Eaton is a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Juhl, a student at Des Moines Area Community College, received national attention in 2005 when he was elected mayor of Roland at age 18. Radke, a resident of Nevada, Iowa, and vice president of the local American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, says she doesn’t know of any specific reasons or issues that led the other two Democrats to run for the seat.

“I guess you’d have to ask them,” she said. “I know [Juhl] feels that students should be better represented. I’ve also met Eaton, but have only spoken with him briefly. I can tell you, however, that we are all in agreement that someone from the Democratic ticket would represent the people of this district — their values and their goals — better than our Republican opponent has and will.”

Deyoe, also a Nevada resident, was first elected to the House seat in 2006 when then-Republican incumbent Jim Kurtenbach left to launch an unsuccessful bid for an open seat in the Iowa Senate. The Senate seat was vacated by Stew Iverson, the current chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa. Kurtenbach lost the Senate bid to Democrat Rich Olive.

Radke was initially encouraged to run for the House Seat by Johnie Hammond, a woman who served the Story County area for more than 20 years. Hammond served eight years in the Iowa Senate, 12 years in the Iowa House of Representatives and four years on the Story County Board of Supervisors.

“Johnie was serving on the Board of Supervisors when I first met her. I thought she was just a fantastic role model — a great woman, who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind,” Radke said. “She thought things and issues through very thoroughly, and, when she made decisions, she did so with the best interests of her constituents in mind. When she was elected to the House and then to the Senate, I followed her career there too. She called me a few years ago and asked me to run. At that point, I thought Kurtenbach would be my opponent and I knew he’d be a formidable one. Still, I felt — and still feel — that the people in District 10 could be better represented by a Democrat.”

Less than 24 hours after learning that she lost to Deyoe by 680 votes, Radke received a phone call that solidified her resolve to make another bid for the House seat.

“The day after the election, Sen. Tom Harkin phoned and told me that I had to run again,” she said. “He said that I just needed to reach a few more people and gather a few more votes. So, with his encouragement, I decided to give it another try.”

Radke, who grew up working on a Century Farm in Forest City, believes the people in District 10 are ready for change and that her life experiences will help bring needed reform in the areas of education, health care, renewable energy and the environment.

“I just thought it was criminal when I learned that Iowa was 42nd in the United States for teacher pay,” she said. “Teachers have so much responsibility and our children are in their care for so many hours each day that I really thought they should be better paid. I’m also concerned about the early childhood development programs that are available for children. I know that our children learn so much in those early years and that a strong foundation is important for success in their later years. Early childhood development programs are essential for our state.”

Radke said because of her own children’s higher education, she knows firsthand about the costs of continuing education.

“With my own children, I saw the cost of tuition going up and up,” she said. “I really think higher education — not just colleges and universities, but vocational training too — needs to be affordable for our young people in Iowa. Each person is different and each one benefits from different training. Because of that, I do think both the vocational and college training after high school are important and that we need to support those programs.”

Both growing up on a farm and the influence of her husband, Jerry, a retired soil physicist who is seeking a third term on the Story County Soil and Water Conservation Commission, have sparked her interest in renewable energy and protecting Iowa’s environment.

“I think, because I worked on the farm, I have a love for our land and soil,” she said. “I know what a valuable resource we have and I know how hard farmers work. Of course, going to the gas station and filling the tank just takes a huge bite out of everyone’s budget. I think we need to focus on renewable technology so that we can become energy independent.

“When I was a child, we use to go fishing in Clear Lake. We’d catch bullheads and Dad would throw them on the grill. We ate those fish without thinking twice. Now, I’m not sure whether or not you can eat the fish you catch in Clear Lake. It really worries me that our streams, rivers and lakes are becoming polluted. It also worries me that our air has become polluted as well. I think we have a responsibility to protect our environment for the next generation.”

Radke is thankful for the district’s history of promoting women to positions of power. Because of that history and women like former Sen. Johnie Hammond, Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell and Rep. Lisa Heddens, who have already served, she doesn’t feel that her gender played a role in the last election or will play a role in the upcoming election either. But she also acknowledges that her gender, as well as her life experiences, are a part of who she is as a person and who she will be as a state representative.

“We all bring to public service what we know,” she said. “I worked as an Iowa Department of Human Services social worker, investigating child abuse cases and working with foster families and children. I also worked with the elderly and their families as a medical social worker. Mostly, I worked with families that didn’t have health insurance and I think that there is no excuse for all Iowans not to have access to affordable, accessible health care. I think that can be done. I think we need to do it gradually. We need to be fiscally responsible while we do it, but we can do it.

