As you all surely know, Ashton Kutcher is an Eastern Iowa native.

From TechCrunch:

Katalyst Media founders Ashton Kutcher [PHOTO] and Jason Goldberg were in Silicon Valley today. They stopped by TechCrunch HQ (aka my house) before heading off to more important meetings with Dan Rosensweig at Quadrangle Group (and the former COO of Yahoo) and YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley. …

Kutcher won’t be trying to lock people into interacting with content under their rules. “If people steal our stuff, it’s fantastic” he said.

Suddenly Katalyst Media is doing more than producing video, they’re now building software. …

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From Auto Racing Daily:

Rookie Landon Cassill, 18, will make his 11th career NASCAR Nationwide Series start this weekend at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. This is his fourth of his 16 scheduled races driving the No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet for JR Motorsports this season. …

Cassill, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native, is competing for Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors, and this weekend’s race will mark the first of five consecutive Nationwide Series events that he will compete in for JR Motorsports. He next will compete in the No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway on June 7. …

“Dover can get really narrow off the corners, and my first time racing there I bounced the car off the wall one lap. So you learn a lot about the characteristics and how to race there—the tight pit road, things like that.” …

From Iowa Department of Public Safety - Missing Persons Information Clearinghouse:

Nicole Gillis [16] was reported missing to the Cedar Rapids Police Department, in Cedar Rapids on May 23, 2008. …

From Iowa Department of Public Safety - Missing Persons Information Clearinghouse:

Whitney Schultz [14] was reported missing to the Cedar Rapids Police Department, in Cedar Rapids on May 24, 2008. …

From Iowa Department of Public Safety - Missing Persons Information Clearinghouse:

Twinette Gray [15] was reported missing to the Coralville Police Department, in Coralville on May 25, 2008. …

From Iowa Department of Public Safety - Missing Persons Information Clearinghouse:

Sara Rouze [17] was reported missing to the Cedar Rapids Police Department, in Cedar Rapids on May 28, 2008. …

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From today’s Federal Register:

Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 104 / Thursday, May 29, 2008/ Notices

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Effigy Mounds National Monument, Harpers Ferry, IA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains in the possession of the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Effigy Mounds National Monument, Harpers Ferry, IA. The human remains were removed from Allamakee and Clayton Counties, IA.

This notice is published as part of the National Park Service’s administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003 (d)(3). The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the superintendent, Effigy Mounds National Monument.

A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by Effigy Mounds National Monument professional staff and Iowa Office of the State Archeologist professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; Prairie Island Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota; Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota; and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

At an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals were removed from Waukon Junction Rockshelter in Allamakee County, IA, by unknown persons. No further information regarding the site is known. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are present.

At an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of three individuals were removed from Marquette Rockshelter in Clayton County, IA, by unknown persons. No further information regarding the site is known. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are present.

Officials of Effigy Mounds National Monument have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described above represent the physical remains of five individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of Effigy Mounds National Monument also have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), a relationship of shared group identity cannot reasonably be traced between the Native American human remains and any present-day Indian tribe.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee (Review Committee) is responsible for recommending specific actions for disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains. In September 2007 , Effigy Mounds National Monument requested that the Review Committee recommend disposition of six culturally unidentifiable human remains to the Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; and Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa as the aboriginal occupants of the lands encompassing the present-day Effigy Mounds National Monument. One individual of the six referenced in the request has since been determined to be part of a repatriated bundle burial. Its inclusion in the request to the Review Committee was an error and it is not included in this notice.

Effigy Mounds National Monument is located within the area covered by the Treaty of September 21, 1832 between the Sauk and Fox tribes and the United States (Stat. L. VII 374), and the national monument is located within the area covered by the November 23, 1973 final award of the Indian Claims Commission to the Sauk and Fox tribes (4 Ind. Cl. Comm. 367 [1957]). The Review Committee considered the proposal at its October 15-16, 2007 meeting and recommended disposition of the human remains to the Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; and Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa.

A November 28, 2007, letter on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior from the Designated Federal Official, transmitted the authorization for the park to effect disposition of the physical remains of the culturally unidentifiable individuals to the three Indian tribes listed above contingent on the publication of a Notice of Inventory Completion in the Federal Register. This notice fulfills that requirement.

Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Phyllis Ewing, superintendent, Effigy Mounds National Monument, 151 HWY 76, Harpers Ferry, IA 52146, telephone (563) 873-3491, before June 30, 2008. Disposition of the human remains to the Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; and Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa may proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.

Effigy Mounds National Monument is responsible for notifying the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin; Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska; Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma; Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; Prairie Island Indian Community in the State of Minnesota; Sac & Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska; Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma; Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa; Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota; Upper Sioux Community, Minnesota; and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska that this notice has been published.

Dated: April 18, 2008 Sherry Hutt, Manager, National NAGPRA Program.

