Grassley Visits Le Mars
(Le Mars) — U-S Senator Chuck Grassley was at Le Mars this morning, answering questions from about 30 people during a townhall meeting. The Republican senator visited the facilities and with the employees of Agri-Vision, formerly ICON Ag and Turf. Grassley answered questions relating to the farm bill, renewable fuels, credit unions versus banks, trucking regulations, and also the trade tariffs on steel and aluminum that went into effect as of midnight last evening. Grassley was asked to explain President Trump’s thinking regarding trade tariffs.
Following the town hall meeting, Grassley met with local media, and was asked about the on-again off-again negotiations with North Korea, and whether there will be an actual summit.
Grassley says he hopes the negotiations will prove successful so that food can be delivered to the people of North Korea. Grassley says they have been undernourished for decades.
Democratic Congressional Candidate J.D. Scholten Campaigns In Le Mars
(Le Mars) — Democratic candidate J.D. Scholten of Sioux City who is seeking the nomination for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District made a stop in Le Mars Friday morning. Scholten says he believes he has enough support to win Tuesday’s primary race outright, but if the nomination can’t be resolved with
Democratic voters going to the polls, he says he is prepared if the nomination needs to go to the state convention and be decided with the district’s delegates.
Scholten faces a three-way race for the Democratic nomination with opponents Leann Jacobson of Spencer, and Dr. John Pascion of Ames. In order to win the nomination through the primary, a candidate must secure at least 35 percent of the party’s vote. The Democratic State Convention is scheduled for June
16th at Des Moines.
Judge Blocks Iowa’s Abortion Law
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A judge will temporarily block the most restrictive abortion law in the country from taking effect in Iowa next month under an agreement between lawyers for the state and abortion rights groups.
Attorneys for the state and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds agreed Friday to prevent the law from taking effect on July 1 after discussions with the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, Planned Parenthood Federation of American and the Emma Goldman Clinic.
The advocacy groups have sued the state to block the law, which bans most abortions if a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
An attorney for the state says the goal is to quickly get the case
before a judge to argue the law it’s constitutional.
Judge Michael Huppert said during a court hearing Friday that he’ll issue a temporary injunction later in the day.
Reynolds signed the law May 2, two days after lawmakers approved it.
Iowa Supreme Court Rules On Church’s Sexual Exploitation
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court says an all-male church board’s characterization of female congregants who were pressured into sex with the pastor as sinning “adulteresses” who gave into “temptation” was constitutionally protected religious speech.
In a ruling Friday, the court held that members of the Covenant Reformed Church’s board of elders didn’t defame the two women because they were expressing their religious beliefs. The court also found that the Pella church wasn’t obligated to provide counseling to the women that went against its religious teachings.
The pastor, who was later removed from the ministry, was convicted of sexual exploitation by a counselor. Iowa law treats religious leaders as counselors and bars them from having sexual contact with congregants they’re counseling.
Attorneys for the two sides didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
