Iowa Political Alert

• Republicans raising this story to attack Conlin

  Number of comments: 18
  The Iowa GOP will be attacking Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate Roxanne Conlin with this story about lawyers making out quite well in this class-action lawsuit against Microsoft. [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 11:24am EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Rural Midwestern States To Face Greatest Rise In Temperatures

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Writing in The Huffington Post, Ryan Grim reports on a new analysis from The Nature Conservancy that, if correct, should stir major action in the rural Midwest.
  
  The environmental group finds that rural Midwestern states will face the greatest consequences of climate change. [...]
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  Posted: August 28, 2009, 3:33pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Clearing some air with Congressman King

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  
  Kiron pol takes fair shot at ‘Taking Note’
  
  It is no news flash to readers of “Taking Note” (in the Carroll Daily Times Herald) that this column has been used with some frequency in the last 13 years to vigorously challenge our congressman [...]
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  Posted: August 27, 2009, 11:39am EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Talking 2012 presidential politics in Iowa

  Number of comments: 1
  
  
  I spent the morning of my 40th birthday talking presidential politics in Iowa for 2012 on Iowa Public Radio.
  
  Click here to listen to the show in its entirety.
  
  
  On "The Exchange" host Ben Kieffer referenced a cover story I [...]
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  Posted: August 24, 2009, 3:58pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Vander Plaats to make official announcement

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  SIOUX CITY – Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats, the 2006 Republican nominee for lieutenant governor who is leading the field for the party’s 2010 gubernatorial nomination, will officially launch his campaign on Monday, Sept. 7 in his hometown of Sheldon in northwest Iowa.
  [...]
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  Posted: August 24, 2009, 3:56pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• 'I'm at Slick Willie's place'

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The couple on the elevator snickered.
  
  "You mean that trailer on stilts?" the husband said.
  
  My companions on the ride from the fifth floor to the lobby of the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in downtown Little Rock, Ark., last Saturday [...]
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  Posted: August 17, 2009, 9:37pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Carroll woman's answer to highly visible Obama: Selling her televisions

  Number of comments: 1
  
  
  
  This first appeared in the Carroll (Iowa) Daily Times Herald and has since been picked up by news organizations and bloggers across the globe.
  
  By DOUGLAS BURNS
  
  A 78-year-old Carroll woman says she's so tired of seeing President Barack Obama on' [...]
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  Posted: August 05, 2009, 3:59pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Who's knocking in 2012?

  Number of comments: 1
  
  
  In Des Moines' Cityview Douglas Burns provides an early handicapping of potential 2012 gubernatorial field in Iowa Caucuses.
  
  Here is Cityview
  
  There are no breaks in the business. Literally days after President Obama was elected, speculation started about potential challengers for 2012.' [...]
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  Posted: August 05, 2009, 3:52pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• ROBERTS CALLS ON GOVERNOR TO BE “REAL” WITH IOWANS

  Number of comments: 1
  
  
  
  Republican gubernatorial candidate Rod Roberts today called on Governor Culver and his staff to be more honest with Iowans about the condition of the state’s finances.
  
  “Iowans need a governor who will be ‘real’ with them about the health of the [...]
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  Posted: August 05, 2009, 3:49pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Douglas Burns on Dave Price's 'Purple Matters' radio show

  Number of comments: 1
  
  
  WHO-TV's Dave Price had me as a guest on his weekly radio program "Purple Matters" to discuss the gubernatorial campaign announcement of State Rep. Rod Roberts, R-Carroll.
  
  That section of the hour-long program in which I am involved starts at about the 31:00 minute mark and' [...]
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  Posted: July 24, 2009, 5:49pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Roberts to announce intentions Tuesday at State Capitol

  Number of comments: 1
  
  
  State Rep. Rod Roberts, R-Carroll, this morning sent a press release across Iowa announcing a news conference at the State Capitol in Des Moines for next Tuesday.
  
  Roberts, a five-term legislator who represents Carroll County and parts of Sac and Crawford counties, is expected [...]
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  Posted: July 17, 2009, 11:52am EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Chuck Grassley for president?

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  In talking on the phone with Iowa State University professor and WOI Radio “Dr. Politics” host Steffen Schmidt I couldn’t see if he was maintaining a straight face when he put forward this idea: U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, as a presidential candidate.
  
