The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 12

(tl)c Drs Illoincs jRcpistcr METRO OWA FINAL MONDAY November5, 2007 KATHY A. BOLTEN, Metro Communities Editor, 515-284-8283e-mail: kboltendmreg.com SHORT TALES Stories that provide glimpses of lowans' everyday lives Road crews complete productive season SKYWALK STRUMMER SINGS OF OLD SORROWS Tips to buy ring for girl who changed his outlook Bypasses of Ottumwa and Sibley are among the year's construction projects. By WILLIAM PETROSKI REGISTER STAFF WRITER Those bright orange signs warning "Road Work Ahead" will be coming down soon as construction crews begin wrapping up this year's work on about $360 million worth of statewide highway projects. "It's been a good construction season. We did get our share of rain, but that's to be expected," said John Smythe, state construction engineer for the Iowa Department of Transportation in Ames.

Through October, about $310 million worth of projects had been finished on Iowa's highway system. By year end, the figure is expected to reach about $360 million worth of work, Smythe said. "it oeen a good construction season. We did get our share of rain, but that's to be expected." John Smythe, state construction engineer One of the key projects nearing completion is a $51.6 million, four-lane expressway segment around Ottumwa on U.S. Highway 63, which is expected to open just before Thanksgiving, said Ingrid Teboe, a DOT field services co fC Vi itnti ft -ft i i "'i'1- fev-U V-'; OP (' i t.

ordinator in southeast Iowa. A similar bypass loop around Fairfield is scheduled to be finished in late 2008. The two bypasses represent the final sections of a 165-mile, $476 million Des Moines-to-Burl-ington expressway that was initially proposed in the early 1980s. Ottumwa lawyer Richard Gaumer, chairman of a southeast Iowa coalition that has lobbied for the four-lane highway, said last week that the new seven-mile bypass around Ottumwa should improve traffic flow and spur economic development along the corridor. "We are really excited and very pleased.

This is a project that a lot of people have worked really hard on for a long time," Gaumer said. Other Iowa highway projects undertaken this construction season include: Northwest Iowa: Completion of a $20 million bypass loop around Sibley that is one of the final links of a four-lane expressway on Iowa See CONSTRUCTION, Page 2B By REID FORGRAVE REGISTER STAFF WRITER Abraham Ibarra walks the bustling skywalk and stops above Fifth Avenue. He peels off his coat, opens his guitar case and starts strumming. Des Moines' downtown skywalk fills with Abraham's deep voice. Bob Marley.

Sublime. The Pixies. Office workers pass, corporate ID badges swinging from their hips. They smile at the familiar tunes. But now, the 31 -year-old plays something unfamiliar.

His own song. "Well, I'm so lost, lost without you," the 31-year-old croons. I'm scared that you've disappeared." People assume it's about a girl. They're wrong. The song is about Abraham being lost in life.

And passers-by don't know that after he wrote this song, he was found. Abraham was 15 when his dad, who loved Led Zeppelin and Motley Crue and who gave his son a love of music, died. Then Abraham's life turned dark: drinking and drugs, gangs and fights. He started hitchhiking the country, sleeping in tents, joining the carnival. He was back in his Texas hometown two years ago, falling into old bad habits.

So Abraham wrote this song, a prayer to find God. "Cause I'm so lost," he sings in the skywalk, "and without you, I've been cryin', draggin' through the years." After he wrote the song, a friend convinced him to move to Iowa. And here he met Jennifer, a free spirit like Abraham. He settled down, got a restaurant job, brought Jennifer stargazer lilies, and started singing in the skywalk. Over this lunch hour, passers-by drop $34 in his guitar case.

Abraham will use the money for two things: Buy an amp so he can start playing at local bars. And buy an engagement ring for the girl who answered his prayer. Reporter Reid Forgrave can be reached at (515) 284-8236 orrtorgravedmreg.com CHRISTOPHER GANNONREGISTER PHOTOS am An open guitar case collects tips for guitarist Abraham Ibarra of Des Moines, who has been singing and playing his guitar in the skywalk for about a year. Abraham says he'll use the money to buy an amp and an engagement ring for his sweetheart, Jennifer. i -J: 1 "Ml v- I Hear Abraham play To hear Abraham Ibarra play his guitar, check out the skywalk above Fifth Avenue near Capital Square in Des Moines.

He is usually there during the lunch hour every Friday. See, listen online Visit DesMoinesRegister.com video to watch a video of the skywalk strummer. CHRISTOPHER GANNONTHE REGISTER Kory Spees of Norris Asphalt Paving Company lays shoulder rock along an entrance ramp on the nearly completed Ottumwa bypass Thursday. The bypass is expected to open shortly before Thanksgiving. Abraham Ibarra plays a song for passers-by Oct.

24 in the skywalk over Fifth Avenue in Des Moines. IOWA (flU CAUCUSES Mondale backs Clinton, lauds positive campaign Clinton can't keep vows on health care, rival says The former vice president praises her efforts to avoid attacking her Democratic competitors. Edwards says she's getting too much money from industry donors to be able to negotiate objectively. 1 0 have to have a regulatory system or we are not going to continue to import their stuff, are we?" work and we have to change it, then you can't sit at a table with the people who are giving you Coverage inside John McCain talks about threats in Asia, Bill Richardson discusses renewable energy, and Joe Biden addresses health care issues. Read more about each visit on Page 3B.

See today's schedule of campaign stops on Page 2B. Plenty more to do online For latest campaign news, Images from the trail, and more, go to DesMoines Register.com caucus. Clinton Edwards By LISA ROSSI and ABBY SIMONS REGISTER STAFF WRITERS Clinton, la. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton continued to hammer away at the policies of President Bush and his administration while avoiding attacks on her Democratic opponents during an appearance in eastern Iowa on Sunday. She said that her campaign is about balance, and that Americans are in the center politically.

"That's who we are as a country," Clinton said. "We are problem-solvers. We are not ideologues." Her comments came during a discussion of a president's use of regulation, and Clinton said she hoped the United States would take a balanced approach. "Look at what's happening in China," she said. "They don't have regulation.

And the food and drugs they are exporting are dangerous to a lot of people. They are going to By TONY LEYS REGISTER STAFF WRITER Waverly, la. lowans should question whether Hillary Clinton is too indebted to big donors to deliver on health care reform and other promises, rival Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Sunday. "The presidential candidate who has raised the most money from Washington lobbyists is not a Republican it's a Democrat," Edwards said. "The candidate who has raised the most money from the health industry the insurance companies and the drug companies is not a Republican.

It is a Democrat. And actually, this one is most startling to me, the candidate who has raised the most from the defense industry is not a Republican. It is a Democrat. And all those descriptions fit the same candidate they're all Senator Clinton. "If you actually believe that the system doesn't that kind of money and negotiate at arm's length," he said.

Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, has recently been sharpening his attacks against Clinton, who is the national front-runner. He kept up the criticism Sunday as he traveled See EDWARDS, Page 3B The New York senator was accompanied in Clinton for her speech at the Eagle Point Lodge by former Vice President Walter Mondale, who endorsed Clinton and urged those in attendance to caucus for her. Mondale praised Clin- See CLINTON, Page 3B.