Iowa/area news
tsmith | September 25, 2007So, after all the kvetching the Discovery Institute did over the Guillermo Gonzalez tenure denial case, why aren't they rushing to the defense of one Steve Bitterman, a community college professor at Southwest Community College here in Iowa. The case is still developing, but what is known is that Bitterman was fired last week--apparently for teaching that Genesis isn't literal:
A community college instructor in Red Oak claims he was fired after he told his students that the biblical story of Adam and Eve should not be literally interpreted.
Steve Bitterman, 60, said officials at Southwestern…
tsmith | August 23, 2007...is underwater.
FINDLAY, Ohio - Hundreds of Ohio residents remained flooded out of their homes Thursday as some rivers continued to rise, while forecasters had bad news for the state and other parts of the Midwest: expect more storms and even a taste of the heat wave baking the South.
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In Findlay, Ohio, firefighters and a volunteer armada navigated boats and canoes through streets waist-deep in water on Wednesday, plucking neighbors and their pets from porches. Every downtown street and many neighborhoods were under water as the Blanchard River topped 7 feet above flood stage, its…
tsmith | July 27, 2007Just a quick post from the "weird happenings in Iowa" file: Mysterious chunks of ice pelt Iowa town.
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) -- Large chunks of ice, one of them reportedly about 50 pounds, fell from the sky in this northeast Iowa city, smashing through a woman's roof and tearing through nearby trees.
Authorities were unsure of the ice's origin but have theorized the chunks either fell from an airplane or naturally accumulated high in the atmosphere -- both rare occurrences.
"It sounded like a bomb!" 78-year-old Jan Kenkel said. She said she was standing in her kitchen when an ice chunk crashed…
tsmith | July 20, 2007A looong time ago, I mentioned that I spent St. Patrick's Day weekend in Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, at a symposium I helped to plan (but neglected to blog! Oops). Along with other scientists, theologians, philosophers, and generally interested persons, we worked for a bit over a year to put this symposium together. Why?
The principal aim of the conference is to clarify the causes of the conflict between science educators and those who wish to have Intelligent Design taught in public schools. We do not claim to be neutral on this issue. We are convinced that ID is not good science…
tsmith | June 21, 2007 Sally Mason Named University Of Iowa's 20th President.
Interesting. A female biologist, currently Provost at Purdue:
During her tenure at Purdue, Mason invested both professionally and personally in diversity and innovative research and education.
She raised funds for and implemented a number of major diversity initiatives at Purdue, including creation of a Native American education and cultural center and a Latino Cultural Center, joining a black cultural center already on campus. She started two programs funded by the National Science Foundation that work to increase retention and…
tsmith | March 14, 2007Just a reminder that there will be a symposium this weekend discussing evolution and intelligent design at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. The event is geared toward those interested in matters of faith or science; teachers; principals; college students majoring in education, science and religion/philosophy; clergy; and parish educators. Scholarships are available for the first 200 K-12 educators, board of education members, school administrators, etc. who apply--still plenty of those left, so if you know anyone who'd be interested, point them in our direction. I'm including the text…
tsmith | March 8, 2007Our local "Dissenter from Darwinism," Fred Skiff, gave a talk last Friday. Prior to the talk, I predicted:
One, that Skiff will provide a strawman version of evolutionary theory (heck, and science itself) as he did last time I saw him speak... Two, that Skiff will assert or imply that evolution implies atheism, and that if one accepts methodological naturalism, one therefore must also accept philosophical naturalism, and choose between evolutionary theory and their religious beliefs. Three, that he will assert that "intelligent design" is the sensible alternative to "orthodox" science, but…
tsmith | February 23, 2007Via From Right 2 Left, I see that U of Iowa physics professor. Fred Skiff, will be speaking on intelligent design next week:
At the next "Finding God at Iowa" Lunch Forum, Fred Skiff, University of Iowa professor of physics and astronomy, will speak on the theory of intelligent design. The forum will be held from noon to 1 p.m. March 2, in the Ohio State Room (Room 343) on the third floor of the Iowa Memorial Union.
