In the News
DES MOINES, Iowa — Afghanistan is now under Taliban control, and Iowa's political leaders are speaking out.
President Joe Biden defended his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan in a televised speech Monday afternoon, saying he stood "squarely behind" that decision.
The derecho storm that mowed over a large swath of Iowa’s corn and chopped down thousands of trees a year ago has elected officials wondering when the state will fully recover from the devastation.
Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls couldn’t make a prediction on Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of one of the nation’s most severe inland storms.
“It was a really stressful time. I mean, you’re in the middle of a global pandemic, and then on top of that you have this major natural disaster,” said Wahls, D-Coralville.
According to recent numbers shared by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), agents have encountered over 200,000 migrants at our southern border in July alone. Daily encounters are estimated at around 6,779 individuals per day, reaching the highest levels of illegal border crossings in over 21 years.
WASHINGTON — Beginning Jan. 1, Veterans Affairs medical centers will be required to provide locations for disposing of controlled substances medications.
The requirement was originally intended for VA patients as part of the sweeping Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, which became law on Jan. 5.
But last week, President Joe Biden signed into law an amendment that will allow anyone to dispose of unused opioids at the VA sites.
According to recent numbers shared by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), agents have encountered over 200,000 migrants at our southern border in July alone. Daily encounters are estimated at around 6,779 individuals per day, reaching the highest levels of illegal border crossings in over 21 years.
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (WDVM) — Congressman David Trone’s bill to safely dispose of opioids was signed by President Biden into law.
Congressman Trone introduced the bill with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), which passed the house floor last Tuesday.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed Rep. David Trone’s bill, the Dispose Unused Medications and Prescriptions Opioids Acts, into law July 29.
Trone, D-Md., introduced the bill with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, which passed the House floor July 27. The bill was introduced by Sens. John Kennedy, R-La., and Mike Braun, R-Ind., in the Senate and passed the Senate earlier this year by unanimous consent.
Every weekend for the past two years, Emily Henkel and her boyfriend, Alexander Lofgren, would spend time together exploring national parks or the outdoors.
Lofgren would show Henkel parks she’d never been to, and whenever they visited a new park, Lofgren’s eyes would fill with excitement, Henkel said. He was a combat veteran who used nature as therapy after serving in Afghanistan.
“He just had this absolute wonderment and complete awe of all these parks and just would be so excited to show me,” she said.
A bill co-sponsored by Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks would give all military veterans and Gold Star families free access to national parks for life. The Alexander Lofgren Veterans in Parks Act passed on a bipartisan vote Thursday. The Iowa Republican is a veteran who served 24 years in the military. Access to federal recreational lands is part of the package. Miller-Meeks’ legislation has 150 co-sponsors and has been endorsed by 60 organizations.
Statewide Iowa — Senator Joni Ernst says a bipartisan proposal to help Afghan civilians who worked with the U-S military is included in a security-related bill that easily cleared the House AND Senate Thursday.
There’s money for processing special immigrant visas as well as travel and housing assistance in the bill.