By Kate Fiegen - Iowa City Press-Citizen: Local moviegoers who are itching to see Michael Moore's new documentary "Sicko" will either have to travel to neighboring counties or wait a few more weeks, officials said Monday. Sycamore 12 in Iowa City and the Coral Ridge 10 in Coralville, both Marcus Theatres, might start screening the movie within the next two weeks, company spokesman Carlo Petrick said.

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By Dan Gearino - QUAD-CITY TIMES - DES MOINES — Three Iowa governors said Thursday that voters need to demand answers from presidential candidates about health-care issues.Former governors Tom Vilsack and Terry Branstad are two of the Iowa co-chairmen of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, a national coalition of organized labor, business and religious groups. Branstad said “any serious candidate” for the presidency needs to address the need to improve treatment of chronic diseases. He said the cost of treating chronic diseases is growing at an unsustainable rate, which threatens to do serious harm to the economy. The union, which also is involved with the chronic diseases initiative, is asking presidential candidates to present comprehensive health care plans by Aug. 1.

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By TONY LEYS - REGISTER STAFF WRITER -- The governor and his two predecessors are calling on Iowans to press presidential candidates for specific plans to improve health care. Culver endorsed a campaign by Iowa for Health Care, a group organized by the Service Employees International Union. The union, which backed his candidacy for governor last fall, said its offshoot has 20,000 Iowans signed up to help pressure presidential campaigns on health care issues.

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IOWA CITY -- Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday sought to address an issue that polls show greatly concerns voters, as he offered a health-care plan that pledged to insure all children and provide better access to health insurance for adults by lowering costs. The presidential candidate and Illinois Democrat placed himself in the center of his party's mainstream with a plan that relies heavily on the promise of cost savings through a big investment in technology but also would be funded in part by allowing President Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to expire. The proposal is not quite as sweeping as that offered by former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, experts said, while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) has not yet offered a fully fleshed-out plan.

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9:33 and live from University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics with the Obama health care event. This is today's national centerpiece - "biggest event since the announcement" says one staffer. Seven TV cameras so far. The Obama camp released some details early. The broad outlines: Every American would be required to carry health insurance, with a sliding income-based subsidy scale. A National Health Insurance Exchange to monitor insurance No pre-existing conditions Paid for by cost savings and repeal of Bush tax cuts

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