HUFFPOST says both Ames and Iowa City are among the top five college towns in the United States. 

No information given as to how the towns were selected, or on what criteria, so it seems dreadfully arbitrary, but since two towns in my home state are up there, and I attended one of them myself, I thought the list was worth a look.

I guess the list was based on some information compiled by this economic research group. Notably, Waterloo, Iowa is in the top 20.

Two towns in Virginia made the top nine. I thought the photos depicting each campus were kind of lame. For Ames, they shot a swim meet. Even though I had two cousins swim at Iowa State, I believe there must be a more interesting subject to take a photo of in Ames. 
I've always found Madison, Wisconsin to be an excellent college town, so I was surprised it isn't there. Then I saw that Madison is considered a "small metro," rather than a "college town." I'm sure if I took the time to read the article, I'd learn what the difference is, but I don't feel like it.
And lastly, why NINE? Why not five, 10, or 15? The research group listed 75, and divided them up into major metro areas, mid-sized, college towns, etc. Is this just an attempt by Huffpost to make OCD people nuts? 
Now I'll be up all night, wondering which college town was tenth and just missed the list.
I know -- if I'd read the whole damn article, I would know already.

THE TOP NINE:

1. Ithica, New York
   
2. Ames, Iowa
   
3. State College Pennsylvania
   
4. Crestview, Florida
   
5. Iowa City, Iowa
   
6. Corvallis, Oregon
   
7. Champaign, Illinois
   
8. Blacksburg, Virginia
   
9. Charlottesville, Virginia
   

CLICK HERE TO READ THE OTTUMWA POST

Murder Trials And Pixie Dust

By JAMES GROB
The Ottumwa Post

Here's a sentence I never imagined I would hear myself say ...

"I have to leave the murder trial early today so I can go be Captain Hook."

Yes, it sounded strange coming from my own mouth, and those around me gave me a strange look when I uttered those exact words a couple of weeks ago.

But they had heard me right. And my press comrades and the friendly Henry County Sheriff's Deputies who I had spent the last three weeks hanging out with knew I meant it. As important as the murder trial I was covering as a member of the media was to some, my commitment to my community theatre was just as important to others.

I was Captain Hook, by thunder! Brimstone and gall! There's no way to put on a stage production of Peter Pan without a Captain Hook. You could have the best Peter Pan in the world -- which we did -- and all the flying, singing, pixie-dust-coated children you could hope for, but if there's no Hook, there's no show.

I had taken the Captain Hook pledge a couple of months earlier, long before anyone knew that on opening night, an indecisive jury would be deliberating to a stalemate a couple of county seats away. 

Yes, you take a pledge when you accept a role in a community theatre production. There's no written oath, and you don't have to swear on a stack of Bibles, but when you accept a role, you are making an unspoken, unwritten, unbreakable promise to be present for the shows, come hell, high water, the apocalypse, chronic diarrhea or even 12 jurors who can't seem to agree. Pity those who make a deliberate effort to cause such a promise to be broken, for their souls will suffer eternal torment by the merciless demigods of community theatre.

Well, maybe not eternal torment, but at least some short-term discomfort.

I had attended auditions for Peter Pan in the hope of earning the role of a pirate. Any pirate would do. Why, you might ask? Well duh! It's a freaking pirate, dude! Who doesn't want to be a pirate, for at least a while? Listen to some deep Jimmy Buffet album cuts, then try to tell me that you wouldn't want to be a pirate.

Note that I'm not talking about those Somali pirates from that Tom Hanks movie. Too doggone scary. I'm talking about an old-fashioned, bottle o' rum drinking, parrot on the shoulder, swash-buckling, plank-walking, yo-ho-ho, treasure-seeking, grog-swilling, sword-fighting, sash-and-bandana wearing, foul-smelling, loot-robbing, bling-displaying, argh-yelling, singing and dancing pirate.

EVERYONE wants to be one of those, at least for a little while. And so I went to auditions hoping I could be one of those.

