The bottomline in bridal party fashion today is that anything goes. Bridesmaids are no longer limited to floor-length jewel-toned satin gowns with matching hairdos, shoes and jewelry. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

By Cristina Bolling/McClatchy Newspapers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When Mandy Case recites her vows in March 2013, her bridesmaids will stand beside her in above-the-knee yellow and blue dresses with cowboy boots.

The 26-year-old elementary school teacher has booked a renovated dairy barn in Fort Mill, S.C., for the ceremony, so the rustic attire seemed fitting. Yellow and blue are the colors of Fort Mill High School, where Case and her fiance met.

Case isn’t sure how many bridesmaids she’ll have — her guess is three or four — but she wants them to have a say in what style of dress she chooses for them to wear. “I want my bridesmaids to look and feel confident,” she said Sunday at a bridal showcase at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, N.C.

After last spring’s British royal wedding, the bridal industry was watching for a possible “Pippa Middleton effect” after Kate Middleton’s sister turned heads in a show-stopper of a gown. Website fashionista.com declared Pippa’s ivory satin-based crepe column dress with cowl neck and cap sleeves “the first bridesmaid dress that anyone ever wanted to knock off.” In response, bridal boutiques rush-ordered replica Pippa dresses.

But the replica dresses didn’t sell. What store owners learned, they say, is that brides want to set their own trends on their big day. Individualism, a strong trend in the past few seasons, seems to trump the celebrity wedding effect.

While mom or grandma might have their own ideas about what is appropriate attire for bridesmaids, brides today don’t worry much about adhering to rules.

“I joke and say ‘All the rules went out the window 10 years ago,’” says Anna Kelly, senior consultant for J Major’s bridal boutique in Charlotte, N.C. “It used to be that you asked, ‘What time is the wedding?’” and that dictated the attire. “But it just doesn’t matter anymore. People wear very simple, svelte skinny dresses in an enormous Catholic Mass, and fully beaded ball gowns on the beach.”

Oddly, a great example of the trend can be found — as you could have guessed — in a celebrity wedding. Last September the seven bridesmaids for model/actress Molly Sims donned what Sims called “cohesive yet mismatched” gowns by designer Elizabeth Kennedy in shades of tan and black. Each of the dresses was different — some with prints, some solids.

The bottom line is it’s almost anything goes when it comes to bridal party fashion. Bridesmaids are no longer limited to the floor-length jewel-toned satin gowns with matching hairdos, shoes and jewelry of yesteryear.

“Brides are taking the reins over their own weddings and are not abiding by what tradition says they should be doing,” says Carrie Goldberg, assistant fashion editor for Martha Stewart Weddings magazine. “The one rule is that every bridesmaid should be in a dress that flatters them and that they like.”

And if that means bridesmaids aren’t all in the same dress? That’s just fine, Goldberg says.

“I think the idea of everyone wearing the same dress is on its way out,” she says. “There’s more of a focus on working with a palate than working with the same color. Not every color flatters every girl in the bridal party.”

At the Bridal Boutique of North Carolina in Cary, manager Manu Gujral said the store stocked the Kate Middleton replica dress immediately after the wedding, but “nobody is even asking” for it, nor are they coming in with photos of Pippa’s gown.

Gujral says the brides she helps still most often put their bridesmaids in identical dresses, but they are often shorter dresses, with flowy fabric. “Basically, (brides) will bring in a couple of bridesmaids and see what looks good on them. … Then the bride chooses whatever she likes.”

Still, buyer Lucie Winters of A Bridal World in Raleigh, N.C., said that while there are “no major no-nos” brides need to heed when picking out attendants’ attire, there are following several hot trends.

Shorter dresses are big now for bridesmaids — “short has exploded,” she says — and more brides are letting their attendants pick out their own dress style, so long as they stay within the same designer and color scheme. Dresses with pockets are also popular.

But for all the democracy a bride may want to offer her attendants, Vicki Jeffries of the Gastonia, N.C., boutique Poffie Girls reminds us that there is still one simple rule: Bridesmaids should never outshine — or overrule — the bride.

“She is the center of attention and they are her court.”

Jazmin Day of North Liberty blows "princess bubbles," while telling all about what she will be doing to celebrate her first birthday today. Jazmin, who was born Feb. 29, 2008, will celebrate her "first" birthday this leap year. She will be celebrating with family today, but is also very excited for her princess themed party this weekend with friends. (Nikole Hanna/The Gazette)

By Meredith Hines-Dochterman/The Gazette

NORTH LIBERTY — Jazmin Day will have two birthday parties this year. And they will be big.

“We’re going all out,” says Larissa Murdock, Jazmin’s mom. “She’s very girlie; she’s all about pink and Disney princesses, so everything will be princess and we’ll have a huge princess cake.”

After all, it isn’t every day a little girl turns four and one at the same time.

Jazmin is a Leap Day baby, one of the estimated 187,000 people in the United States who celebrates a calendar birthday every four years.

Leap Day was created in response to the speed at which the Earth rotates around the sun — 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds. The extra hours add up over the years, so an extra day was occasionally added to the calendar to make the solar year and man-made calendar match.

It was the Romans who first designated Feb. 29 as a leap day. A more precise formula was adopted in the 16th century when the Gregorian calendar fine-tuned the calculations to include a leap day in years only divisible by four.

Of course, Jazmin is too young to worry about the science behind her birthday. She doesn’t realize her actual birth date isn’t on the calendar every year.

“Right now, she doesn’t really care, as long as she has a party,” Murdock laughs.

Murdock believes her daughter was destined to be a Leap Day baby. All her daughters’ birthdays fall on unique days. Jazmin’s older sisters celebrate their birthdays on Lincoln’s Birthday, Feb. 12, and Sept. 11.

Murdock’s original due date was supposed to be March 1 and she was scheduled to be induced on Feb. 29, but her contractions started on their own that morning.

