Podcasts about iowa attorney general brenna bird

Simon Conway's interview with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird during Monday's first hour.

Iowa Business Report Wednesday EditionMar. 12, 2025      Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird offers caution about fraudsters impersonating IRS officials at tax time. 

Simon Conway's interview with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird during Wednesday's second hour.

Simon Conway's interview with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird during Monday's first hour.

A letter signed by attorneys general — including Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird — urged Cosco to drop its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy.

Simon Conway's interview with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird during Tuesday's first hour.

Simon Conway's interview with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird during Monday's second hour.

Simon Conway's interview with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird during Wednesday's third hour.

Iowa Business Report Thursday EditionNov. 21, 2024        Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird on budget-busting costs being mandated by the federal government on volunteer fire departments in Iowa and other states. 

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is prosecuting another legal resident for illegally voting. A new grant will fund research on ovarian cancer treatment, which hasn't changed in decades. And a 12-year-old girl published a children's book about overcoming negative situations.

Simon Conway's interview with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird during Wednesday's second hour.

The Iowa Judicial Branch has been misspending collected court debts for three years. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird wants the legislature to change rules for collecting rape kit evidence. And how does a school district in Nebraska work with local groups to support homeless students?

Simon Conway's interview with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird during Wednesday's first hour.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has the latest on the lawsuits that she and other attorneys general are bringing to end California Proposition 12 and Massachusetts Question 3 restrictions against other state's hog producing practices.

Iowa Business Report Wednesday EditionSep. 11, 2024          Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird on Iowa joining a lawsuit against Live Nation/TicketMaster, alleging monopolistic practices that hurt consumers.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird discusses some of the lawsuits she has recently filed or joined, as well as other work the attorney general's office is doing.

Simon Conway's interview with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird during Wednesday's third hour.

Simon Conway's interview with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird during Wednesday's first hour.

Simon Conway's interview with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird during Friday's second hour.

Simon Conway's interview with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird during Wednesday's first hour.

Throughout her career, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has been standing up for Catholic values in the public sphere. She is a leader nationally on many important issues, and we are lucky to have her working for us in our state.

In this episode of ITR Live, we dive into the recent New York Times/Siena poll that has sent shockwaves through the national political landscape. The discussion delves into the eye-opening numbers of the poll, which should have the Biden campaign and downballot Democrats worried. Chris and John also touch upon the challenges of property tax relief measures and the need for legislative action to continue providing real relief for taxpayers. We look at what is driving the conversation in Nebraska, and how the state-by-state competition on tax policy is real. The discussion highlights the repercussions of unbridled spending and the importance of setting limits to safeguard taxpayers' interests. We also look at the work that Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has been doing to push back against the malfeasance and overreach of the Biden administration and how important it is that our leaders stand up to the malicious and dangerous use of the legal system to punish and silence political opponents.

On today’s program, we’re speaking with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird about her recent stop in Washington this month.

