From the Associated Press:
Police say a man has died in a shootout with an officer outside a convenience store in eastern Iowa. Davenport police said in a statement that the shooting happened around 1 a.m. Wednesday when an officer responded to a call from the store about someone tampering with its air conditioning unit outside. Police say the officer confronted a man outside the store and discovered he had outstanding arrest warrants. Police say a fight ensued, and the man and the officer exchanged gunfire. Police say the man was shot and died at a hospital. The officer was not shot, but sustained minor injuries during the fight. Police have not released their names.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A retired Navy admiral, Democrat Mike Franken, will challenge Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley’s reelection this fall after winning his party’s nomination over two competitors. Franken beat former congresswoman Abby Finkenauer and physician Glenn Hurst on Tuesday to earn the right to run against Grassley. The veteran Republican is seeking an eighth Senate term. Franken’s primary win is something of a surprise, given Finkenauer was better known throughout the state. Her 2018 victory over a Republican congressman made her the second-youngest woman elected to Congress. Grassley won the Republican nomination over a state legislator and lawyer from Sioux City, Jim Carlin.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — After running unopposed in Iowa’s primary election, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds holds a huge fundraising edge over Democrat Deidre DeJear in a state that has become increasingly friendly to conservative candidates. DeJear, a 36-year-old businesswoman who also faced no primary opposition, is seeking to become the first Democrat elected governor of Iowa in 16 years. She will face a tough challenger in Reynolds, whose campaign has raised eight-times more money than the Democrat as she seeks a second full term. The fall campaign became official after polls closed in the state at 8 p.m. CT. Since becoming governor, Reynolds has ticked through a long list of conservative accomplishments.
A group of U.S. senators led by Vermont independent Bernie Sanders is lending its support to workers at two CNH Industrial plants in Wisconsin and Iowa who have been on strike for better pay and benefits for more than a month. The senators wrote a letter urging the company to offer the more than 1,000 strikers a better deal. Sanders plans to attend rallies with the workers next week. The senators say the workers shouldn’t have to accept the drastically higher health care costs and modest raises the company is offering now, especially when the company reported a $336 million profit in the first quarter. Company officials didn’t respond to questions about the strike Wednesday.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. House battles are taking shape that could tip the balance of power in Congress. In Montana, Trump Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was in a tight match to claim the Republican nomination for a new House seat. In Mississippi, two Republican congressmen were forced into runoffs to keep their seats. One had been dogged by ethics questions over his campaign spending, while the other received blowback for his vote on a proposal to create an outside commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. The contests were among primary elections across seven states Tuesday that set up November showdowns in dozens of races.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A 47-year-old Iowa man has been sentenced to five years in prison for detonating home made explosive devices on an Ankeny street last year. Chad Allen Williams, of Johnston, was sentenced Friday to federal prison for making a destructive device and being a drug user in possession of a firearm. Federal prosecutors say Williams admitted detonating the devices on May 12, 2021, and June 7, 2021. A third device was placed on a street on June 9, 2021, but it did not detonate. Prosecutors said that device contained a significant amount of shrapnel. When law enforcement searched Williams’ house, officers found drugs, weapons and items to make the explosive devices.
