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Bleeding Heartland
It's what plants crave.
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Becky Greenwald 
Wed Dec 31, 2008 at 22:00:00 PM CST
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Last year at this time I was scrambling to make as many phone calls and knock on as many doors as I could before the Iowa caucuses on January 3.
This week I had a little more time to reflect on the year that just ended.
After the jump I've linked to Bleeding Heartland highlights in 2008. Most of the links relate to Iowa politics, but some also covered issues or strategy of national importance.
I only linked to a few posts about the presidential race. I'll do a review of Bleeding Heartland's 2008 presidential election coverage later this month.
You can use the search engine on the left side of the screen to look for past Bleeding Heartland diaries about any person or issue.
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Thu Nov 13, 2008 at 13:36:57 PM CST
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Normally I mention these Iowa Politics events on my weekly calendar, but I only found out about this one today. There are still some spots available for reservations:
Drake to host forum on women in Iowa politics
Drake University will host a bipartisan forum Friday, Nov. 14, on the role women play in Iowa politics and future prospects for women to be elected to represent Iowans in Congress.
The featured speakers will be:
* Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University
* Becky Greenwald, Iowa Congressional candidate
* Mary E. Kramer, former U.S. ambassador
* Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa Congressional candidate
* Jo Ann Zimmerman, former Iowa lieutenant governor
The event, which is free and open to the public, will start at 11 a.m. in Levitt Hall in Old Main, 2507 University Ave.
Reservations are required for the event, which is sponsored by Drake, IowaPolitics.com and Mediacom, as part of the Cookies and Conversation Series. For reservations, call 515-226-8774 or send an e-mail to Julie Rutz at rutz@IowaPolitics.com.
IowaPolitics.com Des Moines Bureau Chief Lynn Campbell will moderate the program and questions will be accepted from audience members. The panel discussion will be televised to a statewide audience on the Mediacom Connections Channel and will be available for On Demand viewing from Mediacom on Channel 1.
Doors to Levitt Hall will open at 10:30 a.m. Free parking will be available in Drake lots at 26th Street and University Avenue and at 25th Street and Carpenter Avenue.
IowaPolitics.com is an independent, nonpartisan news operation offering a free Web site at www.IowaPolitics.com and paid subscriber products.
This is an open thread for discussing women in Iowa politics.
I still believe that the most important reason Iowa has never sent a woman to Congress is the fact that almost every woman who's tried was challenging an incumbent.
Many women failed to defeat incumbents in other states too this year, including quite a few who had more money to spend on their campaigns than Miller-Meeks or Greenwald did in IA-02 and IA-04.
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Fri Nov 07, 2008 at 07:08:30 AM CST
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It's time for a new thread on the Congressional races across the country.
First, I need to make two corrections. I reported late Tuesday night that Tom Harkin had won all of Iowa's 99 counties. That was based on a map on the election results page of the Des Moines Register's website, which showed all of Iowa's 99 counties in blue. However, the Daily Kos election scoreboard shows the true picture (click on "Senate," then on Iowa). Harkin won "only" 94 Iowa counties. He lost Page County in southwest Iowa as well as Sioux, Lyon, O'Brien and Osceola in the northwest corner.
Second, I have reported that EMILY's List provided no financial support to Becky Greenwald's campaign in the fourth Congressional district. However, Bleeding Heartland commenter Bill Spencer pointed out that Greenwald's third quarter FEC filing shows a $5,000 contribution from EMILY's List on September 22 (a few days after the group endorsed Greenwald).
It's worth noting that when EMILY's List strongly commits to a race, they invest considerably more than $5,000 in the candidate.
Earlier this year, EMILY's List backed Nikki Tinker in the Democratic primary in Tennessee's ninth district against Steve Cohen, who had a perfect pro-choice voting record. I have not been able to confirm a number, but EMILY's list was reported to have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars advocating for Tinker.
James L. of Swing State Project compiled this comprehensive chart showing independent expenditures in House races across the country. Look at how much EMILY's List spent in some other districts: more than $160,000 in IL-11, nearly $150,000 in CO-04, nearly $60,000 in OH-15, more than $30,000 in NH-01, $19,000 in FL-13, $16,500 in NY-26.
That only counts the money EMILY's List itself spends on behalf of Congressional candidates. The group can also raise substantial funds for candidates through their mailing list. Donors to EMILY's List receive direct-mail and e-mail appeals regularly, asking them to contribute directly to key candidates from around the country. These letters contain short bios of the candidates EMILY's List is backing. I have confirmed from more than one source that EMILY's List did not send out any direct-mail or e-amil appeals urging members to contribute to Greenwald's campaign.
So, while I was wrong to write that EMILY's List provided no financial support to Greenwald, it is accurate to say that they did little to help her beyond issuing a press release very late in the game.
Getting to the big picture, Democrats have picked up six U.S. Senate seats: Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Virginia. Three races have yet to be called. Norm Coleman leads Al Franken in Minnesota by 236 votes (out of more than 2.5 million cast) at the latest count. There will be a mandatory recount in this race once the initial count has been completed. I read last night that Franken can win if even one extra vote for him is found in every eight Minnesota precincts.
We may be headed for a recount in Alaska, although it seems unlikely that Mark Begich can overcome convicted felon Ted Stevens' narrow lead. There is some speculation that Stevens will resign or be expelled from the Senate, in which case a different Republican (Sarah Palin?) could take the seat.
By the way, the election results in Alaska diverged from pre-election polling in an almost unprecedented way, not only in the Senate race but also in the presidential voting and in the race for Alaska's at-large seat in the House. Further investigation is needed to figure out whether all polls in Alaska (and Alaska alone) were way off, or whether there was any tampering with the vote counting.
Georgia will hold a runoff in December between Jim Martin and the Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss. I don't have high hopes for this one, since Georgia is a Republican state to begin with and I think the GOP base will be motivated to reduce President Obama's working majority in the Senate. However, anything can happen. On a related note, there are some anomalies in the turnout figures in Georgia that will require further analysis.
As for the U.S. House, Democrats picked up 23 seats on Tuesday and lost four for a net gain of 19 and a total of 255. Seven races have not been called, all of them in Republican-held districts. Democratic candidates are leading in only two of those (MD-01 and VA-05). Republican leads are extremely small in OH-15 and CA-04, but the picture looks more discouraging for our side in CA-44 (a real under-the-radar race), WA-08 and Alaska's at-large seat.
If all the candidates currently leading are eventually declared the winners, Democrats would hold 257 House seats and Republicans 181. Crisitunity posted these charts showing Republicans in blue districts and vice versa. Note that the partisan voting index for every Congressional district will have to be recalculated, tossing the 2000 presidential voting and adding the 2008 presidential voting. But using the current partisan voting index numbers (which are based on the 2000 and 2004 presidential voting), only nine Republicans in the whole country represent districts with any Democratic lean at all. One of them is Iowa's own Tom Latham.
In contrast, at least nine Democrats represent deep-red Congressional districts with a partisan index of at least R+10 (for perspective, Iowa's fifth district is R+8). Many more Democrats represent districts with only a slightly less Republican lean. We lost incumbent Nancy Boyda in KS-02 (R+7) but picked up Betsy Markey in CO-04 (R+9).
What does Crisitunity's post mean for Iowans? I take away two lessons.
First, there's no question that Latham will be tough to beat in 2010, but if he vacates the seat IA-04 becomes a top pickup opportunity for Democrats. I would be very surprised to see him run for governor, but if Chuck Grassley were to retire for any reason I think Latham would take a shot at the Senate race.
Second, looking at the nationwide picture, Democrats are far more competitive in red Congressional districts than Republicans are in blue districts. I am confident that the Republicans have very little chance of recapturing IA-01 and IA-02.
Also, a new Democratic candidate will be favored to hold IA-03 whenever Leonard Boswell retires, even if redistricting after the 2010 census somewhat reduces the Democratic lean in this district.
This is an open thread for any commentary on any of the U.S. House or Senate races.
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Wed Nov 05, 2008 at 02:20:42 AM CST
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Barack Obama had an incredible showing last night. Not only did he win just about every "swing state" from 2004, he won several states that have long been considered safe for Republicans.
Who seriously thought Indiana, which last voted for a Democrat for president in 1964, would go for Obama? He flipped Virginia, Colorado and North Carolina, and may yet win Missouri.
But the down-ticket races have been disappointing in many states. Becky Greenwald and Rob Hubler underperformed Obama and Tom Harkin in Iowa's fourth and fifth Congressional districts.
Minnesota Democrats failed to pick up any Congressional seats and may not win the U.S. Senate race either, even though Obama won the state by double-digits.
Oregon's U.S. Senate race is too close to call, despite a huge Obama victory in that state. Democrat Jeff Merkley has led all the recent polls in that race.
We didn't win as many down-ticket races in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida as many people expected.
Republican incumbents in Alaska who trailed in all the recent polls may keep their jobs.
A lot of analysis needs to be done to figure out what has happened. Perhaps the Republican scare-mongering about "socialism" failed to turn voters off from Obama, but helped convince them to vote for divided rule in Washington. Maybe with so much media commentary about the presidential race being a foregone conclusion, Americans wanted some checks and balances on Obama.