Iowa Business Report Tuesday EditionMarch 12, 2024       Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird on the outcome of a lawsuit her office filed against the federal Environmental Protection Agency which will allow E-15 to be sold year-round in Iowa.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Friday, January 26th, 2024. Dropwave Do you have a podcast, or thinking about starting one? Does your church have a podcast feed for sermons? Then Dropwave.io is for you. Cancel culture is like walking on a thin glass bridge over the Grand Canyon. Every step you take could get you killed, I mean canceled. Since the beginning CrossPolitic has been working on being antifragile, so no matter what happens, our content can still be delivered to your tv and to your podcast. The Waterboy and his friend Jeremi, have been working on building a podcast hosting solution for rowdy platforms like CrossPolitic, so that you can be confident your podcast will never fall through that glass bridge. Dropwave offers seamless onboarding for shows that have been around for years to easy to use solutions for starting your own podcast. Dropwave will track all your show’s downloads by city, state, and country, and it offers network and enterprise packages for solutions like the Fight Laugh Feast Network. Free to speak, Free to podcast, free to start your journey now at www.Dropwave.io. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4428905-gop-governors-abbott-border-security-immigration/ GOP governors back Abbott in border standoff Republican governors are backing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in his standoff against the federal government over border authority. On Tuesday, the Texas National Guard appeared to ignore a Supreme Court decision and continued building razor wire barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, preventing the federal Border Patrol from doing their jobs. In a statement Wednesday, Abbott justified the actions by claiming his authority to combat an “invasion” of the state “supersedes” federal law. GOP Govs. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Brian Kemp of Georgia have all said they support Abbott’s actions. “If the Constitution really made states powerless to defend themselves against an invasion, it wouldn’t have been ratified in the first place and Texas would have never joined the union when it did,” DeSantis said on X, formerly Twitter. “TX is upholding the law while Biden is flouting it.” Youngkin added that the Biden administration “has turned every state into a border state,” and that Abbott is doing what the border officials “refuse to do to secure our border.” Stitt, Noem and Kemp also said their states “stand with” Texas. The federal government has claimed in court filings that the Texas National Guard has physically prevented the Border Patrol from doing its job on certain parts of the Rio Grande, as well as blocked off portions of the border previously used to process migrants. The claim that Texas officials can supersede federal authority has sparked calls from Democrats for President Biden to nationalize the Texas National Guard and force them to follow the court’s decision and federal law. Democratic Texas Reps. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar have advocated for nationalizing the state guard. Abbott’s statement Wednesday specifically claims the federal government has “broken the compact” with the states, justifying ignoring federal law and the Supreme Court. The so-called “compact theory” is a rejected idea of state supremacy used to justify the secession of Confederate states during the Civil War. The Supreme Court repeatedly shot down the legal theory in the early years of the U.S., when it was first proposed to nullify federal legislation during former President John Adams’s time in office. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-ags-battle-blue-state-push-to-shutter-largest-ammo-manufacturer-to-punish-second-amendment-rights GOP AGs take aim at Dem plea for Biden to shut down critical ammo manufacturer Every republican attorney general in the country blasted their Democrat counterparts for attempting to shutter an ammunition factory in Missouri, a letter sent to the White House Wednesday revealed. In a letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, all 28 GOP attorneys general asked President Biden and White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention director Stefanie Feldman to disregard their Democrat colleagues' request to end commercial sales from Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, one of the country’s largest ammo manufacturers. Democrats had previously asked the administration to investigate the contracting and manufacturing practices of the plant after a New York Times report alleged that "military-grade rounds" were sold commercially and were connected to mass shootings. But the Republicans say the Democrats’ letter contained a "litany of errors." "Perhaps those States should focus more on prosecuting crime to stop mass shootings—rather than trying to stop lawful Americans’ use of guns and ammunition. Their tactic is an overt attempt to punish Americans’ exercise of their Second Amendment rights, Among the list of "errors" the GOP AGs point out that their Democrat colleages allege that ammunition manufactured for "military use" does not belong in communities. "First, the ammunition manufactured at Lake City and sold into the commercial market is not the primary rifle cartridge used by the United States military. The primary cartridge is proprietary to the Army and may not be sold commercially," the AGs note. "Second, while the United States military purchases and uses a particular type of ammunition, that is not determinative as to whether it is "military ammunition" that should be banned for public use," they write. "If the United States military using ammunition precluded that ammunition’s use by civilians, then other widely and commonly available ammunition, including 9mm and 12-gauge shotshells, would also be prohibited for public use," they argued, adding that Supreme Court precedent "does not support such an openly artificial distinction." According to the state’s top prosecutors, Lake City only sells ammunition to commercial customers that is legal to manufacture, and it complies with all the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) requirements. The AGs argued that the Democrats’ efforts would undermine national security. "Gun control advocates are firing blanks when they contend that taxpayers are subsidizing mass shooters. They get causality backward. The law-abiding target shooters and gun owners who buy Lake City ammunition are subsidizing national defense and military readiness," they argue. They note that the Defense Department "sought to avoid a situation when the military needs surge due to a real-world conflict, ammunition is not readily available," adding that ammunition availability requires facilities, production equipment, a skilled workforce, and supply chains to remain in constant operation. "Machines and production cannot be turned on like the flip of a switch. It takes time to hire and train the highly skilled workers needed to operate production lines to manufacture the highest quality ammunition for U.S. warfighters. Commercial production has allowed Lake City, and its suppliers, to maintain steady labor, maximize equipment run time, ensure a stable supply base, and provide a level of readiness to the U.S. military that would not otherwise be available," they added. The attorneys general also said that Lake City cannot halt commercial use without a "detrimental loss" to their communities and economy. If it stopped, the AGs allege it would result in an estimated loss of 500–700 jobs or 30%–45% of the skilled workforce now employed at Lake City and "countless more" throughout the supply chain. Montana Attorney General Austen Knudsen in a statement to Fox News Digital called the investigation by the New York Times "highly questionable" and, their latest effort to shut down the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is based on a highly questionable ‘investigation' by the New York Times." Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird charged that "if the Biden Administration and anti-gun activists were serious about saving lives, they would start by enforcing the laws on the books to combat violent criminals." Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey echoed those sentiments, adding that "Lake City Ammunition did nothing wrong." "We should be focused on the free flow of illegal weapons coming across our border – not taking aim at law-abiding patriots," Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said, adding that the border crisis "is exactly why law-abiding citizens need the liberty to defend themselves." https://thefederalist.com/2024/01/24/canadian-court-rules-trudeaus-unreasonable-crackdown-on-trucker-convoy-violated-federal-law/ Canadian Court Rules Trudeau’s ‘Unreasonable’ Crackdown On Trucker Convoy Violated Federal Law A Canadian court ruled Tuesday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of a controversial federal law in early 2022 to target truckers protesting their industry’s Covid vaccine mandate was “unreasonable” and illegal. The use of the Emergencies Act “does not bear the hallmarks of reasonableness — justification, transparency and intelligibility,” Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley wrote. “I conclude that there was no national emergency justifying the invocation of the Emergencies Act and the decision to do so was therefore unreasonable and ultra vires.” As the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) explained, “ultra vires” is a term courts use “to refer to actions beyond the scope of the law.” In early 2022, Trudeau’s government implemented a series of Covid shot mandates for various sectors of Canadian society, including a requirement for truckers crossing the U.S.-Canada border. The tyrannical mandate ultimately prompted Canadian truckers to launch the “Freedom Convoy,” a massive protest comprised of vehicles that ended outside Parliament Hill in the nation’s capital. While peaceful, the protests evoked the ire of Trudeau, who used the Emergencies Act to mobilize the Canadian military and state intel agencies to forcibly remove the demonstrators gridlocking Ottawa. In addition to backing GoFundMe’s attempts to deplatform fundraising efforts for the convoy, Trudeau’s administration also expanded “its terrorist financing rules to target crowdfunding sites like the convoy’s new platform GiveSendGo,” The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd wrote, with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland baselessly claiming the platforms were “being used to support illegal blockades and illegal activity which is damaging the Canadian economy.” As if his abuse of the Emergencies Act weren’t despicable enough, Trudeau — who went into hiding upon the convoy’s arrival in Ottawa — also grossly smeared the protesters with the typical diatribe of leftist slanders, including accusations of “antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, homophobia, and transphobia.” Despite his best attempt to play the role of a dictator, Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act went beyond the scope of what is permitted by Canadian law. While the Emergencies Act can be employed to manage a national emergency that “cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada,” Mosley determined that Trudeau’s actions far exceeded that threshold. “The potential for serious violence, or being unable to say that there was no potential for serious violence was, of course, a valid reason for concern,” Mosley wrote. “But in my view, it did not satisfy the test required to invoke the Act, particularly as there was no evidence of a similar ‘hardened cell’ elsewhere in the country, only speculation, and the situation at Cou[r]ts had been resolved without violence.” Mosley further ruled that the government’s financial crackdown violated demonstrators’ Charter rights “by permitting unreasonable search and seizure of the financial information of designated persons and the freezing of their bank and credit card accounts.” Unsurprisingly, the Canadian government plans to appeal the ruling, with Freeland laughably claiming on Tuesday that the administration’s unlawful actions were “necessary” and “legal” because Canadian “national security was under real threat.” https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/taxpayers-could-get-stuck-cost-removing-offshore-wind-farm-after-biden-admin Taxpayers may get stuck with cost of removing an offshore wind farm after Biden admin waives fees The Biden administration reportedly waived fees for an offshore wind project that are in place to ensure that the infrastructure is removed and the site reclaimed at the end of the project’s life. President Joe Biden, as part of his climate agenda, is pushing an aggressive buildout of offshore wind projects along the East Coast. With the offshore wind industry struggling financially, the waiving of these fees raises concerns about what would happen if these companies go bankrupt and leave behind wind farms they can’t afford to remove. Protect The Public Trust (PPT), a government watchdog group, obtained documents showing that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) informed Vineyard Wind had approved the company’s request to waive fees for financial assurances that goes toward decommissioning costs. The bureau’s reasoning for granting the deferral, according to PPT, was that the financial assurance was “unnecessarily burdensome for lessees because, at that point, they have not begun receiving project income.” Since the project is using “proven wind turbine technology” and its contracts guaranteed electricity sale prices, BOEM reasoned, the project had a predictable income over the life of the project. The Department of Interior requires these bonds from oil and gas producers, as taxpayers have been stuck decommissioning the projects of companies that go bankrupt or were operating prior to bonding requirements. California, for example, is trying to decommission 23 federal offshore platforms at a cost of $1.7 billion, and the liability for those costs remain unresolved. There are also thousands of onshore orphaned wells across the country that the federal government is trying to plug. In some cases, these wells were drilled a century or more ago before bonding requirements, and there’s no solvent owner of record to hold accountable for the costs. In Wyoming, an industry sprang up a decade ago hoping to tap coal beds for natural gas, but after natural gas prices collapsed, the entire industry collapsed with it. The state was left with a lot of wells to plug and no companies to hold accountable. While the Biden administration is granting waivers for these protections to offshore wind projects, it’s proposing steep increases in bonding requirements for oil and gas operations. While that proposal is met with support from environmentalists, industry groups have criticized the measure. Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, told Reuters in July that rather than trying to ensure funding for reclamation efforts, the administration was raising the costs so high as a means to reduce the number of operations. Elmer Peter Danenberger III, a petroleum engineer with decades of experience in the oil and gas industry, explained on his “Bud’s Offshore Energy” blog that BOEM’s decision to waive Vineyard Wind’s obligations significantly increases the public’s risk exposure. Danenberger wrote that BOEM, in granting the waiver, cited a general departure authority, which was intended for special situations and not for waivers that could be applied broadly.