“I think it’s pretty neat that she was going to be born that day either way,” Murdock says.

So far, Jazmin’s parents haven’t encountered headaches because of their daughter’s unusual birthday. Of course, soon-to-be 4-year-olds don’t have to worry about getting a license, voting or playing the slots in Las Vegas.

She hasn’t even registered for kindergarten yet, which could be an adventure as more school districts turn to online registration programs.

Sometimes, registering on a website using a Feb. 29 birthday will result in “Invalid birth date.” The Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies in Oregon, a non-profit advocacy group, offers free software that Web designers can use to avoid the error message.

When it comes to special and unique birth dates, Dr. Joy Olson of OB-GYN Associates in Cedar Rapids hasn’t had many requests for Leap Day births.

“It’s not a date that most people choose,” she says.

Olson says Nov. 11, 2011, was a popular date for labor inductions, as are birth dates that line up perfectly, such as Jan. 2, 2003, or 01/02/03.

“I think the biggest hurdle is people aren’t really sure how to celebrate a Leap Day birthday,” Olson says.

Leap year babies typically choose either Feb. 28 or March 1 to celebrate their birthday in years that aren’t leap years.

This year, though, Jazmin will have one party today and another this weekend. Likewise, her cake will have two candles — a ‘1’ and a ‘4.’

“It hasn’t caused us any problems yet,” Murdock says. “I think it makes her special and unique.”

Comments: (319) 398-8434; meredith.hines-dochterman@sourcemedia.net

Reason for the season

Leap Day happens every four years — almost. It’s every four years except years ending with “00” that are not divisible by 400. Except 2000 was a leap year.

Ladies night

According to an Old Irish legend, Saint Bridget struck a deal with Saint Patrick to allow women to propose to men — and not just the other way around — every four years on Leap Day. This is believed to have been introduced to balance the traditional roles of men and women in a similar way to how Leap Day balances the calendar.

Birds of a feather

People born on Feb. 29 are all invited to join The Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies.

For the record books

A Norwegian family named Henriksen from Andenes holds the official record of number of children born on Feb. 29 with three children born on Feb. 29 in 1960, 1964 and 1968.

A magical day

Both Disneyland Park and Magic Kingdom Park will be open for 24 hours today, a first for the popular destinations.

Famous Feb. 29 babies

Some celebrity Leap Year birthdays:

1916 — Dinah Shore, American singer (d. 1994)

1924 — Al Rosen, American baseball player

1924 — Carlos Humberto Romero, former president of El Salvador

 1960 — Anthony (Tony) Robbins, American motivational speaker

 1964 — Lyndon Byers, Canadian hockey player

 1972 — Antonio Sabato Jr., Italian-born actor

 1976 — Ja Rule, American rapper and actor

 1980 — Chris Conley, American musician and songwriter/composer

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelogon/

A couple of years ago, I was listening to a conference keynote speech with colleagues, when a newspaper editor across the banquet table pulled out his cellphone and started tweeting.

I still remember my shock that this grown professional, like some bored teenager, would care more about connecting with his Tweeps than being present at the table (we were front and center; his actions were obvious). Sure, the speech was interesting, but it was hardly breaking news to tweet.

By now, of course, it barely registers with me when someone pulls out a smartphone mid-meeting, or starts fiddling with their keyboard in the middle of a conversation. I’m as guilty as the next one of checking out from the place I’m at to check in with what’s happening somewhere else.

Still, I wonder if ignoring the here and now isn’t going to cost us more than the patience and good graces of a few co-workers and friends. When everything worth paying attention to is happening someplace else, what will happen to here?

Most of human history has been one of intense local connections. Not that long ago, the struggle was to understand the world outside your city limits. Today, it’s just about the reverse.

Just a few generations ago, Washington, D.C., was just some sleepy far-off swamp few citizens paid much mind to — the real action was at the statehouse. Now, Barack Obama is the only politician a lot of folks could even name.

Thousands become irate enough to flood city streets whenever the G8 gets together, but local issues come and go with little comment.

Case in point — a number of Iowans were outraged by national headlines about a Virginia bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion. Far fewer realized that lawmakers here had introduced similar legislation (it died in funnel last week).

Our local leaders do it, too, handing over local decisions to faraway consultants. There seems to be this unspoken assumption that if it comes from here, an idea can’t be all that important or smart.

Of course, “local” has become a hip watchword in some circles. But that new localism is focused nearly entirely on consumption — what we eat, what we buy. Not what we do.

I remember from not all that long ago the slogan “think globally, act locally.” Maybe it’s time to dust it off, to revise it. How about this:

Think locally, then act.

Comments: (319) 339-3154; jennifer.hemmingsen@sourcemedia.net

Mike Canning, (left) and Tony Christopherson, both of Cedar Rapids, and other volunteers call absentee voters from the IBEW hall, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Sunday, February, 19, 2012. They call to make sure absentee voters have received their ballots, and also ask if they have mailed them back, or if they would prefer to have someone pick up their ballot from their home. Volunteers are expected to be calling Saturday thru Thursday evenings until the election on March 6. (Nikole Hanna/The Gazette)

In less than a week, residents of Cedar Rapids will go to the polls to vote on a flood protection system for both sides of the Cedar River. But the current campaign for and against extending the one cent local option sales tax (LOST) is very different than the one that fell a few votes short just last May.

The Linn County Auditor’s Office reports receiving 2,224 absentee ballots back for the March 6 election as of Monday night.  In the vote last May, a total of 3,718 people cast absentee ballots.  The auditor’s office estimates the final absentee tally will fall at least 20 percent short of the number seen for the last option tax extension vote.

In addition, option tax supporters conducted 20 neighborhood forums leading up to that first vote last year.  The forum and debate total, to date, is zero.

