Free Republic

Iowa Republicans have a total of 28 delegates to this year’s national convention in Tampa, Florida. Two delegate selection committee members from each of the state’s four congressional districts met at the Republican headquarters in Des Moines today to draft the slate of 13 at-large delegates that must be ratified by convention delegates at the state convention on June 15th. Each state is awarded delegates based on a number of factors. Each state starts with ten delegates, five for each U.S. Senator. States are then awarded three delegates for every congressional district. The three members of the Republican National Committee,...

DES MOINES (AP) — Authorities say the co-owner of a store and his friend have captured an armed man who robbed the Des Moines store. The man wearing a face mask and sunglasses walked in to Fortune Gifts. He displayed and cocked a gun, then left after store co-owner Zamir Azam gave him some cash.

Dear Friends, The Tea Party Express had an amazing week last week thanks to all your support and involvement and would like to thank you.  Everyday our buses traveled to a different city in this great nation rallying conservatives.  I think you can agree that the Tea Party is answering our critics and is just as passionate and energized as we were in 2010 and are poised to have another banner year at the ballot box in 2012.We wanted to share with you some of the highlights of the last week that were made possible through your support and...

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Johnny Carson taking over “The Tonight Show” stage from Jack Paar. It is also the 20th anniversary of Carson’s retirement. But how much do most people really know about the television legend away from the lights and cameras? In a new documentary, “American Masters Johnny Carson: King of Late Night,” filmmakers Peter Jones and Susan Lacy peel back the many layers of the comedian’s life and career, offering an unprecedented glimpse into the man who won the collective heart of a nation. “The gift Johnny had was that he just had a magical...

...on how to fight it?

...Legislation to come out of Des Moines. DEFEAT Gronstal!!

n the turbulent hours following President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, many were uncertain about what to do, but medical examiner Earl Rose knew one thing: The shooting happened in Dallas, and it was his job to do an autopsy on anyone slain in the city. Rose stood in a doorway at the hospital where Kennedy’s body was taken on Nov. 22, 1963, in a vain attempt to block Kennedy’s aides as they removed his coffin. The Secret Service and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy prevailed, and the president’s body was flown to Bethesda Naval Hospital, where an autopsy was done by...

After a long line of low-profile, foregone-conclusion U.S. House campaigns, western Iowa faces an intense battle between a leader of the Tea Party movement and a candidate with close ties to the Obama administration. In one corner is five-term incumbent Republican Rep. Steve King, the conservative firebrand and national TV presence. In the other is Christie Vilsack, wife of the U.S. agriculture secretary and the state’s former first lady, who is trying to become the first woman Iowa sends to Congress. The two already have mixed it up on the campaign trail over such issues as health care, the economy...

Cerro Gordo County, IA - Local law enforcement is making an effort to keep ammunition out of the wrong hands. On Saturday, Cerro Gordo County hosted an ammunition collection day. Folks are encouraged to drop off their unused, unwanted or expired ammunition. Officers said not only will this help keep the ammunition out of the wrong hands, but it will also help keep your home safe. "It's very explosive, so if there is fire in your house it can go off and then we're putting our friends at the fire department and our neighbors at risk," said Officer David Studder...

Gannett paper. Link only.

April 24, 2012 Rep. Steve King torches Obama admin’s selective enforcement of law for political and racist reasons The Right Scoop During a press conference on SB1070 today, Rep. Steve King ripped the Obama administration and the Justice Department for selective enforcement of the law solely for political and racist reasons. After citing example after example of how the Obama administration has done this, he went to the nub of it and spelled it out rather bluntly for the press: There’s a political motive for this and it should be very clear to all of us. It’s not a mystery!...

KCRG-TV9 | Cedar Rapids, Iowa News Obama to Make Iowa City Area Stop April 25 By Kara Kelly April 19, 2012 DES MOINES, Iowa – President Obama will make his second visit to the Eastern Iowa Corridor this year when he makes a stop in the Iowa City area April 25. The White House has confirmed the president’s visit, but released no details about where he will be or what time of day he will visit. According to local sources, the president may visit the University of Iowa. It would be his third visit to the UI campus. The last...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will use a tour of three election battleground states next week to push Congress to prevent the doubling of interest rates on federal student loans -- an effort aimed at re-energizing his support among younger voters. Obama will speak at universities in North Carolina, Colorado and Iowa, the White House said on Friday. All three states are considered critical to his re-election chances, and the youth vote is one of his key constituencies. The two-day trip is part of a campaign by the Obama administration to get Congress to extend low interest rates on...

Des Moines County prosecutors will not seek charges in connection with last month's South Central Avenue shooting death of a Macomb, Ill., man, ruling the incident as justifiable homicide or self defense. Unless new information comes in the case, police said prosecutors are standing firm in the decision not to charge anyone. Burlington Police Department detectives, along with their counterparts from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, has completed their investigation into the March 16 shooting. Their report was sent to the Des Moines County Attorney's Office. The shooter, Jacqueline Renee Williams, 28, also of Macomb, who also was shot...

Steve King endorsed by GINGPAC.

Democrats in House of Reps. joined J Street in supporting Obama administration's attempt to force Israel into making painful concessions Seventy-four Democrats in the House of Representatives have joined the dovish J Street organization in supporting the Obama administration's attempt to force Israel into making painful concessions to the Palestinian Authority. “In our view, support for a two-state resolution is inseparable from such support for Israel, its special relationship with the United States, and its very survival as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people,” the letter said. Seven Jewish members signed the letter, including Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), John...

<p>The Storm Prediction Center has predicted a slight chance of severe weather for parts of Texas and Oklahoma this entire week, thus it should come as no surprise that the weekend holds the best chance of dangerous severe weather.</p> <p>The Storm Prediction Center has issued an upgraded, high chance of severe weather from central Oklahoma through eastern Kansas (see image below). In addition, there is a moderate risk of severe weather from western Texas through southern Iowa, and a slight risk in the greater area from central Texas through southern Wisconsin.</p>

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A Civil War veteran who died years ago will finally be laid to rest this Friday in Portland. He was the youngest of 13 children, and the last one to die. And so, after he passed away, his remains laid unclaimed for 88 years. Alice Knapp's curiosity about her own family tree led her to Peter Knapp's remains. She still remembers taking possession of the box Peter's remains are in. "It was a gold box -- both he and his wife were placed in this gold box," Alice Knapp said. "It had a ribbon around it and...

The DesMoines Register reports that some sheriffs are astonished that when they stop arbitrarily curtailing folks' rights, people start exercising them: "The number of Iowans seeking permits to carry handguns and other weapons has increased 170 percent during the first 11 months of 2011 — a trend one Iowa sheriff calls 'unbelievable.'" January 1, 2011 is when Iowa's shall-issue law took effect, and immediately people started getting permits. Polk county, which includes the Des Moines metro, issued over three-and-a-half times as many permits in 2011 as in 2010 (9,720 versus 2,597). And shockingly enough, contrary to all the predictions, there...

University of Iowa President Sally Mason defended the UI's hiring processes on Monday in the wake of a Johnson County Republican protest of what they call political inequality among the campus's faculty. "We adhere strictly to federal law," Mason said. "We're careful to adhere to all the laws, all the guidelines. Political affiliation is not something we ask [during the hiring process.]" The group's protest Monday afternoon was in support of a lawsuit filed by Teresa Wagner, a professor who alleged UI College of Law administrators denied her a job in 2006 because of her conservative political views. Wagner, a...