But as it turned out, no one else really wanted to be Captain Hook all that much, so it fell to me. Like me, everyone else just wanted to be one of Hook's crew of bloodthirsty lubbers.

And that's where the canker gnawed. Take a look at the script of any production of Peter Pan, and you'll notice that Hook and his crew are indeed "lubbers." That is, they are big, clumsy, incompetent buffoons who are constantly outwitted by a group of adolescent boys. Man, this was going to be fun!

So I took the part of Hook, the gloriously-dressed, self-involved, famous fictional hero with a sharp weapon for a right hand, a brutal hatred of the boy called Peter Pan and an irrational fear of a crocodile who ticked.

And the directors did a brilliant thing. They cast the play so that Hook and his band of pirates would all be played by adults, while Peter Pan's posse of "Lost Boys" would all be played by grade-school kids. So alliances were formed, and gangs were created. It was us against them.

And even though we knew that Peter Pan and his crew would always get the best of us in the end, every single night, the pirates still gave it their all, incompetence-be-darned. The battles would be fought with whole hearts, the songs would be sung with deep feeling and flair. Yes, for a couple of hours each night, I was surrounded by pirates -- not amateur actors dressed in pirate costumes, but real, honest-to-goodness pirates, every second they were on the stage. It was a great feeling, to be the notorious leader of a band of real, live pirates for two hours a night. As Peter Pan himself asked, "Do you believe?"

Yes, I believed we were pirates.

There were times when, in my mind, I believed the members of that jury in Henry County would somehow bond together like my pirates did, and be able to take a look at all of the facts in that murder trial and come to an agreement. Our system of justice, in some ways, kind of depends on that to happen. They cut the jury off from the influence of the world outside of the courtroom, and they throw them all together, dependent on each other, and they ask them to come to a decision.

Twelve of them, against the world, making one decision that they each have to agree upon. There's a hope that there will be some camaraderie, some bonding, some "all-for-one-and-one-for-all" spirit. A coming together into one powerful entity.

But, alas, there was no such agreement in the real world in this case. That shouldn't surprise us -- just try to find 12 individuals these days who agree on any one thing. It's tough. Tell 12 people that the sky is up, and there's always at least one who wants to argue the meaning of "up," and at least another who wants to debate the meaning of "sky." A faithful coalition of random individuals who believe anything is a rare thing these days.

And so is an unwritten, unspoken, unbreakable promise.

It's less and less likely you'll find these things in the real world anymore. In order to find these things, if you're looking, you might just have to leave the real world a little early. You'll need to make it on time for opening night of your stage production.

I suggest a show that features pirates and little boys who refuse to grow up.

Sometimes they're the same thing.

(Ottumwa)— Attorneys for Seth Techel have filed a motion asking the court to reduce his bond and be removed from the case.  Techel has been held in custody ever since the shooting death of his wife Lisa Techel more than a year ago.  His bond has been set at 750-thousand dollars.

To date, two different juries have been unable to reach a verdict.  Defense attorney Steven Gardner of Ottumwa has asked the court to reduce Techel’s bond to 75-thousand dollars and to remove restrictions on his travel and who he can contact.  Gardner has also asked to be removed from the case and have the state appoint an attorney.

A hearing is set for next Monday, November 25th, in Monroe County.

Friday, November 15th
UPDATE– Mistrial due to hung jury, granted.  Hearing on bond and other pending matters set for Nov. 25 at 1:15 p.m.  Prosecution vows to re-try case.

By JAMES GROB, for Ottumwa Radio
Wednesday, November 13th

The fate of Seth Techel is now in the hands of a Henry County jury made up of six men and six women, as the defense and the prosecution both finished their closing arguments Wednesday in the murder trial in Mount Pleasant.

At the end of the day Wednesday, district judge Daniel Wilson gave the jury its final instructions, dismissed the four jurors that are alternates in the case, and sent the remaining 12 jurors to the jury room. They begin deliberations this morning as they’ll try to do what a Wapello County jury was unable to do earlier this year – reach a unanimous verdict in the case.

