Have you ever watched a story take shape?

I don’t mean looking over some author’s shoulder as she hacks away at a novel, or listening to the librarians at story time. More like when you’re listening to your grandma and her friends talk about some event of the day.

They go back and forth with facts, sure — who missed birthday club and who was there. Who came late and what they served. But most of the conversation, the negotiation really, is about what all those facts should mean.

Was so-and-so late because she’s lazy or because she’s having a rough time at home? Was that new recipe interesting or inedible? They hash and rehash until they reach a consensus of sorts, like water droplets pulled into a hulking cloud of public opinion.

We do it all the time — at the water cooler, around the dinner table. We mold the facts we’re given into stories that tell us how the world is, or was, or how it ought to be. But, for the most part, we do it unconsciously. Enter a few University of Iowa graduate students, who have started an interesting experiment.

They’re interested in the stories that are taking shape about Iowa City’s increasing racial and economic diversity. They’ve started a collection of sorts — art, journalism, personal stories and film, and posted them on a Web site they intend to be a living, evolving documentation of Iowa City’s changing demographics, and the stories we tell about that evolution.

“This website is our attempt in forming a space through which the Iowa City community can gather to listen, read, hear, and see the stories of long-time residents, new arrivals, students and media,” they write.

They want to highlight different projects about urban-to-rural migration from both Chicago and Iowa City. They’re inviting local residents to share their stories, voice their concerns and share their thoughts in a way that’s honest and respectful.

It’s an interesting formalization (hey, they’re grad students) of a process that happens naturally, anyway. And that’s what intrigues me most: The fact that we don’t yet know exactly how all of this will mix and change and eventually condense into a new story about Iowa City.

Central City’s Christy Nelson and North Cedar’s Courtney Dewell both own leads after the first round of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union state golf meets at Ankeny’s Otter Creek Golf Course.

Nelson fired a 6-over-par 77 to lead the Class 1A individual competition, while Dewell’s 9-over-par 80 put her one shot ahead of Dyersville Beckman’s Ellie Ament in the 2A medalist race. Ament was runner-up in 2010.

Nelson, a junior, is looking for her second straight top-10 finish, placing seventh last year.

Ament’s teammate Stephanie Coghlan shot 84 and was in seventh place, helping the Blazers to fourth place with 379 after the first day. Beckman is 12 shots back of leader Pleasantville. Cascade is fifth with 383. Iowa City Regina’s Cat Strief was 12th with an 88 in 2A race.

In 1A, Jenna Hansen was tied for eighth with an 88. HLV is fourth, but 40 shots back of Algona Garrigan, who posted an impressive 344, leading Hinton by 29 strokes.

The 3A and 4A state meets are being held at River Valley Golf Club in Adel.

In Class 4A, Cedar Rapids Xavier’s Kimmy Askelson is in a four-way tie for sixth place after Day 1. Askelson, a senior who signed to play for Drake next year, shot 84, and is looking for her second straight top-five finish after placing fourth a year ago. Iowa City West’s Madison Goodfellow, who was eighth last year, was tied for 11th with 86.

Linn-Mar (406) and Xavier (408), earning its first state team berth, are in seventh and eighth, respectively. Cedar Falls leads Pleasant Valley by 14 strokes in the team race, posting a 335. 

 Defending 3A state champion Jessie Sindlinger of Charles City took command after the first round, carding a 4-under-par 68, leading Ballard’s Susan Kirschenman by four strokes. Kirschenman was the runner-up to Sindlinger last year. Sindlinger, a sophomore, is the daughter of former University of Iowa football player and wrestler Mark Sindlinger.

Maquoketa’s Stine Laursen, a junior foreign foreign exchange student from Denmark, was fourth with 81. South Tama’s Taylor Van Dyk is tied for sixth with 84. Decorah’s Molly McDonough shot 91 and sits in 12th place.

Jaron Collins

CEDAR RAPIDS – Police said a Clinton man who was caught shoplifting threatened to kill police and then tried to grab an officer’s gun.

