Grassley Praises Biden Administration’s Meatpacking Antitrust Efforts
(Washington, DC) — U-S Senator Chuck Grassley is applauding Biden Administration efforts to combat anticompetitive practices in the meatpacking industry. Up to 800-million dollars in loans and grants will aid small-scale beef, pork and poultry plants while setting up a new hotline for whistleblowers. The Iowa Republican said his response to the move is “Hallelujah.” Grassley says “the big four packers control 85 percent of the daily slaughter, and they can and, in fact, do abuse the market power while the retail price of meat has gone up, independent producers are getting less and less.” Grassley says he fully supports administration efforts to bring fair prices to both producers and consumers, though he recognizes it will also take legislation. Grassley and Iowa Representatives Cindy Axne and Randy Feenstra are co-sponsors of the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act.
Guthrie County Attorney Running for GOP Iowa Attorney General Nomination
(Des Moines, IA) — The Republican who unsuccessfully challenged Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller in 2010 aims to run against the Democratic incumbent again. Brenna Bird told the Cedar Rapids Gazette she’s running for the G-O-P nomination for attorney general this year. Bird is a former chief of staff for Congressman Steve King. She also served as legal counsel in Governor Terry Branstad’s office for four years. Bird served two years as Fremont County attorney and is currently serving as Guthrie County attorney. A-G Miller was first elected in 1978 and is seeking an 11th term. He’s the country’s longest serving attorney general.
University Of Iowa Fraternity Rape Case Going To Jury Trial In 2023
(Iowa City, IA) — A jury trial in the case of two University of Iowa students accused of raping a girl at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity is set for July of 2023. Makena ( muh-KAY’-nuh) Solberg accuses Carson Steffen and Jacob MeLoan of raping her in September 2020 while she was drunk at a party. Solberg also claims they took pictures of her without her knowledge. Both men say they had sexual relations with Solberg but that it was consensual. Steffen is charged with first-degree harassment and is suing Solberg for defamation. MeLoan is not facing criminal charges at this time.
Spencer YMCA Agrees to ADA Settlement with US Attorney’s Office
(Spencer, IA) – The Y-M-C-A of Spencer agrees to settle a dispute related to alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The U-S Attorney’s Office says the Y violated the A-D-A by “failing to reasonably modify its policies, practices and procedures resulting in a the exclusion of a child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Prosecutors say the Y-M-C-A has agreed to adopt a non-discrimination policy and put procedures in place to evaluate requests for modification s to ensure A-D-A compliance. The settlement also prohibits staff from performing restraints on minors on Y-M-C-A property. U-S Attorney Sean Berry commended the Y-M-C-A of Spencer for working with his office to resolve this matter.
