Pollock Will Not be Hocked this Year

Sounds like the idea of selling Pollock's "Mural" to pay for scholarships is dead for the year. The chief backer of a sale, Rep. Scott Raecker, R-Urbandale, is pulling the plug.

This brief statement just arrived in my inbox:

“The discussion of the potential sale of the Jackson Pollock painting is certainly controversial, yet warrants discussion, as even members of the Board of Regents are split on the idea. I am a firm believer in the legislative process however, and further discussion of the sale of the Pollock painting will not be moved forward this year.”

This isn't surprising, considering that Gov. Terry Branstad seemed pretty cool to the idea during his weekly press conference this morning. And that coolness was predictable after Branstad's pal, venture capitalist/art-lover John Pappajohn, called the potential Pollock sale a "disaster" in the Mark Hansen's DMR column over the weekend.

So, I guess that's that.