UPDATE:  Here’s the Radio Iowa story of this event.  What follows is a live blog.

President Obama is due to speak later this afternoon in the student center on the Indian Hills Community College campus in Ottumwa. As the jazz of David Sanborn is pumped through the sound system, the crowd (estimated to be about 2100) slowly files into the gymnasium. here  At 2:30, several members of the Indian Hills softball team were in their seats near the back of the gym, waiting for the rest of the squad to arrive  Why the back of the hall?  The women are due to play a softball game tonight at 7:30 against William Penn, in Oskaloosa, and they need to make a hasty exit when Obama’s through speaking.

“Oh, I am stoked that he is coming.  I was so excited when I found out the news. I am a big Obama fan,” said Nicole Steinle of Fort Collins, Colorado, the Warriors’ catcher.

Steinle, who is a freshman, was not old enough to vote in 2008.  “Unfortunately I was not but both of my parents voted for him,” she said.

Jordan Grell of Moville, Iowa — an infielder on the Indian Hills softball squad — was old enough to vote in 2008 and she voted for Obama.   “I’m from a small town so this kind of stuff doesn’t happen very often and for a small college like this, it’s really big,” Grell said.  “It’s very exciting.”

Grell said she is “concerned” about the way Obama is being perceived by the general public.  “I think that it takes a while for change,” she said, “so I think he’s headed for some kind of change in a good way.”

Forty-five-year-old Kevin Pope of Ottumwa has “always been a Democrat” and believes the president’s visit to his town may help Democrats.

“It should bring us closer together and hopefully we can get some stuff done with this unemployment that’s going on,” he said.  “That’s kind of what I was trying to really see, what was going to happen there, you know, you got the extension for the third (time).  What’s going to happen the people that it runs out on?  What are we going to do for them?  People working part-time can’t find a full-time job…I work part-time at Menard’s.  (My) unemployment ran out.”

He’s among the folks who’ve been invited to sit on a set of bleachers behind the stage where Obama will stand.  It’s the first time he’s seen a president in person.  “First time!  How exciting is that?  Regardless of who the president is, if you have an opportunity to see this, why not take that opportunity?” Pope said before being ushered into his spot.

Duane Fuller of Muscatine is sitting near Pope.  He is among the Iowans who supported Obama early in 2007 and joined Organizing For America after the ’08 campaign ended.  He’s been making telephone calls to the Obama network, “trying to get people on board; just got people on board with health care.”

Like Pope, Fuller is looking for a full-time job that pays well.

“I think it’s a very hard time right now in Iowa because a lot of people are out of work. I myself have been unemployed or underemployed for a year and a half and I know it’s hard to find a job and that’s what the president’s here talking about and it speaks directly to me…It’s just that nobody needs anyone and if they do, they want to pay you $7.25 an hour and when you’ve got a (college loan) to pay off, you can’t make it on minimum wage,” said Fuller, who is 34 years old.

At 3:47 p.m. a minister led the crowd in prayer, a college student sang the national anthem and then there was a lull.  By 4:25 p.m. another student introduced Obama.  A roar goes up from the crowd; after about 15 seconds “Hail to the Chief” is played over the sound system.

“Hello everybody.  Hello Ottumwa.  Good to see you,” Obama said.  “…I miss you guys.”

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