An Iowa Republican who said some controversial things about Barack Obama during the heat of the presidential campaign today made a personal gesture to salute Obama's role as the nation's first African American president.

As Congressman Steve King was sworn in for a fourth term, he placed his left hand on a leather-bound copy of the New Testament.

It was the Bible his distant uncle John Richardson of Palo, Iowa, carried in his pocket as he fought on the Union side in the Civil War. "In the Bible itself, there are notes that show that it was presented to him on the eve of his departure for the war on July 27, 1862 and he returned three years to the day from that war, walked home, exactly on July 26, 1865 having lived through three years of conflict," King says.

One of King's great-great-great-great-great grandfathers fought in the Grand Army of the Republic, too, but he was killed in battle. "There's a transformation taking place in this country and even though we have philosophical differences, on the 20th of January we'll be swearing in our first African American president and it strikes me that the people who shed their blood to put an end to slavery -- the abolitionists that were radical in their day -- paid a tremendous price," King says. "If they could look down on this country today and see an American president sworn into office, that would do their heart proud."

King has been no fan of Obama's foreign policy or prescriptions for the U.S. economy and last spring, King suggested terrorists would be "dancing in the streets" if Obama were elected president. "Personally, he's fine. I sense the charisma that he has, but he and I just disagree philosophically," King says. "I have to wish him well and we have to pull together the best we can for this country and I will be challenging him when there are philosophical disagreements, but they are not personal and never have been."

King keeps his distant uncle's New Testament in a glass case in his office in Washington, D.C.  King recently discovered his distant uncle who fought in the Civil War was buried at a cemetery in Denison, Iowa -- after a lifetime of adventure according to the stories King heard passed down through the generations. "One that I remember as he traveled he would sometimes just take off alone and take his gun and go and wander around," King says, "and one of the winters he found himself in northern Minnesota walking across Lake Mille Lacs. That's one of the largest lakes in Minnesota and he was lost in a blizzard out on the ice and as he stumbled along he wandered into a camp of Indians...and always credited them with saving his life."

King says according to family lore, six generations back on his mother's side he has a relative who was among those who helped found the Republican Party and that man's son died in battle for the union cause. "That's really about all I know about that and I need to learn a lot more. I need to learn about their regiments and where they served," King says of that great-great-great-great-great grandfather and his great-great-great-great-great uncle. "I just haven't done that."

When President-elect Obama is sworn into office later this month, he'll use the Bible Abraham Lincoln used for his first inaugural in 1861.

 

Stock prices have been higher today, led by strength in tech stocks.

Two women stood on a downtown Des Moines street corner over the noon hour today giving away sandwiches. 

Ashley Byrne and Virginia Fort shivered in the 40-degree temperatures, wearing only bikinis designed to look like leaf lettuce.

Byrne is a campaign coordinator with PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

"Today, we came out to encourage people to turn over a new leaf in the new year and go vegetarian," Byrne said. The sandwiches were made with tofurky, a meat-less product that Byrne insists "tastes just like turkey."

Byrne says tofurky, unlike turkey, is "free of cholesterol and the cruelty that comes with a meat sandwich." Not everyone passing by was interested in the free food or hearing about the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle. One man stopped his car in front of the women, took a picture with his cell phone and drove off.

The women also handed out PETA pamphlets and Byrne talked about what the group's undercover investigations have found at corporate livestock farms around the country.

"Practices like cutting off the tails, testicles and teeth of animals without any painkillers and slaughtering animals by stringing them upside down...and slitting their throats while they're still conscious have become standard in the industry," Byrne said.

The most recent, high-profile case of livestock abuse in Iowa occurred last September near Bayard in Greene County. Seven employees were fired from the pig farm that supplies Hormel Foods in Austin, Minnesota. An investigation was launched after PETA released "undercover video" of the abuse.

Byrne says unfortunately PETA [9] continues to uncover similar abuse around the country. "So, it's hard to believe it's not widespread," Byrne said. Byrne and Fort live in Washington, D.C.

An opera about one of Iowa's most famous inventors and agricultural pioneers makes its world premiere in Des Moines later this month, before embarking on a statewide tour. Born a slave in Missouri around 1860, George Washington Carver excelled in his eventual education in Iowa.

The opera, "A Dream Fulfilled: The Saga of George Washington Carver," follows his early years in Ames, Winterset and Indianola, where he attended Simpson College. McB McManus, spokeswoman for the Des Moines Metro Opera, says Carver "spent a few years at Simpson before he transferred to Iowa State College then, before it became Iowa State University, where he was the first African-American who was appointed to their faculty after his graduation."

McManus says the opera focuses on Carver's setting of goals -- and accomplishing them -- including his graduation from Iowa State in 1892. "He went on to the Tuskegee Institute (in Alabama) and became well known around the country for his work in agricultural research," McManus says. "Ultimately, the opera ends with his testimony before Congress regarding peanut tariffs." Carver's work in finding crop alternatives to cotton led him to the peanut and he created more than 325 peanut-related products, helping create demand for the plant and established it as a major American crop.