The group called CREST (Cedar Rapids Extended Sales Tax) is behind the vote “yes” campaign this time.  And members say keeping it a low-key vote was part of an overall plan — one that won’t change in the final week leading up to the election.

Another difference is dollars.  The 2011 LOST extension campaign brought in a flood of money, with supporters raising about $500,000.  Gary Ficken, one CREST organizer, estimates the campaign this time will generate about $100,000 in donations, or 20 percent of the 2011 total.  Group members plan no extensive media advertising and will send only a limited number of direct mail fliers to voters.

Linda Seger, a CREST member and neighborhood activist, said a big campaign wasn’t needed for the second time around.  “We feel the public has all the knowledge they need about what has taken place in the past and what we want to do,” Seger said.

“Yes” supporters will operate a phone bank calling supporters to get out the vote up till the last minute.  They’ve also concentrated on getting absentee ballots ahead of time.   But the “low profile” campaign even extended to debating the issue.

The Cedar Rapids Free Press group organized a debate on the local option tax extension for Wednesday, Feb. 29.  Members of CREST and the city decided not to take part.

Lisa Kuzela, one organizer of the anti-extension tax group “We Can Do Better,” said “their campaign is being funded by the big money people.  Ours is the true grass roots, so it’s very difficult to raise money.”

But another CREST member, Bob Schaffer, said supporters saw no reason to take part in a debate organized by opponents.

“Why bother debating?” Schaffer said. “The message is out there.  We tried to make it very clear to let people know what our position is.  Why debate facts? The facts are out there.”

Tax extension supporters believe they fell short last May by pushing a 20-year tax that included other spending besides flood protection along the Cedar River.  Supporters say they didn’t want to make that mistake this time, and offered a 10-year extension with a more streamlined campaign effort to match.

Juniors Jenna Higgins and Larissa Wilden each qualified in two events. Higgins will race in the 60 meter dash for the second year in a row and also qualified in the 200 meter dash. The preliminaries of the 60 meters are at 12:35 p.m. Central Time on Friday with the semifinals later on at 2:55 p.m. Higgins will run the 200 meters at 6:05 p.m. on Friday.

Wilden will compete in the high jump for the second time in three years and a will make her debut in the 60 meter hurdles. The prelims of the 60 meter hurdles take place at noon on Friday, with the semifinals at 1:35 p.m. Wilden competes in the high jump on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

Senior Jacqueline Kane and junior Mwale Kapande are competing for the Mustangs as well. Kane is no stranger to the national stage. She will race in the 600 meter run for the second straight year and was an NAIA all-American in the event at last spring’s outdoor national meet. Kane’s event is on Friday at 2:25 p.m. Kapande will make her first appearance at nationals in the long jump on Friday at 2:00 p.m.

Junior Nathan Stern competes for the Mount Mercy men in the shot put. It’s his first time at the NAIA national meet and his top throw of the indoor season, 51′-1″, set a school record and came at the Midwest Collegiate Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 11 in Sterling, Ill.

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The doors to the Malcolm Price Laboratory School on the University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar Falls are shown in this February 2011 photo. (AP Photo/Ryan J. Foley)

Gov. Terry Branstad gave his support Tuesday to University of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen’s recommendation to close Malcolm Price Lab School.

Meanwhile, supporters of keeping the school open surpassed 5,300 signatures on an online petition.

Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, said he’s “still considering” asking the Iowa Attorney General’s Office for a legal opinion on the authority of the Board of Regents to close the school without input from the Iowa Legislature.

“I’m still in the homework phase,” said Danielson, who serves as president pro tempore of the Senate. “I want to have my homework done first.”

Some lawmakers have raised questions about the ability of the regents to close the school without having the legislature sign off on the move because the school is designated as the state’s research and development school.

Geoff Greenwood, spokesman for Attorney General Tom Miller, said in an email that no one has requested that the office look further into the statute governing the school.

“Per the Iowa Code, we wouldn’t prepare a written AG opinion unless someone who is qualified to request one does so,” Greenwood wrote.

Before the vote to close the school on Monday, the regents said the law gave them the authority to close the school.

In his remarks during a news conference, Branstad said Allen was “doing a great job” in his administration of the school.

“I support President Allen and the Board of Regents. I believe that it’s appropriate. They are the closest to this and in the best position to make this decision,” Branstad said. “I know it’s never easy when you make a dramatic change like this. But I respect and appreciate his courage and his commitment to making the University of Northern Iowa an even better school for the future.”

The online petition to save the school continued to add signatures Tuesday. It can be found at http://chn.ge/xgKsw1

The 13th annual Quad Cities Triathlon will take place June 16, 2012.  Don’t delay, sign up now at this link.

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Water from the Maquoketa River flows through the breach in the dam at Lake Delhi on Sunday, July 25, 2010, in Delhi. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

The Lake Delhi dam breached, flooding lake homes downstream more than a year and a half ago. Since then, the community has come together to try to find a way to rebuild it.

Last November, people who live around the lake approved a bond issue for more than $6 million to restore the dam.

Now, Delaware County is looking for more ways to fund the repairs. Wednesday night, the board of supervisors will host a public forum to talk money with residents and business owners.

The issue at hand is a $3 million emergency bond. The board is considering issuing the bond, which it has the power to do without a countywide vote. First, supervisors want to hear what residents think of the proposal, especially because the bond would mean an increase in property taxes across the county.

“We’ve all survived the last 19 months since the breach, and there’s a lot of interest in the supervisors approving a $3 million emergency bond, and there are some that don’t want us to do that but there are still a lot of people with questions,”  said Delaware County Supervisor Shirley Helmrichs.

Supervisors said they were anxious to get going on repairs.

“I’ve said a number of times if we could just turn that clock back and put everything back in place, but we know we can’t do that. So we all just need to move forward and look ahead,” Helmrichs said.

