Monday, March 28, 2016 | Volume 211 | Number 123 | 40 cents | iowastatedaily.com | An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890.
Plunging into Greek Week Annual Polar Bear Plunge raises money for Special Olympics By Eli.Johnson @iowastatedaily.com Iowa State’s Greek Week will head into hibernation this weekend after one final plunge for a good cause. Iowa State will host the annual Polar Bear Plunge on Friday at State Gym. The event is designed to raise funds for the Special Olympics, which is hosted by FirstGiving, an organization that helps non-profits fundraise.
FirstGiving’s mission is “to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities,” according to its website. Iowa State was one of the largest donors to the cause last year. The greek community on campus raised more than $188,000 for Special Olympics Iowa. Madison Finney, senior in graphic design and member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, has been
the top fundraiser for the past two years and is runner-up to obtain a third plunger by raising $2,400 last year. She’s still on top this year with $1,200 raised for the cause. “People say, ‘well its not saving lives,’” Finney said. “But they don’t have the same opportunities we have to go to college.” Braiden Loreno, sophomore in supply chain management and member of Sigma Chi, has raised
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Iowa State Daily
“Bob Barker’s Brigade,” a team consisting of members from Kappa Delta, Pi Kappa Alpha, Adelante and Delta Sigma Phi, crosses the finish line of the 2015 Greek Week bed race in March 2015.
LGBTQA+ students enjoy judgment-free Pride Prom By Ellen.Bombela @iowastatedaily.com
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or many people, prom is a big deal in high school. However, prom has many expectations and creates an environment that might make some students uncomfortable, and in some cases, cause them to skip out on the event. That is one of the reasons why the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Ally Alliance and Gamma Rho Lambda Omicron teamed up to host Pride Prom on Saturday night in the South Ballroom of the Memorial Union for students in the LGBTQA+ community. “Having a space, even if it is in college, where we put on a dance like this for the LGBT community where we don’t have to worry about the gender of our date, whether the clothing we want to wear is gender appropriate and things like that is very important,” said Ben Spick, who is the education and outreach chair
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Steve King predicts ‘very nasty’ primary By Alex.Hanson @iowastatedaily.com The GOP race in Iowa’s 4th District will be “very nasty,” U.S. Rep. Steve King said Saturday, singling out a prominent GOP operative in Iowa and mega-GOP donor Bruce Rastetter as the two fueling the primary challenge from state Sen. Rick Bertrand. Bertrand, R-Sioux City, announced March 17 that he would challenge King for the GOP nomination, where the winner will likely win the general election in the heavily Republican district. Nick Ryan, GOP operative with a long history in Iowa politics, and Rastetter, a wealthy agribusiness leader from the 4th District who has given money to Republicans in the state, are the two main individuals who convinced Bertrand to run against King, King said in a phone interview Saturday. “They want to buy a congressman,” King said. King said he has had conversations with others who called him to say they were recruited to run for the seat, and they were offered hard money for their campaign and PAC money for a “scorched earth” campaign against him. He
Charlie Coffey/Iowa State Daily
U.S. Rep. Steve King speaks at the Faith and Freedom Dinner on Sept. 19, 2015. King will face opposition from state Sen. Rick Bertrand in the upcoming GOP race in Iowa’s 4th District.
declined to give any specific names on who called him. King said it will be up to Bertrand to answer whether he was actually offered anything to run for the seat. “He will be obligated to answer the question, ‘What were you offered, and what did you accept?’” King said. “He has not answered that question, and I know what others were offered — I received their phone calls, and I take them at their word.” When asked Saturday if the primary race would be “nasty,” King said it would indeed be “very nas-
ty” while going after Ryan. “I think it’ll be a very nasty primary,” King said. “That’s the stock and trade of Nick Ryan. He doesn’t know anything else, and he profits from money raised and money spent, so he gets a commission coming and going. He needed someone to attack in a primary or else his revenue stream would probably be a little short until the general election.” Ryan said in an email to The Daily on Saturday that he has no formal role in Bertrand’s campaign, but offered a statement on
King’s comments. “How disappointing and sad that Steve lashes out like this,” Ryan wrote. “I want a congressman that is positive, forward looking and puts his district first — not one that attacks his own constituents. In fact, I’ve never seen a congressman do that in either party. We can do better here in the Fourth District and that’s why I will be voting for change and supporting Rick Bertrand.” He also said King has asked him to raise money in the past. “Steve has called me many times and asked for money,” Ryan said. “[He] came to my office and wanted money. Wanted me to get others to give him money. And now he’s just turned into this insult-driven person. I think Washington has gotten to him.” Rastetter told The Des Moines Register last week that he would not be backing Bertrand if he did not think he could win. He also said on this weekend’s edition of Iowa Press, which first aired Friday on statewide Iowa Public Television, that King has not done enough for constituents in Iowa. “I think the district needs a congressman that represents all constituents,” Rastetter said. “I think Steve [King] has represented a
variety of national issues rather than being a congressman who is intent on solving constituent problems, constituent issues and issues that are important to the district, like we saw with ethanol in the caucuses.” Rastetter, who is also president of the Board of Regents, denied he “recruited” Bertrand to run, instead saying on Iowa Press that Bertrand said he was interested, and Rastetter “encouraged” him to join the race. Rastetter declined to comment further to The Daily on Saturday night. Bertrand said Tuesday that King instantly took a ‘how dare you?’ attitude when he entered the race instead of putting forward a vision for Iowa. “I think he made that up,” King said. “There is nothing I said that he can point to that would indicate that. I was struck by the fact that he didn’t have a single issue to utter in his announcement, and to this point he hasn’t uttered a single issue yet. I will point to my record and let [voters] know that [in Congress] I’ve given my word, I’ve kept my word and they can always take my word to the bank.” Iowa Republicans will vote in the primary election June 7.