Skiff will offer "A 'Fireside Chat' on Intelligent Design." He will discuss some of the questions underlying the debate over intelligent design in nature, such as: What are the…
tsmith | January 30, 2007Readers who are regulars at Effect Measure or Deltoid will be familiar with the opinions of attorney and author Michael Fumento. Fumento considers himself an avian flu "skeptic," and recently issued a "challenge" (the title, "My avian flu challenge to the leftist bird-brained squawkers", might give you some clue as to its scientific value) to bloggers, in response to one blogger's comment that "... there was a "50%/50%" chance of [an influenza] pandemic in the next year":
I took advantage of Mr. Paramedic's oversight to bet him 10-1, with him picking the dollar amount, that there would be…
tsmith | January 15, 2007Well, we missed the ice storms that hit a few other Sciencebloggers, but we did get a bit of this:
My kids, of course, were clamoring to play in it this morning as I rudely shipped them off to school (the nerve!); meanwhile, I'm realizing I don't even have snowpants and boots that fit them this year, and I haven't thought about it because this is the first snowfall that's been more than a dusting (and even this is only a few inches). Maybe tonight we'll make the tiniest snowman ever.
tsmith | January 8, 2007When people think of Iowa, many of them think of our agriculture (for good reasons). Obviously, it's big business here. We ranked first in the nation in production of corn, soybeans, eggs, and pork in 2005. Indeed, population-wise, hogs here outnumber humans by more than 5 to 1. This is one reason research at our center focuses on zoonotic disease (diseases which can be transferred between animal species), and specifically, diseases of domesticated animals. A story in the news today shows one reason why we study what we do:
Iowa State health officials say someone in eastern Iowa has…
tsmith | January 3, 2007It's a new year, and it will be a busy one here in Iowa when it comes to evolutionary biology. I want to highlight two upcoming events: Iowa City's first annual Darwin Day celebration featuring a lecture by Massimo Pigliucci, and an upcoming symposium on evolution and intelligent design, featuring John Haught and Wesley Elsberry. These events will be held in February and March, respectively; more information on both of them after the jump.
Event Number One: Iowa City's First Annual Darwin Day Celebration
About: A celebration of science in general and biology specifically, with events…
tsmith | December 18, 2006Via Stranger Fruit comes this gorgeous shot of an aurora over Des Moines, Iowa.
tsmith | October 27, 2006Yesterday's Ames Tribune, the paper that originally carried Republican lieutenant governor candidate Bob Vander Plaats' comments supporting the teaching of intelligent design in schools contained an article noting Republican governor candidate Jim Nussle's dismissal of Vander Plaats' position:
Republican candidate for governor Jim Nussle and his running mate, Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats, disagree on whether intelligent design should be taught alongside evolution in Iowa's science classrooms.
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On Wednesday Nussle broke with his running mate.
"While I believe and I have taught…
tsmith | October 26, 2006I mentioned the situation with Lieutenant Governor candidate Bob Vander Plaats and his support of intelligent design last week (posts here and here). A group of us have put together an editorial discussing Vander Plaats' position and why it matters to Iowa voters (letter and signatories can be found here at the Iowa Citizens for Science site). Yesterday, a columnist for the Des Moines register also wrote up the story, and our response to it:
Town and gown are often mutual strangers when it comes to political involvement. But the Iowa governor's race this year is attracting the involvement…
tsmith | October 13, 2006Vander Plaats supports teaching intelligent design
"If we are going to teach evolution, there is another viewpoint and one that holds pretty good too (evolution) in regards to creation," Vander Plaats said. "I think that is something that I would want to visit further along with Jim Nussle in regards to 'Where are you at on that?' But my viewpoint is I would like to give both of these (time in the classroom)."
For those of you unfamiliar wth Iowa politics, Jim Nussle is the Republican candidate for governor, opposed by Democrat Chet Culver. Bob Vander Plaats, as noted, is Nussle's running…
tsmith | August 25, 2006The Iowa Academy of Science has released its summer newsletter online, and is available here (.pdf).
There's a lot going on for scientists and the science-interested at all levels (students, teachers, researchers), so for the Iowa folks (or, those of you in other states who are just looking for some good ideas), if you've not already checked them out or have a membership, give them a look (their homepage is http://www.iacad.org/). They also have new programs focusing on science education for the general public, which I know is an interest for many readers as well.
tsmith | August 10, 2006James A. Van Allen, Discoverer of Earth-Circling Radiation Belts, Is Dead at 91
James A. Van Allen, the physicist who made the first major scientific discovery of the early space age, the Earth-circling radiation belts that bear his name, and sent spacecraft instruments to observe the outer reaches of the solar system, died yesterday in Iowa City. He was 91.
The cause was heart failure, family members said. Dr. Van Allen was a longtime professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Iowa, and, with the discovery of the Van Allen belts of intense radiation surrounding Earth, he became…
tsmith | August 3, 2006 People probably don't generally think of Iowa as their first destination for bone and fossil-hunting. And sloth bones don't exactly get the press coverage that a giant T. rex or a novel dinosaur species often receive. But this is still a fascinating story:
After three years of digging up bones in an Iowa creek near Shenandoah, University of Iowa researchers and others found 31 bones of an extinct giant sloth.
The team found the bones of the juvenile giant sloth just 10 feet away from where adult sloth bones were discovered in 2001.
"We're almost certain that we are looking at a mother and…