Morning Joe Comes to Des Moines

Morning Joe in the P.M. The stars of MSNBC's hit show, "Morning Joe", will chat with Iowans about all things politics on New Year's night in downtown Des Moines. It's not until 6:30 in case you have a few too many the night before. Also, there's a pretty cool Iowa caucus exhibit you can check out while you're there. O.K., full disclosure: my station contributed to it (and special props to our award-winning photojournalist, Jeff Felton, for his efforts to the project).

Here are the details in the news release...

Scarborough, Brzezinski headline Caucus Iowa Speaker Series Sunday

“Morning Joe” hosts to appear at State Historical Building

DES MOINES – Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” will speak on New Year’s Day in Des Moines as part of the Department of Cultural Affairs’ Caucus Iowa Speakers Series.

The “Morning Joe” co-hosts will speak at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012, at the State Historical Building, 600 E. Locust Street in Des Moines. Scarborough and Brzezinski will be joined by special guests and the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions following the talk. The event is free and open to the public, and is sponsored by DCA, the Greater Des Moines Partnership and the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau. Call 515-281-5111 for more information.

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” hosted by Scarborough, Brzezinski, and Willie Geist, features interviews with top newsmakers and in-depth analysis of the day’s biggest stories. TIME magazine calls the show “revolutionary” and The New York Times ranked it as the top news program of 2008.

Scarborough is a former Congressman and author of The New York Times bestseller “The Last Best Hope: Restoring Conservatism and America’s Promise,” a book that draws on the forgotten genius of conservatism to offer a road map for the movement and the country. In April 2011, he was named to the prestigious “TIME 100” list of the world’s most influential people.

Brzezinski is a co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Her memoir, “All Things At Once,” became a New York Times bestseller in January 2010.

Brzezinski's second book, “Knowing Your Value,” which examines the role of women in the workplace, was published in May 2011 and reached #1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list for business books.

Prior to joining MSNBC in January 2007, Brzezinski was an anchor of the “CBS Evening News Weekend Edition” and a CBS News correspondent who frequently contributed to “CBS Sunday Morning” and “60 Minutes.”

Don't Miss "Caucus Iowa" Exhibit
The State Historical Museum’s “Caucus Iowa” exhibit will close Jan. 8, 2012.

The exhibit opened in 2007 and outlines the Iowa caucuses’ rise to national prominence in the 1970s, explores “retail politics” in a typical coffee shop and recreates a gymnasium and living room as they would appear on caucus night.

Museum staff updated the exhibit this fall with facts and figures from the 2008 caucuses and artifacts dating back to the 1800s.

The exhibit includes interactive kiosks where visitors can answer caucus history questions and be part of a special straw poll of current candidates. It also examines the impact the media has had on transforming the caucuses into an international event.

Visit www.iowahistory.org for more information.