Results tagged “Flood”

Here's your Sunday earworm: Iowa's own Leslie Hall & LY's, "How We Go Out, Version 2"

The glittery treasure from Ames was also recently featured on CNN and in Salon.

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A piece ran last Saturday in the the WaPo that described how the Obama administration is seeking to provide more transparency in U.S. citizen surveillance programs. Several things of interest in this one.

U.S. citizens need to know that that it does not matter if they as individuals have consented to government monitoring. If they write to any government employee, and that e-mail is opened on a government computer, one-party consent (that given by the employee) is enough for monitoring of the message.

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Blog for Iowa announced that the AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh elected its first woman (and youngest ever) secretary-treasurer. Congratulations to Liz Shuler, who was elected by unanimous consent.

Congratulations also to Arlene Holt-Baker, who was elected as the organization's second female executive vice president.

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The Gazette has a list of the individuals who filed for seats on the Cedar Rapids City Council. The most important part of the report is in paragraph four:

Kathy Potts, a candidate in the five-candidate field in council District 3 that includes two current council members, is the only woman among the 17 candidates.

Well, on the bright side, I guess Cedar Rapids women won't have to divide their support between a bunch of candidates. Congratulations, Kathy, and best wishes for the election!

In the suburb of Marion, there are three council seats available -- At Large, Ward 2 and Ward 4 -- and not a single woman among the candidates.

If you want to check out the rest of Linn County, the Auditor's Office has a complete list of seats up for election and candidates that have filed.  

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Gazette columnist Todd Dorman has a list of the flood consultants hired by Cedar Rapids -- something he requested about a month ago. Dorman notes that the city narrowly defined the word consultant and did not include "contractors, monitors and inspectors" on the list he was provided. Nonetheless, it is quite interesting.

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The Safeguard Iowa Partnership has a new Web site that the organization believes will provide easier access to disaster-related information and news.

The group is a coalition of the state's business and government leaders, working together to "prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from catastrophic events in Iowa." It was created in 2007 by the Iowa Business Council and representatives from state agencies.

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Lawyers USA has a post about converting tweets into clients that features Des Moines intellectual property attorney Brett Trout (@bretttrout), who has pulled six clients from twitter in the past 18 months.

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The fact that Iowans should not be sending photos, even when asked to do so, of an erect penis made USA Today. 

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The Mason City Globe Gazette ran an article on how state budget cuts are incentives for local 4-H groups to "urbanize."

This Sunday's earworm is a little bit different. I had found this video in January, shortly after my brother-in-law died, while looking for videos of great black gospel singers. The moment I learned of the Iowa Supreme Court decision on Friday, Rev. Barbara Haynes once again began singing in my head.

Here is Rev. Barbara Haynes of Metropolitan Community Church Los Angeles -- an openly gay born-again Christian -- singing "My God Is Real." Enjoy. (Cathy, I cannot listen to this without thinking of you and missing Jimmie.)

A great deal of the discussion regarding the decision released in Iowa on Friday has been centered around the reaction of the religious community and those of individuals who identify with the Republican Party. While those do seem to be the most organized groups voicing opposition, we should not lose sight of the fact that there are many individuals within the Republican Party who supported the Supreme Court's decision just as there were organized branches of religion doing the same.

Rev. Rich Pleva, United Church of Christ Iowa conference minister, said, "Words can hardly express how delighted and relieved I am for same sex couples in Iowa -- more than a few of whom are my friends -- for whom the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling is a gift."

Pleva has invited Rev. Mike Schuenemeyer, the UCC's minister for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender concerns, to come to Iowa next week and meet with clergy and lay leaders to discuss the court decision as well as the possible diverse reactions to it. 

"Laws that exclude same-sex couples from the fundamental right to marry cannot be allowed to stand," Schuenemeyer said. "Regardless of how one feels about marriage, this ruling affirms the essential value of America that our laws must protect everyone equally and they must treat everyone with the same dignity, respect, rights and responsibilities." 

