Iowa Public Television

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  Program: The Iowa Journal #203
  Broadcast Date: Oct. 23, 2008
  

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The Iowa Journal will examine the issues facing Iowa’s 1st Congressional District as election day draws near.

The program will include footage from various communities around the district: Parkersburg, Waterloo, Bernard, Jackson County near Maquoketa Caves State Park, Balltown, Guttenberg, Postville, Clermont, and Elkader. It will also feature interviews with Shannon Durbin, editor of the Clayton County Register; Leon Mosley, co-chairman of the State Central Committee of the Republican Party of Iowa in Waterloo; and Ed Tibbetts with the Quad City Times. voters and citizens this year.

Encompassing parts of central, north-central, and northeastern Iowa, the 4th district is a collection of 268 towns and cities located in 28 Iowa counties. All but two of these communities have been affected by this year’s storms and floods. Two towns in this district have also had major immigration raids in the past 2 years.

Besides the economy, traditional concerns of this district include agricultural, manufacturing and flood-recovery issues. This district has interests in higher education (it is home to Iowa State University and a dozen other colleges and universities), medical and elder care, transportation, and small town economic viability. New technology is part of the economy, with ‘green’ power like wind turbine farms, biodiesel factories, and hydrogen energy businesses starting up.

Presidential candidate Barak Obama’s popularity has increased the voter registration of Democrats in this district, so it is being watched nationally as a potential turn-around district at the U.S. Representative level. The incumbent is Republican Tom Latham, and the challenger is Democrat Becky Greenwald.

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Post Date: October 24, 2008