AREA DEMOCRATS RALLY IN LE MARS
Democrats from five counties met for a “Dinner with Democrats” event at Willow Creek Golf Course in Le Mars.
St. Rep. Jennifer Konfrst – the Iowa House Minority Leader – says the party got a boost this week from the Kamala Harris/Donald Trump debate.
Konfrst says three issues are driving Democrats in this election campaign.
Konfrst says it’s important for Democrats to compete in each election race in Iowa.
State Senator Herm Quirmbach of Ames – opposing carbon pipelines will also draw voters. He says his chamber hasn’t made much progress on legislation to halt the pipelines.
Quirmbach says Education Savings Accounts are diverting money from public schools.
Quirmbach outlines the issues that will play drive voters in this election.
Ryan Melton, candidate for the U.S. House in District 4, also spoke to the audience.
Local Democratic Party candidates also appeared last night. They include Emma Bouza, running in House district 3, Rosanne Plante, running in House District 13, Jess Lopez-Walker, running in House District 2, and JD Scholten, running for re-election in House District 1.
Keynote speaker was Jess Piper of Missouri, a Democrat activist and blogger.
Over 100 party members attended the event, hosted by the Lyon, Osceola, Sioux, Plymouth, and Woodbury County Democrats.
REPORT SAYS MORE THAN 37% OF IOWA ADULTS ARE OBESE
A new report shows Iowans are continuing to pack on the pounds, with more than one in every three Iowa adults now being considered obese. Dr. Nadine Gracia (GRAH-see-uh), president and C-E-O of Trust for America’s Health, says the national report places Iowa tied for seventh with Indiana for the most overweight states. Gracia says Iowa’s 37-percent adult obesity rate is up slightly from last year, and over the past five years, there’s been a significant increase. About ten years ago, the report found -zero- states with an adult obesity rating over 35-percent. Now, 23 states — including Iowa — have adult obesity rates at or above 35-percent. Gracia calls obesity a national public health issue that goes far beyond individual behavior. The report shows West Virginia has the highest obesity rate at 41-percent, while Colorado ranked the lowest with 25-percent.
HINSON BACKS BAN ON DRONES MADE BY CHINESE COMPANY
Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says farmers should be wary of agricultural drones manufactured in China and sold in the U-S by a company called D-J-I. There are nearly 10-thousand registered agricultural spray drones in the U-S today and Hinson says many of those were made by D-J-I, which has ties to the Chinese military — making this a national security issue. D-J-I says it is not connected to China’s military and any ban on its products would deprive U-S farmers of the benefits D-J-I spray drones offer. D-J-I is the world’s largest drone manufacturer and 80 percent of ALL the consumer drones sold in the U-S were made by the Chinese company. This week, the House passed a bill that would ban all *future* D-J-I drone models from operating in the United States.
PILOT KNOB STATE PARK CELEBRATES 100 YEARS
A park south of Forrest City that is the second highest point in Iowa will mark its 100th anniversary Saturday. Pilot Knob State Park Manager Katie Hemann (He-man) says people in Winnebago and Hancock County wanted to preserve the area and the process of it becoming a state park started in 1920 and it was dedicated as State Park in 1924. A depression era program led to the building of a feature at the park that has become its signature. The observation tower that was built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps out of glacial rubble. She says they put in a lot of work cutting those large rocks to build the structure, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Iowa’s highest point, by the way, is Hawkeye Point, located near Iowa Highway 60 in Osceola County.
REAL ESTATE AND MOBILE HOME TAXES DUE
The Plymouth County Treasurer reminds property owners that property taxes are due this month. Shelly Sitzmann says first half real estate, mobile home, and special assessments can be paid in the Treasurer’s Office, online, or by mail. The tax deadline is September 30. Taxes are delinquent October 1. Interest of 1.5 percent is added to unpaid taxes on the first of October.
ERNST URGES MEXICO TO SECURE RELEASE OF KIDNAPPED IOWA WOMAN
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says she’s pressing Mexican authorities to secure the safe return of a 51-year-old Des Moines woman who was kidnapped in northern Mexico a month ago.
Chris Leguisano went missing over a month ago. She was in Mexico to deliver a truck full of belongings to a brother-in-law and was last seen in Reynosa, Mexico — less than a hour’s drive from the U-S southern border. Ernst says this is the second high-profile assault of American citizens in that part of Mexico in the past two years.
State Department officials have briefed the staff in Senator Chuck Grassley’s office and Ernst’s staff on outreach to Mexican authorities and how U-S law enforcement are involved in the case. In July, the State Department issued a warning advising Americans not to travel to or through the state in northern Mexico that sits along the Gulf of Mexico.
Leguisano’s son told W-O-I T-V he’s gotten text messages demanding a ransom.
STATE UNIVERSITIES RELEASE ENROLLMENT NUMBERS
The three state universities released their fall enrollment numbers Thursday. The University of Northern Iowa reported a two-point-nine percent increase in enrollment, marking the second straight year for an increase. The Cedar Falls school has struggled to keep numbers up and this is the first time for consecutive year enrollment increases since 2009 and 2010. The University of Iowa is reporting its third-largest incoming class ever. The increase boosts the total enrollment to 30-thousand-779 students, and pushes the U-I past Iowa State University for tops in total enrolment by 347 students.
IOWAN PICKED TO COMMAND SPACE STATION MISSION NEXT SPRING
Iowa-born astronaut Peggy Whitson is scheduled to command another two-week mission to the International Space Station next year. At 64 years old, Whitson is considered America’s most experienced astronaut. The Beaconsfield native flew on three NASA long-duration space flights and the Axiom 2 Mission in May of last year. She’s spent a total of 675 days in space, more than any other U-S astronaut or woman astronaut in the world. The next Axiom mission, AX-4, will use a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and a Dragon spacecraft, launching from Florida. Whitson’s commanding an international crew of four, with the other three astronauts hailing from India, Poland and Hungary. Axiom has not released a specific date for the launch, only saying it’ll be in the spring of 2025.
