The U.S. Department of Education recently denied Iowa’s request for a waiver from the requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, which went into effect in 2002. Late last week, Governor Terry Branstad and members of his administration traded accusations with Iowa Senate Education Committee Chair Herman Quirmbach over the eternal political questions “What’s to be done?” and “Who’s to blame?”

I’ve had to be away from my computer for a few days. This week I’ll catch up on the Senate farm bill votes as well as campaign twists and turns from Mitt Romney and Christie Vilsack. For now, here’s a weekend open thread. All topics are welcome.

Billy Parish posted a good guest diary about solar power to mark the longest day of the year. Iowa’s new tax incentives for solar power should boost this industry over the next couple of years. Credit goes to the lawmakers who struck a good deal and to Governor Terry Branstad for signing the bill.

If you’re out enjoying the summer weather, beware of misleading sunscreen labels. I highly recommend the Environmental Working Group’s sunscreen rankings, which consider both effectiveness at preventing sunburn and harmful chemical ingredients (carcinogens or endocrine disruptors).

A teenager drowned last week at Raccoon River Park in West Des Moines. Reading about the tragedy reminded me to post this link again: Drowning doesn’t look like drowning.

Of the 17 types of milkweed found in Iowa, common milkweed is by far the most widespread. The use of genetically-modified Roundup Ready corn and soybeans greatly diminished common milkweed on Iowa cropland, but if you ever drive or ride your bike in the countryside, you’ve probably seen this plant along the side of the road. Common milkweed grows along many city bike trails too. I’ve posted a couple of photos after the jump, along with a bonus shot of Virginia waterleaf after the flowers have gone.

This is an open thread: all topics welcome.

Catching up on some sad news from last week, no electric cars will roll off assembly lines in Webster City. On the contrary, the city will be lucky to get back money it loaned to a company that never delivered on its owner’s promises.

Supporters call them “constitutional conservatives” or members of the “Liberty Movement.” Detractors call them “Paulbots” or “Paulinistas.” Whatever you call them, you have to admit that the Ron Paul faction of the Republican Party of Iowa pulled off tremendous organizing feats last weekend.  

Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds defended Governor Terry Branstad’s veto of $500,000 allocated to funding Iowa’s food bank network yesterday while rolling out a fundraising drive for the Food Bank of Iowa.

Governor Terry Branstad recently named Nick Gerhart to be Iowa’s next insurance commissioner. Gerhart will take over the position from Susan Voss at the end of 2012.

The insurance commissioner’s work next year will be important as Iowa implements the federal health insurance reform law or designs its own alternative. For this post, though, I’m more interested in what this appointment reveals about Branstad’s governing style.

Happy Father’s Day to the men in the Bleeding Heartland community who enjoy this holiday. My sympathies go out to you if the day is a painful reminder of a man who was never there for you, or of a beloved parent who is no longer living, or of a child in your family who has passed away.

All topics are welcome in this open thread. On Monday, I’ll catch up on the fireworks from the Republican Party of Iowa’s state convention.

President Barack Obama announced today that his administration will no longer deport some illegal immigrants who were brought to this country as children. Details on the policy are after the jump. Senator Tom Harkin welcomed the change, but Senator Chuck Grassley and Representative Steve King denounced what they called an “amnesty” policy. At this writing, other Iowa elected officials have not commented publicly on the issue.

Evidence continues to mount that suffering multiple traumas during childhood greatly increases a person’s risk of physical and mental health problems as an adult. Dr. Robert Anda of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shared some of the relevant research with an audience of Iowa policy-makers, educators, and public health officials this week.  

Bruce Rastetter “blurred the line” last year “between his role as investor in AgriSol Energy” and his position on the Iowa Board of Regents, Ryan Foley reported yesterday in a must-read piece for the Associated Press.

UPDATE: Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement posted extensive e-mail correspondence related to Rastetter’s involvement in the potential AgriSol Energy/Iowa State University partnership. Details are below.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that former presidential candidate John Edwards will not be tried again on charges related to conspiracy, falsifying campaign statements or accepting allegedly illegal campaign contributions.