Jaron M. Collins, 20, was arrested around 4:40 p.m. Sunday when police confronted him in the bathroom of Hy-Vee, 1556 First Ave. NE. He was allegedly trying to conceal and steal a fifth of black velvet whiskey, valued at $10.50, according to the police report.

The complaint charging Collins with fifth-degree theft said he hid the bottle in his pants and broke off its security seal in the store’s bathroom.

Collins became irate and threatened to kill Hy-Vee staff when he was confronted. He was handcuffed and put into a police car, despite trying to pull away.

Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said Collins moved his handcuffs so that his hands were in front. When the officer got him back out of the patrol car, Collins again fought with officers and tried to take the officer’s gun from him.

The officer was able to prevent it, and got Collins in handcuffs again before taking him to the Linn County Jail.

Charged with first-degree harassment, fifth-degree theft, and interference with official acts, Collins remains in the Linn County Jail in lieu of $2,000 cash bail.

By The Gazette Editorial Board–

Many Iowa charitable organizations apparently are satisfied with the cut they get from companies who raise funds on their behalf. On average, those charities who use outside telemarketers receive an average of 22 cents for every $1 raised, a recent Gazette investigation found.

Twenty-two cents? We’d bet that most Iowans who respond to telemarketers expect much more of their money to directly assist the charity’s work.

To be fair, most contracts between charities and professional fundraisers are legal. Reputable telemarketing companies also have legitimate expenses; they are businesses with overhead and employees. And for some telemarketers, the take-home after expenses is nothing outrageous. For example, Charity Services Inc. of Marion’s latest annual disclosure report to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office showed that of $273,974 raised, the owner and four part-time telemarketers shared $87,922 after accounting for all expenses.

We also understand that many charities can’t afford to employ a full-time fundraising staff.

Nonetheless, it doesn’t sit well when so much of what is raised never gets to the charity. Also troubling is that two-thirds of what fundraisers collect in Iowa goes to telemarketing companies in other states, which is a drain on our state’s economy.

Iowa requires professional fundraisers to register if they contract with an Iowa charity or call Iowans for out-of-state organizations. But unlike 40 other states, Iowa does not require the charities to register. For those that don’t use a registered telemarketer, it’s more difficult to assess how donations are used.

Even if state oversight laws were toughened, Iowans would still need to be skeptical when telemarketers call. Some general advice:

l Ask for written information on the charity or product they are collecting for, including what percentage of a purchase or donation goes to the charity.

l Consider giving directly to a charity that you want to support.

l Look out for charity names or companies that sound similar to a well-known organization.

l Never give the telemarketer personal financial information, such as your checking or bank account number, credit card number, Social Security number or driver’s license number.

l And if an offer sounds too good to be true, well, you know the answer to that one.

If you don’t want to be contacted by telemarketers, register for free on the National Do No Call List by calling 888-382-1222 or online at www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx.

For more advice, visit the Better Business Bureau’s website at

www.bbb.org/us/

charity/ and click the Wise Giving link.

Bottom line: You have a right to know where your donation is going and how it will be used.

n Comments: thegazette.com/

category/opinion/editorial or

editorial@sourcemedia.net

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Senior Ryan Schisler (Morrison, Ill./Morrison) has been selected to the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-American Second Team.  Schisler is the 33rd Kohawk to be selected for the award.
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A Coralville startup’s new education solution aims to fill communication gaps in the fast food industry.

QuikServEdu officially launched on May 26. It was developed as a web-based system to provide employee training and communication quickly via the web.

“There are a lot of communication gaps within the fast food industry and we are trying to fill those gaps,” President Mark Vande Haar said. The service is designed to make the most efficient use of the employee’s training time, he added.

The longest lesson will be about 15 minutes, and the company is developing a system that may deliver training and communication updates via company point-of-sale systems, Haar said..

Vice President of Operations David Oliver is also president of North Liberty-based Police Law Institute and a veteran entrepreneur.

Oliver said fast food companies now use an assortment of paper manuals, videos, handwritten signs and other educational media in training systems that are very inefficient. He said QuikServEdu will allow managers to track how well employees are learning, and will reduce turnover by helping employees learn at their own pace.

