The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 4

Edition The Des Moines Register Pagt4A Saturday, January 29, 2011 Justice finalist list has 1 minority and would add a level of diversity. Her research and teaching interests at the law school spans a range of family law, employment Dateline Iowa From Register staff and news services Flood risk depends on amount of snow Iowa could be at risk of flooding this spring, but a lot depends on how much snow falls during the rest of winter, the National Weather Service said Friday. In its first spring flood outlook of the year, the weather service put the risk for Iowa at "near to above normal." "We have a lot of winter to go yet. Things can Read applications rW Go to Dot MoIms VaVJP RfglsUr.comjudgts: Read the applications of the nine finalists. Watch video of Gov.

Terry Branstad's comments on the Judicial selection process. Previous articles and video coverage from the selection process. Onwuachi-Willig told the commission about her upbringing as a first-generation American-born citizen, raised by a single mother in predominantly poor and black communities in Texas. Onwuachi-Willig was chosen by a panel that includes seven lawyers who are elected by fellow lawyers in various districts, seven nonlawyers who are appointed by the governor, and the most senior Iowa Supreme Court justice who is not the chief. Branstad has 30 days, counting weekends and holidays, to choose three for the bench.

discrimination, feminist legal theory, and evidence. Former Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark McCor-mick said the court has nev Angela Onwuachi-Willig joined the Iowa bar on Thursday. By GRANT SCHULTE A University of Iowa law professor named as a finalist for the Iowa Supreme Court would become the state's first minority and the third female justice to serve on the bench if appointed, a former justice said Friday. Angela Onwuachi-Willig, 37, of Grinnell was chosen this week as one of nine finalists for the state's highest court. Five judges and three lawyers were also tapped to interview with Gov.

Terry Branstad for one of three seats on the Iowa Supreme Court. Onwuachi-Willig, who joined the law school faculty in 2006, told the state judicial nominating commission Tuesday that she had not yet finished the process for joining the Iowa bar, but was close. Onwuachi-Willig said Friday that she was sworn into the Iowa bar at 8:30 a.m. Thursday. Onwuachi-Willig, who is black, was the only woman and minority among the nine nominees.

She told the panel that she was well-qualified for the job sha K. Ternus, who served from 1993 until the end of last year. Ternus was one of three justices voted off the bench in the November retention election. Retention rates up at Regent schools Compiled by Register political reporters Thomas Beaumont, Jennifer Jacobs and Jason Clayworth and other Register staff. Onwuachi-Willig er had a minority member.

The only two women to sit on the bench were former Justice Linda K. Neuman, from 1986 to 2003; and former Chief Justice Mar- Santorum picks up two Iowa advisers Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has recruited two veteran Iowa Republican operatives to advise his political action committee, another step that signals serious consideration of a presidential run. The two are Nick Ryan, a top aide to former U.S. Rep.

Jim Nussle, and Jill Latham, who was Iowa political director for Mitt Romney in 2008. Ryan is founder of the American Future Fund, a conservative issues advocacy group that spent at least $7 million on 2010 races. Latham, daughter of U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, has worked on Capitol Hill and on President George Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.

Santorum, popular among social conservatives, has visited the lead-off caucus state regularly in the past year. He was last in Iowa on Tuesday and Wednesday, speaking at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association summit in Des Moines and making a radio appearance. He i has said he will decide whether fo run for pjesi- dent in the months leading up to the Iowa Republican straw poll, which is Aug. 13 in Ames. Register staff Grassley wins ban on holds, 10 years later Iowa Sen.

Chuck Grassley's long-sought resolution to ban anony- By JENS MANUEL KROGSTAD jkrogstadirfdmreg.com A growing number of students at Iowa's three public universities are returning after their freshman year, a sign programs put in place to bolster retention rates are working, officials said. In addition, six-year graduation rates are inching up at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa. The universities credit first-year programs, better advising and academic support for the improved numbers, which exceed national averages, according to a report issued this week by the state Board of Regents. Studies have shown college graduates tend to earn more than those with out four-year degrees and are less likely to be unemployed. A report released this week by the state Board of Regents shows: An 'all-time -htgtT'- 86.6 percent of students who began their freshmen year at the of I in the fall of 2009 returned their sophomore year.