The United Church of Christ has 179 local churches in Iowa. In addition, Grinnell College is historically affiliated with the UCC.

And the UCC isn't the only religious group voicing support for marriage equality in Iowa.

"I take heart in these signs of the moral arc of the universe bending toward justice," said Rev. William Sinkford, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

In Cedar Rapids Friday evening, lead plantiffs Trish and Kate Varnum attended a celebratory rally at People's Church in downtown -- a Unitarian Universalist congregation. In addition to the handmade signs in the church, the pulpit there has long been flanked by two large banners proclaiming equality, love, justice, hope and a myriad of other words.

There is also a push within the Episcopalian community to approve gay marriage at their summer convention.

I don't speak of things related to faith very often on this blog. The absence is largely intentional as I continue each day to struggle for an answer as to who I am and what I believe... also how the things that I believe fit into the larger community.

What I do understand very well, however, is being a part of a church where sentiments toward justice, love, generousity and kindness rose in contradiction to what I read in holy texts and what I felt in my own heart. There is a great deal of pain involved in leaving a church community and joining another. But for those who are considering, you should also know there is an immense lightening of the heart as well.

Iowan Shane Vander Hart, a person who does not agree with the SC decision, did a little out-loud thinking on what, if anything, he might say in church this morning. Vander Hart also links to Evangelicals Anonymous, where there is a blog post that expresses both discontent with the SC decision and some musings on what a good response looks like. 

I think it will definitely be a little hard to make a good response, when there are folks like Rod Dreher who seems to believe that acknowleding the civil rights of certain groups infringes on his right to be a bigot. As a woman, let me assure Dreher that the laws affirming equal rights don't stop people from saying and doing discriminatory things.

There were also several references -- roll-your-eyes-supposed-jokes -- about the number of livestock animals in Iowa and how that influenced the justices' opinions. These types of things do nothing to advance the dialogue of civil rights, but serve only as fear mongering.

Speaking of saying and doing things that aren't necessarily appropriate or truthful... Andrew Sullivan, via an e-mail from Evan Wolfson, documents who has been writing these supposed "decisions by activist judges." Hint: The Iowa decision was penned by Justice Mark Cady, who was appointed in 1998 by then Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican. 

The national media, of course, is attempting to draw the dots between the SC decision and the 2012 Iowa caucuses. Once more, and for the record, most of the national political media aren't from Iowa, do not necessarily want Iowa to continue its first-in-the-nation status, and would be willing to give it to any state providing the climate was such to prevent them from dealing with ice and snow. The question here is not if the Iowa decision will impact the 2012 caucuses, but how the Iowa decision will impact the Republican Party of Iowa, which has been nearly dismembered by the ongoing tug-of-war in its own ranks.

If this decision prompts certain angry and seemingly unjustified statements from RPI and local leadership, watch for even more moderate Republicans to stream away from party politics in search of something less religious and more politically minded. 

Steve Buttry of the Cedar Rapids Gazette believes that "Iowa has more important fights than marriage rules." Thanks, Steve. As resident of the flood-striken corridor, I whole-heartedly agree that we have more pressing matters.

Due to those "more pressing matters," let me echo the words of Iowa Sen. Matt McCoy, who encouraged visitors to consider Iowa. As we continue our recovery from the 2008 floods, we could use your help. Come visit. Spend a night in one of hotels or bed and breakfasts. Take in a show. Attend a festival. Go out to dinner or try your luck at a casino. Travel Iowa.

On Wednesday the Cedar Rapids City Council will likely finalize a nine-member committee to provide oversight of revenue generated from the local-option sales tax (LOST) approved March 3.

(As a side note, this committee will only oversee the revenue received by Cedar Rapids and not the other areas of Linn County that approved the tax on March 3, or any other areas that may approve the tax at a later date.)

