The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 15

ESSEX, IN THE NEWS Funeral Thursday for Guard member A funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday for Pfc. David Kirchhoff, 31, of Anamosa, who died last week of heatstroke while serving in Iraq with the lowa Army National Guard. The service will be at Cedar Memorial Chapel of Memories in Cedar Rapids. Burial will be at the Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery.

The lowa Army National Guard will provide military honors at the grave site. Kirchhoff, who was married and the father of two, was a member of Detachment 1 of the 2168th Transportation Company of Cedar Rapids. His unit was mobilized in February to deploy with the Iowa Guard's 2133rd Transportation Company for duty in the Persian Gulf. He was the fifth lowa service member to die in Iraq this year. A memorial fund has been established.

William Petroski Death of infant ruled due to SIDS An infant who died at the home of a child-care provider in Des Moines on Monday was a victim of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Dr. Francis Garrity, the Polk County medical examiner, said Connor John Collins, about 3 months old, died of SIDS. The infant was lying on his stomach in a crib. An autopsy was performed Tuesday morning.

Connor was the son of Jeffrey and Mindy Collins of Des Moines. He was in the care of Joann and Donald Meyer, who operate a licensed child-care center on the city's north side. Tom Alex INSIDE Man faces charges over store sales A Waterloo man faces federal charges of selling pseudoephedrine at his stores to people allegedly intending to make methamphetamine. Page 3B LIVING HERE State has had one Whig governor lowa has had 39 governors since becoming a state in 1846. Twenty-nine were Republicans, nine were Democrats and one, James W.

Grimes, pictured above, was a Whig. ON THE WEB For breaking news, go to: DesMoinesRegister.com INDEX Dateline lowa 6B Metro Record 2B Obituaries 7B Weather 8B RASH OF D.M. SHOOTINGS CONTINUES Page 2B METRO IOWA The Des Moines Register data encourage The percentage of Iowa blacks who took the exam last year increased. Assessment college entrance 33 percent each of the past they also expressed exam last year. However, test two years, newly released that black students scores for black students data show.

Statewide, about others are not continued to trail those of 64 percent of white students couraged to take white students. took the ACT. academic classes Nearly 37 percent of the Educators were encour- better prepare 932 black students in Iowa's aged by the small increase in college. 2003 high school graduating the percentage of black stu- "Districts need to class took the exam, up from dents taking the ACT, but importance of Camp rallies 'round barn By TARA DEERING REGISTER STAFF WRITER anson, la. Officials at a Bible camp credit God with helping From the them road, stumble motorists upon a might treasure.

mistake the structure for an observatory because of its mushroomshaped wooden roof. Joel Rude, executive director of Twin Lakes Christian Center, said he's used to people being dumbstruck when they first see one of the few rare remaining round barns in Iowa. The structure "It's just so different," said Rude, looking up at the barn's massive dome. "It's a far will be more interesting and attractive barn than restored as we thought we would ever find." of a It took nine years to get the 1920 Charles Knapp round barn moved just over a mile part Manson to its new home at the camp. More than 400 Bible camp.

onlookers followed behind the barn this month as it was moved to the center. "Nine years kind of builds the anticipation," Rude said. "It's an answer to a lot of prayers." The structure is important to the camp, but it's also a symbol of Iowa's agricultural history. The Heins family donated the barn to the Bible camp in 1994 after Christian Center officials expressed their vision of helping people live a simplistic See BARN, Page 6B ACT News, 515-284-8461 By KATHY A. BOLTEN REGISTER STAFF WRITER A slightly higher percentage of black high school seniors in Iowa took the ACT Restoration project: Believed to be one of only four left in Iowa, this round barn has been moved to the Twin Lakes Christian Center near Manson.

But some worry whether schools prepare students enough for college. students have the proper academic preparation for college or a two-year school," said Leland Tack, administrator of the Iowa Department of Education's division of financial and information services. Parent Catherine Whitfield Top U.S. Republicans plan Iowa visits By THOMAS BEAUMONT REGISTER STAFF WRITER Republicans are fighting back. High-ranking national Republicans will begin visiting Iowa this week, attempting to counter the steady barrage of attacks by Democrats campaigning for their party's presidential nomination.

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is scheduled to speak Thursday to an audience of police in Des Moines. The same day, Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie plans a series of meetings with Republicans in Des Moines. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee is expected to visit Iowa this fall on behalf of U.S. Sen.