I’m bending the rules today, since the dayflower originated in Asia, not North America. However, the plant has gone native throughout most of the U.S. and is common in Iowa. Dayflower spreads easily, so some gardeners consider it an undesirable weed, but it’s not as invasive as the plants on Iowa’s noxious weeds list.

This post does contain one undisputed Iowa wildflower: a Jack-in-the-pulpit with a seed pod visible where the flower used to be.

This is an open thread: all topics welcome.

Republican nominee Mitt Romney leads President Barack Obama in Iowa by 47 percent to 46 percent, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll of 500 “Likely Iowa Voters” conducted on June 11. Romney’s lead is within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percent. Click here for survey questions; full results and cross-tabs are available only to Rasmussen subscribers.

The Obama campaign’s relentless stream of television advertising in Iowa is another sign that this state could go either way in November. Follow me after the jump for the latest commercial, which went on the air yesterday. It’s the second Obama ad this month that casts a negative light on Romney’s record as governor of Massachusetts.

Would you like to earn $90,000 a year supervising three employees, about whose work you have no expertise or professional background?

Sorry, you can’t get that job. In fact, you can’t even apply for that job, because Governor Terry Branstad considered no one else before giving the position to retiring Iowa House Republican Steve Lukan.

A week doesn’t go by without some new ad related to the presidential campaign hitting the Iowa airwaves. The latest commercials from the Barack Obama and Mitt Romney campaigns are after the jump, along with highlights from Romney’s event in Council Bluffs on Friday.  

All three Iowa Democrats in the U.S. House voted for the 2010 health insurance reform bill, but last week Dave Loebsack (IA-02) and Leonard Boswell (IA-03) joined Republicans in repealing a tax established under the Affordable Care Act. It’s the second time this year that Boswell and Loebsack voted to roll back part of that law.

What’s on your mind, Bleeding Heartland readers? I’m late with this weekend’s open thread, but at least I’m not as derelict in my duties as some central Iowa school board members.

No public polls were released about any of the races featured in this year’s Iowa primary election prediction contest.  I suspect that’s why few Bleeding Heartland users took the plunge. But we do have a winner, and in fact it’s a repeat Iowa election prediction contest winner.  

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has joined a lawsuit seeking to overturn a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that would gradually reduce mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants. Meanwhile, a group of state attorneys general including Tom Miller of Iowa have asked a U.S. Court of Appeals to uphold the EPA rule.

Reverend Keith Ratliff announced this week that he is resigning as president of the Iowa/Nebraska branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People “due to the NAACP’s position and support of same sex marriage.” A high-profile opponent of marriage equality in Iowa, Ratliff was unhappy last month when the national NAACP board adopted a resolution on civil marriage rights for LGBT couples without informing board members in advance about plans to vote on the issue. He asserted that the organization should focus on other issues of more importance to the African-American community.

On June 6, Ratliff released a statement thanking the NAACP and all those he worked with in that organization. He refused multiple media requests for further comment.

The Iowa/Nebraska NAACP is scheduled to hold its annual statewide conference in Des Moines on June 9. I assume delegates will choose a new president or at least an interim president at that time. Local NAACP branch presidents in Iowa had very different reactions to the national board’s resolution in support of civil marriage rights for same-sex couples.

Representative Bruce Braley’s re-election campaign called attention yesterday to the political composition of Iowa’s new first Congressional district and to Ben Lange’s underwhelming performance in the IA-01 primary. Lange’s campaign responded with a less-than-convincing case for the GOP nominee’s strong prospects of beating the three-term Democratic incumbent this November.

I’m posting the Wednesday open thread early today. All topics are welcome.

Daisy fleabane is this week’s featured Iowa wildflower, but since my photos didn’t come out as well as I’d hoped, I enclosed some extras after the jump too. The first bonus picture shows fruit growing on a may apple (umbrella plant), previously seen at Bleeding Heartland in April. The last two pictures are of Dame’s rocket, a pink or light purple flower that is native to Europe but commonly found across Iowa.

Polls closed across Iowa at 9 pm, and I will update this post periodically as results come in from around the states. Any comments related to today’s elections are welcome in this thread.

P.S.- As expected, Wisconsin Democrats fell short in their effort to recall Republican Governor Scott Walker.

UPDATE: Results are after the jump.  

Polls are now open in Iowa’s primary elections across the state and will close at 9 pm.

