The ad is running in 18 states, including Iowa.

The company is bringing a data center to central Iowa.

The ad’s message is that while Iowans are struggling with high gasoline prices, the world’s richest man gets a bunch of tax breaks.

What the ad doesn’t mention is that Republicans as well as Democrats overwhelmingly approved of the package in the state legislature.

You can hear the ad here.

That Braley would let him go may say something about how competitively he sees state Sen. David Hartsuch’s challenge. Giertz was a familiar face in the 2006 campaign against Mike Whalen.

Iowa’s 1st District is on the Democrats’ safe list, this isn’t all that surprising. Hartsuch also filed 2nd Quarter financials that showed him raising $16,655 for the year, far short of the $640,000 Braley raised through mid-May.

That figure is a far cry from the $1 million his campaign said not long ago that it was planning on raising for the campaign cycle. He reported $12,664 in the bank.

You can find his full report here.

Hartsuch is running against Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, who raised $640,000 through mid-May. He had $335,000 in the bank.

McCain’s Iowa chairman, Dave Roederer, was in Davenport to push the message along with a rollout of business supporters.

Well now, FactCheck.org, a non-partisan group at the University of Pennsylvania, says the McCain folks got it all wrong.

You can read their analysis here.

The Des Moines Register has a story on its web site this afternoon. Here’s the response from a representative of Kwik Star, John McHugh, the director of corporate communications:

“It’s rare for us not to rebuild,” he said. The chain’s store repair department has so much to do that “we can’t fit it in the schedule,” said McHugh.

“We just don’t have the personnel to do it and sometimes you have to make economic decisions, too. We just don’t know if we can get to it this year, given all the expenses of the other stores we have to work on,” he said.

The article says the workers from the New Hartford store will be relocated to other stores.

So maybe it’s not so unusual to see this: U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, took to the Senate floor yesterday to make a special plea to the Kwik Star gas station/convenience store chain to reverse its decision not to rebuild in New Hartford, Iowa, which is near Waterloo.

The town was heavily damaged by the tornado that ravaged several small towns in the area, most notably Parkersburg.

Little stores like the Kwik Star don’t just stock a town with gas and snacks, they’re also a part of the community, Grassley says.

He lists the names of the people who’ll lose their jobs and argues that Kwik Star shouldn’t abandon a town that’s as resilient as New Hartford.

After reading the remarks (they’re below) I got the feeling it was a speech you’d be more apt to hear at a state legislature or at City Hall. But think about it a little more and you’ll see Grassley’s words bring some of the real life concerns of small town Iowa to to the greatest deliberative body in the world.

Not such a bad thing.

Here’s the prepared text:

It’s been a tough and challenging time for Iowans over the past few weeks.  I’ve come to the floor on a few occasions already to update my colleagues on the natural disasters that have hit Iowa so hard. 

Tornadoes and floods have caused economic and emotional toil and pain, and have sadly taken 24 lives across the Midwest.

Just a mile from my farm is the town of New Hartford.  It’s a modest town of about 650 people.  On May 25th, the north edge of the town suffered extensive damage from a tornado. 

That same tornado destroyed half the town of Parkersburg, just 10 miles to the west, and continued damaging the towns of Dunkerton and Hazleton as it traveled east.

Then came the floods.  The town and residents of New Hartford were devastated by the flood waters of Beaver Creek.  Much of the town’s homes and businesses suffered damages from the floods. 

But, Iowans are resilient people.  The residents and the entire community are pulling together to help their neighbors and get back on their feet. 

But one resident is abandoning them.  Kwik Star has announced that the only gas store in town will not be rebuilt.

The decision by Kwik Star to not reopen their store is a serious set-back to the town of New Hartford. 

These folks have endured a tornado and a damaging flood.  But, they’re working to rebuild, pull themselves together and somehow get their lives back to normal. 

But, the one gas station and convenience store won’t be around during that rebuilding.  They view the damage as too great – too daunting to overcome.  This news has added another devastation to the residents. 

Kwik Star has decided it’s not in their economic interest to rebuild.  They can be better served by closing the store and focusing their efforts elsewhere. 

Well, their decision doesn’t sit well with the residents of New Hartford, and it doesn’t sit well with me.

As the residents are cleaning up their homes, parks and businesses, Kwik Star has decided to abandon them.  Kwik Star is hurting my neighbors and friends emotionally and economically. 

If they don’t see the value in rebuilding in New Hartford, why should the residents have any hope? 

These folks are doing everything they can to bring their property back from this disaster and rebuild their town, and Kwik Star is leaving them high and dry during this time of devastation.

It’s not just the emotional pain of their decision that hurts the people of New Hartford, it’s also economic.  Kwik Star employed 15 people before the floods. 

Three full-time employees, Deanna Ackerson, Brenda Smith and Barb Harper have each worked for Kwik Star for many years.

Twelve other employees, Cindy Huberg, John Mulder, John Anderson, Matt Winkelman, Rich Moore, Teresa Peverill, Carol Grooms, Lauri and Roger Palmersheim, Mitch Konken, Pam Hartema, and Heather Hugelucht, depended on Kwik Star for employment as well. 

The bottom line is that the residents of New Hartford are clinging to their hope that the town will come back even stronger than before these disasters.  They’re using that hope to get through this. 

But Kwik Star is dashing that hope.  Kwik Star is telling them that their town no longer deserves a gas station and convenience store.  One flood is all they can handle. 

If you want gas, milk, or bread, you’ll have to drive 10 miles to get it. 

I’m working in Congress to enact tax relief for victims of the natural disasters similar to what was done for the victims of the hurricanes in 2005. 

This includes expensing for the demolition and clean up of debris.  Another major provision would allow additional depreciation to greatly reduce or eliminate that business’ tax liability for the current year. 

Norris is a veteran of Iowa politics going back to Al Gore’s 2000 campaign.

Also, I neglected last week to post Obama’s first television ad in Iowa. Sorry. Here it is.

The Service Employees International Union this morning announced it’s launching an $85 million general election effort. The union mentioned 10 states, including Iowa, that will see mail and organizing efforts as well as “extensive outreach to voters on (GOP candidate John) McCain’s record of putting working families last.”

“More than 100,000 SEIU members will be volunteering their time to elect a pro-worker majority in Congress and elect Barack Obama as our next president,” said SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger. “They will reach out to voters in their communities with a clear message about which candidate will end the war in Iraq, ensure guaranteed affordable health care for everyone and build a new American Dream for workers.”

There will be more. Despite some news reports  noting the lack of independent efforts from the right, I have no doubt they’ll be ramping up soon, too. This election cycle has been so over-the-top in most every other aspect, it’s hard to believe the independent group activities will be any different. Here’s just a taste.

Obama’s campaign sent out a news release not long ago that listed delegates for John Edwards who have switched over to Obama. All four of Edwards’ pledged delegates are now listed for Obama, according to the news release.