Charles Grassley, and Iowa Republican officials said they are eager for a visit by President Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney, The timing of the visits, coming as candidates step up their competition for the 2004 Democratic precinct caucuses, is intentional, said Republican National Committee spokesman Chad Colby. Schools close early, air conditioners keep humming By TOM ALEX REGISTER STAFF WRITER An August heat wave kept its four grip on Iowa on Tuesday. Schools were dismissed early, utilities officials issued peak alerts, and farmers started to worry about the health of their livestock. Tuesday's hot spot was Shenandoah at 99 degrees. Des Moines reached 93 degrees.

High temperatures are in the forecast, but so are some clouds and the chance of thunderstorms. On Monday, Des Moines DM WEDNESDAY August 20, 2003 educators concern and being enthe core that will them for stress the having all PHOTOS temperatures in the 80s and 90s. MidAmerican Energy issued peak alerts Monday and Tuesday, spokesman Allan Urlis said. The energy company reported use earlier this week of 3,783 megawatts, about 10 percent more than normal, but less than the record 3,887 megawatts recorded in July 2002. L.D.

McMullen, Des Moines Water Works general manager, said he wasn't surprised by Monday's water record, which he said was driven by lawn and garden agreed. "Most minority students don't know what classes they should take," said Whitfield, who has four children, two of whom graduated from Des Moines' North High School in the past two years. "If no one tells you what classes colleges "With nine Democrats running for president, there's a glut of negative attacks against the president every day," Colby said. "We're going to do everything we can to send people into the state to try to counteract it." In addition to visits by Ashcroft and Gillespie, See VISITS, Page 7B expect you to take and just leaves it up to you to decide, you're not going to take the right classes. Schools need to do a better job of informing students what they need." Overall, the average ACT composite score of Iowa and Minnesota students was 22, the second-highest average among states where a majority of students take the See SCORES, Page 5B Stadium designer sues D.M.

Menace over bills The architectural firm says the soccer club owes $764,000. By TONY LEYS REGISTER STAFF WRITER An international architectural firm sued the Des Moines Menace on Tuesday, claiming the soccer franchise has refused to pay $764,000 in bills for design work on its proposed stadium. The dispute could harm the $22 million project's chances of receiving government grant money, a state leader said. In its federal lawsuit, HOK Sport said the franchise and its stadium foundation have used HOK plans and drawings to help peddle the proposal to corporate sponsors, local governments and luxury-box buyers. The lawsuit said Menace officials paid an initial bill of $142,000 in May 2002, but have not settled subsequent bills.

"They were continually saying, 'Don't worry about it, don't worry about it, they'll be said Sue Yoakum, an architect and lawyer for HOK Sport. Sharon Krause, the Menace's stadium director, said she couldn't respond to HOK's allegations because she hadn't seen the lawsuit. "Obviously, we're disappointed that the relationship hasn't been as positive as we'd hoped," she said. "This hopefully is just a little snag in the road." The architectural firm, based in Kansas City, is the largest of its kind in the world. It has worked on more than 800 stadiums, arenas and other public buildings, including Des Moines' Sec Taylor Stadium.

Yoakum said the company has been in business 20 years, and she knows of only one other time when it had to sue a building owner over billing issues. "It's very unusual and very disappointing," she said. General John Ashcroft, left, and Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie are slated to visit Des Moines. See STADIUM, Page 2B Water Works customers, who number about 375,000, set a one-day record 85 million gallons. That topped the previous record set on June 30, 2002, by about 3 million gallons.

Temperatures around Iowa on Tuesday were as much as 10 degrees cooler than on Monday, but the heat index in Des Moines still reached 100. Humidity was as high as 82 percent, said Chuck Myers, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The forecast calls for another four or more days of watering. "There's a lot of airconditioning done with cooling towers, and I think people, hopefully, are taking more showers and McMullen said. Farm experts said unrelenting hot weather cuts into the feed supply for beef and dairy herds.

"Pastures that aren't rotationally grazed are brown and extremely dry," said Larry Tranel of Iowa State University Extension. This article contains information from The Associated Press. ROBERT REGISTER Watering the grass: Iowa Methodist Medical Center groundskeeper Chad Aswegan adjusts sprinkler heads along a driveway at the center on Tuesday..