February 9, 2012

You are here: Home / 2010 / July / Archives for 31st

Pawlenty’s advice: “get a new president” (AUDIO)

July 31, 2010 By
Pawlenty poses with GOP congressional candidate Ben Lange

Tim Pawlenty poses for photos

Republican Tim Pawlenty touted his budget-cutting “executive experience” as governor of Minnesota as he headlined fundraisers today for legislative candidates in Iowa, the state which hosts the first contest in the 2012 presidential campaign.

During an interview with Radio Iowa as he traveled from one event to another, Pawlenty declined to directly compare his executive experience with potential 2012 competitor Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, but Pawlenty did contrast his time governing a state of five million with President Obama’s performance governing a nation of more than 300 million.

“If you’re going to run something large and complex, it helps to have run something large and complex previously,” Pawlenty said of Obama, who was an Illinois state senator, then a U.S. Senator for two years before his election as president in 2008. “I think, candidly, one of President Obama’s short-comings, now that he’s managing the crisis, for example, in the Gulf is he doesn’t have any sort of experience or perspective to fall back on because he’s never led a large organization.”

Pawlenty’s first appearance Saturday morning was at the Dubuque Country Club where he headlined a fundraiser for a local Republican legislator.  Pawlenty stressed an economic message, decrying the “goofballs” in congress who have approved federal budget deficits.  Yet Pawlenty told the crowd of about 60 Republicans it was important for the G.O.P. to “gently and constructively” remind voters of the “values” the Republican Party hopes to advance in 2010.

“I think people are concerned, but they also don’t want to just be afraid,” Pawlenty said later during his conversation with Radio Iowa.  “They don’t want to just hear people being critical or negative.   I think we also need to show that we have ideas that are hopeful and optimistic and positive and can lead the country and our states forward in a better direction…You’ve got to have the ideas to back it up.”

During a question-and-answer session with the crowd in Dubuque, Cheryl Kramer of Dubuque told Pawlenty the federal government bail-out of the auto industry was “ridiculous” and she followed up by asking for “his ideas” for getting the money repaid.

“Well, what you can do is get a new president and a new congress and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Pawlenty quickly replied, to applause from Kramer and the rest of the crowd.

Listen to Pawlenty in Dubuque: PawlentyDubuque

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Research continues on the use of soybeans in rubber car parts

July 31, 2010 By

Research continues on using soy oil in more parts that go into new cars. Ford Motor Company researcher, Cynthia Flanigan, says her research has focused on using soybean oil in the place of petroleum-based oil for the rubber. Flanigan says they’re looking and evaluating the use of rubber with soy oil in a variety of different interior and exterior parts, including door seals, cupholders, floor mats, radiator deflector shield, or an air deflector shield.

Flanigan says they have found a mix that uses one-third soy oil has shown the most promise. She says the project is in the advanced stages and they are testing its durability to ensure the performance, cost and long-term durability all meet the customer expectations. Flanigan says the soy oil product has a lot of advantages over the standard petroleum-based rubber.

Flanigan says the cross-linking of the soy oil with the petroleum makes it not as recyclable as corn-based plastics, but she says it has the advantage of being less energy intensive to make the soil oil, and overall there’s a reduction of carbon emissions with the soy oil. She says those benefits are on top of using less of the petroleum-based oil. Flanigan says they’ve also been able to use other portions of the soybean.

Flanigan says they found some advantages of using soy meal filler in the place of some of the carbon black and polymer normally used in the rubber, which gave them a slight weight improvement. Flanigan says the soy rubber could eventually become common in vehicles. Ford already uses soy foam in the seats of some 23 vehicles.

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business Tagged With: ,

Buick convention underway in Ames

July 31, 2010 By

Central Iowans may have noticed more of a particular make of car on the road the past few days. That’s because hundreds of Buick lovers are cruising around the region as their national convention runs through this weekend in Ames.

Organizer Rick Young, of Jewell, says they’re holding a large car show today. The show will feature about a thousand cars, as well as tractors, motorcycles and “anything with wheels,” as a benefit for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The national convention opened Tuesday and was expected to attract more than 800 Buick enthusiasts in some 350 vintage vehicles. Young says one of the cars should be attracting more attention than the others.

It’s a one-of-a-kind 1954 Landau Buick which was a “concept” car and may be worth as much as a million dollars. One highlight of this week’s convention was a “cruise” featuring hundreds of cars from Ames to Jewell and back. For more information on the club, visit “www.buickclub.org“.

By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment

Third annual “Rock and Rye” event set for Templeton

July 31, 2010 By

The distillers of a popular prohibition-era whiskey will help raise funds tonight for the small western Iowa town made famous by the alcoholic beverage. The Third Annual Rock and Rye celebration is organized in part by the makers of Templeton Rye – which opened it’s distillery in the Carroll County town in 2005.

Distillery manager Kevin Boersma says the event will include tours of the Templeton Rye facility and a concert by The Nadas, a Des Moines based band that wrote a song titled “Templeton Rye.” The whiskey was first produced illegally in the 1920s and was even supplied to Al Capone’s gang in Chicago.

In 2006, Templeton Rye became legal for the first time. Fans of the whiskey find it hard to come by. Boersma says right now, demand is far outpacing supply. “I guess it’s a good problem to have. It’s not only frustrating to the consumer, it’s getting a little frustrating for us,” Boersma said. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel. In the middle of November, we’ll have a significant batch that’s going to be available.”

It takes four years to age and produce a batch of Templeton Rye. The man responsible for helping to re-craft Templeton Rye died this past Thurday. Meryl Kerkhoff was 81. Boersma expects a special tribute to Kerkhoff will be part of tonight’s festivities.

“I’m sure there will be a few wet eyes,” Boersma said. Kerkhoff was a child of the Depression who was born just a mile away from the company’s current distillery in Templeton. He learned to distill whiskey at a young age and had been taught to never discuss Templeton Rye, particularly with strangers.

But in 2001, he passed along secret recipes for the mash to his son Keith and Scott Bush – who bought the brand and now serves as president of Templeton Rye. All of the proceeds from tonight’s Rock and Rye event will benefit the Templeton Community Betterment Association. Boersma expects the event will raise up to $10,000.

Learn more online: www.TempletonRye.com

Filed Under: Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With:

Minnesota’s governor in Iowa to help GOP candidates

July 31, 2010 By

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is in Iowa today, helping Iowa Republicans raise campaign cash.  

Pawlenty is one of seven former or current governors who’ve made trips to Iowa since the 2008 election, fueling speculation that they’ll run for president in 2012. Pawlenty plans to be in Dubuque this morning to help a local candidate for the Iowa House raise money.  He’ll headline two other fundraisers today.  On Sunday evening Pawlenty will be in West Liberty for another House candidate and on Monday morning he’ll be in Davenport to help the Scott County G.O.P. raise money. 

Pawlenty has been laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign, hiring experienced staff and forming a political action committee. In addition, Pawlenty plans to return to Iowa in a few weeks to visit the Iowa State Fair — a popular stop for politicians.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,