Looking in at Iowa

• The End of ‘Looking in at Iowa’

  Number of comments: 6
  For nearly a year I’ve enjoyed monitoring the Web for lesser-known (or not yet widely known) information tidbits of possible interest to Eastern Iowans and sharing those with readers of this blog. As a news referral blog, I haven’t written much from my own voice, but instead have let the [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2008, 1:36am EST
  by John

• Eastern Iowa student suspended after anti-Obama racist remark?

  Number of comments: 1
  Image via Wikipedia From student e-mail excerpt, posted by Editor & Publisher: “I’m not sure who to email on this, but there have been several derogatory things said about Obama in our school, and one of them got a student suspended. I go to a school in a little town called Letts, [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2008, 12:48pm EST
  by John

• COLORADO: Semi-truck rolls over head, chest of Iowa City woman

  Number of comments: 2
  From KJCT-TV8 (Grand Junction, Montrose, COLORADO): The victim, 43 year old Bonnie Stevens from Iowa City, Iowa, was operating a pilot car for a 127 foot semi trailer that brought in a large piece of construction equipment used to bend large pipe. The operator of the semi tractor had released the [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2008, 8:52pm EST
  by John

• Missing the trademark mane of Hawkeyes defensive tackle Mitch King? Well, there’s always this photo to help us remember

  From Associated Press via Baltimore Sun. Caption: Iowa’s Mitch King puts his helmet on before an NCAA college football game against Penn State, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008, in Iowa City, Iowa. Related: Read more under Good Hair Day by The Gazette’s Marc Morehouse. [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2008, 2:57pm EST
  by John

• Iowa eighth-grade girl is model ’social entrepreneur’ NYT columnist says

  From New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof: [T]he best proof that you don’t need a White House pass to accomplish change comes from youthful social entrepreneurs around the country. … If your image of a philanthropist is a stout, gray geezer, then meet Talia Leman, an eighth grader in [Waukee] Iowa [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2008, 2:17pm EST
  by John

• PETA’s caged pig sculptures to be displayed ‘on a busy intersection’ by Cedar Rapids Fareway grocery store on Saturday

  Number of comments: 3
  From PETA release (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals): Caged ‘Pigs’ Force Lunchtime Crowd in Cedar Rapids to Face Factory-Farm Cruelty To illustrate the immense suffering and routine cruelty that pigs endure before they are made into ham and bacon, two pig sculptures–confined to metal stalls just as pigs on factory [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2008, 12:02am EST
  by John

• Variety: Meryl Streep to star in ‘Dewey’; Fact-based film about stray cat’s impact on town of Spencer, Iowa

  Number of comments: 7
  From Variety: Meryl Streep is purring over “Dewey,” a fact-based film about a stray cat’s impact on the town of Spencer, Iowa. The project has landed at New Line Cinema. Streep is attached to star in the adaptation of the Vicki Myron book “Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World.” [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2008, 9:55pm EST
  by John

• Nebraska boy pulls toy metal badge (from Winterset) out of eye; Spaghetti feed to benefit this University Hospitals patient

  From The Fremont Tribune (Nebraska): “I was watching TV and I fell asleep. I started to wake up when I was falling out of bed and I hit my eye on the toy sheriff’s badge,” he says. [7-year-old] Dawson [Holverson] holds up the bronze-colored, metal badge that he got while visiting [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2008, 3:15pm EST
  by John

• Texas execution scheduled tomorrow for man who raped, murdered, robbed UNI grad

  Number of comments: 3
  Case details available from Texas Attorney General: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about Denard Sha Manns, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 13, 2008. … On November 19, 1998, Michelle Robson was found dead in a bathtub in her Killeen home. She [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2008, 3:20pm EST
  by John

• Front page Washington Post: More students taking ACT along with SAT

  Related graphic, ACT vs. SAT, showing Iowa City-based ACT gains in Washington, DC, area while SAT numbers are flat. From Washington Post: Melissa Goldberg, 17, a senior at James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring, took the ACT last month on the advice of her guidance counselor and her parents, who [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2008, 12:23pm EST
  by John

• World War I officer who attended University of Iowa was probably killed in hours between armistice signing and cease-fire on November 11, 1918

  Number of comments: 1
  From Kansas City Star: One killed that day was Maj. Robert Mark Hanna of Kansas City, who was among nearly 11,000 men killed, wounded or missing on all sides on Nov. 11, 1918 — a staggering figure that exceeds the number of Allied casualties on D-Day in World War II. … There [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2008, 3:48pm EST
  by John

• Activision acquires Guitar Hero PS2 developer Budcat Creations, of Iowa City

  Image via Wikipedia From Gamasutra: Activision Publishing is acquiring Budcat Creations, an Iowa-based developer specialized in creating Nintendo DS, Wii, and PlayStation 2 games. Under the agreement’s terms, Budcat has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Activision, and the company’s management team has signed multi-year employment contracts. The studio, which claims over 45 employees, [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2008, 12:27pm EST
  by John

• Winthrop, Iowa, native and ‘Eagle Eye’ star Michelle Monaghan has baby

  From Associated Press via Yahoo! News: NEW YORK – “Eagle Eye” star Michelle Monaghan and her husband Peter White have welcomed a baby girl named Willow Katherine in Los Angeles. … Willow, who was born Wednesday, is the couple’s first child. …        [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2008, 11:30pm EST
  by John

• Ex-U of I grad student files suit against music professor and University of Iowa; Alleges inappropriate sexual remarks, humor, touching, relationship

