Sarah Palin at a rally in Sioux City. (Photo: Douglas Burns)

And the exclusive story is no longer the exclusive domain of the traditional media. In many cases, it’s the small, independent media that are breaking stories and driving the news these days.

With that in mind, the Iowa Independent would like to share the best of the stories that you read here first.

1. Why John McCain will select Sarah Palin as running mate by Douglas Burns (June 29, 2008)

Sarah who?

That was pretty much the reaction in June when the Iowa Independent’s Doug Burns not only said the one-term governor from Alaska should be John McCain’s vice presidential pick, but that she would be his pick. By late August, McCain actually did choose Palin to be his running mate, and Burns (and his crystal ball) were vindicated.

2. Agriprocessors official who sold used cars and favors has fled the country, residents say by Lynda Waddington (June 20, 2008)

If a scoop is defined as getting a story before any other news organization, then Lynda Waddington’s story about Hasom Amara, a former supervisor at Agriprocessors, can be counted as a super scoop. That’s because she not only broke the news to the public that Amara had fled the country, she broke the news to the Department of Justice and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division.

3. Dems’ coordinated campaign largely disbanded, replaced by Obama staff by Jason Hancock (July 3, 2008)

In a year that saw Democrats expand their majorities in both chambers of the state legislature, you wouldn’t think there would be much talk of missed opportunities. But in the months leading up to Election Day, Democrats were predicting (and Republicans were bracing for) huge gains that never came. This despite the fact that Obama overwhelmingly carried the Hawkeye State with his army of volunteers and paid staff blanketing the state and turning out supporters.

So are Iowans just notorious ticket-splitters, or was there something else to blame? Many point back to one of Obama’s first post-primary decisions, to forgo participating in the state party’s coordinated campaign and instead focus all efforts on his own election, a story we broke in Iowa. Many predicted at the time that this could make legislative races tighter, a hypothesis that seems to have panned out.

4. Fallon faces campaign finance questions By Chase Martyn (March 30, 2008)

Former state Rep. Ed Fallon

The Democratic primary for the Third Congressional District between incumbent Leonard Boswell and Ed Fallon garnered national attention and was widely expected to go right down to the wire. In the end, Boswell cruised to victory. Two major factors seemed to pull Fallon’s support down in the months leading up to the primary vote. The first was his outspoken support for Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader in 2000, something Boswell repeatedly used to try and show Fallon was somehow less of a loyal Democrat. The second was a report by the Iowa Independent calling into question the campaign finance ethics of Fallon’s for-profit political advocacy organization “I’m for Iowa.”

One of Fallon’s major lines of attack was Boswell’s stance on campaign finance reform, calling the Blue Dog Democrat a pawn of corporate America due to his willingness to accept millions of dollars from corporate political action committees. So when Fallon revealed that his for-profit advocacy organization accepted contributions that would never be disclosed, cries of hypocrisy quickly followed, whether justified or not. His campaign never seemed to regain traction.

5. Iowa’s intelligence fusion center ‘connects the dots’ By Jason Hancock (July 29, 2008)

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the federal government began creating a nationwide intelligence network with a headquarters in every state. The fusion center concept was born. Here in Iowa, very little was known about the organization, even though its major structure had been in place for years and its director, Russell Porter, was a well-known figure in the national intelligence community. As part of a nationwide series including the Iowa Independent and its sister sites in Minnesota, New Mexico, Colorado and Michigan, the doors of this secretive organization were flung open. Soon after our coverage, the story of the Iowa Intelligence Fusion Center was being told on national television.

6.  The invocation that stole the show from Sen. John McCain by John Deeth (Oct. 11, 2008)

John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, had not yet arrived at an Oct. 11 Davenport event, so naturally very few media members had bothered to show. Luckily, the Iowa Independent’s John Deeth is much like a Marine -– first one in, last one out, which meant he was practically the only one there to file the following report:

Before McCain’s arrival, a minister delivering an invocation said, “There are plenty of people around the world who are praying to their god, be they Hindu, Buddah, or Allah, that (McCain’s) opponent wins. … And Lord, I pray that you step forward and honor your own name.”

The story quickly made its way across the Internet, and the preacher who made the remark, The Rev. Arnold Conrad, past pastor of the Grace Evangelical Free Church, was later “honored” as Keith Olbermann’s “Worst Person in the World.”

7. Obama/Richardson Caucus deal by Chase Martyn and Lynda Waddington (Jan. 2, 2008)

There is a lot of wheeling and dealing on Caucus night. One day before Iowans rocketed Barack Obama to front-runner status, the Iowa Independent reported on possible deals between New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and the Obama campaign that directed Richardson supporters to caucus for Obama in the second round of voting.  Both sides (and nearly every other Democratic candidate) denied the deal, but we found plenty of evidence on the ground.

8. GOP platform calls for end to ethanol mandate By Jason Hancock (Sept. 3, 2008)

It was a move that received very little attention on a night when most of the Republican National Convention was cancelled because of concerns over Hurricane Gustav, but for farm states, it was a big deal. The GOP’s national platform for the first time called for an end to a mandate that gasoline contain a set amount of ethanol. Overall, the 2008 RNC Convention was not kind to the ethanol industry, with Sen. John McCain and his vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin hardly mentioning biofuels as part of the energy mix of the future. The move was seen as a putting the party in line with its presidential candidates, but many observers said at the time that it would cost Republicans support up and down the ballot in agricultural states like Iowa.

