Two stories in this morning’s Des Moines Register could be the beginning of more headaches for Gov. Chet Culver.

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver

The first concerns the American Red Cross disputing Culver’s estimates on how many houses in Iowa were damaged by flood waters. Culver told Congressional leaders that 32,000 homes were damaged by tornadoes and floods this spring and asked for $1.2 billion in federal aid to fund rebuilding efforts.

But the number of houses Culver cited is more than double the estimate calculated by the American Red Cross, which reported that 12,302 homes in Iowa had some type of flood-related damage, and that another 704 were damaged by tornadoes.

Now, two taxpayer watchdog groups, Citizens Against Government Waste and Taxpayers for Common Sense, are on the case and say the numbers appear to be inflated for the specific purpose of getting more cash from the federal government.

“You know what’s going on? Everybody is screaming big numbers because they’re just trying to maximize the potential reimbursements that they might get from FEMA or the federal government or however this might be organized by our political leaders,” said Iowa State University economics professor Dave Swenson.

The second story discusses the flooding could actually be an economic stimulus to the state.

After the 1993 floods, federal grants and loans pumped almost $1.4 billion into the state’s economy for rebuilding and flood prevention efforts, while the state’s portion amounted to less than $15 million.

The influx of federal money created jobs and helped pay for rebuilding projects. The projects, in turn, spurred the economy and indirectly funneled more money to the state through additional income taxes and sales taxes, among other sources.

It hasn’t been the smoothest second year in office for Culver. He’s been a part of several high profile feuds with Republicans and legislative leaders from his own party, and his approval ratings continue to hover just below 50 percent. Then he seemed to alienate organized labor by vetoing a collective bargaining bill they have long sought after and finally got the legislature to pass.

But most of those critics were silenced after the flooding, with almost universal praise for Culver’s handling of one of the worst natural disasters in Iowa’s history. But now, an issue that seemed to be above politics could come plummeting down into the fray, just in time for a special legislative session to deal with the flooding that Culver said would most likely take place in September.