Fatou Traore, a longtime Iowa City resident, has been deported to Sierra Leone, a country to which she has no connections. Traore was seized by two ICE agents on Sept. 24, when she arrived at her sister’s house at approximately 6:30 a.m. to drive her to work. The agents displayed no identification and did not […]
Sen. Chuck Grassley
Posted inEastern Iowa
With Fatou Traore still in ICE custody, supporters plan Cedar Rapids rally; Grassley says his staff will look into helping
Family, friends and supporters of Fatou Traore are holding a rally and vigil at the federal building in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday morning as they continue their efforts to secure the release of the longtime Iowa City resident from ICE detention. Traore, an immigrant from the West African county of Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire), has […]
Posted inElection Coverage
‘God bless the president’ for attacking Iran: Iowa Senators, Senate candidates react to Operation Epic Fury
Hours after President Trump announced early on Saturday morning that the United States and Israel were attacking Iran, Sen. Joni Ernst appeared on Newsmax to praise Trump for launching the attack. “God bless the president for executing this mission,” Ernst said. “Because this is not just changing for today, this is world-changing for years to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Misinformation about fentanyl, gangs and U.S. history flies as Trump, Iowa Republicans justify Venezuela attack
Just hours after the news broke that U.S. forces had invaded Venezuela early Saturday morning to capture the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, both of Iowa’s senators and all four of its U.S. House members issued statements praising President Trump for ordering the attack. Trump was at his Florida home/members-only country club on Friday night when he […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘I just keep thinking about it. Why us?’ Pascual Pedro Pedro thanks supporters in Iowa as protests of his deportation continue
The parking ramp across the street from the federal building in Cedar Rapids provided shade and some relief from the heat, so that’s where people started gathering before noon on Tuesday for the biggest demonstration yet in support of Pascual Pedro Pedro, a 20-year-old West Liberty resident who was suddenly and unexpectedly deported to Guatemala […]
Posted inStatewide
Clean energy tax cuts in reconciliation bill would stall renewable energy projects in Iowa
Clean energy advocates said Iowa stands to lose jobs, manufacturing facilities, renewable energy project expansions and face more expensive utility bills if Congress passes the budget reconciliation bill as is. Many of these credits were extended via the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act, which put them under attack from Republican lawmakers opposed to the green policies. […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Plain Spoken: The accidental poetry of Chuck Grassley’s Twitter
You could make a decent argument that the most experimental poetry coming out of Iowa for the past 15 years had nothing to do with the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and everything to do with Chuck Grassley’s thumbs. His Twitter/X account is nearing 15,000 tweets. His signature, unorthodox approach to punctuation, abbreviation and spelling makes clear […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Hundreds gather in Iowa City as part of a nationwide ‘Day of Action’ against the Trump administration
For the second time this month, Iowa Avenue between Clinton and Dubuque streets was blocked off as people rallied in downtown Iowa City on Saturday to protest the actions of the Trump administration. “We’re not protesters at all,” Sue Thompson of Indivisible Johnson County said at the beginning of the rally. “We are the protectors.” […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Sen. Chuck Grassley will hold Judiciary Committee hearing on courts blocking Trump actions
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is set to play a top role as the Senate Judiciary Committee chair in hearings next week on courts blocking President Donald Trump’s actions. Members of Iowa’s congressional delegation also introduced legislation to make English the official language of the nation and to address a shortage of truck drivers. The Senate […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Trump’s blanket J6 pardons include 10 Iowans, some who chased, assaulted officers
Ten Iowans are included in President Trump’s mass clemency for the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters. The attack, which was intended to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, injured more than 140 police officers. Property damage to the Capitol from […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Sen. Joni Ernst tells Storm Lake students not to worry about Trump’s plans for mass deportations and detention camps
Sen. Joni Ernst told Storm Lake High School students on Friday they don’t need to worry about President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. “Ernst insisted potential deportations wouldn’t impact employees at Tyson Foods or the rest of Storm Lake,” the Storm Lake Times Pilot reported. Ernst’s meeting with students in the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Democrats praise Biden and endorse Harris; Iowa Republicans demand Biden resign as president
Despite three weeks of op-eds in national news outlets and a small but growing number of Democrats in Congress calling on President Biden to quit the 2024 presidential race, it still came as a surprise when he did so on Sunday. “I believe it is the best interest of my party and the country for […]