The previous year's retention rate was 83.3 percent. An all-time high 86 percent of students who began their freshmen year at ISU in the fall of 2009, returned their sophomore year. ISU's retention rate the previous year was 84 percent. At UNI, 80.6 percent of students who began their freshmen in the fall change a lot between now and the end of winter for better or for worse across Iowa," said Jeff Zogg, a hydrologist with the weather service in Des Moines. Zogg said the outlook is vague, but it highlights greater risks along several rivers, including the Iowa, Cedar and Des Moines rivers, from February through April.

The weather service will issue another flood outlook on Feb. 17. Current snowfall amounts on the ground range from a trace in extreme southeast Iowa to 20 inches in northern Iowa along the Minnesota border. I CEDAR RAPIDS Man admits selling corn he mortgaged Federal prosecutors say an Iowa farmer has pleaded guilty of selling 32,000 bushels of corn that were mortgaged to a government-owned agriculture lender. The U.S.

attorney's office says Chris Wessels of Earlville received a government loan on his corn crop and then sold it without repaying the loan. Wessels pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Cedar Rapids to one count of stealing corn mortgaged to the Commodity Credit Corp. Prosecutors say the corn was mortgaged in 2007 as a security for a $61,000 's loan, but he sold the corn to pay other bills. Wessels faces up to five years in prison. No sen tencing date is set.

FORT DODGE Two rob credit union, leave in stolen vehicle Authorities are searching for two people who robbed a Fort Dodge credit union and escaped in a stolen vehicle. Police say the pair got away with an undetermined amount of cash on Thursday morning at the Fort Dodge Family Credit Union. No one was injured. The two fled in a Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicle that was reported stolen earlier in the day. The SUV was later found abandoned in an apartment building parking lot.

Capt. Quintin Nelson said the robbers may have used another vehicle to leave the area. MAPLETON Districts to vote on consolidation Voters in the Maple Valley and Anthon-Oto school districts will decide next week whether to consolidate their school boards. The districts share a superintendent but have separate school boards. Four years ago voters rejected a similar proposal on combining the boards.

Superintendent Steve Oberg said potential budget cuts are pushing the question. He said if voters approve the measure Tuesday, five of the board positions will be lost, but those in office now will remain until July 1,2012. The two districts include the towns of Anthon, Castana, Danbury, Mapleton, Oto and Rodney. of 2009, returned for their sophomore year. That was up slightly from the previous year.

Six-year graduation rates for the 2004 freshmen class ranged from 67 percent at UNI to 70.2 percent at ISU. of I's six-year graduation rate was 69.6 percent The annual report will be presented at a board meet ing Thursday in Iowa City. "I think it really represents the culmination of five-plus years of paying attention to a fairly broad spectrum of activities, said David Hol-ger, ISU's associate provost for academic programs. Holger said ISU mines data to identify struggling freshmen more effectively than in 2004, when he was named co-chairman of a retention task force. However, grouping freshman in the same classes and residence halls a program called first-year learning communities has contributed the most to increased retention and graduation jates, Holger said.

Participating students are 8 percent more likely to return for a second year, and 12 percent more likely to graduate in six years, than students not in the program. The nationally-ranked program expanded this fall to include more than 70 percent of students, Holger said. Last year, the of I implemented a smaller version of ISU's 15-year-old program. About 40 percent of of I students participated this fall. love and acceptance a try.

Happier than haters on South side If Obama succeeds in holding the Center, the extremes in both parties will become isolated and ever more shrill. Prognosticator This is a great time not to increase spending for rural county roads; there are too many miles of roads to nowhere already. One of five Scandals, indictments, obscene salaries, 13 players in the hospital: Does anyone else think that the of I football program is out of control? Hawkeye alum The Republicans in the statehouse seem to be full of ideas and the Republicans in Congress have no ideas. Which is worse? IOWA POLITICS INSIDER accountability. It will establish transparency with the significant power each senator holds to stop legislation and nominations," Grassley said.

"That's an important right of senators, but it ought to be exercised in the light of day." Thomas Beaumont Pence won't run, for president anyway Caucus junkies con founded by the late formal start of campaigning but long lists of possible candidates can cross one off: six-term U.S. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana. As the Indianapolis Star reported earlier this week, Pence has shut the door on a run for the presidency, but left wide open the likelihood that he'll run for governor. In a letter to supporters, Pence said of himself and his wife, ftaren'In the choice between seeking national office and serving Indiana in some capac ity, we choose Indiana.

