GENERAL NEWS:                                                                     Wed./Thurs., April 30/May1, 2003

Thursday, May 1, 2003

… Lieberman continues to lead in awareness, favorability, and ballot preference among likely Democratic primary voters in South Carolina according to a survey by American Research Group. On ballot preference, Lieberman leads with 19%, Gephardt second at 9% and Kerry 8% -- but 47% remain undecided in the race. (More details in tomorrow’s morning report.)

… Senate Republicans are expected today to try to muster at least 60 votes to confirm Texas judge Priscilla Owen – a Bush appointment to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. But, Democrats say they have votes to block it -- and are prepared to conduct simultaneous filibusters against both Owen and Miguel Estrada, whose appointment has been stalled in the Senate for the past three months.

… Iowa State athletic director Bruce Van De Velde yesterday called for the termination of head basketball coach Larry Eustachy – who has been at center of controversy since Des Moines Register published photos Monday of him at post-game party with University of Missouri students. Register top front page headline this morning: “Eustachy to be fired?” Van De Velde’s announcement came about four hours after Eustachy and wife Stacy appeared at a news conference in Ames where he admitted, “I’m an alcoholic.” Eustachy and his wife said he deserves a “second chance” – but now he has five days to appeal the termination decision to ISU president’s office.

… Edwards creates major flare-up in South Carolina – an early primary state – by saying in fundraising letter that he’s a product of the New South, not the “Old South” of GOP Sen. Trent Lott and former GOP Sen. Strom Thurmond, the 100-year-old Carolina legend who served as guv and retired from the U. S. Senate just last year. (More on this in tomorrow’s morning report.)

… A couple morning headlines from around IA: Quad-City Times top online headline – “Bush to call combat complete today” From Daily Iowan (University of Iowa), top national headline: “Troops kill 2 more as protests continue”

… Associated Press reported that Kerry’s political action committee raised $878 million in soft money during the month before a ban on contributions from corporations and labor unions went into effect. 

… Dean outlined his health care proposal yesterday during speech in New York to members of the Service Employees International Union, the same group – and in the same room – where Gephardt detailed his health care proposal last week.  Also, Quad-City Times this morning reports that Dean is making widespread use of Internet to recruit, contact potential supporters.

…  Graham says he and family – including four daughters and 10 grandchildren – will take their annual family vacation in IA this August. They’ll travel in two Winnebago RVs – which are built in Forest City.

… Also coming to Iowa: Bobbie and Wallace Edwards – parents of wannabe John – who are scheduled to represent their son in Davenport next Monday at union and political events.

… Stormy weather rolls across IA over past 24 hours: Baseball-sized hail reported in Jasper County (Newton) overnight…More than four inches of rain recorded in Harrison County (Missouri Valley) in western IA during storms…National Weather Service will investigate report tornado touched down near Chillicothe – between Ottumwa and Oskaloosa – last night.     

… Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche have petitioned the South Carolina Democratic Party to include him in this weekend’s first televised debate. Forty current or former Dem elected officials noted that LeRouche has more contributors to his campaign than any of the nine candidates invited to the debate.

… Sharpton reportedly was in Puerto Rico yesterday to celebrate the Navy’s departure from the island of Vieques, which has been used for training exercises for more than five decades. Sharpton was arrested there two years ago for trespassing while protesting a bombing exercise. At midnight last night, the Navy turned control of the island over to the Department of the Interior.

… Overnight: Vilsack held a late night news conference to reaffirm threat to call a special session if lawmakers go home without completing action on his Iowa Values economic development fund. From this morning’s Sioux City Journal: “Senate Republican leaders say they will push to end the 2003 legislative session today, but without voting to approve an Iowa Values fund or major tax reform measures.”   

… Indianola school bus driver and student hospitalized last evening after bus tipped over in rural Warren County. Newscasts say 16 were onboard when bus veered off the roadway.

 WEATHER:

… After fairly uneventful spring, storms have been “training” across IA the past 30 hours – resulting in heavy rains in several areas and tornado warnings in about half dozen counties. Still raining in eastern/southeast IA this morning. DSM 5 a.m. 50, light drizzle. Temps this morning range from 45 in Mason City to 56 in Burlington. Today’s high 58, chance showers. Tonight’s low 45, cloudy. Friday’s high 62, cloudy.