Any comments about Iowa races for Congress, state legislative, or county offices are welcome in this thread. I’ve posted lots of links after the jump to get the conversation going. I also extended the deadline for entering the primary election prediction contest.

President Barack Obama’s campaign rolled out yet another new television commercial today in Iowa and other swing states. This negative spot (the eighth Obama campaign commercial to run in Iowa since early April) focuses on Mitt Romney’s record as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007.

For the third month in a row, registered Republicans in Iowa slightly outnumber registered Democrats. The latest figures from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office (pdf) show 663,969 active no-party voters statewide, 607,936 active Republicans, and 595,423 active Democrats. After the jump I’ve posted the latest active voter registration numbers in all 99 Iowa counties, grouped by Congressional district. The most evenly-split county is Decatur in south-central Iowa, with 1,749 registered Democrats, 1,783 Republicans, and 1,775 no-party voters as of June 1.

Any comments about the 2012 elections in Iowa are welcome in this thread. The deadline to enter Bleeding Heartland’s 2012 Iowa primary election prediction contest is Tuesday, June 5, at 7 am.

Mitt Romney’s second general election television commercial is on the air in Iowa and three other swing states. Its look and feel are similar to the Republican’s first tv ad here since the Iowa caucuses.

What’s on your mind this weekend, Bleeding Heartland readers? It’s perfect weather for last-minute campaigning, and there are lots of competitive races around the state. Anyone out canvassing for a legislative, Congressional or county candidate?

I posted my Iowa primary predictions in the contest thread and encourage you to do the same before 7 am on Tuesday.

All topics are welcome in this thread.

A new poll by NBC News and the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion finds that President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney each have 44 percent support among Iowa registered voters. Details from that poll are after the jump. It finds a significant gender gap.

Speaking of which, I’ve also enclosed below a new anti-Romney commercial that Planned Parenthood Action Fund rolled out on Wednesday. It will run on broadcast and cable networks through June 19 in the Des Moines market as well as West Palm Beach, Florida and northern Virginia. I saw it on a cable network Thursday evening.

Iowa’s five representatives split on party lines as the U.S. House failed yesterday to pass a bill that would ban abortions performed in order to select a preferred gender.

After deliberating for nine days, a federal jury in North Carolina acquitted John Edwards of one criminal charge and could not agree on a verdict regarding the other five charges. Today U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles declared a mistrial.

Governor Terry Branstad’s office confirmed today that former Republican lawmaker Chuck Gipp will be the next director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.  

The two Republican candidates in Iowa’s second Congressional district have been campaigning hard through personal appearances around southeast Iowa, paid advertising, and direct mail. I have no idea who’s got the upper hand between John Archer, attorney for John Deere and Pleasant Valley School Board member, and Dan Dolan, a successful home-builder. Archer took leave from his job in March in order to campaign full-time. He also started running radio and television commercials sooner. Dolan’s self-funding provided his campaign with more money to spend during the final weeks. The National Republican Congressional Committee has given equal recognition to both candidates.

After the jump I’ve posted the prominent public supporters for each candidate, along with videos and transcripts for Dolan’s latest television commercial and Archer’s latest radio spot.

Iowa primary elections are coming up next Tuesday, so it’s time for another Bleeding Heartland election prediction contest. A dozen questions are after the jump. There are so many competitive Iowa House and Senate primaries that it was difficult for me to choose. I tried to achieve some geographical balance and cover different types of primaries (open-seat races vs. challenges to incumbents, safe seats for one party vs. swing districts).

To enter the contest, post your predictions as comments in this thread before 7 am 6 pm on June 5. Predictions submitted by e-mail will not be considered. It’s ok to change your mind, as long as you post your revised predictions as an additional comment in this thread before the deadline.

No money’s at stake here, just bragging rights. This isn’t like “The Price is Right”; the winning answers will be closest to the final results, whether or not they were a little high or low. Even if you have no idea, please try to take a guess on every question.

Solomon’s seal is a pretty plant with flowers that are easy to miss unless you know where to look. Follow me after the jump for some photos. I also included a picture of the mystery yellow wildflower I mentioned here, which turned out to be Canadian black snakeroot.