We will not seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012." He said he would make a decision "later this year" about his next political step but also said he believed his "calling is closer to home." Register staff already discussing targeting Gronstal in the next election. He said he understands the political risk he's taking by becoming the public face of same-sex marriage. "What I tell people is, yeah, I worry about politics, I campaign hard to win my seat in Council Bluffs, I worry about that," Gronstal said. "I also shave every morning and I have to be able to look myself in the eye. I'm willing to accept the possibility of me losing." Gronstal made his position clear last year, and was elected to another term as majority leader by fellow Democrats after the election.

were advanced. Students in both grades were tested in physical science, life science and earth and space sciences. A proficient fourth-grader should know, for example, how to describe the stages of the life cycle in an organism, while a proficient eighth-grader should be able to identify a function of the human organ system. The assessment is the only state-by-state comparison student progress. Gronstal accepts political risk of decision on marriage debate 1 REGISTER FILE PHOTO Iowa Sen.

Chuck Grassley's long-sought resolution to ban anonymous holds on legislation and appointments passed Thursday. mous holds by U.S. senators passed by a wide margin Thursday. Grassley, a Republican, and Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, had tried for 1 0 years to pass a resolution to' end the practice, which allows members to secretly hold up legislation and federal appointments. The binding resolution, which passed 92-4, requires public disclosure within two days of an objection being made.

by any senator to Senate action on legislation or nominations. "Passage of this resolution is a victory for the power of his office to block debate, both this year and next. During a taping of Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" program, he said people who get involved in politics have to stand for something, and he's made a decision that banning same-sex marriage is a basic denial of rights he can't accept. Gronstal, a Democrat from Council Bluffs, said taking away the rights of gay people today could lead to taking away the rights of other groups in the future, and he won't allow it. The show will air this weekend.

Social conservatives are subject. Nationally, 72 percent of fourth-graders had at least a basic grasp of science, 34 percent were proficient, and 1 percent were advanced. Of Iowa's eighth-graders, 72 percent showed at least a basic grasp of science, 34 percent were proficient in the subject, and 1 percent were advanced. Nationally, 62 percent of eighth-graders showed at least a basic grasp of science, 28 percent were proficient and 1 percent of Your 2 Cents' Worth fZIT Submit brief comments on the Internet at DesMoines tkm i Register.com2cents. Find more comments online.

By MIKE GLOVER Associated Press Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal said Friday that he's willing to accept that his decision to block a same-sex marriage debate could cost him his leadership post or even his seat in the Iowa Legislature. A resolution calling for a statewide election on amending Iowa's constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage will likely pass the Republican-controlled House. There's a public hearing Monday night, and House leaders plan debate later in the week. When the issue arrives in the Senate, however, Gronstal said he will use It is wonderful that Congresswoman Giffords is doing so well. Many of our military men and women are suffering from traumatic war injuries.

Why does the media not pay attention to them? Wondering in IA For all of the corporation haters: Check out the receipts in your wallet. How many of them are from large corporations? How many independently owned hardware stores, coffee shops, restaurants and clothing stores did you pass by on your way to the big box store otherwise known as a large corporation? Put money where your mouth is People upset about the cut in preschool funding should take any 2004 Iowa quarters, which say "Foundation in Education," to the nearest state office and demand it be exchanged for a non-Iowa quarter. Hiland Hippie A tan sports jacket at the State of the Union Address? That's really the best you could do. Congressman Boswell? Bill Rekhardt must be Iowa above average on 'report card' BySTACIHUPP shuppdmreg.com Iowa students outpaced their national counterparts in fourth- and eighth-grade science on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation's report card. Test results show: Eighty percent of Iowa's fourth-graders showed at least a basic grasp of science, 40 percent of them were proficient, and 1 percent were advanced in the Storm Lake man Is it too early to wonder what the groundhog in Pennsylvania is going to tell us this year on Groundhog Day? Punxy Phil Fan A state that can't build a streetcar line to the airport wants to run trains to Chicago? Gimme a break! Prisoner of taxi monopoly rolling We waste so much energy on hate and judgment.

You will sleep better at night if you give 4.