What do you think?
UPDATE: Swing State Project runs through what Democrats won and lost in the U.S. House races. With some districts still too close to call, we have picked up 21 Republican-held seats while four of our own incumbents lost (two who captured heavily Republican districts in 2006 wave). We lost a lot of seats that had seemed to be trending our way, as well as some districts where we outspent the Republican candidate in the final weeks (MN-03, MN-06).
Jerome Armstrong has some thoughts about the apparent swing against Democrats in a lot of the close U.S. Senate races.
Having slept on it, I realize that one wrong assumption I made was that the universal commentary about McCain being toast would depress the Republican vote.
Instead Republicans seem to have turned out in large numbers to prevent one-party "socialist" rule in Washington. Perhaps also a lot of independents voted for gridlock (Obama plus GOP down-ticket).
Of course the presidential landslide is the most important result from yesterday, but I can't help feeling like wise-beyond-his-years Populista:
Couldn't this election have nicer frosting? The cake is great but this frosting makes me sick.
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Wed Nov 05, 2008 at 00:11:00 AM CST
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Becky Greenwald is losing by 20 points in D+0 IA-04 and appears to have lost all 28 counties in the district. I wasn't optimistic about winning that race, given the lack of tv and radio advertising on her behalf, but I thought she'd come closer than she did, with a strong turnout for Barack Obama and Tom Harkin in the district. I absolutely expected her to win Story County at least.
Ultimately, Greenwald lacked the resources to define her opponent or even respond to his ads that defined her. Tom Latham's last radio ad pulled quotes from the Des Moines Register's endorsement of Greenwald, making it seem as if they had rejected her for toeing the Democratic line. If you heard the ad but hadn't read the paper, you would think the Register endorsed Latham because of his bipartisan leadership.
Latham was able to run away from his voting record, with a big assist from the Democratic leadership that gave him two chances to vote against the unpopular bailout bill.
Latham might have survived even against a well-funded challenger who ran a perfect race. Instead, he faced an under-funded challenger who made her share of mistakes.
Greenwald got in the race late and had to spend a lot of money to get through the Democratic primary. Then she spent most of the summer fundraising instead of getting out in the district to raise her name recognition.
Probably her biggest error was to go up on tv in mid-September with a commercial that did nothing to make the case against Latham. It wouldn't have been terrible as the first in a series of tv ads, but it was completely inadequate as a stand-alone ad--especially since Greenwald was hardly able to run any commercials during the final month of the campaign.
This gamble might have paid off if the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee or EMILY's List had decided in late September to commit to this district. However, it looks like a poor call in retrospect. Greenwald should have saved her cash for a strong direct-mail campaign in October, or perhaps two weeks of tv ads right before the election.
It's also important to look at Iowa's fourth district in the context of House races nationwide.
As in 2006, this is shaping up to be a Democratic wave election in which Democratic women candidates are not doing nearly as well as Democratic men.
"Sam" Bennett lost by double digits in D+2 PA-15.
Linda Stender lost in R+1 NJ-07 (an open seat and one I thought she'd win, because she almost beat the retiring Republican incumbent in 2006).
Victoria Wulsin lost by a big margin in OH-02.
Anne Barth didn't come as close as many people expected in WV-02 either.
I hope Darcy Burner pulls through in WA-08, but the early returns are not encouraging.
Jill Derby also doesn't appear likely to win in NV-02.
Former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes was considered a great candidate but didn't come very close in MO-06.
Most surprisingly, incumbent Nancy Boyda lost in KS-02.
(UPDATE: Matt Stoller has a more comprehensive list of Democratic women challengers and how they did.)
The DCCC put a lot of money behind quite a few of these women challengers, but it wasn't enough to carry the day, even with the strong presidential-year turnout.
There were a few bright spots for Democratic women challengers tonight. Jeanne Shaheen won the Senate seat from New Hampshire, and Kay Hagan won the Senate seat from North Carolina. Betsy Markey beat the horrendous Marilyn Musgrave in CO-04, and Dana Titus may win in NV-03.
But there's no escaping the fact that women Democratic challengers for the U.S. House are for the most part falling short. I don't know why, but that's how it is.
UPDATE: NCDem Amy reminds me that North Carolina just elected its first woman governor, Bev Perdue. Also, some people at Open Left think I am writing off Darcy Burner too quickly.
Final note, to the person whose diary on IA-04 I deleted earlier tonight: exposing the real name or other identifying details of any Bleeding Heartland user is prohibited on this blog. More site guidelines are here.
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Tue Nov 04, 2008 at 13:00:35 PM CST
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It's perfect weather for voting in Iowa, and my polling place was busy this morning. Of about 1200 registered voters in my precinct (Windsor Heights 2), 125 had already voted in person by 8:30 am. I don't know how many people voted by absentee ballot in my precinct, but statewide it was about a third of the electorate, so I assume several hundred people in my precinct voted early.
The "mystery pollster" Mark Blumenthal posted this cautionary note about any exit polls that may be leaked later today. He also linked to this piece from two years ago, which explains how exit polls are conducted.
If you encounter any problems with voting, don't hesitate to call the Obama campaign's voter protection hotline:
1-877-US-4-OBAMA (1-877-874-6226)
The non-partisan Election Protection also has a hotline:
1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683)
Swing State Project's final House race ratings can be found here. They have IA-04 as "likely Republican" and IA-05 as a "race to watch."
Lots of websites will be tracking results closely tonight. For presidential and Congressional results, I will be hopping back and forth between Open Left, Talking Points Memo, Swing State Project, MyDD and Daily Kos, and will highlight notable results here.
It could be an early night if Virginia and Pennsylvania look to be going Obama's way. Polls close in those states at 7 pm eastern time.
The Iowa House Democratic Caucus blog will have live results on the House races tonight, but I don't know where to go for live results on the state Senate races.
UPDATE: More voter protection numbers:
ACLU Voter Protection Hotline (1-877-523-2792)
Lawyers' Committee Hotline (1-800-OUR-VOTE / 1-800-687-8683)
Here's a funny story from Talking Points Memo about some flaws in the vaunted Republican microtargeting operation.
Republican spin doctor and focus-group master Frank Luntz tells it like it is: "I cannot foresee a scenario that John McCain is elected the President of the United States."
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Tue Nov 04, 2008 at 09:09:38 AM CST
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Here it is:
Schedule for Election Day, November 4th
Greenwald Votes in Dawson, IA
10:00 AM
Dawson Fire Station/Community Building
108 S. 1st
Dawson, IA
Greenwald Visits Waukee GOTV Office
12:00 PM
Becky Greenwald for Congress Office/Obama Campaign for Change Office
144 E. Laurel St
Waukee, IA
Greenwald Visits Iowa State to Get Out the Vote
2:00 PM
Iowa State Memorial Union
2229 Lincoln Way
Ames, Iowa 50011
Election Night Victory Party with Story County Democrats
5:30 PM - Doors open to the press
Legends Restaurant
119 Stanton Ave
Ames, IA 50014
Thanks to all the volunteers helping to get out the vote in the fourth district!
UPDATE: Noneed4thneed has video from Greenwald's event in Marshalltown last night:
http://commoniowan.blogspot.co...
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Mon Nov 03, 2008 at 07:32:20 AM CST
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In addition to the many other Democratic campaign events going on around the state today, fourth district Congressional candidate Becky Greenwald will hold four get out the vote rallies:
Schedule for Monday, November 3
10:00 AM - Charles City
Campaign for Change Office
216 N. Main St., Charles City, IA
12:00 PM - Mason City
Campaign for Change Office/Cerro Gordo County Democratic HQ
517 1st St. NW, Mason City, IA
3:00 PM - Boone
Boone Airport
424 Snedden Dr., Boone, IA
8:30 PM - Perry
Hotel Pattee
1112 Willis Ave, Perry, Iowa
If you live in or near the fourth district, are you seeing or hearing ads supporting Greenwald? I loved her final television commercial but haven't heard whether it's been running over the weekend. I saw it before Obama's infomercial a few days ago.
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Sun Nov 02, 2008 at 13:16:45 PM CST
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This diary touches upon the many reasons why this election is special, and why we need to send the first women in Iowa history, Becky Greenwald, to Congress. In case you missed Barack Obama's rally in Des Moines, you missed quite an event. Ignoring for a moment the fact that it was possibly the largest rally in Iowa history. Ignoring for a moment that it came at the end of one of the longest political campiagns in American history. Ignoring for a moment that this could be the last rally before our tens of thousands of volunteer hours pay off and help to turn Iowa blue. This was a special event. Before Barack spoke, we heard froma long line of local, state, and national Democrats who are already holding office, or who are running for office. But I consider the most important of all the speeches from Becky Greenwald, who is running to beat Tom Latham in Iowa's 4th Congressional District. This race, and the tightening of poll numbers, further strengthen my resolve to get at least 100 new supporters out to vote on Tuesday. We have a chance to send the first female in Iowa history to Congress. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY WE CAN'T LET US PASS UP.