Techel is charged with first degree murder and the non-consensual termination of a human pregnancy in the May 26th 2012 death of his pregnant wife, Lisa Caldwell Techel. Lisa was shot at close range while asleep in her bed in the Techel’s rural Agency home, and the cause of death was a deer slug fired from a Mossberg 12-guage shotgun that was kept in the home.

Iowa assistant Attorney General Andrew Prosser made the closing arguments for the prosecution Wednesday, telling jury that the evidence proves that Seth was the only person who could have committed the crime, and that there was no evidence that anyone else was there at the time. According to Prosser, only Seth had the means, opportunity and motive to fire the shot that killed his wife. He also outlined numerous inconsistencies and blatant deceptions by Seth in interviews with police, and pointed out the absurdities in defense claims that Brian Tate, a neighbor of the Techels, could have committed the crime.

Defense attorney Steven Gardner closed his argument by pointing the finger at Tate, saying Tate was mentally ill and agitated, schizophrenic, and on the wrong medication. Gardner questioned the state’s investigation into the case and pointed out sloppy police work. He walked the jury through a long list of problems with evidence collection, everything from blood to DNA to gunshot residue, and asked if the state was really seeking the truth, or were they just trying to prepare a case for conviction.

On rebuttal, Prosser countered that argument – any police mistakes do not change who killed Lisa Techel, he said.

By JAMES GROB, for Ottumwa Radio
Tuesday, November 12th
The defense is expected to wrap up its witnesses this morning and both sides could begin closing arguments today at the Seth Techel murder trial at the Henry County Courthouse in Mount Pleasant.

Late Tuesday, the district judge Dan Wilson heard motions from both sides with the jury not present, and more of that could be expected this morning, as the jury was instructed it would not be back into the courtroom until 10 a.m., while court will resume at 9.

With the jury gone Tuesday, defense attorney Steven Gardner offered proof into evidence regarding the weather that weekend, a burglary of the Techel’s rural Agency home on the day of Lisa Caldwell Techel’s funeral, testimony regarded as “hearsay” by the prosecution, and national weather service reports as to the weather on May 26th, 2012, the day Lisa Caldwell Techel was shot to death while sleeping in her bed.

Earlier on Tuesday, the court heard testimony from Seth Techel’s parents, Doug Techel and Lorraine Uehling-Techel, doctors who treated Brian Tate, a neighbor of the Techel’s, and a firearms forensics expert.

DougTechel testified as to his son’s demeanor that day. On the way to the sheriff’s office for questioning, Doug asked Seth if they should get him a lawyer. Seth told his father, no, that he had nothing to hide. Doug said that Seth seemed sincere and did not appear reluctant to talk with law enforcement.

Two physicians who examined Tate after he was brought into Ottumwa Regional Hospital in handcuffs in September of 2012 described Tate as delusional and hallucinating, and a psychiatrist diagnosed Tate as bipolar and manic-depressive and said he had been on the wrong medication for a very long time. The doctor did say, however, that Tate had no history of violence.

Tate has been cited by the defense as a possible suspect in the murder.

Early Tuesday morning, firearms forensics expert John C. Cayton became the second expert witness to say that a gunshot residue analysis test should have been done in the Techel case. In fact, Cayton stated that such a test is routinely done in cases like this one and could have helped determine Seth’s guilt or innocence.

Closing arguments in the trial are expected to begin today.

Tuesday, Nov. 12 afternoon update.  Reported by James Grob for Ottumwa Radio.

If you're wondering why there aren't any photos of Captain Hook, it's because Hook's costume is a secret!


If you're wondering how the actors fly -- ALSO A SECRET!!

Don't miss this show! At the Iowa Theater in Bloomfield Nov. 14-17. Show times are 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are available at Perfect Touch Wellness Center in Bloomfield and cost $15 for adults and $13 for children 12-and-under. There will also be some tickets available at the door for one-half hour before show times.

