IOWA INSIDER

Former Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Gordon Fischer announced Monday he is backing Barack Obama in the Iowa caucuses.

Fischer said he is endorsing Obama partially because of the “electability” factor and his crossover appeal. He also believes Obama has the best chance against any of the Republicans.

“A major reason I support Sen. Obama is because like all Democrats, I desperately want to win. After six and a half years of George Bush, we absolutely need a change,” Fischer said.

Fischer, a Des Moines lawyer, served a neutral role in the 2004 caucuses as state party chairman.

He said to win in Iowa and other swing states, a candidate has to bring out independent voters, as well as some Republicans, and he’s convinced Obama can do that.

Talking to others also helped shape his decision.

“Time and time again, what I was hearing was that Sen. Obama was the kind of fresh voice, the kind of positive change that people were looking for,” Fischer said.

Fischer said he will spend the days before the Iowa caucuses working to help Obama’s campaign.

“I’m going to be on the phone; I’m going to be traveling the state,” Fischer said.

If anyone deserves to take over at the helm of The Courier, it’s Nancy Raffensperger Newhoff, who has spent her 28-year career in journalism at the paper.

The Courier officially named Newhoff the editor today. She replaces Saul Shapiro, who left the paper earlier this year.

Nancy, or Raff, as she’s affectionately called around the newsroom, recruited me out of college to work at The Courier as a reporter covering courts.

I remember walking into the newsroom my first day at The Courier.

Nancy, the managing editor at the time, pointed me to an empty desk and a phone and told me she needed a story on the UPS strike that had begun that day and needed it before the quickly approaching morning deadline.

In just a few short hours, I was looking at my byline on the front page.

Taking on the courts beat also meant walking in Nancy’s shadow. As a reporter early in her career, she had roamed the halls of the police station and the Black Hawk County Courthouse, digging up the stories her competitors missed.

One TV newswoman told me that back in those days, they were always worried that Nancy was writing something for the paper they wouldn’t have on the newscast.

Nancy proved to be a significant early mentor for me. Most importantly, she taught me the important things about the newspaper business you’ll never learn in school – namely, how a woman can be tough and survive in a male-dominated environment and still maintain her soft side.

Newhoff’s promotion makes her the first female executive editor in the Courier’s 148-year history.

But even without the title, anyone who knows her or has worked with her knows she’s always been the boss.

The six leading Democratic presidential candidates are set to appear at U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin’s annual steak fry fund-raiser in Indianola Sunday.

So far, about 7,000 tickets priced at $30 and up have been sold to the event. All six candidates are scheduled to take the stage. Sen. Barack Obama, last year’s headliner at the steak fry, will speak first. The speaking order was chosen by the luck of the draw.

Obama is followed by Gov. Bill Richardson, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Chris Dodd, former Sen. John Edwards and Sen. Joe Biden.

This year marks the 30th Harkin steak fry.

“Obviously, it’s become a major political tradition in the state with the turnout and attention paid,” said organizer Matt Paul.

Media outlets will be at the event in force. As of Tuesday, 102 members of the media requested credentials.

Organizers are hoping Sunday will bring sunny skies. Rains at the steak fry in 2003 made the venue a muddy mess. Former President Bill Clinton was the featured speaker, and many of the field of Democratic presidential contenders that year appeared.