Carver worked with several other plants and is often credited with changing the face of agriculture in the American south. This opera was composed by an Iowa native -- Michael Patterson of Indianola, a music professor at Simpson College. McManus says it's the perfect way to introduce young Iowans to Carver -- and to opera.

"Opera is the original multimedia art form and it is an art form that is really accessible to children -- who are so open to receiving information without a lot of preconceptions," McManus says. The opera runs less than an hour and targets children. Hundreds of central Iowa students will see the production, which opens January 26th at the State Historical Building.

After that, the show will go on the road, visiting around 80 schools in some 70 Iowa cities through spring. For more information, visit the Des Moines Opera's website. [13]

Federal Reserve officials say the economy could continue to suffer for some time despite unconventional tools to fight the crisis.

A Rock Rapids bank is getting back to normal operations after a surprise weekend visitor. George Schneiderman, president of Frontier Bank in Rock Rapids says Sunday, right after lunch a small buck deer, coming from Main Street jumped right through their window, and landed in the bank - in the insurance office - and then worked his way diagonally across the lobby and then ended up exiting through another window in the back.

Schneiderman says the visitor didn't stick around long -- maybe three to seven minutes. Schneiderman says it was long enough to do some damage as it demolished two windows, which are special size for the old building. He says a computer was damaged and a desk smashed.

The cause of the damage might have been a mystery, but since it's a bank, the walk through was caught on camera. Schneiderman says,"That triggered our security equipment and cameras of course, uh, so we have video images of the deer walking across our lobby and jumping over the tellers' counters. We don't have a video of him exiting out the back door, or the back window, however."

It's not clear if the deer intended to make a withdrawal, but Schneiderman says he did leave a deposit --- hair, blood, and what he says they hoped was saliva -- that was quickly cleaned up. It is thought that the deer probably was eating corn off the ground at the Farmers' Coop Elevator, four blocks north, and wandered away.  

A report issued today by the Iowa Department of Revenue concludes the state's "leading economic indicators" fell nearly one percent from October to November. It is the largest month-to-month percentage drop since 2006. That's when financial experts in the Iowa Department of Revenue began issuing an "Iowa Leading Indicators Index" report.

The index reached its peak this past March, but fell in April through November. A combination of declining prices for agricultural commodities like corn and soybeans, an increase in unemployment claims and a decrease the number of hours Iowa manufacturing plants are operating contributed to the decline.

In addition, the financial experts cite a reduction in the number of construction permits for new homes and a decline in diesel fuel sales. 

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley predicts smooth sailing ahead for the process that will make former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack the next U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

Grassley says he met with Vilsack on Monday in Washington D.C. and says it went "wonderfully well." Grassley says Vilsack will go before the Senate Ag Committee next Wednesday, January 14th.

Grassley says, "I would even predict at this point, unless there's some big surprise out there I don't know about, that there won't be any votes against his nomination." The Senate Ag Committee is chaired by Iowa Democrat Tom Harkin. Grassley says he and Vilsack chatted for about 45 minutes Monday on several issues.

"I discussed my efforts to make sure that only family farmers are participating in the farm program, people that are involved in the family operation," Grassley says. "We have government accountability reports of people who've been dead five or six years receiving farm payments." Grassley, a Republican, has high praise for Democrat Vilsack, who would become the fifth Iowan to serve as U.S. Ag Secretary.

Grassley says, "Agriculture in the United States, particularly the family farm agriculture that's so dominant in the Midwest, is very fortunate to have somebody from Iowa, and an Iowan who was governor and who understands agriculture, to be Secretary of Agriculture." Vilsack's nomination could go before the full Senate in time for him to take office on January 20th, the same day Barack Obama will be sworn in as President. 

The city council in Iowa City discussed a ban on plastic shopping bags at a work session Monday, but has decided to go with a different proposal by the city's recycling coordinator. Councilmember Ross Wilburn says the alternative proposal is to encourage people to voluntarily stop using the plastic bags.

He says rather than pass an ordinance with a mandate, or tax, or prohibition on the plastic bags, they will instead try to get people to take reusable bags to the store and to recycle the plastic bags. Willborn says Iowa City will also work with surrounding towns to encourage recycling the plastic bags at stores.

Willborn says it's an issue that's becoming a problem for all cities as the country uses about one-billion bags a year -- or about 300 bags per person. He says the bags blow around at landfills and when they do get landfill, they are petroleum based, so they break down into a toxic product that can get into water sources.

The council will revisit the issue in June.

A southwest Iowa teen was hurt in a hunting accident Sunday in Taylor County. According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 15-year-old Ely Will of Lenox suffered an injury after the rifle he was carrying accidentally fired into the calf of his leg.