  Number of comments: 2
  From THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA-DAVENPORT DIVISION: MELISSA ROSE WALDING MILLIGAN, Plaintiff, v. THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA and MARK WEIGER, Defendants. … III. BACKGROUND FACTS 10. Milligan was a graduate student enrolled at the University in the Doctorate of Music Arts (“D.M.A.”) program during the 2006-7 academic year. 11. Milligan obtained student [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2008, 11:02pm EST
  by John

• Cedar Rapids associate superintendent named superintendent in Peoria

  From Peoria Journal Star: A Cedar Rapids, Iowa, administrator with a plan to implement student-centered learning practices will lead the Dunlap School District when Superintendent Jeanne Williamson retires at the end of the school year. At a news conference Friday, School Board President Bruce Hay introduced Dr. J. Jay Marino, who will [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2008, 9:23pm EST
  by John

• Penn State Nittany Lions thinking about that pink University of Iowa locker room

  Image via Wikipedia From The Daily Collegian: When the No. 3 Nittany Lions travel to Iowa City to play the Hawkeyes Saturday, before they take the field, they will have to contend with the dreaded pink room — which has grown pinker since Penn State last played at Iowa in 2003. … Senior [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2008, 11:03pm EST
  by John

• NPC International to acquire 7 Pizza Hut restaurants in Cedar Rapids area

  Image via Wikipedia From press release at MarketWatch: Consistent with NPC International, Inc.’s objective to continue growth in the Pizza Hut system, NPC announced today that it had entered into two agreements with Pizza Hut, Inc. (PHI). … The units to be acquired pursuant [...] [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2008, 11:34pm EST
  by John

• Wellman man charged with felony home repair fraud in Mississippi; Alleged work after Hurricane Katrina needed redone

  Image via Wikipedia From The Clarion-Ledger (Mississippi): The charge against Andrew James Blauvelt of Wellman, Iowa, stems from a complaint filed by a Pass Christian resident regarding repair and renovation work on his home, Attorney General Jim Hood said in a news release today. … Blauvelt was arrested Friday by the Washington County, [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2008, 6:26pm EST
  by John

• News tip: Garrison Keillor sends large donation to Cedar Rapids Public Library, St. Joe paper says

  Image via Wikipedia From The (St. Joseph, Missouri) News-Press: A former St. Joseph resident [acting public library director Tamara Glise] is leading efforts to restore a library that was destroyed this summer during the catastrophic flood in eastern Iowa. … Garrison Keillor, the host and writer for Prairie Home Companion, sent a [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2008, 5:28pm EST
  by John

• Oskaloosa native who shot iconic image of Lyndon B. Johnson’s swearing-in has died

  Image via Wikipedia From Associated Press via Google News: Cecil Stoughton, the White House photographer who shot the iconic image of Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office aboard Air Force One, has died. … Born in 1920 in Oskaloosa, Iowa, Stoughton was John F. Kennedy’s White House photographer and followed the [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2008, 3:57pm EST
  by John

• Video of former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack for Barack Obama on Fox News’ Hannity & Colmes

  Number of comments: 1
  VIDEO from Fox News via Yahoo! News (click image to open new page for player): Readers: Do you see a place for Vilsack in an Obama Administration? Please add your comments.        [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2008, 10:39am EST
  by John

• Need a little Christmas, right this very minute? Anamosa-Cedar Rapids radio station goes all-Christmas over weekend

  From Upper Midwest Broadcasting: all-Christmas formats came to the Cedar Rapids…over the weekend on “95-7 Kiss Country” (KKSY Anamosa-Cedar Rapids) …        [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2008, 6:21pm EST
  by John

• Sex offender who listed graveyard, rest stop addresses now living at Linn County jail

  According to a page updated today at the Iowa Sex Offender Registry, DAVID MICHAEL EBERLE is now living at the Linn County jail. In 2006, he claimed to be living at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Cedar Rapids. Earlier this year he was listed at an Interstate rest area before the [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2008, 4:50pm EST
  by John

• Wisconsin newspaper profile of Iowa City motorcyclist killed by drunk driver

  From Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: A drunken driver crossed the centerline and struck [Daniel Christ's] motorcycle at 8 a.m. on July 15, 2007. … Daniel was riding home to Iowa City, Iowa, after a motorcycle rally in Washington County. … He was a good husband and a good father. He was the local son [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2008, 4:45pm EDT
  by John

• Washington Post news obituary for Cedar Rapids native: ‘Fred Baron, 61; Asbestos-Fighting Lawyer,’ John Edwards’ finance chairman

  From Washington Post: Fred Baron, 61, a lawyer who won billions of dollars for clients in asbestos cases and served as finance chairman of John Edwards’s presidential campaign, died of blood cancer Oct. 30 at his home in Dallas. … Frederick Martin Baron was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and moved to [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2008, 4:35pm EDT
  by John

• Iowa banker’s 3-cent stamp sells for over $1 million at New York City auction

  From Associated Press via Washington Post: This photo of an 1868 three-cent denomination “B Grill” variety U. S. postage, was provided by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc., Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 in New York. The stamp, one of only four known to be in existence, sold at auction for $1,035,000 [...]
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  Posted: October 31, 2008, 4:49pm EDT
  by John

• Former University of Colorado women’s basketball player, originally from Cedar Rapids, sues CU over scholarship; Claims breach of contract

  From Boulder Daily Camera: [RyAnne] Ridge, originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, left the CU team last season after playing in seven games, averaging 1.9 minutes per game while scoring one point. She is still a student at CU. She and her father, Stephen, are named as plaintiffs in the suit and are [...]
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  Posted: October 31, 2008, 1:01am EDT
  by John