The names announced during a special council meeting on Monday are:

• Stephen Hammes (3-year term)
• Jeffery Beer (3-year term)
• Gary Ficken (3-year term)
• Sandee Skelton (2-year term)
• Jeff Palmer (2-year term)
• Charles Watkins (2-year term)
• Heather Schoonover (1-year term)
• Elizabeth Hladky (1-year term)
• Markell Kuper (1-year term)

Some residents of flood-impacted areas have already raised concerns that those offering oversight are not representative enough of the flooded areas of the city -- that they were not either personally impacted by the June floods or that they are not in a socio-economic class that would afford them understanding of most who were flooded.

My first thought upon seeing the list is how unbalanced it is from a gender standpoint.   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, just over half of the population of Cedar Rapids is comprised of women. One third of the LOST oversight committee is comprised of women -- and all of their terms end within two years. If those who drop from the committee are not replaced by women, then it is likely the full oversight will be in the hands of males.

Why does this make a difference? Many of the services negatively impacted by the flood are services that are traditionally decided upon by women members of households -- child care and health care chief among them. Also, it is widely known that after any humanitarian crisis, including natural disasters, the most vulnerable within a community bear the brunt of the hardship. Like it or not, the most vulnerable members of society continue to be women and children.

Outside of the initial concerns, there is also a long-term reason why women should be equally represented in government committees and commissions: they are equal partners. We want to develop communities that are vibrant and diverse. We do that by allowing as many voices as possible to be heard. We do that through inclusion. 

It seems that since the flood in Cedar Rapids that I'm greeted by something new every time I venture into downtown. On Saturday night, as I drove through Cedar Rapids on my way home from Des Moines, a beautiful Christmas tree was on display on Mays Island. It was breathtaking against the newly fallen snow and Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the background. It was so beautiful that I pulled to the side of the bridge then exited my car so that I could drink in the sights for a few minutes.

There are small things that I notice now that I didn't before. Maybe this is because I'm on the lookout for things, or maybe it is because even the little things seem more important and vulnerable now. In any event, I was captivated by steam rising from a street grate and almost missed the series of four ice sculptures sitting on the corner of 3rd Ave. and 2nd St.

I snapped a few pictures and then sat down on a nearby bench to check the shots. Up and down 3rd Ave. the trees have been strung with tiny white holiday lights. I decided to walk back toward the bridge, with the intention of trying to take a photograph of the Christmas tree on the island, and hoping to capture the lighted tree on top of Quaker in the distance. When I reached the intersection of 1st St. and 3rd Ave., I saw one of the strung trees on 3rd Ave. that had been engulfed in red "caution" fencing and traffic cones. It had a mid-size backhoe sitting nearby, which I'm sure didn't offer much protection from the winter elements. Still, the scene rather epitomized the state of life for much of Cedar Rapids.

On Wednesday afternoon a small but mighty group gathered in Marion to begin statewide discussions on the plight of women, the challenges facing organizations that serve women and the legislative targets and goals that will soon be developed by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women.

The meeting, organized and hosted by the state agency, marked the first time in roughly 30 years that public hearings were held outside of the state's centralized metro area. Next week the Commission will continue public hearings in the cities of Urbandale and Storm Lake.

What may come as a surprise to those who have not sat in on such meetings is that abortion -- that hot-button issue that seems to emerge during each election season -- was not a topic of discussion. Those who attended the meetings -- representatives from the Iowa Department of Corrections, the Domestic Violence Intervention Program, the Iowa Policy Project, Five Giant Steps, the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence among others -- were instead fixated on the kitchen table issues that adversely affect women in Iowa. This is not to say that women's health, including reproductive health, was not a concern among those in attendance. It was just that this group of women and one man, Commissioner Tom Carnahan of Davenport, understand that reproductive health is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to women's issues.

Robin Robinson, project manager for Five Giant Steps, provided the Commission with information related to early childhood development that was specific to Linn County. This project, which was born from the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber's and the Cedar Rapids Community Foundation's Fifteen in 5 initiative, focuses on the area's youngest residents.