  Schmidt, [...]
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  Posted: July 16, 2009, 5:50pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Dignity in politics

  Number of comments: 1
  Writing in The New York Times, David Brooks has a must-read on dignity in not only life but politics. For those of us tired of public life in the national confessional, this column is spot on ...
  
  Today, Americans still lavishly admire people who are naturally dignified, whether [...]
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  Posted: July 07, 2009, 3:35pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Palin's 'crazy' move may position her well in Iowa

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  We can't gauge Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with conventional political measurements.
  
  Her appeal with Iowa Republican caucus-goers is precisely what was on display today -- an absolute thumb-nosing of establishment politics, conventional thinking, and on the day before the Fourth of July when Cable' [...]
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  Posted: July 03, 2009, 8:12pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Senator Behn, Mr. Vander Plaats: What should penalty for abortion be?

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  
  It's a line of a questioning most pro-life candidates don't like.
  
  When I ask it, they often claim they never thought about it, that they don't answer hypotheticals.
  
  That question: If your views prevail and abortion is made illegal, what should the' [...]
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  Posted: July 03, 2009, 7:42pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Vander Plaats: Election can turn on marriage, smoking

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats says the 2010 election can be won on opposition to same-sex marriage and the one-year-old Iowa smoking ban, issues that provoke powerful feelings on their own but also serve as metaphors for increasing government intrusion into Iowa life.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: July 03, 2009, 7:37pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Vander Plaats: Republicans should be held to higher standard on family values

  Number of comments: 1
  
  
  Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City tells the Carroll Daily Times Herald that his party should be held to a higher standard when it comes to values questions of the sort now swirling around South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, an admitted adulterer.
  [...]
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  Posted: July 01, 2009, 10:59pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• 32-year-old Cedar Rapids political newcomer files as Republican for governor's race

  Number of comments: 0
  Campaign press release ...
  
  (Cedar Rapids, IA) Cedar Rapids businessman Christian Fong has launched his campaign for Governor, calling for a restoration of the Iowa Dream.
  
  Fong is the son of a Chinese immigrant who fled Communist China as his family was being killed for their Christian [...]
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  Posted: July 01, 2009, 10:42pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• GOP 'stars' can't shine without ideas, party identity

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Is our nation so polarized that even prayers are overtly partisan?
  
  At last week's Iowa Republican Party "Night of the Rising Stars" at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines our own state senator, Steve Kettering of Lake View, and state Sen. Linda Upmeyer, R-Garner,' [...]
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  Posted: July 01, 2009, 12:41pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Rural Iowa must avoid 'majority-minority' isolation

  Number of comments: 1
  Soon, if the time is not at hand, white Iowans won't have the luxury of being racists.
  
  Rapidly changing demographics mean that places like Carroll, even if they remain largely lily white, will need to become more accepting of cultural diversity for economic reasons: people in other cities with' [...]
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  Posted: July 01, 2009, 12:28pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Rants calls for special session

  Number of comments: 0
  SIOUX CITY, IA – Rep. Chris Rants made the following statement today in response to the numbers released by the Department of Revenue and Finance on tax receipts collected for the fiscal year.
  
  “Governor Culver has allowed the budget mess to become far too problematic for him to handle [...]
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  Posted: July 01, 2009, 12:27pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Roberts makes first foray into governor's race

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Carroll legislator joins four other likely candidates for GOP nomination at Sac County event
  
  SAC CITY - State Rep. Rod Roberts, R-Carroll, made his first public appearance Saturday as a potential candidate for governor. Roberts urged more than 50 party activists in Sac City [...]
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  Posted: July 01, 2009, 12:24pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Indiana's Pence now in Iowa presidential mix

  Number of comments: 1
  
  
  Add another name into the mix of Republicans wading into Iowa presidential politics.
  
  The Iowa Republican Party has just announced that U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., will travel to Iowa in July for events in the Cedar Rapids area.
  
  As GOP House Conference [...]
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  Posted: July 01, 2009, 11:59am EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• A John Edwards sex tape?

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  The New York Times today has a story on a former John Edwards aide inking s tell-all book deal. The aide says Edwards asked him to take the fall -- or paternity -- for the pregnancy of the presidential candidate's paramour.
  
  The aide,' [...]
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  Posted: July 01, 2009, 11:47am EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Roberts: GOP must reach out to independents, Dems

  Number of comments: 0
  Potential Republican gubernatorial candidate Rod Roberts says simple math will make for some complicated political choices in 2010.
  