• NYT highlights Cedar Rapids system engineer’s ‘Car Care’ iPhone application

  Number of comments: 2
  From New York Times: Karl Becker, a systems engineer in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, developed Car Care to handle his own needs. The iPhone application calculates a car’s gas mileage if you enter the odometer readings every time you fill up the car. If you want this converted into a measurement of [...]
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  Posted: October 31, 2008, 12:10am EDT
  by John

• Did Obama campaign bus African-American high school students from Illinois to Iowa City caucus? Hillary supporter claims caucus fraud (Source: Newsmax)

  Number of comments: 1
  From Newsmax.com: Hillary Backers Decry Massive Obama Vote Fraud … Lynette Long, a Hillary supporter from Bethesda, Md., who has a long and respected academic career, believes Obama’s victory in Iowa and in 12 other caucus states was no miracle. “It was fraud,” she told Newsmax. Long has spent several months studying [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2008, 12:33pm EDT
  by John

• Las Vegas Sun: Bette Midler helps Cedar Rapids fan get photo

  From Las Vegas Sun: Sherri Henderson, far right, takes a photo of Bette Midler during the VIP red carpet event for “The Showgirl Must Go On” outside Pure Nightclub at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas earlier this year. Henderson was carrying a purse with Midler’s photo on it that she had [...]
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  Posted: October 29, 2008, 1:01am EDT
  by John

• U.S. COURTS: Iowa inventors claim patent infringement by Wal-Mart over point of sale electronic surveying process

  Image via Wikipedia From UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF IOWA: VISION-1, LLC, Plaintiff, v. WAL-MART STORES, INC. d/b/a SAM’S CLUB AND SUPERCENTERS, Defendant. … Lois Pannkuk and Nancy Anderson conceived of a novel method for a transaction-specific method for evaluating customer service performance. At least one survey question is offered via an electronic [...]
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  Posted: October 28, 2008, 2:52pm EDT
  by John

• Iowa City to Salt Lake City ‘Mormon Trail Handcart Trek 2009′

  From Deseret News: [Recent 'mini-trek' was] a promotional event for the full trek from Iowa City to Salt Lake City set to roll in summer 2009. … The Mormon Trail Handcart Trek 2009 will commence next April, as part of a study abroad program. Each handcart group will be made up of about [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2008, 12:24pm EDT
  by John

• ‘Tightwad Tip’ award: Iowa City man recognized in Consumer Reports blog for 30-35% fuel savings tips

  From Consumer Reports: So our first Tightwad Tip award goes to Doug Kammeier of Iowa City, Iowa, who offers great advice on how to cut your weekly fuel bill. Here are some highlights: When gas prices started escalating beyond belief, I had to make quick adjustments in my driving patterns as [...]
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  Posted: October 27, 2008, 11:32am EDT
  by John

• Lute Olson retires: See Gazette photos of Olson while coach for University of Iowa Hawkeyes

  Lute Olson was head coach at Iowa from 1974 to 1983. Iowa forward William Mayfield (#24, left) wears a basketball hoop net around his neck accompanied by Hawkeye head coach Lute Olson following a 95-64 Iowa defeat of Northwestern University in the Fieldhouse in Iowa City Saturday. The (20-8) Hawkeyes tied [...]
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  Posted: October 24, 2008, 3:28pm EDT
  by John

• Paetec McLeodUSA units settle billing disputes with Qwest

  From Reuters: Qwest has agreed to make a payment and, under specified circumstances, provide commercial credits to the two [Paetec] units, McLeodUSA Inc and McLeodUSA Telecommunications Services Inc, Paetec said. …        [...]
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  Posted: October 24, 2008, 2:52pm EDT
  by John

• Iowa fugitive charged in Illinois with possession with intent to deliver cannibis

  From News-Gazette: URBANA – Three Mississippi men were charged Monday in Champaign County Circuit Court with having about 20 pounds of cannabis plants in their car. Charged with possession with intent to deliver cannabis were Frederick Levy, 40, Darius Davis, 28, and H.B. Hudson, 52, all of Pickens, Miss. … Levy was also [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2008, 6:21pm EDT
  by John

• Local Christian radio station (89.1 FM) expands coverage area with additional translators

  From Upper Midwest Broadcasting: 89.1 “The Spirit” (KXGM-FM Hiawatha-Cedar Rapids) continues to expand its coverage, having recently added translators K227BL/93.3 (Anamosa) and K245AZ/96.9 (Dubuque). …        [...]
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  Posted: October 23, 2008, 6:04pm EDT
  by John

• Iowa’s offer of $81 million in tax breaks and incentives fails to lure global steel producer to expand in Eastern Iowa city

  Image via Wikipedia From Oct. 21 (Alabama) Press-Register: MOBILE, Ala. — SSAB’s steel mill in Mobile County’s Axis community has beaten out the company’s mill in [Montpelier] Iowa as the site for a $460 million expansion that will create 180 new jobs, the company announced this morning. … Iowa had offered $81 million [...]
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  Posted: October 22, 2008, 1:12pm EDT
  by John

• Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek will visit President Bush before coming to Cedar Rapids Czech, Slovak museum on Oct. 29

  From CeskeNoviny: U.S. President George Bush will meet Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek during Topolanek’s visit to the United States on October 29 to discuss the financial crisis and the U.S. missile defence system, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino announced on Tuesday. … He is also to visit the Czech and [...]
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  Posted: October 21, 2008, 5:33pm EDT
  by John

