Saturday, May 18, 2013
Plus, an Ames professor says stores will soon scan your face, a Waukee road project is held up by an endangered bat species, a Johnston dad is in court after his son reportedly took a gun to school, and a West Des Moines math whiz with a perfect score.
Weird howling noises have been heard in Marion for several months. That roaring noise around town is nothing to be alarmed about, says Todd Stiegerwaldt, general manager of the Marion Water Department. The “loud, howling, roaring” noise is pressurized air being released as sand in removed from a new well on Echo Hill Road. The process began in January and should be completed by the end of May. Will Iowa City see parking spaces all over town filled with patios in a few years? Micky's Irish Pub in Iowa City is about to embark on an experiment in drive-up dining: A dining patio built on a parking space in front of its restaurant. The patio is raised up on a platform so it's not literally in the street. Interesting, in a weird way. Weird in a …
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Plus, slacklining hits the University of Northern Iowa, $11,000 worth of shades are stolen from Sunglass Hut, giant chickens are swiped from a West Des Moines Hy-Vee, and Waukee police arrest one man three times in a day.
Hollywood came calling last week. Literally. It's only weird because Iowans are so humble. The actor who played Jethro in "The Beverly Hillbillies" TV series recently contacted the owner of the barbecue joints located in West Des Moines/Waukee, Ankeny, Altoona and Des Moines. Max Baer Jr. called Jethro's owner Bruce Gerleman to chat about how the two might do business. Stay tuned. Is it weird that despite rejections from residents in three communities, a West Des Moines-based company, Wild Rose Entertainment, still wants to build a casino in central Iowa. We'll leave that to the reader to decide. While 60 percent of Warren County voters on Tuesday rejected plans for a Wild Rose casino near Norwalk, developer Gary Kirke says his company is …
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Plus, an Ames woman reportedly fought with three police officers; an Urbandale man rescued from a burning car is in legal trouble again; and a University of Iowa student was charged with stabbing two men after an argument.
Iowa has tickled TV satirist Stephen Colbert's funny bone before, and did it again this week. An Iowa hospital came to the attention of Colbert, host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," for all the wrong reasons. "A hospital is no place to be sick, especially if you are an undocumented worker in Iowa," Colbert said during a segment called "The Word." Colbert skewered Iowa Methodist Medical Center, which is part of the Unity Point network that has a clinic in Ankeny, following a news report that the hospital sent the two undocumented patients, who were seriously injured in a car wreck in rural Iowa, in a private jet back to Mexico. Taking a pummeling literally was Cedar Falls. Some serious hail fell on the Cedar Valley early in the …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
As weird as ever, Iowa never disappoints -- in case you missed the recap over the weekend.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
As weird as ever, Iowa never disappoints.
It would be weird if there wasn't just a bit of mayhem in Ames during VEISHEA weekend. So, it's not surprising that two vehicles were flipped on their sides on Welch Avenue and Sunset Drive last week, according to the Ames Police Department. Joshua Thomas Ryan, 22, of Spencer, was charged with second-degree criminal mischief in the Welch Avenue incident. A group of people were seen rocking a vehicle until it flipped on its side about midnight April 20 in the 300 block of Welch Avenue. The second car was flipped about 2:30 a.m. at 2035 Sunset Drive. The iPad can do everything, it seems, including saving a user from getting smashed in the face with a foul ball. The device proved to be more than a way to take pictures for a man at a recent …
Saturday, April 20, 2013
As weird as ever, Iowa never disappoints.
It's been a challenging week for our country, so we hope a little dose of Iowa's beautiful weirdness can bring a smile to your face. Let's start with Iowa weird weather, which frankly is always weird. But this truly stands out. Eastern Iowa was hammered with rain this week causing flooding that closed roads, destroyed basements and otherwise rankled life. But, that's not weird. That's terrible, right? Here's the weird part. How often do you hear about a mudslide in Iowa? In Iowa City, the heavy rain loosened the ground, causing tons of mud to slide down a steep hill next to University of Iowa's Mayflower Residence Hall. The mud dumped 5-feet deep in some part of the parking lot, covering some cars. Next up, gold medalist Gabby Douglas' …
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Also, a Waukee summer camp to straighten out disrespectful teens, an Urbandale man who allegedly tossed drugs out a car window, and a wedding at a Las Vegas Denny's restaurant.
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Nothing weird about that. Unless it's the first of its kind, such as the Ames couple who traded in their wedding cake for Pancake Puppies last week when they were the first couple to be married in a Denny's in-house wedding chapel. Nancy Levandowski and Steven Keller are food-lovers who had been captivated by the idea of having a wedding in a place they thought really reflected what they were about. It's not weird that someone suspected in a theft would be banned from a store. So, a Des Moines man won't see a "helpful smile in every aisle" after he was banned indefinitely from all Hy-Vee properties. The cause was the man's suspected role in an attempted theft at a West Des Moines Hy-Vee store. The man …
Saturday, April 6, 2013
And, a woman was mistaken for an Indiana prison inmate, while Fidel Castro was arrested in Johnston.
Who knew you could party too much in Iowa City? Weird, right? The scourge of roving drunks on the Pedestrian Mall looking for the greasy food and available bathrooms they need to keep the night going have caused problems for the downtown Capanna coffee and Wedge Pizzeria locations. The intoxicated guests have used tables without ordering, knocked over signs, and destroyed bathrooms. This has led the businesses to close two hours early on Fridays and Saturdays, at 10 p.m. instead of midnight. Next up, weird tattoos. A Waukee mom told West Des Moines police her 16-year-old daughter was tattooed even though she isn't legally old enough to get inked without a parent’s consent. The 11th-grader at Waukee High School reportedly received a large …
Saturday, March 30, 2013
And, a weird mystery still surrounds the resigning-unresigning-resigning again superintendent.
Oh Jerry Springer, how did I know one day you'd wind up in our Weird Iowa series. Fights are standard fair among guests on "The Jerry Springer Show," a TV talk show where guests work out their personal problems for the world to see. Well, it appears some of that spilled out of the TV in West Des Moines. An argument that started over an episode of “The Jerry Springer Show” ended when a woman reportedly chased her alleged abuser out of her apartment with a knife, leaving a trail of blood behind and causing him to run away and hide in another unit, according to police. Next up, let's go with political weirdness. In Cedar Falls, the weird story of the day is a flap between the school board and the first-year (and final-year) superintendent. …
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Plus, the Urbandale Citigroup office had drugs mailed to it, Waukee students chose to spend their spring break learning, and an Iowa City woman facing drug charges once told police the cocaine found in her house was baking soda used for toothpaste.
Ouch. March Madness is known for office betting and … the most vasectomies performed in any month. Eww. True, and weird. A West Des Moines urology clinic’s March Madness-themed advertising campaign aims to nudge men into undergoing a vasectomy. The clinic's ad touts a great benefit: “Your excuse to stay on the couch and watch the games,” the announcer cajoles in an ad for The Iowa Clinic. Clinic urologists perform more vasectomies in March than at other times of the year. This winter has been weird by starting late and hanging on into spring. The Des Moines metro is vying against Minneapolis in the Weather Channel's own version of March Madness and Ankeny Patch is looking for your votes. In honor of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, weather.…