FOR OTTUMWA RADIO

The second week of the Seth Techel murder trial concluded Friday afternoon with the defense hacking away at evidence presented by the prosecution.

Defense attorney Steven Gardner attempted to discredit the state’s case against Techel Friday at the Henry County Courthouse in Mount Pleasant, picking at possible mistakes made during the investigation and attempting to discredit testimony presented by the prosecution from the stand.

The prosecution rested its case Thursday morning after presenting a lot of evidence that applies to motive but little physical evidence that ties Seth Techel directly to the murder of his wife, Lisa Caldwell Techel. Lisa was shot to death while asleep in her bed in the early morning hours of May 26th, 2012. A Wapello County jury failed to reach a verdict earlier this year.

The most notable witness called to the stand by the defense on Friday was Allison Murtha, a forensic scientist who specializes in trace evidence, especially gunshot residue. No gunshot residue test was ever conducted on Seth Techel, or anyone else, during the investigation into Lisa’s murder. In earlier testimony, Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations agents tried to claim that gunshot residue tests were not reliable, and DCI firearms expert Victor Murillo characterized gunshot residue tests as useless in cases like the Techel case. On Friday, Murtha, whose expert work has been put to use by the DCI several times, disagreed. Any time a gunshot residue test can be done, it should be done, said Murtha, who explained the science behind the test and showed how lacking in knowledge the Iowa DCI appears to be on the subject.

Other witnesses called by Gardner included Jeremy Weller, who at the time of Lisa’s murder was a Wapello County jail administrator and sheriff’s reservist. Weller told the jury how he found the murder weapon – a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun – on the day after Lisa’s murder about 90 feet from the front door of the Techel’s rural Agency home. The gun was just a few steps away from where deputies had been walking the day before, and they had somehow missed it. Weller also testified as to a 911 call recording that was discovered in June of 2012 but not turned over to the state until March of 2013.

The defense will continue to make its case when the trial resumes on Tuesday.

FOR OTTUMWA RADIO

The defense team will continue to have its chance today at the Seth Techel murder trial at the Henry County Courthouse in Mount Pleasant.

Defense attorney Steven Gardner is expected to continue to present alternatives to Seth Techel in the May 26th 2012 murder of Seth’s wife, Lisa Caldwell Techel.

The prosecution rested its case early Thursday morning, and although the state presented a lot of evidence that goes toward motive, there was very little physical evidence presented to link Seth to the crime, beyond the fact that he was there at the Techel home when Lisa was killed in her sleep by a deer slug fired from a 12-gauge shotgun.

Gardner made a motion to dismiss the charges against Seth due to a lack of evidence Thursday, but that motion was denied by district judge Dan Wilson.

Gardner has been making the case that a neighbor who had been having problems with the Techels, Brian Tate, could have murdered Lisa.

Tate, who passed away in September of 2012, told authorities he slept until 11 the morning of Lisa’s murder.

Tate has been characterized as mentally unstable, dangerous, and is said to have called the Techels “terrorists.” However, when recorded conversations between Tate and law enforcement were played for the jury on Thursday, Tate did not sound dangerous at all. Tate instead seemed like a strange, eccentric but harmless individual.

It hasn’t helped the defense that Seth Techel himself antagonized Tate in the months and weeks leading up to the murder, orchestrating vandalism to Tate’s property, as he had friends dump dog manure on Tate’s car and yard and throw rocks at Tate’s buildings.

Some recordings of Tate were of such low quality that it was difficult for the jurors to understand what was being said, and there were several minutes of delays due to technical problems with the recording equipment.

What could be understood was mostly innocuous. Tate expressed his fear that Techel or his friends might shoot squirrels in the area with black markings. He seemed confused that people might want to dump buckets of manure into his yard and he expressed genuine concern we he learned that Lisa Techel had been killed. “She had a baby inside her?” Tate asked the officers.

