BLS: Iowa City had lowest jobless rate among 369 metro areas April 30, 2008
Posted by John in Government, Jobs.Tags: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Iowa City (Iowa), Unemployment, United States Department of Labor
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Image via WikipediaIowa City and Midland, Texas, tied with 2.6 percent March unemployment rate.
More from Bureau of Labor Statistics release:
Unemployment rates were higher in March than a year earlier in 309 of the 369 metropolitan areas, lower in 40 areas, and unchanged in 20 areas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today … The national unemployment rate in March was 5.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from 4.5 percent a year earlier. …
In March, 45 metropolitan areas reported unemployment rates of at least 7.0 percent, up from 26 areas a year earlier, while 69 areas recorded rates below 4.0 percent, down from 128 areas in March 2007. Two agricultural areas in California again registered the highest rates in March: El Centro, 16.4 percent, and Merced, 13.7 percent. Iowa City, Iowa, and Midland, Texas, posted the lowest jobless rates, 2.6 percent each. Overall, 193 areas recorded unemployment rates below the U.S. figure of 5.2 percent, 163 areas had higher rates, and 13 areas had the same rate. …
More about Iowa City area’s low unemployment rates from this recent Gazette article, Manufacturing gains help steady cooling Iowa job market.
Recent on-board videos of street luging by Steve Baumgartner, Oelwein native killed in accident Saturday April 29, 2008
Posted by John in Accidents, Deaths.Tags: Kansas City (Kansas), luging, Maquoketa (Iowa), Steve Baumgartner, U.S. Navy
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Image via Wikipedia5/1/08 UPDATE: Gazette obituary here.
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UPDATE: Steve Baumgartner is actually from Oelwein, Iowa, not Maquoketa, as reported earlier.
Four videos in past month appear on Steve’s MySpace videos page.
Also, here is a photo of Steve
050514-N-5526M-012 14, April 2005 Fire controlman Steven Baumgartner from Oelwein, Iowa, assigned to Combat Systems Department aboard the Ticonderoga Class Guided Missile Cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60), fires the twin .50 Caliper Machine Gun during a pre aimed calibration (PAC) fire exercise. …
4/30 UPDATE: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier has additional information about Steve Baumgartner from family: Former Oelwein man killed in street luge accident
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April 28, 2008
From Kansas City Star:
Kansas City, Kan., police have identified the man killed Saturday while riding a street luge as 28-year-old Steve Baumgarter of Iowa.
Authorities said Baumgarter had come to the area to participate in an unsanctioned race on Sunday. The race was canceled after his death. …
KCCI reports that he was from Maquoketa:
The accident happened about 8 p.m. Saturday in Rosedale Park and killed Steve Baumgarter, of Maquoketa.
Friends of the victim said he was a Navy petty officer 1st Class who was home on leave. …
And from KMBC (includes video news report):
According to police, Steve Baumgarter was preparing for the unsanctioned event. He was going down a road on a luge about five feet long when he lost control and hit a tree. He died on impact.
Friends of the victim said he was a Navy petty officer 1st Class, who was home on leave.
Investigators said Baumgarter was wearing a helmet as well as protective leather.
Building a better crossbow: Patent issued to Iowa City inventor April 29, 2008
Posted by John in Business, Engineering, Government, History, Technology.Tags: inventions, inventors, James J. Kempf, James Kempf, United States Patent and Trademark Office, weapons
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Image via Wikipedia
Abstract from U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:
A crossbow having an increased powerstroke and reduced noise. The powerstroke is increased by inverting the limb orientation from the standard crossbow arrangement and locating string guides at least partially forward and rearward of the ends of the limbs. The bowstring is drawn from the tops of the string guides to maximize the powerstroke, reducing noise and increasing the retained and delivered energy over existing crossbows.
[more...]
| Inventors: | Kempf; James J. (Iowa City, IA) |
| Assignee: | J & S R.D.T. Archery (Coralville, IA) |
See also: Historical information on crossbows from Encyclopedia Britannica or Wikipedia.
27-year-old Chicago transplants from E. Iowa sell 11-year-old tech firm; Price possibly as high as $15 million April 28, 2008
Posted by John in Business, Technology.Tags: Cedar Falls (Iowa), FastServers.Net, Ian Andrusyk, Layered Technologies, Plano (Texas), Sumner (Iowa), Travis Schaffner
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From Chicago Sun-Times:
In 2004, twenty-something Internet entrepreneurs Ian Andrusyk and Travis Schaffner relocated their company FastServers.Net to Chicago from Sumner, Iowa, hoping to go the distance. In addition to greener pastures, the two sought a deeper pool of tech talent and a place to ease the pain of not having much to do.
“Had we been from anywhere else,” said Andrusyk, “we would not have been bored enough to start this company.”
Eleven years after founding FastServers.Net, the now-27-year-olds have harvested a sizable exit. Earlier this month, the 45-employee company was acquired by Plano, Texas-based Layered Technologies. Although terms of the transaction were not disclosed, the selling price is believed to be as high as $15 million. …
More about Ian Andrusyk, President & CEO of FastServers.Net, and Travis Schaffner, Chief Technical Officer and co-founder of FastServers.Net, at company’s Web site.
Realty Times video: ‘Hot Market: Cedar Rapids Prices Grow and Grow’ April 26, 2008
Posted by John in Business.Tags: Business and Economy, Cedar Rapids (Iowa), home prices, Priority One, real estate
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Flash video report at Realty Times Web site.
And from ‘All Headline News’:
Des Moines, IA (AHN) – One of the exceptions to the declining value of home prices across the U.S. is Cedar Rapids in Iowa, where median home values grew almost 13 percent the past four years and logged a 4.4 percent hike in 2007.
