The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports on freshman Iowa State Senator Bill Heckroth, who chastised his fellow senators last week for playing games like Solitaire on state-issued laptops during floor debate. Heckroth, who noticed the illicit game-playing while watching proceedings from the gallery with visiting family, worried that the gaming might hurt the reputation of the senators among those watching from above. "I just got to thinking that just doesn't look real professional," he said on the senate floor last Thursday. "You hear enough bad things about being a politician."

Veteran lawmakers were relatively blasé about the problem "Freshmen are always shocked by what goes on," said senate minority leader Mary Lundby. "Next year he won't even mention it. He'll probably be playing games."