The Coralville-based Panchero’s restaurant chain worked with QuikServEdu in the development of the learning system.

Vande Haar said Pancheor’s provided valuable input in developing the system.

The company expects to expand to more than 10 employees by the end of the year.

The longest lesson a student will receive on QuikServEdu is 15 minutes, president Mark Vande Haar said.

“We

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that two hundred fourteen student-athletes competing in the Conference’s six spring sports have met the requirements for recognition on the 2010-11 Iowa Conference All-Academic Team.
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Courtesy: Coe College Athletics

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that two hundred fourteen student-athletes competing in the Conference’s six spring sports have met the requirements for recognition on the 2010-11 Iowa Conference All-Academic Team.

One hundred twenty-three of the student-athletes honored participated in track and field, including 83 women and 40 men. Thirty-two baseball players, 31 softball players, 19 men’s tennis players, and 9 men’s golfers round out the Spring 2011 additions to the Team.  Sixty-seven members (31.3 percent) of the 2011 Spring All-Academic Team earned IIAC All-Academic honors in the fall or winter season.

Here is a list of the Coe selections by sport:

Baseball:
Wade Morris (Sophomore – Conrad, Iowa/BCLUW – Business Administration)
Ryan Schisler (Senior – Morrison, Ill./Morrison – History)
Scott DeAngelis (Junior – Clinton, Iowa/Clinton – Economics & Business Administration)

Men’s Track & Field:
Matt Barnd (Sophomore – Marion, Iowa/Marion – English)

Women’s Track & Field:
Keelie Finnel (Junior – Francis Creek, Wis./Mishicot – Mathematics)
Justine Screws (Senior – Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson – English)
Stefani Wright (Sophomore – Chicago, Ill./St. Ignatius – Psychology & Creative Writing)
Sara Heizer (Sophomore – Milliken, Colo./Roosevelt – Psychology & Neuroscience)
Sarah Anciaux (Senior – Iowa City, Iowa/City – Chemistry)
Kristen Blodgett (Sophomore – Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek – French & Business Administration)

Men’s Golf:
Brendan George (Senior – Rockwell City, Iowa/Pomeroy-Palmer – Biology & Neuroscience)

Men’s Tennis:
Victor Khristenko (Junior – Orel, Russia – Undecided)

The Johnson County Conservation Board (JCCB) will welcome the Court Hill Woodwind Quintet to F.W. Kent Park for an outdoor concert June 3, 2011.

“We are very excited to host The Court Hill Consort at F.W. Kent Park,” said Harry Graves, JCCB Director. The Outdoor Concert series draws great crowds to F.W. Kent Park to enjoy the outdoors and beautiful music. This is a FREE outdoor concert!!

Bring your lawn chairs or a blanket and come to the Youth Group Camp for a 6:30 p.m. outdoor band concert you are sure to enjoy. Food and beverages are welcome but alcohol is not allowed in the Youth Group Camp. Put your feet up and enjoy some time outdoors listening to the soothing sounds of the Court Hill Woodwind Quintet.

For more information about this or other JCCB sponsored events, please contact the Johnson County Conservation Department office at (319) 645-2315.

Courtesy: University of Iowa Athletics

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The celebration banquet honoring former University of Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable has been sold out. More than 800 tickets have been purchased for “Gable’s Gold: A Celebration of Dan Gable’s Legacy.”

The June 4 banquet at the Coralville Marriot and Convention Center will feature guest speakers Ben Peterson, Bump Elliott, J Robinson, Mike DeAnna, Terry Brands, Tom Brands, Gary Barta and the honorary guest, Dan Gable.

For those who have purchased tickets to the event, the reception starts at 5:30 with dinner at 6:30. Parking is available in the Marriot ramp and guests should enter through the main lobby. Attire is coat and tie.

Gable is considered, by most, to be the best collegiate wrestling coach in history. He was Iowa’s head coach for 21 years and compiled a 355-21-5 record that included 15 national and 21 Big Ten team titles.

Gable retired as Iowa’s head wrestling coach in 1997. He later held the position of Assistant to the Athletic Director before retiring from that post Dec. 31, 2010.