Stories

Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, who serves as Gov. Chet Culver’s point-person for disaster recovery efforts, said visiting Cedar Rapids evoked a mix of emotions.

A perfectly-timed coughing fit during a press conference on the state’s response to the swine flu outbreak scored Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge a prominent spot during “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
Here’s the bit Letterman called “An Important Swine Flu Announcement from the Lt. Governor of Iowa.”

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver became the latest in a string of state governors to receive a suspicious letter today. Few details are available, but Culver did issue the following statement:
“Today, the Office of Governor Chet Culver and Lt. Governor Patty Judge received a suspicious letter that appeared to be similar to those received recently by [...]

As Agriprocessors, the bankrupt kosher meatpacking firm in Postville, approaches its demise, the ripple effects of the company’s financial woes are being felt throughout the region, and some of the state’s top lawmakers are starting to speak out publicly about what the government can do to cushion the blow.

Lt. Gov. Patty Judge will be evaluating the state’s response to Postville this afternoon when she meets with residents during a community meeting.

Civic Skinny, the political gossip column published every week in Des Moines’ alternative newsweekly (Cityview), says sources inside the Iowa Democratic Party expect Lt. Gov. Patty Judge to become the party’s next chair.
The idea, Skinny says, is that the move would bolster Gov. Chet Culver’s standing leading up to his re-election bid in 2010.

Not all eyes are on Tuesday’s upcoming election, in particular those of the approximately 310 Iowa National Guard soldiers and their families and friends, who said their goodbyes at sendoff ceremonies across the state Thursday.

“I debated on whether I should even bring Sarah up tonight, because you know, I think the bloom is off the rose,” said Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, but in the end she clearly decided to talk about her.

Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge is getting tired of the comparisons some are drawing between herself and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
The two female politicians differ on almost every major issue of the day, Judge said, but the differences between them don’t stop there.
“Sarah knows how to field dress a moose,” Judge told a [...]

Comparing the situation at Agriprocessors with novelist Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle,” and implying that management at the kosher plant have opted to travel a ‘low road,’ Gov. Chet Culver outlined his response and continued action in relation to the plant.