Tommy Across Iowa
Common Sense Solutions Tour 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
 After church in Waterloo were we overnighted, we were on our way to Strawberry Point. And who was there to meet us? Mrs. Thompson and Dr. Gartner's wife Mary Paul. It was a fun day today, starting with the Governor's fishing trip. And who all was on the trip - Mrs. and Governor Thompson, their best friends from Wisconsin Dick and Mary Paul, and the Governor's new best friend in Iowa - Leon Mosley. They all went trout fishing and here is the record:
 Mrs. Thompson - 2 
Dick - 1
MaryPaul - 1
Leon - 0
Governor Thompson - 0
After a couple of hours we had to get back to the town for an ice cream social in the park. Afterwards we were able to get a group photo of about half the crowd with Governor Thompson. All the folks were just tickled to get a copy.  Next off we headed north to Decorah where to Culver's in town was happy to have us come through.  They put a big welcome sign up for the Governor. So out of appreciation we stopped and had a quick bite to eat and chatted with the owner. How we could possibly be hunger was beyond any of us. And what was waiting for us at the park in Decorah? More ice cream. Everyone on the bus made a pact that we would spend Monday morning in the gym for at least 3 hours. We ended our day in Waukon at the local country club. The Governor was met by a great reception and as usual he just kept answering the questions. He actually answered every question that the crowd had to ask. The menu for the event? Brats, potato chips, coleslaw, and potato salad. Looks like it is going to have to be 4 hours.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
We started out today in Emmetsburg and like everyday we started late. But that's alright, Dr. Gartner was able to make up some time. If you don't know who Dr. Gartner is, he is a very close friend of Governor Thompson. He is also the gentleman pictured in the previous days entry driving with no hands and today's, putting money in a parking meter. After Emmetsburg we had stops in Algona and Humboldt.
 In Humboldt, CNN stopped by the event and after a short interview with them, Freedom was off like a shot to our next event. It took all of the energy of the entire staff to keep Governor Thompson on schedule. It is next to impossible to get him out of an event, he just keeps on answering questions.
We knocked out 6 more counties today traveling to 7 different events. In Garner we had a round table at American Espresso (which has the best turkey wraps in the state). In Northwood we had drumsticks with voters, and in St. Ansgar we had an ice cream social. So 200 supporters and 10 pounds later we were in Clear Lake for a beautiful house party. The home of Larry, Mary, and Kristi Krmpotich was just a few hundred yards from the lake and their back yard was packed with Thompson signs and Thompson supporters. We couldn't have asked for better weather, it was sunny, warm, and a cool breeze blew in from the lake. The event went longer than scheduled, the staff didn't even want to leave and every person who had a question was able to get an answer. 
The weather at the house party was certainly better than that of the ride into Waterloo where the campaign stopped for the evening. Waterloo is about halfway between Clear Lake and tomorrow's fishing trip in Strawberry Point. Friday, July 20, 2007 We started our day as you might have guessed, in Ida Grove. It seemed more like a trip to Wales than western Iowa. Almost everywhere you looked there was a castle staring back at you. It may be the most beautiful and fun town we've seen on this trip. The lake is gorgeous and the golf course - yet again tempting. The people of Ida Grove were just as fun and exciting as the castle-clad town. Folks were very excited to meet Governor Thompson and hear his common sense ideas and plans (and why not, he is the only candidate offering solutions to problems, not just talking about them). From Ida Grove we were off to Early. It was the only time we were all day. With Sac County the Governor was that much closer to reaching his 99 county promise. Sac makes 73 - only 26 more to go! Next up county number 74, Cherokee to the town of Cherokee. There were some bikers in the crowd in Cherokee which always gets Governor Thompson excited. "You know, I am the only candidate on either side of this race that is in the motorcycle hall of fame!"
