Larson becomes the latest in a series of Republicans to publicly put to rest rumors of potential gubernatorial aspirations next year. Monday, state Auditor David Vaudt said he would seek re-election rather than throw his hat in the ring to challenge incumbent Democratic Gov. Chet Culver. Former Gov. Terry Branstad and Vermeer Corp. CEO Mary Andringa said they were not running earlier this month, and Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey appears to be leaning towards running for re-election as well.

Meanwhile, former state Sen. Jeff Lamberti told Des Moines NBC affiliate WHO-TV that he is thinking about a run for governor. Lamberti, who co-owns the arena football team the Iowa Barnstormers along with Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn, said influential activists have been talking to him about running, and he will make a final decision by this fall at the latest.

Currently, two Sioux Cityans are the only Republicans publicly seeking support for a run, although nothing is “official” for either yet  — businessman and two-time gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats and former House Speaker Christopher Rants.

Marek said same-sex marriage is a highly emotional issue on both sides of the debate. The best way he says he can represent all of his constitutions is to see that the issue goes before the citizens of Iowa on a ballot.

“There are a lot of tough decisions to be made,” Marek noted, “and emotional feelings involved. I try to do what’s best for the area, with some people happy and some unhappy.”

If his position was characterized accurately, it would mark another disagreement between Marek and his party’s leaders in the House.  During the 2009 session, Marek helped kill union-backed legislation that would have required state-funded public works projects to pay a “prevailing wage” to workers.  House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, felt the bill was so important that he kept the voting machine open for an entire weekend, hoping Marek or another “no” vote might switch.

Marek lives in Washington County, where Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly 2,000 registered voters. Among Democratic state representatives, his district is arguably one of the most conservative.

(h/t John Deeth)

For movie fans of a certain age, those of us who first saw now-65-year-old Harrison Ford in the initial Indiana Jones film, “Raiders Of The Lost Ark,” back in 1981, the nostalgia of seeing the swashbuckling leading man is perhaps enough to justify the two hours its takes to watch the movie.

“For an old man you ain’t bad in a fight. What are you, about 80?” says Indiana Jones’ new prot

Mapping Iowa’s Fallen Soldiers

View Larger Map for easier navigation.Wanken was injured in September 2007, when he suffered eye, ear and other facial injuries while in Fallujah, and was then transferred to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where he underwent surgery. His parents, Rick and Susan Wanken of Hampton, said that his death was related to the injuries sustained in Iraq.

However, spokesperson 2nd Lt. Jaymie Sicking of the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton in San Diego would not release details about his death, saying it is under investigation.

Wanken was a machine gunner in the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.

Wanken, a 2006 graduate of Hampton-Dumont High School, was the 2005-06 president of the Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates, Hampton-Dumont chapter. A standout football player, Wanken was named to the Class 3A, District 2 defensive team after his senior year.

In September, Des Moines Register columnist John Carlson reached Wanken by phone a day after surgery to talk with him about a letter he had written to himself and eventually sent to his parents. At that time, Wanken didn’t want to discuss much about what had happened in Iraq, but wanted his friends back home to know he would be home soon for a visit. “I haven’t been home in a while,” Wanken told Carlson. “I just want to get back to Iowa and hang out with my family.”

Wanken did make it back to Iowa for a visit and spoke to students at Hampton-Dumont High School, where he graduated in 2006, Principal Trent Grundmeyer told the Des Moines Register.

“I wasn’t principal here when he was in high school, but he did a very nice job talking to the students,” Grundmeyer said.

Grundmeyer said it was a positive meeting, and that he thanked Wanken for serving his country. “One thing I remember specifically about what he said is that the news media doesn’t catch exactly what’s going on over in Iraq. People don’t see all the really horrific things, but they also don’t see all the positive things,” Grundmeyer said. “He had been injured pretty badly. I could tell … there were scars on his jaw and it was a challenge for him to talk.”

Wanken’s body arrived at the Des Moines International Airport Tuesday before being transported to Hampton.

Wanken was the 66th person with Iowa ties to die in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2003.

Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the top elected Democrat in state government, said the voluntary ban on campaigning in Florida and Michigan signed by the top six Democratic candidates on Aug. 31 will have achieved its purpose after the polls close in South Carolina Saturday.

“There’s nothing left to be gained by permitting Republican candidates to barnstorm through our state unchallenged, allowing them to monopolize the airwaves and dominate the news coverage,” Sink said.

The Iowa Democratic Party has not yet commented on the request.A spokesman for the South Carolina Democratic Party said that even though the state parties in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina asked for the pledge, they aren’t responsible for enforcing it or for saying whether it’s time to release it.

In July 2006, the DNC scheduled the four states in an “early window” and said other states could not hold primaries or caucuses before Feb. 5 of this year.  Florida and Michigan broke these rules and the DNC has, for now, stripped the two states of all their national convention delegates.  Today, Hillary Clinton said she supported seating the Florida and Michigan delegates.

This week, the Clinton campaign accused Barack Obama of breaking the pledge with a national cable ad buy.