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  • The Disappearing Waterloo Cemetery
  • How much is your utility bill?
  • Farming Hops
  • Sex in JoCo Wildlife Reserve
  • Iowa Wines - Yes, You Read That Correctly

This JustIN… Written on May 7, 2009, by justin.foss.

Welcome to This JustIN… I’m a reporter at KCRG-TV9. I don’t have a beat, but I usually find a way to get myself in interesting situations, whether it’s involving homeless camps, or a day at the racetrack. Here, I’ll tell more about my adventures. But, I need your help. The only way this works is if you tell me what you’re thinking.

You can always e-mail me at justin.foss@kcrg.com

The Disappearing Waterloo Cemetery Written on October 30, 2009, by justin.foss.

10/30/2009 - Since 1986, Phyliss Morgan and Evelyn Winder have fought the court to try and reclaim a cemetery.  They have relatives buried in the Mount Zion Union Cemetery on North Elk Run Road.  They paid several thousand dollars in legal bills to force the family that they say destroyed the cemetery to bring it back.

Judge George Stigler made his ruling in 1991, and since then, that ruling has never been enforced.  Below, you can read the court documents surrounding the ruling and what needs to happen.

If you would like to help fund a lawyer, or if you are a lawyer and would like to donate your time, please contact me and I will put you in touch with the living relatives.

Below is a PDF of a book written on the disappearing cemetery:

These are court documents regarding the disappearing cemetery:

How much is your utility bill? Written on October 13, 2009, by justin.foss.

10/13/2009 - My utility bills average $80 for electricity, $15 for gas (I haven’t gotten a winter bill in my new house yet) and $150 for cellphone and cable and whatnot.  The city of Cedar Rapids spends $11,000,000 a year on utilities.

For a breakdown, I’ve provided the documents I got from the city.

Farming Hops Written on September 3, 2009, by justin.foss.

9/3/2009 - For the last two years, Seth Somerville has watched a unique crop grow in a farm near Oxford.  He’s growing hops.  You know, the ingredient in beer.

It started after a global shortage of Hops in 2008.  He was working at Millstream Brewery in Amana at the time.  The shortage raised prices from $5 per pound to up near $25, in just a year.

The crop takes three years to mature and reach it’s full capacity.  This is year two for Somerville’s hops.

He is the only Iowa farmer growing USDA certified organic hops.  He knows that because when he we to get approved, they had to create a new code to classify hops.  Although, Iowa used to grow hops, but that was pre-prohibition.

 Somerville plans to sell the 30 pounds of hops he harvested from this year to local home-brewers.  If you would like to get some, you can e-mail him at: iowahops@gmail.com.

Somerville plans to sell the 30 pounds of hops he harvested from this year to local home-brewers.  If you would like to get some, you can e-mail him at: iowahops@gmail.com.

Interesting fact of the day - hops are in the same family as marijuana and hemp.  It’s just hops are legal to have.

These wonderful photos are courtesy of Chris Blake, he is the photographer I worked with for the shoot.

Sex in JoCo Wildlife Reserve Written on August 1, 2009, by justin.foss.

8/1/2009 - For the last few days I’ve been studying the law surrounding the case of people meeting up for sex at the Hawkeye Wildlife Reserve in Johnson County.

I first investigated the area and immediately found two naked men walking around.  I approached them and asked what they were doing.  They said, “Sun bathing.”  Then, though, both put on all of their clothes and left.

I won’t explain everything else I found there, you can read about it here.

Since then, we’ve had hundreds of people ask why law enforcement hasn’t done anything about it.

I meet with Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek to find out, here’s what he had to say.

To see for yourself, here is the letter of the law.

709.9 Indecent exposure.

A person who exposes the person’s genitals or pubes to another not the person’s spouse, or who commits a sex act in the presence of or view of a third person, commits a serious misdemeanor, if:

1. The person does so to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires of either party; and

2. The person knows or reasonably should know that the act is offensive to the viewer.

Iowa Wines - Yes, You Read That Correctly Written on July 22, 2009, by justin.foss.