“When we make policy decisions, those decisions are reflected by our values and beliefs. The people in this district are interested in health care and education. Most here were happy that the ban on stem cell research was reversed. I believe my values and principles are a good match with this district and that I would best serve them.”

What about those 700 votes?

“I’ve just got to get out there and meet as many people as I can,” she said with a soft laugh. “I’ve got to work even harder this time, listening to as many people as possible so that I know the issues they are concerned about, learning what they want me to take down to Des Moines. Our middle class is struggling and they deserve better. They deserve a government that will work together to solve the issues we face.”

In this video, his ad hoc rock band jams for a few bars before Janet Huckabee takes the stage for an intro of her husband.  In honor of the presidential candidate, the drummer rewrote some lyrics to the classic “Sweet Home Chicago”:

“Going to the caucuses and don’t be late!”

Huckabee’s band played three songs in front of a large backdrop that read, “Enough is enough!”

Below the fold, a Huckabee supporter talks about a negative television ad the campaign pulled before it was broadcast in Iowa. For more on this story, a see I.I. reporter Jay Wagner’s article, and you can view a video of Huckabee feeling confident in his decision to pull the ad here: http://www.iowaindep…Cedar Rapids resident Don Woods is a postal worker and big-time Mike Huckabee supporter. He’s seen the candidate speak three times and said Huckabee has a very direct and personal connection with his audience.

Woods also talked about Huckabee’s decision to pull the plug on a negative ad before it was broadcast on Iowa TV stations.

He answered questions about a negative ad that he pulled before it was broadcast in Iowa and his upcoming appearance as a non-musical guest on Jay Leno’s television show in Burbank, California.

In this video, former governor Mike Huckabee responds to questions about his recent television commercial that he played for the press, but decided not to air.

Iowa Independent reporter Jay Wagner had the story on the ad pull yesterday.

With a big smile, Huckabee assured the press corps that they wouldn’t miss him while he was doing the Leno show.  He also hailed the program’s importance; it will be the first Leno show to be taped since a writer’s strike put the late night talk program (and others like it) on hiatus.

The multi-talented politician played three songs with his ad hoc band before his speech and press conference.

The questioner, David Dickey, said that although he liked Clinton and would vote for her in the general election if she was the Democratic candidate, many of his friends were not Clinton fans. He asked her, “How can you convince people that you’re the right woman for the job?”

Here is the exchange:

A short video interview with Dickey can be found below the fold.Dickey declined to take a caucus pledge card when approached by a Clinton volunteer.  He told the Clinton worker that he wasn’t sure yet, but then he told the Iowa Independent that he is leaning towards caucusing for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

In this video David Dickey talks about Clinton, her opposition, and her response to his pointed question:

Iowa Independent reporter John Deeth has more from the event.

He challenged the other Democratic candidates on Iraq when he said: “They’ve decided to stop talking about Iraq. Their campaign strategies have shifted to other issues.  Over the last few debates and on the campaign trail, our brave troops in Iraq seem to have been forgotten.”

Richardson did not ignore domestic issues in his speech. Among other concerns, he addressed unions and labor issues; health care; education and No Child Left Behind; and global warming and alternative energy issues.

He was asked by Cornell College student Bianca Byrd about leaving Iraq too soon. She said she was worried that Iraq would “implode” if we removed troops without a plan for protecting Iraqi people and stabilizing the region.

She was happy with his answer to her question.  He said he wants to have “American diplomacy take over” after removing U.S. troops.  He explained further that:

“Iraq is not exactly helpless. They  have over 300,000 security forces; … they have a financial foundation for the future. … And then we can pay attention to what really concerns America, which is threats of international terrorism, nuclear terrorism, loose nuclear weapons, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, becoming energy independent, helping with international poverty and disease and having a foundation of having a foreign policy based on our human rights.”

More videos of Richardson’s speech are below the fold.Part of Richardson’s speech on the teleprompter

Here is more from Richardson on U.S. troops in Iraq:

Richardson was also asked about Iran and the vote on branding Iran’s Republican Guard as a terrorist organization. 

He distanced himself from opponent Hillary Clinton, saying she was wrong to vote for the resolution, but he was quick to remind the audience of his work for former President Bill Clinton’s administration.

Here is Richardson on the foreign policy challenge of Iran and the rest of the middle East:

More on Richardson’s recent Iowa events from Iowa Independent reporters John Deeth and Tom Lindsey.

After winter break, Linn-Mar High School students return to classes on Jan. 3, so Nieuwsma and the Linn-Mar young Democrats student group have planned a special get-out-the-vote effort on the day of the caucuses. 

They will announce results from a school-wide Linn-Mar vote and also produce a caucus how-to video for the school television station. 

