The good

Runners at the upcoming Dam to Dam event on June 2 can usually see the finish line while standing on the top of Saylorville Dam. But this year, organizers have changed the route so runners will also race over the Center Street Dam, underneath the new Center Street Bridge. Following the new dam, runners will turn west off of Robert D. Ray Drive and head south to Locust Street, then turn right and run 10 blocks to the finish located in Western Gateway Park. Moving the finish line led to moving the starting line, which will offer all 8,000 participants a view of the Des Moines skyline while waiting for the 7 a.m. start time. For more information and a map of the new course, visit www.damtodam.com

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met with Iowa veterans to discuss a key component of President Barack Obama’s “to-do list.” The Veterans Jobs Corps was recently created to show the commitment this country has to its veterans, by helping to hire returning service members to serve their communities. Vilsack highlighted military service by men and women from rural America, too, and discussed work the United States Department of Agriculture is currently doing to provide economic opportunities for veterans, especially the more than six-million who live in rural areas. We, too, appreciate our veterans and the many personal sacrifices they made for this country.

The bad

Don’t mess with my contacts! Minnesota native Glenn Smith, 50, was arrested last week after he threatened to behead his girlfriend with a samurai sword because she erased his drug dealer’s number. According to police, Smith’s girlfriend deleted the number and left the house. But when Smith discovered the number was gone, he called and confronted her about it. The girlfriend showed up a short time later and found Smith in the garage sharpening his sword. When she asked how he was doing, Smith held the sword up and said, “Want me to cut your head off?” The woman went into the house, and Smith reportedly followed her, smashing a chair, kicking a coffee table across the room and ripping off the stove hood vent. He then picked up a baseball bat and began smashing objects. Upon arrival, officers took Smith into custody and found methamphetamine in his possession. (That explains it.) Smith was arrested and charged with two counts of making terrorist threats with drug charges pending.

According to the Citizens for Legitimate Government, a spokesman for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart recently announced that three anti-NATO protesters accused of terrorism conspiracy have been held around the clock since Saturday in white-walled observation cells in Chicago where they are isolated from each other and the rest of the inmate population and kept from writing materials, books and all other media. Spokesman Frank Bilecki said Gary Hickerson, acting executive director of the sheriff’s Department of Corrections, admitted to ordering the observation because the defendants are young and because their charges are serious. Bilecki said the decision had nothing to do with behavior while incarcerated and that the State Attorney’s office had no input into the confinement conditions. Is this America?

The ugly

This is why everyone should drive with two hands on the wheel. Varance Hibbett, 33, was arrested last week in Brandon, Fla., after he crashed his vehicle numerous times because he was distracted by beating his girlfriend. According to police, several witnesses saw Hibbett punch the woman riding in the passenger seat and grab her hair while driving down a busy road. During the alleged assault, Hibbett crashed his vehicle into two motorists, a light pole and six vehicles parked at a local car dealership. Hibbett tried to flee the scene, but he was quickly arrested. The female passenger received several injuries to her face and mouth. Hibbett was charged with leaving the scene of an injury accident, leaving the scene of a property damage accident, resisting arrest, battery, driving under the influence involving property damage and driving under the influence causing injury. CV