Iowa Global Warming

If streetcars, or trams, someday make a return to downtown Des Moines, it’ll be hard to imagine a happier group than the men who had breakfast together at The Machine Shed one Monday last month.

They were there for the inaugural meeting of Des Moines Streetcar Friends, a collection of former motormen, local historians and railroad enthusiasts with an average age of close to 80.

The gathering was arranged by one of the youngsters at the table, Earl Short, 70, of Waukee, to further discussion of building a streetcar museum in Des Moines.

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Forget rose-colored glasses. U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack is viewing the world through green-tinted lenses.

The Democratic congressman has been wearing the hued goggles since he first introduced his green schools initiative during last Congress. The bill stalled in the Senate at the time.

The reintroduced legislation passed the House 275-155, with 24 Republicans on board, Thursday afternoon.

Loebsack, a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, said he is working with Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, a fellow Democrat, to get the bill passed there. The congressman said he modeled the legislation on a grants program Harkin put in place to help schools modernize.

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