Republicans in the Iowa Senate have rejected a last-ditch attempt to keep the Iowa Lottery’s TouchPlay machines operating a few more months.

In March, the legislature voted to ban the machines, and that ban took effect overnight. But back in March, the House also passed another bill which would have kept the machines operating ’til September 1st. Senate Republicans were never willing — as a group — to let the issue resurface.

Craig Cohoon is vice president of sales for Moss Distributing, a Des Moines company that invested millions in the TouchPlay machines. He was the statehouse all day Wednesday seeking a last-minute reprieve that never came. Cohoon says he just can’t understand why lawmakers wouldn’t want to help the small businesses that invested in the TouchPlay machines. “We did the right thing. We did what we were asked to do. We didn’t do anything wrong,” Cohoon says. “We put up all the money. We did all the work. The state made their money and sure enough, we’re sitting here holding the bag on a lot of debt.”

Cohoon said in March that he would likely lose his job because the legislature banned the TouchPlay machines.

One legislator has found an unusual way of commemorating committee work in the Iowa House of Representatives.

It’s a bit of a tradition for committee leaders in the Iowa House to do something for committee members during the panel’s last meeting of the year. Most bring treats. But House Appropriations Committee chairman Scott Raecker, a Republican from Urbandale, decided to do something different. “I wanted to do something that would be significant for everyone,” Raecker says.

This is the first year Raecker has led the Appropriations Committee, and during trying days when things looked bleak he would think of the plight of the nomadic yak herders in the far southwestern part of China. Raecker and his wife have gone on three mission trips to the area. Raecker and his wife decided to donate $10 for every bill that cleared the House Appropriations Committee this year. So, the Raeckers are writing a check for $300 to the Shining City Foundation which will use the money to help buy solar generators and pigs for the nomadic yak herders who live in the Himalayan Mountains.

Raecker got a bit choked up when he told the committee about the donation that will benefit the nomads. “It’s very exciting because these are people (who) live in huts that have no electricity,” Raecker says. Raecker’s been there when new generators have been delivered and the nomads see their homes illuminated by a light bulb for the first time. “I’ve gotten a very positive response from the committee,” he says.

Raecker says he saw no connection between the yacking among statehouse politicians and the yak herders. “Although now that you mention that, that probably would have been pretty good to say ‘Now that the yacking’s over we’re going to help the yak herders,’” Raecker says. “I may use that next time.”

Raecker hopes to return on a humanitarian mission to southwest China sometime in the next couple of years.

A Polk County judge has denied a last-minute bid to keep the ban on the Iowa Lottery’s TouchPlay machines from going into effort overnight.

The judge said he had “specifically and carefully” reviewed the latest arguments from five companies that had purchased TouchPlay machines,b ut he denied their request for an injunction that would have kept the machines in operation.

The ban is set to go into effect at 11:59 p.m. this evening. Meanwhile, last-minute activity at the statehouse today (Wednesday) saw lobbyists for the TouchPlay industry huddled with key senators, seeking a bill that would let the machines operate another 120 days to let investors recoupe more of their investment.

Craig Cohoon of Moss Distributing, one of the companies that invested millions in TouchPlay machinery, says up to 40 businesses may file for bankruptcy if that extension isn’t granted. Cohoon himself said in March that he’d probably lose his job if TouchPlay machines go away on May 4.