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An anonymous donor has paid off lunch debts for 148 Johnston elementary school students whose accounts were in the red by $10 or more. The donation, totaling $13,250, was made Jan. 9. It benefited students in kindergarten through fifth grade in all five Johnston elementary schools, said Laura Sprague, director of communications. The Johnston Partnership also runs a program called Friday Friends that provides a packet of food for students to eat over the weekend. Each backpack costs around $8.15 per week and the program relies on donations.

(Des Moines) -- Three lawmakers with a unique combination of names led an effort in the Iowa House to recognize the “economic importance” of Iowa’s pork industry. The Iowa House passed the resolution to coincide with the annual Iowa Pork Congress, which wrapped up Thursday. Representatives Joel Fry of Osceola, Tom Moore of Griswold and Rob Bacon of Slater read the resolution aloud, then the house speaker summed things up: “House Resolution 3: Fry, Moore, Bacon. All those in favor say aye. Those opposed shall say no.” There were no naysayers, but a few pun-lovers took note. Perhaps house members...

A man wielding a fire extinguisher has rescued a burning U.S. flag from protesters in Iowa City. Organizers told the Iowa City Press-Enterprise (http://icp-c.com/2jwzPSC ) that Thursday's demonstration across from the Old Capitol Mall was aimed at racial and social injustice and U.S. imperialism. "When I see the flag, I see racial injustice," said Paul Osgerby of Iowa City. "I see social injustice from Native American genocide to African-American slavery to failing to recognize women as citizens until the 20th century." The protesters' actions drew angry comments from some bystanders. Bob Guyer, a witness, said the act was disrespectful to...

Fed Ex guy wades into protestors all alone and rescues a flag

WATERLOO, Iowa — Mayor Quentin Hart has accused Councilman Tom Lind of “racist, derogatory, partisan” threats in a testy email exchange over his decision to appoint a communications director. The emails provided anonymously to The Courier but confirmed by both parties relate to Hart’s decision to hire Wendy Bowman to work 10 to 15 hours a week promoting the city’s image. “Not appropriate without council approval,” Lind said in a Jan. 22 email. “You work for us. Obama (yesterday) is gone.” Hart responded Lind’s “racist, derogatory, partisan threats have no impact on me and never will.” “I have not done...

It’s your feel-good video of the day. The Supreme Court may rule that flag burning is protected expression under the First Amendment, but that doesn’t mean that it is acceptable to endanger ordinary citizens, who also have rights to express themselves. In this case, with a fire extinguisher.

University of Oklahoma defensive back and former La Vega High School football player Parrish Cobb turned himself into police Tuesday night, after being accused of three armed robberies in Central Texas, according to Waco Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Patrick Swanton. Cobb, 19, is facing an aggravated robbery charge for an armed robbery that happened near the Baylor campus on Jan. 10. He's also accused of being involved in the armed robbery that happened on campus outside the McLane Student Life Center on Jan. 7. The Bellmead Police Department had also issued a warrant for his arrest after an armed robbery...

Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow a woman who gets an abortion to sue the doctor who performed the procedure if she experiences emotional distress later. If approved, it would be the first law of its kind in the U.S. The proposal, which was endorsed Tuesday by a GOP-led three-member panel of lawmakers, would permit the woman to file a lawsuit at any point in her life, something that goes against typical statute of limitation rules. It could also make the state vulnerable to costly court challenges.

MONTICELLO, Iowa — The Table of Knowledge was delving into President-elect Donald J. Trump’s plans to upend government, and marveling at how he had forced his fellow Republicans in the House to reverse themselves on gutting the Office of Congressional Ethics. “He’s getting responses; things are happening,” Jerry Retzlaff, a retiree, said. “He got Congress to turn themselves around with one tweet.” “There’s no secret the press doesn’t like him, and neither does a lot of the leadership,” he added. “And that’s because he’s planning on making a lot of changes.” The eight men around a rectangular table, sipping coffee...

