Tag Archive for 'iowa'Page 2 of 8

Tornado slams into Iowa Boy Scout camp

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Smoother
on June 12, 2008
in News and iowa
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Tornadoes are deadly and there’s nothing you can do to prevent them. Remember the Iowa City Tornado of 2006?

There’s a new tornado in the news which had a bad outcome.

A tornado slammed a Boy Scout camp in the remote hills of western Iowa on Wednesday, killing at least four people and injuring 40, most of whom were on a hike when the twister struck.

All of the children had been accounted for late Wednesday, after rescuers cut their way through downed trees and debris to reach them, said Russ Lewrenson of the Mondamin Fire Department

You can read the full article about this devistating event here.

Tornado slams into Iowa Boy Scout camp

photo by pingnews

Des Moines Real Estate

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Smoother
on June 1, 2008
in Real Estate and iowa
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Mortgage defaults in the Des Moines real estate market are all over the news, and home sellers are left wondering what will happen to their homes. Without the much needed level of subprime mortgages to balance out the market, how will home purchases rebound, or better yet, remain consistent? Home sellers will need to step up the game in order to entice new buyers to purchase their homes. It is no longer the simple task of finding a mortgage and buying, now, with mortgages being more tight reigned than ever before, it is about showing why your property is THE one to buy.

Home sellers can list their home below market value, offer open houses and even advertise their property only to find that their home remains on the market month after month. Mortgage approvals are following stricter guidelines thanks to a wealth of subprime foreclosures and buyers are feeling the weight of this crunch. If a seller wants to sell their home, they will need to show why the home is a great deal.

Des Moines Real Estate

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June Deer Hunting Tips

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Smoother
on May 25, 2008
in iowa
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Summer is here, the kids are out of school, the first swarm of mosquitoes has arrived. All you bow hunters know that deer season is right around the corner. I am trying to get all my outdoor home projects done before it gets too close to hunting season. The spring food plots are in. The mineral Licks have been made. My summer bow shooting schedule is starting. We have a lot going on.

We have finished our spring food plots. This year we are going to do things differently. Last year we planted all our plots in the fall with our fall blends because of the very dry summer. This spring we had some of the annuals make it through the winter. A few turnips made it along with quite a bit of rape plants.

deer hunting

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Iowa Real Estate

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Smoother
on May 1, 2008
in Real Estate
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What types of communities are available in Iowa and what is the real estate market like? Well first you should know that Iowa is a land locked state. This means that you do not have the water from Lakes or the ocean in the area like Michigan or Florida. This means that most often you have to look for the communities that offer lakes and hope that the Iowa real estate is still affordable. Most of the communities available in Iowa are generally farming, and agriculture. However you can find some really pretty places to retire in Iowa in the north if you are interested. As for the market, like most of the United States it is seeing a low. Foreclosures and investment properties are really what is available.

Before looking at the general market let us look at the investments you can find. When homes are being foreclosed on that means many individuals are looking to rent, it also means that many investors are able to find properties for a decrease in actual value. Therefore, for investors you may want to check out properties that require a fix and flip or a rental investment. Many individuals will need to rent the homes for around $1000 a month or less. This means that the deal must have some long term return or a mortgage that can handle such a low rent for a home. Keep in mind that many of the individuals looking for rental properties probably had a foreclosure so they really need a deal.

Iowa Real Estate

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Slipknot Iowa Rock Music CD Review

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Smoother
on April 14, 2008
in Music and Music Reviews
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Iowa is the latest Rock CD released by the highly group Slipknot and they have once again delivered a brilliant collection of tracks. I’m confident Slipknot fans, and Rock fans alike will be pleased with this one.

I wish it weren’t the case but, it’s not everyday that I get a CD for review that I can just pop in and comfortably listen to from beginning to end. There is usually a song or two that I just can’t force myself to get through. Not at all the case with Iowa. Every track is enjoyable and was pretty easy for me to listen to from start to finish.

Iowa is a nicely varied, mix of 14 tracks that are very well written and brilliantly performed songs by these clearly talented musicians. Most of the songs display a lot of the kind emotion that makes for a really great listen. Clearly drawing from what I can only imagine are their own real life experiences. At different points touching on the most real emotions of love, heartbreak, pain, failed relationships and unattainable romance. They’re all here.

Listen and I think you’ll agree that the song choices are excellent, the production is outstanding and Slipknot is clearly a group that is in top form.

While the entire CD is really very good some of my favorites are track 3 - Disasterpiece, track 5 - Everything Ends, and track 6 - The Heretic Anthem

My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 8 - Left Behind. It’s a great track!

