APNewsBreak: $1 coin backers give to Harkin center

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A South Korean businessman and his Iowa metals company gave $500,000 to a university institute honoring U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, who is pushing for a dollar coin that could generate tens of millions of dollars in new business for the company, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.

The donations to Iowa State University’s Harkin Institute of Public Policy, uncovered through an open-records request, fall into a gray area in rules prohibiting companies that lobby from contributing to charitable funds “maintained or controlled” by sitting senators. Iowa Republicans allege that such donations to the powerful Democrat’s namesake institute raise a conflict of interest.