The $3 million is a piece of the funding needed to repair the gaping hole in the dam and earthen levee. Overall, it’s a $11.9 million project. County leaders believe they could secure state funding if they show state legislators that residents are willing to help pay to fix the dam.

Some people living near the lake bed believe time is running out.

“We need to understand the economy that we are really changing very drastically if we do not do this soon, people who have not been here very many years definitely will be leaving soon,” said Delhi Resident Marcheta Cooey.

The board will listen to feedback at the public forum on Wednesday, starting at 7 p.m. at the Delaware County Fairgrounds Pavilion.

County leaders will consider the concerns as they decide how to move forward with the $3 million bond. Supervisor Helmrichs said the board will vote on the $3 million bond on March 5.

Tours are offered March through December, Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults, $3 for children and free to Brucemore members. Tickets can be purchased in the Brucemore Store and Visitor Center.

John Reitz

Even though it comes just once every four years, Leap Day — Feb. 29 — is a day like any other day for Iowa state government.

“I’m trying to think if there are any consequences for that extra day in February,” Richard Johnson, the Legislative Services Agency’s legal services division director, says. Long pause. “I can’t think of any.

“It’s just an extra day,” Johnson says about Leap Day. “I can’t think of any complications it causes us. I can’t think where it ever has been addressed in all my years.”

After more thought, Johnson suggests that the state Treasurer’s Office might be affected by the 366th day that is inserted into the calendar every fourth year in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year.

“Nope, it has no effect on us,” says Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald. “Not for money coming in or going out.”

That comes as no surprise to John Reitz, a University of Iowa law professor and expert in administrative law, the field of law that includes the administration of government. While leap years are an interesting topic for discussion, he’s not aware of any laws speaking to the issue.

Like Johnson, Reitz says, the consequences of Leap Day aren’t the sort of thing that governments or the law really spend much time thinking about.

“I don’t know of any statute or general rule that has anything to do with leap day,” he says. That absence that suggests the issue has never caused any problems significant enough that they require attention from legislators or other elected bodies.

“Any laws that are time sensitive define a time period — 30 days, 60 days, one year. So any impacts of Leap Day are covered there,” Reitz says.

Johnson says that the legislative calendar is regulated by weeks, “so it really doesn’t matter that there is an extra day in February. When reporting dates are called for in legislation, bill drafters always try to make sure the reports are due on a business day. “But that’s not peculiar to Leap Day.”

Reitz speculates that March 1 would likely be considered the legal birthday in non-leap years of someone born on leap day. His reasoning is that Feb. 29 is the day after Feb. 28, so a person born on Feb. 29 is legally considered to have aged one year on the day after Feb. 28. In non-leap years, that day is March 1.

So for someone born on Feb. 29, the first day they can legally drive, vote, join the Army, buy alcohol or start collecting Social Security is presumably March 1 in non-leap years, Reitz says.

Seasons and astronomical events do not repeat in a whole number of days, so a calendar that had the same number of days in each year would, over time, drift with respect to the event it was supposed to track.

By occasionally inserting an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected. A year that is not a leap year is called a common year.

There are more opportunities to digitally smear someone with the Internet just a cellphone away for many Americans, and experts say a growing number of people are becoming virtual targets, including residents in Eastern Iowa.

Consider recent Twitter accounts aimed at bullying students at Cedar Rapids and Marion high schools. Or the website, which has gained notoriety of late, dedicated to spreading claims that  people have incurable sexually transmitted diseases — including Iowans in places like Iowa City, Coralville and West Branch.

Sandra Baron

Experts sense the explosion of web use is prompting more people to file libel lawsuits related to online denigration, and it’s forcing the application of libel laws to evolve, said Sandra Baron, executive director of the Media Law Resource Center in New York.

For example, she said, although the federal Communications Decency Act shields website operators from liability for user-generated content, those operators might not be safe in the future.

“The courts have been very generous in the application of (the act),” she said. “But I think there is always the possibility of change in the future.”

Take the  user content-driven website that hosts a searchable database of alleged STD carriers, including their name, age, town, what STD they have and any other notable information.

“She infected my husband who subsequently infected me,” according to a post about an Iowa City woman who allegedly has herpes.

Randall Wilson

The site — which TheGazette.com chose not to name  to avoid encouraging activity there —  reminds posters in its “terms of use” that they’re “entirely responsible” for the content they provide, and the site “makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or authenticity of the information.”

Baron said the federal act probably protects the site’s operator from libel lawsuits.

“Under the case law today, they probably would be immune,” she said. “But I say today, because I’m not sure this is going to last.”

And, Baron said, individuals posting the potentially libelous information online aren’t protected.

“There are an awful lot of people who think they’re posting anonymously, and they’re not,” Baron said.

Cyrus Sullivan, creator and operator of the STD site, told TheGazette.com  from his home in Portland, Ore., that he’s not worried about being sued.

“I get complaints from lawyers all the time,” he said. “But it’s perfectly legal.”

Just in case, Sullivan said, he moved his servers to Europe and his domain registration to the Bahamas in 2010.

Sullivan, 28, said he launched the site after dating a girl who had herpes and didn’t tell him. He wanted to stop the same thing from happening to others, and he said some have thanked him. A lot more people — particularly those named on the site — have complained, he said.

Randall Wilson, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said he thinks Sullivan’s opponents might have grounds to do more than just threaten legal action, despite federal protections.

“(Sullivan) is certainly running a risk,” Wilson said. “It’s one thing for a carrier, like an Internet provider, to say we don’t control the content. But it’s another thing for a person to invite specific information to be posted.”

University of Iowa law professor Randall Bezanson said libel lawsuits can be difficult to win — especially in cases involving multiple jurisdictions and anonymous posters.

“But it’s possible,” he said.