  Roberts, a veteran state representative from Carroll who is close to forming an exploratory committee for a run at Terrace Hill, says the candidate who emerges from what could be a [...]
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  Posted: June 26, 2009, 12:31pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• UC Davis Prof: Absence of rural voice on Supreme Court does matter

  Number of comments: 0
  In a story published Monday in the Center For Rural Strategies' Daily Yonder, I wrote about the lack of any significant rural connections in the biographies of the likely next U.S. Supreme Court, one that would appear to replace Justice David Souter and his rural New Hampshire background with' [...]
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  Posted: June 16, 2009, 3:00pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Cityview publishes column on Rod Roberts

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  
  By DOUGLAS BURNS
  
  When Rod Roberts embarked on his first Statehouse bid in 1998, I was skeptical. In fact, the candidacy of this ordained Christian conservative pastor frightened me.
  
  With a passionate belief in separation of church and state, I had visions [...]
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  Posted: June 15, 2009, 3:50pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• A moving take on late-term abortion

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Lynda Waddington, the talented eastern Iowa journalist and essayist, has a thought-provoking and exceptionally moving piece in the London Guardian newspaper about her decision to have a late-term abortion some years ago. It was a baby this mother of three wanted. Lynda explains her [...]
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  Posted: June 15, 2009, 11:46am EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Roberts close to announcing exploratory committee

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  State Rep. Rod Roberts, R-Carroll, says he’s close to announcing the formation of an exploratory committee for a gubernatorial campaign in 2010.
  
  “I’m pretty much 95 percent decided to do this with the exploratory committee,” Roberts said.
  
  At this point the veteran legislator [...]
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  Posted: June 15, 2009, 11:41am EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Supreme Court will lack a rural voice

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  By DOUGLAS BURNS
  
  With the swirl of barbs and recriminations over Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s U.S. Supreme Court nomination centering on race, little attention is being paid to what is a glaring lack of representation on the high court: Rural America.
  
  If Sotomayor is [...]
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  Posted: June 15, 2009, 11:37am EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Q&A with possible GOP White House candidate

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  SIOUX CITY - The Daily Times Herald and La Prensa, an Iowa Spanish-language newspaper, inter-viewed U.S. Sen. John En-sign, a Nevada Republican, this week in Sioux City.
  
  Ensign, chairman of the Republican Policy Commit-tee, delivered an American Future Fund lecture in Sioux City after [...]
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  Posted: June 09, 2009, 12:43pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Rants is wrong about fallout from a Roberts bid

  Number of comments: 0
  Last week in Sioux City I had the chance to talk with a state representative from there, Christopher Rants, a Republican who is considering running for governor.
  
  It's quite possible that Rants could face State Rep. Rod Roberts, R-Carroll, and many other GOP candidates in what promises to be' [...]
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  Posted: June 09, 2009, 12:10pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Nevada senator's Iowa visit fuel White House speculation

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  SIOUX CITY - U.S. Sen. John Ensign, a conservative Republican from Nevada, said Monday in Sioux City his party can appeal to women and minorities on educational choice.
  
  "This is an issue we can actually take back," Ensign said.
  
  Stirring speculation about a [...]
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  Posted: June 02, 2009, 2:33pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Behn, former senator for Carroll, considers gov run

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  BOONE - Republican State Sen. Jerry Behn of Boone, who represented Carroll County for most of two terms before redistricting after the 2000 elections, says he's "seriously considering" running for governor in 2010.
  
  Behn said he's talking with supporters and others about a possible [...]
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  Posted: May 28, 2009, 6:31pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Racing Committee recommendation makes sense

  Number of comments: 0
  Prairie Meadows Racing Committee recommends that Iowa pass a law requiring all casinos in the state to simulcast horse races from the Altoona, Iowa, track.
  
  This should pass. While not all Iowa counties can benefit directly from casinos, the equine industry does have a presence in them all. This [...]
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  Posted: May 28, 2009, 6:15pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Kaul: Enjoy American cars while you can

  Number of comments: 0
  By DONALD KAUL
  
  Packard, Studebaker, Hudson, Auburn, Oldsmobile, DeSoto, Pierce-Arrow, Stutz, Cord, Mammon, Dusenberg, Nash, Franklin, Edsel, LaSalle, Essex, Stanley, Graham, Reo, Crosley, Kaiser---the pages of automotive history are heavy with the obituaries of car nameplates that have gone on to that Great Junkyard in the Sky.
  
