Free Republic

IOWA CITY — Her lip quivering, Patrisse Cullors’ heart sank. It was 2013, and she was in a motel room on a website, waiting for the news of George Zimmerman’s verdict. Guilty, or not guilty, in the killing of Trayvon Martin — a black 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer while on his way home from buying candy at a convenience store. “Not guilty, and they say not guilty, and they continue to say not guilty until they say, ‘not guilty of all charges,’” Cullors, 32, of Los Angeles, recalled for a packed audience of hundreds...

Iowa may become the latest state to strip government funds from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. According to an Iowa pro-life advocate who spoke with The Christian Post, pro-abortionists will not only soon lose funds but are losing control of their narrative. The Iowa state Senate voted 30-20 Thursday to defund groups that provide abortions and steer three million state dollars to women's health centers and comprehensive clinics that do not offer them. The vote fell along party lines with 29 Republicans and one independent voting for the measure and all Democrats opposing it, according to the Quad City Times....

Iowa is one of only six states that does not have some sort of protection of the right to keep and bear arms in the state Constitution. The other five states are California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Minnesota. One of the reasons for this lack is the difficult process that a state constitutional amendment has to undergo to be passed in Iowa.  First, the amendment must be passed by the General Assembly. Then an election must occur. Then the amendment must be passed a second time. Finally, the amendment is to be presented to the people, who...

(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...

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...

Iowa has played an important role in the presidential election process for decades as a swing state in the heart of the Midwest, and this year it swung for Donald Trump. Now Trump supporters are excited to see how their pick pans out. “He won the Electoral College because of the Midwest,” said Beverly Harper, a 77-year-old who worked in therapeutic horseback riding from Bettendorf, Iowa, “You take Wisconsin, Iowa all those states and Pennsylvania also. Right down the center of the United States. The little guy is finally speaking up.” Harper was one of a handful of customers at...

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. …

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.

President-elect Donald Trump’s call for a new trillion-dollar infrastructure program got the attention of those who have long been pointing to the nation’s crumbling roads, aging dams and outdated medical facilities. “It’s certainly the biggest step we’ve seen discussed or mentioned in quite a while from a political leader,” said Casey Dinges, senior managing director of the American Society of Civil Engineers. That organization has identified $3.6 trillion in total infrastructure needs by 2020, but only $2 trillion in revenue to pay for it. So a trillion-dollar infusion would go a long way toward closing the gap, about half of...

A Waterloo cabinet manufacturer is taking its more than 800 employees on a company-paid Caribbean cruise to celebrate achieving key goals as it recovers from the recession. Bertch Cabinet manufacturing co-founder Gary Bertch told his employees earlier this month that the company had met its goals for the year — and they would go on a five day cruise. Employees depart on Sunday January 8 on one of four charter aircraft flying directly to Miami, where they will spend one night in a five star hotel before boarding the ship.

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

DES MOINES — President-elect Donald Trump’s victory tour includes a scheduled stop in Iowa. Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence are scheduled to hold a rally Thursday at the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines, the Trump campaign confirmed Friday. Trump has been visiting various cities to celebrate his election victory and rally supporters across the country. He started the tour this week in Cincinnati and has another scheduled stop in North Carolina. Trump won Iowa by nearly 10 percentage points en route to his Nov. 8 election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Back in February, Trump finished second...

ELLA, Iowa — Officials with the Iowa State Patrol say three people were killed and two were injured when a pickup truck barreled through the front doors of the Wal-Mart in Pella Thursday morning. The 911 call came in at 9:54 a.m. about a truck that drove through the meat and grocery area of the Wal-Mart. Officials say it appears the incident was not intentional. They are continuing the investigation and have not released the names of the victims. The store is closed and people are being asked to avoid the area. A spokesperson for Walmart released the following statement...

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

An Iowa lawmaker has one thing to say to state universities that spend taxpayer dollars on election-related sit-ins and grief counseling: “Suck it up, buttercup.” “I’ve seen four or five schools in other states that are establishing ‘cry zones’ where they’re staffed by state grief counselors and kids can come cry out their sensitivity to the election results,” said Rep. Bobby Kaufmann (R-Wilton) to the Des Moines Register. “I find this whole hysteria to be incredibly annoying. People have the right to be hysterical … on their own time.” Kaufmann plans to introduce new legislation in January that he calls...

FULL TITLE: Iowa Rep to introduce 'Suck It Up Buttercup' Bill to claw back School tax $s spent on cry baby reaction to election result - AUDIO The Chairman of the Iowa House Oversight Committee, Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, has vowed to conduct a full investigation to discover every Dollar spent by State Schools on safe zones, counselling, cancelled exams and other 'cry baby' reactions to Tuesday's election result. Once his investigation produces a number, his Suck It Up Buttercup Bill will if passed, multiply that $ number by three and remove it from those school budgets next year. LISTEN BELOW

Iowa early voting advantage for Democrats has been reduced by 25,000 from 2012. Important because Dems use early voting primarily in Iowa and GOP has huge advantage on election day. So the goal is to keep early voting margin down in Iowa.

Not everyone had positive things to say about Hillary Clinton at a campaign rally for the Democratic nominee in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday. Ahead of a speech by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a student of Iowa State University took the briefly took the stage where he attacked Clinton for her ties to billionaire donors and the military industrial complex. The speech by Kaleb Vanfosson, the president of the Iowa State chapter of Students for Bernie club, started out with a knock against GOP nominee Donald Trump. On rising student debt, Vanfosson said, "While the part-time reality TV show and full-time...

Washington (CNN)Donald Trump leads Hillary Clinton by 7 points in Iowa, according to a Des Moines Register poll of likely voters released Saturday evening. The poll found Trump with 46% to Clinton's 39%, while Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Party's Jill Stein caught 6% and 1% of likely voters, respectively. About 5% of respondents said they did not want to disclose their choice; 2% said they would vote for someone else or not at all, and the remaining 1% said they weren't sure or didn't remember. Sixty eight percent of respondents said they were unhappy with their choices in...