Jerry Vander Sanden

Filing a lawsuit is probably the most effective recourse a person can take in cases of alleged virtual defamation, according to local authorities. Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said he rarely files criminal charges related to potentially harassing Internet postings because it’s often so difficult to trace an online message.

“The first requirement to prove any crime is to identify the person who committed the offense,” Vander Sanden said. “If you talk to the peace officers who try to investigate these online postings, you’ll find that’s next to impossible.”

Vander Sanden said investigators either need the cooperation of website operators or they have to subpoena records, making virtual harassment cases “a nightmare to investigate.”

Marion police Sgt. Lance Miller said he and his fellow investigators would like to be able to arrest suspects in connection with online harassment — like virtual bullying among high school students. But, he said, Iowa’s harassment statutes haven’t been updated to jibe with today’s communication tools.

What’s libel?

• Libel and slander are legal claims for false statements of fact about a person that are printed, broadcast, spoken or otherwise communicated to others. Libel refers to statements or visual depictions in written or permanent form. Slander refers to verbal statements and gestures. Defamation encompasses both libel and slander.
• To recover for libel, a false statement must be defamatory, meaning it harms the reputation of another person. It also must have been published to at least one other person and be “of and concerning” the plaintiff. The statement must be perceived as fact, and it must have been made with negligence or malice.

What’s harassment?

• According to Iowa Code, a person commits harassment when he or she — with intent to intimidate, annoy or alarm another person — communicates with someone by phone, telegraph, or via writing or electronic communication without legitimate purpose and in a way likely to cause annoyance or harm.
• The code explains that a person commits harassment when he or she has personal contact with another person with the intent to threaten, intimidate or alarm. “Personal contact,” according to the code, means an encounter in which two or more people are in visual or physical proximity to each other.

Communications Decency Act

• Section 230 of the act shields website operators from liability for comments and materials posted to their sites by others. The federal law is an exception to laws governing traditional offline publications like newspapers, where publishers can be held liable for any content in the publication.

Sources: Iowa Code section 708.7, Media Law Resource Center, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

HIAWATHA — The Civil War was supposed to be over a few months after it began. So, 150 years ago, when 760 soldiers in the 15th Iowa Infantry made their way to Shiloh, Tenn., they expected little resistance and a quick return home.

Instead, Confederate forces attacked General Ulysses S. Grant’s troops at Pittsburg Landing. And, when the smoke cleared on April 7 after a two-day battle, more than 3,400 men lay dead, 1,750 of them Union soldiers, 21 of them from Iowa.

The Battle of Shiloh instantly became America’s bloodiest battle, with another 16,400 soldiers wounded and 3,800 missing or captured. And, while the Union won this battle, it would take three more years and eight even bloodier battles to win the war.

“Iowa should be proud of what these guys did,” says Brandon Jolly, 30, as he opens the door to the Civil War room in the basement of his Hiawatha house. “They should be proud of these flags.”

Spread out on a large table are exact replicas of the 6-by-6 1/2-foot flags the Iowans carried into that battle — the 34-star American Flag and the eagle emblazoned state regimental flag. Using the original state flag and period American flags as models, Brandon has re-created the flags stitch-by-stitch for this year’s re-enactment of the Battle of Shiloh.

“All of the materials,” he says, “are as exact as you can get in the 21st Century.”

He fingers the gold fringe he and his adopted son, Steven, 15, tied and trimmed one tassel at a time.

“This means the world to me,” says Brandon, a Civil War re-enactor who also served in the Iraq War. “Not just the project, but everything we do. As a veteran, I can’t believe these guys could stand so close to each other and blast away.”

The original American Flag, most likely tattered and torn, was buried with its bearer in Mississippi after he died less than a month later at the Battle of Corinth.

The original Iowa Flag, tattered, torn and desecrated by souvenir takers, has taken a round-a-bout journey from private ownership to the Iowa Capitol Rotunda to the Iowa Historical Society where it is being restored through the Iowa Battle Flag Project (www.iowaflags.org).

Brandon, a Civil War fan since he became a re-enactor at age 9 with his father in Scott’s Tennessee Battery in Scott County, volunteered to make these replicas. He’s been sewing Civil War uniforms and accessories for more than a decade.

As his reward, Brandon, a manager at Ovation Networks in Cedar Rapids, will carry the Iowa flag when 500 historical interpreters from around the country gather at Savannah, Tenn., at the end of March. As the Civil War soldiers did, they will ride a paddle-wheeler on the Tennessee River to Pittsburg Landing where the Iowa regiment arrived as the Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7) commenced.

The re-enactors will then march five miles through the National Battlefield Park, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the 15th Iowa Infantry’s first battle.

“We’re very passionate about it,” Brandon says. “We’re very proud to carry these flags.”

Comments: (319) 398-8323; dave.rasdal@sourcemedia.net

I walked along the west bank of the Cedar River again on a recent Sunday. It flowed gently. It would be easy to be lulled into a false sense of security regarding the danger within. Approaching year four since the flood, it is as vivid in my mind now as it was June 13, 2008. The devastation and despair covering over 10 square city miles. The reality of suddenly becoming homeless. Endless months of physical labor to rebuild. Gratitude beyond words for the help of family and friends.

Do I think some in control that summer made mistakes before, during and after the flood? Yes. Can I risk letting old suspicions surrounding errors prevent me from selecting future flood protection? No. I have to trust the money will be spent as we intend. We will be watchful.

To risk another flood with no protection after enduring 2008 would be to ignore the severity of our loss and that of our neighbors. We need, as caring people, to provide current and future residents a safe life along the river. Even if you sit on higher ground the floods impact us all. Please vote “yes” on March 6 to provide flood protection on both sides of the river.