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Sat Nov 01, 2008 at 07:39:45 AM CDT
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I'll be making phone calls for Jerry Sullivan (Democratic candidate in House district 59) this weekend.
What are you doing to close the sale for Democrats on Tuesday?
Please post a comment or send me an e-mail (desmoinesdem AT yahoo.com) if I've left out any important events.
Saturday, November 1
The Tallgrass Bioneers conference continues in Grinnell.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.gotoplanb.net/bione...
(a link to google map and driving directions is at the top of the page)
To pre-register, visit:
http://gotoplanb.net/bioneersc...
Complete schedule:
http://www.gotoplanb.net/bione...
Leading Iowa Democrats are kicking off a three-day bus tour and caravan around the state:
IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S "COUNT ON US" BUS TOUR FEATURING SENATOR HARKIN AND GOVERNOR CULVER
AMES - 8:45 AM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Governor Chet Culver, former Governor Tom Vilsack and Christie Vilsack, 4th District Congressional Candidate Becky Greenwald, Secretary of State Michael Mauro, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Iowa State University
Memorial Union - Cardinal Room
2229 Lincoln Way
Ames , Iowa
CARROLL - 11:00 AM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Governor Chet Culver, 5th District Congressional Candidate Rob Hubler, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Moose Lodge
200 East 5th St
Carroll , Iowa
STORM LAKE - 1:00 PM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, 5th District Congressional Candidate Rob Hubler, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office
805 Flindt Drive, Suite 2
Storm Lake , Iowa
FORT DODGE - 3:15 PM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, 4th District Congressional Candidate Becky Greenwald, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Fort Dodge Public Library
424 Central Avenue
Fort Dodge , Iowa
ALGONA - 5:00 PM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, 4th District Congressional Candidate Becky Greenwald, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Berte's Back Nine
216 E. State Street
Algona , Iowa
MASON CITY - 7:00 PM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, 4th District Congressional Candidate Becky Greenwald, Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Chicago Dawg Restaurant
687 South Taft Avenue
Mason City , Iowa
IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S "COUNT ON US" CARAVAN
BOONE - 8:30 AM
Lt. Governor Patty Judge
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
1327 S Marshall St
Boone , Iowa
INDEPENDENCE - 10:15 AM
Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, and former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
204 1st Street East
Independence , Iowa
TAMA - 10:45 AM
Governor Tom Vilsack and Christie Vilsack, and Secretary of State Michael Mauro
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
128 West 3rd Street
Tama , Iowa
DENISON - 11:00 AM
Lt. Governor Patty Judge and 5th Congressional District Candidate Rob Hubler
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
128 S. Linden St
Denison , Iowa
NEWTON - 12:30 PM
Governor Tom Vilsack and Christie Vilsack, and Secretary of State Michael Mauro
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
207 1st Avenue West
Newton , Iowa
DECORAH - 1:00 PM
Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, and former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
421 West Water Street
Decorah, Iowa
KNOXVILLE - 2:15 PM
Governor Tom Vilsack and Christie Vilsack, and Secretary of State Michael Mauro
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
206 East Robinson Street
Knoxville , Iowa
WAVERLY - 3:45 PM
Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, and former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
100 2nd Street, Southwest
Waverly, Iowa
LAMONI - 5:00 PM
Governor Tom Vilsack and Christie Vilsack, and Secretary of State Michael Mauro
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
128 South Linden Street
Lamoni, Iowa
CHARLES CITY - 5:15 PM
Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, and former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
216 North Main Street
Charles City , Iowa
Sunday, November 2
It's the last day of the Tallgrass Bioneers conference in Grinnell and the second day of Iowa Democrats' bus tour and caravan:
WATERLOO - 11:45 AM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, Congressman Bruce Braley, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Jameson's Irish Pub
310 East 4th Street
Waterloo , Iowa
DUBUQUE - 2:00 PM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, Congressman Bruce Braley, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Labor Temple
1610 Garfield
Dubuque , Iowa
CLINTON - 4:00 PM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, Congressman Bruce Braley, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Clinton Community College Auditorium
1000 Lincoln Boulevard
Clinton , Iowa
DAVENPORT/BETTENDORF - 5:30 PM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Governor Chet Culver, Congressman Bruce Braley, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
United Steelworkers Local 105
880 Devils Glenn Road
Bettendorf , Iowa
CEDAR RAPIDS - 7:45 PM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Governor Chet Culver, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, Congressman Dave Loebsack, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Machinist Local 831
222 Prospect Place
Cedar Rapids , Iowa
IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S "COUNT ON US" CARAVAN
INDIANOLA - 11:15 AM
Governor Tom Vilsack and Christie Vilsack, and Secretary of State Michael Mauro
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
602 North Jefferson Way
Indianola, Iowa
SPENCER - 11:45 AM
Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson, and 5th Congressional District Candidate Rob Hubler
600 Grand Avenue, 1st Floor (formerly Marcos Restaurant)
Spencer , Iowa
WAUKEE - 12:45 PM
Governor Tom Vilsack and Christie Vilsack, Secretary of State Michael Mauro, and 4th Congressional District Candidate Becky Greenwald
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
144 East Laurel Street
Waukee, Iowa
WINTERSET - 2:00 PM
Secretary of State Michael Mauro and 4th Congressional District Candidate Becky Greenwald
Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office
104 North 1st Avenue
Winterset , Iowa
LE MARS - 2:00 PM
Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson, and 5th Congressional District Candidate Rob Hubler
Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office
27 Central Avenue, Northwest
Le Mars, Iowa
SIOUX CITY - 3:30 PM
Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson, and 5th Congressional District Candidate Rob Hubler
Mary Treglia Community House
900 Jennings Street
Sioux City , Iowa
MAQUOKETA - 5:30 PM
Lt. Governor Patty Judge
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
124 West Platt Street
Maquoketa , Iowa
COUNCIL BLUFFS - 5:45 PM
Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson, and 5th District Congressional Candidate Rob Hubler
McGinn Law Firm
25 Main Place, Suite 500
Council Bluffs , Iowa
CRESTON - 8:30 PM
Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson, and 5th District Congressional Candidate Rob Hubler
Iowa Obama Campaign for Change office
209 North Maple Street
Creston , Iowa
Monday, November 3
Did you remember to enter the Bleeding Heartland election prediction contest? You can't win if you don't play!
It's the last day for early voting at your county auditor's office.
It's the final day of the Iowa Democrats' bus tour and caravan:
IOWA CITY - 10:00 AM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Governor Chet Culver, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, Congressman Dave Loebsack, Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Vito's
118 East College Street
Iowa City , Iowa
BURLINGTON - 12:15 PM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Governor Chet Culver, Congressman Dave Loebsack, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Port of Burlington
400 North Front Street
Burlington , Iowa
OTTUMWA - 2:30 PM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Governor Chet Culver, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, Congressman Dave Loebsack, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
UFCW Hall
1305 East Mary Street
Ottumwa , Iowa
MARSHALLTOWN - 5:15 PM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Governor Chet Culver, 4th Congressional District Candidate Becky Greenwald, Congressman Dave Loebsack, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
UAW Hall
411 Iowa Avenue, West
Marshalltown , Iowa
DES MOINES - 9:00 PM
Senator Tom Harkin and Ruth Harkin, Governor Chet Culver, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, Congressman Leonard Boswell, Attorney General Tom Miller, Secretary of State Michael Mauro, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson, and IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
UAW Hall
411 Iowa Avenue, West
Marshalltown , Iowa
IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S "COUNT ON US" CARAVAN
TIPTON - 11:30 AM
Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, and former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson
Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office
500 Cedar Street
Tipton, Iowa
MUSCATINE - 1:15 PM
Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, and former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson
Parks and Recreation Building
312 Iowa Avenue
Muscatine, Iowa
FORT MADISON - 3:30 PM
Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, and former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson
Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office
819 Avenue G
Fort Madison, Iowa
FAIRFIELD - 5:30 PM
Attorney General Tom Miller, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, and former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson
Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office
108 West Palm Road
Fairfield , Iowa
If you're in the Cedar Rapids area and are interested in global warming:
CLIMATE CHANGE IN IOWA TOPIC OF NOV. 3 FORUM:
"The global climate is changing. We know that humans are responsible for a large portion of that change, which will have implications for Iowa."
That is the central theme of a public forum set for Kirkwood Community College Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. Kirkwood and several other colleges and community groups will host a "Connections" program in Ballantyne Auditorium on the main Kirkwood campus.
The free forum will feature Dr. Jerald Schnoor of The University of Iowa, speaking on "Mitigating and Responding to Climate Change in Iowa." Schnoor is the Allen S. Henry Chair and professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and co-director of the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research.
Tuesday, November 4
It's not too late to contact your local Democratic field office or county party to volunteer for a shift on election day. There are many jobs to be done--you don't have to work the phones or knock on doors.
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Fri Oct 31, 2008 at 16:21:25 PM CDT
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Bumped. Don't forget to enter by Tuesday morning at 6 am!
I realize I forgot to include a question about how many Iowa counties Obama will win (99 total). If you like, you can reply to your own election prediction with a guess on that too.