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Friday, January 26th, 2024. Dropwave Do you have a podcast, or thinking about starting one? Does your church have a podcast feed for sermons? Then Dropwave.io is for you. Cancel culture is like walking on a thin glass bridge over the Grand Canyon. Every step you take could get you killed, I mean canceled. Since the beginning CrossPolitic has been working on being antifragile, so no matter what happens, our content can still be delivered to your tv and to your podcast. The Waterboy and his friend Jeremi, have been working on building a podcast hosting solution for rowdy platforms like CrossPolitic, so that you can be confident your podcast will never fall through that glass bridge. Dropwave offers seamless onboarding for shows that have been around for years to easy to use solutions for starting your own podcast. Dropwave will track all your show’s downloads by city, state, and country, and it offers network and enterprise packages for solutions like the Fight Laugh Feast Network. Free to speak, Free to podcast, free to start your journey now at www.Dropwave.io. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4428905-gop-governors-abbott-border-security-immigration/ GOP governors back Abbott in border standoff Republican governors are backing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in his standoff against the federal government over border authority. On Tuesday, the Texas National Guard appeared to ignore a Supreme Court decision and continued building razor wire barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, preventing the federal Border Patrol from doing their jobs. In a statement Wednesday, Abbott justified the actions by claiming his authority to combat an “invasion” of the state “supersedes” federal law. GOP Govs. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Brian Kemp of Georgia have all said they support Abbott’s actions. “If the Constitution really made states powerless to defend themselves against an invasion, it wouldn’t have been ratified in the first place and Texas would have never joined the union when it did,” DeSantis said on X, formerly Twitter. “TX is upholding the law while Biden is flouting it.” Youngkin added that the Biden administration “has turned every state into a border state,” and that Abbott is doing what the border officials “refuse to do to secure our border.” Stitt, Noem and Kemp also said their states “stand with” Texas. The federal government has claimed in court filings that the Texas National Guard has physically prevented the Border Patrol from doing its job on certain parts of the Rio Grande, as well as blocked off portions of the border previously used to process migrants. The claim that Texas officials can supersede federal authority has sparked calls from Democrats for President Biden to nationalize the Texas National Guard and force them to follow the court’s decision and federal law. Democratic Texas Reps. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar have advocated for nationalizing the state guard. Abbott’s statement Wednesday specifically claims the federal government has “broken the compact” with the states, justifying ignoring federal law and the Supreme Court. The so-called “compact theory” is a rejected idea of state supremacy used to justify the secession of Confederate states during the Civil War. The Supreme Court repeatedly shot down the legal theory in the early years of the U.S., when it was first proposed to nullify federal legislation during former President John Adams’s time in office. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-ags-battle-blue-state-push-to-shutter-largest-ammo-manufacturer-to-punish-second-amendment-rights GOP AGs take aim at Dem plea for Biden to shut down critical ammo manufacturer Every republican attorney general in the country blasted their Democrat counterparts for attempting to shutter an ammunition factory in Missouri, a letter sent to the White House Wednesday revealed. In a letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, all 28 GOP attorneys general asked President Biden and White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention director Stefanie Feldman to disregard their Democrat colleagues' request to end commercial sales from Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, one of the country’s largest ammo manufacturers. Democrats had previously asked the administration to investigate the contracting and manufacturing practices of the plant after a New York Times report alleged that "military-grade rounds" were sold commercially and were connected to mass shootings. But the Republicans say the Democrats’ letter contained a "litany of errors." "Perhaps those States should focus more on prosecuting crime to stop mass shootings—rather than trying to stop lawful Americans’ use of guns and ammunition. Their tactic is an overt attempt to punish Americans’ exercise of their Second Amendment rights, Among the list of "errors" the GOP AGs point out that their Democrat colleages allege that ammunition manufactured for "military use" does not belong in communities. "First, the ammunition manufactured at Lake City and sold into the commercial market is not the primary rifle cartridge used by the United States military. The primary cartridge is proprietary to the Army and may not be sold commercially," the AGs note. "Second, while the United States military purchases and uses a particular type of ammunition, that is not determinative as to whether it is "military ammunition" that should be banned for public use," they write. "If the United States military using ammunition precluded that ammunition’s use by civilians, then other widely and commonly available ammunition, including 9mm and 12-gauge shotshells, would also be prohibited for public use," they argued, adding that Supreme Court precedent "does not support such an openly artificial distinction." According to the state’s top prosecutors, Lake City only sells ammunition to commercial customers that is legal to manufacture, and it complies with all the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) requirements. The AGs argued that the Democrats’ efforts would undermine national security. "Gun control advocates are firing blanks when they contend that taxpayers are subsidizing mass shooters. They get causality backward. The law-abiding target shooters and gun owners who buy Lake City ammunition are subsidizing national defense and military readiness," they argue. They note that the Defense Department "sought to avoid a situation when the military needs surge due to a real-world conflict, ammunition is not readily available," adding that ammunition availability requires facilities, production equipment, a skilled workforce, and supply chains to remain in constant operation. "Machines and production cannot be turned on like the flip of a switch. It takes time to hire and train the highly skilled workers needed to operate production lines to manufacture the highest quality ammunition for U.S. warfighters. Commercial production has allowed Lake City, and its suppliers, to maintain steady labor, maximize equipment run time, ensure a stable supply base, and provide a level of readiness to the U.S. military that would not otherwise be available," they added. The attorneys general also said that Lake City cannot halt commercial use without a "detrimental loss" to their communities and economy. If it stopped, the AGs allege it would result in an estimated loss of 500–700 jobs or 30%–45% of the skilled workforce now employed at Lake City and "countless more" throughout the supply chain. Montana Attorney General Austen Knudsen in a statement to Fox News Digital called the investigation by the New York Times "highly questionable" and, their latest effort to shut down the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is based on a highly questionable ‘investigation' by the New York Times." Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird charged that "if the Biden Administration and anti-gun activists were serious about saving lives, they would start by enforcing the laws on the books to combat violent criminals." Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey echoed those sentiments, adding that "Lake City Ammunition did nothing wrong." "We should be focused on the free flow of illegal weapons coming across our border – not taking aim at law-abiding patriots," Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said, adding that the border crisis "is exactly why law-abiding citizens need the liberty to defend themselves." https://thefederalist.com/2024/01/24/canadian-court-rules-trudeaus-unreasonable-crackdown-on-trucker-convoy-violated-federal-law/ Canadian Court Rules Trudeau’s ‘Unreasonable’ Crackdown On Trucker Convoy Violated Federal Law A Canadian court ruled Tuesday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of a controversial federal law in early 2022 to target truckers protesting their industry’s Covid vaccine mandate was “unreasonable” and illegal. The use of the Emergencies Act “does not bear the hallmarks of reasonableness — justification, transparency and intelligibility,” Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley wrote. “I conclude that there was no national emergency justifying the invocation of the Emergencies Act and the decision to do so was therefore unreasonable and ultra vires.” As the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) explained, “ultra vires” is a term courts use “to refer to actions beyond the scope of the law.” In early 2022, Trudeau’s government implemented a series of Covid shot mandates for various sectors of Canadian society, including a requirement for truckers crossing the U.S.-Canada border. The tyrannical mandate ultimately prompted Canadian truckers to launch the “Freedom Convoy,” a massive protest comprised of vehicles that ended outside Parliament Hill in the nation’s capital. While peaceful, the protests evoked the ire of Trudeau, who used the Emergencies Act to mobilize the Canadian military and state intel agencies to forcibly remove the demonstrators gridlocking Ottawa. In addition to backing GoFundMe’s attempts to deplatform fundraising efforts for the convoy, Trudeau’s administration also expanded “its terrorist financing rules to target crowdfunding sites like the convoy’s new platform GiveSendGo,” The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd wrote, with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland baselessly claiming the platforms were “being used to support illegal blockades and illegal activity which is damaging the Canadian economy.” As if his abuse of the Emergencies Act weren’t despicable enough, Trudeau — who went into hiding upon the convoy’s arrival in Ottawa — also grossly smeared the protesters with the typical diatribe of leftist slanders, including accusations of “antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, homophobia, and transphobia.” Despite his best attempt to play the role of a dictator, Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act went beyond the scope of what is permitted by Canadian law. While the Emergencies Act can be employed to manage a national emergency that “cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada,” Mosley determined that Trudeau’s actions far exceeded that threshold. “The potential for serious violence, or being unable to say that there was no potential for serious violence was, of course, a valid reason for concern,” Mosley wrote. “But in my view, it did not satisfy the test required to invoke the Act, particularly as there was no evidence of a similar ‘hardened cell’ elsewhere in the country, only speculation, and the situation at Cou[r]ts had been resolved without violence.” Mosley further ruled that the government’s financial crackdown violated demonstrators’ Charter rights “by permitting unreasonable search and seizure of the financial information of designated persons and the freezing of their bank and credit card accounts.” Unsurprisingly, the Canadian government plans to appeal the ruling, with Freeland laughably claiming on Tuesday that the administration’s unlawful actions were “necessary” and “legal” because Canadian “national security was under real threat.” https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/taxpayers-could-get-stuck-cost-removing-offshore-wind-farm-after-biden-admin Taxpayers may get stuck with cost of removing an offshore wind farm after Biden admin waives fees The Biden administration reportedly waived fees for an offshore wind project that are in place to ensure that the infrastructure is removed and the site reclaimed at the end of the project’s life. President Joe Biden, as part of his climate agenda, is pushing an aggressive buildout of offshore wind projects along the East Coast. With the offshore wind industry struggling financially, the waiving of these fees raises concerns about what would happen if these companies go bankrupt and leave behind wind farms they can’t afford to remove. Protect The Public Trust (PPT), a government watchdog group, obtained documents showing that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) informed Vineyard Wind had approved the company’s request to waive fees for financial assurances that goes toward decommissioning costs. The bureau’s reasoning for granting the deferral, according to PPT, was that the financial assurance was “unnecessarily burdensome for lessees because, at that point, they have not begun receiving project income.” Since the project is using “proven wind turbine technology” and its contracts guaranteed electricity sale prices, BOEM reasoned, the project had a predictable income over the life of the project. The Department of Interior requires these bonds from oil and gas producers, as taxpayers have been stuck decommissioning the projects of companies that go bankrupt or were operating prior to bonding requirements. California, for example, is trying to decommission 23 federal offshore platforms at a cost of $1.7 billion, and the liability for those costs remain unresolved. There are also thousands of onshore orphaned wells across the country that the federal government is trying to plug. In some cases, these wells were drilled a century or more ago before bonding requirements, and there’s no solvent owner of record to hold accountable for the costs. In Wyoming, an industry sprang up a decade ago hoping to tap coal beds for natural gas, but after natural gas prices collapsed, the entire industry collapsed with it. The state was left with a lot of wells to plug and no companies to hold accountable. While the Biden administration is granting waivers for these protections to offshore wind projects, it’s proposing steep increases in bonding requirements for oil and gas operations. While that proposal is met with support from environmentalists, industry groups have criticized the measure. Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, told Reuters in July that rather than trying to ensure funding for reclamation efforts, the administration was raising the costs so high as a means to reduce the number of operations. Elmer Peter Danenberger III, a petroleum engineer with decades of experience in the oil and gas industry, explained on his “Bud’s Offshore Energy” blog that BOEM’s decision to waive Vineyard Wind’s obligations significantly increases the public’s risk exposure. Danenberger wrote that BOEM, in granting the waiver, cited a general departure authority, which was intended for special situations and not for waivers that could be applied broadly.