From the daily archives:

Monday, November 9, 2009

Mick and Steph King

Mick and Steph King

Congressman Steve King missed his son’s wedding this past Saturday as King stayed in Washington for the debate over health care reform. King was among the Republican members of congress who cast a “no” vote late Saturday night. 

“I thought it through and could only come to one conclusion, that I  cannot ask other people to sacrifice, I can’t ask soldiers to go to Iraq or Afhganistan, or people to step forward and do the work that’s needed for this country if I’m not willing to sacrifice, too,” King says.

King says it wasn’t difficult to make that decision, but he says it was hard to miss the family celebration. ”I’m home now and I had a chance to actually catch them on the way to the airport and have dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Michael King and it was a very, very good feeling to be able to send them off into their lives together,” King says.

Tennesee Congressman Marsha Blackburn learned King was missing the family wedding, so she got a bound copy of the health care reform bill and had the Republican members of congress sign it and extend their handwritten congratulations to King’s son and his new wife.

“It turns it into the best wedding card anybody ever had gotten. It will be an heirloom that Mick and Steph will have the rest of their lives and I expect they’ll pass it along to their children,” King says.

King is a keeper of family heirlooms.  The leather-bound copy of the New Testament that one of King’s distant uncles carried in the Civil War is on display in King’s D.C. office.

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Cyclones prepare for senior day and Colorado

by Todd Kimm 11/9/09 5:03 PM

Twenty-three seniors will play their final home game on Saturday when the Iowa State Cyclones host Colorado. The Cyclones are 5-5 overall after a 34-8 loss to Oklahoma State and they stand 2-4 in the Big-12. Linebacker Fred Garrin is one of those who will play his final game in Jack Trice Stadium.
Garrin says it [...]

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Des Moines police investigate student alcohol poisoning at Drake University

by Pat Curtis 11/9/09 4:50 PM

Des Moines police are investigating a possible hazing case involving a Drake University student. Authorities say 19-year-old Nathan Erickson of Durant was hospitalized on Sunday for apparent alcohol poisoning. Erickson, a member of Phi Delta Theta, was reportedly drinking Everclear at a residence behind the fraternity house.
Drake University spokesperson Lisa Lacher says university officials are also [...]

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Two Polk County deaths bring H1N1 state total to 16

by Dar Danielson 11/9/09 4:46 PM

The Iowa Department of Public Health reports two more death attributed to the H1N1 flu. The latest two victims are identified as adults from Polk County. The Health Department says both victims had risk factors that increased the chance of complications.
A majority of the deaths reported from H1N1 thus far in Iowa have involved victims [...]

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Event will honor women veterans

by Matt Kelley 11/9/09 4:45 PM

An elderly Iowa woman and World War Two veteran says an event honoring female veterans from that conflict is long overdue. Eighty-seven-year-old Marcia Courbat, of Waterloo, served with the Women’s Army Corps, or the WACs. Courbat says in the past, some women downplayed their role in the war and were harassed by their male counterparts.
“I [...]

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“Understanding” could save 479 union jobs

by O. Kay Henderson 11/9/09 4:34 PM

State workers who are members of the AFSCME union will be given a chance to ratify an ”understanding” that would see about 20,000 state workers take five unpaid days off over the next seven months. 
The move not only would save nearly $23 million in state worker salaries, it would help save the jobs of 479 members [...]

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Possible deal to avoid 479 state worker layoffs

by O. Kay Henderson 11/9/09 1:03 PM

There’s a possible deal to avoid some state worker layoffs. 
The leader of the union that represents the largest share of state workers will announce at one o’clock this afternoon that an “understanding” has been reached with top state managers.  That deal that would “protect” 479 state workers who were slated to lose their jobs due [...]

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