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Driving distractions get Iowa lawmakers’ attention DES MOINES (MCT) – A public safety officer came to the Legislature Wednesday armed with statistics related to inattentive driving, but it was unclear whether lawmakers are willing to move beyond the current balance between safety concerns and individual freedom this session. Patrick Hoye, chief of the Iowa Governor’s Transportation Safety Bureau, spent a half hour 26 DEATHS detailing the dangers of occured on distracted driving, noting there were 7,357 crashes Iowa roadthat resulted in 3,450 in- ways between juries and 26 deaths on 2003 and Iowa roadways between 2012 because 2003 and 2012. of distracted As a risky behavior, the National Highway driving. Traffic Safety Administration now says driving a vehicle while texting is more dangerous than driving while intoxicated, Hoye told members of the Senate Transportation Committee. He noted that at any daylight moment across America, about 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or other electronic devices while driving and that texting is particularly dangerous because it entails all three types of distractions that reduce the driver’s vision, takes an operator’s
CNA file photo
More than 10 poets took the stage in front of a packed house to read and sing original work during a Creston:Arts poetry slam Dec. 6 at Adams Street Espresso.
Creativity grows community Creston:Arts focuses on community projects in 2014 ■
By SARAH BROWN CNA staff reporter
sbrown@crestonnews.com
For Creston: Arts, each year brings more success than the last. “It was really excellent in 2012. It was really formative,” said Creston:Arts Secretary Brian Zachary. “In 2013 we had some really mature shows and 2014 will be even better.” Better, bigger, more Fundraising will be a major focus for the Creston:Arts council members in 2014. Currently, the council is seeking out space for an art center, where volunteer instructors and staff will offer creative classes this summer for the community. Some potential courses are textile design, papercraft, ceramics, photography, painting, sewing, fiber art and digital art. “We are really excited about it,” said Zachary. In addition to funding, Zachary said Creston:Arts will only be able to pull off events, art programs and extended gallery hours with additional volunteers. No experience is necessary. “They only need to be enthusiastic,” he said.
Zachary also mentioned, any creative person interested in teaching their craft to the community is welcome to discuss that opportunity with the arts council. Making Creston pop Creston:Arts President Blake Fry-Schnormeier is most looking forward to Elm Street mural project, which he hopes to start this spring with the help of community volunteers. The beautification project consists of painting a mural of a historic timeline of Creston on two retaining walls on south Elm Street, north of Highway 34. Fry-Schnormeier would like to see more public art in Creston and hopes to complete a number of mural projects throughout the town in the future. “We have Amtrak that goes through here a few times a day, and we need to think about what outsiders think about when they see our town,” he said. Fry-Schnormeier said the mural project is something anyone can get involved with. “It’s a great way for the community to get involved,” he said. “I think, anytime you get the community together to make small things, collaborate or come together only adds to the quality of life of our Please see ARTS, Page 2
Please see DRIVING, Page 2
Legalizing
hand fishing flops in Iowa Senate
CNA file photo
Creston High School Art Teacher Bailey Fry-Schnormeier, right, and Creston:Arts volunteers chalk a logo and an American flag on the sidewalk in front of First National Bank on Adams Street during Chalk the Town, a community art event held July 5.
Creston:Arts annual public meeting
DES MOINES (MCT) – Don’t expect to see any legal hand-to-fin combat in Iowa anytime soon. A Senate Natural Resources and Environment subcommittee Wednesday put the kibosh on a bill that would have required the state Natural Resource Commission to allow catfish to be taken by hand fishing. “I don’t think this is going to go anywhere,” said subcommittee chairman Sen. Chris Brase, D-Muscatine, after hearing concerns raised by a state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) expert who said most Iowa catfish anglers likely would oppose an activity that could cause local shortages of trophy-size fish. Joe Larscheid, chief of the DNR’s fisheries bureau, said hand fishing – also called noodling, grabbling, hogging or tickling – usually involves catching large blue or flathead catfish by cornering them in a hole or cavity along a river or stream bank, and inserting a hand into the fish’s mouth in order to pull it off a nest of eggs and harvest it.
Where: The Lobby Bar, 301 W. Adams St. When: Saturday, Feb. 1, 7 to 9 p.m. The public is invited to join Creston:Arts volunteers for live music, art, food, drink and a silent auction of work by local artists.
“Our idea is to paint a historical timeline of Creston starting with prairie grasses, an old windmill, stage coach, which lead to a rural farm scene ... incorporate the roundhouse and other historical places in Creston. The future might include a futuristic new-style windmill and other things that represent agriculture with balloons floating in the background.” — Blake Schnormeier, regarding what Creston:Arts will be painting on the white retaining walls on Elm Street.
Please see FISHING, Page 2
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Volume 130 No. 158 Copyright 2014
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Church. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Deaths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
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