[FR Doc. E8-11988 Filed 5-28-08; 8:45 am]

Related November 25, 2007 Gazette article:

Rest in peace Effort aims to locate, preserve Iowa’s ancient burial sites
By Orlan Love
The Gazette

Iowa’s ancient human remains, once plundered by mound looters and grave robbers, today generally rest in peace, according to officials charged with their protection.

State and federal laws provide reasonable assurance that ancient human remains — those at least 150 years old — will not be disturbed or defiled, said State Archaeologist John Doershuk, whose office identifies and protects ancient burial grounds.

Iowa has more than 1,500 documented ancient burial sites, with more found every year, said Shirley Schermer, Burials Program director for the Office of the State Archaeologist at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

Those sites range from the well-known and often-visited Effigy Mounds National Monument near Marquette in northeast Iowa to virtually unknown mounds discovered this year in a pilot project in Linn and Johnson counties.

Schermer and osteologist Robin Lillie, working from archival maps and other historical documents, have confirmed that at least three suspected mounds in Linn and Johnson counties are American Indian burial sites. They also found a few other prospective sites that have yet to be confirmed.

Confirmed sites are recorded in a database that enables the Burials Program to advise developers and planners of their existence.

“Development is the greatest threat to ancient burial sites. We always encourage developers and planners to contact our office before they start moving dirt,” Schermer said.

With advance notice, developers can almost always accomplish their goals without disturbing such sites, she said.

Projects involving federal funding or permits are required to complete an archaeological assessment before proceeding, but most private developments are under no such constraints, Doershuk said.
“We worry most about the single-family house built on 5 acres on a bluff. There’s nothing in the law that says, ‘Stop and think about this,’” Doershuk said.

Linn and Johnson counties were selected for the pilot project because of their rapid development.
Schermer said she hopes the project can be expanded statewide.

In 1976, Iowa became one of the first states to pass laws protecting ancient burial sites. Those laws also provide for the recovery and reburial of ancient human skeletal remains, when necessary, Schermer said.

Since the program began, the remains of more than 1,200 people have been reburied in four cemeteries established for that purpose. The cemetery sites are undisclosed.

The reburials are conducted in accordance with the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, which also provides a process for museums and federal agencies to return human remains and other sacred objects to their rightful owners or caretakers.

In implementing the law, the Burials Program works closely with a three-member Indian Advisory Council, which includes Meskwaki elder Donald Wanatee, who said many Indian burial sites were destroyed before the law’s passage in 1976.

Mounds were plowed up by farmers, destroyed by developers and sifted for relics by grave robbers and curiosity seekers, said Wanatee, 74, who lives on the Meskwaki Settlement west of Tama.

Wanatee said he will never understand the mentality of people who disturb graves.
“Indians don’t go around digging up white men’s graves,” he said. “Those are sacred spots. It shows a lack of respect.”

Wanatee said the Meskwaki bury their dead in yarn belts, moccasins and other finery and that wooden spoons and bowls are often interred with them to help identify their spirits as Meskwaki.

Though Wanatee believes the state Burials Program has done much good, he said graves are still being lost, especially to developers, who often “look the other way and keep going” when human remains ar e uncovered.

Doershuk said few looting attempts occur in Iowa burial mounds.

“Most Iowans would readily agree you don’t mess with dead people,” he said.

Moreover, he said, the projectile points and pot shards likely to be found in Iowa — as compared with jewelry and other artifacts found in the Southwest — “don’t make it on the art market.”

Rodney Rovang, resource manager at Effigy Mounds National Monument north of Marquette, said there have been no instances of tampering there in the past 10 years, though in the early 1990s, “we found six mounds that had been disturbed.”

The Archaeological Resources and Protection Act of 1979 provides stiff fines and prison terms for people who loot archaeological sites on public or Indian lands or who traffic in artifacts so obtained.

The monument, encompassing 2,526 acres at four sites, contains 206 known prehistoric mounds constructed between 2,500 and 700 years ago.

USS The Sullivans

From US Navy release:

Two leaders who embodied the spirit of USS The Sullivans ( DDG 68 ) and the five fallen brothers the U.S. Navy warship honors were memorialized at a Fleet Week New York 2008 ceremony May 24, aboard the vessel. …

Kelly Sullivan Loughren — the granddaughter of the youngest Sullivan brother, Albert, said Davis and Shaw set a precedent of leadership that lives on. She and Elizabeth Pasko, daughter of Shaw, tossed two wreaths from the ship’s fantail into the sea to mark the passing of the men.

“To be able to have a special goodbye to them on the ship that brought us together is very special,” said Loughren, who traveled to Staten Island for the Fleet Week event from her home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She also christened the Mayport, Fla.-based guided-missile destroyer more than a decade ago.

