DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Former Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey has died. Northey was the Chief Executive Officer of the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, which confirmed his death Monday. He was 64. Northey was Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture from 2007 to 2018, and then served as Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation at U.S. Department of Agriculture from 2018 to 2021. Gov. Kim Reynolds has ordered all flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff from now until sunset on the day of Northey’s funeral and internment.
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds blamed President Biden for what she called a crisis of crossings at the U.S. Mexico border and backed up the Texas Governor’s efforts to control the border that have increasingly conflicted with the federal government. Gov. Reynolds toured an area of the border near Eagle Pass, Texas with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and 13 other governors on Sunday. At an Iowa news conference Monday, Reynolds highlighted the recent record increases in border crossings, including nearly 250,000 apprehensions in December alone. In the last three years, Reynolds highlighted increases in fentanyl seizures, drug overdose deaths and human trafficking cases in Texas. Reynolds later noted a surge in drug cases in Iowa, too, pointing to a connection with illegal border crossings.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – An Iowa man convicted of participating in the January 6 demonstration at the U.S. Capitol is out of federal prison. Doug Jensen has been transferred into a ‘reentry management facility’ in Kansas. In December of 2022, Jensen was sentenced to five years in prison with three years of supervised release. He was convicted of seven federal charges, including civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding an officer. Pictures and videos show Jensen at the front of the crowd during the disturbance. Prosecutors described him as one of the ‘leaders of the mob’. Jensen’s attorney’s said his actions were motivated by right-wing conspiracy theories. An update from his wife online says he is now able to find a job and can come to Iowa on the weekends.
ANAMOSA, Iowa (KCRG) – Woodward Media announced last week that it would be closing the Anamosa Journal-Eureka. The company cited financial trouble and difficulty managing certain areas. But now, Nelson Media Company says it has a tentative agreement to take ownership of the paper. While details need to be figured out, Nelson’s CEO says he wants to keep as many employees as possible. Nelson say the newspaper will stay open and run as normal until a deal is finalized. The company says that happen this week or next.