 The Morning Report continues on a daily basis tomorrow morning.

Wednesday, April 30, 2003

GENERAL NEWS: 

Quote of the morning: 
       “You have four or five people who I’ll call the prancing ponies of the Senate that all want to be a presidential candidate or a wannabe. It’s to their advantage to not help this economy and have a bad economy going into a political year.”
     – House Speaker Dennis Hastert. 

… And another irresistible line: From Kerry during Arkansas campaign visit – “We need to be smart the way Bill Clinton was smart in the 1990s.” 

… Among the offerings in this morning’s update: Hillary, at Connecticut Dem event, accuses Bush administration of secretly plotting to eliminate public education and having worst economic policies since Hoover. Some protestors escorted out during her remarks …Report: Graham confusing possible Senate successors by not clarifying his plans if – and, more appropriately, when – his pres campaign sinks. And, Graham says, he has reservations about whether Gephardt health care plan is do-able …Grassley criticizes North Korean “blackmail” attempts …Oklahoma plans move to forefront of Dem presidential nominating schedule …The Hill: Gephardt fundraising in IA is “anemic”…Iowan – “Citizen Kayne” – takes over NRA helm, gets Washington Times mention …Bob Novak on CNN says Dean and Kerry were two biggest Dem wannabe losers during Iraqi war operations …Kerry visits “Clinton Country” – Arkansas – to accuse GWB of reversing Clinton’s budget, job growth achievements, and then moves on to Alabama to defend “regime chance” remarks as a lighthearted comment …BUT THERE MAY BE MORE TO KERRY’S SOUTHERN SWING than immediately meets the eye. Check out the 3/28 morning report about The State headline – “Kerry might have written off the South” …Former DMACC president, wife, daughter plead guilty to drug charges in court yesterday …A commentary: Dean’s debate challenge this weekend – it’s in foreign territory (South Carolina), not Iowa or New Hampshire …DI reports about University of Iowa’s belt-tightening challenge …All these stories below and more. 

… From the Iowa halls of academia – and the Hall of Shame: Headlines and stories from this morning alone – Des Moines Register sports page headline: “CYCLONE DILEMMA” The Larry Eustachy saga – which started with photos of the Iowa State basketball coach attending a party on the University of Missouri campus in January – continues to dominate state news (and national sports headlines) …Headline on Register front page, “Englands plead guilty in drug case” Former president of Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) – along with wife and daughter – plead guilty to drug charges …Newscasts report that the baseball coach at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington has been suspended for rest of the season after a traffic accident hospitalized two players. Coach Lonnie Winston suspended for allowing player – who did not have a driver’s license -- to drive a team van involved in an accident near Ainsworth over the weekend …Another Des Moines Register headline: “Teacher faces five more charges” Authorities added five more charges to the list of accusations against Centerville teacher Timmy Higbee, who is accused of sexually abusing at least three victims. Higbee was a second-grade teacher at Garfield Elementary in Centerville …No new or recent developments reported lately in the case involving former Iowa State assistant basketball coach Randy Brown, who was charged with alleged federal child pornography violations earlier this year.

CANDIDATES & CAUCUSES: 

… Hillary – appropriately sharing the stage with actor-comedian Chevy Chase – told more than 1,500 Connecticut Democrats the Bush administration has the worst economic policies since Herbert Hoover with no real plan to end the nation’s fiscal troubles. Hillary, who was more than an hour late for the annual Jefferson Jackson Bailey dinner in Southington, delivered a wide-ranging address with a key central theme – GWB can do no right. From the Hartford Courant coverage: “’I am sick and tired of people who call you unpatriotic if you debate this administration’s policies,’ Clinton shouted as the crowd screamed its approval. ‘We are Americans. We have the right to participate and debate any administration.’…She then accused the Bush administration of having the worst economic policies since Herbert Hoover, abandoning the middle class through tax cuts to the rich, secretly plotting to eliminate public education and ‘letting Medicare die on the vine.’” From AP coverage of the Hillary speech: Clinton said “an increasing number of Americans are unhappy with Bush’s policies. ‘There is an unease…People know better than what they hear and what they see.’”

