Two Agriprocessors Officials Indicted for Encouraging Illegal Immigration

by: Lynda Waddington

Jul 05, 2008 at 12:17 PM

A Third Supervisor at Postville Plant Remains At Large

While two supervisors from Agriprocessors, a kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, were arrested this week in connection with a May 12 immigration raid at the plant and appeared in federal court, a third remains on the run.

As originally reported by Iowa Independent, Hosam Amara is believed to have fled the jurisdiction. Amara, according to former plant workers, was the master-mind behind a car sales scheme that encouraged undocumented workers to purchase used cars and fraudulently register them.

Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza, 35, and Martin De La Rosa-Loera, 43, have become the first two members of the company's management team to face charges since the May raid. Agriprocessors, the dominant kosher food company in the nation, is owned by the Rubashkin family. a politically-connected clan from Brooklyn, New York. Sholom Rubashkin stepped down as the company’s CEO after the raid that resulted in the arrest of 389 undocumented workers, most of whom were convicted of criminal wrongdoing and will be deported to Guatemala or Mexico.

Do Parades Help Politically? Who Cares, They're Fun

by: John Deeth

Jul 05, 2008 at 09:09 AM

Coralville is one of the 4th bigger parades, and both parties brought the signs and the candidates.

EXCLUSIVE: Dems' Coordinated Campaign Largely Disbanded, Replaced by Obama Staff

by: Jason Hancock

Jul 03, 2008 at 15:28 PM

At least 20 employees of the Iowa Democratic Party have been demoted or fired and a coordinated state-wide campaign was essentially disbanded, replaced by a focus on the presidential bid of Sen. Barack Obama.

Displaced Auditor Helps Displaced Voters

by: John Deeth

Jul 03, 2008 at 14:44 PM

State law defines a voter's residence as the place to which they intend to return. College students can register at the dorm or at their parents' houses. Likewise, flooded voters may either maintain their voting address at their damaged home while it is being repaired, or re-register at their temporary address. 

With Foresight and Pluck, Carroll Adapts as Well as Any U.S. City to Wal-Mart Supercenter

by: Douglas Burns

Jul 03, 2008 at 14:24 PM

Political Tipsheet Upgrades Greenwald's Chances

by: John Deeth

Jul 03, 2008 at 14:04 PM

One switch was in Iowa's 4th Congressional District. The seat had been ranked as "Solid Republican" for incumbent Tom Latham. Cook has upgraded Democratic challenger Becky Greenwald's chances, and now lists the seat as "Likely Republican."

Flood 2008: Guard Passes Readiness Test at Home

by: T.M. Lindsey

Jul 03, 2008 at 13:46 PM

Tribute Honors 60th Anniversary of Iowa Civil Rights Icon

by: Dana Boone

Jul 02, 2008 at 21:23 PM

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Griffin's legendary battle against Katz Drug Store, which had refused Griffin and other African-Americans service because of their skin color.

The museum, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, the Des Moines Human Rights Commission and the Des Moines Chapter of the NAACP will host a tribute to Griffin, who died in 2000.

At 2 p.m., on July 7 at the Grimes State Office Building, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission will have a ceremony to name its offices after Griffin. At 7 p.m., the museum will hold a theatrical tribute featuring Ruth Ann Gaines, Maureen Korte of the Iowa Arts Council and musician John Cheatem. A symbolic march will follow the production.

In 1948, after Griffin and others picketed the downtown Des Moines store, Griffin sued Katz Drug Store under the 1884 Iowa Civil Rights Act, and won. The series of legal victories Griffin won paved the way for blacks to receive equal access in public accommodations -- seven years before Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott sparked a national Civil Rights Movement.

The museum, which honors the U.S. Army's first officer candidate class for black men in 1917 and the first Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in 1942, has a little known connection to Griffin, said Joe Nolte, executive director.

Griffin was a member of the (WAAC's) but it's unclear whether she served in Des Moines, he said. Griffin's military background was used by defense lawyers for Katz, Nolte said.

"We thought that was something worth celebrating," he said, of her military background. "We want to make sure people understand the courage, the bravery and the skills she would have needed were definitely honed during her time in the military."

The event, which is sponsored by Banker's Trust, will end with a march by candle light.

