The Iowa House was expected to approve Friday a controversial bill that would require contractors to pay workers the same hourly wages and benefits on public projects as they would on private-sector projects in the area. But during the vote, the Democratic majority fell one vote short of the 51 votes it needed for passage and left the vote open through the weekend in hopes one of the five Democrats who voted against the bill could be convinced to switch to a "yes" vote.

In what officials called the longest vote in Iowa Statehouse history, House Speaker Pat Murphy at 1:09 p.m. Monday closed the voting machine on the prevailing wage bill after 2 days, 19 hours and 14 minutes, declaring the bill had lost. The vote was 50-48, one vote short of passage. But then House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, switched his vote to "no" -- a procedural move that will allow him to bring the bill up for reconsideration later this session. So the final vote stood at 49-49.

Backers said the bill was aimed at helping middle-class families in Iowa.

Income guidelines prevented Shannon and Jeff Gardemann from qualifying for assistance from the state's Jumpstart program after the flood destroyed their home in Cedar Rapids, so they're hoping a $56-million disaster-relief bill signed into law this week by Iowa Governor Chet Culver will provide them some much-needed help.

"We basically are paying for two places now. We've got the damaged property in Cedar Rapids, and then the new home," Jeff Gardemann said. "The passing of this bill will help people like us pay help pay down SBA loans and get back on track in life and just get Iowa moving again ... and we're grateful. All we can say is thank you. Appreciate it."

Culver and Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge hailed the unanimous legislative approval of the relief bill, calling it a "bipartisan success story" and "one more step forward to our state's disaster-recovery efforts" as Culver signed the bill into law.

Political commentator Eleanor Clift's Wednesday lecture at St. Ambrose University is titled "America at a Crossroads - Politics or Partisanship," but many will likely be more interested in inside baseball, particularly considering the unusual uncertainty surrounding the Democratic party's nomination for president.

With Representative Jim Nussle not seeking re-election and running for Iowa governor, Iowa's First Disrict seat in Congress became one of the country's most-watched races.

But with so much attention and money lavished on the race for its national political importance - control of the House of the Representatives could be decided here - there's been much less focus on the candidates and their views.

The Reader recently interviewed Democrat Bruce Braley (an attorney from Waterloo) and Republican Mike Whalen (founder, president, and CEO of Moline-based Heart of America Restaurants & Inns) in five subject areas. The audio from those interviews is available at (http://www.qcspan.com), along with an interview with Pirate candidate James Hill. Independent candidate Albert W. Schoeman of Waterloo is also running.