  Why [...]
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  Posted: May 13, 2009, 11:08am EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Why Rod Roberts should run for governor

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  When Rod Roberts embarked on his first Statehouse bid in 1998 I was skeptical to say the least. In fact, the candidacy of this ordained Christian conservative pastor frightened me.
  
  With a passionate belief in separation of church and state I had visions of [...]
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  Posted: May 12, 2009, 11:49am EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Does Roberts have right stuff for gov run?

  Number of comments: 0
  Early GOP vetting starts for 2010 with Carroll-area legislator in mix
  
  By DOUGLAS BURNS
  
  Iowa Republican strategist Tim Albrecht sees a canyon-sized opening for his party in the 2010 gubernatorial race in which a potential double-digit-sized list of challengers to Democrat Chet Culver is building.
  
  One legislator [...]
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  Posted: May 11, 2009, 1:42pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• ISU professor Schmidt vets Roberts as gubernatorial candidate

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  InsiderIowa political commentator and ISU professor Steffen Schmidt reviews Mr. Roberts background and possibilities of getting the 2010 Iowa GOP nomination for governor. Roberts is one of twelve names that have surfaced as being interested in the job, according to Schmidt.
  
  Schmidt says, "Name recognition and fund" [...]
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  Posted: May 11, 2009, 11:18am EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• IOWA TIES TO VIETNAM WALL FEATURED IN LATEST EPISODE OF LATHAM'S TELEVISION PROGRAM

  Number of comments: 0
  WASHINGTON, DC – The latest episode of Iowa Congressman Tom Latham’s monthly television show has hit the airwaves and is now available online.
  
  The May episode of the “Congressional Report” celebrates Memorial Day by focusing on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, and its traveling half-scale replica known [...]
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  Posted: May 04, 2009, 11:13am EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• No gay marriages in Carroll County, Iowa -- yet

  Number of comments: 0
  New forms here, recorder reports no applications
  
  County Recorder Marilyn Dopheide reported that no gay couples had filed for marriage licenses in Carroll as of late this morning during the first hours such unions are legal in Iowa.
  
  Dopheide said people had called the office this morning seeking [...]
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  Posted: April 29, 2009, 5:46pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Douglas Burns quoted in London Observer today on Obama's first 100 days

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Writing in the London Observer today Paul Harris leads with material from Carroll Daily Times Herald columnist Douglas Burns on President Obama's first 100 days.
  
  Here is The Observer:
  
  Douglas Burns works on a newspaper in the small town of Carroll, Iowa,' [...]
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  Posted: April 26, 2009, 3:40pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Porn industry looking for bailout -- joke's on us

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  We've all heard the punchlines and snickers about the porn industry seeking bailouts. Some real reporting on this from the American Prospect reveals it for it what it is: a cynical PR grab. Larry Flynt is perhaps unrivaled with such endeavors ...
  
  Here is' [...]
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  Posted: April 26, 2009, 3:32pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• King GOP bid less likely, Roberts gets Eastern Iowa mention

  Number of comments: 0
  Writing in The Cedar Rapids Gazette James Lynch reports on U.S. Rep. Steve King's comments today that he's not revved up to run for governor.
  
  Lynch also gives Carroll's own Rod Roberts a mention as possible candidate for governor.
  
  Here is The Gazette:
  
  The Kiron conservative' [...]
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  Posted: April 24, 2009, 3:17pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• IMPACT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ECONOMIC POLICIES ON IOWA

  Number of comments: 0
  This from The White House today:
  
  Working Families:
  
  Making Work Pay: The President’s tax-cut – which covers more Americans than any in history – is putting more than $600 million back in the pockets of more than 1.1 million hard-working Iowa families.
  
  $18,120,842 to [...]
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  Posted: April 24, 2009, 11:55am EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Why Ashton Kutcher should run for Congress in Western Iowa

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  By DOUGLAS BURNS
  Celebrity activist and new media pioneer Ashton Kutcher just beat CNN in a race for 1 million followers on the Internet social networking site Twitter.
  
  A suggested next challenge for the Iowa native: move back to your home state [...]
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  Posted: April 21, 2009, 2:54pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Interesting interview with Iowa native Ashton Kutcher

  Number of comments: 0
  [...]
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  Posted: April 15, 2009, 12:47pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Gay marriage ruling inspires native Iowan

  Number of comments: 1
  By The REV. JAN CARLSSON-BULL
  
  Editor's Note: This column was written by the Rev. Dr. Jan Carlsson-Bull, minister, First Parish Unitarian Universalist, Cohasset, Mass. The former Jan White graduated from Carroll High School in 1960.
  