If you've already submitted a prediction and want to revise it, just reply to your comment with your updated guesses.
I am still trying to decide whether to go with my optimistic or pessimistic scenario and will post my final prediction on Monday night.
There are no tangible prizes here--only bragging rights for the winners.
Enter if you dare. Try to come up with guesses for all the questions. Before you complain that these questions are tough, look at the Swing State Project prediction contest.
Your vote percentage guesses do not have to add up to 100 percent if you believe that minor-party candidates or write-ins will pick up a few percent of the vote.
1. What percentage of the national popular vote with Barack Obama and John McCain receive?
2. How many electoral votes will Obama and McCain win? (538 total)
3. What percentage of the vote will Obama and McCain win in Iowa?
4. What percentage of the vote will Bruce Braley and Dave Hartsuch receive in the 1st district?
5. What percentage of the vote will Dave Loebsack and Mariannette Miller-Meeks receive in the 2nd district?
6. What percentage of the vote will Leonard Boswell and Kim Schmett receive in the 3rd district?
7. What percentage of the vote will Tom Latham and Becky Greenwald receive in the 4th district?
8. What percentage of the vote will Steve King and Rob Hubler receive in the 5th district?
9. How many seats will the Democrats and Republicans have in the Iowa House after the election (currently 53-47 Dem)?
10. How many seats will the Democrats and Republicans have in the Iowa Senate after the election (currently 30-20 Dem)?
11. Which Congressional race in Iowa will be the closest (in terms of percentage of vote difference between winner and loser)?
12. Which Iowa House or Senate race will be the closest (in terms of percentage of vote difference between winner and loser)?
13. Nationally, which U.S. Senate race will be decided by the narrowest margin (in terms of percentage of the vote difference, not raw votes)?
14. In the presidential race, which state will be decided by the narrowest margin (again, in terms of percentage of the vote)?
The deadline for entering this contest is 6 am on November 4.
Please don't e-mail me your predictions. Post a comment if you want to enter the contest. If you're a lurker, this is an ideal time to register for a Bleeding Heartland account so that you can post comments.
UPDATE: Here are my predictions. I went with my optimistic scenario nationally but my more pessimistic scenario for Iowa, having been emotionally scarred by too many disappointing election nights.
1. National popular vote, rounded to the nearest point: Obama 54 percent, McCain 45 percent
2. Electoral college: Obama 353, McCain 185 (Obama wins all Kerry states plus IA, NM, CO, NV, OH, FL, VA and NC)
3. In Iowa, Obama will win 56 percent, McCain 43 percent
4. Braley 62, Hartsuch 38
5. Loebsack 57, Miller-Meeks 40 (I have no doubt that she will overperform McCain in this D+7 district, but it won't be enough. She should run for the statehouse someday.)
6. Boswell 55, Schmett 45
7. Heartbreaker in the fourth: Latham 51, Greenwald 49. I expect too many independents to split their tickets. That said, I wouldn't be shocked to see Greenwald win this race on Obama's coat-tails. I just don't see that as the most likely outcome.
8. Again, I wouldn't rule out a surprise victory for Hubler if a lot of Republicans stay home tomorrow, but my prediction is (sadly) going to be King 54, Hubler 46.
9. The Iowa House will have 56 Democrats and 44 Republicans.
10. The Iowa Senate will have 33 Democrats and 17 Republicans.
11. IA-04 will be the closest Congressional race.
12. My gut feeling is that as in 2004, an Iowa House or Senate district not being targeted by either party will turn out to be closer than any of the targeted races. However, I have no idea how to select that kind of district, so I'm going to guess that the House district 81 race between Phyllis Thede and Jamie Van Fossen will be the closest.
13. The closest U.S. Senate race will be in Georgia.
14. North Carolina will be the state decided by the smallest margin in the presidential race (this was tough for me, because I also think Georgia and Missouri will be very close).
SECOND UPDATE: I forgot to predict that Obama will carry 61 of Iowa's 99 counties.
Also, do great minds think alike? I find very little to disagree with in John Deeth's prediction post. Meanwhile, Chris Bowers' final election forecasts for the electoral vote and U.S. Senate are identical to mine. I predicted a slightly bigger net gain for Democrats in the U.S. House than Bowers did, though.
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Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 20:36:35 PM CDT
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Survey USA released a new Iowa poll today, conducted for WHO-TV in Des Moines and KAAL-TV in Mason City. Barack Obama leads John McCain 55 percent to 40 percent. The poll reveals a massive gender gap. Among men, Obama leads 48-46, and among women he leads 61-34. Perhaps most significant,
Among the 32% of respondents who tell SurveyUSA they have already cast ballots, Obama leads by 40 points [...].
Tom Harkin leads Christopher Reed by 61 percent to 35 percent.
We ought to be able to elect a lot of down-ticket Democrats in this kind of environment. The election in Iowa is a lost cause for John McCain, and that may depress Republican turnout on Tuesday (despite Sarah Palin's planned rally in Dubuque on Monday).
Give what you can to Becky Greenwald and Rob Hubler so they can run ads on tv and radio during the final stretch. The biggest hurdle for a challenger is almost always name recognition.
People across the country are noticing that these races are winnable. Here's a post from the Down With Tyranny blog, and here's one from Open Left.
On a related note, you can replay a live chat the Des Moines Register hosted with Hubler yesterday by clicking here.
UPDATE: Forgot to mention that you can view Greenwald's final ad here and read the script here. Hubler's tv ad is here (scroll down past the text of the Des Moines Register's endorsement editorial).
The Ames Progressive blog recently featured these races too.
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Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 19:54:48 PM CDT
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Barack Obama's rally in downtown Des Moines on Friday morning will grab most of the media attention, but there will be many, many rallies around Iowa this weekend.
Beginning on Saturday and continuing through Monday, Senator Tom Harkin and Governor Chet Culver will headline a 16-stop "Count on Us" bus tour, while top state officials and our candidates for Congress will headline a "Count on Us" caravan.
I've posted the full schedule after the jump. No matter where you live, you probably wouldn't have to drive far to get to one of these events. Feel free to post a diary afterward to tell us how it went.
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Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 11:14:45 AM CDT
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Anyone who's been reading the Des Moines Register for the past few years knows that the editorial board endorses incumbents more often than not, in state-level, city council and school board elections as well as federal races. They like seniority and experience in their elected officials.
For those reasons, the Register has typically endorsed a few Republican incumbents despite the editorial board's generally liberal orientation. With neither Jim Leach nor Chuck Grassley on Iowa ballots this year, I was concerned that the Register would back at least one of the Republicans running for Congress--perhaps Tom Latham by virtue of his position on the House Appropriations Committee.
As it turned out, the Register endorsed every Iowa Democrat running for Congress for the first time that I can remember (going back several decades).
The endorsements were markedly different in tone, however.
A glowing endorsement of Bruce Braley argued,
this ambitious and energetic congressman sets the standard for what Iowans should expect from their representatives. [...] We can't fit everything Braley has accomplished his first term into the space of this editorial, but it's obvious he's worked tirelessly.
Their list of Braley's achievements in his first term didn't even include his work on bringing passenger rail to Dubuque and the Quad Cities.
The Register's editors concluded that Dave Loebsack has worked hard and also deserves re-election in the second district, but it's clear that they liked Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks a lot:
She's smart, has in-depth knowledge of health care, has served in the military and has a compelling life story, which includes leaving home at the age of 16 and working her way through school.
Like most campaign newcomers, including Loebsack two years ago, her knowledge of many issues is shallow. But her background indicates she'd come up to speed quickly.
Dissatisfied with Loebsack, she says she took it upon herself to do something about it and embarked on the race without party recruitment.
If Miller-Meeks doesn't prevail, she should consider running for another public office. Iowa has a shortage of women in politics, and Miller-Meeks' life experience and potential for leadership could serve the state well.
I don't think I've ever read anything like the Register's endorsement editorial for Iowa's third district. The paper favored Leonard Boswell's Republican opponent in 2006 and Ed Fallon in the Democratic primary this year, so I thought there was a decent chance the Register would endorse Kim Schmett, Boswell's challenger this fall. Instead, they published this under the headline "Iowans deserve more from 12-year incumbent":
Voters have a dilemma in the 3rd District.
After 12 years of light accomplishment and wrongheaded votes, Democratic Rep. Leonard Boswell doesn't deserve to return to Congress.
But his Republican challenger, Kim Schmett of Clive, also fails to make a compelling case that he deserves a congressional seat.
Iowans deserve better.
However, the Register's editorial board subscribes to the philosophy that if voters must decide, so must we. So the Register gives a weak nod to Boswell, with a list of expectations:
- During his next term, Boswell should use his seniority and the experience he's gained to take a more active role in representing Iowa's interests.
- He should announce early in the term that it will be his last, retiring with Iowans' thanks for a career dedicated to public service.
It goes on, but you get the drift. I hope Boswell will take the newspaper's advice after he wins re-election next week.