Linda Seger

Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids school officials claim they want nothing more than to be open and transparent. However, if you ask them questions about their new administration building (aka Taj Mahal) like I did, you will be charged $80/hour for the architect to “put it together for you.” Then when you get the 72 pages worth of information, unless you are an architect yourself, you will probably need to hire another firm to read them for you.

Fast-forward to the current controversy surrounding redistricting and the proposed closing of elementary schools. There has been a rather hasty process with the community shut out of two thirds of it. Questions remain unanswered. If you look at the people on the advisory committees involved, are the people being most affected being well represented?

The school board assures parents of its interest in quality education first. Polk Elementary is doing well. So, if it is our first priority as a district, why is it the last thing we weigh in the argument?

Steve Hill

Cedar Rapids

In the midst of heated rhetoric around President Obama’s decision about faith-sponsored institutions and health care insurance, let’s look at those institutions.

When any group decides to open a hospital or found a university, it employs architects, directors, accountants and other staff necessary to run that institution. Its primary purpose is to provide health care or education.

As such, it should behave as a business. It should pay salaries, charge appropriate fees, balance the budget, maintain the building and provide necessary equipment and supplies. And hospitals should invite pastors, rabbis, priests or imams to visit their members.

If it is large enough, part of that business’ behavior is offering health care insurance coverage for all, letting each employee choose which plan, procedures and medicines are appropriate and necessary.

Yes, that institution will probably pay part of the premium for each employee, and the sponsoring faith may object to some coverage, but that is part of the responsibility for the privilege of living in a democracy. We all pay taxes that go to projects we do not approve.

This is what religiously affiliated institutions should do as businesses. Leave preaching religion to priests, pastors, rabbis or imams in their respective churches, tabernacles or mosques.

Elizabeth A. Belden

Alburnett

Regarding a Feb. 19 column by Karl Knutson (“Stop glorifying war, redirect country’s efforts”): This column was an illogical, non-sequitur, naively developed rant. Its premise purely anti-military, anti-American.

The writer cites history in a simplified, minimalized way. He dwells on My Lai, ignoring what led to the savagery. He cites the hazing incidents at Abu Ghraib. There’s the 24 killed in cold blood in Haditha by a squad of Marines. No mention of the tens of thousands in mass graves, or entire towns gassed to death, or the reign of terror under Saddam endured by the Iraqis.

Saddam is irrelevant to this column. But our heinous military? You get the point.

Poor judgment, captured on videos, is the tool the detractors of this country and its military gleefully employ.

I’d rather have the security of America in the hands of a strong, wise military, than in the hands of delusional mindsets like the one exhibited in this column.

Harvey Hop

Cedar Rapids

—

For more than a year, the possible demolition of First Christian Church to make way for parking space has been on the table. No individual or organization has stepped up to save the massive, historic building at 840 Third Ave. SE.

Instead, it appears destined to be demolished after March 12, the date when the Cedar Rapids Historic Preservation Commission’s 60-day hold on the demolition permit expires. In its place will be parking for the new Physicians’ Clinic of Iowa medical pavilion, an important, groundbreaking project in the city’s new medical district.

First Christian Church stands within the city’s Grant Wood Cultural District. It likely will become the third structure eligible for the National Historic Register to be demolished for the PCI project. Those designations afford no protection from a wrecking ball.

We should recognize that this church has played a significant role in our community’s history. It’s also sad that demolition comes not long after an expert on the work of Louis Sullivan confirmed that the famed designer was a consulting architect for the church, dedicated in 1913. A local architect has called the church’s stained-glass windows “phenomenal.”

Those windows, the church’s entrance columns and skylight will be preserved for some future local use, according to officials at St. Luke’s Hospital, which bought the property in late 2010.

Leading up to all of this were talks with Mission of Hope about moving First Christian Church, but that wasn’t viable for the agency. No other interested parties came forward with alternative uses, St. Luke’s told us.

The City Council did grant a variance for city parking standards and is considering a further reduction for medical buildings, possibly easing the pavilion project’s need for the church property. PCI says parking would be too tight without it. Council member Monica Vernon says the city doesn’t have money to buy historic private properties anyway.

So it appears no one is about to save this church. If so, we hope the loss at least raises awareness of how difficult it can be to save important structures that define our history. And if something is a high priority, then more supporters must step up and make a strong case for it well ahead of the demolition date.

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“We kind of stole this one. I’m not going to lie,” Linn-Mar’s Marcus Paige said after his team’s 83-77 double-overtime win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy in a Class 4A substate final Tuesday night that was, well, incredible.

Paige cemented his status as the best boys’ basketball player ever to come out of the Metro by scoring 49 points, including a coldblooded 3-pointer from about 22 feet that tied things at 61-61 with 8.5 seconds left in regulation. The North Carolina recruit had a four-point play with 19 seconds to go, nailing a corner trey and ensuing free throw to somehow bring his outplayed team within one possession.

Aerial of Penford, Cedar Rapids, Ia., 9/99.

CEDAR RAPIDS — Should the city decide to sell a public park to Penford Products Co., Mayor Ron Corbett Tuesday night said, he will push to retain the deed until the company decides and discloses the details of how it will use the land.

Corbett made the comment as the City Council unanimously agreed to seek proposals for the purchase of the Riverside Park. Next-door neighbor Penford has asked to buy the property so it can position itself to expand its corn wet milling business, and Corbett said he didn’t know if anyone else would be interested in the site.Proposals are due March 30 and a sale could come as early as June.

Council member Kris Gulick agreed with Corbett’s request that the city keep the deed to the park property in its possession even if it decides to sell to Penford so officials have some understanding of what will eventually go there.

Colleague Ann Poe, meanwhile, wondered why the city was buying out the Diamond V Mills office on First Street NW as part of its flood-recovery buyout program and yet was willing to let Penford expand into a riverfront park, which also is in the 100-year flood plain.

