1 Not so fast

As the campaign to banish child molesters from metro neighborhoods that are home to schools or daycare centers began in earnest last week, the Iowa Civil Liberties Union officially filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, alleging the 2,000-foot ban is not only a law enforcement nightmare, but also an unconstitutional punishment, making it nearly impossible for many ex-offenders to live within the city limits.

2 Jackass times two

The same week the Des Moines City Council approved a video-production company's bid to crash a motorcycle from the seventh floor of a downtown parking garage for their "Bad Kids" film, Des Moines police got a hold of a video that epitomized the concerns of child safety advocates who opposed the "Bad Kids" approval on the grounds that it provoked copycat behavior. Noting the similarities to such "Jackass" tactics, DMPD charged several teens with criminal mischief after they filmed themselves jumping from roofs, playing chicken with motorists and vandalizing a gazebo.

3 She's with me

While Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin was "unable to conclude that a Roberts Court would guarantee the rights of powerless" and voted against his confirmation, John Roberts was sworn in as the 17th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court last week.President Bush then proceeded to nominate Harriett Miers for the associate judge opening, a woman whose main qualification is her gig as the president's personal lawyer.

4 Rubber meets the road

With the cost of gas rising and the cyclist body count mounting, the city made it a whole lot easier to get around the metro on two wheels, using $50,000 in federal money to mount bike racks on 80 metro buses that debuted this week.

5 When it rains...

Never mind that the Coralville rainforest project has been on life support since it was born, pork-happy D.C. bureaucrats like Sen. Chuck Grassley are leaning toward the "we need funds for hurricane relief" as an excuse to give Ted Townsend's pie-in-the-sky project the Dr. Kervorkian treatment it truly deserves.

6 Throw the (text) book at 'em

Roosevelt High School officials suspended students for being on school grounds after dark last week. The menacing teenagers were following the long-standing tradition of TP-ing the school's front lawn to celebrate homecoming festivities instead of impregnating each other, smoking crack or getting hammered.

7 Elder affairs

A certified nurse aide was allegedly caught raping a disabled woman who was left in his care at an Adair nursing home. Frank Daugard Jr., 44, was charged Wednesday with sexual exploitation by a care provider and third-degree sexual abuse for allegedly having sex with a female resident with a degenerative brain disorder that often leads to dementia and a complete loss of mobility. The woman is unable to speak.

8 S-s-sue

Last week the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the alleged victims of a 1939 stuttering study, in which psychological pressure was used to induce children to stutter, at the University of Iowa should be able to sue. Several of the participants claim that they suffered lasting damage as a result of the study.

9 Those kind don't actually count

The Iowa State football team went into Lincoln, Neb., to try to beat the once-mighty Cornhuskers for the first time in decades and show who the more dominant team in the Big XII North pillow-fight is. But in the end, despite having the game in hand, the squad choked. Still, coaches, players and fans managed to chalk it up as a "moral" victory.

10 Boring teens

U.S. teen pregnancy and birth rates have plummeted to all-time lows. Professionals say it's because teens don't have as much sex as they used to, and when they do, they use birth control more effectively. Keep that grant money coming. CV

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