I wonder how lemon pepper would fare…

This made the front of Digg. From the StarTribune:

While the Iowa Hawkeyes were scoring at will on the field Saturday night, two fans from the Hawkeye State were scoring elsewhere in the Metrodome.

Police say a man and woman were “having relations” in a bathroom stall as a crowd cheered them on.

Ross M. Walsh, 26, of Linden, Iowa, and Lois K. Feldman, 38, of Carroll, Iowa, were cited for misdemeanor indecent conduct. Walsh was released to his girlfriend and Feldman to her husband, police said.

A security guard came upon the scene in the handicapped stall, police said. Police were summoned, and they separated the two.

Both were intoxicated, said University Deputy Police Chief Chuck Miner.

Wow.

Ye gods, this is hilarious.

Thanks to Mr. Tommy Lang for passing this one along.

From Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan’s weekly email blast comes this factoid:

Taxpayers in Johnson County, Iowa will pay $191.3 million for total Iraq war spending approved to date.
For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:

• 57,241 People with Health Care for One Year OR
• 215,208 Homes with Renewable Electricity for One Year OR
• 4,572 Public Safety Officers for One year OR
• 31,176 Scholarships for University Students for One Year or
• 2,380 Affordable Housing Units OR
• 4,282 Elementary School Teachers for One Year.

That is correct – those figures are the cost for Johnson County alone!
(Source: Costofwar.com)

I’m sure there’s play either way in those numbers, but as a tool of perspective I think it says volumes.

Full disclosure – I am the webmaster for Brush Creek Winery, a young Eastern Iowa winery. If you’re in the area or looking for something to do, definitely stop by. The Weustes are great people. The wines are pretty good too…

Came across this blog today, thought it was worth a link:

http://iowacityinsider.blogspot.com/

If you have an Iowa City blog you’d like featured, feel free to comment and I’ll do what I can.

UPDT…Found another myself: The Broken Spoke Blog

Restaurateur awaits refinancing, expects downtown to be revitalized

Last week, a stain 5feet high on the wall of Blend, a restaurant in downtown Cedar Rapids, marked the height of recent floodwaters.

Mud was everywhere, and tables and chairs were “every which way,” said Mark Young, one of three owners.

Today, the place is gutted — clean and decontaminated. “Just about everything came out,” Young said. “A whole lot of work got done in a few days.”

The credit goes to co-owners Andy Deutmeyer and Vic Kuper, the restaurant’s chefs, and their friends and family, said Young, a physician.

Now, the restaurateurs are awaiting refinancing before they hire contractors.
Young hopes a Small Business Administration loan will help the owners get the operation going again.

“If the financing came through relatively quickly, we could be open in two to three months,” Young said. “But that’s a big if.”

The owners never considered closing permanently, Young said. “We were all of one mind about what we would do,” he said.

He believes a revitalized downtown will emerge from the flood devastation. “We have a great opportunity,” Young said. “With the right amount of money and effort, we can build a better downtown.”

Blend’s section begins at :45 and ends at 1:50.

Went to HS with Mr. Kuper. Expect another post advertising their reopening.

40,000 Cubic Feet Per Second

That is what the Coralville Reservoir will be outputting by the peak of this now conclusively historic flood. The scene is strange: sandbags everywhere, the slow creep of the river towards ground I walk over every day, the backup of traffic due to road and bridge closings. And we still have a week to go until the crest.

It’s hard to work during this time, especially with this view out the window:

All University staff located along the river have been asked to “decide which materials you would want to have with you if you are unable to access your office for several weeks.” Thought I’d throw that in just in case you thought “It can’t be that bad…”

And from a Co-worker’s family member, here’s a picture of Downtown Cedar Rapids, specifically 3rd Avenue:

Qwest’s main CO for East Central Iowa is located in this area and is now shut down, so Internet is down for all customers in the region. Not a good time for a web developer.

I will try to keep updating as I am able. For the picture people, the Gazette has tons. So does the Press-Citizen.

I’ve been watching with interest the State’s takeover of the 1-cent local option sales tax, under the guise of ‘funding education’. While not fundamentally opposed to taxation, I am opposed to the idea of redirecting money that is slated for a specific purpose to pet projects or just budget shore-up (usually due to ‘unshoring’ somewhere else), without any explanation. So color me unsurprised by the following development, stated in his usually ‘eloquent’ way by State29: Local Option Sales Tax Money To Be Diverted To Corporate Welfare?

He also links to a resource I had not yet played with: BillWatch (Iowa Legislature). Am interested to see if its worth a damn. I’m guessing that none of the Local Mandatory Sales Tax will be going to foster and ensure transparency tools such as these…

And some is not good.

• Deputies open garage, find 3 dead bodies
  [LaMotte is just up the road from my dad’s cafe]
• Mason City a possible hub for East Coast ethanol pipeline
  via State 29
• ‘Dilbert’ retells story of Iowan fired over comic
  via Digg