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Reynolds and Hubbell talk trade, tariffs impact

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Fred Hubbell, the Democratic candidate for governor, visited four farms this week and Republican Governor Kim Reynolds went two farms in northwest Iowa yesterday  — as both candidates emphasize the financial impact of President Trump’s tariffs.

Reynolds said she told Vice President Pence when he was in Iowa on Wednesday that farmers need to see “some positive things happening.”

“Nobody wins in a trade war and it’s important that we get something done and that our farmers and producers and manufacturers see some movement,” Reynolds said. “This is having a devastating impact on Iowa farmers and we’re really interested on growing markets, not contracting them.”

Hubbell said Iowa livestock producers already have lost half a billion dollars because of the trade disputes with China, Mexico and Canada.

“You look at the crops in the field, corn and soybeans today, if they came out at today’s prices, they’re all losing money,” Hubbell said, “and I don’t think it makes sense to hold Iowa farmers, Iowa families, rural Iowa to be the victims of a trade war that didn’t need to happen.”

Hubbell said Reynolds should quit “talking behind closed doors” with Trump Administration officials.

“When I talk to farmers, they don’t know what she’s doing. They don’t hear her saying anything. They don’t see her doing much. She should be holding press conferences,” Hubbell said. “She should be going together will other governors that have the same problem that Iowa does.”

Reynolds said Vice President Pence assured her during their discussion Wednesday that real progress is being made on NAFTA negotiations.

“We need movement,” Reynolds said. “We need something done. We want to support him in his negotiations, but this can’t linger on, especially as we move into August and we’ve got farmers that are trying to sell beans that they have stored…before they go into harvest.”

Reynolds said Iowa farmers know China has taken advantage of the U.S. and something needs to change, but she says the tariffs are having a negative impact. Hubbell said President Trump should have opted for diplomacy or an appeal to the World Trade Organization rather than imposing tariffs.

(Additional reporting by Corey Harguth, KICD, Spencer)

Planned Parenthood endorses Fred Hubbell for governor

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Fred Hubbell

The Planned Parenthood Voters of Iowa political action committee has formally endorsed Fred Hubbell, the Democratic candidate for governor.

“Since the 2016 elections, the Iowa legislature and Governor Reynolds have been on a rampage against out health, against reproductive rights and against our freedoms,” Erin Davison-Rippey, state executive director of the PAC, said during a midday news conference. “Here in Iowa and across the nation, 2016 was a wake-up call for many of us that elections matter and elections have consequences.”

Former Planned Parenthood of the Heartland president Jill June first met Hubbell 33 years ago when he served on the organization’s board of directors in the 1980s.

“Our backs are against the wall here in Iowa,” June said during the event. “We have lost on so many fronts, it’s hard to describe them all. Women’s reproductive rights have been trampled.”

Hubbell has pledged to restore state funding to Planned Parenthood. He said the organization provides “vital services” to Iowans “not just for women but also for men and people in the LGBT community all across our state, from education to STD testing, cancer screenings, family planning services — Planned Parenthood does all those things, often in underserved communities and making it available to people who can’t afford to pay.”

Hubbell told reporters the biggest problem Iowa faces is lack of affordable, accessible health care, including mental health services and drug treatment as well as reproductive health care.

Pat Garrett, a campaign spokesman for Reynolds, said the governor is “100% pro-life and believes we should do everything we can to protect the unborn.”

VP tells Cedar Rapids crowd the Trump Administration ‘stands with farmers’

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Vice President Pence tweeted this photo from Cedar Rapids with Congressman Blum and Governor Reynolds.

Vice President Mike Pence says Iowa farmers “will start winning again” as President Trump pursues new global trade policies. Pence spoke Wednesday afternoon in Cedar Rapids.

“When it comes to agriculture, I just want to assure all of my friends here in Iowa and all across the region that under President Trump’s leadership, we’re always going to stand with American farmers,” Pence said.

Pence sought to tamp down worries about an extended trade war with China and other key partners like Canada and Mexico.

