke at Tuesday night's Ames City Council meeting, dubbed "The changing cultural face of Ames,"said the community discussion was a good beginning, but more conversations must follow to welcome newcomers to the community and address racism.
The Council Chambers overflowed to the courtroom area and then to the city's auditorium, where the meeting was televised. A crowd of about 200 residents heard presentations by Ames Housing Director Vanessa Baker-Latimer, Ames Community School Superintendent Linda Beyea and Ames Police Chief Chuck Cychosz.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19066074&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Unspoken assumptions, latent elitism
11/29/2007
Here's the latest attack in the minor mass hysteria that has seized Ames over a handful of black people new to town: check their job status.
We realize that noting skin color would brand us as racist. Socio-economic status is double-speak. The crime surge is real but you can't label every black person a criminal. So let's zero in on whether they have jobs. That's neutral, right? If they are productive members of the community, great. Let them stay. But if they're just here for a handout, buy them a bus ticket.
Whoa.
Everybody who comes to Ames has to have a job?
How about trailing spouses?
What about adult children?
Senior citizens?
How much does this job have to pay? Minimum wage? Above the poverty line? Does part-time count?
Are social services available only to some people? Those who can show they were born in Iowa? Or this county?
What about all the folks that Vic Moss helps out down at the Emergency Residence Project? Or the ones who eat the free meals at the Methodist Church?
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19068756&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554335&rfi=6
Can online support translate to the polls?
11/28/2007
Leave it up to the students at Iowa State University and Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. That's if, of course, students come out to vote.
A survey by an ISU sociology class shows that nearly three-quarters are already registered and more than half of them plan to caucus. Among those surveyed who also are registered and who say they will vote, 47 percent are Democrats and 31 percent are Republicans.
Among the Democrats, 58 percent say they would support Obama. Hillary Clinton, next in line, pulls only 14 percent, and John Edwards gets support from 11 percent.
That kind of interest is echoed in other classes at ISU, where graduate students also have been measuring the number of "friends" the candidates have in online social networking sites, such as Facebook or MySpace.
In the virtual world, Obama once again is the clear leader. He has more friends than anyone.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19066103&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554335&rfi=6
Eby: Obama will need to turn up the heat
By Charlotte Eby
11/30/2007
Democrat Barack Obama is gaining ground among Iowa caucus-goers at what could end up being just the right time.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll had Obama overtaking Hillary Clinton for the lead in November. That poll found Iowa voters were looking for fresh ideas and had "lingering doubts about Hillary Clinton's honesty and forthrightness."
Other polls show a dead heat in the race with a month to go before the Iowa caucuses.
The best evidence Obama is gaining ground is that Clinton has gone on the attack in Iowa. She's continually criticized Obama's health care plan as not being completely universal.
Rival John Edwards joined the criticism against Obama, saying Obama's plan would leave many Americans uninsured, unlike his own plan, which would mandate health care coverage.
Obama has mostly shrugged off their critiques, explaining that his plan would not require people who cannot afford health care to get it.
He's been relaxed rather than defensive in the face of the recent attacks, a tactic that could either help him paint the picture of a confident front-runner or hurt his standing if they continue unanswered.
Some had written off Obama earlier this fall. His support appeared to have reached a plateau in Iowa. A shaky debate performance had others wondering whether he was ready for the heat of battle against Clinton.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19074647&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554336&rfi=6
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