• Penford of Cedar Rapids called a ‘cheap loser’; How that could be a good thing

  Image by MsPatt via Flickr From Barron’s: If you have the courage to call this epochal bear market’s bottom, you might want to know which stocks bounce quickest in an upturn. You might consider some ‘cheap losers.’ This is Joe Mezrich’s term for stocks selling at a cheap price-to-book-value ratio and a [...]
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  Posted: October 20, 2008, 5:27pm EDT
  by John

• College basketball’s tallest player in Iowa hospital after partial foot amputation

  Image by Getty Images via Daylife From Chicago Tribune: Former Chicago Latin star Kenny George, a senior center at UNC Asheville, had part of his right foot amputated, a source confirmed to ESPN.com. The source said the amputation, which occurred three weeks ago, was the result of George’s battle with MRSA … He [...]
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  Posted: October 20, 2008, 5:21pm EDT
  by John

• RAPE-MURDER CASE: 1st Nebraska inmate ever freed by DNA; Killer’s profile by Cedar Rapids FBI agent to be used again

  Image via Wikipedia From Beatrice Daily Sun: [In 1985, after 68-year-old Helen Wilson was raped and murdered,] the Beatrice Police Department sought help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A special agent from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with help from the Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico, Va., reviewed the case and came up with [...]
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  Posted: October 17, 2008, 7:18pm EDT
  by John

• CNN/MONEY VIDEO: ‘Hard times in the heartland; Factory layoffs and a flood mean suffering for [Amana Colonies]‘

  Image via Wikipedia VIDEO from CNN Money From the article: AMANA COLONIES, Iowa (CNNMoney.com) — The turmoil on Wall Street has come to the Pit Stop, a bar in the blue-collar town of Marengo, Iowa. That’s where Al Powell spent a recent Sunday afternoon thinking about his future after he and his wife were [...]
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  Posted: October 17, 2008, 10:25am EDT
  by John

• Cedar Rapids attorney quoted for MSNBC article about sex, STDs and infection lawsuits

  Image via Wikipedia From MSNBC: [A] jury in Iowa awarded $1.5 million to young woman after she claimed that her boyfriend, a dentist, had infected her with HPV even though her lawyer agrees that it is “virtually impossible” to definitively prove it. Given that, denying you have had an STD, or even that [...]
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  Posted: October 16, 2008, 3:22pm EDT
  by John

• Cedar Falls woman travels to smoke-free Atlantic City casino / Vote in smoking ban poll

  Number of comments: 1
  Note to Iowa Legislature? From Associated Press: Atlantic City’s casino smoking ban now in effect ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Gamblers were barred from lighting up Wednesday when a blanket smoking ban went into effect over the objections of the casino industry. … Sylvia Burns of Cedar Falls, Iowa, was enjoying her first visit [...]
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  Posted: October 15, 2008, 5:46pm EDT
  by John

• ‘Rockwell Collins to shutter in Miami’; 60 Florida jobs will be lost, repair work going to Mexico

  From South Florida Business Journal: Aerospace company Rockwell Collins will be shutting down its Miami service center and letting go 60 employees who work on in-flight entertainment equipment. … The employees will be laid off between Dec. 12 and Feb. 20, 2009. … [Spokesman Dave] Gosch said there are no further layoffs planned. Related [...]
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  Posted: October 14, 2008, 5:54pm EDT
  by John

• Prairie Lights bookseller Paul Ingram featured by Publishers Weekly

  From Publishers Weekly: If the world were a just place, there would be a constant spotlight from heaven shining on bookseller Paul Ingram. Instead, he’s swathed in the glow of fluorescent lights in the basement commons room of First Unitarian Church in Davenport, Iowa. At 10 on a Sunday morning, he’s [...]
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  Posted: October 13, 2008, 2:04pm EDT
  by John

• US COURTS: Record companies accuse Fayette County man of illegally distributing 1,150 audio files through Gnutella LimeWire

  From United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - “Complaint for Copyright Infringement”: SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, a Delaware general partnership; WARNER BROS. RECORDS INC., a Delaware corporation; MOTOWN RECORD COMPANY, L.P., a California limited partnership; UMG RECORDINGS, INC., a Delaware corporation; BMG MUSIC, a New York general partnership; and ATLANTIC RECORDING CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation, Plaintiffs, vs. WILLIE D. [...]
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  Posted: October 11, 2008, 12:31am EDT
  by John

• Kurt Warner and Arizona Cardinals to be in high-scoring affair with Dallas Cowboys? AP VIDEO

  Number of comments: 1
  Associated Press caption accompanying THIS VIDEO: Dallas vs. Arizona could be a high-scoring affair. Veteran quarterback Kurt Warner leads a Cardinals team that is third in the NFL in passing. Dallas QB Tony Romo threw three touchdown passes last week. (Oct. 9) Related articles by Zemanta Photos of Kurt Warner at Cardinals training [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2008, 12:35pm EDT
  by John

• San Antonio Express-News: Zach Johnson ’seeking renewal at the Texas Open’

  From San Antonio Express-News: The 2007 Masters champion makes his Valero Texas Open debut this week less than a month after holding a Ryder Cup-style charity tournament in Iowa that raised $350,000 for the state’s disaster relief fund. … “But that community is going to get through it,” Johnson said. “It’s what [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2008, 12:50am EDT
  by John

• Cedar Rapids sex offender who once claimed a cemetery address now living at Mile Marker 12, I-380?

