February Musings: Hearts and Flowers

Listen Here NowOriginally broadcast 02/20/2019
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Co-Hosts Susan Franzen, Joy Beadleston, and Ci Ci Iverson pooled their ideas for beating the malaise of winter with a variety of ideas.

Carole Horowitz came in to tell us about Play With Words: This is America, (a collaboration including Ames Childrens' Theatre, Ames Public Library, and CY Stephens), which will be performed March 1 - 3 in the staging area at CY Stephens. After a discussion of activities to combat SAD (Seasonal Attitude Disorder), Joy B. brought us Melissa Murphy, a volunteer at the Iowa Heart Institute, to tell her story of surviving a heart attack with warning signs to watch out for.  Joy reminded us that spring flowers are available right now at Everts Flowers Shop, and gifts cards may be purchased at the KHOI studio. 

Birmingham Jail, Memory Project, FUEL

Listen Here NowOriginally broadcast 02/18/2019
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KHOI reporter, Susan Franzen, brought us a segment on an event this past Saturday at the Ames Library, which featured a film and a discussion of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham JailAmes HS art teacher, Lindsay Wede, and students Gretchen Webber, Caylee Fuqua, and Leah Wolter spoke with KHOI reporter, Greta Anderson. They told about their involvement in the Memory Project, through which young artists around the world create portraits as special gifts for children facing challenges. This year the project centered on Syrian refugees, and the artworks are hanging in the Ames Public Library foyer. In the last part of the show, host, Gale Seiler, chatted with Allee Wengart, from the Ames Chamber of Commerce, along with Danielle Minde and Christian Hempen. The topic was the re-envisioning of the organization formerly known as Young Professionals of Ames, now called FUEL. 

Transgender Rights Win and Ready to Run Program

Listen Here NowOriginally broadcast 02/15/2019
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Dennis Hart rundowns the local news from the the pages of Ames Tribune.

On Wednesday, February 13, a Polk County jury delivered a historic win for transgender rights in Iowa. Melissa Hass, from the Sherinain and Hasso Law Firm tells us how they gained this win.

Joy B brings you information about Ready to Run a unique program in our area that demystifies the world of politics for anyone interested in testing the waters.

A conversation with Alex Fafar, research and exhibits manager of the Ames History Center. 

Photo credited to ACLU of Iowa

Meskwaki Wisdom and Festival of Personal Geographies

Listen Here NowOriginally broadcast 02/13/2019
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Ci Ci Iverson and Susan Franzen took a road trip last Saturday visiting the Meskwaki Cultural Center and Museum in Tama to learn from Historic Preservation Director Johnathan L. Buffalo about how ancient peoples survived bitter cold and how present day natives are passing on the strategies for survival to their children.  Coming back to Ames for the last half of the program we heard from  Tibi Chelcea and Alex Braidwood about a unique expression of art, the Fesitival of Personal Geographies

InsideOut, Bird Count, Horseback Search & Rescue

Listen Here NowOriginally broadcast 02/11/2019
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The show began with the news from across Iowa. Host, Gale Seiler, interviewed Michelle Heinz from InsideOut Reentry Community, an organization in Iowa City that supports citizens reentering society after being incarcerated. 

Pat Schlarbaum provided information on the Great Backyard Bird Count coming up on February 15-18. In the last part of the show, Keith Morgan, from Story County Emergency Management, brought two guests with him. Sarah Samms and Gina McAndrews are members of the STAR1 Search & Rescue Team, and they told about horseback search and rescue. 

Stand Your Ground Law, Untold Ames: Student Homelessness, Ames’ Public Art Birdhouse Competition

Listen Here NowOriginally broadcast 02/08/2019
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Dennis Hart gives a summary of Local news form the pages of the Ames Tribune.

Thursday night, a panel discussion was held in Ames about "Stand Your Ground Law" that was passed by the Iowa legislature in 2017 allowing violent acts of self-defense, based one's reasonable perception of danger. Local Talk offers excerpts from what speakers said, including Wayne Clinton, past Story County Supervisor, Jessica Reynolds, Story County Attorney, Al Abdu Samad, legislator and creator of Creative Visions, Commander Geoff Huff of the Ames City Police, and Lt. Nicholas Lennie  from the Story County Sheriff’s office. The discussion was hosted by League of Women Voters of Ames and Story County and the Carrie Chapman Catt Centerat ISU.  

Tre Moore, KHOI's newest intern from the Greenlee School of Journalism, intorduces his first installment of his "Untold Ames" series. He  takes us out of our comfort zone with an untold story of homelessness and ISU students.  

Merry Rankin, Sustainability Director for ISU and Ames and Kerry Dixon,  Sustainability Coordinator of Design and Construction Services for Iowa State University and member of the City of Ames Public Art Commission roll our the City of Ames’ Public Art Birdhouse Competition and invite you to join in, making birdhouses for an exhibit at the Octagon and ultimately for an Ames city park. 