The Mitt Mobile and Freedom bounced off each other through out the day. Next was in Spencer where we had a great event and stopped at the local radio station for a very nice interview. From Spencer  we went straight to our hotel, the Arrowwood Resort. It was also where we were having our next event. After we pulled in and before we could even get off the winnie, the Mitt Mobile pulled up along side Freedom. Josh Romney was behind the wheel, and after a little ribbing between the two camps Governor Thompson was able to steer the Romneys in the right direction. Lets just hope that Josh holds onto the wheel when he drives. We had a great event in Okoboji, the room was overflowing. It was hard to get Governor Thompson out of the Okoboji event, the people in the crowd just wouldn't let him go. After we were finally able to extract Governor Thompson we were on our way to Esterville for one last event for the day. The nice thing about the last event of the day, Governor Thompson has no time limit on how many questions he can answer. And he loves to answer everyone. So after an extended event we were on our way back to the Arrowwood Resort for the night. Thursday, July 19, 2007We woke up this morning in Sioux Center and had our first event was in Orange City at  the Nederlander's Grill. While this was our first event in Orange City we saw one familiar face, Consuelo, who is now working in Orange City. She was also at our last event in Sioux City in early June. She commented that Governor Thompson's ideas made sense a month and a half ago and they still made sense today. From Orange City we were on our way to Four Brothers in Le Mars. It is  a newer establishment in town and it is great. Unfortunately we were in Le Mars too early to stop for ice cream. When we left Le Mars, we had a guest from KTIV the NBC affiliate in Sioux City join us on the ride to our Sioux City event. After the great event in Sioux City we were off to the local airport for a quick flight to Iowa City to meeting with some folks at the University of Iowa. After the fund raiser in Iowa City we were in a car taking us back to western Iowa, Ida Grove to be specific
Sunday, July 15, 2007
ZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Saturday, July 14, 2007
After a roundtable discussion with the citizens of Chariton, Governor Thompson made an  impromptu stop at the biker rally in the middle of the town square. The folks there were so excited to see the Governor. After all, he rides a Harley. Many of the people that came up to Governor Thompson commented on how impressed they were that he was 'willing to talk to the people and answer the hard questions unlike certain candidates.'
 That sentiment was reiterated time and time again by Iowans who are fed up with candidates who just give them the run around. The most rewarding part of this job is when you watch a voter walk out of your candidate's event with your bumper sticker and put it over the bumper sticker of one of other candidates.
One supporter in Osceola stood up in the middle of the Q&A informed Governor Thompson that he needed to win because it would be the second most proud moment in his life, just after the birth of his children. And if you don't believe me, just ask Chris Dorsey from IowaPolitics.com, he filmed it.
These overwhelming words of support followed from Creston to Greenfield to Atlantic and  finally Council Bluffs. Our last event of the first leg of the Common Sense Solutions Tour and Governor Thompson was met by a very enthusiastic crowd. I'm told Iowans will only vote for a candidate if the candidate shakes their hand and asks them at least three times for that vote. Well it most be true because everyone I saw that walked out of the Mosquito Creek Restaurant was holding a Tommy Thompson bumper magnet and lapel pin. What a way to send Governor Thompson off! We will be on hiatus for the next four days and resuming the Common Sense Solutions Tour on Thursday, July 19th. See you in Orange City.
Friday, July 13, 2007 Eight days down, 28 more to go until the Straw Poll in Ames and today was anything but unlucky for the Thompson Campaign. The end of this work week was anything but for the Governor as his rigorous schedule kept him traveling across his favorite state. The first event was in Corydon and the second in the beautifully restored Continental Hotel. At the Hotel Manning in Keosaqua, Governor Thompson was informed that the national media has now officially appointed Governor Thompson not only an official Iowan, but the former governor. The Governor remarked, "As you can see ladies and gentlemen, I have been in Iowa so much one of the national media outlets ran a story that 'Governor Thompson, former governor of Iowa is visiting Iowa this week.' I'm your new favorite son." And everyone agreed, they would be more than happy to have Governor Thompson in their state.  That story garnered the same response in Fairfield, Mt. Pleasant, and Burlington where we drew our day's campaign events to a close. As another day drew to a close and the purple haze of the setting sun dipped once again below the western horizon. Our winnie, Freedom, continued steadfastly into the darkness of the night to bring us to a place we haven't been since March, the Fairfield in Ottumwa. Ah Ottumwa, we hardly recognize you not under five feet of snow. Thursday, July 12, 2007  Today was a day for reunions. Governor Thompson was surrounded by friends and family from home. In Dubuque, at the home of Chuck and Jane Northrup, the Governor was very excited when Ms. Linda Hansen from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin joined us. Ms. Hansen and the Governor go back to the days when he was in the Wisconsin State House and the Governor was very grateful for her help throughout the day. Later on, at the Town Hall Meeting in Clinton, the Campaign became a star-studded event when legendary Libertarian Gubernatorial Candidate and the Governor Thompson's own flesh and blood - little brother Ed Thompson joined us on Freedom. Throughout the morning and into the late afternoon the Governor was greeted by enthusiastic and motivated supporters as we traveled from Oelwein out to and south along the Mississippi. The sense that the Campaign is gaining momentum in Iowa was even more real to our database manager when he saw all of the supporter cards collected along the route.  Our final event of the day was hosted by and at the home of Steve and Kelli Grubbs in Davenport. The gracious hospitality of the Grubbs Family and the beautiful evening weather transpired to make it one of our best events to date. The Hawkeyes have clearly adopted Governor Thompson as their new favorite son as evidenced by the message they choose to send back to the Badger State: " PLEASE SEND MONEY". Wednesday, July 11, 2007