Christine Butterfield, director of the city’s Community Development Department, said the Diamond V Mills office along the river is in the way of the city’s proposed flood protection levee. In contrast, the Penford Products plant and the park next to it are slated to be protected by a flood wall close to the river’s edge.

Council member Scott Olson, a commercial Realtor, said the idea of a park sale and industrial expansion was controversial “but has potential.”

Tim Kortemeyer, Penford president and general manager, has said the company needs the extra space so it can court a partner to participate in a future expansion of its current business of making starch, ethanol and other biomaterials.

The expansion into the park would move Penford’s property up to the 12th Avenue Bridge. On the other side is the new site of the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library on the edge of Czech Village.

The museum’s staff and board of directors have come out in opposition to Penford’s request, saying that the expanded industrial operation and any additional odors would harm the museum experience.

http://hooplanow.com/2012/02/28/idina-menzel-of-wicked-glee-coming-to-des-moines/

No excuses.

“We felt like we were ready, but we just didn’t play like it,” Donald said after top-ranked Benton Community fell hard against Ballard, 50-34, in a Class 3A quarterfinal at the girls’ state basketball tournament Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Arena.

May's Island in Cedar Rapids flooded by the Cedar River on Thursday, June 12, 2008 as seen from the air. (Perry Walton/P&N Air)

A unanimous Iowa Senate approved a plan Tuesday to provide state funds to help cities that contribute local funds to build flood protection,

Tuesday’s vote comes just a week before a crucial election in Cedar Rapids in which voters will be asked to extend a 1 percent local-option sales tax for 10 years to provide local matching funds required in the state legislation.

“It’s a pro-growth, progressive policy that we can all be proud of,” said Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, who noted that Senate File 2217 had its roots in a bipartisan, bicameral working group that began crafting the approach last session. The legislation was set aside last year when Cedar Rapids voters turned down a 20-year tax extension by a narrow margin May 3.

Danielson said the legislation now has an even broader application given the flooding that hit communities along the Missouri River and a flash-flooding problem in Dubuque last summer that followed the state’s worst natural disaster in 2008 that hit Linn County and other parts of Iowa.

Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett called the Senate vote “a big step” in a political era where “partisan bickering can overshadow everything.”

“This is an example where both parties came together and put together good public policy for the state of Iowa,” he said.

The bill would establish a 10-year state flood mitigation program capped at $30 million annually in state sales tax revenue with a maximum award of up to $15 million a year for any qualifying single community to match local and federal funds to spend on flood protection.

The bill sets up a nine-member board to scrutinize applications and allows qualifying local entities to capture a share of the growth in their sales tax collections to match state and federal financial assistance.

Gary Ficken, who is part of community group CREST that is advocating for passage of the local sales tax extension next week, called the Senate vote “a first step in the state match.”

Corbett said the state legislation to provide support for flood protection has gotten backing because it is open to all Iowa communities in need of flood protection help.

“It’s not just a handout from the state,” he said. “It’s sound public policy with a lot of stipulations that communities have to meet to qualify. But that’s how it should be.”

Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, said the Senate bill provides a mechanism for the state to become a partner to invest in “fairly intensive” infrastructure improvements that provide an essential public purpose along with safeguards for taxpayers.

“I think it’s got a good shot at being one of the defining bipartisan achievements of this Legislature,” he said.

Sen. Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, said the bill recognizes that the state has a role to play in restoring economic vitality and preserving jobs in communities hard hit by natural disasters that have a ripple effect on surrounding areas.

“I believe it is a proposal with significant merit,” he said. “A number of taxpayer protections have been incorporated

In the heart of the Iowa Riverfront Master Plan is the Iowa River Landing Riverfront Park and the Landing at the Iowa River in Coralville, Iowa. Released Feb. 28, 2012. (City of Coralville)

CORALVILLE — The city of Coralville unveiled Tuesday night a plan to increase riverfront recreational opportunities along a section of the Iowa River from Interstate 80 to just past the Iowa River Power Company restaurant.

What’s included?

Proposed projects include zip lines across the river, an outdoor stage for concerts and festivals, an ice rink, a marina, boat and kayak launch sites, a splash park, trails, shelter areas, a playground and a retail shopping area.

What’s next?

The master plan will be fully developed over the next decade. Officials hope to to break ground in the next few years on some of the projects, tackling one every year or two.

Who’s paying?

The city will fund individual projects by seeking grants, private donations and public-private partnerships.

To read the entire plan, click here.

[View with PicLens]

Two F-16 fighter jets fly over Iowa State University's central campus during the celebration of National POW/MIA Recognition Day in September 2003. (AP Photo/Ames Tribune, Nirmalendu Majudmar)

Gov. Terry Branstad has joined with 48 other governors in protesting proposed spending cuts to the Air National Guard.

Branstad on Tuesday released a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed by the governors. It opposes plans by the Air Force to reduce Air National Guard spending.

The letter says governors understand the need to reduce spending but argues the Air Guard is among the most cost efficient arms of the military.

Branstad released the letter at his weekly news conference. He also distributed a letter protesting the proposed cuts signed by Maj. Gen. Tim Orr, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard, and adjutant generals from all other states.

In Iowa, reductions include elimination of F-16 fighter planes, causing the loss of 500 jobs at the Des Moines airport.

The Marriott Hotel and the Vesta restaurant sit at the intersection of E 9th Street and Quarry Road at the Iowa River Landing Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010 in Coralville. Tax increment financing is being used to build a new Von Maur department store at the development. (Brian Ray/ SourceMedia Group News)

IOWA CITY — The Von Maur department store chain plans to leave Sycamore Mall in June 2013, according to a mall spokeswoman.

Jennifer Neumann said terms of an agreement, including the move-out date, have been reached by Core Realty Holdings of Newport Beach, Calif., the mall’s owner, and Davenport-based Von Maur.

Neumann, of de Novo Alternative Marketing in Cedar Rapids, also works with Von Maur as a local spokeswoman.

