BOTH JOE BIDEN AND DONALD TRUMP STOPPED IN IOWA TO DRUM UP SUPPORT DURING THE CLOSING DAYS OF A LONG AND ACRIMONIOUS CAMPAIGN. ON FRIDAY IN DES MOINES, BIDEN TALKED ABOUT A YEAR WHICH HAS INCLUDED DEMONSTRATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY OVER RACIAL ISSUES.
MEANWHILE, TRUMP VISITED DUBUQUE FOR A RALLY ON SUNDAY. HE TOOK TIME TO HIGHLIGHT A KEY AG ISSUE. ON THAT ISSUE, BIDEN HAS PLEDGED HIS SUPPORT FOR ADVANCED BIOFUELS DURING HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. HOWEVER, SOME IN AGRIBUSINESS HAVE EXPRESSED CONCERNS OVER 2014 INITIATIVES BIDEN SUPPORTED TO LOWER THE AMOUNT OF ETHANOL THAT REFINERS MUST BLEND INTO THE COUNTRY’S FUEL SUPPLY.
FIVE OF THE SIX STATES WITH THE NATION’S LOWEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ARE IN THE MIDWEST, AND THAT INCLUDES IOWA. THE STATES ARE LED BY REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS AND HAVE FEWER COVID-19-RELATED RESTRICTIONS. ECONOMISTS CONCEDE THAT A LACK OF PANDEMIC MANDATES MIGHT HELP, BUT OF EVEN GREATER IMPORTANCE IS THE FACT THAT IOWA, NEBRASKA, SOUTH DAKOTA, NORTH DAKOTA, AND MISSOURI HAVE ECONOMIES THAT RELY HEAVILY ON INDUSTRIES THAT WEREN’T HIT AS HARD BY THE PANDEMIC.
IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS, IOWA VOTERS WILL BE AT POLLING PLACES FOR ELECTION DAY. DURING A LATE CAMPAIGN SWING WHICH INCLUDED A STOP IN DUBUQUE ON SUNDAY, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP REMINDED SUPPORTERS ABOUT HIS INFLUENCE ON THE JUDICIAL BRANCH, MOST RECENTLY THE NOMINATION OF JUSTICE AMY CONEY-BARRETT TO THE SUPREME COURT.
FORMER VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN WAS ALSO IN IOWA IN THE WANING DAYS OF THE CAMPAIGN. ON FRIDAY IN DES MOINES, BIDEN NOTED THAT MILLIONS OF AMERICANS ARE STILL SUFFERING THROUGH THE EFFECTS OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC. 43 OF IOWA’S 99 COUNTIES HAD COVID-19 POSITIVITY RATES ABOVE 15% ON SUNDAY. ALSO YESTERDAY, IOWA HOSPITALS WERE TREATING MORE THAN 700 IN-PATIENTS FOR COVID-19, WITH MORE THAN 150 IN INTENSIVE CARE.
IOWA HAWKEYE RECEIVER IHMIR SMITH-MARSETTE WAS ARRESTED ON SUSPICION OF DRUNKEN DRIVING EARLY SUNDAY AND WILL BE SUSPENDED FOR NEXT WEEKEND’S HOME GAME AGAINST MICHIGAN STATE. SMITH-MARSETTE WAS PULLED OVER FOR SPEEDING AROUND 1:30 A.M. IN IOWA CITY. HOURS AFTER THE HAWKEYES’ 21-20 LOSS TO NORTHWESTERN, SMITH-MARSETTE WAS ALLEGEDLY GOING 74 MPH IN A 30 MPH ZONE. ACCORDING TO A POLICE REPORT, SMITH-MARSETTE FAILED FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS, AND HIS BLOOD-ALCOHOL CONTENT WAS .13. THE LEGAL LIMIT IS .08.
SPAM PHONE CALLS HAVE BEEN ON THE INCREASE IN IOWA. PART OF THE SURGE CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS. AN ORGANIZATION CALLED TRANSACTION NETWORK SERVICES TRACKS SUCH THINGS AND NOTED NEARLY THREE-AND-A-HALF MILLION POLITICAL ROBOCALLS FROM MID-AUGUST THROUGH MID-OCTOBER. MEANWHILE, NOTICEABLE NUMBERS OF SPAM TEXT MESSAGES HAVE ALSO BEEN FLYING THROUGH CELLULAR PHONE NETWORKS THIS ELECTION SEASON.
IOWA SENATOR CHUCK GRASSLEY SHARED HIS THOUGHTS ON THIS ELECTION CYCLE AND SIMILARITIES HE SEES BETWEEN TODAY AND 2016. GRASSLEY WAS A RECENT GUEST ON FOX’S NEIL CAVUTO LIVE. IN ADDITION TO THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE, REPUBLICANS IN THE U.S. SENATE ARE TRYING TO MAINTAIN A SLIM MAJORITY. THE IOWA RACE BETWEEN INCUMBENT JONI ERNST AND CHALLENGER TERESA GREENFIELD COULD AFFECT THAT BALANCE.
INDEPENDENCE POLICE ARE LOOKING FOR HELP AFTER WINDOWS WERE SHATTERED AT SEVERAL DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES OVERNIGHT SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY MORNING. THEY BELIEVE THAT MULTIPLE INCIDENTS HAPPENED BETWEEN 11 PM AND 3 AM. ANYONE WITH SURVEILLANCE VIDEO IS REQUESTED TO SHARE IT WITH AUTHORITIES. TIPS ABOUT THE INCIDENT CAN BE CALLED INTO INDEPENDENCE POLICE AT 334-2520.
IN WATERLOO, TWO REPORTS OF SHOOTING WERE MADE ON SUNDAY NIGHT. SHOTS WERE HEARD IN AREAS AROUND MIRIAM AND PALMER DRIVES, NOT FAR FROM WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND THE SIX-CORNERS INTERSECTION. WATERLOO POLICE ARE STILL INVESTIGATING.