“I’m pleased to report to you we are making significant progress on reforming the North American Free Trade Agreement and we’re going to make it into a deal that works for American farmers and American manufacturers in the long term,” Pence said, to applause.

The vice president told the crowd he had talked with Trump as he flew from Kansas City to Cedar Rapids yesterday afternoon. Pence then mentioned President Trump’s tweets on the topic of trade.

“He said: ‘Soybeans fell 50 percent from 2012. Farmers have done poorly for 15 years. Other countries’ trade barriers and tariffs have been destroying our business,’ but then he made a promise: ‘We will open things up better than ever better. We’re going to have a level playing field,’ hesaid. And our farmers will start winning again all across the world and I promise you, it’s going to happen.”

Pence spoke at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids yesterday afternoon, then the vice president headlined a private fundraiser for Congressman Rod Blum.

Democrats criticized Blum and Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, who met Pence at the Cedar Rapids airport, for failing to press Pence to end the trade disputes now. Abby Finkenauer, the Democrat who’s challenging Blum, said the trade war “is devastating to Iowa families” and Blum should have hosted a meeting so Iowa farmers could take voice their concerns to Pence.

Governor Reynolds issued a news release last night, saying she brought tariffs when she spoke to Pence and told him: “these tariffs will have real consequences in Iowa.” Reynolds also announced last night that she’ll have a roundtable discussion early this  morning with farmers in Ayrshire to discuss the impact of tariffs on China. Fred Hubbell, her Democratic challenger, visited farms in Correctionville, Newton, Deep River and Riverside this week. Hubbell said “a huge chunk” of Iowa’s economy will be damaged by the trade war.

Slate of three women submitted for opening on Iowa Supreme Court

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State Judicial Building

A female justice is likely to join the all-male Iowa Supreme Court.

One of the Iowa Supreme Court justices is retiring in September. The Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission has submitted the names of three women to Governor Reynolds for the opening.

The commission met this week to interview 21 applicants for the post. Late Wednesday, the group submitted its slate of finalists to the governor. They are Susan Christensen of Harlan, who is a district court judge; Terri Combs, an attorney from West Des Moines and District Court Judge Kellyann Lekar of Waterloo.

While two women have previusly served on the state’s highest court, the only state supreme court in the country right now that is entirely made up of men is Iowa’s.

Iowa has a merit-based system for selecting judges. The Judicial Nominating Commission reviews the resumes and comes up with a slate of candidates for each opening. Iowa governors have the option of rejecting the slate of names and asking the commission to come up with three more.

Unlike the federal government, the Iowa Senate has no role in confirming judges. Iowa judges, instead, have their names printed on General Election ballot periodically in what are called “retention” elections.

Iowa officials, biofuels industry hail EPA Administrator’s exit

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Scott Pruitt (file photo)

None of Iowa’s elected officials have used the phrase “good riddance,” but they are welcoming EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s resignation.

Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican, had called Pruitt “swampy.” Ernst was among those who accused Pruitt, who is from Oklahoma, of trying to undermine the federal ethanol production mandate.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said Pruitt had lost the public’s trust through his “ethical scandals” and undermining of the president’s promises on renewable fuels.

The new EPA Administrator is a former coal industry lobbyist and Republican Governor Kim Reynolds said she’s hoping he will “honor the president’s commitment to the Renewable Fuels Standard.”

The head of the National Corn Growers Association said it’s no secret farmers have been frustrated with Pruitt, who’d been granting waivers so big oil refineries didn’t have to blend as much ethanol into gasoline. The head of a biofuels industry group said Pruitt had driven “a wedge” between President Trump and his supporters in the Midwest.

Congressman David Young, a Republican from Van Meter, said Pruitt’s exit was “long overdue.” Fred Hubbell, the Democratic candidate for governor, tweeted that he’s happy to see Pruitt go if it means “less scandal and a brighter future for Iowa farmers.”