  I am so proud of my home state. Just moments ago I read' [...]
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  Posted: April 10, 2009, 4:38pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Reducing masquerades and fighting fair on gay marriage

  Number of comments: 1
  Because much of society holds gays in contempt, they often try to pass off as heterosexual, engaging in a charade.
  
  Many homosexuals go to the proms with opposite-sex dates. They get married and they have children. For a while, they may even believe they are straight.
  
  But their [...]
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  Posted: April 10, 2009, 3:21pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Gay Marriage Debate: In Western Iowa city politics and protocal at issue

  Number of comments: 3
  CARROLL, Iowa — As politicians and social activists despaired or rejoiced an Iowa Supreme Court decision this morning legalizing gay marriage within weeks, the owner of Bridal Country Ltd. In Carroll had a more practical concern.
  
  How does she handle dressing-room arrangements and deal with what may be some [...]
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  Posted: April 03, 2009, 12:10pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• The impact of the 'artistic crime of the century'

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Yes, the key players are French, and the film is set largely in the 1970s when young adults would do such eye-rolling things as run around in fields giving each other piggyback rides.
  
  We see this in the archival footage that is the back [...]
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  Posted: March 31, 2009, 5:47pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Douglas Burns -- Veterans Memorial Dedication Remarks

  Number of comments: 1
  

  My friend Jason Walsmith of Templeton Rye and The Nadas videotaped the proceedings at the dedication of the Veterans Memorial Monument in Carroll, Iowa. He posted the video to YouTube and when Jason was here at the paper this week, showed it to me. For years, I worked with many [...]

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  Posted: March 27, 2009, 3:44pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Some things don't change

  Number of comments: 0
  In 1927, Iowa ranked second in per-capita car ownership. California had one car for every 2.9 persons. Iowa followed as a close second with one car for every 3.6 persons. Alabama “footed the list” with one car for every 12 people. [...]
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  Posted: March 26, 2009, 1:44pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Iowa casinos eye NJ lawsuit aimed at opening sports betting

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Iowa's top gaming industry representative said this morning that his association is closely watching a federal lawsuit in New Jersey aimed at opening up sports betting nationwide.
  
  "Certainly we're aware of it," said Wes Ehrecke, president of the Iowa Gaming Association. "As far as" [...]
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  Posted: March 25, 2009, 12:37pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Minnesota senator to speak at Iowa Democratic Women's Summit

  Number of comments: 0
  Senator Amy Klobuchar, the first woman elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate, will be the keynote speaker at the Iowa Democratic Women’s Summit to be held at the State Historical Building in Des Moines on Saturday, March 28. The Summit, sponsored by DAWN (Democratic Activist Women’s Network), will [...]
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  Posted: March 25, 2009, 12:33pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• With Harkin's help Carroll, Iowa joins fast company

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  In a king's ransom of weighty economic development news that confirms our high hopes for a more robust Carroll, the crowning story we published last Thursday is word that Western Iowa Networks will overbuild a fiber-optic network in the city.
  
  This $11 million project' [...]
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  Posted: March 24, 2009, 4:43pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• North Dakota: The little state that could

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Hurray for rural America.
  
  Reuters is reporting that North Dakota's diversified economy is keeping the state of just over 600,000 people afloat while most U.S. states sink deeper into economic recession.
  
  According to Reuters, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services this week upgraded [...]
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  Posted: March 24, 2009, 4:24pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Palin a big fund-raising draw for Democrats

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  CNN is reporting that Dems view Sarah Palin as grist for the fund-raising mill ...
  
  Here is CNN:
  
  The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee asked supporters Tuesday to make a donation to help stop the former vice presidential candidate and her fellow Republicans [...]
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  Posted: March 24, 2009, 3:31pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• National Guard offering $20,000 signing bonuses

  Number of comments: 0
  In an ad we ran in the Carroll Daily Times Herald Advertiser today the National Guard is offering signing bonuses of between $10,000 and $20,000. Interesting ... [...]
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  Posted: March 24, 2009, 3:29pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Grassley rhetorically suggests Japanese-style honor suicides for AIG execs

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Of course U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, was just being rhetorical with the suicide recommendation for AIG brass -- and he effectively conveyed the outrage over AIG handing out bonuses while taking handouts from the taxpayer.
  
