News was crammed into the last few hours of the day here at the statehouse, so I'm still drafting the news story about a bill which cleared the Iowa Senate late today. The bill deals with rules of the road for bycyclists and motorists. UPDATE: click on this link to read the story.
During a news conference earlier in the day, Rod Boshart of The Cedar Rapids Gazette asked a question: "Will the House have time to take up this bicycle bill if the senate sends it to you?"
"What bicycle bill?" House Speaker Pat Murphy (D-Dubuque) replied.
"I think you answered my question," Boshart said.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-Des Moines) offered a coda of sorts, using humor. "We might do it in tandem." The room was filled with groans and the groaning was led by Murphy.
"On that one, I think we're done," Murphy said to conclude the news conference.
Moments later, the top two Republican leaders in the Iowa Legislature held their weekly news conference. "I apologize. I've got a little bit of a cold I'm fighting," House GOP Leader Kraig Paulsen said to open. "I probably didn't get enough sleep last weekend."
That, of course, is a reference to last weekends marathon involving Murphy, the House voting machine & the "prevailing wage" bill.
UPDATE: Listen to both news conferences — a link to the audio file/mp3 is at the bottom of this story.
About O.Kay Henderson
Kay is a founding member of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” and the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
What exactly is the bicycle bill?