AP 2007 Top Iowa News Stories
The AP has released its Top Iowa News Stories for 2007. Here’s the list:
- Maytag Plant Closes
- The Iowa Caucuses
- Ethanol Boom
- CIETC Scandal
- Chet Culver as Iowa’s 40th governor
- The continued loss of life in Iraq and Afghanistan. As 2007 ends, 13 Iowans have died.
- A Polk County judge’s decision in August to strike down the state’s ban on gay marriage. The judge quickly stayed his ruling while it’s under appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court, but not before two men from Ames were hastily married.
- The selection of Sally Mason as the 20th president of the University of Iowa.
- The conviction and sentencing of Shawn Bentler to five life terms for the October 2006 killing of his parents and three sisters at the family’s home near Bonaparte.
- Gas prices and Iowans shelling out big bucks at the pumps. The cost has topped $3 at times during the year.
Not mentioned on the list are some of the national stories that had implications for Iowa including the crash of the housing bubble and the subprime mortgage collapse. Drive though many neighborhoods and you will see houses for sale for months.
On the positive side, 2007 was a very good year for Iowa farmers. The weather helped create a good crop, and grain prices continue to go higher and higher. This was clearly a boom year for Iowa farmers. If you are a farmer who happens to own the land you farm, land prices increased by 22 percent in 2007.