Evaluating the fourth district candidates, the Register determined that Becky Greenwald has the potential to be a strong, energetic leader. Tom Latham has 14 years of experience and sits on the House Appropriations Committee (which is the main reason the Fort Dodge Messenger and Mason City Globe-Gazette endorsed him), but the Register's editors found Latham "hasn't developed the kind of in-depth expertise on issues or demonstrated the national leadership Iowans should expect from their investment in his seniority."
Making the call in the fifth district race was easy for an editorial board that gave Steve King the benefit of the doubt by endorsing him in 2002 and 2004. The editors have had enough of King's "divisive, fear-mongering commentary":
Fifth District voters should not send him back to Washington. Fortunately, they have a promising alternative: Electing Democrat Rob Hubler, a retired minister from Council Bluffs who has brought himself up to speed and staked out reasonable positions on issues Iowans care about, including the Iraq war, energy and health care.
In the U.S. Senate race, the Register also had no trouble choosing a candidate and urged Tom Harkin to be ambitious in his fifth term:
Iowans should without hesitation cast their ballots to return Democrat Tom Harkin for his fifth term in the U.S. Senate. With that investment in seniority, however, comes heightened expectations for him to lead in shaping landmark legislation that will benefit Iowans and the nation for decades to come. [...]
In his fifth term, Senator Harkin should aim high and set aside partisan sniping for statesmanship. On the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, he should channel his passions for wellness and nutrition into forging legislation that provides health care for all, at long last bringing America into the company of every other industrialized nation. On that same committee, he should shepherd changes in education policy to better prepare all American students for a competitive global economy. And as Agriculture Committee chairman, he should continue his work to expand agriculture's role in producing alternative forms of energy, thus reducing dependence on oil, while protecting soil, water and air. He has the right vision for overhauling federal farm programs: Instead of paying farmers for what they grow, pay them for how well they grow it.
These would be transformational changes in American life and government: Providing health care for all. Expanding educational opportunities for all of America's children. Lessening the nation's dependence on oil while better protecting the environment.
Spearheading significant progress in these areas would create a more compassionate, just and prosperous society - and be crowning achievements for any senator.
I look forward to finding out what Harkin can accomplish as a senior member of a Congressional majority under a Democratic president. He's been in the Senate for a long time, but Democrats controlled the White House and Congress for only two of those years.
The Register has endorsed some Republicans running for the state legislative or Polk County office, but they'd like to see a Democratic sweep in the federal races.
This is an open thread for discussing any significant media endorsements in races at any level this year.
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Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 18:48:58 PM CDT
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I'll update later after watching Barack Obama's 30-minute infomercial, which is running on CBS, NBC and Fox. Meanwhile, share your thoughts in the comments.
I have to agree with Chris Bowers that it is ludicrous for some analysts to suggest that a half-hour of scripted prime-time national television, which will not be answered by Republicans, could turn out to be a negative for Obama.
Becky Greenwald is running a 60-second commercial immediately before Obama's ad on the CBS and NBC affiliates in Des Moines and Mason City. It's unfortunate that she hasn't been running tv ads for the last few weeks, but if she has very limited funds to spend on television, this was a smart place to spend them.
UPDATE: I have no idea how many undecided voters were watching (I wouldn't be surprised if most of the viewers were supporting Obama already), but Obama made his case very effectively. If you've donated to Obama's campaign, I think you should be happy about how wisely he is spending your money.
Greenwald's ad was outstanding and could not have been more clear about the contrast between her and Tom Latham. Click the link to watch the commercial, which made clear that Latham is a Republican who's voted with George Bush 94 percent of the time--even more often than John McCain. Meanwhile, the ad showed the word Democrat next to Greenwald's name as the voice-over stated that she is a Democrat who will support Barack Obama's policies.
I hope they will be able to air this commercial during the final days of the campaign. Please donate to Greenwald's campaign if you can afford to, so that more viewers will be exposed to this message.
SECOND UPDATE: A fellow former volunteer for John Edwards observed in a private communication that Edwards-type messaging was all over that Obama tv ad. I agree, but the difference is that Edwards would (in my opinion) never have raised enough money to run a 30-minute ad on nationwide television during prime time (even if he had rejected public financing for the general election).
Here's the script for Becky Greenwald's new ad. The visuals mark her as a Democrat and Latham as a Republican even more clearly, but you get the idea from this:
Voice-over: In Washington, whose voted with George Bush 94% of the time?
For more tax loopholes for big oil?
Less regulation on Wall Street?
Even rewarding companies that send Iowa jobs overseas?
Republican Tom Latham, that's who.
That's right. Tom Latham supports George Bush even more than John
McCain does.
Tom Latham supports George Bush 94% of the time. So Tom Latham won't support Barack Obama's changes in Washington.
Tom Latham won't support Barack Obama. But Democrat Becky Greenwald will.
She'll help Barack Obama protect our savings by cracking crack down on Wall Street.
Promote Iowa-based energy like wind and bio-fuels to end our dependence on foreign oil.
And protect Iowa jobs by ending the tax breaks that send them overseas.
Becky Greenwald is on our side and Barack Obama's.
And Tom Latham? Well, you get the picture?
GREENWALD: I'm Becky Greenwald and I approve this message.
It's time we put Iowa's families first.
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Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 21:29:34 PM CDT
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It's hard to believe that this election is less than a week away. GOTV!
Tuesday, October 28:
KCCI-TV (Channel 8) in Des Moines will broadcast an interview with fifth district Congressional candidate Rob Hubler at 10 p.m. I will update with a link to the station's website if they make the video available there.
Wednesday, October 29:
Barack Obama has purchased a half-hour of prime-time on CBS and NBC, which will air at 7 pm central time.
Fourth district Congressional candidate Becky Greenwald will run a one-minute ad just before Obama's special on KCCI and WHO-TV in Des Moines and KIMT and KTTC tv in Mason City. She will preview the contents of that commercial at a 1 pm press conference at her campaign headquarters in Waukee:
"With just one week to Election Day, when voters will tune in to hear Senator Obama's plans for change, they deserve to know Tom Latham's real record in Congress of voting more with President Bush than John McCain. He won't support Barack Obama in Congress," said Becky Greenwald. "I will work with Barack Obama to make a real difference for the 4th District."
Rob Hubler will be in studio at KCCI doing a live interview on their Early Morning Show at 6:40 a.m. Then he will be on the Des Moines Register website for a live chat from 12 noon to 1 p.m.
Tom Harkin will campaign for Obama in eastern Iowa:
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29TH, 2008
2:30 PM
Senator Harkin to Drop By a Phone Bank
Obama Iowa Campaign for Change Office
819 Avenue G
Fort Madison, Iowa
4:00 PM
Senator Harkin to Drop By a Phone Bank
Obama Iowa Campaign for Change Office
414 N. 3rd Street
Burlington, Iowa
Congressman Leonard Boswell and Republican challenger Kim Schmett will appear jointly on Iowa Public Radio at 10 am.
Chet Culver will headline GOTV events for several legislative candidates:
Marshalltown - 10:30 AM
GOVERNOR CULVER TO HOLD "GET-OUT-THE-VOTE KICKOFF" WITH SENATE DISTRICT 22 CANDIDATE STEVE SODDERS
Marshall County Democratic Headquarters
12 West Main Street
Marshalltown, Iowa
Tama - 11:30 AM
GOVERNOR CULVER TO HOLD "GET-OUT-THE-VOTE KICKOFF" WITH SENATE DISTRICT 20 CANDIDATE RANDY BRADEN
Tama County Democratic Headquarters
128 3rd Street
Tama, Iowa
Davenport - 1:45 PM
GOVERNOR CULVER TO HOLD "GET-OUT-THE-VOTE KICKOFF" WITH REPRESENTATIVE ELESHA GAYMAN AND HOUSE DISTRICT 81 CANDIDATE PHYLLIS THEDE
Scott County Democratic Headquarters
1706 Brady Street, Suite 206
Davenport, Iowa
Clinton - 3:00 PM
GOVERNOR CULVER TO HOLD "GET-OUT-THE-VOTE KICKOFF" WITH SENATOR FRANK WOOD
Clinton County Democratic Headquarters
224 22nd Place
Clinton, Iowa
Cedar Rapids - 5:00 PM
GOVERNOR CULVER TO HOLD "GET-OUT-THE-VOTE KICKOFF" WITH SENATE DISTRICT 18 CANDIDATE SWATI DANDEKAR, REPRESENTATIVE ART STAED, AND HOUSE DISTRICT 36 CANDIDATE GRETCHEN LAWYER
Linn County Democratic Headquarters
1229 1st Avenue, Southeast
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Thursday, October 30:
Harkin will campaign for Obama again:
2:15 PM
Senator Harkin to Kick Off a Canvass
Obama Iowa Campaign for Change Office
207 1st Ave. W
Newton, Iowa
5:00 PM
Senator Harkin to Kick Off a Canvass
Obama Iowa Campaign for Change Office
500 Jefferson Street
Waterloo, Iowa
Congressional candidate Becky Greenwald and Doug Thompson, Democratic candidate in Senate district 6, will hold an event with the Campus Democrats of Waldorf College at 5.30pm in the Campus Center at Waldorf College in Forest City. The Campus Center is located on South 8th Street. Please come and bring friends.