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Friday, January 26th, 2024. Dropwave Do you have a podcast, or thinking about starting one? Does your church have a podcast feed for sermons? Then Dropwave.io is for you. Cancel culture is like walking on a thin glass bridge over the Grand Canyon. Every step you take could get you killed, I mean canceled. Since the beginning CrossPolitic has been working on being antifragile, so no matter what happens, our content can still be delivered to your tv and to your podcast. The Waterboy and his friend Jeremi, have been working on building a podcast hosting solution for rowdy platforms like CrossPolitic, so that you can be confident your podcast will never fall through that glass bridge. Dropwave offers seamless onboarding for shows that have been around for years to easy to use solutions for starting your own podcast. Dropwave will track all your show’s downloads by city, state, and country, and it offers network and enterprise packages for solutions like the Fight Laugh Feast Network. Free to speak, Free to podcast, free to start your journey now at www.Dropwave.io. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4428905-gop-governors-abbott-border-security-immigration/ GOP governors back Abbott in border standoff Republican governors are backing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in his standoff against the federal government over border authority. On Tuesday, the Texas National Guard appeared to ignore a Supreme Court decision and continued building razor wire barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, preventing the federal Border Patrol from doing their jobs. In a statement Wednesday, Abbott justified the actions by claiming his authority to combat an “invasion” of the state “supersedes” federal law. GOP Govs. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Brian Kemp of Georgia have all said they support Abbott’s actions. “If the Constitution really made states powerless to defend themselves against an invasion, it wouldn’t have been ratified in the first place and Texas would have never joined the union when it did,” DeSantis said on X, formerly Twitter. “TX is upholding the law while Biden is flouting it.” Youngkin added that the Biden administration “has turned every state into a border state,” and that Abbott is doing what the border officials “refuse to do to secure our border.” Stitt, Noem and Kemp also said their states “stand with” Texas. The federal government has claimed in court filings that the Texas National Guard has physically prevented the Border Patrol from doing its job on certain parts of the Rio Grande, as well as blocked off portions of the border previously used to process migrants. The claim that Texas officials can supersede federal authority has sparked calls from Democrats for President Biden to nationalize the Texas National Guard and force them to follow the court’s decision and federal law. Democratic Texas Reps. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar have advocated for nationalizing the state guard. Abbott’s statement Wednesday specifically claims the federal government has “broken the compact” with the states, justifying ignoring federal law and the Supreme Court. The so-called “compact theory” is a rejected idea of state supremacy used to justify the secession of Confederate states during the Civil War. The Supreme Court repeatedly shot down the legal theory in the early years of the U.S., when it was first proposed to nullify federal legislation during former President John Adams’s time in office. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-ags-battle-blue-state-push-to-shutter-largest-ammo-manufacturer-to-punish-second-amendment-rights GOP AGs take aim at Dem plea for Biden to shut down critical ammo manufacturer Every republican attorney general in the country blasted their Democrat counterparts for attempting to shutter an ammunition factory in Missouri, a letter sent to the White House Wednesday revealed. In a letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, all 28 GOP attorneys general asked President Biden and White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention director Stefanie Feldman to disregard their Democrat colleagues' request to end commercial sales from Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, one of the country’s largest ammo manufacturers. Democrats had previously asked the administration to investigate the contracting and manufacturing practices of the plant after a New York Times report alleged that "military-grade rounds" were sold commercially and were connected to mass shootings. But the Republicans say the Democrats’ letter contained a "litany of errors." "Perhaps those States should focus more on prosecuting crime to stop mass shootings—rather than trying to stop lawful Americans’ use of guns and ammunition. Their tactic is an overt attempt to punish Americans’ exercise of their Second Amendment rights, Among the list of "errors" the GOP AGs point out that their Democrat colleages allege that ammunition manufactured for "military use" does not belong in communities. "First, the ammunition manufactured at Lake City and sold into the commercial market is not the primary rifle cartridge used by the United States military. The primary cartridge is proprietary to the Army and may not be sold commercially," the AGs note. "Second, while the United States military purchases and uses a particular type of ammunition, that is not determinative as to whether it is "military ammunition" that should be banned for public use," they write. "If the United States military using ammunition precluded that ammunition’s use by civilians, then other widely and commonly available ammunition, including 9mm and 12-gauge shotshells, would also be prohibited for public use," they argued, adding that Supreme Court precedent "does not support such an openly artificial distinction." According to the state’s top prosecutors, Lake City only sells ammunition to commercial customers that is legal to manufacture, and it complies with all the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) requirements. The AGs argued that the Democrats’ efforts would undermine national security. "Gun control advocates are firing blanks when they contend that taxpayers are subsidizing mass shooters. They get causality backward. The law-abiding target shooters and gun owners who buy Lake City ammunition are subsidizing national defense and military readiness," they argue. They note that the Defense Department "sought to avoid a situation when the military needs surge due to a real-world conflict, ammunition is not readily available," adding that ammunition availability requires facilities, production equipment, a skilled workforce, and supply chains to remain in constant operation. "Machines and production cannot be turned on like the flip of a switch. It takes time to hire and train the highly skilled workers needed to operate production lines to manufacture the highest quality ammunition for U.S. warfighters. Commercial production has allowed Lake City, and its suppliers, to maintain steady labor, maximize equipment run time, ensure a stable supply base, and provide a level of readiness to the U.S. military that would not otherwise be available," they added. The attorneys general also said that Lake City cannot halt commercial use without a "detrimental loss" to their communities and economy. If it stopped, the AGs allege it would result in an estimated loss of 500–700 jobs or 30%–45% of the skilled workforce now employed at Lake City and "countless more" throughout the supply chain. Montana Attorney General Austen Knudsen in a statement to Fox News Digital called the investigation by the New York Times "highly questionable" and, their latest effort to shut down the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is based on a highly questionable ‘investigation' by the New York Times." Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird charged that "if the Biden Administration and anti-gun activists were serious about saving lives, they would start by enforcing the laws on the books to combat violent criminals." Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey echoed those sentiments, adding that "Lake City Ammunition did nothing wrong." "We should be focused on the free flow of illegal weapons coming across our border – not taking aim at law-abiding patriots," Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said, adding that the border crisis "is exactly why law-abiding citizens need the liberty to defend themselves." https://thefederalist.com/2024/01/24/canadian-court-rules-trudeaus-unreasonable-crackdown-on-trucker-convoy-violated-federal-law/ Canadian Court Rules Trudeau’s ‘Unreasonable’ Crackdown On Trucker Convoy Violated Federal Law A Canadian court ruled Tuesday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of a controversial federal law in early 2022 to target truckers protesting their industry’s Covid vaccine mandate was “unreasonable” and illegal. The use of the Emergencies Act “does not bear the hallmarks of reasonableness — justification, transparency and intelligibility,” Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley wrote. “I conclude that there was no national emergency justifying the invocation of the Emergencies Act and the decision to do so was therefore unreasonable and ultra vires.” As the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) explained, “ultra vires” is a term courts use “to refer to actions beyond the scope of the law.” In early 2022, Trudeau’s government implemented a series of Covid shot mandates for various sectors of Canadian society, including a requirement for truckers crossing the U.S.-Canada border. The tyrannical mandate ultimately prompted Canadian truckers to launch the “Freedom Convoy,” a massive protest comprised of vehicles that ended outside Parliament Hill in the nation’s capital. While peaceful, the protests evoked the ire of Trudeau, who used the Emergencies Act to mobilize the Canadian military and state intel agencies to forcibly remove the demonstrators gridlocking Ottawa. In addition to backing GoFundMe’s attempts to deplatform fundraising efforts for the convoy, Trudeau’s administration also expanded “its terrorist financing rules to target crowdfunding sites like the convoy’s new platform GiveSendGo,” The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd wrote, with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland baselessly claiming the platforms were “being used to support illegal blockades and illegal activity which is damaging the Canadian economy.” As if his abuse of the Emergencies Act weren’t despicable enough, Trudeau — who went into hiding upon the convoy’s arrival in Ottawa — also grossly smeared the protesters with the typical diatribe of leftist slanders, including accusations of “antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, homophobia, and transphobia.” Despite his best attempt to play the role of a dictator, Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act went beyond the scope of what is permitted by Canadian law. While the Emergencies Act can be employed to manage a national emergency that “cannot be effectively dealt with under any other law of Canada,” Mosley determined that Trudeau’s actions far exceeded that threshold. “The potential for serious violence, or being unable to say that there was no potential for serious violence was, of course, a valid reason for concern,” Mosley wrote. “But in my view, it did not satisfy the test required to invoke the Act, particularly as there was no evidence of a similar ‘hardened cell’ elsewhere in the country, only speculation, and the situation at Cou[r]ts had been resolved without violence.” Mosley further ruled that the government’s financial crackdown violated demonstrators’ Charter rights “by permitting unreasonable search and seizure of the financial information of designated persons and the freezing of their bank and credit card accounts.” Unsurprisingly, the Canadian government plans to appeal the ruling, with Freeland laughably claiming on Tuesday that the administration’s unlawful actions were “necessary” and “legal” because Canadian “national security was under real threat.” https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/taxpayers-could-get-stuck-cost-removing-offshore-wind-farm-after-biden-admin Taxpayers may get stuck with cost of removing an offshore wind farm after Biden admin waives fees The Biden administration reportedly waived fees for an offshore wind project that are in place to ensure that the infrastructure is removed and the site reclaimed at the end of the project’s life. President Joe Biden, as part of his climate agenda, is pushing an aggressive buildout of offshore wind projects along the East Coast. With the offshore wind industry struggling financially, the waiving of these fees raises concerns about what would happen if these companies go bankrupt and leave behind wind farms they can’t afford to remove. Protect The Public Trust (PPT), a government watchdog group, obtained documents showing that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) informed Vineyard Wind had approved the company’s request to waive fees for financial assurances that goes toward decommissioning costs. The bureau’s reasoning for granting the deferral, according to PPT, was that the financial assurance was “unnecessarily burdensome for lessees because, at that point, they have not begun receiving project income.” Since the project is using “proven wind turbine technology” and its contracts guaranteed electricity sale prices, BOEM reasoned, the project had a predictable income over the life of the project. The Department of Interior requires these bonds from oil and gas producers, as taxpayers have been stuck decommissioning the projects of companies that go bankrupt or were operating prior to bonding requirements. California, for example, is trying to decommission 23 federal offshore platforms at a cost of $1.7 billion, and the liability for those costs remain unresolved. There are also thousands of onshore orphaned wells across the country that the federal government is trying to plug. In some cases, these wells were drilled a century or more ago before bonding requirements, and there’s no solvent owner of record to hold accountable for the costs. In Wyoming, an industry sprang up a decade ago hoping to tap coal beds for natural gas, but after natural gas prices collapsed, the entire industry collapsed with it. The state was left with a lot of wells to plug and no companies to hold accountable. While the Biden administration is granting waivers for these protections to offshore wind projects, it’s proposing steep increases in bonding requirements for oil and gas operations. While that proposal is met with support from environmentalists, industry groups have criticized the measure. Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, told Reuters in July that rather than trying to ensure funding for reclamation efforts, the administration was raising the costs so high as a means to reduce the number of operations. Elmer Peter Danenberger III, a petroleum engineer with decades of experience in the oil and gas industry, explained on his “Bud’s Offshore Energy” blog that BOEM’s decision to waive Vineyard Wind’s obligations significantly increases the public’s risk exposure. Danenberger wrote that BOEM, in granting the waiver, cited a general departure authority, which was intended for special situations and not for waivers that could be applied broadly.