Merry also announces their upcoming Symposium on Sustainability Feb 18 and 19, open to the public. 

Farm Bill and Weekend Entertainment

Listen Here NowOriginally broadcast 02/06/2019
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Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union, the oldest farm organization in Iowa, answered questions about the effect of  Rep. Steve King's being  removed from the House Agriculture Committee by describing the work the House has ahead of it in implementing the recently passed Farm Bill.   Anna Johnson, policy manager for the Center for Rural Affairs, filled us in on the fate of some of the programs that will be determined by the current bill.  Turning to entertainment, we got a preview of Laugh Out Loud! from the show's Producer, Clark Ford, and MCs Tom (Florek) and Doug (Gentile), with a song from the musical opening this weekend.  Two Community Theatre productions are also opening, and representatives from their casts spoke with us.  Angela Rottering, director of  The Trouble with Cats, described the play at Webster City Community Theatre, and  Ali Kirwen, who plays the bride in Happily Ever After, tells us about the farce playing at Ankeny Community Theatre. 

Incarceration in Iowa, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Ames City Council Update

Listen Here NowOriginally broadcast 02/04/2019
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After Dennis Hart’s news, host Gale Seiler spoke with Allen Hays from the Iowa Justice Action Network. He told about issues that his organization works on related to mass incarceration in Iowa, and their upcoming Lobby Day at the Iowa Legislature. They work to draw attention to issues such as reducing or eliminating mandatory minimum sentencing and increasing support for those returning from prison. 

From KHOI’s naturalist, Pat Schlarbaum, we learned about red-bellied woodpeckers, which have been sighted in the area recently. Then Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen, a member of the Ames City Council, was in for her monthly visit. We spoke with her about the City Council’s goal-setting meeting that was held on Saturday, and the Comprehensive Plan that the City is beginning to work on. It is called Ames 2020, and the first public input sessions will be held in February. 

During the Shutdown...What happened, Wild Birds Unlimited, Abortion Ruling, Ames Comprehensive Plan 20140

Listen Here NowOriginally broadcast 02/01/2019
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Dennis Hart gives a summary of the week's local news from the pages of the AmesTribune.

On January 22 the Polk County District Court  Polk ruled that Iowa’s 6-week abortion ban violates Iowa’s state constitution and issued a permanent injunction. Veronica Lorson Fowler, Communications Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, explains what happened and what happens now.

Reports come in from federal facilities that were closed during the government shutdown. Lyndsay Cole, Assistant Director for Public Affairs for the USDA explains the animals were cared for and labs in Ames were able to continue research disease events. 

Rod Rovang, Resource Manager for the National Park Service at Effigy Mounds National Monument Park reports on bat research that was interrupted during the shutdown.

Karen Viste-Sparkman, biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service at Neil Smith National Wildlife Refuge near Prairie City in central Iowa, near Des Moines, reports on how that natural reserve fared during the shutdown.

The new owners of Wild BirdsUnlimited Nature Shop in Ames, Todd and Stephanie Burras, describe their passion for birds and nature and how that led to their purchase of this business.  They will hold a bird feeder building workshop on January 25 at the store.

Susan Gwiasda, Ames Public Relations Officer and Kelly Diekmann, Ames Planning and Housing Department Director describe the Ames Comprehensive Plan 2040 process, beginning this month. The last Ames Comprehensive Plan was made in 1997. Public input is being sought by the city.

Get involved! OPEN HOUSE - FEBRUARY 5, 2019, at the Ames Public Library, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 - 8:00 p.m

Windchill Wednesday -- Polar Vortex, Lawsuits, and Weekend Fun

Listen Here NowOriginally broadcast 01/30/2019
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Today Iowa State University and many other institutions are officially closed because of dangerously low temperatures (-23F at 7 a.m) and high winds, so our pre-recorded show begins with an interview by Elwynn Taylor recorded five years ago at the time of the first announced "Polar Vortex,"  Catching up with some important news from last week we spoke with Dick and Judy Lamb who described their successful lawsuit against Dakota Access Pipeline.  Commenting on the support Gov. Kim Reynolds has given to an amendment to the Iowa Constitution restoring voting rights to felons, Veronica Fowler, Communications Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, explained some of the previous history of attempts to restore voting rights. Looking forward to warmer weather on Saturday, Feburary 3, Huxley Librarian, Cathy Van Maanen, tells us about two family activities planned in Huxley, while Larry Sloan, manager of the Talent Factory in Nevada, tells us about the farewell concert of ISU men's choir, Shy of a Dozen.  We're closing with a tribute to the Winter Dance Party at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake commemorating the fatal plane crash sixty years ago, as described in the Des Moines Register

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