Stories

Marvin Pomerantz, a prominent Des Moines businessman who advised Republican governors and presidential candidates for the past 40 years, died Thursday at the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City. One of only six Iowans inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, he also played an influential role in Iowa education.

Ann Selzer hasn’t exactly invented a time machine.

But with her recent spot-on predictions on the highly visible presidential campaign stage, this Des Moines pollster can make as strong a claim for clairvoyance as any earthly being today.

Selzer Co., the Des Moines Register’s pollster of record, called the Iowa caucuses for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and [...]

As results of the Iowa Caucuses came in tonight, David Oman, former GOP candidate for governor and a top aide to Iowa’s last two Republican governors, had the following observations from Des Moines:

– Watching post caucus remarks, John Edwards looks like old news, and Hillary Clinton comes off as old-old news.

– Sen. Obama had perfect [...]

Mike Huckabee, outspent by his main rival 20-1 and considered a dark horse candidate just a few months ago, won the Iowa Republican Caucus by a comfortable margin.

Huckabee claimed victory during a speech before his supporters at about 9:40 p.m. Mitt Romney, who led in the polls for months, finished in second place and John [...]

Iowa women, just like many women throughout the nation, entered this election season with high hopes. For the first time in history, there would be a front-running woman vying for the nation’s highest office. More importantly, after surviving the sound bite days of “soccer moms” and “security moms,” women were ready to stand politically independent [...]

The Rev. Morris Hurd, chairman of the Iowa Christian Alliance said Monday that his emotions got the best of him when he told people at a political rally in Burlington last weekend that he planned on voting for Mitt Romney in the upcoming Iowa Caucuses.
Hurd said he’d accept any actions that board wished to [...]

A day after calling Mitt Romney “desperate” and “dishonest”, Mike Huckabee cancelled a negative commercial aimed at his chief rival in the Republican Caucus.

Then he showed the commercial to the press and even encouraged them to tape it if they wanted to.

Huckabee said that he had anticipated holding the press conference, which was scheduled yesterday, [...]

Iowa City’s Hamburg Inn No. 2 is renowned for its good ol’-fashioned comfort food, milkshakes and campaign appearances. Sisters Molly and Colleen Kinder got a taste of all three when former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney stopped in Sunday afternoon.

“We had no idea Mitt Romney was going to show up here,” Molly said. “In fact, we [...]

The crowd to see Mitt Romney at the Fuel and Nest Coffee Shop was spilling out the door and filling sidewalks on Sunday afternoon in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.

Among those stranded on the sidewalk outside the event was Rollie Ostrander. The Solon resident said he’d seen a few candidates, including some Democrats and, except for Hillary [...]

If a candidate’s ability to draw a crowd on the weekend before the Iowa caucus is any indication, Mike Huckabee has a lot to smile about.

The former Arkansas governor spoke to hundreds of potential Republican caucus-goers in Ottumwa Friday night, nearly filling the large auditorium in this southeast Iowa community’s Bridge View Center.
The crowd was [...]