The teen was reportedly crossing a ditch while hunting south of Lenox late Sunday afternoon when the .22 caliber rifle he was carrying fired hitting him in the left leg. His hunting partner, 18-year-old Payton Glynn, of Lenox, was not hurt during the mishap.

Will's injury was not life threatening. The accident remains under investigation by the Iowa D.N.R. 

Authorities are releasing the name of the 46-year-old Burlington woman who died after a weekend housefire. Cyd Richards was found inside her home on Sunday night as firefighters battled the fire.

She was taken to the Great River Medical Center where she died Monday morning. Richards was a well-known fry cook on the morning shift at a popular restaurant with a large breakfast crowd. A co-worker on the morning shift said Richards was liked by everyone, the customers and the staff.

Firefighters performed CPR on Richards before she was taken to the hospital. Firefighters responded to the fire around 10 P.M. on Sunday and fought the fire for several hours into the early hours of Monday morning.

 

A Council Bluffs teen who was home on winter break from Abraham Lincoln High School has died from bacterial meningitis. Fifteen-year old Ashley Andreasen died Friday, one-day after being diagnosed with the condition. John Andreasen said his daughter was given antibiotics through an I-V soon after she arrived at the Jennie Edmundson Hospital emergency room.

A brain scan showed that at time there was no swelling of her brain, but she was having small seizures that caused her muscles to tense up and then shake. Her father says she was also disoriented and didn't know where she was or what was happening. Doctors decided to transfer her to Children's Hospital in Omaha and she was taken by ambulance about 11 p.m. Thursday.

A scan at Children's showed that her brain was starting to swell, and she died about 6:30 p.m. Friday. Andreasen said his daughter had been a healthy teen, although she did have a case of mononucleosis about three or four months ago. Doctors told him that the mononucleosis could have weakened her immune system, leaving her more susceptible to meningitis.  

Police in southeast Iowa are now holding a suspect in a series of arson fires. A 25-year-old man arrested Christmas Day for setting a garbage dumpster on fire in downtown Burlington has now been charged in connection with a string of early morning fires set in the city's South Hill neighborhood December 9th.

Keith Allen Dunn was being held in the Des Moines County Jail, charged with arson for the Christmas Day fire and now has received an additional four arson charges for a total of five counts. In addition, Dunn was charged with four counts of burglary, also in connection with the fires set December 9th. 

It appears that 2008 produced fewer traffic fatalities in Iowa than any year since 2004. Preliminary figures show there were 406 people killed in traffic crashes last year. Scott Falb, with the Iowa Department of Transportation, anticipates the final number will end up being between 410 and 415.

The decline in traffic fatals occurred during a year of extremely severe weather, with flooding, ice storms and heavy snow. Falb credits weather forecasters for notifying motorists about the approaching storms. "What seems to cause motorists the most problems is when the severity of the event is unknown or catches people off guard and unaware," Falb said.

The recession and record high gas prices this spring and summer also contributed to the decrease in traffic fatals, since fewer motorists were on the road. Traffic fatals were especially low in the months of March, April and May. "Even in July, we had 30 fatalities when normally we have closer to 50," Falb said.

The most recent survey indicates that nearly 93-percent of Iowa motorists wear a seat belt, but less than 40-percent of the people killed in traffic crashes are buckled up. Falb says that tells him that motorists who wear a seat belt have a much better chance of surviving a crash.

"But, number two, the fact that people buckle up often changes their driving behavior," Falb said. "The act of buckling up means they're seeing the risks out on the road differently than those that don't buckle up." In 2007, there were 446 traffic fatalities in Iowa. Over the last decade, the fewest traffic fatalities, 388, occurred in 2004. Of the 406 fatals recorded so far in 2008, about 20-percent involved alcohol and 54 of the fatals involved motorcycles. 

The recession doesn't appear to be impacting a couple of Japanese Sushi Bar owners who recently paid big money for a prize fish.

The key averages lost ground to begin the business week.

QVC will show portions of the inaugural parade and conduct interviews with spectators.

There's another sign that Iowa's economy is slowing -- state lottery sales are down six-percent in the fiscal year that began on July 1st. Lottery spokeswoman Mary Neubauer says the downturn began at the end of last fiscal year, spurred in part by the weather disasters. She says they've been alerting the legislature and the governor's budget staff about the downturn.

"We had anticipated that this was going to be a tough year for the lottery and we had budgeted very conservatively for the year," Neubauer says. The decline means the state will lose one to two million dollars in lottery profits, but she believes that conservative budgeting will keep them from having to revise revenue estimates.

"I think our figures are within the budget estimates we had made for the state." Neubauer says Iowa is not alone in seeing lottery sales drop consumers cut back on discretionary spending.

"It's basically from coast to coast. I've seen reports from Carolina from California showing that lottery sales are down in many states," Neubauer says, "now that's going to vary from state to state and be dependent on the circumstances there." Neubauer says the Iowa sales are down across-the-board, from Powerball to pull tab tickets.