The disclosure confirms what many in Iowa City have expected since Von Maur announced plans to open a larger store in the city of Coralville’s Iowa River Landing development, where it will receive the equivalent of a free shell building and parking.

Neumann, though, said Sycamore is making plans to turn the departure into a positive.

“Sycamore Mall is looking at this as their next opportunity,” she said.

Neumann said the mall is working to recruit another anchor tenant and expects to secure one that is new to the area. The shopping center also aims to improve its ties with the Iowa City community, she said.

The rich incentive package offered by the city of Coralville to attract Von Maur to its development has provoked an outcry, because it will be funded by more than $9.5 million in tax increment financing. But Coralville leaders say they cannot be blamed for Von Maur’s departure from Sycamore Mall, because the department store chain was already seeking an alternate location when it was approached by the city.

The Von Maur relocation has become one of the focal points in an Iowa Legislature debate on limiting the uses of tax increment financing.

The city of Coralville maintains that the 85,000-square-foot Von Maur store will be worth the investment because it will provide an anchor to draw other retailers to Iowa River Landing.

The development’s first phase is expected to involve $100 million in investments, including a new University of Iowa Health Care outpatient medical facility and a private microbrewery and restaurant.

Fire crews work on a mobile home that was destroyed by a fire in the Regency Mobile Home Park Tuesday, February 28, 2012. A candle is believed to have started the fire Tuesday night, officials said. (Mark Carlson/The Gazette-KCRG)

IOWA CITY, IA – A candle is believed to have started a fire that destroyed a Johnson County mobile home Tuesday night.

Fire crews from Hills, Lone Tree and Riverside were called to the Regency Mobile Home Park shortly before 7 p.m. When they arrived the mobile home was fully engulfed in flames, witnesses said.

Hills Fire Chief Jim Malmberg said the fire was likely a result of a candle that tipped over. All four residents of the mobile home on Cherokee Trail escaped safely, Malmberg said.

Fire crews were able to contain the blaze within a half-hour, preventing it from spreading to other nearby units.

“We had good crew tonight,” Malmberg said.

The Red Cross has been contacted to help the family.  Malmberg said the mobile home is a “complete loss.”

The coverage includes the first three sessions being streamed online, while the finals will be live on BTN beginning at 2 p.m. (Iowa time).

Below is the news release from the University of Iowa SID:

BTN to offer Unprecedented Coverage of Big Ten Wrestling Championships

The first three sessions will receive online live coverage for the first time.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Big Ten Network will offer its most extensive Big Ten Wrestling Championships coverage ever, with all four sessions Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4, at Purdue University receiving either live television or online coverage.

As part of the Big Ten Digital Network’s subscription package and for the first time, BTN will provide live, whip-around Student U streaming coverage of the Big Ten wrestling preliminaries, beginning at 10 AM ET Saturday. Streaming coverage of select matches in sessions two and three will continue at 5 PM ET Saturday and at 1 PM ET Sunday, respectively.

On Sunday, session four of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships will be carried live at 3 PM ET on BTN. The network’s Tim Johnson, Jim Gibbons and Shane Sparks will call the action from Mackey Arena.

Saturday, March 3:

Big Ten Championships: Session 1, 10:00 a.m. – Student U/BTN Digital

Big Ten Championships: Session 2, 5:00 p.m. – Student U/BTN Digital

Sunday, March 4:

Big Ten Championships: Session 3, 1 p.m. – Student U/BTN Digital

Big Ten Championship Finals: Session 4, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. – BTN

All times ET

This file photo provided Sept. 1, 2009, by Mercy for Animals, shows a frame grab from a video made by an undercover member of the group of male chicks being tossed into a grinder at an Iowa hatchery. A measure being considered by Iowa legislators would make the filming of such "gotcha" videos illegal. (AP Photo/Mercy for Animals, File)

DES MOINES — Agricultural interests on Tuesday said the Iowa Senate had given them a legal hook to help combat animal rights activists who aim to damage elements of Iowa’s food production industry.

However, opponents of the revised House File 589, which passed the Senate 40-10, said they had succeeded in forcing proponents to settle for a “watered-down” version of the bill.

The original legislation would have made it a crime to record video or audio footage of agriculture operations without permission from the farmer or business owner. The new version doesn’t restrict the creation or distribution of such recordings; it only addresses fraudulent statements in obtaining access to the facilities in the first place.

“I would say their victory is hollow,” said Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, who had tried to defeat the measure.

But Rep. Annette Sweeney, R-Alden, the House Agriculture Committee chairwoman who led the charge last year to get the tougher measure approved by the GOP-run House, said she was “very thrilled” by the Senate vote. Representatives wasted no time in approving the Senate changes on an 68-26 House vote several hours later and sent the bill to Gov. Terry Branstad for his expected signature.

“This is a very, very positive step for agriculture,” she said. “For right now, I think it’s a start to realize that we are serious about protecting the agriculture that we have in our state.”

Sweeney said 10 other states are looking at similar laws to deal with the issue, which pits environmental and animal rights activists against farmers and agribusiness interests.

The compromise version of HF 589 offered by Sens. Joe Seng, D-Davenport, and Sen. Tim Kapucian, R-Keystone, would establish that a person who obtains access to the facility by false pretenses, or lies on an employment application with the intent to commit an act not authorized by the owner, is guilty of “agricultural production facility fraud.” Penalties could include fines and prison time.

Seng said the bill was designed to provide protections for livestock producers who make large financial investments and who are concerned about exposure to disease and other problems associated with unauthorized people accessing their private property under false pretenses.

However, McCoy said the law would have a chilling effect on whistle-blowers trying to expose conditions of animal abuse or food safety concerns, as well as potentially placing union organizers or media in positions of being charged for criminal activity under the bill’s vague wording.