Kim Reynolds and Fred Hubbell debate level of state flood money

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June will be remembered by many Iowans for flooded cars, basements and fields. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds and Fred Hubbell, her Democratic challenger, have different views on the state’s flood prevention efforts.

“We’ve had over $4 billion of flood damage in our state…since 1993. I think we’ve had three 500-year floods, several 100-year floods and Republicans just won’t spend any money on flood mitigation upfront and it’s about time we start doing that,” Hubbell said yesterday as he participated in the Clear Lake 4th of July parade.

Reynolds, who also walked the Clear Lake parade route, talked separately with reporters.

“No matter what you do, it’s pretty hard to control 10 inches, 8 inches that fall in two hours so, you know, let’s not make this political,” she said.

Reynolds said the state has taken steps to prevent future flooding. She pointed to the creation of a state flood mitigation board that secured a $97 million federal grant for the State of Iowa in January of 2016.

“This is actually money that we put on the ground, into projects, making a difference,” Reynolds said. “And as I tour these flood-damaged areas, when I talk to the people — especially the emergency responders and the people that are working on it — we can already see the flood mitigation that we’ve done, that we’ve put into the ground, the results.”

Hubbell faulted Reynolds for approving a six percent to the state’s flood plain management program this year and a more than 20 percent budget reduction for the Iowa Flood Center for this year.

“The science is clearly there. We should be looking at housing codes, zoning codes, how to build and what to build in flood zones and how to make it easier for the rivers to expand without impacting so many people,” Hubbell said. “We can do it. We just aren’t spending any money upfront.”

Governor Reynolds has declared 32 Iowa counties state disaster areas due to flooding and severe weather in the month of June.

(By Bob Fisher, KGLO, Mason City)

Reynolds touts ‘moxie’ and ‘disruptive voices’ of women (AUDIO)

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Governor Kim Reynolds.

As Iowa’s first female governor seeks election to a full term as governor, she is encouraging women to be “disruptive voices” in the workplace.

Kim Reynolds has been the chief executive of the State of Iowa for 406 days,ever since Terry Branstad resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to China. Last week, Reynolds spoke about female empowerment at a gathering of women bankers in West Des Moines.

“Iowa needs women who are competitors and provide the big ideas that shape how we live and work now and in the future,” Reynolds said, “women who are not afraid to challenge outdated concepts and they see problems not as barriers, but as opportunities.”

According to Reynolds, this is a “time of transformation” for women in Iowa.

“Iowa needs women who share their intellect and their creativity to drive diversity of thought in the workplace and women with transformational attitudes and disruptive voices that aren’t afraid to confront the status quo,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds has said she sought a seat at the decision-making table from her very first days in the state senate. This is her advice to women who are reluctant to voice their opinions in the workplace: “First of all, you don’t have to know everything and you don’t have to be perfect. You just have to have a passion for what you’re doing and your willingness to make a difference. If I…had waited until I thought I knew everything until I ran for office, I guarantee you that I would have never ran.”

Reynolds first ran for office in 1994. She wound up serving as Clarke County Treasurer for 14 years. As Reynolds prepared to run for the state senate, she attended a candidate event and a man walked right past her to asked her husband what senate seat he was seeking.

“That poor guy, he felt so embarrassed. He was just mortified that he hadn’t thought it might be me that was running for the state senate and not my husband,” Reynolds said.

It happened again this year, as the governor and her husband, Kevin, were entering an event at the National Governor Association meeting in Rhode Island.

“The people at the check-in said…not to me, to Kevin: ‘Governor, which state is it that you’re here with?’ And again, poor (Kevin), he’s like: ‘Well, I’m not the governor. I’m the first dude. It happens to be her that’s the actual governor of the State of Iowa,” Reynolds said.

Women who are forging a path in business and in politics have “moxie” according to Reynolds.

“I love that word because it’s defined as having spirit, determination, courage, energy, know-how and attitude,” Reynolds said.

AUDIO of Reynolds’ speech on June 26, runs 9:45

Governor plans to seek federal help for June storm damage

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Governor Kim Reynolds meets with the media prior to a tour of flood damage in Des Moines.