… Also from the AP coverage of the Southington event: “Numerous protestors with different causes showed up. Some were escorted out by Democratic officials and Southington police during Clinton’s speech and another talk by Sen. Joe Lieberman’s wife, Hadassah. They protested what they say is the killing of Iraqi and Palestinian children. ‘Hillary’s killing babies,’ some shouted. In addition, 30 protestors outside criticized Lieberman, D-Conn., as being little different from Bush. ‘Bush-Lieberman 2004. GOP Dream Team,” one sign read.”

… During “winners and losers” segment on CNN’s “Judy Woodruff’s Inside Politics” yesterday on Dem candidate conduct during the Iraq war, political analyst and syndicated columnist Robert Novak named two war losers – Kerry and Dean, who are rapidly becoming the Odd Couple of the Dem campaign. He said Kerry, who “a few weeks before the war looked like the front-runner,” made a “mistake” when he compared regime change in Washington to regime change in Iraq. Novak said the “Democratic people” watching Kerry are wondering if he has a “tin ear” and added that Kerry’s “status is hurt.” Novak added, however, that Dean is “the biggest loser of the war, politically.” He said the Iraq war ended too early to benefit Dean’s antiwar theme, adding that Dean is in “bad political trouble. And even John Kerry is attacking him for suggesting we might not always have a strong military.”   

… Graham – according to Greg Pierce’s “Inside Politics” column in yesterday’s Washington Times -- is leaving possible Senate successors in Florida in political limbo. Pierce’s report: “As Democratic presidential candidate Bob Graham heads to the cornfields of Iowa this week, he leaves in Florida a bewildered field of candidates for his Senate seat, Cox News Service reports. These wannabe senators long to hear him speak these words: ‘I will not run for the Senate.’ Mr. Graham is determined to become the nation’s 44th president. He acknowledges that getting there will not be easy. He speaks candidly about the difficulty of the campaign ahead, the crowded field, his rusty campaign style and the need to raise $20 million, reporter Brian E. Crowley writes. But Mr. Graham refuses to give a clear answer to one simple question: ‘If your campaign for president falters, will you run for a fourth term in the Senate?’ His answers include, ‘I will be the next president’ and saying Democratic candidates should ‘get organized, start forming a campaign and be ready to go.’ But never does Mr. Graham just say ‘no.’” 

… DC political newspaper The Hill headline: “Slow start for Gephardt in Iowa money primary” Report by Sam Dealey: “Where Rep. Richard Gephardt needs the most help to advance his presidential prospects, he isn’t getting it – at least publicly. Early support from two chief constituencies – Iowans and organized labor – that are essential to the White House hopes of the Missouri Democrat have been surprisingly tepid so far. Documents filed with the Federal Election Commission show that Gephardt reported raising a scant $1,000 in all from three donors in Iowa in the first quarter of 2003 …Gephardt’s campaign pooh-poohed the poor fundraising results in Iowa and said the $1,000 total does not adequately reflect the candidate’s support in the state, which he won in his first presidential outing in 1988 …Despite the low fundraising total – Iowa is not traditionally a big-money state for political campaigns – campaign aides and consultants to other Democratic hopefuls said Gephardt’s support in Iowa is stronger than his contributions suggest. Still, even by Iowa standards Gephardt’s fundraising totals are anemic.” The Hill report said Edwards raised $4,000 in IA, Kerry raised $11,000, Dean raised $7,750 and “even Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) took in $1,711 from Iowa supporters.”

… Latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll basically reaffirms conventional wisdom that Dem presidential derby is a Big Three vs. The Rest situation. Although Dean enjoys good support in the “early states” and Edwards showed superior first-quarter fundraising prowess, the national sentiment reflected in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows Lieberman 23%, Kerry 17% and Gephardt 15%. Analysts said one of the most interesting developments was that Lieberman, a proponent of the war against Iraq, improved his position in the poll conducted 4/22-23. 

