Wednesday at the convention

By Sarah Henderson – Late Tuesday night several delegates and I had the opportunity to attend the AgNite reception, despite the chilly temperatures, it was a great event and we enjoyed the live entertainment of Styx. We were up pretty late, but it was worth no sleep to get up early for the Iowa [...]

What a small world

By Tim Demuth – Truly one of the highlights of circling around the Republican convention is the all the sort of people that you could never expected to run into.
Today, the man in charge of the security for out hotel, Mr. John Bay, turned out to be a native of Decorah, who knows Bob Bruce [...]

Delegate’s hat retrieved from flooded Cedar Rapids home

By James Q. Lynch – A hat rescued from a flooded Cedar Rapids home is drawing attention here at the Republican National Convention.
Iowa delegate Rose Eaton of Cedar Rapids has been wearing a “Dutch’s Dollies” boater hat a friend, Rosemary Harvey, rescued from her Time Check home after the June flood.
Eaton, 78, and a former [...]

Media darling

By James Q. Lynch – Mike Knopf is getting an early start on his goal to change the nation.
The 17-year-old Dubuque Senior senior is the youngest delegate to the Republican National Convention – a designation that has made him a media darling.
At a breakfast gathering of the Iowa delegation Tuesday two television crews followed Knopf, [...]

Worth getting up for

By Bill Northey – Good thing last night was an early night as this morning was an early morning.
We went to the agriculture breakfast in the Minneapolis Convention Center. It started at 8am. We left at 7am, navigated the I-35W detours and still made it well before it started.
The crowd was sparse, but supportive of [...]

Spirits not dampened despite revised convention

By Tim Demuth – The first day of the convention was, as expected due the the weather in the south, shortened. Delegates who traveled from around the country, planned this trip for months, and, for some, may be the only convention they ever attend were disappointed, but understanding. Despite the events (or lack there of), [...]

Raw politics

By James Q. Lynch – It’s not clear there was any connection to the Republican National Convention and the Iowa and Oregon delegations staying at the La Quinta West, but a naked man was found swimming in the hotel pool early Monday morning.
John Bay of Decorah, who is heading a security team at the hotel [...]

Gustav chaning plans at GOP convention

By Bill Northey – Everyone had one eye or ear on the media coverage of Hurricane Gustav as we traveled to the Twin Cities for the Republican National Convention. Even before we arrived, we heard the plans for tomorrow have changed. Tomorrow’s convention business has been narrowed to a few hours in the [...]