"[Five Giant Steps] is an information conduit and we are responding to current needs, such as in relation to the flood recovery efforts in this area," Robinson said.

Robinson presented the Commission members and other meeting participants with printed documents outlining the current state of child care programs in Cedar Rapids and Palo following the June floods. The 2008 floods, according to those documents, affected local licensed and registered child care settings that serve a total of 1,547 children. Of that total amount, 32 percent are child care settings that had major flood damage and have subsequently closed. To date, it is uncertain if these providers will re-open and again service the community. An additional 16 percent also suffered major damage, have not yet restarted operations, but plan to be operational at some point this fall.

Flooding also impacted services being offered by the Domestic Violence Intervention Program, which serves Cedar, Iowa, Johnson and Washington counties, as well as the Cedar Rapids-based Waypoint Services, according to Kristie Fortmann-Doser, DVIP executive director. The most pressing need this organization has going into the 2008 legislative session, however, is monetary.

"Since 2002 nine dual -- domestic violence and sexual assault -- programs have closed or been forced to merge with other programs in state because of lack of funding," Fortmann-Doser said. "During a time when DVIP has seen a nearly 100 percent increase in services in the four county area we serve, the program has lost roughly $140,000 in funding from the state. These monies in the past have been offset through the Iowa Attorney General's Office, but it is our understand that offset will no longer be available."

Without the offset and while facing further federal and state funding cuts, the program is facing a potential 41 percent funding loss.

The Commission was also given a glimpse into Iowa wage equity from Beth Pearson of the Iowa Policy Project. Despite women comprising nearly half of the state's workforce, according to Pearson, disparities persist between the genders.

"For instance, although women in Iowa are more likely than men to receive a post-secondary education, they are also more likely to be in poverty and to earn a lower wage than male peers," Pearson said, citing her organization's recent study on women and the economy.

She recommended the Commission look at policies that would provide paid family leave for women in the workforce.

One of the problems outlined by many in attendance is that women seeking services in Iowa (as well as many women incarcerated in Iowa) have dual barriers. For instance, not only may a woman be a victim of sexual violence, but she might also be a substance abuser. A woman who is earning less and trying to work her way out of poverty might be hampered by problems associated with finding and affording quality child care or transportation to a higher paying job. In this way, many of the issues surrounding the betterment of women as a whole are multifaceted and don't lend themselves to single solutions.

The Iowa Commission on the Status of Women will continue to host the public hearings and then will develop their legislative priorities for the 2008 session.

"You see, that's the problem," said Ed when he stopped mowing long enough to accept a bottle of cold water. "Everything has changed. What's the world coming to when a man can't even tend his yard without a reporter asking him why he's doing it?"

Ed, who asked that his last name not be used, is one of thousands of residents who had a home or business within the more than nine square miles of Cedar Rapids that was directly impacted by the June floods. Like so many of his neighbors, family and friends, he is stuck in a waiting game.

"No one knows what the city is going to do," he said. "I can't get a straight answer from our insurance company, and the federal programs seem to be linked [to what the insurance companies decide]. We've done what we can -- got our stuff that wasn't ruined out and tried to gut the worst of the damage. Now we wait and see if we have something that we're going to be able to save."

It's been eight weeks since the Cedar River reached a record-breaking 31.2 feet in Cedar Rapids. And, while progress has definitely been made and is continuing to be made in the recovery effort, mental health providers are preparing for different type of crest.

"We are still at the point where we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg," said Cindy Kaestner, executive director of Abbe Center for Community Mental Health. "There are beginning to be increased calls from some of the service providers, but its still too early to even get a handle on what we think volume is going to be."

From speaking with mental health professionals in other states who have already gone through a natural disaster, Kaestner said similar professionals in Iowa believe a spike in those seeking and/or needing mental health services will take place between three and six months after such an event takes place.

"The timing has to do with the fact that there are basic concrete things that individuals focus on first," she said. "There is that whole initial phase of shock, but then people move on to the nuts and bolts of finding out what they can do with their property. There are certain phases to disaster cycles that people go through and that the communities go through."