"As a tribute to the folks who worked so hard and sacrificed so much to make sure we had civil rights in Iowa," Nolte said. 

'In Their Boots' Series Kicks Off Tonight

by: T.M. Lindsey

Jul 02, 2008 at 16:40 PM

Western Iowa Native, Former Target CEO, Led Company Through Spectacular Growth

by: Douglas Burns

Jul 02, 2008 at 14:41 PM

When Macke retired in 1994, Dayton Hudson, the parent company of Target, had annual revenue of more than $19 billion.

Grassley: 'Absolutely' No Waiver on Fuels Standard

by: Dien Judge

Jul 02, 2008 at 08:45 AM

Ames Strives to be More Inclusive Community

by: Jason Hancock

Jul 02, 2008 at 08:35 AM

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was conducting experiments to move inner-city poor to smaller communities, and Ames' Section 8 housing was being filled by poor black people from Chicago. There was a crime wave in Ames because black people from Chicago were  moving in to local subsidized housing. Local schools were struggling with discipline, and the halls had become unsafe.

Flood Waters Ripple Through Iowa Politics, Part 2

by: John Deeth

Jul 02, 2008 at 08:26 AM

Oakville is, or was, the most Democratic town in Louisa County, where Columbus Junction also saw levee breaks and evacuations. Those may affect the House District 87 race, where Democrat Frank Best is challenging GOP incumbent Tom Sands.

In Cedar Rapids, entire precincts have been flooded.

COMMENTARY: The Demise of the Smokers' Entrance

by: Dana Boone

Jul 01, 2008 at 22:44 PM

As employees entered the south entrance of a busy West Des Moines office building on Tuesday, the familiar smell of cigarette smoke was gone.

So were the chatty smokers who usually gathered there daily for breaks and lunch outside the building entrance that was affectionately known by all as "the smokers' entrance."

The landscape of the parking lot was transformed on the first day of Iowa's Smokefree Air Act, which went into effect July 1, 2008 and prohibits smoking in public places, workplaces and some outdoor areas. Instead, workers sat in solitary confinement inside their personal vehicles puffing away. Some sat with the windows cracked. Others, perhaps more defiantly, stood outside their cars. Puffing away alone.

Throughout the busy office building, some employees quizzed each other on where it's still legal to smoke in Iowa. Some complained about the change to their daily routines.

Most non-smokers who used the entrance seemed to go about their day as usual. I thought of the smokers as I went in and out the entrance that day. The ban didn't have much effect on me so far because I don't smoke. The main difference I've noticed so far is the missing smell of smoke outside the entrance.

But, I couldn't help but notice the parking lot, which was dotted with solemn smokers lighting up while sitting alone inside their cars.

It looked odd to me. But then I remembered how odd I thought it was that a building would have a dedicated "smokers' entrance" to begin with -- given all that's known about the dangers of smoking. 

It's Cinderella Time for Iowa Smokers

by: Douglas Burns

Jul 01, 2008 at 12:42 PM

She was searching for a flag, not an American flag, certainly not Iowa's.

No, this longtime owner of Vic's Main Tap wanted a Soviet flag to fly outside her bar in protest of the new law.

"I was even asking someone if they had a Soviet flag because I'd hang it out," Ewoldt said. "It's getting more communist all the time."

COMMENTARY: Eulogy For A Culture With A Last Legal Smoke

by: Douglas Burns

Jul 01, 2008 at 12:24 PM

Sinatra died in 1998, and we've made it a decade with the philosopher-king of love and loss, the crooner with spot-on instincts in the world of handling a punch in the gut and make it to work the next day.

Now, thanks to Mother Culver and the lawmaking picknoses in Des Moines, today we're mourning the passing of Sinatra's defiant prop, the cigarette, as a statewide smoking ban faces its first night.

"What would Frank do?"

I think we know.

Third Parties Run for President, but Little Else, in Iowa

by: John Deeth

Jul 01, 2008 at 12:15 PM

The Libertarian Party, which has run nearly full slates for state offices in recent years, does not have candidates in the top-tier races this year, other than the presidential race. The Green Party, likewise, does not expect to have down-ballot candidates.

