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Iowa bill aimed at Stanford band strikes wrong chord

News, Sports

February 5th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A bill that sought to punish Stanford University for its band’s Rose Bowl halftime show mocking Iowa has been all but buried in the Iowa Senate. Majority Leader Michael Gronstal told reporters Thursday that he wouldn’t schedule the measure for floor debate.

Stanford’s band is known for irreverent shows. It poked fun at Iowa in Pasadena on New Year’s Day, employing among other things a dancing cow and a frowning farmer formation. The Cardinal beat the Hawkeyes 45-16 in the game.

The bill by Ottumwa Sen. Mark Chelgren would ban collaboration between Iowa’s state universities and Stanford until Stanford officials apologize for the band’s behavior. The Des Moines Register reports that Gronstal told reporters “it would probably be good if senators from southern Iowa had a sense of humor.”