Jan. 27, 2000

After the parties depart,
Iowans clean up caucuses' mess

By Frances Starkey
CyberCaucus 2000 News Service
Drake University

DES MOINES, Iowa--As the media, Democratic and Republican parties swept in and out of Iowa, those businesses and organizations that helped host this year's 2000 caucuses were left to clean up the mess.

This year, though, few complaints were made about the mess left throughout Des Moines in the wake of the caucuses. Hotels, schools and several businesses consider this clean-up business as usual.

"It's the same as any other large event," said Paul Rottenberg, general manager of the Hotel Fort Des Moines, host of this year's Democratic Party headquarters. "That's our business. É When the networks and everyone else pull out, there's not that much left."

After two weeks of setting up wires, cables, accessing the Internet for 400 phone lines and making accommodations for Vice President Al Gore, former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley, The Des Moines Register, Voter.com and Fox news network, the hotel staff was left with little to do, Rottenberg said.

Accommodating all of the network's technological needs was the most time-consuming and difficult task for the hotel throughout the past weeks leading up to the caucuses, Rottenberg said.

"[What we had to do was] pretty huge, we had to have fiber optic capability for all the networks," Rottenberg said. "Plus lots of Internet service. It was amazing to see this technology boom and the dependency on it. I thought it was a pretty interesting night. The story is how with technology the information has become so immediate."

The Knapp Center at Drake University was the center for the Republican caucus and took less time to set up and clean up after the caucuses. Mike Cigelman, assistant director of athletics and manager of all sports facilities, said the set-up process started the Friday before the caucuses, and continued until Sunday afternoon. Cigelman said that by 3 p.m. on the Tuesday after the caucus, the basketball team and track teams began practice in the Knapp Center as if the media and GOP had never been there.

"Our Knapp Center staff worked from Sunday until Tuesday afternoon to make sure that it [the clean-up] happened," Cigelman said.

Generally, the GOP uses the downtown convention center as its headquarters, but the convention center was not available this year due to the change in the date of New Hampshire's primary and a subsequent change in Iowa's date. Both Drake basketball teams had away games making the Knapp Center available and capable to host the GOP's headquarters.

"Basically they needed a large open area, 20,000 square feet, that had capabilities to provide 200 phone lines and parking close enough that the networks satellites would be close É," Cigelman said. "We had the capabilities already."

The Knapp Center was home to 60 print and radio media, Cigelman said. Most major newspapers in the country, most radio networks and about 15 television networks set up shop there Monday, Jan. 24.

In the past, Rottenberg said he'd heard rumors of political candidates departing and leaving the bill, and thinking the publicity alone was payment enough, but Rottenberg said this year he found those rumors to be untrue.

"The campaigns have been very good to work with as far as payment," Rottenberg said. "But we manage it closely, and bills get paid better. [Paid] through a variety of sources. Networks pay for a lot of their capabilities. Everyone paid for their share."

The costs of preparing the Knapp Center for the caucus was paid for by the Iowa Republican Party. "They [the Republicans] rented it [the Knapp Center] and paid for all costs," Cigelman said.

Both parties seemed pleased with their new accommodations, according to Rottenberg and Cigelman.

"The impression I've gotten is that things went very well," Rottenberg said.

Cigelman got the same impression.

"They [the Republicans] were extremely pleased and impressed with everyone at Drake," Cigelman said. "I think in four years the Republicans will go to the convention center again. I think what they'll be looking for in four years is a larger space. É The convention center is two times as big [as the Knapp Center]."

Cigelman said he hopes the caucus reaffirmed public belief that Drake is a quality institution.

"What I think the caucus does for Drake is that people all over the country É saw several live feeds, and broadcasters said they were at Drake," Cigelman said. "I hope that it reaffirmed that Drake is a quality institution, one that can host these kind of events and do it well."