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Three of Iowa’s lawmakers will join more than 350 elected officials from around the nation including former President Bill Clinton this weekend for the Democratic Leadership Committee’s National Conversation in Nashville. Iowa Sen. Wally Horn of Cedar Rapids and Iowa Reps. Mary Gaskill of Wapello and Helen Miller of Webster have confirmed they will attend [...]

Late last night eight fire departments and the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office responded to a fire at the old Birmingham school building. Today the fire, which led to a total loss of the structure but no injuries, was ruled arson. Agents from the State Fire Marshal’s Office are asking the public for help. Anyone [...]

(This post was updated at 5:45 p.m. to include an interview with Sen. Mary Lundby.) In a move that won’t surprise many in eastern Iowa politics, Iowa Senate Minority Leader Mary Lundby announced today that she would not seek re-election to the Legislature and instead will run for a seat on the Linn County Board [...]

District Court Judge Joel Novak was recently presented with the Iowa Judges Association Award of Merit for his contributions to the association. “Throughout his distinguished career, Judge Novak has served as a district court judge with the highest integrity,” 5th District Chief Judge Arthur Gamble said in a prepared statement. “He has handled every kind [...]

Gov. Chet Culver has appointed Iowa native Bradley Harris of Grundy Center as a District Court Judge for the 1st Judicial District, located in northeast Iowa. “[Harris's] vast experience in both the public and private sectors make him well-equipped to serve in this new capacity,” Culver said in a prepared statement. “I have no doubt [...]

Sen. Chris Dodd, one of eight Democrats running for president, told members of the Iowa Democratic State Central Committee that “Iowa is going to be a blue state for years to come” and that his candidacy wasn’t a boyhood dream. “I’ve come out here a lot over the years on behalf of Democrats,” Dodd told [...]

Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose again in June, reaching 3.8 percent. June’s rate is up slightly from 3.7 percent in June 2006 and 3.6 percent in May of this year. The 3.8 percent rate means 62,500 residents of Iowa are unemployed, up from 59,500 in May of this year and 61,700 in June 2006. [...]

On Monday I picked up a post from Tennessee Guerilla Women that presented a photo of Republican hopeful Mitt Romney with a supporter, both of them holding the following sign: The incident happened last week while he was campaigning in South Carolina. On Sunday, according to the AP, Jerid Kurtz, administrator of Buckeye State Blog, [...]

On Saturday Elizabeth Edwards dropped by the Democratic State Central Committee meeting in Des Moines to thank Iowa Democrats for their hard work and attention to the issues. “We want to applaud you for all the the work you do because it is important for us,” Edwards said. “The work you do is particularly important [...]

Have a look at this: Hat tip to Tennessee Guerilla Women for this one. That’s Republican hopeful Mitt Romney enjoying holding and posing for a photo with a sign that compares two members of the United States Senate with Osama bin Laden.