While many of the 12 people interviewed by Iowa Independent after the event had yet to cast their vote, all but one had already decided to support the Republican ticket.

Joe Pacha, who wore a McCain-Palin t-shirt and attended the rally with his wife and three flag-waving children, said he wanted his entire family to be a part of this moment in history.

“I wouldn’t have missed this,” Pacha said while the family waited to exit the bleachers. “It was important to bring the whole family because I believe John McCain stands up for all of America’s families.”

Pacha believes the McCain campaign hit a home run by discussing Sen. Barack Obama’s failure to vote on a Senate measure that supported Gen. David Petraeus.

“That was my favorite part because I think it really emphasized that Obama has not stood up to his obligations as a United States Senator,” Pacha said.

The attacks on Obama were delivered prior to McCain’s speech by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.

“Barack Obama was in the Democratic cloak room,” Graham said. “It would have taken him five seconds to come out of that room and cast a vote on behalf of General Petraeus, but he couldn’t muster the courage to tell MoveOn.org that they were wrong. He does not deserve to be Commander In Chief.”

What Graham neglected to tell those in attendance at the rally, however, is that Obama had already voted in support of an amendment offered 20 minutes earlier that same day. The amendment Obama supported not only condemned the attacks on Petraeus, but also condemned the right wing attacks on veterans Sen. John Kerry and former Sen. Max Cleland.

Graham also made a point of marking the anniversary of the date that McCain was shot down over Vietnam and taken captive.

“Forty-one years ago today he fell into enemy hands,” Graham said. “He was shot down over North Vietnam 41 years ago today. Ladies and gentlemen, he’s been fighting for us, so now let’s fight for him.”

The message wasn’t lost on Marilyn Allison, an undecided senior citizen who skipped church services and drove two hours to attend the rally.

“I’m still trying to make up my mind,” Allison admitted in a whisper outside of the ladies’ washroom. “I like John McCain’s history of service to his country. It’s a very powerful story. I’m also concerned about Barack Obama’s ties to less savory people. At the same time, I really think we need some new and younger blood in Washington. I don’t think McCain provides that.”

Allison agreed that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin brought youth to the Republican ticket, but otherwise had strong remarks regarding McCain’s selection.

“I hoped [Gov. Sarah] Palin would bring that vitality to his ticket, but I’m not impressed with her,” she said. “I was leaning more heavily toward [McCain] before he picked her. I don’t believe she is ready to be anything more than a pretty pitbull — an attack dog minus the smarts needed to run the country.”

Allison knows she has a big decision to make before she casts her vote next week and says that she’s “going to pray a lot.”

Three young people in attendance were strong McCain supporters, even if one is not yet old enough to vote.

“I think [the rally] was great and had a really nice energy,” said Cedar Falls High School senior Michael Rogers. “People seemed to be really into McCain and his message. Most importantly, I think he was able to bring the message he really wanted to get out.”

Rogers, who is the son of Republican Iowa Senate challenger Walt Rogers, said he would definitely vote for McCain — and his own father — if he were old enough to cast a ballot.

Two University of Northern Iowa students — Jill Raymer from Mount Pleasant and Chelsea Oschylski from Des Moines — said they came to the rally for the sole purpose of supporting the Republican ticket. Raymer has already voted absentee and Oschylski plans to cast her ballot on election day.

“I was really impressed most with McCain energy plan,” Raymer said. “I think McCain was also able to highlight the differences between himself and Obama today.”

“Some of the things that were said about Obama really suprised me,” she said.

King, a Kiron conservative who represents the sprawling 5th District in western Iowa, made comments that echoed those of President George W. Bush earlier this weekend. Bush says the inaction of Congress to extend government wiretapping means the United States is in “more danger of attack.”

Here is King:

Pelosi and her liberals refused to debate a bi-partisan Senate bill to update FISA. Instead of taking up this vital bill to secure America, she and her Democrats want to play politics with contempt charges against members of the Bush administration. They are going on vacation this afternoon without passing a bi-partisan FISA update that passed the Senate earlier this week. By this Saturday, Pelosi and her liberals will be on vacation and a back door will be opened for terrorists to plan attacks on America. This is unacceptable. I condemn this arrogant disregard for the physical safety of every American- man, woman and child.

Two well-placed sources told Iowa Independent last night that Gov. Bill Richardson’s campaign plans to direct their supporters to Sen. Barack Obama in precincts where their candidate does not reach the 15% threshold for viability.

Today, more sources have come forward to tell Iowa Independent that some supporters of Sen. Barack Obama have been directed to swing delegates to Gov. Bill Richardson in certain counties and precincts.  Sources confirm that in at least three counties, Obama campaign field organizers have told their supporters to drive support to Richardson. The three confirmed counties are all likely Obama strongholds, and each county will assign a relatively high number of delegates tonight.  We have decided not to list the counties by name to protect sources’ anonymity.

Obama activists in certain other counties denied receiving instructions for Richardson-Obama vote-swapping.  We have heard similar rumors about precinct-specific deals between Obama and Sen. Joe Biden, although we have been unable to confirm them.

As more reports come in, we will continue to update this post with new information.  That said, the deal is likely to manifest itself in ways that will be difficult to detect, even after the caucuses are over.  So what exactly happens in the 1,784 precinct caucuses across the state may be difficult to explain for some time.

The Richardson campaign continues to deny our reports.

If you know anything please email us tips, anonymity assured.