This is an open thread: all topics welcome.

Syngenta Crop Protection Inc. agreed last week to settle a class-action lawsuit out of court rather than go to trial over claims related to the herbicide atrazine. The settlement could help some utilities in Iowa cover the cost of removing the chemical from drinking water.

Iowa home and business owners can expect small solar power systems to pay for themselves more quickly, thanks to a new law Governor Terry Branstad signed last Friday.

Preliminary results from today’s Texas primary indicate that Mitt Romney now has enough delegates to win the Republican Party’s presidential nomination. Only two months ago, it seemed plausible that Romney might not reach the 1,144 delegate threshold until later this summer.

In 2011, Governor Terry Branstad played hardball to force Cedar Rapids leaders to abandon a project labor agreement for a public building. Last Friday, one of the governor’s line-item vetoes boxed in Des Moines leaders. The governor’s action may eventually push capital city officials toward unpopular ways of refunding so-called “franchise fees” to residents.

May 24 was the deadline for Iowa Congressional campaign committees to file “pre-primary” financial reports with the Federal Election Commission. Highlights from those reports are after the jump.

Friday before holiday weekend news dump, part 2: Governor Terry Branstad line-item vetoed a $500,000 appropriation for the Food Bank of Iowa Iowa Food Bank Association (see clarification below). It was a surprisingly heartless play by the politician who said in September 2011, “If we want to be the healthiest state in the nation, we have to confront the issue of hunger in our communities.”

Over the weekend I looked into what an extra half million dollars might have meant to the growing number of Iowans who can’t always buy enough food.  

This is an open thread. What’s on your mind this weekend, Bleeding Heartland readers?

For many veterans and their loved ones, Memorial Day is a somber occasion, not a time to celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer. On that note, I posted news and links related to Iowa veterans after the jump.

Friday before holiday weekend news dump, part 1: Roger Lande resigned as director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign launched two new television commercials this week in Iowa and six other swing states. That makes seven different television ads the president’s team has aired in Iowa during the past two months. The extent of the advertising here, along with yet another presidential visit to Iowa yesterday, signal that Obama campaign managers do not believe their boss has a comfortable lead on Mitt Romney in this state.

The latest Obama commercials focus on Medicare and policies to help veterans. Videos and transcripts are after the jump.

In a little-noticed vote last week, Democrats Leonard Boswell (IA-03) and Dave Loebsack (IA-02) joined Republicans Tom Latham (IA-04) and Steve King (IA-05) in backing language to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline as part of a major transportation bill.

President Barack Obama visits Newton today to talk about clean energy initiatives. Later, he is headlining a large campaign rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. News clips and comments from members of Iowa’s Congressional delegation are after the jump. I’ll update later with news from the rally.

Any comments about energy policy or the presidential race are welcome in this thread. Obama’s campaign rolled out two more television commercials in Iowa this week, which Bleeding Heartland will discuss tomorrow.

Iowa’s Republican National Committeewoman Kim Lehman announced today by e-mail that she will not seek another term on the RNC this summer.

Catching up on news from last week, the U.S. House approved the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2013. Details on how Iowa’s five representatives vote on that bill and on important amendments are after the jump.

I also enclose the statements released by members of Iowa’s Congressional delegation. Not surprisingly, several self-styled deficit hawks bragged about supporting a bill that prohibits various cost-saving measures and mandates spending on some items the military doesn’t even want.

This is an open thread: all topics welcome.

After the jump I’ve posted some pictures of Virginia waterleaf, a wildflower found throughout Iowa in woodland areas. It can bloom anytime between May and July, but came out early this year, like everything else.  

Cedar Rapids resident Katie Beckett passed away last week, prompting many tributes to the woman whose fluke childhood illness helped change federal policy on caring for the disabled.  

Karl Rove’s super-PAC Crossroads GPS launched another television commercial slamming President Barack Obama yesterday, less than a week after its last ad hit tv screens in Iowa and nine other swing states. “Basketball” targets women who initially supported Obama for president but are discouraged about the economy. The video and transcript are after the jump.

Reverend Keith Ratliff, president of the Iowa/Nebraska branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said today that he may leave the organization because of the national board’s public support for same-sex marriage rights.

