Health
Care Reform Update: Republican Voucher Plan for Medicare
Now that we are in the midst of another session of the Iowa legislature, the labor unions are once again trying to advance their agenda. Just a year ago, all four legislative priorities of the unions were defeated by the Democrat controlled legislature. That would make a [...]
Today’s installment from the latest Iowa Poll that The Des Moines Register commissioned asked Iowans polled what issues should the Iowa Legislature consider this year. For those of you who live outside of Iowa may not be aware, this year’s General Assembly has a shortened session this year [...]
Since we tried to have a show with Jonathan Narcisse a couple of weeks ago and had a “technology fail”, the former Des Moines School Board member and possible candidate for Governor of Iowa will join us again! We will spend two hours talking [...]
The mainstream media has gone nuts over notes that Governor Palin had written on her palm.
Her response? Look closely at this picture taken at a rally she did yesterday with Texas Governor Rick Perry.
Nice. By the way in case [...]
More *errors* (intentional omission? Manipulated data?) have been found in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.
From the UK Telegraph (Where is this story in the American Press?): "The United Nations panel on climate change is facing fresh criticism today as The Sunday Telegraph reveals new" [...]
Say whatever you want about Fareed Zakaria, the man can generally lay pretense to being well informed. Then he writes something like this:
True, the Republican Party has decided to be utterly uncooperative (although on health care Obama never really reached out to them with serious compromises).
Great job paying attention, [...]
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-IA) introduced legislation that will help fight childhood obesity. The Healthy Food for Healthy Schools Act will help ensure that school meals, and foods purchased by USDA and provided to schools, are of the highest nutritional quality.
“The Healthy Foods for Healthy Schools Act [...]
Tom Wheeler, who stepped down in September as manager of the office, faces a charge of non-felonious misconduct in office. Wheeler, 41, is accused of failing to verify the eligibility [...]
There was a lot of pre-Super Bowl controversy over the Tim Tebow ad to be aired, with so-called 'pro-choice' people demonstrating they truthfully should be called pro-abortion. Pro-abortion groups didn't want the Tebow ad to run and petitioned CBS not to air it.
The pro-abortion folks had nothing to be afraid of' [...]
Republicans Target Iowa's Second District With Fake CensusBy Representative Kraig Paulsen
This week in the House, the State Government committee worked on the reorganization bill (SF 2088). The bill in its current form saves a little over $70 million.
In order for the Governor’s budget to balance, he needs a minimum $391 million [...]
Representative Jeff Kaufmann
We had a lively discussion at the Hill of Beans Bistro in Durant last Saturday. A full room of interested constituents, great food, and lots of questions and comments….it doesn’t get any better than that. I look forward to seeing more of you at [...]
But this is essential reading for any person who likes the Tea Party rhetoric who isn’t just a party-line Republican:
So please, for your own sake, for your family’s sake and the sake of your children, stop. Stop demanding that problems not get fixed. Stop demanding that you keep [...]
By Daniel Thayer
This is a exercise machine worth the money. Retailing at about $500.00, it may take awhile to put together out of the box, but it gives you a great workout! Fluid exercises available on the machine include the following: Chest press, lat pull down, ab [...]
Prosecutors have filed criminal charges against the former manager of the Iowa Film Office and two film-makers involved with a 2008 movie that received state tax credits, the Iowa Attorney General’s office said today.
Tom Wheeler, who was fired in September as manager of the office, faces a charge of non-felonious [...]
By PETER HUSSMANN
Iowa Telecom late this afternoon announced that it reached a tentative settlement in the six class-action lawsuits filed by shareholders over the Newton-based company's proposed merger with Windstream Corporation.
Shareholders in both federal and Iowa district court filed lawsuits claiming the board of directors of Iowa Telecom breached their [...]
New York Gov. David A. Paterson has appointed Brig. Gen. Patrick Murphy, a native of Dike, Ia., as adjutant general of the New York National Guard, the state’s top uniformed officer’s post.
Murphy, 52, is a 1982 Iowa State University graduate. He joined the Iowa Army National Guard as an enlisted [...]