Friday, October 31:
Obama will hold a rally in downtown Des Moines:
CHANGE WE NEED RALLY WITH BARACK OBAMA
Western Gateway Park Between 12th St. and 13th St., Grand Ave. and Locust St.
Gates Open/Media Access: 9:30 AM
Program Begins: 11:30 AM
The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are NOT required, but an RSVP is strongly encouraged. To RSVP, please visit iowa.barackobama.com. Space is available on a first come first serve basis.
Public Entrance: Walnut St. and 12th St.
Parking is limited; car pooling and public transportation are recommended. The free Downtown Shuttle will be available from any of the Des Moines parking facilities. More information is available at http://www.dmmta.com/downroute...
Rob Hubler will be on Iowa Public Radio at 12:35 pm, which is aired statewide on all NPR affiliates.
From Polk County Democrats:
Pollwatcher and Precinct Reporter Training for Election Day, Friday, October 31st at 6:00 PM at the Campaign for Change, 1408 Locust, Des Moines. With Special guests Secretary of State Michael Mauro and Congressman Leonard Boswell, who will auction off a surprise item.
The Tallgrass Bioneers Conference begins in Grinnell and runs through November 2:
Are you tired of partisan bickering over banker bail-outs, expensive wardrobes, and Joe the plumber? Ready for a breather before election day and a respite from economic doom and gloom?
Why not take a break this weekend, enjoy the fall weather, get together with friends and come to Grinnell for the 2008 Tallgrass Bioneers Conference. We won't be hearing politicians promises - just hearing from some great local and national speakers who have gotten past all of
the talk to make a real difference in their communities and the world.
The conference starts on Friday, October 31st and runs through Sunday. Friday features a keynote address by Chad Pregracke, a young guy who
has dedicated his life to cleaning up his beloved Mississippi river, and has lead others to adopt their own local waterways. Friday afternoon features an opening of still/LIFE - an amazing art
installation by Dallas environmental artist Tracy Hicks sponsored by the Faulconer Gallery. Friday also features live workshops on community renewable energy projects, immigration and local water quality efforts. In the Harris Cinema, we will be showing pre-recorded presentations from the national Bioneers conference, including Ray
Anderson and Alexandra Cousteau.
Saturday features a walking tour of a restored prairie, a tour of Iowa's first LEED gold certified "green building", a discussion on
climate and adaptation by survivors of Katrina and the Cedar Rapids floods, a hands-on workshop with Tracy Hicks, and more. Pre-recorded speakers include Janine Benyus, Bill McKibben and David Orr. Our Saturday keynote is by Alison Gannett - a world champion skier and climate change activist who has converted the world's first 100mpg
solar SUV hybrid and built the first straw-bale home in a national historic district. The day will be topped off by a local food banquet prepared by Chef Kamal Hammouda of the Phoenix Cafe, and a dinner speech by organic dairy farmer Francis Thicke.
Sunday, we round out the weekend with a lake clean-up at Rock Creek Lake, a tour of a local sustainably operated farm, historic walking
tour, an intergenerational art workshop, pre-recorded presentations by Naomi Klein, Rebecca Moore, Rick Reed and more.
It's going to be a great weekend of big picture ideas and hands-on experiences, so please join us!
For more information, please visit:
http://www.gotoplanb.net/bione...
(a link to google map and driving directions is at the top of the page)
To pre-register, visit:
http://gotoplanb.net/bioneersc...
Complete schedule:
http://www.gotoplanb.net/bione...
October 31 is the deadline for early-bird registration for the Center on Sustainable Commmunities' 'Building a Sustainable Iowa' workshop being held in Cedar Falls, Ankeny & Fairfield on November 10-15. This course is recognized by the building community as the most comprehensive residential green building training course offered in the state! COSC's 4th Bi-annual Building a Sustainable Iowa Professional Training workshop will be held the week of November 10th through 15th in Cedar Falls, Ankeny and Fairfield. Each location will host the two day course with Marc Richmond, a nationally recognized green building consultant and educator, as the main presenter. We also bring in local experts as guest speakers. A two-hour homeowner class followed by an exhibit and networking social will be held at each site as well. Registration and agenda details available at www.icosc.com. Scholarships are available through the Iowa Department of Economic Development! Click here for an application. There are only 16 available, so apply now!
Saturday, November 1:
If you're not attending the Tallgrass Bioneers conference, volunteer for Democratic candidates, wherever you are!
Tom Harkin kicks off his Get Out the Vote Bus Tour. Go here to RSVP for any of these events:
The Cardinal Room
Iowa State Memorial Union
2229 Lincoln Way
Ames, Iowa, 50014
8:45 AM - 9:45 AM
Moos Lodge
200 East 5th Street
Carroll, Iowa, 51401
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Campaign for Change HQ
805 Flindt Drive, Suite 2
Storm Lake, Iowa, 50588
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Fort Dodge Public Library
424 Central Avenue
Fort Dodge, Iowa, 50501
3:15 PM - 4:15 PM
Berte's Back Nine
216 East State Street
Algona, Iowa, 50511
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Chicago Dawg Restaurant
687 South Taft Avenue
Mason City, Iowa, 50401
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
For more information on these great events please call the campaign HQ at 515-277-9966 or email Alissa brammer at Alissa@tomharkin.com.
Sunday, November 2:
It's the second day of Harkin's bus tour. Go here to RSVP for any of these events:
Jameson's Irish Pub
310 East 4th Street
Waterloo, Iowa, 50703
11:45 - 12:45 PM
Labor Temple
1610 Garfield Avenue
Dubuque, Iowa, 52001
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Clinton Community College Auditorium
1000 Lincoln Boulevard
Clinton, Iowa, 52732
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
United Steelworkers Local 105
830 Devils Glenn Road
Bettendorf, Iowa, 52722
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Machinist Local 831
222 Prospect Place
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 52404
7:45 - 8:45 PM
For more information on these great events please call the campaign HQ at 515-277-9966 or email Alissa brammer at Alissa@tomharkin.com.
Monday, November 3:
It's the last day of Harkin's bus tour. Go here to RSVP for any of these events:
Vito's
118 East College Street
Iowa City, Iowa, 52240
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Port of Burlington
400 North Front Street
Burlington, Iowa, 52601
12:15 PM - 1:15 PM
UFCW Hall
1305 East Mary Street
Ottumwa, Iowa, 52501
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
UAW Hall
411 Iowa Avenue W
Marshalltown, Iowa, 50158
5:15 PM - 6:15 PM
Campaign for Change Office (Chet Culver and Leonard Boswell will also be at this event)
1408 Locust Street
Des Moines, IA, 50309
9:00 PM - 10:15 PM
For more information on these great events please call the campaign HQ at 515-277-9966 or email Alissa brammer at Alissa@tomharkin.com.
CLIMATE CHANGE IN IOWA TOPIC OF NOV. 3 FORUM:
"The global climate is changing. We know that humans are responsible for a large portion of that change, which will have implications for Iowa."
That is the central theme of a public forum set for Kirkwood Community College Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. Kirkwood and several other colleges and community groups will host a "Connections" program in Ballantyne Auditorium on the main Kirkwood campus.
The free forum will feature Dr. Jerald Schnoor of The University of Iowa, speaking on "Mitigating and Responding to Climate Change in Iowa." Schnoor is the Allen S. Henry Chair and professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and co-director of the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research.
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Sat Oct 25, 2008 at 20:41:38 PM CDT
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I suspected that Congressman Tom Latham's internal polling must be showing a close race when he put up a negative tv ad. Now the first public poll of Iowa's fourth district is out.
Research 2000 for Daily Kos found this:
Tom Latham 47
Becky Greenwald 42
undecided 11
Click the link for the internals.
Key findings:
Latham's favorable/unfavorable numbers are 42 percent and 38 percent.
Greenwald's favorable/unfavorable numbers are 44 percent and 35 percent.
Interestingly, the same poll found John McCain leading Barack Obama in the fourth district by 46 to 42 percent. Given the many polls showing Obama above the 50 percent mark in Iowa, I would have thought Obama would be leading McCain in this D+0 district.
If Greenwald is doing as well in IA-04 as Obama, then I feel really good about our chances for an upset in this district. Obama's superior ground game could easily be worth several percentage points on election day.
Paging EMILY's list and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: please start spending some money on tv ads in this district! Greenwald has launched a good web ad recently, but she hasn't been on tv for the past ten days or so.
Please donate to Greenwald if you can.
UPDATE: Supposedly the United Auto Workers are on the air with an anti-Latham radio ad. Has anyone heard it?
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Fri Oct 24, 2008 at 21:18:37 PM CDT
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Added some new events to the calendar. Note: if you would like me to cover events featuring any particular elected official, please encourage that Democrat's staff to send me notices (desmoinesdem AT yahoo.com).
Less than two weeks remain before the election. If you have time to volunteer this weekend, please contact a Democratic office to offer to help. Remember, there are many ways to help that do not involve phone calls to strangers or knocks on strangers' doors.
