Iowa
Will Vilsack be the 21st-century version of ‘Tama Jim’ Wilson?
Tom Vilsack is the longest-serving agriculture secretary in half a century, and there's already chatter about a continued role in government if Democrats retain control of the White House. "That will be up to Hillary Clinton," said Sen. Charles Grassley, who notes that fellow Iowan "Tama Jim" Wilson holds the record for cabinet tenure — 16 years.
Former Vilsack adviser at USDA becomes Kaine’s chief of staff
Matt Paul, communications director for Tom Vilsack when he was governor of Iowa and later agriculture secretary, will work as the chief of staff for Democrat Tim Kaine as he campaigns for vice president, said the Des Moines Register.
An agriculture secretary for veep? That’s a winning ticket, historically.
Hillary Clinton isn't the first presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to think about putting a successful agriculture secretary from Iowa on the ticket. Franklin Roosevelt did it in 1940, choosing fellow New Dealer Henry A Wallace as his running mate on the way to drubbing Republican businessman Wendell Willkie, and his vice presidential nominee, Sen. Charles McNary.
Ernst will focus on Iowa, not Trump
irst-term Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, an Agriculture Committee member, says she wants to focus on her home state rather than running for vice president with Republican businessman Donald Trump, reports Politico.
Moderate drought in Iowa but corn and soy in good shape
An unseasonably dry spring induced a moderate drought in Iowa, the country’s leader in corn and soy production, the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor reports. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory yesterday after heat index values reached between 101-105 F, a chief concern for farm operators working on Iowa’s 87,000-plus farms.
Trying to upset a King of the Hill in Iowa congressional race
Rick Bertrand hopes to turn conservative firebrand Steve King, who backed ethanol skeptic Ted Cruz in the Iowa presidential caucuses, into the first Republican incumbent to lose a House primary race this year. If Bertrand scores in the Iowa primary today, it will be an upset if only because incumbents have won renomination 98 percent of the time since 1946.
Judge postpones to 2017 trial of Des Moines Water Works lawsuit
Trial of the potentially precedent-setting lawsuit by the Des Moines Water Works over high nitrate levels in river water was rescheduled to June 26, 2017, rather than starting this August, reports the Des Moines Register. The lawsuit says federal clean-water laws should apply to agricultural runoff that flows through drainage districts in three northwestern Iowa counties and into the Raccoon River, a source of drinking water for Iowa's capital city and suburbs.
Iowa bill would gut Des Moines’ seats on water board
In a step that its sponsor says involves political pay-back, Republicans in the Iowa state House added language to a budget bill that would dramatically re-organize the board of the Des Moines Water Works, which is suing rural agricultural counties over water pollution.
Iowa counties ask dismissal of part of Des Moines water suit
Drainage districts in three counties in northwestern Iowa have no way to control nitrate levels in water draining into waterways, so the Des Moines Water Works is misguided in suing them, says the lawyer defending the counties.
Contested primary is all about ethanol, says Rep. King
Seven-term U.S. Rep. Steve King says ethanol is the root cause of the challenge he faces in the Republican primary election to represent northwestern Iowa in the U.S. House. During the "Iowa Press" program on Iowa Public Television, King said it was a "a fair statement" that he attracted opposition because he supported Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the presidential caucuses.
Senate race heats up in Iowa, as Colorado cools off
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet's chances for re-election are strengthening while Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley's race merits closer attention, says the political website Sabato's Crystal Ball.
Iowa congressman, backer of ethanol critic Cruz, draws primary challenge
Seven-term Rep. Steve King, a rock-ribbed Iowa conservative, is being challenged in the Republican primary by state Sen. Rick Bertrand of Sioux City in a contest where ethanol may be the elephant in the room.
Wolves shot in counties on opposite ends of Iowa
Hunters on opposite sides of the state shot two large canines this winter that have been identified conclusively as wolves, says Iowa Ag Connection.
Des Moines Water Works will divert nitrates from Raccoon River
In Iowa, the Des Moines Water Works announced plans to voluntarily stop releasing excess nitrates into the Raccoon River -- a key water source for the city's 500,000 people -- even though state law permits the utility to do so, reports KCCI Des Moines.
Rural Iowans helped Cruz win Republican caucus
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the Republican winner of Iowa's presidential caucuses, drew a larger share of the vote from rural counties than billionaire Donald Trump or Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, reports the Daily Yonder.
Cruz wins Iowa caucus with ethanol as backseat issue
With the support of evangelical conservatives, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz won Iowa's Republican presidential caucus with a plurality of 28 percent despite the efforts of the ethanol industry to help a friendlier candidate to victory.
‘The trouble with Iowa’
Leading into the Feb. 1 precinct caucuses that begin the presidential nomination process, Harper's says in a cover story that "it seems to defy reason" that Iowa, a farm state with a population of 3 million, "should play such an out-sized role. But Iowa is not over. In fact, it may be more relevant than ever."
Iowa Supreme Court to mull responsibility on nutrient pollution
The Des Moines Water Works federal lawsuit over nitrate runoff into the Raccoon River is taking a detour to the Iowa Supreme Court, says DTN. The lawsuit could set a precedent with its argument that 10 drainage districts in northwestern Iowa should be regulated as "point sources" of pollution and required to meet clean-water standards.