The good
Iowa State University has been on a mission to help the City of Ames forward its recycling initiative. Volunteers have been searching for receptacles related to a new laboratory glass recycling effort that both meet their needs and complements current collection efforts and containers used for the City’s efforts. Tidy Cats discovered ISU’s project and found a way to help local shelter cats and ISU at the same time by donating more than 1,000, 38-pound pails of cat litter to Raccoon Valley Animal Sanctuary and Rescue, which will use the litter, then donate the clean, empty pails to ISU.
Iowa men and women serving in the U.S. armed services will receive a special “Home for Holidays” gift from Trans Iowa this holiday season: a free taxi ride home. Des Moines-based Trans Iowa, owners of the Yellow and Capitol Cab franchises, will transport uniformed military personnel from Des Moines International Airport to any location in the Des Moines metro area free of charge. The free rides began Thanksgiving Day and will continue through New Year’s Eve. “In many cases, family, careers and lives have been put on hold to serve our country and keep us safe. We are providing the free rides to recognize, in a small way, the service they provide to our country,” said Trans Iowa President Randy Sackett. Ride on.
The bad
It takes a lot of balls to head-butt a bouncer, even if you are 6’3” and 210 pounds. But sometimes balls outweigh brains, which is perhaps the case for Troy Kifer of West Des Moines. The 22-year-old found himself in jail last week after allegedly assaulting a bouncer at 4th Down Sports Bar downtown. The bouncer, Anthony Peacher, told police that instead of leaving at closing time, Kifer took an unsuccessful swing at him before head-butting him in the face, costing Preacher a tooth. Peacher reportedly responded by pepper-spraying Kifer and tackling him with the help of other employees. Kifer broke free and ran from the bar. But a few minutes later, police were called back to 4th Down to find Kifer had returned outside and was sitting on the curb. He proceeded to threaten and insult the bouncer and the police as he was being arrested. He was charged with first-degree harassment, public intox and assault on a police officer after he also allegedly spit at the back of the cop’s head.
As George W. Bush would say, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me, uh…well you can’t get fooled again.” Apparently China can get fooled again, though. The People’s Daily, China’s leading Communist Party newspaper, ran a story from the American satirical news site, The Onion, that dubbed North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un the “Sexiest Man Alive For 2012.” The Chinese newspaper ran its three-paragraph piece on its website with a 55-photo spread of the “great successor.” This isn’t the first time that the Chinese state press has fallen for The Onion’s satirical humor. In 2002, the “Beijing Evening News” published an article stating that the U.S. Congress was threatening to leave Washington, D.C., if its demands for “a new, state-of-the-art facility are not met.”
The ugly
The Animal Rescue League of Iowa (ARL) in Des Moines assisted Union County officials last week in the removal of six injured and significantly neglected horses from a small property in the southern Iowa town of Lorimor. The horses had been living without food, shelter and veterinary care for an undetermined amount of time and now face a long road to recovery. They were relocated to the ARL’s Kruidenier Rescue Ranch at the main campus where they will receive needed veterinary care, food and shelter. Kent Uitts, 54, of Lorimor, was arrested and charged with six counts of livestock neglect.
Society can be an ugly place to live, but sometimes not as ugly as the alternative. For Bethany Deaton, 27, life on a religious commune meant years of sexual abuse and death. Micah Moore, 23, was charged with Deaton’s murder, although after recently recanting his confession, fingers are now pointing at the prayer group’s leader, Tyler Deaton, the victim’s husband. The three lived together with other male members of the International House of Prayer of Kansas City evangelical Christian group, which focused on missions and preparation for the end of time. They better keep praying. CV