7/22/2009 - Today I took an hour drive to the Park Farm Winery in Bankston, IA.  It’s near Dubuque.  It is a great place with fantastic scenery.  My story was about the new Approved Viticultural Area, or AVA.  It’s called the Upper Mississippi River Valley.  Think of it much like the Napa Valley area in California - only 39 times larger in size.

This desigination means that the vineyards in that area, can claim they have some sort of unique qualities to their wine.  But to do that, any bottle that states that must contain 85% grapes from that region.

Also, wines produced in the Upper Mississippi River Valley can also now put “Estate” on their label.  If you drink a lot of wine, you know that usually means a higher  quality wine.  What “Estate” really means, is that 100% of the grapes were made either on site, or under direct control of the winemakers.   Only wines made in AVA’s can have the “Estate” distinction, according to the people at Park Farm Winery.

Here’s an article I found at ezine on how to read American wine labels:

United States:

 

1. Brand or winery name.
2. Vineyard name. At least 85 percent of the grapes must come from that vineyard.
3. Varietal name (e.g. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon) Wine is labeled according to the variety of grape. By law, it must contain at least 75 percent of that variety (e.g., Chenin Blanc must contain 75 percent Chenin Blanc grapes).
4. Estate-bottled. The grapes were grown in one county by the same producer. The term “made and bottled by” means that a winery has made at least 10 percent of the wine - the rest can come from anywhere.
5. Vintage (a year). At least 95 percent of the grapes used in making the wine were harvested in that year.
6. Other statements (size of bottle, alcoholic content, etc.). If you see the words “table wine” percentage of alcohol must be mentioned.

Despite the special climate that makes this area an AVA, its the actual land.  The reason this new AVA is the largest in the country is because it surrounds where the Wisconsin Ice Age took effect, and where the glaciers went.

Here is a link to the  application to the U.S. Treasury Department for the AVA.

It should be mentioned that the grapes grown here in Iowa are not the grapes we’ve all talked about for years.  We’re not drinking any Merlot, or Pinot Noir.  Instead, there are hybrids from France and other grapes designed at the University of Minnesota to withstand this climate.

Some of those grapes are: LaCrosse; Marechal Foch; and LaCrescent.

This area is now the largest AVA in America.  But is that a good thing?  Growers give varied responses.  But here’s the sum of what they say.

Most are for the designation as a starting point, so, in time, the area can break down further into smaller AVA’s.  The smaller the AVA, the more rare the wine or grape and growers can demand a higher price.

Why not start small?  Growers I spoke with said it is very hard to get an AVA designation, and by having the few wineries all combine, they had a greater chance of getting accepted.

Swimming Laps Around the City Written on July 19, 2009, by justin.foss.

7/19/2009 - I did a story on Saturday about lap swimmers being upset at the Parks and Rec department in Cedar Rapids.  They’re frustrated that the city isn’t making a priority about offering the public pools to lap swimmers.

Not long after the story aired, a group sent me an e-mail about a way to help out.

Milky Way Masters Swim Team - Cedar Rapids, IA
The Milky Way Masters Swim Team is a group of people from the Cedar Rapids, IA area that get together for swimming and is open to anyone who wants to participate. Its purpose is to offer training for Masters Swimmers on a year-round basis for novice and experienced swimmers. We have a wide range of abilities and accommodate everyone’s needs. It is an ideal place for people wanting to improve their abilities for triathlons or for beginning swimmers with no competitive experience. The group includes over 130 swimmers from the area, with typical practices bringing about 30 people together to work out. What we all have in common is the desire to maintain fitness, improve as individual swimmers, and enjoy each other’s companionship. If you would like more information about this group you can send a message to: MWMasters-owner@yahoogroups.com

Where is the Line? Written on July 10, 2009, by justin.foss.

7/10/2009 - This week I did a story on a man who accuses the Cedar Rapids Police Department of excessive force for using a Taser like weapon against him.  He says he didn’t do anything wrong, except not get out of his car immediately when an officer ran at him and started screaming, “Get out of your car.”  Although, circumstances behind why this happened make it interesting.

