Newton
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Daily News
Monday, Sept. 29, 2014
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Newton, Iowa
One dead following high-speed chase in Jasper County By Mike Mendenhall Daily News Staff Writer COLFAX — A Davenport man was killed early Sunday morning at the 155 mile marker on Interstate 80 while fleeing from local and state law enforcement. According to a report released by the Iowa State Patrol, 26-year-old Scott A. Trimble lost control of his four-door Lincoln after hitting stopping sticks posted by Mitchellville Police. The driver continued to evade officers eastbound on I-80 at a high rate of speed until losing control of his vehicle near Colfax at 2:48 a.m. The report states the subject’s car “vaulted” across the median, impacting a semi-truck in the westbound lane. Trimble was pronounced dead at the scene by the state medical examiner. Trimble’s passenger was injured and transported to Skiff Medical Center in Newton by ambulance. The driver of the semi was unharmed. The ISP report does not indicate why police originally pursued Trimble.
Mike Mendenhall/Daily News Council Bluffs-area author John Price reads an excerpt from his anthology “ The Tallgrass Prairie Reader” at the annual Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge Bison Day, Saturday. The free event is a way to spotlight refuge exhibits and educate visitors on the role Bison play in prairie restoration.
Where the buffalo roam
‘Fast and Furriest’ run set for Saturday
Bison Day teaches refuge visitors animals’ role on prairie By Mike Mendenhall Daily News Staff Writer PRAIRIE CITY — In the courtyard of the Prairie Learning Center at the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge Saturday, facility manager Lance Koch pulled a long willow tree branch out of an old U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pickup bed and stripped the limb of foliage with a pocket knife. Nearby, Wildlife Refuge Specialist Richard Hager shaped the branches into a recreation of a Native American Wigwam. He draped a buffalo hide over the shelter’s frame — a material which encloses the traditional prairie dwelling. Saturday was Koch’s third day on the job as the refuge’s new manager, transferring from an 11,000 acre marshland refuge in Florida. The Neal Smith facility is his first posting on the prairie, and this weekend was Koch’s first experience at the refuge’s
annual Bison Day. Hager said the refuge Bison herd is an important tool in bringing plant diversity to the prairie restoration site. Prairie fires and Bison, he said, work interchangeably to purge the landscape of dead and invasive plants allowing the native flora to return. “Bison Day helps people understand the role Bison have in the prairie. They are an integral part in keeping it viable by causing disturbance and generate renewal,” Hager said. “They gave new species a chance to start over again by grazing the park lands, allowing new things can come up. It’s all about renewal.” The annual event began in the early 2000s as a way to increase the refuge profile and highlight the facility’s 67 Bison. Bison Day volunteers through Friends of the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge doubled since last year, and Refuge Assistant Manger Cheryl
By Ty Rushing Daily News Senior Staff Writer
Groom said more than 100 visitors had walked through the door by noon. Saturday’s demonstrations such as the Wigwam, hide cutting and Bison burgers inform visitors of many traditional uses for Bison resources. Under a tent outside the learning center, rope maker Milton Vos, of Peoria, stretched three strands of sisalana twine on a 1901 crank system. The demonstration allowed young refuge visitors the opportunity to make their own rope by turning the crank and twisting the twine together. His second year at Bison Day, Vos said the activity highlights the Native American’s uses for rope on the prairie. According to Koch, it’s estimated that 20 to 30 million Bison once roamed the prairie and great plains of the western United States.
Can your Rover run? Is your Fido the fastest? Do you want to show off that your dog is no last place Lassie? Then bring your canine friend to the “Fast and the Furriest” Dog Run/Walk set to begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at Agnes Patterson Park. This will be the fifth year for the event, and all of the proceeds are used to benefit the Newton Dog Park, 3387 Highway F-48 West. It costs $15 for those who register before Saturday and $20 on the day of the run. Registered participants will receive a commemorative Tshirt and there will be treats for all of the furry runners. Additional T-shirts may be purchased for $10 with sizes ranging from small to XXL. Since the race is 1.5 miles, the event’s organizers, the Newton Dog Park Committee, is advising interested parties to start running or walking with their pet now if they don’t already. Participants also need to provide their pet’s latest vaccination reports, which must be turned in either prior to the race or the day of. If owners don’t have the records, their dog
BISON See Page 3A
FURRIEST See Page 3A
Getting people downtown big focus for Newton Main Street By Jamee A. Pierson Daily News Staff Writer
Through work on several different committees, the Newton Main Street organization has established its goals and objectives for future. The economic restructuring committee is focused on business retention for the coming year. It wants to identify consumer and business market niches and organize regular business visits by Main Street
committee members. “(We want to) do what we can to strengthen existing businesses in the district,” Andrew Bassman, director of Newton Main Street said. The committee will work to initiate a block captain program in the district as well as evaluate the hours that businesses that are open. Upper-floor development as another objective the committee will tackle in the coming years.
“There is a lot of underutilized space in the downtown on the second floor,” Bassman said. The committee will begin by proposing an ordinance to prohibit first-floor residential establishments in the downtown district. They will also identify which buildings have two or more floors and if they are being used or not. Second floor housing is an option for the space. If the business owner owns the build-
ing, it puts in place a second source of revenue. “When business is good they still get that cash flow and when business is not so good they still get that steady cash flow,” Bassman said. Education is the focus of the design committee. They want to educate the business and building owners of good and historically appropriate building design with an overall goal of encouraging im-
provement of the Main Street District’s physical appearance. “The downtown, one of its biggest assets is its old buildings. We’d like to see the historic elements of these buildings preserved. It creates a unique experience for the customer, it’s one of the advantages the downtown has over the shopping malls. It creates a fun place to go and do business,” Bassman said. Main Street would like to build a historic
preservation ethic with the building owners which could lead to historic preservation tax credit eligibility for those that participate. Getting people to come downtown is the goal of the promotions committee. Through an image development campaign, the committee will articulate an identity for the downtown based on the strengths it already has. MAIN STREET See Page 3A
New location planned for Jersey Freeze
Tigers hand Cardinals first loss of the season
MONROE — After 14 years at its current location, Jersey Freeze has big changes coming for the 2015 season. | 2A
GILBERT — Two turnovers and two fourth-and four plays turned the tide in a battle of Iowa Class 3A ranked teams Friday. | 1B
INDEX Local News • 2A 7
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Calendar • 5A Obituaries • 5A
Today
High 82 Low 55 State News • 7A Opinion • 4A
Comics & Puzzles • 6A Dear Abby • 6A
Classifieds • 5B Astrograph • 5B
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Volume No. 113 No. 93 2 sections, 16 pages