Top 9 of Iowa: Johnny Gosch's Mom, Evansdale Abduction, Ankeny Softball Title, RAGBRAI's 40th Ride
Also, a Johnston school board member charges state campaign laws were violated and Waukee authorities ask residents to conserve water as Drought 2012 drags on.
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Why nine? Because the Patch community includes nine sites in Iowa: Ankeny, Ames, Cedar Falls, Iowa City, Johnston, Marion, Urbandale, Waukee and West Des Moines.
9. After spending a year of military service in Afghanistan, Luke Jensen of Ames was treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The symptoms were so debilitating that after a night of drinking he swallowed all the medication he had. Now he's shared his story at a seminar for Iowa veterans and their families affected by PTSD.
8. Summer basketball kept Hawkeye fans entertained in Iowa City recently. Anthony Clemmons scored 30 points on a big second half, propelling his team to a 113-102 victory in the Primetime League Championship last week.
7. Urbandale authorities take door-to-door sales seriously. Have a permit or risk arrest. Tony Evan, 29, of South Holland, IL, and Lenore M. Ford, 24, of Lincoln NE, were charged with soliciting without a permit for selling cleaning products in the 8300 block of Parkview Drive. The city does not allow door-to-door sales unless the sales people first get a peddling license from the city.
6. Waukee residents and business owners were urged last week to turn off their sprinklers to help save water. The city is asking people to voluntarily reduce the amount of water they are using, particularly on lawn irrigation, said Mayor Bill Peard.
5. Ankeny's softball team clinched its first Class 5A state championship, going 39-6 on the season. The Hawkettes defeated Des Moines East High School 2-0 to win the title. It was a parting gift to exiting head coach Amy Farmer, who will leave the district for an assistant principal position with Burlington Schools.
4. Lots of Marion residents were among those celebrating the 40th anniversary of RAGBRAI -- the bike ride across Iowa held each July -- during its overnight stop Thursday in Cedar Rapids. Crowds filled the downtown bridges, listened to a concert by Counting Crows and stopped by the Patch tent to say hi. You can still upload your photos from the night to our gallery.
3. Johnston school board member John Dutcher filed a complaint with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board recently accusing district employees of misconduct in last fall's election. Dutcher claimed employees improperly used public resources to advocate for the election of four school board candidates last fall. He told the Des Moines Register he had heard rumors district staff worked on campaigns using district resources and equipment prohibited by Iowa law.
2. Cedar Falls Patch has been covering the search for two missing Evansdale girls that they believe may have been abducted and are alive. Cousins Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, disappeared July 13 after last being seen near Meyers Lake.
1. The mother of a West Des Moines boy missing since 1982 said she got a “sickening feeling” in the pit of her stomach when she heard news that two eastern Iowa girls had vanished while riding their bicycles. The news was salt in a wound that has never healed for Noreen Gosch, whose son Johnny’s abduction while delivering the Sunday paper in his neighborhood 30 years ago remains unsolved.
Read more:
Top 9 of Iowa: Evansdale Abduction, Iowa City Readies for Students and Parties, Meandering Cattle
Top 9 of Iowa: Sex for Sale, NBA in WDM, Officer Dies and More