This morning Kent Wainescott from CBS Milwaukee was following Governor Thompson and  joined him Freedom between campaign events at the Town and Country Golf Club in Grundy Center to the Main Street Cafe in Allison to the Hampton Country Club in Hampton. When we got to Mason City for lunch it was standing room only at the Chicago Dawg and as always the food there was delicious. If you are ever in Mason City be sure to stop by Chicago Dawg for the best pizza in Iowa. From great food to more, well, great food. This time in New Hampton at the home of two wonderful supporters, Elroy, WI native Jon and Paula Nicholaisen. This is the second event the Nicholaisens have thrown for Governor Thompson and every time they have gone above and beyond the call of duty. The days events ended with Governor Thompson's triumphant return to Beck's in Waterloo.The Beck's event was originally scheduled in February, but those of you in Iowa may remember the worst ice storm in the last 25 years that forced nearly every road closed.  Thankfully, Governor Thompson was able to have campaign events earlier that week, so yes, he has still been in Iowa every single week since the beginning of December. Like they say, 'absence makes the heart grow founder' and never has that statement been more true. The event was the largest of the day with well over a 120 people. There were some familiar faces in the crowd Mr. Leon Mosley and Mr. Carl Gilbertson from the state central committee, it is always nice to see them. As the staff got on the bus a feeling of melancholy and excitement came over everyone. We suddenly realized it is exactly one month until the Ames Straw Poll. Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Governor Thompson tells a story that when he was governor of Wisconsin he would sometimes wake up at 3 in the morning with an idea. He would write the ideas down and when he would wake up three hours later sometimes they would make sense sometimes they wouldn't. The jury is still out on whether today's idea still makes sense. The Governor informed us all that we would be turning the Common Sense Solutions Tour into a pseudo-reality show and that we would be voting off a different person from the bus everyday. As if politics was cut-throat enough already... We had great events all day starting in Grinnell, Marengo, and Mount Vernon. In Mount Veron, Gary and Mary Leopold hosted a party for Governor Thompson in their home. Their son Matt is working with the campaign and he is an all-star and helped to make the event a huge success.  We were a little late to our next events in Shellsburg, Gladbrook, and our final event at Marshalltown because we had to race down to Iowa City to film a segment with Joe Scarborough on MSNBC. We got a little lost due to some construction and like the leader he is, the Governor grabbed up the map and took charge and directed us into the studio parking lot. So for getting us lost, I am voting for the GPS System thats on the bus.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Today started off at 6:00am at the WHO-TV Channel 13 studios for a live interview with Today  In Iowa. The Governor was on twice this morning, first at 6:15a.m. and again at 6:45a.m. After the show we were back on Freedom and heading off to our first campaign event of the day at the Coffee Cup Café in Sully. The great folks at Coffee Cup and everyone in Sully were just wonderful and Governor Thompson will always remember his visit as he was made an honorary citizen of Sully and was presented with a Sully t-shirt to prove it. From Sully we had a quick trip down to Pella to speak at the  Vermeer Global Pavilion. Mrs. Vermeer was a gracious hostess. The Vermeer Global Pavilion was overflowing with concerned voters who packed in to see Governor Thompson. Mrs. Vermeer was a gracious hostess and like all Tommy Thompson events, everyone went away with their minds full of common sense ideas and their bellies full of great food. Next was off to Indianola and then Winterset for two more enthusiastic crowds of supporters and new Tommy converts. While in Winterset we were able to squeeze in a quick stop at the home of The Duke, Mr. John Wayne.  Last but not least we were in Adel, which was bitter sweet. The crowd was really excited to ask Governor Thompson a plethora of questions. The Q&A lasted for almost an hour and many people joined the Thompson bandwagon. The only downfall of the event, it was held at a golf course and the whole staff realized we haven't played a round all season. Sunday, July 08, 2007
It was a short day today. Our first event was in Iowa Falls for an ice cream social. The ice cream went fast and spirits were high along with the heat, it was over 95 degrees at Estes Park today but over 60 people still showed up to hear Governor Thompson's common sense ideas and solutions. And while the event was only supposed to last an hour, Governor Thompson captivated the crowd and the crowd captivated him for well over an hour and a half. One thing about Governor Thompson, he loves to answer questions, and that is why he is gaining so much ground in Iowa. Iowans take notice when a candidate tells them to ask anything and they actually get an answer.
Because everyone was so enthusiastic about Governor Thompson in Iowa Falls we were a little  ate to our Boone event. But it was no problem; The Bill Martin Group was there and kept the crowd entertained with their cool jazz beats. We were able to pull right up to the pavilion in the park with Freedom and the Governor received a huge standing ovation. By the time it was all said and done, everyone of the 103 people who came out were able to get their picture taken with the Governor and most were able to get them signed. But enough about the pleasantries, lets get down to why people really showed up - the issues.