  Here is Grassley in a radio interview [...]
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  Posted: March 17, 2009, 11:33am EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• The Greatest TV viillian today -- "Gossip Girl's" Chuck Bass

  Number of comments: 1
  Someone once asked Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, the thrower of mansion parties, the maker and bedder of centerfolds, to reveal his best pick-up line.
  
  Simple, said the iconic Hef, "Hi, my name is Hugh Hefner."
  
  Writers for TV's "Gossip Girl" are similarly inspired with the creation of rich-kid,' [...]
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  Posted: March 16, 2009, 9:10pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Eating your way through Denison, Iowa

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  DENISON, Iowa —Antonio Oropeza, a Mexican immigrant living in the west-central Iowa city of Denison, doesn’t have his grandmother Angelina anymore. She has passed. But the Orepeza family treasures heirlooms she left: her salsa and this abuela’s (grandmother’s) culinary influence on their delightful little restaurant, [...]
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  Posted: March 16, 2009, 3:15pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• HARKIN ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF $2.1 MILLION IN RECOVEY ACT FUNDING FOR ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE PROGRAMS IN IOWA

  Number of comments: 0
  WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today announced the release of $2.1 million authorized by the Economic Recovery Package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to support foster care and adoption assistance programs in Iowa. $1.6 million will support adoption assistance programs, while nearly $540,000 will go to foster [...]
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  Posted: March 16, 2009, 3:07pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Cityview: Second-hand consequences

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  The Des Moines-area alternative newspaper Cityview has published a cover story I authored examining some of the effects of the smoking ban -- such as how it has hurt rural bars.
  
  Here is Cityview:
  
  When Frank Sinatra, one of America's most famous' [...]
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  Posted: March 12, 2009, 4:37pm EDT
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Obama says now may be good time to buy stocks

  Number of comments: 0
  At this point it only makes sense to hang on to those mutual funds. Your bet is essentially this: the world will not end, the global economy will not fold.
  
  Our president it saying that now is actually the time to buy more stocks. He doesn't give us any' [...]
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  Posted: March 05, 2009, 3:38pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Powerful advocacy for the newspaper industry

  Number of comments: 1
  A veteran newswoman, now working for the San Fransisco Chronicle, has written a spirited and spot-on argument for the value of the traditional newspaper.
  
  Stella Haven's post at her blog -- Just A Girl In San Francisco -- is must-read for anyone who cares about professionally vetted news' [...]
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  Posted: March 03, 2009, 5:29pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• How competitive is Rahm Emmanuel?

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  If your brother is the basis for the outrageous "Entourage"character Ari Gold, sibling rivalry no doubt occupies a big place in your life.
  
  As it does for White House chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel -- who dropped more F-bombs in a New Yorker profile [...]
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  Posted: March 02, 2009, 12:05pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Sarah Palin leads field for GOP in 2012

  Number of comments: 0
  This from Talking Points Memo:
  
  A newly-released CNN poll, conducted just over a week ago, asked Republicans their choice for the 2012 nomination: Sarah Palin 29%, Mike Huckabee 26%, Mitt Romney 21%, Bobby Jindal 9%, Someone Else 10%. The margin of error is ±4.5%. [...]
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  Posted: March 02, 2009, 12:01pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Dowd compare Obama to Spock

  Number of comments: 0
  Maureen Dowd has a great line in The Times:
  
  Speaking of the Enterprise, Mr. Obama has a bit of Mr. Spock in him (and not just the funny ears). He has a Vulcan-like logic and detachment. Any mere mortal who had to tell liberals that our obligations in Iraq [...]
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  Posted: March 02, 2009, 11:58am EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Iowa's deep influence in Obama Administration

  Number of comments: 1
  
  
  The Des Moines Register's Thomas Beaumont has a thorough and powerful piece on the influence of Iowans in the White House.
  
  Many names familiar to journalists covering the caucuses pop up not only the West Wing and East Wing but in cabinet duties' [...]
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  Posted: March 01, 2009, 12:37pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Where is Warren Buffett putting his money?

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  The New York Times has a must-read analysis of Warren Buffett's annual letter to investors. Iowa Political Alert is not in the business of giving investment advice but Buffett is a top advisor to President Barack Obama.
  
