Hot off the Press: Judging the judge edition

The Iowa City Press-Citizen will be printed at the same place the Cedar Rapids Gazette rolls off the press: http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090708/BUSINESS/707089902/1004. I'm unsure why the P-C stopped using its in-house press, but I'm sure it was a cost saving measure by their wonderful corporate mother.

Residents in east-Minneapolis have higher than normal levels of chemicals made by 3M present in their blood, the result of groundwater contamination from local dumps were a 3M factory deposited its waste: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/50376382.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUX.

Sixty-three percent of fans surveyed say they it's too pricey to attend MLB games: http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/50385247.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUycaEacyU. My $9 beer at Dodger Stadium — I bought an entire six-pack of the same stuff the next week for less — is a testament to this.

Colder, wetter weather in April has delayed the sweet corn harvest in some places in eastern Iowa: http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090710/NEWS/707119994/1001/NEWS. Oh, the joy of shucking fresh sweet corn.

Interesting stats about the citation and arrest rates of UI students: http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090710/NEWS/707109922/1001/NEWS.

Gary's Food in Mount Vernon is accusing two grocery wholesalers of a non-competitive collusion to keep their food prices and profits high: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090711/BUSINESS/907110319.

I'm definitely getting this book: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/books/review/Kirn-t.html. Some small towns in Iowa are turning into really sad places:

The agricultural conglomerates that have gobbled up Oelwein and similar farm towns may feed the world, but they starve the folks who work for them, breeding a craving for synthetic stimulants that conveniently sap the appetite while enlarging the body’s capacity for toil.

A McDonald's employee in Michigan has been sentenced to 60 days in jail for spitting in a county sheriff's Egg McMuffin: http://www.freep.com/article/20090711/NEWS06/90711021/Man-gets-time-for-spitting-in-cop-s-meal. That reminds me: I should add "Super Troopers" to my DVD collection.

July 14th marks the 50th anniversary of the first nuclear meltdown in US history: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-meltdown13-2009jul13,0,1768338.story. This line is especially chilling:

For about two weeks, the facility, which employed several thousand people, had been venting colorless and odorless radioactive gas into the environment.

Yummy.

A criminal paralyzed from the waist down in a crash following a police chase is costing Linn County $3,000 a day in medical bills for his care, enough to exhaust the county's budget for inmate health care: http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090714/NEWS/907149994/1001/NEWS.