The Republican who’s running for Iowa’s second district congressional seat says all American-made automobiles should be capable of burning "flexible fuels" like E-85, the higher blend of ethanol.

Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, an Ottumwa eye doctor, isn’t suggesting a set date for implementing such a standard, but she says it’s something that makes sense. "I support flex-fuel engines," she says. "I support higher mileage standards."

While she does not describe herself as passionate about global warming, Miller-Meeks says she believes we are to be good stewards of the earth. "We’re supposed to take care of our environment to have an earth that’s productive for generations to come," Miller-Meeks says. "I own a Honda Civic hybrid. I purchased it August 8th of 2002 and I get excellent mileage with my vehicle." Miller-Meeks gets between 36 and 44 miles to the gallon when driving around town and as much as 52 miles to the gallon when driving her Honda Civic hybrid on the highway.

Miller-Meeks is running against Democratic Congressman Dave Loebsack of Mount Vernon on November’s ballot. Iowa has never elected a woman to congress. During an appearance at the Iowa State Fair Thursday, Miller-Meeks told reporters she hasn’t noticed anything negative about being a female candidate. "Perhaps, you know, it’s there and I’m too naive to relate to it," she says. "But, you know, being the first woman president of the Iowa Medical Society and the first woman faculty (member) at the Department of Ophthalmology at University of Iowa, I was one of very few women in my medical school class — you know what sexism is," Miller-Meeks said.

Miller-Meeks is still trying to work full-time in her ophthalmology practice in Ottumwa, but Miller-Meeks told reporters she’s had to rearrange her schedule to campaign and her politicking is reducing her earnings.

Unemployed Iowans are being warned about employment websites that look official but that charge for services the state can provide for free. Kerry Koonce, spokeswoman for Iowa Workforce Development, says those websites are preying on vulnerable people who are simply looking for help.

Koonce says there have been complaints from Iowans who are searching for unemployment information about having been "taken in" by websites that charge people for filing their claims and for filing their weekly job search reports.

She says Iowans are already paying for that service through their tax dollars and they shouldn’t get duped by the online promises. "We encourage anyone that is in the need of filing unemployment, that they do so directly on our website at ‘iowaworkforce.org’ or in person at one of our 55 field offices across the state," Koonce says.

Iowans who’ve been using other websites are urged to cancel their subscriptions right away and report the information to the Consumer Protection Division of the Iowa Attorney General’s Office at (515) 281-5926.

Koonce says the sites don’t charge huge fees, but any fee is too much when the state is already providing the service for nothing. Most of the websites charge around $20 to file and then they charge another three or four dollars a week to file the claim. Koonce says people who are unemployed are already likely facing difficult economic times, "so this just adds to that stress."

While these websites might promise prompt response or guarantee approval, she says in many cases, the sites may jeopardize or delay weekly benefits and could expose Iowans to identity theft.