  Number of comments: 1
  According to updated Iowa Sex Offender Registry page for DAVID MICHAEL EBERLE (see older version), this is the new address: i 380 S Rest Area Mile Marker 12 Cedar Rapids, Ia 52404 Some background about the cemetery address from Gazette archives: THE GAZETTE 09/09/2006 Offender arrested at C.R. cemetery Man listed graveyard as address on registry By Christoph [...]
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  Posted: October 08, 2008, 11:21pm EDT
  by John

• IOWA BREAKING NEWS: Follow latest stories from daily Iowa newspapers; Choose from this statewide RSS directory

  Number of comments: 2
  Here are feed links to headlines, headlines+intros, or headlines+full articles (in the case of GazetteOnline) from Iowa’s daily newspapers. RSS feed addresses were compiled from the newspapers or were created using an online tool. You can add these to a feed reader such as Google Reader or My Yahoo to view [...]
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  Posted: October 06, 2008, 8:37pm EDT
  by John

• VIDEO: ‘Don’t vote’ PSA with Leonardo DiCaprio, E. Iowa native Ashton Kutcher viewed over 1,000,000 times at YouTube

  From YouTube. Includes some objectionable language.        [...]
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  Posted: October 03, 2008, 1:44pm EDT
  by John

• Cedar Rapids singer-songwriter stay-at-home mom helps folks forget their problems

  From Lake Villa Review (Illinois): Though she’s been called “the best to come out of Iowa since Bonnie Koloc” by Paxton, [Carol] Montag has been happily based in Cedar Rapids for the last 25 years and describes herself as a stay-at-mom doing the singer-songwriter stuff on the side. … “I remember sitting [...]
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  Posted: October 02, 2008, 5:47pm EDT
  by John

• Chicago transplants give Obama a boost in Cedar Rapids; Dale Todd quoted by Chicago Public Radio

  From WBEZ - Chicago Public Radio: DALE TODD: We were all shocked by the amount of new faces who showed up to Caucus for Senator Obama that night and all honesty a lot of those people were transplants. They were people who have since moved from Chicago and call Cedar Rapids [...]
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  Posted: October 01, 2008, 3:44pm EDT
  by John

• Convicted Iowa mink farm saboteur offers $2,500 defense fund

  Image via Wikipedia From modified Associated Press story via KUTV: Animal-rights activist Peter Daniel Young, 30, says he’ll contribute $2,500 to the defense of anybody caught for Utah’s Sept. 21 raid in Kaysville, where thousands of mink were released from the Utah farm. Young spent two years in federal prison for breaking into [...]
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  Posted: September 30, 2008, 3:53pm EDT
  by John

• CRST ‘trucker blames rain for crash that closed I-65′

  From The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky): A tractor-trailer truck driver blamed a rainstorm for the crash that shut down all lanes of Interstate 65 for several hours early today. … “It was flooding when this happened,” said [driver Donald] Busbee, 45, of Atlanta. “I felt the trailer lift up off the road.” … Busbee [...]
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  Posted: September 30, 2008, 3:41pm EDT
  by John

• Cedar Rapids woman is ‘Ready for my armload of books’ (Christian Science Monitor)

  Source: Christian Science Monitor: A flood destroyed her beloved town library. But now there’s a plan to rebuild. By Eudora Seyfer from the September 29, 2008 edition Plans are under way for a new library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As yet, we have no idea where it will be or even when it will [...]
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  Posted: September 29, 2008, 6:45pm EDT
  by John

• Former Cedar Rapids man who later lived in a cave receives 23-year sentence for child-porn charges

  From Deseret News Saturday: A man convicted on child pornography charges has been sentenced to serve 23 years in federal prison. Russell Eugene Blessman, 52, was sentenced in federal court in Salt Lake City earlier this week to serve 276 months in federal prison, and a lifetime of probation when he [...]
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  Posted: September 28, 2008, 4:40pm EDT
  by John

• Gazette article about area woman’s bat-filtered coffee becomes one of Yahoo’s most e-mailed stories

  See the brief AP version at Yahoo! News here; Gazette’s original article written by Cindy Hadish here.        [...]
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  Posted: September 27, 2008, 4:10pm EDT
  by John

• Online record for Pierre Pierce disappears from Iowa Sex Offender Registry

  Page for Pierce’s information now just a question mark (as of this writing): (?) We could not find information about the person you are looking for. The person may have been removed and is no longer viewable, or the site may have made a mistake. Here’s what the page used to look like. Could this be [...]
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  Posted: September 26, 2008, 5:13pm EDT
  by John

• Cedar Rapids trucking company ranks in top 200 of InformationWeek 500

  From PR Web (press release newswire): Cedar Rapids, Iowa (PRWEB) September 26, 2008 — CRST International, one of the largest privately-held transportation companies in the country, today announced that it has been listed on the 2008 InformationWeek 500. This is the first time CRST has been chosen for the list, which [...]
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  Posted: September 26, 2008, 4:18pm EDT
  by John

• See controversial full-page University of Iowa basketball ads Gazette sports columnist Jim Ecker is writing about

  Related Jim Ecker columns: Ad’s dunk didn’t happen, but it’s no mistake, Iowa says College professors slam Iowa’s basketball ad From recent Gazette archives: Click on images to enlarge. ‘SLAM DUNK’ ads published on September 14 and September 18 in Gazette; ‘STEAL’ ad published on September 23.        [...]
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  Posted: September 25, 2008, 5:50pm EDT
  by John

• Dude, our U.S. Senator just quoted you; Grassley uses Ashton Kutcher’s words and visual aid in floor speech (see pic/video)

  The Raw Story: [P]erhaps unwittingly, Grassley was on a roll with the stoner allusions, including a glance at the 2000 movie “Dude, Where’s My Car?” starring Iowa native Ashton Kutcher, which follows the travails of two potheads who can’t remember where, um, they left their car. After finishing with the [Pink [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2008, 5:55pm EDT
  by John

