Morgan Finke
Published: May 5, 2009

Update
The Dubuque Police Department has arrested two suspects in connection with the robbery. Justin Willis, 19, and Randy Lee Murphy, 17, of Dubuque were arrested and are being held at the Dubuque Police Station. Stay tuned to LCTV13 for more details as they become available.

Original

DUBUQUE- Dubuque Police were called to the scene of an armed robbery at the BP station on Loras Boulevard this afternoon.

Students at Loras College received an emergency alert through text and e-mail, putting the entire campus on lock down for an hour.

Loras student, Andy Brown, did not need an alert about the robbery, he saw it firsthand.

“I was at the BP gas station, I was filling my tires, and the guy walked up in a ski mask and pulled out a gun right in front of me, I thought it was a joke,” said Brown.

He soon realized it was not a joke.

“And then a guy came out of the gas station and told me to call the police and that’s when I realized it must be something serious,” Brown continued.

Dubuque Assistant Police Chief Terry Tobin told LCTV how police responded:

“Our officers responded to the scene, and we have officers and detectives that are investigating the case at this point we have not located the suspect yet,” said Tobin.

Tobin encourages anyone with further information to contact the police department’s non-emergency help line at 563-589-4410.

Morgan Finke can be reached at Morgan.Finke@loras.edu

Andrew Huck
Published: April 29, 2009

DUBUQUE - On Monday, April 27th Iowa made history by allowing same sex couples to apply for marriage licenses. The state normally requires a three day waiting period but some judges granted waivers allowing couples who received their licenses on Monday to get married that same day.

At the Dubuque County Courthouse Monday six couples applied for licenses in person and four of those couples were granted waivers to get married that same day.

LCTV interviewed the first couple in Dubuque County to get a marriage license.

“We wanted to get married be the first ones in Dubuque to break history,” exclaimed Kentanindra Scarver.

Kentaindra Scarver and Veronica Spann moved from Chicago seven months ago but never believed they would one day be able to get married.

“We were thinking about the many ways faith works and this is one,” said Scarver.

The couple got married on Monday and is planning a big celebration with their family this weekend.

“Our families are very excited my sisters my family knows hers too,” said Scarver.

Representatives from OneIowa were on hand to offer support and give flowers to the couples applying for licenses.

“We’re here to answer questions and direct people where they need to go and celebrate along with them,” said OneIowa Representative Tyler Dague.

Tyler is proud of the impact today will have on his life.

“It makes me hopeful for my future just because I would love to share my life with someone and I would love to have the right to do that when I’m ready, said Dague.

Kentaindra and Veronica are glad to call Iowa home.

“We earned it equal rights, equal opportunity, and I’m just so glad that Iowa has acknowledged that,” said Scarver.

While a few people stopped by to offer their support there was no visible opposition or protests in front of the courthouse.

Here are a few useful links about gay marriage in Iowa and Dubuque County:
Dubuque County Recorder’s Office
OneIowa

Andrew Huck can be contacted at Andrew.Huck@lctv13.com

Andrew Huck
Published: April 27, 2009
DUBUQUE—Today was the first day that same sex couples in Iowa could obtain a marriage license. The Dubuque County Courthouse saw little traffic compared to other counties in the state. At the end of the day six couples applied for marriage licenses in person and seven more submitted their applications through the mail. Four of the six couples who applied in person were granted a waiver by a judge and were able to get married today. The wavier eliminated the three day waiting period.

Molly Menster and Tina Sio became one of the ten that received their marriage license today. Both Menster and Sio were interviewed by LCTV after the Iowa Supreme Court overturned the same sex marriage ban earlier this month. The couple was overjoyed when they were finally able to receive their license and planned to celebrate by going out for ice cream.

Representatives from OneIowa were on hand with flowers and to offer support for all of the couples coming to the courthouse today.

There were no protestors or opposition to gay marriage outside of the courthouse today.

Look for a complete story on From the Boulevard live at 7:00pm Wednesday and online at LCTV13.com.

Andrew Huck can be contacted at Andrew.Huck@lctv13.com

Nick Helten
Published: April 22, 2009

DUBUQUE - It was Special Olympics Challenge Day at Hills and Dales Community Center last weekend , but it was also a mother-daughter day for Julie Gillitzer.“We are here today to participate in the events with our daughter Paige,” explains Julie.

Paige and others compete in events like basketball, bowling, and darts. The morning long event is a way for those with special needs to compete and have fun as they reach for their goals.