The hot topics of the day? Survey says: Iraq, Immigration, and Health Care. And Governor Thompson scored big with the crowd with his answers on all three topics. "I really am the only candidate on either side of the isle that has a plan to win the peace in Iraq" and the voters in Iowa really are taking notice.
 Saturday, July 7, 2007
7:00a.m. and we are off to our first event of the day, the 2nd Street Emporium in Webster City. It was Governor Thompson's first trip to Hamilton County. What a great first day, many would agree that it was well worth the wait to have Governor Thompson a day late because he came with a wonderful surprise - his family.
While I know this is the Tommy Thompson website, I would like to pause for a moment and tell you all a little about the elusive Mrs. Thompson. The trip today was made even more enjoyable by Mrs. Thompson, and really the whole Thompson Clan. For everyone who turned out to see Governor Thompson today, it was no longer a mystery why he tells people that she is more popular in Wisconsin than he is. She is a dynamic woman who proved today that she can hold her own with her husband of 38, or err, is that 39 years Mrs. Thompson?
Freedom was packed full today with members of the  Thompson family and close personal friends. And unlike other candidates, when the Thompson's take a trip, they make sure there is room for the dog.
From Webster City in Hamilton County we traveled to Fort Dodge in Webster County. Governor Thompson and his family were delighted to see over 100 people waiting at the Webster County GOP Headquarters to hear all about Governor Thompson's common sense plans for Iraq, immigration, and health care. The Thompson grandchildren were a little more interested however, in the near life-sized plush elephant that greets you upon entering. Two down and 101 campaign events more to go.
When Freedom pulled into Pocahontas we were greeted by a giant statue of the Native American, which as the Thompson granddaughters pointed out, did not really resemble the Disney princess they knew so well. It was at that moment a brief feeling of deja vu came over the senior Thompson staffers. We all suddenly realized we were pulling into a Pizza Ranch, which early supporters will tell you, was a common stop in the beginning weeks of the campaign.
 We also had great events in Rockwell City and Carroll. We ended our first full day on the Common Sense Solutions Tour at Spring Lake Park in Jefferson. And what an event, after a full day of great campaign stops to end at "Grillin' With The Gov." a grand old fashioned barbecue in the park. The event was made even more special by the personal touches of Camp Thompson's secret weapon, Ms. Marlys Grant, who personally organized the entire event with the help of Rick and Sue Ann Brown.
A short ride from Jefferson and we were back in Ames to overnight again…
Friday, July 6, 2007
As you may have heard our Common Sense Solutions Tour 2007 got off to a bit of a rocky start. The Colorado Rockies to be specific. While Governor Thompson was STUCK in Denver (NOT skipping the event), about 150 people showed up to the Prairie Moon Winery in Ames to help send us off across Iowa. Thankfully Leon Mosley, in his Tommy Thompson T-Shirt, was there to save the day and keep the crowd fired up for Tommy. But that will happen when you fly commercial. Lets be honest you've all seen our FEC Reports, we can't exactly afford carbon credits.
Nevertheless Governor Thompson was able to get back to Iowa that night and at about midnight we rolled into Ames on Freedom, the campaign's Iowa-made Winnebago. If you haven't experienced Freedom yet and all it has to offer don't worry, I can personally guarantee that Tommy Thompson will bring it to a town near you.
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Events
July 24, 2007
Coffee & Rolls with Governor Thompson
Café Dodici
122 S Iowa Ave
Washington, IA
8:00AM
July 24, 2007
Coffee & Rolls with Governor Thompson
Smokey Row Coffee House
109 S Market St
Oskaloosa, IA
10:30AM
July 24, 2007
Lunch With Governor Thompson
White Buffalo Restaurant
100 Hwy 34 E
Albia, IA
Noon
July 24, 2007
Ice Cream Social
City Park
Ottumwa, IA
2:00PM
July 24, 2007
Topics and Toppings with Tommy Thompson
Ice Cream Social
Bloomfield City Park
Bloomfield, IA
3:30PM
July 24, 2007
Lee Country Fundraiser
Denmark Convention Center
1506 303 Ave
Denmark, IA
6:00PM
July 24, 2007
Lunch With Governor Thompson
Wig & Pen
1220 Hwy 6 W
Iowa City, IA
3:00PM
July 24, 2007
Presidential Picnic
Noelridge Park Lagoon Pavillion
Cedar Rapids, IA
5:00PM
July 24, 2007
Grillin' with the Gov
Home of Bobby Kauffman
1537 330th St
Wilton, IA
6:30PM
July 24, 2007
Breakfast with Tommy
Boz's Kitchen
613 Davis Ave
Corning, IA
8:00AM
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Thompson Iowa Headquarters
10544 Justin Drive
Urbandale, IA 50322
515-422-5100
iowa@tommy2008.com
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