NEWTON, IA—
Governor Chet Culver made the rounds Thursday in Southeastern Iowa."Today I've been to Ottumwa, and we were in Grinnell before we stopped here in Newton highlighting infrastructure projects," the governor said from the Jasper County Courthouse.
But the projects he was promoting have already been announced back in August of 2009. So we asked the governor what was new about this announcement that justified the trip at a time when budget woes continue at the Statehouse.
"We're celebrating the fact that Newton and TPI have come here and created more than five hundred new green collar jobs," Culver replied, not really answering the question.
So we asked again, is there any new information? "Oh, there's great information," Culver replied, "We highlight the fact that this county has received more than 700-thousand dollars." Again, without getting an answer to our question, we asked a third time -- is there anything new about this information that warrants the trip? "The new information," Culver explained, "is that we are moving forward in terms of economic development and job creation in the middle of the winter."
So we wondered whether that same information couldn't have been conveyed with a statehouse press conference, or by putting it on the state website. That's when the governor turned away and refused to answer any more questions.