“It comes from that internal desire to participate with your friends and they recognize that when they do a good job they receive applause and accolades at the end of that event,” said Special Olympics organizer Marilyn Althoff.

Even though the athletes are the stars of the day, those on the sidelines find value in the experience as well.

“A lot of them really appreciate it you can tell and after I got to take a picture with one of them athletes and he carried them around all day it was really cute,” said volunteer Jenna Brown.

Those who organize the event love that their volunteers are there to help athletes realize their dreams.

“All of our volunteers I think have an opportunity first hand to participate in assuring that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as anyone else in the community,” says Marilyn.

Julie loves the support not just for daughter but for her entire family.

“It’s an excellent opportunity to involve yourself with something that is important and meaningful and I know the Dubuque area is excellent for their support and we really appreciate that, it means a lot to my husband and I,” says Julie.

Special Olympics Iowa is holding more challenge days across the state this month.

For locations and times check out www.soiowa.org.

Nick Helten can be contacted at Nicholas.Helten@loras.edu

Morgan Finke
Published: April 15, 2009

DUBUQUE - Sustainability is an effort to raise awareness of environmental concerns that have grown rapidly in the last 20 years.

Although it has been more widely known recently, the idea is nothing new to Sustainable Community Coordinator Sheila Samuelson, who’s passion for keeping our environment a healthy place to live started early.

“I’ve had it since I was a little girl, I think I was just exposed to it at a really early age and it just made sense to me,” said Samuelson.

That passion was able to grow and has been kept alive by the community.

“My passion is helping communities be great places for people to live, places that are really designed for people,” explained Samuelson.

Business owners in Dubuque agree with Samuelson, and showed their support at the annual City Expo. Event Coordinator Randy Gehl explained how the event was organized.

“Every booth every display will be focused around sustainability which of course is a tremendously important initiative for the city and for the region really,” said Gehl.

Sustainability is an important initiative, but the question remains, are citizens of Dubuque stepping up to the challenge? City Council Member Kevin Lynch believes that although Dubuque is on the forefront of sustainability efforts in our country, there is room for improvement.

“I think there are certain segments of the community that could use a lot more citizen involvement,” said Lynch.

With the help of the community, Samuelson believes we can put into action our plan for sustainability, she goes on to explain what that plan is, “the city has adopted a three part model: that considers the environment, social impacts, and also economic impacts.”

With this goal in mind, Samuelson believes Dubuque can truly become a well balanced, healthy city to live in.

“When you’re not just focusing on one bottom line, but you’re looking at the interactions and how things all work together thats considering sustainability,” said Samuelson.

Morgan Finke can be reached at Morgan.Finke@loras.edu

Emily Allen
Published: April 1, 2009

DUBUQUE - The economic struggle has seen companies across the country shutting down. Among all the failing businesses there had been one service that is thriving from the downfall.

“We dated for about two years and then Thanksgiving in front of my family he proposed,” said newlywed Katie Andrews.

After Katie and her husband, Randy celebrated their vows, the faced ‘the real world’ and all its economic hardships. The couple are both working on their degrees. Randy works for the YMCA while also coaching for the school district and Katie works full time at the hospital.

Even with both of them having jobs it still is not enough to pay the bills, so Randy joined the U.S. Army.

Randy commented about his wife’s reaction, “she said ‘well if you want to do it’ so I was like alright, cool.”

As the economy continues to fall, military officials say enlistment numbers are continuing to rise. “I see a lot more people just coming in the door, a lot more. I would say probably a 25 - 40% increase over two months ago,” said U.S. Army Sergeant, Kurt Dock.

That is because other job options are getting slim so people are looking to enlist to help their burdens.

“We have noticed for the people that are coming into us, people that maybe wouldn’t even consider it before because of the fact that there were so many other opportunities out there for them to check out,” said Dock.

As for Randy he says that while the money and benefits are nice, he is focused on a larger goal. “In a sense it’s going to help me get a job in the future.” Hopefully it will ultimately give the couple a better financial future.

“It is going into savings, we’re going to buy a house, hopefully sooner rather than later,” said Katie. Randy leaves for basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, next week.

Emily Allen can be reached at Emily.Allen@loras.edu

Morgan Finke
Published: February 11, 2009

DUBUQUE - “Store closing”, “Blowout sale”, “Everything must go!” Signs like these are making appearances around Dubuque and across the country.