The Chamber of Commerce of Cedar Rapids attributed the continuing rise in home values in the region to its diverse economy deliberately put in place under a plan called Priority One. …
Hmm, that doesn’t seem to match up with 2007 year-end data from the Iowa Association of Realtors, where 2007 Cedar Rapids median price appears to be 7 percent lower than 2006 median price. Am I missing something here? End of 2006 vs. end of 2007 perhaps?
Board: 2007 2006 % Change
Cedar Rapids $129,500 $138,650 -7.0% …
You might also be interested in the Upcoming Sheriff Foreclosure Sales posted at this Linn County, Iowa, Sheriff’s page.
9 millionth Ford Mustang coming to Iowa dealership April 25, 2008
Posted by John in Business.Tags: Auto dealerships, Auto manufacturing, Dearborn (Michigan), Ford Motor Company, Ford Mustang, Ford Mustang GT Convertible
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Image via WikipediaFrom Edmunds Inside Line:
DEARBORN, Michigan — Ford reached a major milestone midweek with the announcement that the 9 millionth Mustang — the longest-running nameplate in the Blue Oval brand’s history — had rolled off the line. The Mustang GT convertible is on its way to an unspecified buyer at a “dealership in Iowa,” the automaker said.
Ford noted that the Mustang will celebrate its 45th anniversary on April 17, 2009. …
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UPDATE from KCCI: Nine Millionth Ford Mustang Sold To Iowan
A Story County man is now the proud owner of the nine millionth Ford Mustang ever made.Thomas Krumm had no idea he would be making history when he first bought the car. It was delivered Tuesday to the Gookin Ford dealership in Story City. …
Iowa City native performing ‘Bible Raps’ in Jerusalem; slideshare music samples here April 25, 2008
Posted by John in Music, Religion.Tags: Bible, Bible education, Bible Rap Project, Iowa City (Iowa), Israel, Jerusalem, Jewish education, Judaism, rap music
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From The Jewish Daily Forward:
It’s Saturday night in Jerusalem’s Talbieh neighborhood, and a crowd of 50 is gathered to hear Matt Bar rap about the Bible. The lanky Iowa City native has achieved a kind of celebrity among young Anglos in Jerusalem with his Bible Raps project, a phenomenon he’s hoping to repeat this summer when he travels to Jewish summer camps across America. …
[T]he fusion between his love of rap and his Jewishness is fairly new. Trying to make it in New York as a folk rapper — his particular blend of folk music and rap — Bar paid the bills by teaching sixth graders at Temple Sholom in Greenwich, Conn. If his students behaved, he’d freestyle about the Bible during the last five minutes of class.
“Every other Sunday, I’d write a new rap,” Bar said. “The disposition of my class changed 180 degrees. They started memorizing the choruses and singing them in the hallways.” …
Longest music clip is 3.5 minutes long during last slide:
Linn County teen reported missing Wednesday April 25, 2008
Posted by John in Law Enforcement.Tags: Cedar Rapids (Iowa), iowa department of public safety, Linn County Iowa, Linn County Sheriff's Office (Iowa), Missing Persons, Trevor McMurrin
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Trevor Mcmurrin [17] was reported missing to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, in Cedar Rapids on Apr 23, 2008. …
Area Best Buy locations to open at midnight on April 29 for Grand Theft Auto IV release April 24, 2008
Posted by John in Business, Crime/Courts.Tags: Best Buy, Cedar Rapids (Iowa), Coralville (Iowa), Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto Series
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Image via WikipediaFrom BestBuy.com:
One of gaming’s most storied franchises — the felonious fun of Grand Theft Auto — is finally making its way to next-gen systems, and we know you can’t wait to pull the trigger on this sure-to-be hit.
So, Best Buy is opening dozens of stores at midnight on April 29 so you can buy this must-have title as soon as it releases. And get there early, because we’ll have Grand Theft Auto-related giveaways, but quantities will be limited.
Just so there’s no confusion, you’ll want to show up on Monday night, April 28, and wait for the clock to strike 12 midnight — Tuesday, April 29.
From list of Best Buy stores opening at midnight:
Grand Theft Auto IV Midnight Store Opening Locations
Locations are subject to change. Check with your store for full details.Iowa
Cedar Rapids
Davenport
Des Moines
Iowa City
2 Cedar Rapids church members hope to sell 1 million ’1M4JC’ T-shirts April 24, 2008
Posted by John in Business, Religion, Uncategorized.Tags: 1M4JC, Antioch Christian Church (Cedar Rapids Iowa), Cedar Rapids (Iowa), Christianity, clothing, Jim Mayhew, Marion (Iowa), One Million for Jesus Christ, Rob Gettemy, T-shirts, Vinton (Iowa)
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From Christian Newswire:
Two men from Eastern Iowa have faith that a T-shirt will unite Christians across the country while raising money for Christian ministries. Through the project, co-founders Jim Mayhew of Vinton and Rob Gettemy of Marion plan to sell one million black T-shirts with white type that proclaim “1M4JC” or “One Million for Jesus Christ.” Says Mayhew, “It’s a simple idea that has the potential to have a huge impact.” According to Mayhew, the idea came to him while he was on his way to church one Sunday. “Right then and there I believed 1M4JC could have a tremendous influence on our world through something as simple as a T-shirt.”
Energized by the inspiration, Mayhew approached a friend, Rob Gettemy, at Antioch Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where they both are members. Gettemy, a former executive in the corporate world for many years, was captivated by the idea of helping to launch a Christian business with the potential for touching millions of lives. The men soon became co-founders of 1M4JC and began planning the introduction and sale of their signature T-shirt on their new web site, www.1m4jc.com, when it officially launches May 1. “This is more than a Christian T-shirt business,” says Mayhew. “This is our opportunity to glorify God by putting our faith into action.” …
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