… Kerry – in Alabama yesterday – said his “regime change” criticism of GWB was, according to AP coverage, “intended as a lighthearted remark. ‘It was not about the president, and it was not about the war. It was about the election,’ Kerry said during a campaign stop in Alabama.” AP also reported that Kerry “brought his presidential campaign to Alabama on Tuesday, trying to build support in a state that Al Gore virtually conceded to George Bush in the last presidential election. ‘I don’t think any area of the country ought to be written off,’ Kerry said.” (Iowa Press Watch Note: There may be another reason Kerry has taken a southern detour in his campaign – primarily because of comments he made during a CA visit that resulted in a headline in The State newspaper: “Kerry might have written off the South.” That headline resulted in Kerry giving Southern Dem senators hand-written notes promising to campaign in the South. So, he’s in the South – and even stopped in Arkansas before moving on to Alabama.  See 3/28 morning report for more and/or Kerry file on Pres Watch website for more. Read on…) 

… Excerpt from KTHV-TV coverage of Kerry visit to Little Rock: “It’s been a long time since a roomful of powerful Arkansas Democrats have been in one room, smiling about a presidential candidate. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts came to lunch in Little Rock to get attention, and eventually, hopefully, the dollars, from some deep Arkansas pockets. The Democratic crowd at the Little Rock Club and later at the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial was receptive to Kerry’s message …praising Bill Clinton’s economics and criticizing what Kerry calls President Bush’s growing legacy of racking up more than $7 trillion of debt in just two years. ‘I think it’s about more than the economy. I think health care is critical and it’s part of the economy. I think education is important. Arkansas is struggling with how it’s going to fund its education system. Arkansas needs a president who is committed to leaving no child behind and not making a mockery of those words.” Associated Press coverage of Kerry’s Little Rock visit said: “Kerry criticized President Bush for ‘reversing’ the budget surplus and job growth accomplished during the Clinton administration, saying, ‘We need to be smart the way Bill Clinton was smart in the 1990s.’ Kerry also took shots at his Democratic colleagues in Congress for not standing up to the Bush administration… ‘We don’t need a second Republican Party.’”

… Dean’s Debate Challenge – Under the title “Field Test,” The New Republic’s Ryan Lizza focuses on the upcoming Dem wannabe debate in Columbia, SC this weekend: “The first postwar question that the Columbia debate will help answer is whether or not Dean remains a force. Until now, Dean has been the darling of Democratic beauty contests, hamming it up and basking in the glow of liberal interest group cheers… But, unlike most of the recent Democratic events, the South Carolina debate will be hosted by ABC News rather than an interest group on the liberal edge of the party. There will be a lot less time for pandering and applause lines. Dean may also find South Carolina is a little outside his comfort zone. Unlike Iowa and New Hampshire, where Dean has spent most of his time campaigning, South Carolina has a Democratic electorate that is 40 per cent African American – not a natural constituency for the ex-Vermont governor. The state’s white electorate, meanwhile, is far more conservative than the young volunteers Dean has recruited from the college towns of Iowa City and Hanover. And there’s a huge population of veterans – the state has a dozen military bases – who are presumably more certain than Dean that Saddam’s overthrow is good news.”

… Did he have a crystal ball? Even before the latest dustup between Dean and Kerry on their support for maintaining the nation’s military superiority this week (see yesterday’s morning report for more), Ryan Lizza – in his New Republic commentary – didn’t just focus on Dean’s upcoming South Carolina adventure, but also highlighted the potential Dean-Kerry clash. Lizza’s commentary: “The other candidates, especially Lieberman and Edwards, neither of whom is expected to win in Iowa or New Hampshire, seem delighted by the prospect of a titanic battle between Dean and Kerry. ‘Dean could slay Kerry for us,’ says an aide to a rival campaign. Without the burden of having to win in the two early states, both Edwards and Lieberman are elbowing for advantage in what might be called the February 3 strategy. That’s the first primary day after New Hampshire, and, while it originally was monopolized by South Carolina, now Arizona and Missouri are also scheduled for that day, with Oklahoma, New Mexico and Tennessee preparing to move there as well.”

… For the record: Although Iowa Pres Watch chose different coverage about Graham’s first day as a wannabe in IA to report in yesterday morning’s report, we can’t ignore the FL senator’s criticism of Gephardt’s health care proposal in yesterday morning’s DSM Register. In a Thomas Beaumont report – headline, “Graham questions Gephardt health plan” – the Register coverage said Graham said “a rival’s proposal for universal health care insurance is commendable but politically unwise. ‘My concern with Congressman Gephardt is not his concept or the specifics of his plan. It’s the political question of whether it’s do-able,’ said Graham during his first visit as a candidate in Iowa.” Another excerpt: “Graham said if [President Bill] Clinton could not pass a universal health care plan in 1994 when the federal budget deficit was shrinking and Democrats controlled Congress and the White House, a universal health care plan stands little chance today with deficits returning and Republicans in control of Congress.”    

… Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry is expected to sign legislation that would move the state’s presidential primary to the first Tuesday in February next year – which, at the rate states are jumping on the date, may soon be known as “Crowded Tuesday.” OK media reports say the goal is to – what a surprise – attract the Dem wannabes to the state, noting that Gephardt’s stop in Oklahoma City earlier this month was the first time a Dem presidential wannabe visited the state in more than a decade.

… Meanwhile, Michigan continues to play with its presidential nominating process. The latest – after the state’s Dems decided to move up caucus date 2/7 – is that the presidential primary will be scrapped. The reasons: Eliminating the primary will save state money – and there’s no need for a GOP presidential primary since GWB isn’t expected to face a major challenge.   

… Leftover from the weekend – an editorial from the News & Observer of Raleigh, NC: Headline – “Gephardt on go” Editorial excerpt – “In an apparent effort to jump-start his campaign for the presidency, Democratic U. S. Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri has tossed down a gauntlet. He has proposed the closest thing yet to a national health care insurance plan. All employers would have to provide private health insurance, with refundable tax credits to corporations to offset 60 percent of their costs …The idea is big, bold and expensive. It would be covered, Gephardt says, by abandoning all of President Bush’s tax cuts, many of which are to benefit the wealthiest Americans … Gephardt may not have the answer, but he has at least raised an issue of importance to the people that ought to be addressed by anyone, and everyone, who wants to be president.” 

IOWA POLITICS: 

… From John McCaslin’s “Inside the Beltway” column – subhead, “Citizen Kayne” – in yesterday’s Washington Times: “A former cop-turned-political strategist is the new president of the National Rifle Association, succeeding actor Charlton Heston, who served an unprecedented five years. Kayne Robinson was elected unanimously yesterday by the NRA board of directors. Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive of the association, said ‘as a career law enforcement officer, Kayne understands the difference between the rights of lawful firearms owners and the blight of violent criminals on the streets. Mr. Robinson is a former chief of detectives and assistant chief of the Des Moines, Iowa, Police Department. During the 2000 campaigns, he was chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa and helped produce the 1999 Iowa straw poll and the 2000 Iowa presidential caucus, the first in the nation.”  

MORNING SUMMARY:    

… This morning’s headlines: 

Top front-page headline, Des Moines Register: “ISU calls spotlight ‘embarrassing’… President: Quick action vowed on Eustachy. Players: We’ll stay if he gets help, some say” Continuing front-page coverage of Iowa State basketball coach’s conduct at post-game parties.  

Quad-City Times, main online head: “U.S. troops kill 13 protesters”

Daily Iowan (University of Iowa) national headline: “New Palestinian PM condemns violence”

Sioux City Journal online headline: Iowa legislature report – “Chaos of closing days puts squeeze on major issues” 

Omaha World-Herald, national online head: “Iraqi protest turns deadly after U.S. troops are fired on”

… The former president of Des Moines Area Community College – along with his wife and daughter – pleaded guilty to drug charges in DSM yesterday as part of a plea bargain agreement. Ex-DMACC president David England, his wife Donna and daughter Jessica all entered pleas to possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and failure to have a drug tax stamp. David and Donna England will be sentenced on 6/19, but Jessica was given a deferred sentence, meaning the charges will be erased from her record if she successfully completes probation. The parents face up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine. All three were arrested last month on marijuana charges after authorities raided their home in Johnston. 

WAR & TERRORISM: 

… Another update from the Korean Front: VOANews (Voice of America) reports: “Negotiators for North and South Korea were struggling late Tuesday to draft a statement wrapping up three days of talks in Pyongyang. The problem appeared to be references to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. A South Korean official told reporters Tuesday that North Korea had agreed to include the nuclear issue in the joint statement but had not approved the wording. That led the talks to go well into the evening in Pyongyang.” Meanwhile, BBC News reported, “North Korea has said that nuclear talks with the United States are pointless if Washington continues to insist Pyongyang first scraps its suspected nuclear programme. A North Korean official newspaper, Minju Joson, said that as long as the US maintained such a stand, the two sides would only waste time, ‘no matter how frequently they negotiate.’” (See Grassley comments on North Korea situation below.) 

