DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau/KCRG) — Unlike national Democrat leaders, Republican Party leaders have chosen to keep the Iowa GOP presidential caucuses first-in-the-nation for 2028. Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann confirmed on Thursday that the Republican National Committee voted to keep the state’s caucuses as the leadoff presidential nominating contest in 2028. “I’m pleased to announce that Iowa’s First in the Nation status is officially preserved through 2028,” Kaufmann said in a statement. He continued, “As Chair of the RNC’s Presidential Nominating Process Committee, I led the effort to keep Iowa first and protect the carve-out system.” The “carve-out system” gives select states the party’s permission to hold their caucuses or primaries before the rest of the states and U.S. territories. Iowa Democrats already learned that they would not hold the first contest in 2028. Concerns about the state’s delayed reporting results in 2020, criticism about the caucus format, and a greater focus on other states that could provide more demographic diversity were all factors in national Democrats choosing South Carolina to begin the process in 2028. Kaufmann has frequently criticized Iowa Democrats for losing their first-in-the-nation status. The Iowa GOP Caucuses have been the first in the U.S. since 1976. The Iowa Democrat Caucuses previously had a half century of tradition in beginning the presidential nominating process that started in 1972.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – A man has been found guilty this week of stealing thousands from his former employer. A jury found Cody Laufer, of Hiawatha, guilty of money laundering and first-degree theft. According to a criminal complaint filed in August of 2022, he used company credit cards at the photocopy business to make personal purchases from November 2015 to May 2021. Cedar Rapids Police say he spent $33,000 on one card and $29,000 on another. Police say he also used the company’s Amazon account to make $83,500 worth of personal purchases. The criminal complaint also says he used company funds to purchase a company vehicle and keep it in his name. Court records state Laufer’s sentencing is set for December 4.
JOHNSON COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – A former Solon teacher alleged to have had sexual conduct with at least two students has been granted bail. Joel Foreman was taken into custody on August 19. He is charged with two counts of third-degree sexual abuse and three counts of sexual exploitation by a school employee. Criminal complaints filed in Johnson County suggest multiple victims spanning more than a decade while Foreman worked as a choir teacher at Solon High School. He resigned in November of 2022 and the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners permanently revoked his license the following month. Court records following a bond hearing on Tuesday show Foreman posted a $35,000 surety bond and will wear an ankle monitor during his pretrial release. The documents detail that Foreman has been living with his father in Mount Vernon and has been in weekly therapy sessions. The court also reasoned that since he no longer works for the school district and there are no-contact orders filed for three victims, he will have limited access to minors. A trial date has not been set.
DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – A dozen people attended a forum Wednesday night to learn more about Automated License Plate Readers, as residents and civil rights advocates ask for more oversight of the 22 surveillance cameras in Dubuque. Carol Frommelt of Epworth was one of about a dozen people at the forum at Northeast Iowa Community College. Frommelt said that in order to get to the forum, she drove into Dubuque’s system of 22 Flock cameras. The group Building Bridges brought in Rebecca Eastwood with the ACLU of Iowa to speak at the forum. “If it’s going to help solve crimes, great, but what does it mean for the surveillance on innocent civilians?” Frommelt said. Eastwood said communities like Dubuque need to do more research before adding the cameras. She said her organization wants more rules and regulations put in place to prevent the cameras from being used inappropriately. “What we are encouraging is communities to look at the use of these cameras in their backyard and ask, do we want these cameras, and if we do what kind of guardrails do we want in place before they were put in in the first place,” Eastwood said. Dubuque Police PIO Luke Bock said the department has guardrails in place, particularly regarding how officers can access the footage. “We go through each anomaly. We double-check what the instance was for, what the cause of the anomaly was, and be sure everything is being used appropriately,” Bock said. Frommelt said she wants to learn more about those answers. “I hear a lot of fear about it, so I want to know what people are afraid of,” Froemmelt said.