• Now search GazetteOnline, Gazette videos, Gazette blogs and KCRG content at one fell swoop

  Number of comments: 1
  Image via CrunchBase For your convenience I’ve created a Google Custom Search Engine for precision searching of GazetteOnline.com content, Gazette video descriptions, Gazette blogs, and KCRG.com - 39 sites in all. Unfortunately, I’m unable to offer the search box here at ‘Looking in at Iowa’ but you can follow (and bookmark) [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2008, 12:32am EDT
  by John

• NACAC commission urges reduced use of ACT, SAT; Report questions value of scores to predict college success

  Image via Wikipedia From Education Week: “Despite their prevalence in American high school culture, college-admission exams—such as the SAT and ACT—may not be critical to making good admission decisions at many of the colleges and universities that use them,” the report says. … The commission was convened in late 2006 by the National [...]
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  Posted: September 22, 2008, 6:03pm EDT
  by John

• Today’s Department of Defense release for Nathan Cox, Iowa fatality in Afghanistan

  More from GazetteOnline From U.S. Department of Defense: IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 800-08 September 22, 2008 DoD Identifies Army Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Sept. 20 in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. [...]
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  Posted: September 22, 2008, 4:49pm EDT
  by John

• Photo of Cedar Rapids native Michael Emerson (”LOST”) at 60th Primetime Emmy Awards

  From Yahoo! News - Photos: Michael Emerson, right, and Carrie Preston arrive at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008. For more about “LOST” star Michael Emerson, including the Gazette article “He’s not creepy to Mom,” go to earlier LIAI post: Cedar Rapids native nominated for Emmy.        [...]
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  Posted: September 22, 2008, 11:12pm EDT
  by John

• Former Iowa City VA administrator celebrating 100th birthday and 75th anniversary; Wife turns 100 tomorrow

  From Denver Post: On Sunday, [Dr. J. Gordon Spendlove and his wife, Elizabeth] will celebrate their 100th birthdays — he was born Oct. 10, 1908, and she on Sept. 22, 1908 — and their 75th wedding anniversary. They tied the knot Sept. 22, 1933. “No, no, I never thought we’d live to [...]
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  Posted: September 21, 2008, 2:35pm EDT
  by John

• Watch NASCAR video of yesterday’s crash involving Landon Cassill

  From NASCAR.com VIDEO: Cassill, Wallace crash late Landon Cassill and Steven Wallace bring out caution with two laps to go. Also an AP photo available: Steve Wallace (66) and Landon Cassill (5) crash during the NASCAR Camping World RV Sales 200 Nationwide Series auto race at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del., Saturday, Sept. [...]
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  Posted: September 21, 2008, 1:32pm EDT
  by John

• New book about Iowa City to Utah trek: ‘Devil’s Gate: Brigham Young and the Great Mormon Handcart Tragedy’

  Kindle edition available from Amazon. The following text is from a recent review by the Washington Post, which also posted text from Chapter 1: The journey of the handcart travelers from Iowa to Utah became a defining myth of Mormon history, the equivalent, as David Roberts observes, of the voyage of [...]
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  Posted: September 20, 2008, 3:35pm EDT
  by John

• Voice of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet from Iowa added to online audio at UK Poetry Archive

  Image by waldo oiseau via Flickr From BBC News: Recordings of 14 major 20th-Century American poets have been added to the free online audio Poetry Archive. … American voices to be added include former US Poet Laureates Ted Kooser and Robert Pinsky, and Pulitzer Prize-winners Yusef Komunyakaa and Philip Levine. Poetry Archive’s Ted [...]
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  Posted: September 19, 2008, 1:54pm EDT
  by John

• 19-year-old from Cedar Rapids photographed at ‘tent city’ next to homeless shelter in Reno

  From Yahoo! News: Mack Martinez, 19, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, smokes in front of his tent at the tent city that sprung up next to the homeless shelter in downtown Reno, Nev., Wednesday, June 25, 2008. Martinez, who says he has never been more than two weeks without work, had a [...]
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  Posted: September 18, 2008, 7:10pm EDT
  by John

• Sarah Palin in Cedar Rapids Gazette Letters to the Editor (6 for, 23 against); Read ‘em all here

  Number of comments: 9
  (LETTERS published in The Gazette between September 3rd and September 17. Gazette ombudsman’s column — published on Sept. 21 — posted at end.) From September 3, 2008 Gazette: McCain’s VP pick is most unqualified How can John McCain attack Barack Obama for being inexperienced and then pick an even less experienced person as [...]
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  Posted: September 17, 2008, 3:19pm EDT
  by John

• Connecticut dance professor who claimed degrees from University of Iowa has resigned over padded resume

  A former UI faculty member, per Lan-Lan Wang page below. From Associated Press via The Day (Connecticut): Connecticut College says the acting chairwoman of its dance department has resigned after the college learned she had padded her resume. They say Lan-Lan Wang left her job Monday … Her resume says she held bachelor’s and [...]
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  Posted: September 15, 2008, 6:31pm EDT
  by John

• Iowa City company offering gay Christmas cards; Hallmark hasn’t yet combined homosexuality and holidays, owner says

  Number of comments: 1
  From PR-inside: ‘Hallmark recently unveiled a line of gay marriage cards, and that’s a step in the right direction for mainstream card companies. However, Hallmark has yet to combine homosexuality and the holidays’ explains business owner and graphic designer Andrew Shaffer, who operates online under the nom de plume ‘St. Andrew.’ [...]
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  Posted: September 15, 2008, 2:52pm EDT
  by John

