This morning is Monday Morning Roundup of the personal injury news from around the State of Iowa. Let us see how Iowans are getting seriously injured or killed.

Gay Non-News - Bob Vander Plaats continues to distract voters with his efforts to get attention by blaming the Iowa Supreme Court for God’s work in making people gay. Now he’s saying the Iowa Supreme Court should have sent the issue to the Iowa Legislature rather than decide the controversy before them. Bob, Bob, Bob this isn’t all that difficult an issue. The Iowa Legislature passes laws and the Courts decide controversy’s interpreting or applying those laws. It’s basic civics 101 from high school. You did go to high school didn’t you? Next he’ll be advocating gay counseling to un-gay them.  I’m beginning to wonder why Bob is so interested in this subject.

Spencer, Iowa – The debate between Agriculture Secretary, Bill Northey and his challenger Francis Thicke involved a lengthy discussion about the egg recall, how it has affected Iowa’s reputation and how to change state regulations to protect consumers.

Cleared - Richard Pundt, 66, a lawyer from Cedar Rapids was cleared of charges involving dishonesty. The charges were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Attorney Pundt is a former FBI Agent and former Linn County Attorney. Good for him clearing his name.

Justifying Deadly Force - The Webster City police officer that shot after a traffic stop was cleared. The investigation found his use of deadly force was justified. The Officer is Scot Ely.

Adventure Travel - An Iowa climber from Sanborn, Iowa was rock climbing in the Grand Teton Mountains and was knocked off the mountain after a bolt of lightning struck close by. His harness must not have been properly secured. He fell 3,000 feet to his death. The climber was Brandon Oldenkamp, 21. There is no mention of whether there was a climbing instructor with him, what company organized the trip and who the other climbers are. I’ll write more on this later this week.

Campus Life - A Drake University student apparently fell from the balcony of his apartment in the middle of the night and died. He was from Zimbabwe. Indications of drinking are being reported. He was Cliffton Murove from Gweru, Zimbabwe. Reports indicate a night of heavy drinking. This is the second death within the week for Drake University students. Ryan Henderson was discovered in his car near campus, dead from unknown causes. A toxicology screen is being processed at the state lab. And six months ago we had Benjamin Backstrom dying from a gunshot wound near Norwalk, Iowa. His death was later ruled a suicide.

Highway Deaths - A man from Emerson must have fallen asleep at the wheel, crossed the center line and struck a semi-truck head on, killing him. He was 65 and the location was U.S. Highway 34 near Hastings.  An autopsy should show if he had a heart attack. Were medications involved?

The Bar Scene - A guy from Windsor Heights was charged with public intoxication after being a scuffle with the bouncers at Uncle Bucks, 1720 25^th Street, West Des Moines on September 4, 2010. What makes this bar fight of interest is the bouncers may have handcuffed him, and then did their work. The guy is reported to have said at least four bouncers hit and punched him after he was handcuffed. Can they even use handcuffs?  That’s hardly a fair fight. The report further indicates Uncle Buck’s has had the police called 51 times in 2010. Here are the facts from the Des Moines Register. My guess is we are not far from the night the City Council does a review of this bar’s liquor license. Maybe UB’s can bring the bouncers to that meeting to see if they can impress the council.

Police have been called to Uncle Buck's 51 times in 2010. Ten calls were for assaults, nine were for fights, five were for public intoxication, and three were for disputes. The other calls were for collection things, such as keys locked in vehicles and violations of no-contact orders.

For comparison, police have been called to another large bar in West Des Moines — Cabaret in the West Glen development — 34 times this year.

But Uncle Buck's holds 553 people compared with 353 at Cabaret, and West Des Moines Police Lt. Jeff Miller said the difference in police calls is not significant.

Investigative Work - West Des Moines, Iowa – It’s more than a little unusual for the parking lot at West Glen Target to have a murder suspect being arrested but that’s exactly what occurred. The events leading up to charges of murder started in Texas with a knife and ended with police tracking his cell phone usage and triangulating his location. They knew he was traveling north on I-80 and spotted his car, allegedly a stolen vehicle. Interesting police work to say the least. Law enforcement from Huntsville, Texas are on their way to Iowa to collect the suspect and take him back to Texas.

Dam the Taxpayer Dollars - Delhi, Iowa – At a cost of almost $6 million dollars private lake owners at Lake Delhi are asking the State of Iowa taxpayers for a $5.8 million handout to foot the bill for restoration of the Lake Delhi dam that broke. Should the taxpayers who enjoy no access to the lake pay for what is a private enjoyment? No way. If they do someone needs to sue the homeowner’s board and collect from the HOA liability policy for failure to maintain the structure. Why should taxpayers pay for purely private structures? It makes no sense.

Later this week I'm going to write more about the young man falling to his death in the Tetons. Until then know your rights, protect yourself and "let's be careful out there."