We hear from a South American agronomist at the University of Sao Paulo, Mauro Osaki, on the condition of the South American crop. David is joined by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird to discuss the upholding of two Iowa laws preventing trespassing on Iowa farmland and falsifying job applications for the purpose of secretly surveilling farms. Midwest Market Solutions' Brian Hoops wraps the show with an update on markets.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I'm here with your update for November 9, 2023.It will be sunny and breezy on Thursday. According to the National Weather Service there will be a high of 56 degrees in the Cedar Rapids area. Wind gusts could get as high as 35 mph, but should hover lower than that most of the time. The wind will calm Thursday evening, with a low of around 31 degrees.The day after a $220 million bond referendum that would have funded improvements to Cedar Rapids school buildings was voted down, Superintendent Tawana Grover told the Gazette she is ready to “unify” residents around a new plan created with input from “all corners of the community.”Grover said educating voters about the district's facility needs will be critical as the district “goes back to the drawing board.” This includes informing voters of one of the stickier aspects of the bond — how larger school buildings can drive teacher collaboration, which in turn can improve student outcomes.“Our middle schools are operating at 68 percent capacity. That's a financial burden that has to be addressed,” she said.According to unofficial results, about 38 percent of voters in the district were in favor of the measure — far short of the 60 percent needed to pass it. The district has some work to do if they want to change those numbers for a different bond referendum, as the highest approval the failed referendum received in any precinct was 54 percent.Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird on Tuesday filed the legal case her team will present when the Iowa Supreme Court hears arguments around legislation that would prohibit the vast majority of abortions in the state.A Polk County District Court judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the law back in July until its constitutionality can be considered by the courts.The law prohibits abortions once a “fetal heartbeat” is detected, usually after around six weeks of pregnancy. In the wake of Iowa and U.S. Supreme Court rulings reversing a fundamental right to abortion, Bird argues a new “rational basis” test now applies in court. To pass the test, laws need only be “rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest.”The brief also argues that abortion providers have no standing to sue, given that there is no constitutional right to provide abortions.The NCAA amended its sports wagering reinstatement guidelines, but not in the way many Iowa Hawkeye fans were hoping.Penalties for athletes who bet on other teams at their own school will start at having to sit out one season while losing that season of eligibility.Most notably, it means Iowa defensive lineman Noah Shannon's college football career is indeed over. The sixth-year senior had been suspended for one season for a sports wagering violation. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz previously said Shannon placed a bet on another Iowa sports team on campus.Ferentz said in a statement Wednesday he is “heartbroken” for Shannon and said the decision is “just wrong.”