Donald J Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America! Come and watch this event on big screen TV, with fellow Patriots! Lunch and Champagne toast included with your 25 dollar ticket. Tickets must be purchased by Monday January 16th 2017. Please freepmail me for more info

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is asking legislators to quickly approve a bill that would require voters to show some form of identification before casting a ballot. “This bill will make it difficult to cheat the system,” Pate says. The bill Pate seeks would require Iowans to show a driver’s license, a military ID, their passport or a voter ID card issued by his office to be eligible to vote in their precinct on Election Day.

A California man has been charged with setting up fake businesses in three states, then using names taken from temporary visas issued to student visitors on a cultural exchange to obtain more than $355,000 in unemployment benefits for nonexistent workers, federal prosecutors in Iowa said in court documents. Nikolai Monastyrski is charged in federal court in Iowa with wire and mail fraud related to the scheme that prosecutors say he perpetrated there as well as in Illinois and Pennsylvania. A complaint filed Nov. 10 by Dana Johnson, a Chicago-based U.S. Department of Labor special agent, says Monastyrski was able to...

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — There was a time when Scott Root and Michelle Wilson-Root looked forward to Christmas, but not this year. Their 21-year-old daughter, Sarah Root, was killed Jan. 31 by Eswin Mejia, an illegal immigrant from Honduras accused of plowing into the back of her vehicle as he street-raced while drunk in Omaha, Nebraska. He skipped bail. Nearly a year later, he remains a fugitive. For the Roots, this is the first Christmas without her, their first since the tragedy put them on a path with President-elect Donald Trump, who brought national attention to the case as part...

Newsweek senior political reporter Kurt Eichenwald is backing away from his report that supporters of Donald Trump booed when the president-elect eulogized the astronaut John Glenn at an Iowa rally Thursday night. Eichenwald's retraction came three hours after the original message about jeering at the Trump rally. "Trump supporters booed John Glenn when Trump mentioned his name at today's rally," Eichenwald wrote in the original tweet, which has now been deleted. "A real American hero risked his life for us. He got booed." The original message was retweeted more than 4,200 times and received 4,300 likes. Footage of the event...

President-elect Donald Trump spoke to supporters at a victory rally in Des Moines, Iowa. He welcomed onstage Governor Terry Branstad (R-IA), his nominee for U.S. Ambassador to China. In remarks, President-elect Trump discussed the election results, his first 100 days in office and acknowledged the passing of former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn (D-OH). Vice President-elect Gov. Mike Pence (R-IN) delivered introductory remarks. One hour video at the link:

Thursday, December 8, 2016: Live stream coverage of the Donald J Trump USA Thank You Tour Rally in Des Moines, IA at the Iowa Events Center. Coverage begins at 7:00 PM CT. Iowa Events Center

As reported in Frontrunning, President-elect Donald Trump will nominate Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as the next U.S. ambassador to China, choosing a longstanding friend of Beijing after rattling the world's second-largest economy by speaking to Taiwan's president. Earlier in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang called Branstad an "old friend" of China when asked about a report on the appointment, although he added Beijing would work with any U.S. ambassador.The appointment of Branstad will likely ease trade tensions between the two countries, the world's two biggest agricultural producers, diplomats and trade experts said according to Reuters. It also suggests...

Branstad's core appeal may be his long-standing friendship with the Chinese President Xi Jinping that spans back decades, Bloomberg noted. The pair first met in 1985 when Xi was visiting Iowa as an agricultural official, according to Bloomberg. Since their first meeting, Branstad and Xi forged a friendship around their mutual interest in agriculture.

The long-time leader of Democrats in the Iowa Senate is cleaning out his capitol office after 34 years in the legislature. “I’ve had a great run at this, great fun, learned a lot,” says Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs. Last week, Gronstal was defeated in his bid for another term in the state senate. Gronstal told Radio Iowa he has no real regrets

Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Iowa State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann elaborated on a bill he has put forth that would eliminate funding for so-called “safe spaces” at public schools. Among the reasons for Kaufmann’s effort included rising and skyrocketing tuition costs and such activities do not adequately prepare those learning for life, he said. “I saw schools with rising skyrocketing tuition costs were also finding new money and expenditures for things such as cry rooms,” he said. “I was hearing reports of rooms where you could play with Playdough and you could color on books and talk...