Officials say it will take some time to gather the data necessary to seek federal assistance for parts of Iowa hit by spring and early summer storms.

Governor Kim Reynolds says the plan is to combine assessments of storm damage that happened from June 6-13 with the flood damage that happened from June 14-30.

“If we can tie the two together, that will increase our abilities to get a federal disaster proclamation issued that will help with some funding and additional resources,” Reynolds says.

On Monday afternoon Reynolds toured parts of central Iowa that were damaged after flash flooding this past weekend.

Reynolds posted a photo and note on Twitter, saying it was “absolutely heartbreaking” to witness a Des Moines woman’s return to her flooded out home. The governor says water damage “over the last couple of weeks” has hit other parts of Iowa, too.

“Tremendous collaboration, coordination — Iowans doing what Iowans always do and that’s step up and really help in times of disaster,” Reynolds says, “and it is definitely obvious.”

Yesterday afternoon, hundreds of flood victims lined up at a center in Des Moines designed as a “one stop shop” for assistance. It will reopen today (Tuesday). It’s the distribution site for Red Cross flood clean-up kits. Legal Aid will be there to provide help to renters and homeowners filing flood insurance claims. Polk County officials are offering vaccinations for people who’ve been in filthy flood water.

MidAmerican representatives will be there to schedule restoration of electric and gas service to flooded properties.

Exact count on flood-damaged Polk County homes unlikely

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A.J. Mumm and Governor Reynolds.

About 240 single-family homes on the east side of Des Moines have been heavily damaged by flooding. Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie said some of the homes aren’t stable and may have to be condemned.

“About 10 commercial buildings also damaged, there’s been a couple of hotels and six apartment buildings also…all around the Four Mile Creek area,” Cownie said during a mid-day news conference in Des Moines.

Four Mile Creek is just east of the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Assessment teams are canvassing other parts of Polk County to check the extent of what the National Weather Service called “catastrophic” flash flooding that struck over the weekend.

Polk County Emergency Management director A.J. Mumm said the “true, exact number” of homes that were damaged by this weekend’s flooding may never be known.

“With a tornado-type damage…it’s more obvious of what structures are impacted and which ones are more severe than others, this is a very difficult circumstance for damage assessment,” Mumm says. “…You may have a neighbor, taking up their own carpet, disposed of it properly, replaced their own carpet and moved on and those numbers never really get recorded in the system.”

Governor Kim Reynolds toured flood damage in the Des Moines area today and observed officials from dozens of agencies reviewing emergency operations in Polk County.

“I continue to be so impressed with the strategic, coordinated collaboration that we see happening at events like this,” Reynolds said. “….Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to families that have been impacted.”

Earlier today Reynolds issued a state disaster declaration for Polk County as well as Boone, Dallas and Jasper Counties. That has triggered the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program. Households at or near the federal poverty level may qualify for grants of up to five-thousand dollars to repair homes and cars, to replace clothes, food or appliances or to pay rent on a new place.

 

Reynolds wants ‘right person,’ not necessarily a woman, for court opening

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Governor Kim Reynolds. (file photo)

Governor Kim Reynolds is not promising to appoint a woman to the all-male Iowa Supreme Court.

“First of all, it’s about getting the right person,” Reynolds says.

Iowa Supreme Court Justice Bruce Zager is retiring September 3. Reynolds will choose his replacement from a list of three nominees submitted to her by the Iowa Judicial Nominating Commission. Only two women have ever served as justices. There are seven men on the state’s highest court today. Reynolds is seeking her first full, four-year term in office this November. Reynolds says she won’t make being the first female governor the cornerstone of her campaign.

“I want people to select me because they think I’m qualified and I’m the best person. I don’t want to fill a slot,” Reynolds said. “That’s how I feel about that.”

The Judicial Nominating Commission will meet next Monday, July 9, to interview the Iowans who applied for the opening on the state’s supreme court. Fifteen of the 22 applicants are women.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Kate Payne)