But both parties have more prominent than usual presidential candidates, who could have an impact in a close election.

Iowa Blogger Pleads Guilty to Secretly Photographing Woman's Breasts

by: Lynda Waddington

Jul 01, 2008 at 08:53 AM

An Iowa blogger who claimed to use activism and education to promote “a more just and life-affirming culture of sexuality” for women, especially those women who have been victims of sexual violence, has pleaded guilty to photographing and filming a college student's breasts without her consent.

Kyle D. Payne, 22 of Ida Grove, presented his guilty plea Monday in Iowa District Court for Buena Vista County. He agreed he was guilty of felony attempted burglary in the second degree and two counts of invasion of privacy, a serious misdemeanor.

Flood Waters Ripple Though Iowa Politics

by: John Deeth

Jul 01, 2008 at 07:52 AM

In Iowa, the 2008 flood damage has been is just as hard on each individual victim, but the sheer numbers aren't as demographically significant to the state's politics. Still, the high waters will ripple through the issues and agendas of the state's politics this fall.

COMMENTARY: Why John McCain Will Select Sarah Palin As Running Mate

by: Douglas Burns

Jun 29, 2008 at 18:51 PM

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a 44-year-old with five children, a captivating TV-mom look and a brief and but weighty background as a reformer governor, could vault from relative national obscurity to star in a game-turning role as John McCain's running mate.

In fact, of all the candidates under consideration to ride shotgun with the Arizona senator, Palin brings the most to McCain. The Republican Alaska governor should be his choice.

Millions of Americans fell in love with Barack Obama's biography. They'll go for Palin's too -- and perhaps relate more to it. She hunts and fishes, and in Iowa, where girls basketball is a major cultural force, the fact that this governor led her high school team as point guard to an Alaska state title as "Sarah Barracuda" will resonate. She appears to pull off the Clair Huxtable balancing act: being strong and feminine at the same time.

The Almanac of National Politics speaks of her thusly: "An avid hunter and fisher with a killer smile who wears designer glasses and heels, and hair like modern sculpture."

Her oldest son, Track, is in the military (having enlisted in the Army on Sept. 11, 2007), and she opted to continue with a pregnancy of her fifth child, born recently with Down syndrome. She is not only pro-life, but she has a son to prove it.

With his strengths being experience in Washington -- as measured by tenure in the Senate -- and foreign policy, McCain, 72 in August, can afford to go with a true balancer, someone much younger with a strong suit in domestic issues. And a woman.

Elected in 2006, Palin admittedly has had a short run as governor of a state most of us associate with exotic cruises and a oil-drilling debate no one really understands but on which everyone has an opinion.

She has astronomical approval ratings in Alaska and is getting a good deal of press for going after corruption and focusing on fiscal responsibility. The Politico reports that as governor she has shown a willingness to veto some of the state's large capital projects.

While some Republicans may worry that Palin would get knocked around in a vice presidential debate by, say, U.S. Joe Biden, D-Del., it could actually work to the ticket's advantage in the same way Hillary's tears did in New Hampshire, not that Sarah would be crying over a botched point on North Korea. The Democrats would have to be careful about bullying her, and she would be a vessel for Hillaryites, bulging with estrogen, looking for a reason to bolt the party. What's more, suburban women, a key swing block now seemingly more fit for Obama, could actually be pulled by Palin, one of their own in a very real sense.

And the press -- with spectacularly little knowledge of Alaska and life there -- would seize on her family background. Her husband, Todd, is a four-time winner of the Iron Dog, the world's longest snow machine race. The McCain camp will get weeks of biography stories on Palin, and she will puncture the stodgy stereotype of the party. She'll also play well in rural America where McCain, with provocative comments and a farm-unfriendly voting history, will face more challenges than he now expects.

Think about this way: Imagine the reaction to the selection of Mitt Romney as a vice presidential candidate. What does that get MccCain? Maybe Michigan, but likely not. A known white male governor like Tim Pawlenty from Minnesota is about as inspiring as a Wednesday -- and with Obama's lead there, he may not even pull that state.

Palin completely changes the complexion of the election and helps establish a narrative of two mavericks, one too old and one too young, waging an underdog quest against Battlestar Barack.