The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 1

SuV-Z, SPORTS, 1C GARDEN SHOW im DELIVERS NEW TRENDS it FIND OUT WHO'S VYING FOR A TITLE 1A. A GC SATURDAY February 26, 2005 The Newspaper Iowa Depends Upon DesMoinesRegister.com Price 50 Cents in Stores and Coin Racks HOMES In a daring rescue mission in Iraq, an Iowa Marine braves bullets and shrapnel, risking his life to save his men. Courage under fire Plans for the 570 million track have fallen through twice before 17. 1 By DONNELLE ELLER and ROB GRAY REGISTER STAFF WRITERS Newton, la. The third start might be a charm for the group developing an auto racetrack in Newton.

The investors said Friday they have lined up the financing needed to build a $70 million racetrack and entertainment complex. Construction on the seven-eighths-mile asphalt track and entertainment complex is expected to begin in the spring. Racing could begin the summer of 2006. "This is a major project to put this financing package in place," said Dennis Chalu-pa, a Newton attorney who spoke for investors, a private group called U.S. Motorsport Entertainment Corp.

"This is what we've been waiting for final approval of our financing package," he said. Construction on the project has been postponed twice over the past two years because of difficulty in attracting investors. The track could seat up to 81,000 people. It is expected to have 25,000 permanent seats, a grassy area for 16,000 people on lawn chairs and blankets, plus the ability to add 40,000 temporary seats. The facility would be located south of Newton and Interstate Highway 80 on 640 acres.

Mayor Chaz Allen said he thought the project would be an economic development boon for central Iowa and Newton, which has been hit hard by layoffs at Maytag Corp. See TRACK, Page 3A -A. frtU- LUCIAN READWORLD PICTURE NEWS Bloody but not beaten: Still holding his handgun, 1st Sgt. Brad Kasal is helped from a house in Fallujah, Iraq, after being shot seven times and shielding a fellow Marine from a grenade blast on Nov. 13.

He may be in line for a Medal of Honor. Waterloo native dies in Iraq mine explosion t-L, '-Zr'- 'Jl rifle fire at point-blank range. One Marine died in the Nov. 13 rescue mission, but the other Americans came out alive. Now Kasal's bravery in Iraq is receiving widespread recognition.

A photo of the bloodied Kasal, still clutching his 9 mm handgun as he is helped by two fellow Marines from the Fallujah house, is displayed on dozens of Internet sites. An online newsletter published by the nonprofit Soldiers for the Truth reports it has learned that Kasal and another Marine could become the first Marine Corps recipients of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. The Medal of Honor is the nation's highest decoration for heroism in combat, and it requires the approval of Congress after extensive scrutiny See MARINE, Page 4A By WILLIAM PETROSKI REGISTER STAFF WRITER During the urban house-to-house battle for the Iraqi insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, 1st Sgt. Brad Kasal, a former Iowa high school wrestler and linebacker, learned three fellow Marines were wounded inside an enemy-controlled house. "The insurgents would kill them, or worse torture them and then kill them, so time was essential," Kasal said.

"So I gathered up a bunch of young Marines and tried to enter the building to rescue them." Kasal, 38, was shot seven times after leading his men into the house, and he suffered more than 40 shrapnel wounds after he bear-hugged a wounded Marine inside to protect him from a grenade explosion. He killed one enemy fighter in an exchange of U.S. MOTORSPORT ENTERTAINMENT CORP. $70 million project: Construction on a racing complex in Newton, shown in this architect's rendering, is expected to begin this spring, planners said Friday. By ERIN JORDAN REGISTER IOWA CITY BUREAU Eric Steffeney was always curious about how things worked: As a boy, he took his bicycle apart; as a soldier, he disarmed explosive devices.

On Wednesday, an undetected roadside mine exploded north of Baghdad, killing the 28-year-old Waterloo native. "He was interested in everything," Annette Crowe of Waterloo said about her soa U.S. Army Sgt. Steffeney was checking another nearby mine that had been intentionally detonated when the second mine exploded early Wednesday, his parents said. He was the 22nd Iowan killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"He believed in what he was doing, but there's got to be some way to get it over and See SOLDIER, Page 4A Sgt. Eric -Steffeney The Waterloo native was killed by a mine north of Baghdad on Wednesday. Tunnel to link Water Works to Gray's Lake Anger brews over proposal to register kegs Iowa State University students and some retailers are outraged over a Story County ordinance that would require those buying beer kegs to show photo identification. Backers say the proposed law would help police track the origin of kegs in cases involving underage drinking. "It's just another tool to cut down on these types of tragedies that happen when juveniles drink," said Story County Attorney Stephen Holmes.

The Story County Board Supervisors approved the first two readings of the ordinance with little public input. But just as county supervisors were about to give it final approval, ISU students cried foul. Article, Page 1B The connection will allow joggers and cyclists to go under busy Fleur Drive. By JASON CLAYW0RTH REGISTER STAFF WRITER Des Moines will use more than $500,000 in state money to build a pedestrian tunnel under Fleur Drive that will connect Water Works Park with Gray's Lake Park and create what supporters say is one of the largest contiguous city-owned park systems in the nation. The connection will provide hundreds of thousands of walkers, joggers, bicyclists and fun-seekers at Gray's Lake each year with easy access to the Water Works Park, which is larger than New York City's Central Park.

"I think it's a great idea," said visitor Larry Bredeson of West Des Moines. "It would make it easier to get back and forth." Trails at both parks will also connect within the next 12 years to the Clive Green-belt trail and Raccoon River trails, which will create a route of more than 60 miles from Jefferson to Big Creek State Park via Des Moines. The Great Western Trail connects to Water Works Park and stretches south to Martensdale in Warren County. The 172-foot-long tunnel, about 9 feet high and 14 feet wide, will probably be See TUNNEL, Page 10A C- 1 tJ MARY CHINDHXE REGISTER Who buys: Iowa State University student Casey Jacobsen grabs a case of beer Thursday at the Keg Shop. A Story County proposal would have retailers keep information on people who buy kegs.

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