• TransUnion: Iowans have lowest credit card debt, half that of Alaskans

  From Associated Press via CNN/Money: The highest state average card debt was in Alaska, at $2,494, followed by Tennessee at $2,109 and Alabama at $2,015. Residents of Iowa had the lowest average debt of $1,281, with North Dakota second at $1,318 and South Dakota third, at $1,388. … Related articles by Zemanta New [...]
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  Posted: September 15, 2008, 12:35pm EDT
  by John

• HISTORICAL GAZETTE: Read about Galveston hurricane of 1900, which killed 6,000 to 12,000 people

  Image via Wikipedia FROM THE EVENING GAZETTE - MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1900: DEATH RIDES ON WIND AND WAVE. Galveston, Texas, Swept by Furious Storm From the Gulf — Loss of Life Variously Estimated From One to Three Thousand — Waves Drive Inland For Miles Carrying Death and Destruction — Other Towns Isolated [...]
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  Posted: September 12, 2008, 11:36am EDT
  by John

• ARRL: ‘A Great Name in Radio Turns 75′ (Rockwell Collins, f/k/a Collins Radio)

  From ARRL News: Seventy-five years ago a small radio communications company, operating from the owner’s basement, officially incorporated in the state of Delaware. From these humble beginnings arose one of the nation’s foremost communications and avionics companies — The Collins Radio Company. Arthur Collins, W0CXX, started building high quality Amateur Radio [...]
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  Posted: September 11, 2008, 5:52pm EDT
  by John

• Cedar Rapids man to receive National Association of Letter Carriers hero award for rescuing driver from partially submerged car

  From Associated Press via Google News: Other awards presented by the union include: … _ Dean Dunkel of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Central Region Hero, for crawling inside a partially submerged car and rescuing the driver after she skidded off the road and into a creek during a torrential rain storm. … [...] [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2008, 3:04pm EDT
  by John

• Anthropologist coming to Cedar Rapids as part of cross-country trip for study of Muslims in America

  From Newswise: Akbar Ahmed, renowned anthropologist and Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies in American University’s School of International Service, is taking a one-year research sabbatical to study Muslims in America and the attitudes and perceptions of Americans regarding their Muslim neighbors. The cross-country ethnographic study will take Ahmed and his [...]
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  Posted: September 10, 2008, 2:49pm EDT
  by John

• Today’s images of Ottumwa, Iowa, native Tom Arnold at photocall for the movie ‘Gardens of the Night’

  Image by Getty Images via Daylife Tom Arnold appearing at the 34th American Film Festival in Deauville, Normandy. Three photos today from Associated Press via Yahoo! News: U.S. film director Damian Harris, left, U.S. actor Tom Arnold, center, and U.S. cinematographer Paula Huidobro, right, pose during a photocall for the movie [...]
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  Posted: September 09, 2008, 4:26pm EDT
  by John

• Biographical info about Abigail Van Allen, wife of James Van Allen, from 1962 Gazette article and 1995 ‘Close-Up’

  9/11/2008 UPDATE: Gazette obituary posted for Van Allen, Abigail Halsey ~~ From July 15, 1962 Cedar Rapids Gazette: Life Is Never Dull for Mrs. James Van Allen… The former Abigail Halsey grew up in Cincinnati and attended Mt. Holyoke college. “It was during the war and I went through on an accelerated program. I [...]
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  Posted: September 09, 2008, 1:15pm EDT
  by John

• ADVENTURE: Gazette reporter sent via airmail from New York to San Francisco; 1921 firsthand account with blizzards, desert crash

  From January 15, 1921 (Cedar Rapids) Evening Gazette: Gazette Man Flies With Air Mail From Coast to Coast You’ve Wondered What Happens to That Letter You Send by Air Post—Reporter Goldstrom Tells You Gales, Blizzards, Hurricanes and Sandstorm Battle Newspaper Man On Trip—Wrecked In Desert BY JOHN GOLDSTROM SAN FRANCISCO, Cal., Jan. 15.—I’ve just been [...]
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  Posted: September 08, 2008, 7:05pm EDT
  by John

• Transcontinental airmail re-enactment includes stop in Iowa City this week; US Post Office authorizes New York to San Francisco delivery

  From Aero-News Network: Historic Aircraft To Cross The Country September 10-15… Boeing and Jeppesen will sponsor the 2008 transcontinental airmail re-enactment, a five-day cross-country trip that commemorates the 90th anniversary of air mail service in the US … Over the next four days, the planes will stop in Bryan, OH (OG6); Chicago Lansing [...]
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  Posted: September 08, 2008, 11:43pm EDT
  by John

• Man from Iowa City is standby for Daniel Radcliffe (”Harry Potter”) for Broadway play Equus

  Image via Wikipedia From News & Observer: [University of North Carolina School of the Arts] alumnus Paul David Story is [Daniel] Radcliffe’s standby. He’s from Iowa City, Iowa, and graduated from the school in 2005. … Related articles by Zemanta Daniel Radcliffe: Equus Rehearsals Under Way! [...]
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  Posted: September 06, 2008, 1:41pm EDT
  by John

• GAZETTE CLASSICS: THE KURT WARNER FILE (New page at ‘Looking in at Iowa’)

  Image by Getty Images via Daylife (New page at ‘Looking in at Iowa’) Click on tab above or this link to read select articles about Kurt Warner from The Gazette’s text archives. Related articles by Zemanta Cardinals name Warner as starter over Leinart Cards naming Warner starter won’t affect Leinart’s future [...]
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  Posted: September 05, 2008, 1:20am EDT
  by John

