Monday Morning Must Reads

Starting a new daily feature, picking a few interesting stories from print and blogs. Feel free to submit your own.

The Des Moines Register carries interesting news that U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin intervened on behalf of Agriprocessors in Postville four years ago to get the company federal help with building a sewage treatment plant. The program at issue was intended to help cities with public sewage improvements, not for projects benefitting a single company. But city leaders asked for Harkin to help the town's biggest employer.

Teens aren't buying diet pop at school, even after sugary soda was banned from soda machines, according to the Omaha World-Herald.  It's now BYOS, or P, if you prefer pop. Now, officials are asking parents to step in. Go figure.

The blog Essential Estrogen notes that Sunday was the anniversary of Iowa statehood in 1846.

And

Bleeding Heartland looks at a Congressional Quarterly analysis of voting records. Turns out Tom Harkin voted against President Bush More than anyone. Shock.