Winners

It looks like smokers and bar and restaurant owners can exhale now. A weaker version of the Iowa House’s proposed statewide smoking ban, which would have allowed smoking in most bars, casinos and some restaurants during times when people 21 and over are allowed, was rejected by the Iowa Senate last Thursday. The Senate stood by its earlier and stricter proposal of a statewide smoking ban, which included casinos to create a more level playing field for all businesses potentially affected by the ban.

Congratulations to the Drake men’s basketball team for ending its 37-year NCAA Tournament drought. The Bulldogs earned a No. 5 seed and will play Western Kentucky on Friday at 11:30 a.m. Look for area sports bars to be extra busy for lunch that day.

The Iowa Cubs, local Kiwanis Clubs and the 2007-08 class of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute are working together to build the first Miracle League baseball field in Iowa. Officials said the field for handicapped children would be built near Principal Park at a cost of $500,000. Construction will begin next month, and the project is expected to open June 14. The Miracle League is a national youth baseball league for physically and mentally handicapped athletes.

Listen up, bleeding-heart liberals hoping for a dream ticket this November. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama last week said he would not be Hillary Clinton’s running mate should Clinton somehow defeat him for the Democrat nomination for the presidency. Obama said voters must choose between the two for the top spot on the party’s ticket, adding, “I don’t know how somebody who is in second place is offering the vice presidency to the person who is first place.” Amen.

The Polk County Health Department received a $48,035 grant from Mid-Iowa Health Foundation to increase testing of children for elevated blood lead levels and follow-up home inspections for children who have an elevated blood lead level. Doctors say lead poisoning is a serious health risk. In 2006 and 2007, there were 6,955 children in Polk County tested for lead, including 136 who had elevated blood lead levels. Officials say houses built before 1950 are the biggest risk, but any buildings built before 1978 — or about two-thirds of the homes in Polk County — may contain lead paint.

Losers

Todd M. Younk, an 18-year-old senior at Roosevelt High School, was arrested at his mother’s Windsor Heights home last Tuesday night after allegedly sending about 35 threatening text messages to a female student at the University of Northern Iowa, forcing UNI officials to lockdown campus for a few hours. Younk was charged with first-degree harassment, punishable by up to two years in prison and a mandatory fine of $500 to $5,000. Speaking of campus incidents, 20-year-old Jawon Jackson of Waterloo, who is not an Iowa State University student, was arrested Sunday night for carrying a weapon on ISU school grounds and other charges after he allegedly threatened a student at Willow Hall.

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the moral crusading politician who built his career on cracking down on crime and corruption, resigned after allegations that he paid thousands of dollars for a call-girl. The scandal rocked headlines last week because it had three things that sell news: sex, politics and a moral authority figure getting caught with his pants down. Now we await the sure-to-be-best-selling book by Spitzer’s wife, Silda, and a made-for-television drama.

Hundreds of homeowners last week attended meetings to berate Jake West and Scott Wolfswinkel. The two developers sought public opinion about their proposed Dallas County project that would dam the South Raccoon River west of Iowa Highway 169 to create a series of lakes that would occupy about 3,300 acres. The development would stretch west to Redfield and span from Interstate 80 north beyond U.S. Highway 6. More than 200 homeowners have land in the area, including 32 homes. Developers want to build lakes, thousands of residential lots, a hydroelectric dam, a golf course and a 59-acre island.

Like we needed a reminder of how lame The Des Moines Register has become by relying on narcissistic, uninformative staff blogs instead of reporting. Now the-world-revolves-around-me Iowa Life gang tells readers it is embarking on an “experiment to reduce how often they complain” and they’re keeping, of course, a staff blog to chart the experience. We can only hope it reaches the journalistic integrity of one Iowa Life reporter’s story last week about her baby’s diapers.

Former West Des Moines City Councilman Brad Olson pleaded guilty last week to felony charges of theft after police said he stole nearly $460 worth of medicine from a Hy-Vee store. Olson apologized for the crime, one of several bizarre incidents last year that forced the councilman to resign his post. Olson awaits sentencing, which could include up to five years in prison. CV

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