UPDATE: Comments from two three of the NAACP local branch presidents in Iowa are below.

I don’t write many posts in the “wacky and mean-spirited things conservative say” genre, but I’m making an exception today.

Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission Vice Chair Jeff Lamberti was arrested Friday night and found to have a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit.

UPDATE: Added Governor Terry Branstad’s comments below.

What’s going on with Brad Zaun? This month he’s stuck his nose into two Republican primaries that should be of little concern to a state senator from the Des Moines suburbs.

Summer unofficially kicks off next weekend, which means lots of Iowans will be enjoying themselves at lakes and rivers. Follow me after the jump for recent news related to lake and river projects, flood prevention, and water quality in Iowa.

This is an open thread: all topics welcome.

Republican nominee in waiting Mitt Romney went up on the air yesterday with his first general election television commercial in Iowa. The video and transcript are after the jump.  

Some bad public policy ideas take hold because decision-makers become convinced they will work. Other times, bad ideas gain momentum because politicians who should know better are too scared or lazy to make the case against them.

In what looks like a textbook example of the second scenario, all three Democrats representing Iowa in the U.S. House are now on record supporting some form of constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget.

Not put off by picking the wrong candidates in two Iowa Republican primaries in 2010, the National Republican Congressional Committee has elevated Ben Lange to “contender” status in Iowa’s first district, while taking a neutral posture in the second district primary.

Crossroads GPS, the super-PAC headed by Republican strategist Karl Rove, is going up on the air today in Iowa and nine other states as part of a $25 million advertising campaign over the next month. The 60-second negative spot about President Barack Obama is after the jump, along with an annotated transcript.

The U.S. House approved the Republican version of a bill reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act yesterday. Iowa’s representatives split along party lines, as did most of the House members.

Here’s your mid-week open thread: all topics welcome. After the jump I’ve posted some photos of Sweet William, also known as blue phlox. Bleeding Heartland readers caught a glimpse of this flower in one of the May apple pictures a few weeks back, but the species is pretty enough for a separate diary.

As a bonus, I added two photos of an unusual Jack-in-the-pulpit I saw recently while pulling up garlic mustard (an invasive plant).

Farmers have withdrawn an application to build a 5,000-head hog facility in northern Dallas County, amid strong local opposition to the project.

State Representative Brian Quirk announced today that he is no longer a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which lobbies for a wide range of conservative and corporate-friendly policies in state legislatures. Up to now, Quirk had been the only ALEC member among the 40 Democrats in the Iowa House.

Follow me after the jump for background and details on Quirk’s decision, as well as recent comments about ALEC by former Iowa House Democrat Dolores Mertz.

Longer days, warmer weather and the approaching end of the school year mean more time outdoors for many Iowans, especially children. Last week Kamyar Enshayan, a Cedar Falls City Council member and director of the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Energy and Environmental Education, raised an important question: “Is having weed-free lawn worth it?”

Speaking in Des Moines this afternoon, Mitt Romney promised to lead the country “out of this debt and spending inferno” by reducing federal government spending from 24.3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product to 20 percent of GDP within four years. Romney would address what he called a “prairie fire of debt” by moving some federal programs to the state level or the private sector, repealing “Obamacare,” reforming Medicare and Social Security, and reducing “redundancy and waste” in government programs.

I’ve posted the full prepared text of Romney’s remarks after the jump, along with a few comments.

Governor Terry Branstad’s education reform blueprint called for higher academic standards and better methods to assess student skills. I just hope my kids don’t learn to count the way the governor counts jobs created in Iowa.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration was poised to implement new rules on sunscreen labels and marketing this summer, more than 30 years after the first sunscreen labeling rules were introduced in 1978. However, sunscreen manufacturers may keep using misleading language when packaging and advertising their products for at least another six months.

The word “devastating” is overused in political commentary, but I can’t think of a better way to describe the television commercial President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign rolled out today. The fifth commercial the president’s team has run in Iowa since the beginning of April is in my opinion the most effective by far. (The previous ads claimed Republican Mitt Romney “stood with Big Oil,” accused Romney of shipping jobs overseas and maintaining a Swiss bank account, put a positive spin on Obama’s record, and highlighted the unpopular decision to bail out the auto industry.)

