A southeast Iowa lawmaker wants to make the “channel cat” Iowa’s official fish. Senator Gene Fraise of Fort Madison says the channel catfish was here in the waters of the Mississippi before the state was a state.Fraise says the catfish has a long and storied history.Fraise says there are a number of commercial “aqua-farming” operations raising catfish in Iowa, and the move would celebrate that industry.So, is Governor Vilsack backing the move to name the catfish Iowa’s official state fish?Vilsack says he’s more concerned about ensuring the water the catfish swims in is clean.
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