A new version of a controversial union labor proposal that failed last year was approved today by the House Labor Committee, paving the way for the idea to advance to full House for further consideration.
House Study Bill 699 is known as “prevailing wage.” It sets a rate private companies would [...]
Murtha, the right hand man of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, died today after suffering complications from gallbadder surgery.
In 1974 he became the first Vietnam War combat Veteran elected to Congress. The Pennsylvania Democrat rattled Washington in recent years with his earmark spending and opposition to the [...]
With unemployment tickling 10 percent (and likely to rise), Democrats in the U.S. Senate this week are hoping to push through a series of bills designed to encourage job creation. It’s as much a test of the Republicans’ commitment to bipartisanship as it is a gauge of the [...]
Tomorrow, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller will participate in a national press call as part of a push to create an independent federal consumer financial protection agency. Once he’s done with the call with the attorney generals of Illinois and Connecticut, Miller might devote [...]
“No legislation taking away liberties passed by Congress in last 36 hours. Snow froze activity in DC. Our State Secy of Ag mtgs continue.”
~ Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey
“In public hearing- testimony about not closing Clarinda, not moving empowerment. Room is overflowing.”~ Iowa Rep.Renee Schulte, R-Cedar Rapids
“I [...]
Judy Hintz from Educational Resources brings hope to kids with autism. A bunch of parents tell of their experiences. Then an activist against domestic violence misses the point. Plus more on home-schooling. Andrea Farrier
[...]A press release from the Iowa Association of Business and Industry:
The Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) will launch a grassroots media campaign this week aimed to stop a controversial proposal that forces workers to pay fees to labor unions.
The statewide radio campaign will focus on a union-sponsored bill [...]
Newton Independent
Daily News staff reporter Jessica Lowe was one of three reporters statewide named Genieve Mauck Stoufer Outstanding Young Iowa Journalists, the DM Register reported in its edition today.
The award was presented Friday at the 2010 Iowa Newspaper Association annual convention.
Also receiving the awards were reporters Sara Sleyster of the [...]
John Murtha, the first Vietnam veteran elected to Congress and a controversial figure for his earmarks, died early this afternoon at the age of 77.
[...]Republican Jim Gibbons, a candidate for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District primary, is on the National Republican Congressional Committee’s radar.
That means that the former Iowa State University wrestling coach has caught the national GOP campaign organization’s attention and is a step closer to making the NRCC’s Young Guns list. The Young [...]
Raised on a farm near Dexter in southwest Dallas County, Findley, 33, attended Drake University in Des Moines [...]
A pair of Republican state legislators has introduced a bill that would remove protections for gay, lesbian and transgender students from an anti-bullying law passed in 2007.
State Reps. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, and Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley, sponsored the legislation to remove sexual orientation and gender identity as definitions used [...]
Iowa Candidate Takes Important Step toward ‘Young Gun’ Status
Washington- The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has officially announced former Iowa State wrestling coach Jim Gibbons (IA-03) as an ‘On the Radar’ candidate, an important first step in its Young Guns program. Founded in the 2007-2008 election cycle [...]
My apologies if this was discussed last week, but the liberal site DailyKos.com had Research 2000 — a top ten pollster in terms of accuracy — poll 2,003 self-identified Republicans recently to see what they believed. Here’s what they found:
[...]More than 700 patients and family members cared for at University of Iowa Children's Hospital joined more [...]
By PETER HUSSMANN
As far back as 2005, the board of directors of Iowa Telecom had been exploring the possibility of acquiring or merging with different companies due to the difficulties expected in continuing to operate as a stand-alone company, a narrative contained in an SEC filing on the Newton company's' [...]
In most everyone's minds, the brain said the Indianapolis Colts would win. The heart however, was pulling for the New Orleans Saints.
It was heart over mind Sunday as the Saints won convincingly in Miami, defeating the Colts 31-17.
The MVP of Super Bowl XLIV Drew Brees completed 32 of 39 passes for [...]
OK... the Big Game. Man, oh man, do I love the game of football... the NFL... College... and everything in between. The Super Bowl is probably a holy day for me... and for the first time in a long time... I got back to what I [...] 