With Office Depot closing 112 of its stores nationwide, employees are left wondering what comes next

Ken Borzym, manager of Office Depot in Dubuque has a lot to consider,”I’ve been with the company for fourteen years and I got the severance package as well but I’d have to move myself to Pewaukee, Wisconsin.”

Right across the highway, Starbucks already closed their doors.

Employee Casey Kettmann at the Starbucks in Hy Vee explained the recent downsize, “A week or so ago they announced they were going to close more stores and get rid of 1000 employees which is a big number.”

But Rick Dickinson recognizes that the economic news in Dubuque isn’t all dreary. “The 1300 employees will only account for two percent of the population but it will have a big effect on the makeup of Dubuque and the way Dubuque is perceived,” said Dickinson.

Even though that is a nice boost, it is going to take time to see the difference.

“In fact IBM hasn’t hired any employees yet and it takes some time for a new company to ramp up even though it’s an accelerated time table for IBM,” Rick went on to explain.

In the meantime, Dubuque’s workforce is keeping its chin up.

From Kettmann’s perspective, we have a lot to be thankful for, “From what I’ve seen there have been some layoffs with Flexsteel and other companies like that but overall Dubuque has done very good in this rough time even compared to surrounding cities.”

Morgan Finke can be reached at Morgan.Finke@loras.edu

Andrew Huck
Published: February 11, 2009

DUBUQUE – Thirteen, that is the number of fire deaths in the State of Iowa so far for 2009 which is more than this time last year. While October is known as Fire Prevention Month, the winter months bring challenges for firefighters and more potential fire hazards. There are a few things that you should know about how to prevent a fire in your home.

Dubuque Fire Chief Dan Brown explains the challenges winter weather has on his department’s ability to fight fires.

“Any time we have these apparatuses [fire trucks] out there is always a problem with freezing and the hose lines freezing, you have to keep water flowing through them even if we’re not spraying them on the fire,” explains Chief Brown.

During the winter many people rely on space heaters to help heat their homes but if you use them there are a few safety reminders.

“Space heaters should not be plug into extension cords should be directly into a receptacle [outlet], careful not to over load, and then do not leave them unattended; if you leave the room or go to bed at night shut them down,” says Brown.

The most important tip is to have working smoke detectors in your house but there is something about smoke detectors you need to know.

“If they are over ten years old they probably need to be replaced and if you look at your smoke detector they will have a date on them,” says Brown.

Beginning April first a new law goes into effect requiring all new residential construction to have a dual sensor smoke detector installed, which uses two sensors to detect both fast and slow moving fires.

These are important reminders after the amount of fires in Dubuque at the end of 2008.

“December was a very busy month for the fire department here in Dubuque for structure fires,” explains Brown.

The Dubuque Fire Department also asks for your help in clearing snow from around fire hydrants. If there is a hydrant on your property the department asks that you clean a path around it, this will give firefighters quicker access during a fire.

Andrew Huck can be contacted at Andrew.Huck@lctv13.com

Katrina Berning
Published February 11, 2009

DUBUQUE- Sometimes they play basketball; other times, it’s Jenga. But no matter what the activity, Zoe Smith says they have fun all year round.

“It’s really fun and in the summer and in the winter and in the fall, we’ve all got something to do,” says Smith.

‘We’ being her and her big sister Teanna Cardin.

Teanna said, “Zoe didn’t necessarily need someone to help take care of her all the time or something like that. It was more that she just wanted someone fun to hang out with other than her immediate family.”

Zoe and Teanna aren’t biological sisters. They’re connected through the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program

“Since the program started in 1997, we’ve matched about 1,185 kids so the need is great and in fact, the need continues year after year. Rather than it going down, the number of kids is always greater than the number of volunteers,” explained Anne Hedrick, the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program coordinator.

Right now, there are forty-five kids waiting for someone to be their big brother or sister.

Big Brothers, Big Sisters Match Support Specialist, Amanda Avenarius said, “A big person can be anybody over eighteen who is willing to spend time with the ‘littles.’ We have business people; we have older retirees; we have college kids.”

They’re people like Teanna; just looking to leave a positive mark on the community.

Teanna says, “You’re going to make a huge difference in a kid’s life just as long as you’re consistently there for them.”

If you are interested in getting involved with the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program, call Hillcrest Family Services at (563)583-7357

Katrina Berning can be reached at Katrina.Berning@lctv13.com