The new spot is two minutes long and features workers who lost their jobs after Bain Capital took over GST Steel in Kansas City. The video and transcript are after the jump. UPDATE: Added a new web video from the Romney campaign and two new anti-Obama commercials the American Future Fund is running on cable television in several swing states.

In the final days of the 2011 Iowa legislative session, funding for passenger rail was one of the last disputes House Republican and Senate Democratic negotiators resolved. The final deal called for no passenger rail money in the state budget for fiscal year 2012, but left “intent” language describing future state funding to match federal grants for a train route between Iowa City and Chicago. At that time, news reports indicated that legislators would need to allocate $6.5 million toward passenger rail in fiscal year 2013 to keep this project alive, plus $10 million total in subsequent years.

Before the Iowa House and Senate adjourned last week, I saw no mention of passenger rail funding in any reports about the infrastructure budget for fiscal year 2013, which begins on July 1. Wondering whether no news was bad news, I started asking around. What I learned is after the jump, along with new links on the potential for passenger rail across Iowa.

What’s on your mind this weekend? In the spirit of past Mother’s Day diaries at this site, I’ve posted some mother-related links after the jump. I also added my thoughts on the latest TIME magazine cover, a sexualized depiction of a three-year-old breastfeeding next to a provocative “Are You Mom Enough?” tag line.

Governor Terry Branstad signed an executive order today to nullify an administrative rule banning the use of lead ammunition for hunting mourning doves in Iowa. He advanced two contradictory positions: that the Iowa legislature (not the state Natural Resources Commission) should decide whether dove hunters must use alternative ammunition, and that he was compelled to act because the Iowa Senate failed to assert its authority on this important issue.

President Barack Obama talks about intervening to save the U.S. auto industry in his re-election campaign’s latest television commercial, now on the air in Ohio and Iowa. I’ve posted the video and transcript of the 30-second spot below.

So what if the next Iowa caucuses are nearly four years away? I’m on Public Policy Polling’s wavelength: 2016 Iowa caucus polling is interesting, even if it doesn’t mean much now.

UPDATE: Governor Branstad signed Senate File 2342 on May 25.

Iowa lawmakers always cram so much action into the last few days of the legislative session. Instead of writing one long news roundup on the final decisions by the Iowa House and Senate, I’m covering specific issues in separate Bleeding Heartland posts this year.

Rod Boshart posted a good, comprehensive list here on what bills did and didn’t pass during the 2012 legislative session. Follow me after the jump for details on a good renewable energy bill, which made it through at the eleventh hour, and some thoughts on the nuclear power bill, which for the second year in a row didn’t make it to the Iowa Senate floor.

The U.S. Postal Service announced yesterday that it will save money by reducing hours of operation at thousands of small post offices, rather than shuttering them. The changes will affect 178 Iowa post offices, listed on pages 35 through 46 of this pdf document. After the jump I’ve posted reaction from several representatives in Congress: Republican Steve King (IA-05) and Democrats Bruce Braley (IA-01), Dave Loebsack (IA-02), and Leonard Boswell (IA-03).

The Postal Service will proceed with plans to close more than 200 mail sorting facilities nationwide. Those cutbacks affected facilities in Sioux City, Carroll, and Creston, but the Postal Service decided to keep sorting operations running in Waterloo and Cedar Rapids.

The Iowa House and Senate adjourned for the year today. Tomorrow Bleeding Heartland will sort through the state budget compromises and other news about the survivors (mental health reform, solar tax incentives) and casualties (property tax reform, nuclear power bill) of the session’s busy final days.

For now, enjoy a couple of wild geranium photos after the jump. One of them includes other native plants I can’t identify, so I hope readers with expertise in this area will share their wisdom. Wild geranium is found in woodland areas throughout Iowa and the eastern U.S. The more familiar geranium houseplant is native to South Africa.

This is an open thread: all topics welcome.

In an interview with ABC News today, President Barack Obama confirmed that he thinks same-sex couples “should be able to get married.”

UPDATE: Added more Iowa political reaction below.

Iowa is second only to Vermont in the number of farmers markets and community-supported agriculture farms per capita, according to data compiled by the Vermont-based non-profit Strolling of the Heifers.

