(Undated) — Today, of course is Labor Day. Often thought of as the end of summer. But have you wondered how did Labor Day got its start?
The origins of Labor Day go back as far as 1882 when on this day, September 5th, the Central Labor Union of New York first observed Labor Day. It was first proposed by Peter J. McGuire of the American Federation of Labor in May of 1882. Oregon was the first state to make Labor Day a holiday in 1887, and by 1894, 30 states were officially celebrating the holiday. Perhaps the greatest influence upon having a special day designated to acknowledge the labor and productivity of this nation was the Pullman strike that occured in June of 1894. Within days, 125,000 workers on 29 different railroads had agreed to quit work rather than handle Pullman rail cars. The reason for the strike was due to the Pullman Place Car Company cut wages and demands for their train cars plummeted and the company’s revenue had dropped. President Grover Cleveland had ordered the military and U.S. Marshalls to go in and put a stop to the strike. When it was over, the Pullman strike resulted in 13 deaths, 57 people wounded and more than $340,000 worth of property damage, or in today’s dollar value, it would equal $8.8 million dollars. President Cleveland and Congress passed the national holiday in just six days following the end of the Pullman Strike. And that is how Labor Day got its start.
STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) – Sarah Palin has run a different kind of
race in Iowa: a half-marathon.
Two officials from Storm Lake’s Jump Right in and Run
half-marathon say the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate
ran Sunday under her maiden name of Sarah Heath.
She finished the 13.1 miles in 1 hour, 46 minutes and 10 seconds
– second place among the entrants ages 40 through 49.
In a tweet Sunday, Palin thanked the people of Storm Lake and
the race organizers. Storm Lake is about 110 miles northwest of Des
Moines.
The former Alaskan governor had attended a tea party rally in
Indianola on Saturday. She didn’t announce whether she would run
for the Republican presidential nomination.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – State investigators say cases of
municipal embezzlement are on the rise in Iowa.
The Iowa Auditor’s Office conducted seven special investigations of finances
in cities with fewer than 700 residents between 1996 and 2005.
Since 2006, the number of investigations has grown to 32.
Auditor David Vaudt says that he believes that’s only a portion
of the actual cases of embezzlement.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Iowa officials acknowledge an
abundance of Homeland Security grants in the wake of 9/11 has led
to waste and lax oversight of how the money was spent.
An investigation shows Iowa has spent almost $250 million to purchase equipment to
fight terrorism since 9/11. However, the assessment of 24 grant
requests shows poor accountability of the items purchased.
The Gazette found money for a $92,000 video camera actually
bought bomb suits and $150,000 worth of body bags, chemical suits
and a radiation detector were never put into use. Other items are
missing or obsolete.
Iowa Homeland Security spokesman John Benson acknowledges poor
record keeping of the purchases and says the state needs to know
what equipment it has in case of a disaster.
