A rally planned next Tuesday seeks to focus on why minorities are over-represented in the state’s prison system. Carlos Jayne — a minister, a lobbyist, and a member of groups including the Justice Reform Consortium — says Iowa’s black population is only about three-percent of the state’s population as a whole, yet blacks make up 25-percent of the prison population within the state. Two years ago, the governor formed a task force on the over-representation of African-Americans in prison and after several meetings it concluded it’s a cause for concern. But Jayne says with economic times hurting the state’s budget, he sees little sign things will improve for minorities in the state. Jayne says Governor Vilsack is calling for sacrifices, and Jayne says when citizens are asked to sacrifice, the ones who’ve already been hurting will wind up hurting more, which Jayne says will be the case with minority populations.
Truckers can’t keep on truckin’ as long
Truck drivers cruising across Iowa and the nation face new federal rules geared to cut back on fatigue-related crashes. As of January first, truck drivers can operate big rigs for a maximum of 11 hours during a 14-hour shift. Midwest trucking industry analyst John Hausladen says this will lead to a reduced load capacity because of shorter shifts. Hausladen says the trucking industry is committed to making the highways safer, but the new rules will be a challenge. He says with the change, there’s now less time to get the work done, and that will be felt throughout the economy. He says the rules likely -will- cut down on fatigue-related crashes. He says the key for these rules to work is for shippers, receivers and truckers to work as partners. “We have to reduce the amount of time that trucks wait, and that’s going to help compensate for some of the loss of time truck drivers are going to have available to actually be driving.”
Dean explains four-year-old remark; gets Harkin’s backing
Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is due in Iowa today, about 36 hours after news broke that Dean — at least four years ago — wasn’t a big fan of Iowa’s Caucuses. During an appearance on a Canadian t-v show, Dean said the caucus system played to the extremists in both parties and didn’t give Americans in the center a say. Yesterday, Dean faced the music. Dean says he doesn’t know if he’s in trouble in Iowa over a remark that he made four years ago. Dean says he wouldn’t be in the position he’s in without Iowa, which he says is a place where a candidate like him with “no money but a great message” can go and get noticed. Dean says while he certainly would not say today what he said four years ago about the Iowa Caucuses, the campaign can’t be about who said what four years ago. Dean says the big issues in the campaign are Iraq, jobs, health care and education. According to Dean, “the press likes a fight” and that’s why his “positive message” never gets out. As Radio Iowa reported yesterday, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin endorsed Dean and moved up the announcement to divert attention from Dean’s anti-Iowa comments. Dean says Harkin’s endorsement is “helpful.” Dean says Iowans, obviously, are going to make up their own minds, but having Harkin on his side “certainly helps.” During a speech at a Friday afternoon rally, Harkin called Dean “the Harry Truman of our time.” Afterwards, Harkin told reporters Dean’s anti-Iowa comments don’t worry him. Harkin says “actions speak louder than words” and Dean’s been to Iowa often and has visited all 99 counties. Harkin says Dean now understands the Caucuses are the “most fair, inclusive system that we have anywhere.” Harkin says people can change, and once they get here, they learn how “good” the Iowa Caucuses really are.* Harkin says he talked with Dean Thursday night, and Dean called the Iowa Caucuses one of the best experiences of his life, and Harkin says Dean assured him if he wins the presidency, the Iowa Caucuses will be first in 2008. Also yesterday, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller switched his pick in the presidential sweepstakes. Miller endorsed Massachusetts Senator John Kerry’s candidacy. Miller had previously endorsed Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, but Lieberman is no longer campaigning in Iowa.
Nagle says party calendar may be perilous
A man who has fought to preserve the “First in the Nation” status for Iowa’s Caucuses says the election calendar for 2004 is cause for concern. Officials in many states have moved their presidential primaries and caucuses closer to Iowa in hopes to getting the candidates to compete on their turf. Former Iowa Democratic Party chairman Dave Nagle says the changes may be perilous for the party. Nagle says he’d like to see a “more lengthy progression” to the nomination. He says if the nominee settled upon by March “self-destructs” soon after, the party is “stuck.” But the current chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party says having a short battle for the nomination is better because the winner will be less bruised heading into the general election contest against George Bush. Party chairman Gordon Fischer says with the compressed election campaign, a first-place finish in Iowa has become all important. Fischer says a candidate who does not do well in Iowa or New Hampshire — the state which hosts the nation’s first presidential primary — will find it hard to “catch their footing” and stay in the race.
‘Digital Angel’ tracks cows
A cow-tracking device created by a Minnesota company in the 1980s is seeing renewed popularity in Iowa and nationwide after the discovery of mad cow disease in the U-S. Digital Angel has a tracking device for cattle that keeps tabs on where the animals are and their health history. The company’s John Nieuwsma says they’ve suddenly become very popular. Nieuwsma says “it’s unbelievable how the phone is ringing. We’re getting a lot of calls that are interested in our company, but most importantly we’re getting a lot of calls from people who want to know how this could work and how it could have done a better job in locating an isolating the animal.” He says the device eventually evolved into the popular tracking chip for dogs and cats. Nieuwsma says there are approximately six-thousand lost pet recoveries in the United States every month because of the microchip. He says they’re testing a new device now in the U-K that’s thermo-sensitive. He says that is a form of temperature that we can scan from the microchip and get the animal’s body temperature. Digital Angel is also in the early stages of selling a chip that keeps constant tabs on an animal’s body temperature.
