The good
Who needs hockey, eh? The Iowa Events Center wrapped up its fiscal year on June 30 with the largest annual profit since it opened in 2005. The $536,563 profit is good news despite the loss of the Iowa Chops, the minor league hockey team. The Iowa Events Center is comprised of Wells Fargo Arena, Hy-Vee Hall, Veterans Memorial Auditorium and the Polk County Convention Complex. Operated by Global Spectrum, the Events Center had 489 events, including concerts by AC/DC, Elton John and Taylor Swift.
Up in smoke. Last week the Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted to ban the sale of K2, a synthetic version of marijuana. The board passed an emergency measure reclassifying K2, also known as Spice, as a Schedule I drug, meaning it cannot be legally sold or possessed. The substance was sold as incense and can cause a marijuana-like high for some users including anxiety, hallucinations and seizures. The drug was recently implicated in the June suicide of an Indianola teenager. The board’s decision is only temporary and would require legislative action to make it permanent.
The bad
The Empire has apparently fallen on hard times. Last week, a man dressed in a Darth Vader costume robbed a Long Island, N.Y., bank. Although the Sith Lord could have used the force to make employees hand over the cash, he chose a semiautomatic handgun instead. After grabbing an unknown amount of money, Vader fled the scene on foot and was last seen heading toward the Death Star. Although it appears Vader got away this time, we imagine a fleet of rebel fighters will ready the next time.
Don’t let the bedbugs bite. Des Moines law enforcement officials are searching for a suspect they’re calling a “saboteur” after the individual left a bag of bedbugs in the hallway of the city’s Armory Building, 602 Robert D. Ray Drive. Custodians cleaning the building discovered the bag. So far, the building has been fumigated three times ($1,200) to eradicate the pests, and pest control contractors will heat the building ($5,000) to approximately 140 degrees to attempt to kill them.
The ugly
Another week and another part of Iowa is dealing with devastating waters. Flooding from the Maquoketa River has damaged dozens of homes and businesses, causing millions of dollars in damage in Monticello, after the Lake Delhi dam failed last week. The river crested upstream of the dam at Manchester at 24.53 feet, which was more than 10 feet above flood stage and well above its 2004 record of 21.66 feet. Approximately 50 homes and 20 businesses had major flood damage, and the city’s sewer plant flooded and was forced to shut down.
Single people beware, a sexually transmitted disease is on the loose and can cause serious complications. Polk County health leaders are warning people about a syphilis outbreak after confirming six cases of the STD in the past month and a half. This number is normally the amount of cases confirmed in an entire year. Health officials are worried because they have been looking for a link to the cases and have been unable to pin the disease to one source. Symptoms often include sores called chancres, which can appear on the genitals or other areas of the body. The sores and fatigue can disappear, but the syphilis bacteria can continue to attack internal organs and cause permanent damage. Officials say those who have sex with multiple, anonymous partners are most likely to catch syphilis, and that condoms do not provide complete protection since the sores can be located all over the body, and contact with the sores leads to infection. Free tests are being offered for people who believe they may have been exposed. Call 286-3798. CV