Iowa Release Notes:

Slipknot originally released Iowa on August 28, 2001 on the Roadrunner Records label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. (515) 2. People=Shit 3. Disasterpiece 4. My Plague 5. Everything Ends 6. Heretic Anthem, The 7. Gently 8. Left Behind 9. Shape, The 10. I Am Hated 11. Skin Ticket 12. New Abortion 13. Metabolic 14. Iowa

Slipknot: Corey (vocals); Mick, James (guitar); Paul (bass); Joey (drums); Shawn, Chris (percussion); Craig (samples); Sid (DJ). Recorded at Sound City and Sound Image, Van Nuys, California.

The Benefits of Using eFile

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Smoother
on April 1, 2008
in Everyday Life and Stuff to do when bored
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ou struggle for hours reading and re-reading your tax instructions trying to figure out your tax return and then when you do finally file your taxes you sit for weeks on end just waiting for that brown envelope with your tax refund check to come. You think to yourself; There has to be a simpler way.

Does this scenario sound familiar?

The benefits of using efile to file your taxes.

Efile is the fastest way to file your taxes and efiling cuts the tax return processing time in about half. So, if you are expecting a tax refund then you can expect your tax refund in about half of the time it would normally take if you filed your taxes by mailing in your tax return. If you are expecting a tax refund you can have your tax refund deposited directly into your bank account by using Direct Deposit. Our tax service also lets you split your tax refund into two different accounts if you choose direct deposit.

The Benefits of Using eFile

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Satellite Internet Coming to Rural Areas

Published
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Smoother
on March 14, 2008
in News
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Thousands of households in rural America have yet to transition into the age of high-speed Internet access for a very good reason: no availability of DSL or cable. Because the economics of adding DSL or laying cable in sparsely populated areas doesn’t provide a sufficient return on investment, it could be years before many rural Americans have access to the information superhighway. Increasingly, many stuck on slow dial-up are turning to high speed satellite Internet (similar to satellite TV) as a solution.

Available today from several providers, satellite Internet requires a separate dish antenna mounted at the customer’s home, along with cable running to a satellite modem that connects to a personal computer. Previously this required an upfront investment of hundreds of dollars for home equipment, which also required professional installation. Other drawbacks included reliability issues due to weather related problems, and difficulty in scheduling rapid service calls.

To overcome these challenges, brothers Dwayne & Michael Hay founded SkyWay USA in rural Jackson, Kentucky. For less than $100, the SkyWay USA system can be ordered online, shipped directly to your home, and self-installed in a matter of hours. Coupled with an entry-level service fee of $29.95/month, SkyWay USA touts itself as rural America’s low-cost satellite Internet provider.

Old Barn

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Fiction Lessons from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop

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Smoother
on March 7, 2008
in iowa
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The following article was written by TK Kenyan who blogs at tkkenyon.com and fictionlessons.blogspot.com

Don’t Show, Dramatize! — Even Better Than “Show, Don’t Tell.”

I’m sure that, at some point, you’re heard the adage Show, Don’t Tell. There’s even a rather good writing book by that title. Here’s a new aphorism: Dramatize, Don’t Just Show. Important information should be woven into the action and the results of it shown in the scene. It’s a tough concept. Try to think about not telling your audience / reader the info, but just showing the effects of the event and weaving it in insidiously so that the reader just takes it for granted. Bad examples of a good idea:

Telling: Bobbie had an illegitimate child, Ted.

Showing: Bobbie picked up the photo of her and Ted, her son. He was blonde, blue-eyed, and looked like his father, Jim.

Bobbie’s husband, Lars, walked into the kitchen.

Fiction Lessons

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Great Campgrounds Around the US

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Smoother
on March 1, 2008
in Travel
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Camping is a great way to see the world at very little expense. Almost every state (in the US) and every country in the world have campgrounds that are open to the public. There are a few that are free to use, but most charge at least a small fee for use of the grounds. Here are a few stops to get you started on your outdoor adventures.

Alaska - Denali National Park offers several camping areas for those adventurers willing to brave the elements and the animals.

Alabama - Blue Springs State Park (located near Ozark, Alabama) is a 103 acre park that’s center of attention is the swimming pool and spring pool which are both fed by an underground spring.

Arkansas - Caddo River in Glenwood, Arkansas is a great place for roughing it in complete luxury. It offers beautiful cabins and bunkhouses at reasonable prices (or you can just stay in your tent if you prefer).

Colorado - The camping sites at Black Canyon of the Gunnison fill up quickly during the summer months. It offers some of the most sheer walls, narrow openings and startling depths in North America.

Delaware - Trap Pond State Park offers a unique experience of Delaware’s Cypress Swamp. It offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities and camping experiences.

Georgia - Red Top Mountain State Park and Lodge is off the 12,000-acre Lake Allatoona in Georgia. It offers a lot of great activities for the whole family.

Iowa - Muscatine County, Iowa has a hidden Gem in the Saulsbury Bridge Recreation Area. Camping is free on Wednesdays (from May - October) and it offers some of the best environmental education programs around.

Great Campgrounds

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