FOR OTTUMWA RADIO

The prosecution called its final witness Wednesday at the Seth Techel murder trial at the Henry County Courthouse in Mount Pleasant. Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations criminologist Victor Murillo, a firearms expert, was the final witness to take the stand for the prosecution in the now eight-day old trial. Murillo confirmed that the Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun found in tall grass about 90 feet from the front door of the Techel home on May 27th– one day after Lisa Caldwell Techel’s murder – was indeed the weapon that was used to kill Lisa Techel. Murillo also confirmed that Lisa was killed with a deer slug fired from the gun, and that deer slugs found in the home matched the deer slug pieces removed from Lisa’s dead body.

The gun belongs to Lucas Howell, a roommate of the Techels for six months. Howell had moved out weeks earlier but had left his gun at the Techel residence.

In earlier testimony, the jury heard from Chief State Medical Examiner Julia Goodin, and saw autopsy photos of Lisa Techel. Goodin examined Lisa’s body after her death. She confirmed Lisa’s death was a homicide and was caused by a gunshot wound to the chest area. She also said that Lisa’s unborn child had no abnormalities and that Lisa was between 15 and 20 weeks pregnant. There were no defense wounds, and the angle of the wound was consistent with Lisa laying on her right side when shot, and consistent with the shot being fired from the foot of the bed as she slept. Goodin said Lisa and the child died quickly – within minutes of being shot – because the slug hit Lisa’s left lung and she couldn’t breathe.

Also Wednesday, DCI agent Richard Crivello, a fingerprint expert, testified that the only identifiable prints found in the home were those of Seth Techel, friends and frequent visitors Colton Millard and Tyler Batterson, and Howell.

Also Wednesday, DCI DNA expert Sabrina Seehafer testified that one strand of hair found on Lisa’s palm belonged to Seth and there was no confirmed DNA evidence of anyone else being at the house the morning of the murder.

Earlier Wednesday morning, the jury was shown video of Seth’s interrogation by authorities. Although Seth’s story regarding his relationship with Rachel McFarland changed throughout, his story about what happened that morning remained consistent.

FOR OTTUMWA RADIO

More videos are expected to be presented to the jury today, followed by more testimony from DCI agent Chris Thomas as the Seth Techel murder trial continues at the Henry County Courthouse in Mount Pleasant. Defense attorney Steven Gardner will also get the chance to cross-examine Thomas today.

Techel, charged with the May 26th, 2012 murder of his pregnant wife Lisa Caldwell Techel, was questioned by authorities for nearly six hours on the day his wife was killed. On Tuesday, the jury heard a lot of that questioning and a lot of Seth Techel’s answers.

On the recorded testimony with Wapello County sheriff’s deputy Jeff Layton and DCI agent Thomas, Seth was consistent all along in his story of what happened that morning, contending that someone had shot his wife while he was in the shower.  Seth said he then heard a thumping noise in his living room or kitchen area, grabbed his Glock pistol and rushed down the hall to, as he said, “find the killer.” He found the front door wide open and look out from the porch but said he saw no one. He then returned to the bedroom to find Lisa no longer breathing.

No physical evidence was taken off of Seth or his clothing during the interrogations, and although Seth consented to take a gun residue test, none was ever taken. Seth can be seen on one of the videos volunteering a cheek-swab DNA sample.

Seth talked about others who may have committed the murder, including Brian Tate, a neighbor who feuded with the Techels. Techel told several stories characterizing Tate as mentally unstable and threatening, and even insinuated that Tate had attempted to poison Techel’s dog. Seth also told officers that day that he had never messed with Tate, although the jury knows that isn’t true, because testimony has already been presented that shows Techel orchestrated vandalism on Tate’s property.

When questioned about extramarital affairs that day, Seth admitted to having a texting affair with Rachel McFarland, but downplayed it as harmless and insisted that he ended the texting with McFarland when Lisa found out about it and confronted him. Earlier testimony in the trial proves that Techel’s relationship with McFarland was well beyond harmless texting.