Winners

Barring a pair of losses in Missouri Valley Conference play against the scrappy Drake Bulldogs, the men’s University of Northern Iowa basketball team and Panther fans everywhere can celebrate their first mythical state basketball championship after wins against Iowa State and Iowa. For the past three years, the Panthers have arguably been one of the best, if not the best men’s college basketball team in the state, earning three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, but they couldn’t quite get over the hump in interstate play. Expectations weren’t quite as high for this year’s Panther team with the return of only two starters and a valuable point guard from the bench, yet already they did something former coach Greg McDermott and ex-star guards Ben Jacobsen and Erick Crawford couldn’t do — beat the Hawkeyes and Cyclones. On Nov. 29, the Panthers whipped the Cyclones at home 70-57 and last Wednesday they earned their first-ever win at Iowa, 57-55. And though some pundits (and clueless media) might argue victories over those large schools don’t mean as much because they’re rebuilding, it doesn’t change the fact that those who wear purple and gold have some overdue bragging rights coming their way.

Using cell phones can lower rates of certain cancers. We’re not kidding. A recent study of Danish cell phone users found no increased risk of tumors or leukemia, contradicting the fears of many who are seemingly addicted to talking on their mobiles. In the group of over 420,000 participants, approximately 14,000 cancers were found, which is less that what would be expected in the general population. Cell phone users were not found to have a higher risk of brain tumors, acoustic neuromas, salivary gland tumors, eye tumors, or leukemias. This is certainly good news for the 219 million cell phone users here in the United States. And it is great news for the wireless industry. The bad news is that frequent cell phone users are more prone to car accidents and longer honey-do lists.

The Des Moines Art Center announced the acquisition of an iconic Cubist print by Pablo Picasso. The print, titled “Nature Morte à la Bouteille de Vieux Marc,” 1911, is widely considered the artist’s most important Cubist print and was held in the artist’s private collection until his death in 1973, according to the art center. The print was purchased with funds from the Bohen Art Fund, which was established through the Mildred M. Bohen trust agreement of 1979, allowing the Art Center to sell select works of art from her bequest with the proceeds going to purchase works of art from the same period. This impression of the print was previously owned by Marina Picasso, the artist’s granddaughter. This is the thirteenth work by Pablo Picasso to enter the permanent collections. The new Picasso print is currently on view.

Filmmaker Mel Gibson, who made recent news with his drunken, anti-Semitic tirades, topped the box office this past weekend with his brutal flick, “Apocalypto.” Haven’t heard much about it? Neither have we, and that’s no surprise. After all, who really wants to see a film with a cast of unknowns, based on an obscure subject, with subtitles? Even the film’s distributor, Walt Disney, expressed concern over how the film would do. But $14.2 million in box-office receipts shows that there’s still interest in the man whose early career took him to Thunderdome as Mad Max. And Mel was willing to roll the dice on the project, financing the film himself. If this is any example, Michael Richards may still have a future after all.

Losers

Des Moines’ property owners can expect a tax increase next year to help the city reduce its $316.6 million debt, according to a report given to City Council members last week. The tax rate is expected to increase by 30 cents per $1,000 of valuation, which will hit the pocketbook of an owner of a home assessed at $100,000 by about $15 more per year. And although this may not seem like much, we are told that increases will continue if spending is not controlled better than it has. Despite a decrease in recent years, Des Moines tax rates continue to be one of the highest in the state. As a result, council members can’t find fault with those residents who continue to flee to the ’burbs.

The number of possible E. coli cases related to Taco Bell restaurants passed 200, but health departments reported 290 potential cases of the food poisoning, mostly in New Jersey and New York. Cases have also been confirmed in Pennsylvania, Delaware, South Carolina and Utah. Similar incidents in years past at other restaurant chains have kept customers away for as long as a year. The E coli has been linked to green onions, which have been removed from all 5,982 Taco Bell restaurants in the United States and Canada.

And while we are on the subject of restaurants, here’s some advice for criminals who attempt a break in: Don’t use your body as an instrument to break glass during a robbery. A genius on Des Moines’s south side apparently attempted just that when he (or she) left a bloody mess and broken glass scattered about the Papa Johns restaurant on S.W. 9th. CV

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