  Buffett is optimistic about a recovery --' [...]
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  Posted: March 01, 2009, 12:25pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Vaudt says Iowa may want to decline some fed stim dollars

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  State Auditor Dave Vaudt, a potential GOP candidate for governor in 2010, says Iowa shouldn’t hold out a fully opened hand where federal stimulus monies are concerned.
  
  In fact, like a fellow Republican, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Vaudt said the state should consider [...]
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  Posted: February 26, 2009, 4:44pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Democrats blast King on pay raise

  Number of comments: 0
  This from the Iowa Democratic Party:
  
  King votes to raise his salary during recession
  
  
  
  Congressman Steve King was one of only 24 members to vote against a Congressional pay freeze of their current $174,000 salary.
  
  
  DES MOINES, IA – Days after voting [...]
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  Posted: February 26, 2009, 1:46pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Neu's school plan could overcome old odds

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Former Lt. Gov Art Neu understands the rural-urban interplay as well as anyone in Iowa.
  
  And it is this insight that it is behind the thoughtful idea Neu is promoting for K-12 schools: creating countywide districts that maintain high schools and distinct sports teams [...]
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  Posted: February 24, 2009, 5:37pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Future of media?

  Number of comments: 0
  Eric Zorn, a Chicago Tribune columnist who taught at Northwestern University when I was there, has a thoughtful column on possible future business models for online news. [...]
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  Posted: February 24, 2009, 12:29pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Smoking ban opponents rallying

  Number of comments: 0
  Opponents of the Iowa smoking ban are gathering on March 1 in Clinton at the Wild Rose Casino & Resort to rally against the law ...
  
  The QC Times has the story. [...]
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  Posted: February 23, 2009, 10:56am EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• King Introduces Bill to Make English Official Language

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  This from the congressman's office today:
  
  Washington, D.C.—Congressman Steve King has introduced legislation to make it easier for American immigrants to fully realize the benefits of opportunities in the United States.
  
  The English Language Unity Act of 2009 would establish English as the' [...]
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  Posted: February 18, 2009, 1:30pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Citizenship desirable?

  Number of comments: 0
  For a western Iowan I'm pretty open-minded, but come on Iowa Democratic Party. Your next spokesperson should at the very least be an American citizen. I'd go so far as to say the new press hire should have some Iowa ties, too -- current or past resident.
  
  But to [...]
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  Posted: February 17, 2009, 2:50pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Get your state contact rolodex ready

  Number of comments: 1
  The New York Times is reporting that state officials will have wide discretion with how to spend the stimulus money.
  
  
  Experts said the authorities in the states will probably have great discretion when it comes to billions of dollars for a broad range of state needs, including [...]
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  Posted: February 16, 2009, 5:23pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Latham opposes stimulus -- and here's why

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  From Latham's office ...
  
  The following are the remarks of Congressman Tom Latham during debate of Economic Stimulus Measure considered by the U.S. House of Representatives today.
  
  “I want folks to step back from this debate for just a second here. You' [...]
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  Posted: February 15, 2009, 1:35pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• King's mouse a red herring

  Number of comments: 0
  

  
  
  According to the non-partisan PolitiFact, U.S. Rep. Steve King and other Republicans are flat out distorting when they claim the federal stimulus package contains $30 million to protect a certain species of mouse in California.
  
  There are no earmarks for specific projects and to suggest that a [...]
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  Posted: February 15, 2009, 1:17pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Steve King uses his 11th grade term paper to make economic argument

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Addressing one of the critical economic issues of the last century U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, mines a rich scholarly document: his own 11th grade term paper.
  
  In a Des Moines Register guest column published Thursday the Kiron congressman makes the case that [...]
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  Posted: February 13, 2009, 4:01pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Don't let Iowa's small schools fall to the Des Moinescentrics

  Number of comments: 0
  Yes, yes, there are no doubt some inefficiencies with smaller schools in Iowa. And as a resident of the county seat of Carroll, I've often wondered if would make sense to fold some of the area schools into our district.
  
  By the numbers, K-12 consolidation, voluntary or forced, would' [...]
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  Posted: February 11, 2009, 7:48pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Wind energy creating jobs

  Number of comments: 1
  The proliferation of wind turbines in western Iowa means more than just fast-money leases for farmers.
  
  Turbines, now fencing the northern part of Carroll, and rising majestically along U.S. 30 and U.S. 20 for vast stretches in this part of the state, are a source for new careers.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: February 11, 2009, 7:07pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Choosing between King and Vander Plaats?

