Bill targeting Stanford band hits sour note in Iowa Senate

A bill targeting the Stanford marching band's controversial performance at the Rose Bowl is getting an off-key reception from Iowa Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal.

Gronstal, a Council Bluffs Democrat, effectively killed the measure Thursday, indicating to reporters at his weekly news briefing that he has no intention of bringing Senate File 2081 up for debate on the Senate floor.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark Chelgren, R-Ottumwa, would ban collaboration between Iowa's state universities and Stanford University until Stanford officials apologize for the band's behavior.

Gronstal expressed disbelief when asked if lawmakers would consider Chelgren's legislative proposal. "Are you serious? Is that a serious question? It is absurd," Gronstal said. He added: "I think it would probably be good if senators from southern Iowa had a sense of humor. We probably need a few more of those."

The Stanford band, which has a history of irreverent performances, poked fun during the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl halftime show with a dancing cow, a frowning farmer formation and other tongue-in-cheek gestures that upset some Iowans. Stanford's football team defeated the University of Iowa's Hawkeyes 45-16 in the game.

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Bruce Rastetter, president of the Iowa Board of Regents, told reporters after a strategic planning session in West Des Moines on Thursday that he attended the Rose Bowl and he witnessed the Stanford band's performance.

“I was one of the ones that booed the Stanford band because they were inappropriate and offensive, and I think we’ll just leave it at that," Rastetter said. But he added, “It would have been better had we beaten them in football in the second half than worry about the band at halftime. They were inappropriate, they were offensive, but that’s for Stanford to decide. I don’t think we’re going to stop doing business with the Stanford business school – if Iowa is, for instance – just because of their band.”

Chelgren, who is seeking the Republican nomination to run for Congress in district that includes the University of Iowa,  said he has received a mixed reaction to his proposed legislation. Some people have been concerned he has been  giving attention to a band that didn't deserve attention, he said. But he added he was pleased that a Stanford spokesman has said that school officials regret the fact that some viewers took offense at the band's performance.

"I think that we are halfway there," Chelgren told The Des Moines Register. "I guess I was always taught that if you regret an action, then you apologize for it. All we are asking for is an apology, and then the bill will accomplish that goal."

Chelgren, who grew up in Huntington Beach, Calif., and attended the University of California-Riverside, also dismissed criticism on social media that Iowa legislators shouldn't spend their on matters such as the Stanford band's performance. Those critics have said Iowa lawmakers should be more focused on issues like education and the environment.

"I am fully capable of multitasking, and I am one of the most prolific bill writers and amendment writers in the Iowa Senate. I am not so limited that I can't do this bill and others and still be productive," Chelgren said.