The Iowa Senate and House approved a conference committee agreement on education reform yesterday with bipartisan support in both chambers.

Republican Congressional candidate Ben Lange launched his campaign’s first radio commercial yesterday. In the 60-second ad, Lange makes a broad statement about “restoring the generational compact.”

One of the greatest children’s book authors of the twentieth century died earlier today. Maurice Sendak is most famous for “Where the Wild Things Are,” which President Barack Obama read for children at this year’s White House easter egg hunt.

As a child I loved Sesyle Joslin’s silly books about manners, illustrated by Sendak: “What Do You Say, Dear?” and “What Do You Do Dear?” My favorite stories by Sendak were in the “nutshell” collection of miniature books in their own decorated box (One Was Johnny, Pierre, Chicken Soup With Rice, and Alligators All Around). I saved that collection to pass along to my own children.

Bleeding Heartland readers of a certain age may remember the animated 1970s television special “Really Rosie.” Carole King set many of Sendak’s books to music for that special, and the soundtrack is a fantastic children’s album. I’ve posted two video clips after the jump: the Really Rosie theme and “Alligators All Around.”

Share your own Sendak memories in this thread. UPDATE: NPR posted excerpts from several interviews Sendak has given over the years. Worth a read.

Public Policy Polling’s latest Iowa poll paints a pretty picture for President Barack Obama going into the general election campaign.

Republican Congressional candidate John Archer is up on cable television with a new commercial promoting his jobs plan. Follow me after the jump for the video, transcript, and analysis.

Beef Products, Inc. announced yesterday that it will permanently close three factories in Waterloo, Iowa, Amarillo, Texas and Garden City, Kansas. BPI suspended operations at those plants in March, following public controversy over lean finely textured beef, which detractors call “pink slime.” The Waterloo facility employed 200 people, who will be jobless effective May 25.

Comments from Governor Terry Branstad, Senator Chuck Grassley, and Representative Bruce Braley are after the jump. Branstad and Grassley criticized what they have called a “smear campaign” against lean finely textured beef. Braley, who previously called for a Congressional investigation into media claims about the product, expressed regret that “the facts have been lost in the furor” over lean finely textured beef.

This rare late-night post was inspired by former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum’s endorsement of Mitt Romney for president tonight. The full text of Santorum’s e-mail to supporters is after the jump. It went out at approximately 10 pm central daylight time. He alludes to a long one-on-one meeting and “candid” conversation with Romney on May 4. In a post-script, Santorum promises a “big announcement” soon and says he will ask supporters “to once again join forces with me to keep up the fight, together.” I assume he will be an active surrogate for Republican candidates and conservative causes during the general election campaign.

Any relevant thoughts are welcome in this thread. Last week Jamie Johnson, a Santorum supporter recently elected to the Iowa GOP’s State Central Committee, told a Washington journalist and an Iowa talk radio audience that he will not assist Romney’s campaign.

President Barack Obama’s campaign launched a new television commercial today in nine swing states, including Iowa. The 60-second spot and annotated transcript are after the jump. This commercial focuses on how the president dealt with the challenges facing him when he took office. Unlike the Obama campaign’s last tv ad, this one does not mention his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney.

Ron Paul finished third in the Iowa caucuses on January 3, but his campaign’s superior organization elected more delegates to county and district conventions than that of any other presidential candidate. Two weeks ago, Paul supporters won six of 16 elected positions on the Iowa GOP’s State Central Committee. On May 5, Paul supporters secured most of Iowa’s at-large delegate slots for the Republican National Convention. Details are after the jump.

Vice President Joe Biden appeared to make news on “Meet the Press” yesterday with a clear statement backing full marriage rights for same-sex couples. Obama administration staff immediately tried to deny that Biden had said anything newsworthy.

UPDATE: Added information below about the debate over endorsing marriage equality in the Democratic Party’s national platform and the honor three ousted Iowa Supreme Court justices will receive later today.

I’m not a big football fan, but NFL Hall of Famer Junior Seau’s suicide is on my mind this weekend. Seau apparently shot himself in the chest, and his family will donate his brain to be studied for signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. That disease has affected many retired NFL players, including at least two others who committed suicide in recent years. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy was found in one former Cincinnati Bengals player who died at age 26. One of the league’s most notorious underperforming high draft picks showed signs of frontal lobe brain damage as a middle-aged man.