  Number of comments: 1
  The Sioux City Journal's Bret Hayworth has a thoughtful post on his Politically Speaking blog about the evolving GOP field for governor.
  
  
  So we have a piece in which Iowa 5th District Congressman Steve King remains coy about a possible run for the governorship before voters in' [...]
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  Posted: February 11, 2009, 11:44am EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Iowa GOP chair: Leadership not messsage the issue

  Number of comments: 0
  It's not about message but leadership, the new chair of the Iowa Republican Party, Matt Strawn, said in Fort Dodge according to The Messenger newspaper.
  
  Strawn advocated that the party return to conservative principles of fiscal responsibility and pro-family policies. He said that the party had "lost its'" [...]
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  Posted: February 11, 2009, 11:39am EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Ethics may be too much to ask

  Number of comments: 0
  By Donald Kaul
  
  Give Barack Obama credit. Barely a month on the job and already he’s increased tax revenues by hundreds of thousands of dollars. He nominated Timothy (Tiny Tim) Geithner to be Secretary of the Treasury and Geithner immediately discovered he’d forgotten to pay $48,000 in back [...]
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  Posted: February 11, 2009, 10:52am EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Rich movie 'Slumdog' comes to town

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  Academy Award-nominated "Slumdog Millionaire," a tour de force of a film, hits the screen at the Carroll 5 Theatres on Friday night.
  
  Starring the talented Dev Patel as an orphan (Jamal Malik) in Bombay, India -which transforms into modern-day Mumbai over the span of [...]
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  Posted: February 06, 2009, 11:49am EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Grassley, Harkin working on flood relief

  Number of comments: 0
  This from a joint release ....
  
  WASHINGTON – Senators Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin today filed an amendment to the stimulus bill being debated in the Senate that would help Iowa provide important social services related to flood and tornado recovery.
  
  The amendment would direct $200 [...]
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  Posted: February 06, 2009, 11:20am EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Cityview publishes cover story on Michelle Obama's chief of staff

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  In the latest issue of the Des Moines newspaper Cityview I authored the cover story on Michelle Obama's chief of staff, Jackie Norris of Des Moines.
  
  Here is Cityview:
  
  Where global proximity to power is considered, a Des Moines woman is' [...]
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  Posted: February 04, 2009, 4:54pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Sarah Palin opposes stimulus

  Number of comments: 0
  
  
  In more evidence that she is looking to shore up support with the GOP base, Sarah Palin is now on record as opposing the developing federal stimulus package.
  
  Her office sent out the following release:
  
  Governor Sarah Palin again today expressed her serious [...]
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  Posted: February 04, 2009, 4:50pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Obama's SBA chief expected to focus on women's businesses

  Number of comments: 0
  BusinessWeek is reporting that President Barack Obama's Small Business Administration chief Karen Mills, the Harvard-education daughter of the couple that leads the Tootsie Roll company is expected to focus on promoting commercial endeavors involving women.
  
  Mills is expected to be a bi-partisan operator.
  
  "She's also likely to [...]
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  Posted: February 04, 2009, 1:25pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Daily Yonder publishes story on rural Internet service

  Number of comments: 0
  The Daily Yonder has published a story I did for today on rural high-speed Internet's position in the stimulus debate – and what the Internet service means for our part of the nation. [...]
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  Posted: February 04, 2009, 1:20pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Sarah Palin's Ongoing Wolf Slaughter

  Number of comments: 1
  

  [...]
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  Posted: February 04, 2009, 12:49pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• THEATRE CEDAR RAPIDS STAGES ‘LOST IN YONKERS’

  
  
  
  
  Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Neil Simon comes to TCR Lindale Feb. 13-22
  
  CEDAR RAPIDS (Jan. 30, 2009): The first time Jason Alberty read “Lost In Yonkers,” he immediately recognized people he knew.
  
  The director believes audiences at Theatre [...]
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  Posted: February 04, 2009, 12:38pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns

• Evaluating new cars is no picnic

  By Donald Kaul
  
  You can take a kid out of Detroit but you can’t take Detroit out of the kid. That’s my excuse, anyway. I’m a car nut. I grew up in Detroit and I like cars the way Imelda Marcos liked shoes. I call it my auto-eroticism [...]
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  Posted: February 04, 2009, 12:25pm EST
  by Douglas W. Burns