I sign a lot of documents in front of clients. This is what usually happens:
[...] Republican Brenna Findley announced today she is running for Iowa attorney general.
The 33-year-old Dexter lawyer has been a key staffer for Iowa Congressman Steve King, having served as the Kiron Republican’s chief of staff and a senior judiciary committee policy aide since 2003.
Findley is an Iowa native who received her [...]
It’s funnel week for the Iowa legislature.
Roxanne Conlin becoming darling of the netroots.
Federal appeals court upholds Romona Cunningham’s sentence regarding CIETC scandal.
Nate Silver: Sarah Palin needs help.
Chuck Grassley needs a lesson in intellectual honesty.
City of Des Moines plans nearly $10 million in budget cuts.
[...]If you follow politics at all, it was hard not to know that Sarah Palin gave a speech over the weekend to about 1,000 people at the “tea party” convention in Nashville.
Palin took a few questions afterwards, apparently submitted in advance. But what raised eyebrows was that she wrote talking [...]
Jermiah Dosser’s mother, Jody, wiped away tears as the Iowa Senate voted unanimously today to stiffen fines and driver’s license sanctions for red-light runners.
In 2007, a driver smashed into 24-year-old Jermiah Dosser’s motorcycle from behind as he waited at a red light in Des Moines. Dosser, an only child adopted [...]
Brenna Findley, an attorney from Dexter, launched her campaign for Iowa Attorney General today by filing the statement of organization for her exploratory campaign committee, Findley for Iowa. Findley is running an innovative, grassroots campaign and promises to be an energetic and accessible legal watchdog who stands [...]
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Roxanne Conlin is attacking the tactic of a Senate Republican as an example of dysfunction in Washington, D.C.
But Conlin’s target is not Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican she hopes to challenge next fall.
It’s Alabama’s Richard Shelby, who last week placed a hold on all remaining [...]
Newton Independent
The public meeting on the Newton Community School District's elementary school boundary alignment plan that could lead to the closing of a school has been postponed due to today's inclement weather.
Newton School Board member Dennis Combs said the meeting set for tonight at Aurora Heights will be rescheduled at [...]
By PETER HUSSMANN
Iowa Telecom employees not retained by Windstream following completion of the merger of the two telecommunications companies will be given 60-day notice that their jobs will be terminated in addition to as much as a half a year of salary in severance payments.
That information was spelled out in [...]
This week’s idiot is a special one as it encompasses the entire 2nd Congressional District. In a year that is shaping up to be 1994 Jr., Republican primary voters in the district don’t have much to choose from when selecting a candidate to face-off against [...]
Lawmakers are set to discuss controversial legislation that would set minimum pay and benefit standards for workers of some public projects Monday afternoon.
House Study Bill 699, better known as prevailing wage, is scheduled to go before an Iowa House subcommittee at noon and then the full Labor Committee at [...]
By PETER HUSSMANN
Iowa Telecom CEO Alan Wells stands to receive more than $6.7 million upon completion of the merger of the Newton, Iowa-based telecommunications firm with Little Rock, Ark.-based Windstream.
The financial impact of the proposed merger on Wells' pocketbook was spelled out in a Securities and Exchange Commisssion filing by' [...]
More than 60 percent of Iowans surveyed in the latest Des Moines Register Iowa Poll say lawmakers have more important things to worry about than same-sex marriage.
The poll, with a margin of error of 3.5 percent, found Iowans are more interested in a ban on text messaging while driving [...]
They can stil play and carry a note. Legendary band The Who did the half-time show at this years Super Bowl and it was excellent.
Doing a 12 minute medley of hits, the crowd was really into it, the stage, lighting, laser, effects all fantastic and on this occasion, made one wish half-time lasted longer.
Here's a spin off the famous '85 Chicago Bear Super Bowl Shuffle, courtesy of Boost Mobile. Amusing, but almost pathetic and yes, featuring actual '85 Bears.....
[...]
The Des Moines Register looked at the Tea Party movement in their latest Iowa Poll should make its critics take note. The first is that a third of Iowans surveyed support the movement. Considering how relatively new the movement is it’s current level of support is [...]