The bond among the Sullivan brothers‘ — George, 27; Francis, 25: Joseph, 23; Madison, 22; and Albert, 19 — showed the spirit of never quitting and that victory comes with sacrifice and hard work, explained Roncolato, also president of the USS The Sullivans Foundation, which plans to create an educational scholarship for the ship’s crew and family.

“More than anything else, those boys loved their country,” Loughren said. …

From Education Week:

Hours of drilling on ACT questions in Chicago high schools may be hurting, not helping, students’ scores on the college-admission exam, according to a study released today by a university-based research organization. …

More information from Chicago Tribune:

Researchers found that ACT scores were slightly lower in schools where teachers spent at least 40 percent of their time drilling students than in schools where teachers spent less than 20 percent of their class time on similar preparation, said Elaine Allensworth, the report’s lead author. …

From Wisconsin State Journal:

Tom Allen has been named vice president and general manager of WKOW-TV, Channel 27, effective next Monday.

Allen has held similar positions with KWWL-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the past two years. …

Most recent Gazette article mentioning Tom Allen (April 17, 2007):

Kerian leaves KWWL
Gazette news services

WATERLOO - Evening KWWL co-anchor Ann Kerian has resigned effective immediately, the NBC
affiliate has announced.

According to a statement on KWWL’s Web site, Kerian had been in discussion with
management about changing her work schedule, then made the decision to resign.

“Our desire was for Ann to remain through the month of July,” said Tom Allen, KWWL vice president and general manager, in an announcement posted Monday on www.kwwl.com

“However, we have mutually agreed that for the good of the station and for Ann personally,
it was best to make the change now.”

KWWL is searching for a replacement, who would co-anchor the station’s 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
news with Ron Steele.

From WBBM Radio in Chicago:

SHAMON DION ELLIS was stabbed to death by a woman in the Pullman neighborhood.

Ellis, of Iowa City, was pronounced dead at 11:34 a.m. Sunday, the Cook County Medical Examiner said. Ellis suffered multiple stab and incise wounds and his death was a homicide, an autopsy Monday determined. …

The incident “appears to be domestic-related,” according to Doherty.

No one is in custody. Calumet Area detectives are investigating.

Additional recent news about that neighborhood from EveryBlock Chicago.

Items about Shamon D. Ellis found in Gazette archives:

October 26, 2004 - THE LOG

Shamon Ellis , 24, of 1960 Broadway St., Apt. C5, Iowa City; accused of domestic assault causing injury. Ellis choked a woman and pulled her hair Friday at 1960 Broadway St., Iowa City, according to the criminal complaint.

October 22, 2005 - DISTRICT COURT

Shamon D. Ellis , 25, of Iowa City, pleaded guilty to domestic assault causing injury in connection with an Oct. 22, 2004, arrest in Iowa City. Ellis was sentenced to 90 days in jail with all but 10 days suspended. He was given credit for 10 days already served. Ellis also was placed on probation for a year and fined $250.

January 14, 2006 - THE LOG

Shamon Ellis , 25, of 1960 Broadway St., Iowa City, for domestic abuse (assault causing injury) and obstruction of emergency communication; accused of punching the mother of his children multiple times in her head July 29 in their residence and trying to stop her from calling police.

May 25, 2007 - THE LOG

Shamon D. Ellis , 27, of 2010 Davis St., Iowa City; charged May 18 with domestic abuse assault (third offense), arrested Tuesday; accused of slamming Audrey Harper to the ground on the 2400 block of Lakeside Drive in Iowa City at 8 a.m. May 18.

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From MSNBC - Hardball:

MATTHEWS: Daughter of former governor of Ohio, John Gilligan. She‘s born to the role. What do you think? Now that we‘re all doing the hot shot stuff, Jeanne, who do you think it‘s going to be, ignoring my feeble list?

CUMMINGS: My dream picks or fantasy picks are Tom Vilsack of Iowa, win the state, bring the governor in, white guy that can talk to the working class. He‘s also a Clinton supporter, so that‘s another way to, you know, reach out to the other side of the party. I‘d throw Ed Rendell into that same category.

MATTHEWS: OK, I think Obama/Vilsack is a hell of a bumper sticker.

It seems discordant to me. …

From Chicago Sun-Times Lynn Sweet blog:

Several figures who backed Clinton from key swing states could fill the governing hole in Obama’s resume and build a bridge to the Clinton supporters. They are Iowa Gov. TOM VILSACK, Ohio Gov. TED STRICKLAND and Indiana Sen. EVAN BAYH, a former governor. …

From C-SPAN via YouTube:

For additional information: Barr Wins Libertarian Party Presidential Nod (Source: CQ Politics)

Related ‘Looking in at Iowa’ post: Will Libertarian Iowa City native Bob Barr become presidential candidate and ’spoiler’ for McCain?