Last week Hawkeyes fans celebrated another solid year for University of Iowa players in the NFL draft. Meanwhile, Superbowl champion quarterback Kurt Warner says he would prefer that his sons not play football. I feel fortunate that my sons have never showed any interest in that sport. The NFL is trying to punish excessive violence on the field, but I don’t know whether it’s possible to separate chronic head injuries from the way the game is played.

This is an open thread: all topics welcome.

For the second month in a row, registered Republicans in Iowa slightly outnumber registered Democrats. The latest figures from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office (pdf) show 669,966 active no-party voters statewide, 608,096 active Republicans, and 599,225 active Democrats. Follow me after the jump for the latest active voter registration numbers in all 99 Iowa counties, grouped by Congressional district.

Any comments about the 2012 elections in Iowa are welcome in this thread.

The Connect the Dots project is organizing a global day of action this Saturday, May 5, to raise awareness about how climate change affects extreme weather around the world. Eight events are scheduled in Iowa (Ames, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Decorah, Des Moines, Dubuque, Independence, and Iowa City). I’ve posted a press release with the details after the jump.  

Republican Congressional candidate Dan Dolan launched his first television commercial yesterday, a little more than a week after his primary rival John Archer went up on the air. The video and transcript are after the jump. Up to now, Dolan has spread his message primarily through personal appearances around the district and direct mail.

A more extensive news roundup on the Iowa second Congressional district campaign is in progress. Any comments about that race are welcome in this thread. William Smith reported for The Hawk Eye that delegates to the second district Democratic convention on April 28 were solidly behind three-term incumbent Dave Loebsack. I have not been able to confirm whether his primary challenger, State Senator Joe Seng, attended the convention as well.

“Local control” has long been a rallying cry for conservatives who oppose taking governing decisions away from school districts, city officials, or county supervisors. However, Iowa Senate action this week rejecting a ban on traffic cameras is the latest sign that Iowa Democratic lawmakers are more likely than Republicans to respect this principle over centralized standards.

This week’s featured native plant is wild ginger. Although common in wooded areas throughout Iowa, its flowers are easily missed unless you’re looking for them. Wild ginger usually blooms in April and May. I’ve posted two pictures after the jump, along with a couple of bonus photos of violets, because their leaves can resemble wild ginger leaves.

This is an open thread: all topics welcome.

My Newt Gingrich campaign deathwatch thread was about a year ahead of its time, but Gingrich finally suspended his presidential campaign this afternoon.  

President Barack Obama outlined plans to “complete our mission and end the war in Afghanistan” in a televised speech last night from Kabul. After signing an agreement with President Hamid Karzai, Obama said 23,000 U.S. troops will come home from the war zone by the end of this summer, and withdrawal will be complete by the end of 2014. Beyond that date, he promised, U.S. troops will have only “narrow security missions” in Afghanistan, “But we will not build permanent bases in this country, nor will we be patrolling its cities and mountains.”  

For obvious security reasons, Obama hadn’t announced ahead of time his plans to visit Afghanistan on the first anniversary of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

I’ve posted the full text of Obama’s remarks after the jump, along with reaction from Representative Dave Loebsack (D, IA-02). I will update this post later as other members of Iowa’s Congressional delegation respond to the president’s speech. Last year Democratic Senator Tom Harkin and Representative Bruce Braley (D, IA-01) advocated bringing U.S. troops home from Afghanistan more quickly than currently scheduled.

UPDATE: Added comments below from Braley and Republican Senator Chuck Grassley. Both are concerned about our Afghanistan policy, but from very different perspectives.

Matt Strawn stepped down early from his job as chair of the Republican Party of Iowa, but he will be immersed in this November’s down-ticket elections as Iowa chair of the 527 group GOPAC.

President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign is launching a new television commercial today in Iowa, Virginia, and Ohio. The spot responds to a negative ad by the 501(c)4 group Americans for Prosperity, pivoting to an attack on future Republican nominee Mitt Romney. After the jump I’ve posted video clips and transcripts of those commercials and the latest anti-Obama ad from the 501(c)4 group American Future Fund.