The police department responded by saying they were looking for a person with a gun.  They say a security company at the apartment complex where this happened called police after someone called them reporting someone with a gun in the parking lot.

What makes this noteworthy is I’ve seen more people comment on the story than I have seen in a long time.  At last check 272 comments were filed.

moparmania wrote: maybe he should have just gotten out of the car without mouthing back to the cops & refusing to comply after multiple requests. His complaint is absolutely ridiculous.

FullStop wrote: It is not illegal to sit in your car in a parking lot. The guy did nothing to cause suspicion. The cops are completely wrong on this one.

Now, the gentleman is filing a complaint against the police department.  That will be investigated by internal affairs after he deals with the court system for a charge of Interference with Official Acts.

Where do you stand on this?

A Fair of a Time Written on July 8, 2009, by justin.foss.

7/8/2009 - I’m working on a story about stay-cations.  With the economy in the tank  -how many times have I written that lead lately - county fairs are actually spending more to bring in more entertainment.  Despite budget cuts at companies and governments, fairs are bucking the trend.

Why?  The Association of Iowa Fairs says its because they realize the need for families to spend time together, and figure that if people are staying closer to home, they’d better have something good to do.

What do you think?  Would a bigger name concert at a fair inspire you to go?

What Kind of Community Do You Want to Live In? Written on June 27, 2009, by justin.foss.

6/27/2009 - This week I did two stories on the shooting death of Dominique Mosby.  Police aren’t sure of his address - at last check.  A little research on the internet makes it seem like he was from Chicago. 

People living in the apartment complex where he was shot didn’t want to talk about it.  They told me they feared retaliation.  I wonder about that. 

Police say they’re having trouble too.  The witnesses to this shooting are giving conflicting stories to police, preventing investigators from figuring out who the shooter is.  By the way, police think the victim and the shooter knew each other.

One gentleman pulled me aside tonight and told me the key to making this town a better place is to make people care more about their community.  He wants people to care so much they take control of situations and report trouble-makers to authorities.  I can already hear some folks calling them “squealers,” “narks” or “tattle tails.”  I don’t think that’s quite the case. 

Before you say to yourself, “I would of course report something.”  Ask when was the last time you stopped to help someone with a flat tire, or called police to tell them about someone that could use help not getting hit on the road as they change the spare.

I have reported my fair share of drunk drivers, so I can say I’m walking the walk.  Are you?

My last question is how can we as a community, the entire Eastern Iowa community, get people to respect home a little more? 

I’m running out of ideas.

Canoeing the Cedar River Written on June 20, 2009, by justin.foss.

6/20/2009 - I put my canoeing skills to the test today when I had a $5,000 camera in the craft.  Nerves anyone?

This is a screen grab of my fun.  Chris Blake shot this looking back at me.  I am hoping to get some more photos to put up here soon.

We were out there for the DNR’s annual event called Project AWARE.  It’s an effort to clean Iowa’s waterways.  Each year, the hundreds of volunteers pick a place to go.  This year they picked the Cedar River from Center Point to Muscatine.

They’re always looking for more volunteers, even if you can only do a day.

 

Here’s the contact information:

Press Release:  The Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources operates “Project Aware” to clean up the rivers of Iowa.  Usurallly, the Project Aware Teams work right in the river in canoes picking up trash in the water and at the immediate river bank.

ON SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2009, 50 TO 100 PROJECT AWARE VOLUNTEERS WILL MARCH ON IN

TO DRY LAND TO CLEAN UP THE REMAINING FLOOD DEBRIS IN THE OAKHILL-JACKSON

NEIGHBORHOOD ON THE EAST BANK OF THE CEDAR RIVER IN CEDAR RAPIDS.

WHERE:  Parking Lot of Horizons Family Services at the corner of 5th Street and 9th Avenue will be our base of operations

When:  Sunday June 21 from 9:30 AM to 2 PM

Why:  To Clean up the remainder Glass and Boards with Nails and other dangerous debris so this can be a safe neighborhood for our Children and Generations to Come.

For Further INFORMATION, You can call our Sunday Work site coordinating Team at  319-213-2051

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