• Protester from Cedar Rapids arrested near Republican National Convention

  See photo at Monsters and Critics (m&c): Police wearing riot gear arrest Jason Johnson, a protester from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, near the Xcel Energy Center where the Republican National Convention is being held in St. Paul, Minnesota … [...]
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  Posted: September 04, 2008, 6:34pm EDT
  by John

• WSJ: ‘Chinese Jetmaker Gets Western Help’ (incl. Rockwell Collins); Clay Jones quoted

  From Wall Street Journal: Their participation could help China do in aerospace what it has done in industries ranging from toys to cars: move from a basic fabricator to a global competitor. “We understand that they may well want to develop an indigenous industry, but we want to stay a part of [...]
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  Posted: September 03, 2008, 5:36pm EDT
  by John

• Iowa man killed in Illinois motorcycle crash; passenger seriously injured

  From Galesburg Radio 14 WGIL: The Labor Day holiday weekend turned fatal for a man driving a motorcycle on a Henderson County [Illinois] road late Sunday morning that injured a passenger on the bike. State police identified the man who was killed as 52-year old Christopher Coates of Corydon, Iowa. A passenger [...]
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  Posted: September 02, 2008, 5:55pm EDT
  by John

• Police: DNA links man to slaying of Ashton Kutcher’s ex-girlfriend

  Number of comments: 1
  From Associated Press via Yahoo! News: DNA evidence has linked an air conditioning repairman to the stabbing deaths of three women, including [the February 2001 death of 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin] a former girlfriend of actor Ashton Kutcher, police said Friday. … [Ashton] Kutcher…told police he went to pick up the fashion student-model [...]
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  Posted: September 01, 2008, 12:56pm EDT
  by John

• Fox News article about Coralville’s Bob Dvorsky and daughters in Denver for Obama’s nomination

  Number of comments: 1
  From Fox News - The Youth Vote with Heather Nauert: Obama’s Nomination - A Good Excuse to Skip School They are some of Barack Obama’s biggest fans-the Dvorsky family from Iowa City, IA. Annie, 18, and Caroline, 16, along with their mother Sue and father Bob, a state senator, have backed Barack [...]
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  Posted: August 29, 2008, 12:39pm EDT
  by John

• COLUMN: Jim Leach: A statesman for Obama

  From Capitol Chronicles by Susan J. Demas, at MLive.com: My former congressman chuckled that as a veteran of five Republican National Conventions, he’d never expected to be at a DNC, either. “When I was asked to speak, it startled me at first and I had to think about it for a moment,” [...]
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  Posted: August 28, 2008, 2:35pm EDT
  by John

• Cedar Rapids woman, other abortion protesters drowned out at women’s caucus today

  From Associated Press via Chicago Tribune: Four abortion protesters, including an Iowan [Rene Ridge, of Cedar Rapids], who interrupted the Democratic convention women’s caucus have been drowned out by chants of “Obama!” and have been removed from the room by officers. … [...]
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  Posted: August 28, 2008, 1:19pm EDT
  by John

• New City of Cedar Rapids ad for Civil Rights Director: ‘fiscal accountability essential’

  From City of Cedar Rapids, Department of Human Resources: The City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa is currently recruiting for a Civil Rights Director to manage the operations of the Civil Rights office. This position supports the Commission’s mission to promote and protect equality under the law. Proven Communication, bridge-building and management [...]
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  Posted: August 27, 2008, 2:03pm EDT
  by John

• Narrative NTSB report released for fatal hot-air balloon accident in Hampton

  From National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Factual Report: The passenger recalled the side of the gondola hitting the top cable of the power lines and hearing screeching or arcing sounds, but he did not see any sparks. The balloon tipped on its side a couple of times and they were thrown [...]
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  Posted: August 27, 2008, 9:57am EDT
  by John

• Source for ESPN: Kurt Warner to be named Arizona Cardinals’ starting quarterback

  From Yahoo! Sports: Kurt Warner will be named the Arizona Cardinals’ starting quarterback after Matt Leinart’s poor performance Saturday night in Oakland, according to an ESPN report. … The ESPN report cited an unnamed team source. The report was news to Chuck Price, Leinart’s agent, who said, “I’ve been in touch with Matt [...]
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  Posted: August 26, 2008, 7:18pm EDT
  by John

• Penford resumes starch production in Cedar Rapids

  From Associated Press via CNN/Money: Specialty ingredients producer Penford Corp. said Tuesday that its principal subsidiary, Penford Products Co., has resumed manufacturing industrial starch at its Cedar Rapids, Iowa, facility. … [...]
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  Posted: August 26, 2008, 6:58pm EDT
  by John

• ‘Walk a day in my shoes’ video of Biden at Harding Middle School, Cedar Rapids

  Number of comments: 2
  YouTube video of Cedar Rapids School District Custodial Engineer Marshall Clemons and Senator Joe Biden in August. From PR Newswire via MarketWatch: Throughout the election, SEIU [Service Employees International Union] members invited all candidates for president, Democrats and Republicans, to experience firsthand what their lives are like by walking in their shoes… [...]
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  Posted: August 25, 2008, 6:51pm EDT
  by John

• 1972 article about fatal crash which took life of Joe Biden’s wife, daughter

  Number of comments: 1
  From The Cedar Rapids Gazette, December 19, 1972: Senator-Elect’s Wife Dies in Auto Accident WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - The pretty blonde wife of Joseph R. Biden was at his side through his campaign. They rejoiced in victory last month when he became the youngest man to be elected to the U.S. senate [...]
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  Posted: August 24, 2008, 2:48pm EDT
  by John