If you live in the fourth or fifth Congressional districts, I encourage you to volunteer for Becky Greenwald or Rob Hubler. Or, contact the nearest field office for Barack Obama's campaign.
Thanks to the prominent Iowa Democrats who are campaigning with Greenwald and Hubler this weekend.
One Iowa is also coordinating a "Weekend for Equality" volunteer effort. For more information, click here.
If nothing else, vote early so that other volunteers do not waste their time contacting you.
Please post a comment or send me an e-mail (desmoinesdem AT yahoo.com) if you know of another important event I've missed.
Saturday, October 25:
Iowa Veterans for Obama will be collecting clothing for Disabled Veterans of America across the street from Hy-Vee Hall at 777 Third Street (corner of 3rd and Center) in Des Moines, beginning around 10:30 am.
Tom Harkin and Becky Greenwald will hold a pre-GOTV rally at 2:30 pm at Iowa Central Community College, Career Ed Building Rooms 108-110, One Triton Circle in Fort Dodge.
Rob Hubler's campaign has the following public events scheduled:
1 p.m., Sioux City Rally for Real Representation.
Special Guests: Governor Tom Vilsack and Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Scott Brennan
The Sanford Community Center
1700 Geneva St, Sioux City, IA
2:30 p.m., Le Mars Rally for Real Representation.
Special Guests IDP Chairman Scott Brennan and HD 3 candidate TJ Templeton
Plymouth County Democrats office
27 Central Ave Northwest, Le Mars, IA
3:45 p.m., Orange City Rally for Real Representation.
Special Guests IDP Chairman Scott Brennan, HD 3 candidate TJ Templeton,
HD 4 candidate James Van Bruggen
De Koffiehoek & Bistro
819 Lincoln Pl SE, Orange City, IA
5 p.m., Sheldon Rally for Real Representation. Special Guest IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Family Table Restaurant
710 2nd Ave, Sheldon, IA
7 p.m., Fundraiser and dinner with Special Guest IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
(free will offering graciously accepted)
Minerva's Restaurant
1405 Highway 71 N, Okoboji, IA
Former Republican Congressman Jim Leach will also headline two Republicans for Obama events:
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25TH, 2008
10:00 AM
Supporter Coffee with Congressman Jim Leach
Obama Iowa Campaign for Change office
517 1st St. NW
Mason City, Iowa
12:00 PM Noon
"Republicans for Obama" Event with Congressman Jim Leach
Location TBA
Waterloo, Iowa
The Motor Mill Foundation will host a benefit concert by Big Blue Sky at the Elkader Opera House at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 25. There will be a guest appearance by singer/songwriter Dave Moore of Iowa City. Doors open for a silent auction at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $15. All proceeds go to preservation of the Motor Mill Historic Site on the Turkey River near Elkader. For details, go to www.motormill.org, or call Larry Stone at 1-888-807-1828.
Sunday, October 26:
Rob Hubler will attend a House Party with Senator Mike and Connie Gronstal at noon. Special Guest IDP Chairman Scott Brennan. 220 Bennett Avenue,
Council Bluffs, IA
At 1:30 pm, Scott Brennan will thank volunteers in the Council Bluffs office of the Obama campaign, 117 North 16th Street in Council Bluffs.
At 3 p.m., Hubler will hold a rally in Sioux City (details TBA)
Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players will perform at Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines (lower court) at 1 pm. Bring money even though the show is free, because you'll want to buy some CDs.
Monday, October 27:
Congressman Bruce Braley will debate his Republican challenger, David Hartsuch, on KUNI radio from noon to 1 pm.
The Department of Natural Resources will be holding another public meeting to discuss proposed rule changes for public lands (see above) from 6-8 pm at the Dickinson County Community Building, 1602 15th St., in Spirit Lake. For more information, contact Inga Foster at 515-281-8967.
From the Sierra Club of Iowa's e-mail loop:
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Dry Run Creek Watershed Management Project will be the topic of a lecture hosted by the University of Northern Iowa Department of Earth Science at 4 p.m., Monday, Oct. 27, in Latham Hall, Room 125.
Rebecca Kauten, UNI alumna and urban coordinator in the Watershed Assessment and Monitoring Section of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will speak on "Water Quality in the Built Environment: Examples from a Local Watershed Project." Her presentation will focus on Dry Run Creek, an impaired watershed, and efforts to implement best management practices in the drainage basin.
The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jim Walters, professor and head, UNI Department of Earth Science, at (319) 273-2707.
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Fri Oct 24, 2008 at 09:00:00 AM CDT
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When you step up to challenge a safe and popular incumbent, you have two options.
You can make a straightforward case for your party and against your opponent's record. Doing so will earn you the goodwill of your political allies who are grateful to have someone on the ballot they can feel proud voting for (like David Osterberg, who ran against Chuck Grassley in 1998).
If you are young, running a hopeless race with dignity will increase your name recognition and bring useful campaign experience for a future bid for public office.
Alternatively, a candidate with no chance of winning can lash out at his popular opponent in an over-the-top way, while bitterly complaining about his own party not helping him enough. This path will energize partisans who hate the incumbent but will probably limit future political options.
Christopher Reed chose door number 2 in a joint forum with Senator Tom Harkin yesterday. Iowa Public Television will broadcast the debate tonight at 7 pm. Judging from initial reports, I don't think we need to worry about Reed becoming a rising star for Iowa Republicans.
Radio Iowa had the liveblog first yesterday, and the phrase that leapt out at everyone was "Tokyo Rose."
The headline of the Des Moines Register's piece was "Reed Says Harkin Gives Aid to Enemy." Excerpt:
"We're taking advice from somebody who has an eight-year history of becoming the Tokyo Rose of al-Qaida and Middle East terrorism," Reed said, referring to his Democrat opponent. [...]
Reed, seeking his first public office, said Harkin's support for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq on a scheduled timetable was the same as "providing aid and comfort to the enemy."
"The white flag of surrender, accusing our Marines of torture, voting to defund our troops while they are in harm's way, those are all records of having an anti-American policy," said Reed, a Marion businessman.
Opponents of a timetable for withdrawing troops contend that announcing the time frame would allow Iraqi insurgents and Islamic terrorist groups in Iraq to go underground, only to return when the United States is gone.
Reed stopped short of accusing Harkin of treason, when asked by moderator David Yepsen, the Register's political columnist, to clarify his remarks. "No. I'm accusing him of giving our enemies the playbook," Reed said.
John Deeth nailed it by calling Reed's comment "a sure entry" in Keith Olbermann's nightly Worst Person In The World contest. Deeth also passed along this tidbit from the comments at the blog of Polk County Republican Party Chairman Ted Sporer (UPDATE and clarification: the commenter at Sporer's place pulled it from this blog post by David Yepsen):
After the cameras were turned off, Harkin calmly told Reed: "you're a nice young man and I thought you had a political future ahead of you but that just ended your political career right there" and walked away. Reed said nothing.
Harkin's campaign has already sent an e-mail to supporters denouncing Reed's "vile" attack. Throwing around words like "Tokyo Rose" against a Navy veteran is the kind of mistake that will haunt Reed if he wants journalists to take him seriously in the future. Yepsen observed, "I've covered politics in Iowa for 34 years and I've never heard a candidate make that kind of serious charge about an opponent."
When I watch the debate, I'll be listening closely for different comments alluded to at The Real Sporer blog. Apparently Reed criticized the Republican Party of Iowa for not supporting him enough. Deeth wrote a good piece recently on the controversy within Republican circles over the party's support for Reed. Some claim Republican officials have even sabotaged his campaign. During John McCain's Davenport rally this month, Reed was not invited to speak and not mentioned from the podium. According to Deeth, there weren't even Reed signs visible at the rally. (I have seen exactly one Reed yard sign in the Des Moines area this year.)
I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for Reed to have party officials ignoring his campaign and perhaps even undermining it. However, a televised debate is not the place to air that dirty laundry. Depending on what Reed said, that's the kind of comment that could deter leading Republicans from supporting his future political efforts.
All in all, not a successful debate for the rookie. They say there's no such thing as bad publicity, but I don't think Reed helped himself yesterday.
Speaking of debates, I forgot to mention a few days ago that Congressman Dave Loebsack debated his Republican challenger, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, in Cedar Rapids. Here is Essential Estrogen's liveblog. Deeth liveblogged here and published this write-up later. It was the second debate between Loebsack and Miller-Meeks, but the first included Green candidate Wendy Barth and independent Brian White and had a very restrictive format limiting answers to 45 seconds.
All incumbents should agree to debate challengers, like Harkin and Loebsack did this week. Unfortunately, Leonard Boswell and Steve King have declined all invitations to debate this year. (CORRECTION: Boswell ducked all invitations to debate his primary challenger Ed Fallon but will debate Republican Kim Schmett on Iowa Public Radio on October 29.) Chickens have shown up from time to time at King's events urging him to debate Rob Hubler.
Tom Latham debated Becky Greenwald twice on the radio but has declined to reschedule a planned joint forum on Iowa Public Television. That forum was postponed while Congress was considering the bailout.