Regarding his candidate, Nieuwsma said that Giuliani “really listened to people’s questions … he really hits it right on. He addresses the question, he doesn’t dodge around it.” 

Nieuwsma said he appreciates that Giuliani “didn’t try to run to the right for the caucuses” and that Iowa voters “have to be able to trust their candidate. They have to be able to relate with their candidate.”

For Nieuwsma, Giuliani is easy to relate to because, “You know him, you can relate to him.”

Here is Nieuwsma talking about Giuliani:

Pate is the state chair for Giuliani’s campaign in Iowa.

While answering questions from the audience, Giuliani gave an interpretation of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) released last week, but he let his audience connect the dots.  The NIE report said Iran gave up its nuclear weapons program in 2003. 

When he asked, “What was going on in 2003 that might have gotten them to stop?” Giuliani’s Linn County Chairman Craig Nelson piped up with the answer, “We invaded Iraq.”

Video interview with Craig Nelson below the fold.

Moments later, Giuliani invited Nelson to stand up and talk about Libya.  Nelson expanded Giuliani’s claim about Iran’s halted weapons program westward to Libya.  Nelson said, “Libya stopped its nuclear weapons production because of the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.”

One of Giuliani’s advisors, Norman Podhoretz, has said the NIE report was designed to “undermine” President Bush.  In 2004, Podhoretz purportedly called for the bombing of Iran.

Here’s Craig Nelson on his pick for the Republican presidential nomination:

Lavender has family living around the country who have been asking him about her electability and strength in a general election, so he spoke to her recently about the issue.

Lavender talked to Clinton at an event in Amana and he said she calmed his worry about her strength as a candidate in the general election next November. 

He cited her travels around the world as evidence of her experience in foreign affairs.

Video with Lavender’s question and Clinton’s response below the fold.And here is Lavender’s question for Clinton on former Iowa governor (and Clinton supporter) Tom Vilsack as a vice-presidential choice. 

He mentions his conversation in Amana with the presidential candidate on the issue of her electability.

More with Sen. Clinton, including a video with her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, and her mother, Dorothy Rodham, is available here.

New York Senator Hillary Clinton was joined by her mother and daughter last night at an event  in Williamsburg, Iowa which was marred only by the exodus.  A dangerous icy mist produced slippery roads and frosted windshields as candidate, press, and local traffic drove to their next stops. 
Sen. Clinton and family were headed east to Washington, Iowa.

After her speech, a young man who said he was an Obama supporter asked New York Senator Hillary Clinton “what separates [her] from the other candidates” for the Democratic presidential race.

In her answer Clinton said, “I think I have the best chance to win and I think I would be the best president.”

She also said that “whoever we nominate is going to have to be prepared to run a vigorous campaign against the full array of the Republican attack machine.”

Earlier in in her speech, talking about the presidency, she said, “I know how hard this job is, I’ve seen it.  It’s always hard.”

More videos from the event are below the fold.Reminding her audience of her first political campaign, the 2000 New York Senate race, she said, “I ran first against Mayor Giuliani and then he dropped out and then I ran against a young congressman who had the full force of the Republican Party behind him.  Between him and former mayor Rudy Giuliani they raised and outspent me two to one.”

She failed to mention that former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani dropped out of the 2000 New York Senate race to heal his prostate cancer, instead she said that “I know what it takes to stand your ground and defeat Republicans.”

Clinton talked about her ability to reach across the aisle to pass legislation.  She co-authored an amendment that improved benefits for National Guard Members and Reservists.

She also talked about the Lifespan Respite Act which passed the Senate a little over a year ago.

Earlier she said she was ready to run against the “Republican attack machine.”

In this video, Hillary Clinton is joined onstage by her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, and mother, Dorothy Rodham.

(There is an audio problem as they step on the platform and switch from song to speech.)

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee drew a large crowd in Newton, Iowa on Tuesday morning.  He was introduced by the campaign’s state co-chairman, Danny Carroll, and was joined by his wife, Janet Huckabee, and Huckabee’s Iowa Chairman, Bob Vander Plaats. 

Huckabee took some questions from the audience following a short stump speech in the Des Moines Area Community College Conference Center in Newton.

Videos from Newton, Ia. available below the fold.Newton resident John Stilley asked the former governor about his values system.  Here is the Iowa voter sharing some of his thoughts on Mike Huckabee:

It took Huckabee about five minutes to answer Stilley’s question but it confirmed Stilley’s suspicions: He’d found his candidate.  Listen to Huckabee’s answer in the video below:

Huckabee answered the question by taking a long view of human life, covering birth issues, a definition of marriage, and a little about end-of-life rights.