Tuesday's Second Hour: Kicking off the hour, we talk with Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird about their new lawsuit against the state of Massachusetts regarding "Question 3" limiting distribution of certain pork products through their state. Harvest Hosts COO Wes Clark tells us about their company created to connect RV travelers to local businesses in exchange for free places to stay across the country. Don Roose from US Commodities closes the program today with an update on the markets.

Iowa Business Report Thursday EditionSeptember 07, 2023     Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird on why Iowa has sued the federal EPA regarding Iowa's request for year-round E-15 in Iowa. 

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds says she will not reinstate COVID-19 restrictions as hospitalizations across the state increase. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has filed an appeal to a recent court ruling clarifying that some voting materials can be printed in languages other than English. Plus, residents of a Muscatine apartment building have been evacuated and the building's owner is waiting for a structural engineer's report.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I'm here with your update for August 31, 2023.According to the National Weather Service it will be sunny with a high near 81 degrees on Thursday. On Thursday evening it should be clear, with a low near 52 degrees.Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said she will not reinstate COVID-19 restrictions as hospitalizations across the state increase and cases of a new coronavirus variant prompt masking requirements and other restrictions to reemerge at some colleges and businesses in other parts of the country.In a statement issued by her office Wednesday, Reynolds said "concerned Iowans have been calling my office asking whether the same could happen here. My answer — not on my watch."In recent weeks, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have been on the rise across the United States. This comes as the omicron variant EG. 5, recently designated as a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization, became the newly dominant variant in the country.The World Health Organization said it has not seen evidence of an increase in the severity of illness under omicron variant EG.5, but the appearance of a new "highly mutated" variant dubbed BA.2.86 — which the Washington Post reports threatens to be the most adept yet at evading the body's immune response — has raised questions among virologists and health officials about what the coming months could hold.Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has appealed a recent district court decision that would allow certain voting materials to be printed in languages other than English.In a statement, Bird — a Republican — said the move is an effort to “protect election integrity and defend state law.”The appeal follows a June court decision in which a district court judge ruled that county election officials could provide voters with non-English voter materials, like registration forms.“The Iowa English Language Reaffirmation Act is clear; all official documents are to be written in English — including voter registration forms,” Bird said in a statement. “We look forward to arguing our case in court to uphold the Act and secure the integrity of our elections.”The June decision overruled a long-standing interpretation of Iowa law that barred the state and counties from providing voter registration forms and other materials in languages other than English. The lawsuit was brought by the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa against Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, the Iowa Voter Registration Commission and four county auditors.The Supreme Court will either take up the appeal or send it to the state Court of Appeals to decide.A Hiawatha man was sentenced to two and a half years in prison Monday on federal charges that he left threatening voicemail messages threatening to lynch an Arizona county election official and the Arizona Attorney GeneralMark A. Rissi, 64, pleaded guilty in April to two counts of sending a threatening interstate communication.Despite the Justice Department's request for a 24-month sentence, U.S. District Judge Dominic Lanza, a Trump nominee, sentenced Rissi to 30 months in prison.In court on Monday, Rissi's attorney, Anthony...

