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Impact of Sept. 11 tops list of year’s storiesDES MOINES (AP) — Tightened security in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks led Iowa’s top 10 news stories of 2001, according to newspaper editors and broadcasters in voting compiled by The Associated Press.Rifle-toting soldiers standing guard at military installations, extra security at the airport and locked doors at the state Capitol are ongoing reminders of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.Iowa’s Homeland Security adviser, Ellen Gordon, said earlier this month that more than 12,000 sites in the state had been identified as potential targets of terrorism, including farms and bridges, but not all can be protected.“We may have to make a decision this is a risk we have to accept,” she said.While legislative leaders have agreed to install metal detectors and a card-lock system at the Capitol, a task force also has recommended a $2.8 million alarm system with motion sensors.A man arrested in Cedar Rapids during the government's investigation into terrorism is set for trial Feb. 19 in Detroit.Youssef Hmimssa, known in Iowa as Michael Saisa, is charged with fraud and misuse of visas and other documents.The anthrax scare ranked third on the list of the year’s top news stories. Scores of suspicious packages and powders kept Iowa authorities busy in the weeks following anthrax cases in Florida, New York and Washington.After news reports of a spurious link to an unnamed Iowa laboratory, Iowa State University quietly destroyed a decades-old collection of anthrax samples. Gov. Tom Vilsack ordered troops to guard laboratories in Ames and Iowa City.The director of the Iowa Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa told lawmakers last month she would need more money to cover the cost of testing suspicious substances.The year’s No. 2 news story came out of Sioux City, where seven people, including five children, w'ere found slain on Aug. 30.Adam Moss was arrested the day after authorities found the bodies of Leticia Aguilar, her five children and businessman Ronald Fish. The children had been beaten to death with a hammer. The adults wereIowa’s Top 10Top 10 news stories of 2001 as selected by AP editors and broadcasters:1. Security tightened in the wake of Sept. 11 attacks2. Seven slain in Sioux City;Adam Moss pleads guilty in killings of Leticia Aguilar, her five children and businessman Ron Fish.3. Anthrax reports stir fears in Iowa, prompt security at labs.4. State’s revenues slide, prompting special session to recraft state budget.5. Restructuring of Department of Human Services.6. Heating costs soar in 2001 during one of the harshest winters in 100 years; emergency aid falls short; legislature removes sales tax from utility bills.7. Perry hospital administrator charged after she forgot her 7-month-oid in the family minivan when she went to work.8. Fire destroys Old Capitol dome.9. Regents approve tuition increase of more than 18 percent.10. (tie) Department of Human Services admits it made a mistake in the case of Shelby Duis, who was beaten to death despite reports she was being abused.Rood levels on Mississippi River third-highest on record.killed with a hammer and knives.A month later, Moss pleaded guilty to seven counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms in prison. No motive was revealed.The state’s declining revenues were No. 4 on the list. As tax collections slowed, the governor ordered across-the-board budget cuts. The Iowa Legislature held a special session to restore funding for key projects.Partly in response to budget troubles, the governor announced the restructuring of the Department of Human Services, consolidating some offices and trimming supervisory staff to preserve the jobs of front-line fieldworkers. Revamping the state’s largest agency was fifth on the list of top news stories.Last winter’s bite was sixth on the list. Soaring heating costs during one of the most severe winters in the last century forced many families to cut comers elsewhere or apply for state assistance, which was quickly depleted. In response, state lawmakers removed the state sales tax from utility bills.At No. 7 was the unsettling death of a 7-month-old baby, forgotten in the family minivan on a hot summer day when her mother, a hospital administrator in Perry, went to work. The child’s body wasn't found until that evening.Authorities said Clare Engholm died June 26 after she overheated in the van. A paramedic said her body temperature was 107.5 degrees.The baby’s mother, Kari Engholm, was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter and neglect of a dependent person after a two-day trial before a judge. She said she thought she had been treated harshly by public opinion.“We’re all human. We’re all fallible.This could have happened to anyone,” Engholm said.The fire that destroyed the Old Capitol dome, which serves as the logo for the University of Iowa, ranked No. 8 on the list. Believed to have been sparked by a workman’s torch, the fire quickly spread through the cupola supporting the golden dome. The dome and the historic bell it contained collapsed to a firewall below.Ninth on the list was the decision by the Iowa Board of Regents to raise tuition at Iowa’s three state universities by more than 18 percent.Two stories tied for 10th. Spring flooding on the Mississippi River neared 1993 levels and revived a controversy over Davenport’s lack of a flood wall. City officials said their tourism efforts depend on the river view.Tied for 10th was the DHS’ admission that mistakes were made in handling the case of Shelby Duis, the Spirit Lake toddler who was beaten to death in January 2000 despite reports that she was being abused.
Newspaper Details
Oskaloosa Herald
Oskaloosa, Iowa, US
Mon, Dec 31, 2001
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Dlniemanssc D.
15 Oct 2024
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