Bruce Braley will debate his Republican challenger, David Hartsuch, on KUNI radio from noon to 1 p.m. on October 27.
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Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 06:53:48 AM CDT
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Less than two weeks remain before the election. If you have time to volunteer this weekend, please contact a Democratic office to offer to help. Remember, there are many ways to help that do not involve phone calls to strangers or knocks on strangers' doors.
If you live in the fourth or fifth Congressional districts, I encourage you to volunteer for Becky Greenwald or Rob Hubler. Or, contact the nearest field office for Barack Obama's campaign.
One Iowa is also coordinating a "Weekend for Equality" volunteer effort. For more information, click here.
If nothing else, vote early so that other volunteers do not waste their time contacting you.
The other exciting event this weekend is another free concert in Des Moines by Justin Roberts and his Not Ready for Naptime Players. They'll be playing in the lower court of Merle Hay Mall at 1 pm on Sunday. As I've written before, Justin's music is fantastic, and his live shows are a lot of fun for kids and adults.
Please post a comment or send me an e-mail (desmoinesdem AT yahoo.com) if you know of another important event I've missed.
Thursday, October 23:
Becky Greenwald will visit State Center and Eldora with State Senate candidate Steve Sodders and State House candidate Tim Hoy. They will be in State Center at 2 pm in the home of Rita Figgins, 502 4th St. SE. They will be at the Ahoy Foundation, 1266 Edgington Ave in Eldora, at 4 pm.
Rob Hubler is holding a "Servant versus the King" event at 7 pm on the Morningside Campus - UPS Hall, Sioux City.
Tom Harkin Senator Tom Harkin will attend a phone bank at the AFSCME Hall, District 61, 4320 NW 2nd Ave, Des Moines, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. RSVP at
http://my.barackobama.com/page...
Questions, Call Joseph O'Hern at 515-447-5888.
From the Department of Natural Resources:
A series of informational meetings to highlight proposed rule changes regarding public lands will be held in October in Des Moines, Dubuque and Spirit Lake. [...] The primary intent of changing the rules is to clarify the application procedure, formalize the permit denial process and provide better management of public lands and waters. The proposed rules will also provide for potential penalties associated with the violation of permit conditions or failure to get a permit prior to construction on public lands. The proposed rules also provide for greater enforcement ability by the DNR in cases where private entities have encroached on public land.
Public lands are owned by the citizens of Iowa and include many lakes, 14 rivers, wildlife management areas, state forests and state parks.
The proposed rules do not pertain to docks which are covered under a separate chapter of Iowa law and have recently been revised. [...]
"The meetings will be an opportunity for the public to learn about what changes are being proposed, but it is also an opportunity for us to hear from the public. Policy always benefits when the public is able to participate in the discussion and provide valuable input," said Ford-Shivvers.
* Thursday, Oct. 23rd; 6-8 pm at EB Lyons Interpretive Center, Mines of Spain State Park, 8991 Bellevue Heights, Dubuque.
For more information, contact Inga Foster at 515-281-8967.
Friday, October 24:
At 8 am, Rob Hubler will appear on the Conversations radio program with Dordt University's President.
Becky Greenwald will attend a house party at 1027 Angela Drive Indianola at 6 pm.
Iowa Public Television will broadcast a debate between Senator Tom Harkin and Christopher Reed at 7 pm.
From Michael Richards (the full conference schedule is after the jump):
SUSTAINABLE ECOLOGICAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT presents;
SEED Conference II: A Wake-Up Call
Cedar Rapids, Iowa October 24/25 2008
In 2008 we have been hit with two of the most challenging crises in the history of Iowa;
1. The most extreme flooding in the entire history of our state.
2. The most serious global financial crisis in history.
S.E.E.D Conference II will explore root causes of these two major crises.
S.E.E.D provides an effective, non-partisan, local citizen capacity to activate reality based, sustainable solutions.
For thousands of years, the native ecology of Iowa was resilient, incredibly diverse with immense capacity to absorb water and sustain life. These natural systems have been dramatically disrupted through our uninformed policy and economic actions of the past 100 years. SEED serves as a community catalyst to apply intelligent biomimicry for land, water and resource management to restore ecological resilience.
Iowa has the base economic resources of fertile land, bountiful water and hard working, honest people. Out of necessity, we are entering a time of real economy; We will conserve, scale down, simplify, save, and spend prudently for the things that we actually need. We will now create a sustainable economy. As "The Sustainable State", Iowa can lead the way to restore sane national economic systems and intelligent political discourse.
The false economy is collapsing, but the real economy remains. Did we forget how to make things that people need? Can we no longer grow local food? Did Iowa factories burn down? Are our tools lost? Did we run out of good people to work in farms, factories and offices? No! The real economy remains as our sustainable foundation. The present financial crisis is simply the evaporation of the false and illusory world of derivatives, collateralized debt, index funds, credit default swaps, structured investment vehicles, and the hard-sell marketing of sub-prime mortgages and super-sized homes. That house of cards has collapsed. We will now build a sane and sustainable economy.
Six years ago as the Iraq war started, I launched Sustainable Ecological Economic Development (S.E.E.D.) to address root, causal factors of war; the deluded pursuit of the false and destructive economy of Empire rather than productive and sustainable Creative Enterprise. Economies based on Empire exploit other nations, the natural environment and even our own citizens through usury, labor exploitation, and unfair wealth-transfer through corporate welfare and coercive bailouts. Excessive national debt is irresponsibly relegated to future generations. Average U.S. Citizens have been reduced to powerless serfs, indentured by fear, complex webs of wealth-transfer taxation and oppressive debt to fuel the totally unsustainable military/industrial-Wall St. Machine. Our founding fathers would not recognize the State of our Nation. The bright light of the American Dream is now shrouded with dark clouds of fear, greed and deception. We need a wake-up call and restore our nation to ecological and economic health. The S.E.E.D. Conference is a call to community action.
"Without vision, a people perish"-(Book of Proverbs)
Six years ago, I issued a common sense clarion call to my fellow Iowans to shift out of Empire into Sustainable/Ecological Enterprise. That was a really good idea six years ago. Today, this paradigm shift is an urgent and absolute necessity. We invite you to build a Sustainable State.
-Michael Richards, SEED Founder
Saturday, October 25:
If you have time, volunteer for a Democratic campaign or a progressive interest group this weekend. Web links are at the top of this post.
Rob Hubler's campaign has the following public events scheduled:
1 p.m., Sioux City Rally for Real Representation.
Special Guests: Governor Tom Vilsack and Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Scott Brennan
The Sanford Community Center
1700 Geneva St, Sioux City, IA
2:30 p.m., Le Mars Rally for Real Representation.
Special Guests IDP Chairman Scott Brennan and HD 3 candidate TJ Templeton
Plymouth County Democrats office
27 Central Ave Northwest, Le Mars, IA
3:45 p.m., Orange City Rally for Real Representation.
Special Guests IDP Chairman Scott Brennan, HD 3 candidate TJ Templeton,
HD 4 candidate James Van Bruggen
De Koffiehoek & Bistro
819 Lincoln Pl SE, Orange City, IA
5 p.m., Sheldon Rally for Real Representation. Special Guest IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
Family Table Restaurant
710 2nd Ave, Sheldon, IA
7 p.m., Fundraiser and dinner with Special Guest IDP Chairman Scott Brennan
(free will offering graciously accepted)
Minerva's Restaurant
1405 Highway 71 N, Okoboji, IA
The Motor Mill Foundation will host a benefit concert by Big Blue Sky at the Elkader Opera House at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 25. There will be a guest appearance by singer/songwriter Dave Moore of Iowa City. Doors open for a silent auction at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $15. All proceeds go to preservation of the Motor Mill Historic Site on the Turkey River near Elkader. For details, go to www.motormill.org, or call Larry Stone at 1-888-807-1828.
Sunday, October 26:
Rob Hubler will attend a House Party with Senator Mike and Connie Gronstal at noon. Special Guest IDP Chairman Scott Brennan. 220 Bennett Avenue,
Council Bluffs, IA
At 3 p.m., Hubler will hold a rally in Sioux City (details TBA)
Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players will perform at Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines (lower court) at 1 pm. Bring money even though the show is free, because you'll want to buy some CDs.
Monday, October 27:
The Department of Natural Resources will be holding another public meeting to discuss proposed rule changes for public lands (see above) from 6-8 pm at the Dickinson County Community Building, 1602 15th St., in Spirit Lake. For more information, contact Inga Foster at 515-281-8967.
From the Sierra Club of Iowa's e-mail loop:
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Dry Run Creek Watershed Management Project will be the topic of a lecture hosted by the University of Northern Iowa Department of Earth Science at 4 p.m., Monday, Oct. 27, in Latham Hall, Room 125.
Rebecca Kauten, UNI alumna and urban coordinator in the Watershed Assessment and Monitoring Section of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will speak on "Water Quality in the Built Environment: Examples from a Local Watershed Project." Her presentation will focus on Dry Run Creek, an impaired watershed, and efforts to implement best management practices in the drainage basin.
The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jim Walters, professor and head, UNI Department of Earth Science, at (319) 273-2707.
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