Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Update: The lockdowns at the Iowa City School District schools and University of Iowa campus were lifted once administrators received information that the suspect in question had been apprehended. Initial reports indicate that one woman and four children were found dead at the suspect’s residence, 629 Barrington Road, which is located on the east side of Iowa City.
Reports also indicate that the suspect, Steven Sueppel, 42, had fled the scene of the crime in his van, which was discovered on Interstate 80 between West Branch and Iowa City, where it had crashed and was found burning. The Cedar Rapids Gazette and Iowa City Press-Citizen have more on-site reports regarding the incidents.Authorities in Iowa City alerted the UI community about a gunman in the Iowa City area and the UI put out an alert at 8:02 a.m. The text of the message reads as follows:
“An active shooter is reported to be in the Iowa City Area. He is a white male in his mid-40s driving a 1998 tan Toyota Sienna minivan, Iowa license plate 501-BLO. If you see it, call 911 from a safe location to report shooter sighting.”
However, there is some discrepancy as to the UI’s use of “active shooter.” Sgt. Troy Kelsay of the Iowa City police told the Gazette that he was not sure where the University of Iowa got the information about there being an “active shooter.” He said to his knowledge, no firearms were involved, but he was not sure what Sueppel had access to.
Nonetheless, all Iowa City school district schools went into lockdown at 8:20 a.m. until administrators confirmed that the individual the police were seeking was apprehended. The district announced at 9:35 a.m. that the lockdown had been lifted.
UI spokesman Steve Parrott told the Gazette that the UI issued its alert after Iowa City police notified UI police. “There’s clearly a heightened expectation of when we’re going to alert people,” he said, a reference to last year’s Virginia Tech and this year’s Northern Illinois shootings.
The alert did heighten some anxieties at West High School, where I am employed as a full-time English teacher.(See earlier live report below).
After the shooting incident at Columbine High School in Colorado, West High School implemented its own emergency plan for dealing with “intruders” in the building. When administrators announce that faculty members should initiate emergency procedures, the assumption is that there is an intruder in the building, and staff should immediately execute the plan of action.
Consequently, during the first 15 minutes of the alert, it was presumed that there was an intruder in the building, which did heighten anxieties among students. The “not knowing” aspect exacerbated their anxiety as well as mine. While squatting down in the corner of the darkened classroom with 25 completely silent ninth-grade students, my eyes were solely focused on a class set of Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried.” The only thing I could think of was a line from the title story of the book: “Imagination is a killer.”
Not until more specific information regarding the incident, which was given at 8:35 a.m., did students and faculty members feel any sense of relief, but the lockdown remained in effect for another hour.
Earlier post: Reporting live from inside West High School in Iowa City
At 8:20 a.m. this morning, the administration at West High School initiated its emergency protocol for incidents involving potential intruders. After an announcement over the intercom, teachers locked all the doors and students took cover in the classrooms.
Initially, teachers and students were anxious and apprehensive, assuming the intruder was in the building. After 15 minutes of silence, the administration announced that the University of Iowa and ICCSD went into alert after reports of an “active shooter” in the community.
Initial reports indicate that police are in pursuit of Steven Sueppel, 42, who allegedly shot family members at their residence in Iowa City. Sueppel, a former vice president and controller of Hills Bank & Trust, was recently indicted for embezzling and laundering more than $500,000 during a seven-year period.
9:30 a.m.: The lockdown has been lifted and students have been instructed to move on to their next period class.
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