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I'm here with your update for August 23, 2023.The heat continues. According to the National Weather Service it will be sunny in the Cedar Rapids area Wednesday with a high near 103 degrees. Heat index values could rise as high as 115.Expect the extreme heat to hang around at least through Thursday.The meteorological reason behind the heat wave is similar to that behind the heat dome that trapped much of the nation in late July. There's a high-pressure air mass currently centered over southern Iowa that encompasses most of the central U.S. It's trapping hot summer air underneath, scorching communities.Eastern Iowa schools are preparing for the extremely hot temperatures — announcing early releases and stocking water bottles on buses — as students start heading back to school Wednesday.Cedar Rapids Community Schools will be dismissing middle and high school students at 10:50 a.m. and elementary school students at 11:50 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday. College Community and Linn-Mar school districts will have a three-hour early dismissal both days.Iowa City Community Schools are planning no early dismissals.Outdoor events are also experiencing delays. Taste of Iowa City, an annual culinary street event hosted by the Iowa City Downtown District, is postponing the popular celebration. Originally set for Aug. 23, will now be held on Tuesday, Aug. 29, from 4 to 8 p.m.Iowa will receive more than $171 million in additional payments from tobacco manufacturers under a new agreement announced Tuesday by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird that resolves an 18-year legal dispute.Bird announced Iowa is set to receive an additional $136 million in April 2024, with the rest disbursed annually from 2025 to 2029.Under Iowa law, 78 percent of the payments will pay down the State's debt to bondholders and the remainder will be deposited in the State Treasury's Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund.The settlement resolves a long-standing dispute between the state and tobacco companies over annual payments owed under a 1998 agreement among 46 states and four major tobacco industry manufacturers.Iowa was one of nine states that was still litigating its dispute in slow-moving arbitration over the payments, which had been unresolved for more than 18 years.A North Liberty teenager cited for a traffic violation in a May 22 crash that resulted in the death of an Iowa National Guard soldier is asking the court to waive his personal appearance at his trial set to start next week in Johnson County.Jonathan J.F. McCaffery, 17, waived his right to appear during the bench — or non-jury — trial, which he can do for a simple misdemeanor. He previously pleaded not guilty to failure to yield to a pedestrian in the right of way, according to court documents.McCaffery will appear next Tuesday through his attorney, Joseph Moreland, at trial, according to the motion filed Friday.McCaffery, who was 16 at the time of the crash, goes by the name Jack. He is the son of University of Iowa men's basketball coach Fran McCaffery.

Iowa is calling on Congress to prevent California from overregulating the agricultural sector."California trying to use their market power to change how we farm, [and] I think that violates the Constitution," Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says.California's Proposition 12 regulations, implemented in 2022, "require veal calves, breeding pigs, and egg-laying hens to be housed in systems that comply with specific standards for freedom of movement, cage-free design, and specified minimum floor space," according to the California state government.The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to Proposition 12 in May, leaving the law in place. Now, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and 10 other GOP governors have sent a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to protect the "nation's agricultural interests from states that are working to put onerous and unfounded regulations on livestock producers that will ultimately increase food costs and hurt farming operations." Bird says Iowa will continue to "stand up for not just farmer's ability to farm, but anybody that wants to do business and not be told what to do by a big, liberal state like California."Bird joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss the fight against Proposition 12. She also discusses the court battle over Iowa's fetal heartbeat law that would protect babies in the womb starting at about six weeks of pregnancy.Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Iowa is calling on Congress to prevent California from overregulating the agricultural sector. “California trying to use their market power to change how we farm, [and] I think that violates the Constitution,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says. California’s Proposition 12 regulations, implemented in 2022, “require veal calves, breeding pigs, and egg-laying hens to be […]

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I'm here with your update for August 9, 2023.We could see some more rain on Wednesday, but the cooler temperatures are certain to continue either way. According to the National Weather Service there will be a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 9 a.m. It will also become increasingly cloudy during the day, with a high near 78 degrees.The Board of Regents unanimously approved Tuesday a University of Iowa request to buy most of Iowa City-based Mercy Hospital's assets for $20 million — without asking questions about the deal's finances, including how the price was determined, where the money will come from and what will happen with the $63 million Mercy owes on publicly-issued bonds.Regents spokesman Brock Ascher told The Gazette: “The bankruptcy court will determine what happens with Mercy's debt, but the state will not be responsible.”Under the proposed purchase agreement, the university will not be obligated with that debt.UI President Barbara Wilson — in presenting the proposed deal to regents — said Mercy "did approach us and ask us to submit a bid to continue their long tradition of health care in our community and beyond.”During the regents meeting, Wilson reiterated the goal of continuing uninterrupted care for Mercy patients as it goes through the bankruptcy proceedings and pending sale.Iowa has joined other state attorneys general as part of an investigation into the social media company TikTok and its possible harmful effects on the mental health of young users.The five-member Iowa Executive Council unanimously agreed this week on granting a request from Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird's office to bring in special counsel to help the office in its investigation into, and possible litigation against the wildly popular video platform. Several states are investigating TikTok over whether it violated state consumer protection laws. The investigation has focused on the harm social media usage causes to young users, what TikTok knows about those harms, the techniques used by TikTok to boost young user engagement — including increasing the duration of time spent on the platform — and the frequency of engagement with TikTok.An 11,600-head cattle feedlot near Monona is again seeking a permit to dispose of manure after a judge threw out a previous plan.A half-dozen people — some who have opposed Supreme Beef's plans since 2017 — spoke against the feedlot's new proposed nutrient management plan at a virtual public hearing attended by nearly 40 people Tuesday.Opponents raised many of the same concerns, including inaccurate manure calculations, an earthen basin in porous topography and the risk of runoff into a treasured trout stream.The Sierra Club sued Supreme Beef and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in September 2021 after the Iowa DNR in April 2021 approved the feedlot's nutrient management plan for up to 11,600 cattle. Trout Unlimited later joined Sierra Club in the lawsuit. The suit said the state based its approval on faulty data provided by Supreme Beef and that the facility will produce far more manure than it claimed.Polk County Judge Scott Rosenberg sided with the nature groups in April and sent the decision back to the Iowa DNR. The agency told Supreme Beef Owner Jared Walz in May that until a new plan was approved by the agency, no manure could be removed from the site.

