During an hour-long televised debate last night (Wednesday), the two incumbent Iowa congressman who’re running against one another this fall argued about their campaign ads. Republican Congressman Tom Latham has an ad that blasts Democratic Congressman Leonard Boswell for giving his staff half a million dollars worth of bonuses and Latham repeated the charge last night. “Giving these kind of taxpayer bonuses I think is just totally inappropriate,” Latham said. Boswell replied: “How disengenuous for you to say that when you yourself have done that.”

Boswell said the salaries Latham pays his congressional staff are about six-thousand dollars higher, on average, than the salaries for Boswell’s staff. “You probably ought to tell me how sorry you are for doing that,” Boswell said. Latham began: “Well, the fact of the matter is in the last 16 years — all the time he’s been in congress — he has paid his staff about a million and a half dollars more than what my staff has.” Boswell interrupted: “That’s not true. Do a fact check on it. Do a fact check on it.” Latham replied: “Excuse me. You know, part of the problem we have in Washington is people won’t listen.” Boswell defended an ad he’s running against Latham, charging Latham has personally benefited because a bank Latham invested in got federal bailout money.

Latham used words like “false” and “misleading” to describe the ad, because Latham moved his bank investment into a “blind trust” and has no control over the bank’s executives. “This is really about being honest, about someone who tries to make up an issue and I would just, you know, ask Congressman Boswell: ‘When’s the last time you ran a positive ad?'” Boswell replied: “You’ve been negative throughout your career and what you’ve done and so here’s a situation where it’s so disengenous to use something and then preach against it. You think that Iowans don’t realize where your major investment is.” Latham said: “You notice he didn’t answer the question about when’s the last time he ran a positive ad because he can’t remember.”

Last night’s debate was co-sponsored by The Des Moines Register and KCCI, the CBS television affiliate in Des Moines. The two congressmen are scheduled to debate again, tonight (Thursday), at seven o’clock on Iowa Public Television.

(Radio Iowa)

One of the applications for a new, state-licensed casino will come from a group that hopes to build a “Hard Rock Casino” on the west end of downtown Sioux City. State regulators opened up the application process earlier this year for a new casino in Sioux City to replace the casino that sits along the Missouri River. Bill Warner is president of the newly-minted Sioux City Entertainment, a subsidiary of the company that owns the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas.  “The investment in the project is contemplated to be over $100 million,” Warner says. “The total footprint of the facility is 100,000 square feet (with) three restaurants. One of the restaurants would be a live entertainment venue.”

The project calls for renovating an existing building in Sioux City — the historic Battery Building — and place a 20-foot high electric guitar on top of that six-story structure. Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott was on hand for yesterday’s announcement.  “It was one of our goals to place a casino facility in downtown Sioux City that would have a lasting impact on the downtown area,” he said, “and this proposal will do a lot…to changing the character and dynamics of downtown Sioux City.” But neither the mayor nor the city council has endorsed the “Hard Rock Casino” project.

“We have, though, spent many hours with this group and with the Ho-Chunk. We continue to work with them,” Scott said. Ho-Chunk is the name of the corporation formed by the Winnebago tribe of Nebraska which has indicated it may apply for the Sioux City casino license as well. Sioux City Entertainment plans to submit its state license application with the Missouri River Historical Development board, the non-profit group that holds the license for the current Sioux City casino operated by Penn National Gaming. Penn and the non-profit Missouri River Historical Development group have been in a long-running dispute over management of the current “Argosy” casino in Sioux City.

State law calls for a casino license to be held by a non-profit group and the non-profit partners with a for-profit corporation to run the casino. Sioux City Entertainment — the Hard Rock subsidiary — expects to employ 500 at its proposed Sioux City casino. November 1st is the deadline for submitting applications for a new Sioux City casino.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Council Bluff’s construction office reports bridge maintenance work will require restricting westbound Interstate 80 traffic to one lane between exit 1B (South 24th Street) and exit 5 (Madison Avenue) near Council Bluffs, from 7-p.m. Friday, Oct. 12th, until 6-a.m. Monday, Oct. 15th, weather permitting. Officials say westbound I-80 traffic will not be able to use exit 3 (South Expressway Street) during this project. In addition, there is a 12-foot-6-inch width lane restriction and 80,000 pound weight restriction in the open lanes.

Motorists may wish to take I-680 to southbound I-29 to avoid possible traffic congestion in the area. The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey posted speed limits and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles and wear seat belts.

Officials at Cass County Memorial Hospital today (Wednesday), issued a press release aiming to reassure the public, that CCMH has not received any of the contaminated steroids which have been linked to an outbreak of fungal meningitis in other parts of the country.  Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Jason Smith said “We do provide steroid injections for pain management here at CCMH.”Smith said “The steroids we use are a different type, do not come from the supplier in question, and have not been contaminated with the fungus.” Smith emphasized that CCMH has never used the specific medication that is involved in this situation for either chronic pain management or labor and delivery pain management.  “The steroids we use for epidural pain-control injections are safe, and patients can feel confident proceeding with their care as usual.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are currently coordinating a multistate investigation of fungal meningitis among patients who received an epidural steroid injection with a potentially contaminated product. Several of these patients also suffered strokes that are believed to have resulted from their infection. Updates about the investigation are available at http://www.cdc.gov/hai/outbreaks/meningitis.html.

The potentially contaminated medications were from shipped to facilities in California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

According to the CDC website, fungal meningitis occurs when the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord are infected with a fungus. Fungal meningitis is rare and usually caused by the spread of a fungus through blood to the spinal cord.  It is not contagious, and cannot be spread person to person.