4/7/2009 - Do you have a home?  My wife and I are about to close on our first home next week.  While I'm thinking about that I also consumed with those that don't have a home.

This week I've been tracking down the homeless camps in Cedar Rapids.  I was surprised to find a few, and to me a few really feels like too many.

On Wednesday Photojournalist Randy Dircks and I will trail along with a case worker as he shows us the places people are living out in the elements.

Why are people living outside?  That's the first question I asked.  I assumed it was because the shelters are full.  But, it turns out the shelters aren't full.  There's much more to this situation than I could have imagined.  We'll try to explore that in our story.

Tune in on Wednesday, this could be a real eye-opening experience.

4/9/2009 - Just released by the Downtown District:

The Downtown District tells me they've been working on this for a long time.

Welcome to This JustIN!

Send questions and comments to Justin.Foss@KCRG.com.

3/24/2009 - Today's lesson, Bankruptcy Court can be a really slow moving process.  Yesterday and today I am covering the bankruptcy auction of Agri-Processors meat packing plant in Postville.

Here's the goal, the plant borrowed a lot of money to keep it going.  The people it borrowed the money from, want their money back.  That total tab is more than $26 million.

However, the only way those companies will get their money back is if somebody is willing to buy the plant and everything inside it.

Right now, the best offer is from a company called Kosher Standards L.L.C.  But, they are only willing to pay $15.7 million.  You can see how the creditors don't want to sell for that amount - it's more than $10 million short.

However, it seems to be more apparent the longer this auction goes that the bids might not get much higher.  It's a real high-stakes poker game, huh?  That is somewhat exciting.  What's not exciting is that it takes about 30 minutes between each bid creating a buzz kill.

I'm pulling everything the lawyers say and putting it into some sort of story for the news tonight.  Hopefully we'll have some sort of resolve, or a direction towards resolve soon.

A local angle here, Sealed Air, a company with a large Cedar Rapids plant says they are owed $578,960 from the plant.  That's small change as compared to what everyone else wants, but it is big money to me.

Did you know, since this is in Federal Bankruptcy Court, we aren't allowed to bring in a cellphone, camera or any sort of electronic equipment.  We can bring in all of that in Iowa's district courts, but not in Federal Court.

3/18/2009 - If you were going to start a fundraiser for flood victims, and hold a run through the flood-affected areas of Cedar Rapids, what would you call it?

You, and the two women who are organizing this charitable venture figured the best name would be, "Cedar Rapids Flood Run."

Turns out that's a horrible name.  Not by my account, but by the organizers of "The Flood Run." 

They're a group of motorcycle riders in Minnesota and Wisconsin that use the term to hold a "Flood Run" each year by visiting several bars between Lake St. Croix Beach, WI and Winona, MN.

As it turns out, they raise money for Gillette Childrens Miracle Network.  I originally had it wrong.  I thought I saw they raised money for a different organization.  But, as it also turns out, that group has trademarked the term "Flood Run."

Organizer Brian Denny says the Flood Run started back in 1965.  He says they trademarked the name a few years ago to prevent people printing unlicensed t-shirts and selling them along the route, and not giving the money to Gillette.  He goes on to say they are afraid Cedar Rapids is too close to the Run, and could confuse the riders.  Denny says they get hundreds, if not thousands of riders from Iowa that come each year.

This came like a blow to the stomach to the women.  They had been planning their run since last October, and just this week were told they would have to completely change everything about all the marketing and website they've spent countless hours and dollars of their own.

The group in Minnesota said there was no compromise by calling it the Cedar Rapids Flood Run.  And, because the two words anyone could find in the dictionary and put together, are now trademarked by this Minnesota group, no one else can use them.  If the Cedar Rapids group didn't change, the Minnesota group was threatening legal action.

Now, with only a few months until the run in Cedar Rapids, you  can look out for, "Run the Flood."

It makes you wonder just what can be trademarked. 

I think I'll trademark, "Floods Suck."

2/26/2008 - Theatre Cedar Rapids is coming back to downtown.  The first show back will be the Mel Brooks favorite, The Producers.

In the meantime, TCR is offering many other shows at their Lindale Mall location.  The next show up for TCR is Hair, with School House Rock to follow this summer.

One unique thing I learned about the building today is that the lobby ceiling is quite low.  Low, as in 8.5 feet.  I asked why.  I was told the current lobby used to be where the end of the seating was.  And, there is a giant concrete beam at 8.5 feet that makes it too costly to raise the ceiling - here I thought the ceiling was low because historically, people were shorter when the building was built in the 1920's.

2/25/2008 - Today I found a new place to work if I ever Left here.  Let's hope that is never the case, though.  I went to PRC in Cedar Rapids.  They are a call center company.  They are actually hiring right now!

I promised I would put the number here on the blog - 319-390-8900.

The company does some sales calls and also helps people who have just bought some VOIP services install the system, over the phone.

Business hasn't always been good at PRC.  Just last March, the company closed three call centers in Iowa and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

But, the people I talked with today said they've come out of that bankruptcy stronger and ready to take more of the market share.

It's a good day for some businesses.

Ironically, as I wrote this, an employee of the Amana Refrigeration plant said they've heard some laid off employees might be getting called back.  I have yet to confirm that, but you can bet we'll be following up on it when the company is open again tomorrow.

2/24/20008 - If you can read this before the speech, here's a snipit from the White House:

Excerpt

But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.

The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our problems don’t lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and universities; in our fields and our factories; in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth. Those qualities that have made America the greatest force of progress and prosperity in human history we still possess in ample measure. What is required now is for this country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and take responsibility for our future once more.

2/19/2009 - How connected are you?  How connected am I?  It's a question I find myself asking more and more these days.  I jumped on the whole Twitter bandwagon a little while ago.  You can find me at JustinFossKCRG.

But, I've really grown tired of Twitter.  I friend called me out today by asing why I haven't posted lately.  I have Twitter open on my computer and find it annoying to have people constantly telling me things that have no substance behind them.  Is that a common feeling?  Sure, there are plenty of people who reveal very interesting thoughts, but those people seem to be in the minority.

So, I'm fighting myself to get more connected to clue viewers and readers into what's going on through the day, but also not annoy them as well with rants about a biting my lip, or whatever happens during a normal day.

How connected do you want journalists to be?  How much of the nitty gritty details do viewers and readers want from people on the front lines?

I'm guessing you want it all.  But, first I have to figure out just what that means.