… Headline from VOANews: “Pakistan, India Express Readiness to Ease Strained Relations” Excerpt: “Pakistan Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali has telephoned his Indian counterpart Atal Behari Vajpayee to discuss ways to improve strained relations between the two countries. The call follows a conditional offer of dialogue earlier this month by New Delhi. This is the first high-level contact between the rival South Asian nations in nearly two years.”

FEDERAL ISSUES:  

… Grassley said the U.S. was right to reject North Korea’s proposal to drop its nuclear program in exchange for increased aid. WHO Radio said Grassley described the North Korean demand as “tantamount to blackmail.” Grassley said the United States “can’t operate on the basis of responding to a threat.” He also noted the North Koreans have violated both international nuclear agreements and a 1994 nuclear-limitation accord with the Clinton administration. 

… IA GOP Congressman Leach says he is “not convinced the big tax cuts” as they are currently designed will affect unemployment. WHO Radio reported that Leach said it’s better to “stay the course” and allow economic factors and influences to work. The veteran congressman said he doesn’t see tax cuts “as an effective way” to revive the economy. 

IOWA ISSUES:

… Daily Iowan (University of Iowa) – headline, “UI officials grid for another round of cuts” – reported: “The UI’s $8.4 million state budget cut for next fiscal year will be challenging to meet, but the situation could be worse, university officials acknowledged Monday. The cut means the university will operate on a budget that includes $64.7 million less in state appropriations than what was provided three years ago. It will also mean more of the belt-tightening that has marked the past three years of several budget cuts, officials say, which has led to delays in building repairs, letting vacant positions stay that way, and larger class sizes.”   

OPINIONS: 

… This morning’s editorials, Des Moines Register: State issue – “Don’t pay the ransom …Better to postpone the Iowa Values Fund than to pass bad law as its price.” Federal issue – “Fine, let the tax cut fail …Grassley is trying to be reasonable about an unreasonable debate.” 

… Letter to editor in Des Moines Register: Headline – “Credit Bush” Letter – “I will give President George W. Bush more credit than any of our prior 42 presidents for creating more conflicts and bickering. If there is no conflict, he will create one. This doesn’t seem the way democracy must operate.” Robert B. Sanderson, West Des Moines 

IOWA SPORTS:  

… Former Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback – and Heisman Trophy runner-up – Brad Banks has signed a free agent contract with the Washington Redskins after not being selected in the NFL draft. He leads a group of free agent recruits that includes five former Hawkeyes, three former Northern Iowa players, two former Iowa State players and ex-Drake wide receiver Aaron Overton, who signed with Tennessee. Also signed as a free agent: Ankeny native Todd Sievers, a kicker at Miami of Florida, signed a two-year deal with Houston.   

IOWA WEATHER: 

DSM 5 a. m. 54, heavy thunderstorm. Temperatures across IA mostly in 40s and 50s – 45 in Orange City to 54 in Council Bluffs and Fort Madison.

Today’s high 68, possibly severe weather. Tonight’s low 50, possibly severe weather. Thursday’s high 62, chance showers. From WHO-TV meteorologist Brandon Thomas: “Showers and t’storms in the early/mid morning will give way to a brief dry spell in the late morning/early afternoon. A warm front will push through the state in the afternoon, bringing a wide range of highs from the upper fifties in northern Iowa to the low seventies in southern Iowa. By the mid/late afternoon hours, a cold front will push through, triggering strong to severe t’storms. The main threat will be large hail and damaging winds, but there is a chance of TORNADOES. Most of the T/storms should push out of here by late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning.” 

IOWAISMS: 

… Sioux City Journal reports that arrival of spring “marks dock construction at Iowa Great Lakes.” Journal correspondent Greg Drees writes” “They come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Their builders are grizzled veterans, curious youngsters, accomplished carpenters and an eclectic band of constructors with a wide variance of skills and ambitions. And, in the end, when they are fashioned and finished, they are bridges to walking on water. Springtime means dock building in the Okobojis, and artisans of all persuasions are busy casting their designs over the expansive waters of the Iowa Great Lakes.” It’s estimated as many as 1,500 docks line the shore of West Okoboji each season. Gary Owen, who runs the DNR water patrol services in the lakes region, believes more than 3,000 docks are constructed annually on the chain of lakes.  

                                                                                                              click here  to read past Iowa Morning Reports