On Wednesday, Illinois Pork Producers took their message, along with some sizzling bacon, to the state capitol. Led by Jennifer Tirey, executive director of the Illinois Pork Producers Association, the initiative aimed to engage urban legislators who may lack familiarity with hog farming.

Dubbed “Bacon Day for Illinois,” Tirey emphasized the importance of educating legislators about the pork industry. She highlighted the value of personal interactions, often leading to invitations for farm tours, as legislators play a crucial role in shaping industry policies.

To enhance their message, the Pork Producers Association offered complimentary BLT sandwiches, leveraging the universal appeal of bacon to foster dialogue and celebration.

Their efforts were recognized with Illinois Senate Joint Resolution 50, officially declaring May 1st as Bacon Day in the state.

Indiana’s presidential primary could draw some national attention, even though the results Tuesday will mean nothing in terms of selecting the nominees.

There certainly won’t be national news of the magnitude of eight years ago, when Donald Trump ended the last chance of the “Stop Trump” movement, solidly defeating Ted Cruz and winning all 57 delegates at stake in the state’s Republican primary.

Now, there will only be a look at percentages in the Republican primary and analysis of what, if anything, it means for November if Nikki Haley gets a significant protest vote.

While both Trump and President Joe Biden long ago won more than enough delegates for nomination, their names will be on the Indiana ballot Tuesday — Biden unopposed in the Democratic primary; Trump listed along with Haley, who quit campaigning two months ago, on the Republican side.

Haley qualified for the Indiana ballot before she was clobbered by Trump in the March 5 Super Tuesday primaries and suspended her campaign.

More Colwell: The choice is clear, even if it’s not an ideal one.

Since Haley is out of the running, votes for her in Republican primaries are seen now as indication of unhappiness with Trump and a sign of possible defections from him in the fall.

The recent Pennsylvania Republican primary results were regarded as troubling news for Trump, with 155,000 voters —16.5% of the GOP turnout — declining to vote for their presumptive nominee and instead picking Haley.

It seems unlikely that Haley will get a percentage that high in Indiana, where Trump has been so popular with Hoosier Republicans in his two presidential races.

Even if she did, it wouldn’t mean as much as that showing in Pennsylvania, a key state in determining the winner in the Electoral College. Republican defections there could be decisive. Indiana, however, is listed in all projections as in the Trump column for sure in the fall.

Signs of defections here would be viewed not in terms of suggesting some monumental upset in the fall in Indiana, but as an indication that Trump’s base might not be as solid nationally if slipping even in Indiana.

What if Haley’s total isn’t in double digits or barely gets there? That would bring analysis that Trump’s base remains solid.

Column: A Biden-Trump rematch in 2024? Say it isn’t so

No matter what happens in Indiana on Tuesday, any news nationally will be small potatoes, really just potato peels, in comparison with that 2016 presidential primary.

Indiana Republican primary voters cinched it — Trump would be the nominee. Cruz was in a “must win” situation to keep Trump from a first-ballot win at the Republican National Convention and keep alive the diminishing hopes of “Stop Trump” success in a brokered convention going into multiple ballots.

Cruz pulled out all the stops, even making a deal in which another contender, John Kasich, would stop campaigning in Indiana and let Cruz go more one-on-one against Trump. Cruz also got an endorsement from then-Gov. Mike Pence.

Polls showed Trump ahead, but not by a lot. Trump was not that confident of victory, complaining that the Indiana election system was “rigged” because he couldn’t control his Hoosier delegates on a second convention ballot.

Results: Cruz, needing a big win to stay viable, didn’t win a single delegate. Trump won so big all around the state that he claimed all 57 delegates. Cruz gave up. There was no way left to stop Trump. The nomination was decided.

And Pence, whose endorsement of Cruz had been tepid and not harmful to Trump, wound up running for vice president on the ticket to appeal to evangelical voters.

In 2020, the traditional May primary was delayed until June 2 by the pandemic. Trump, then president, faced only token opposition from Bill Weld, a former Massachusetts governor. Trump got 91.9% of the Republican vote. If he comes close to a percentage like that on Tuesday, Trump will be buoyed, not troubled by the results.

Jack Colwell is a columnist for The Tribune. Write to him in care of The Tribune or by email at jcolwell@comcast.net.

Iowa State Hires Matt Leach Away from Washington State as Head Coach

Iowa State on Wednesday announced the hiring of Matt Leach, formerly the head coach of Washington State, to the same position.

Leach is the fifth head coach in Cyclones history, replacing Duane Sorenson, who announced his retirement in March after 27 years in charge.

“I am honored to be the next Head Swimming and Diving Coach at Iowa State University,” Leach said in a university statement. “Coach Sorenson has been an absolute pillar of this program and I am thrilled to be named his successor. I want to sincerely wish him well in his retirement and hope to see him on the pool deck. I would like to thank President Wendy Wintersteen, Jamie Pollard and Calli Sanders for allowing me to lead the next generation of Cyclones,” he added. “I am humbled and extremely excited to get to work and help lead, grow, and inspire these student-athletes into the next chapter of success. Go Cyclones!”

Leach spent six seasons in Pullman. His teams produced NCAA qualifiers all five times that the meet was held during his tenure after a decade-long drought. That included a point scorer in 2024 in Emily Lundgren, just the sixth time in program history a Cougar has scored at NCAAs. His most recent team set school records, 21 top-10 times, two Pac-12 medals and scored 498.5 points, the team’s second-highest in the Pac-10/12 era.

“We are thrilled to welcome Matt, Katie, and their children, Eloise and Arlo, back to the Midwest and to our Cyclone family,” senior association director of athletics Dr. Calli Sanders said.  “We believe Matt embodies the perfect blend of characteristics and experiences that we were looking for in our next head coach, bringing Power 5 head coaching experience, a commitment to the whole student-athlete, and boundless energy, to our program. His enthusiasm for joining our community and leading our swimming and diving program was undeniable throughout the entire interview process, and he has a clear vision for the future of the Cyclone Swimming & Diving program.”

Leach spent three seasons as the founding head coach of Indiana State’s women’s team, where he was the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2017-18. He worked for six seasons at the University of Wyoming, including four as the associate head coach. The native of Portland, Ore., was a four-time All-American swimmer at the Indiana University, graduating in 2004. He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at LSU, then two seasons as a volunteer assistant in Baton Rouge.