Congress quietly voted itself a pay raise this week, and Iowa Congressman Steve King, a republican from Kiron, says the pay hike’s warranted.King says it’s a big expense to keep a second residence in the D.C. area, and he says the two-and-a-half percent “cost of living” pay increase “isn’t a big deal.” He says Congress would have to vote itself a “big raise” eventually if it goes for a year or two without marginal increases. The yearly pay for members of Congress is about one-hundred-58-thousand dollars. The pay raise plan would boost that by about four-thousand dollars. Leonard Boswell — the only democrat in Iowa’s Congressional delegation — says he opposed the pay raise. Boswell said “Congress has simply not earned a pay raise” since record federal budget surpluses have been replaced by record red ink.
Southwest Iowa host Hot Air Balloon Days
The 27th annual Southwest Iowa Hot Air Balloon Days is underway this weekend in Creston. Balloon committee spokesman Bill Fastenow says the winds are the determining factor of whether or not the balloons will fly and, of course, their destination. Fastenow says this (Saturday) afternoon at 4:30, there’s a balloonists’ meeting, followed by a “night glow” at the Creston Airport south of town, which he says is a pretty sight to see. Creston Chamber of Commerce executive director Ellen Gerharz says at least 57 balloonists have signed up to take part in this weekend’s events. Besides the ascensions, Gerharz says there are other attractions in Creston. There’s also a parade starting at 10:30 this (Saturday) morning. One more balloon race is scheduled for early tomorrow (Sunday) morning. This event is second only to Indianola in Iowa for the number of balloonists taking part. For more information; call the chamber at (641) 782-7021.
Leaves may turn sooner than normal
The peak viewing time for Iowa’s autumn colors may arrive a bit early this year. Paul Tauke, a forestry supervisor at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says the leaves usually peak in northern Iowa during the first ten days of October, but he expects them to be in blazing glory the last week in September. Tauke says cooler temperatures at night are part of the reason. The shortening length of days is also a big influence on the leaf color. As day length changes, he says there’s a chemical transformation within the tree that creates a barrier between the leaf and the branch, cutting off the chlorophyll which causes the color to shift from green to brown, red, yellow and orange. Tauke says most leaf-watchers are drawn to the Northeast region of Iowa. He says that’s because there’re more maple trees in that area of the state.For fall foliage updates, call the D-N-R’s hotline at (515) 233-4110 or go to the website “traveliowa.com”.
Gas prices ease a bit
The Department of Natural Resources snapshot of gas prices in mid-September finds them easing a bit. D-N-R fuel-price analyst Jennifer Moehlman says the price of a gallon of gas was a dollar-76 statewide, and a dollar-74 for ethanol-blended regular. It’s four cents lower than a month ago, and she says prices have gone down slightly because inventories are a bit larger than normal. But it’s 17-cents higher than a year ago because crude-oil prices are much higher. Could gas prices jump back up? Moehlman says it’s entirely possible. Right now the real “saving grace” is that high level of inventory, but she says the “cushion” could quickly be depleted if storms shut down refineries on the Gulf Coast, and we could see prices react much more quickly to the high crude-oil costs. Home heating fuel is going to cost Iowans more, though it’s too early to tell just how much. Both heating oil and propane are more expensive than they were this time last year, but natural gas is cheaper, mostly because we didn’t use as much this cooler-than-expected summer to produce electricity. The problem is this week that offshore oil rigs in the Gulf were shut down for Hurricane Ivan, which shuts off the production of natural gas as well, and there are still other storms on the horizon and several weeks of hurricane season to go. It’s “still a question mark” what kind of inventories will be on hand when the heating season begins, and inventories are only half the equation of supply and demand. The other half, the demand, will be determined down the road, depending on how cold this winter turns out to be.
Hoover’s limo on display in Des Moines show
A car show like no other is underway today at the historic Salisbury House in Des Moines. The fifth annual Salisbury Automobile Classic features some 80 classic and vintage-era cars like Packards and Duesenbergs on the grounds of the 42-room stone mansion, built in the 1920s. Chris Burch, spokesman for the event, says most of the cars on display date from the 1920s and ’30s, while Cadillacs are featured this year, dating from 1912 to 1965. Burch says several unusual cars are also on the rundown. The presidential limo that Herbert Hoover rode in will be there, in addition to a Mirage M-1 once driven by Mario Andretti. Proceeds from the car show benefit the Salisbury House Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve, interpret and share the international significance of Salisbury House and its collections. For more information, call (515) 274-1777 or surf to “www.salisburyhouse.org”.
Political weekend shaping up
Two potential presidential candidates of the future will be in Iowa this evening. New York Governor George Pataki will speak at a Polk County Republican event on the State Fairgrounds and Colorado Governor Bill Owens will speak at a fundraiser in Davenport for Congressman Jim Nussle. Nussle conceeds the speculation has begun about the candidates of 2008. Nussle says “any time you meet with anybody from outside of Iowa that has any kind of poltical title at all, people immediately start wondering if they’re running for something.” Nussle says while Owens is certainly “keeping an eye” on the next election, his visit tonight will focus on President Bush’s re-election. That was primarily the focus of U-S Ag Secretary Ann Venneman’s visit to the Clay County Fair this week, too. Venneman told fairgoers that President Bush’s tax cut package put four BILLION dollars back into the pockets of the nation’s farmers and ranchers last year. Also this weekend, the wife of democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards will speak at Senator Tom Harkin’s annual “steak fry” fundraiser in Indianola. Sheryl Crow will perform with her band at the event.
Two more West Nile cases reported in IA
More West Nile cases have been confirmed in Iowa. The two cases reported Friday by Iowa’s Public Health Department were in a central Iowa man in his 60s and a girl between ten and 19 years of age in central Iowa. This brings to 11 the total number of cases this summer; there were 147 last year. There’s also a second case of LaCrosse encephalitis, a form of mosquito-borne disease that’s been around for years but causes only a handful of cases of illness each season. Health authorities think West Nile is going to be the same as it’s following a pattern typical in eastern states, first appearing, rising in numbers fast for a couple of years, then dropping off just as fast to remain a constant but rare infection in years to come.
