Governor Chet Culver "outed" his wife, Mari, last week, revealing during a speech at a hospital that she’s a smoker who’s struggling to quit. Culver has been advocating a dollar-per-pack increase in the state cigarette tax since last fall — despite the smoker in his home.
A reporter asked Culver today during a statehouse news conference whether he thought his wife would be able to kick the habit. "We’ll see," Culver replied. State officials estimate that 17 percent of Iowans smoke.