We continue our broadcast from the presentation of the 175th Wergin Good Farm Nighbor Award along with the Coalition to Support Iowa's Farmers! Bob Quinn is in Crawford County with our first ever winner from the county, Doug Erlbacher, the neighbor who nominated him, and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. Also this hour, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird joins David in-studio discussing a USDA partnership with 31 states' attorneys general to improve competition in the ag sector. We wrap up today with John Heinberg from Total Farm Marketing with an update on what is causing corn and wheat to go lower today but soybeans are rallying a bit toward the close.

Also, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is asked about her office's pause on a program that compensated rape victims for the cost of emergency contraception and a recent Iowa Supreme Court decision on abortion.

The ACLU and three Iowa journalists who sued the governor for not promptly responding to public records requests say their settlement shows government officials must follow the public records law. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is hiring three new attorneys for the Statewide Prosecutions Section in the Iowa Department of Justice. Plus, Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark was honored as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is co-hosting a donation drive this week for anti-abortion pregnancy centers. Landowners and environmental groups say a state regulator is moving too fast to hold hearings over Summit Carbon Solutions' proposed CO2 pipeline. Plus, continued dry conditions across Iowa are hurting the state's corn and soybean crops.

Iowa Business Report Tuesday EditionJune 13, 2023         Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird on the state joining a lawsuit against the EPA for granting California a waiver that would lead to banning non-electric transport trucks in that state.

Naturally, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is in studio to tell Simon why.

Republicans in the Iowa House passed a bill to limit the state auditor's access to certain state information. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird's office says 67 reimbursement claims for emergency contraception for sexual assault victims are currently on hold while it reviews state policy. Plus, how hobby pilots are helping women get abortions in states where it's legal.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird starts off this hour of The Big Show with an update on WOTUS and recent lawsuits resulting in a preliminary injunction on the rule. Kurt Maertens from BASF in Iowa and Illinois discusses pest activity in his region including some corn borers that have already been spotted. Brugler Marketing's Alan Brugler wraps up the day with market analysis on the down day across the board.

Iowa is one of six states suing the Biden administration over the president's plan to forgive billions in student loan debt.“Canceling student loan debt is not legal,” Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says. “In order for that to happen, something would have to pass the House, the Senate, [and] be signed by the president. It's basic constitutional law.”Last year, President Joe Biden announced plans to forgive $10,000 of debt for individual student loan borrowers who make less than $125,000 per year ($250,000 for households) and $20,000 for borrowers who received a Pell Grant. Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina sued the Biden administration over the loan forgiveness plan and on Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the legal challenge. Bird, Iowa's first Republican attorney general since 1979, was at the Supreme Court during the arguments and joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain her key takeaways and how she thinks the justices will rule on the case.Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird unravels a lawsuit she is part of along with 24 other states to create a definition for Waters of the United States as well as another lawsuit against California's Prop 12 ruling. We also spotlight a new $1 million gift from Iowa Farm Bureau Federation to Iowa FFA and the impact it will make on ag education. Jamey Kohake closes up shop with us discussing markets coming out of the long President's Day weekend diving into hog trade and some outside markets before transitioning into his targets for grains.

Last week, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a bipartisan coalition of seven Attorneys General urging the Biden Administration to follow the law and allow the sale of year-round E-15. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette digital news desk and I'm here with your update for Wednesday, January 4.Well the thaw was fun while it lasted. According to the National Weather Service there will be a 50 percent chance of snow showers Wednesday, mainly after 8 a.m. When not snowing it will be cloudy, with a high near 35 degrees. Up to a half inch of snow accumulation is possible. There will be a slight chance of snow Wednesday night, with a low around 27 degrees.Cedar Rapids police are investigating a fatal stabbing that left one woman dead Monday night. It is the city's first homicide of the year.Joint Communications Agency Dispatchers received a call at 6:44 p.m. Monday regarding a stabbing in the 2100 block of North Towne Ct. NE, according to a news release. When officers arrived on the scene, they reported discovering an adult female suffering from a stab wound.Devonna Walker, 29, was treated at the scene and transported to a hospital, authorities said. She died from her wound.Authorities said two individuals were detained, transported to the Cedar Rapids Police Department and interviewed. Both individuals were released pending further investigation after consultation with the Linn County Attorney's Office.The investigation is ongoing.Iowa men's basketball junior forward Patrick McCaffery announced Tuesday he is taking an indefinite leave of absence to address anxiety.“I have been battling anxiety for a while,” he said in a statement, “and recently it has peaked, which has inhibited my preparation and performance on the court.”McCaffery's father and head coach, Fran McCaffery, said “Patrick is one of the millions of people who battle through anxiety on a daily basis. It has become more noticeable on and off the court over the past couple weeks.“Patrick has the full support of his family, coaches, teammates, and administration as he fights through this. All of us admire his courage and willingness to be open about this struggle and we hope others know that they are not alone. We will be with him every step of the way.”Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird signed on to lawsuits challenging President Joe Biden's administration and Democratic-backed laws during her first day in office Tuesday.Bird, a Republican who took over the office after defeating Democrat Tom Miller in the November election, made challenging the Biden administration in court a central plank of her campaign, along with her assertion she would "back the blue" and support law enforcement.Bird signed onto a challenge led by Nebraska to Biden's student debt forgiveness plan, as well as lawsuits challenging vaccine mandates and challenging a provision of the American Rescue Plan Act that prevented states from using federal funds to cut state taxes.Iowa had already been a party to the lawsuits Bird signed onto, her office said in a news release, but Miller had not attached his name to them.Bird also appeared to represent Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds in her appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court seeking to reinstate Iowa's so-called "fetal heartbeat" law, which would make abortion illegal except in the earliest weeks of pregnancy.