Kaestner said that when reality does set in, it is typically an economic one that can result in several manifestations or triggers.

"People are starting to get the economic information now and, unfortunately, there aren't going to be quick answers to the government buy-out situation or to questions about the fate of specific neighborhoods," she said. "Some people may now know or will soon learn how much they are eligible for through the government programs, insurance or other programs. Many times, there are going to be gaps. So, the financial realities start to become very evident. That's when people start to see just how difficult this is going to be."

In other communities that have dealt with natural disasters, the wake of the event left a trail of increased substance abuse, more incidents of domestic violence and, in general, people with short fuses.

"A lot of people do fine day-to-day while everything is clicking along, particularly on a financial level when they have jobs and money coming in," Kaestner said. "Those individuals may not have needed any extra support or extra assistance in terms of mental or behavioral health needs. But if they've now lost their job -- even those individuals who did not experience the flood at their residence, but their business or place of employment was affected -- and there is no longer any income. That situation is going to create additional stress that may be just enough to create additional problems elsewhere in their life. So, historically that person may not have needed extra assistance, but this was just one more thing that may tip the scale."

As people work through their personal aftermath with the flood, Kaestner said, the reactions, both good and bad, will be born of the individual's interests and circumstance.

"I think [in terms of the man mowing the yard around his damaged house] that this was probably the one thing he could control," she said. "You know, he could make his yard look nice. It could also be that this was an activity that he particularly enjoyed. I've heard people remark as they've been out looking at the flood-affected neighborhoods about how nice the yards look. 'Just look at how nice that yard looks. They obviously want back in their home. They have so much pride in this piece of property.' My guess would be that it makes these individuals feel better to do something, to have control over one aspect of what's going on. When people can do something concrete, it makes them feel like they are moving forward."

Although family members and close friends may be the first to notice a person consistently acting in ways outside of his or her normal character, individuals can still take stock of the amount of focus they are able to put into activities they've typically enjoyed.

"Perhaps you are a person that has typically read novels for enjoyment, but now you find that you can't concentrate or focus on what you're reading," she said. "When you can no longer find enjoyment in the things that you previously like to do, that can signal problem. Also, if you are having trouble sleeping or sleeping too much. Maybe your appetite has been affected. These can all be signs that a person is having a difficult time dealing with the current situation and may need some support.

"By that same token, some individuals may respond by engrossing themselves in books or whatever they find enjoyable. That can be a problem too when it is being used as a way to completely escape and not deal with the current reality."

The Abbe Center is the lead organization in Linn, Benton and Jones counties for federally-funded crisis counseling in the wake of the floods. In other counties that have received a Presidential disaster declaration, there are other community mental health organizations leading the local program. In the coming weeks, these organizations hope to establish grassroots support networks for those dealing with the aftermath of both the flooding and tornado disasters in Iowa. Sometimes, according to Kaestner, a person just needs an opportunity to talk to other people and tell his or her story.

"You'd be amazed how much it can help to just tell someone else what you are going through," she said.

The federal grants, which came into Iowa through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, totaled $350,855 as of Aug. 1. The six organizations in addition to the Abbe Center that have contracted to provide stress counseling services are:

• Pathways Behavioral Services -- Bremer, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw and Floyd counties
• ResCare Inc. -- Des Moines, Lee, Louisa, Mahaska and Wapello counties
• Backbone Area Counseling Center -- Allamakee, Clayton, Delaware, Fayette and Winneshiek counties
• Waubonsie Mental Health Clinic -- Adams, Fremont, Mills Page and Union counties
• Mid-Eastern Iowa Mental Health Center -- Cedar and Johnson counties
• Mental Health Clinic of Tama County -- Jasper and Tama counties

Individuals seeking crisis-counseling assistance can contact the providing organization directly or may phone the Iowa Concern Hotline at 1-800-447-1985. The hotline is operated by Iowa State University Extension Outreach.