DES MOINES, Iowa, Nov. 27 -- The Iowa Department of Natural Resources issued the following news release: Nearly $416,000 in 50 percent cost-share grants were recently awarded to 138 Iowa rural fire departments to help their efforts to protect Iowan's and their property from wildfires. The grants offer valuable funding assistance for wildfire suppression, personal protective and communications equipment. The following fire departments will receive 2024 Volunteer Fire Assistance grants: Alta, Al  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 -- Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, issued the following news release: RED OAK, Iowa U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, today announced her Small Business of the Week: Vander Haag's, Inc. of Clay County. Throughout this Congress, Ranking Member Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa's 99 counties. "For three generations, the Vander Haags have steered the trucking industry with their commitment to truck re  more

DES MOINES, Iowa, Nov. 27 -- The Iowa Department of Education issued the following news release on Nov. 26, 2024: Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education today announced $8.5 million in competitive grants to support Iowa school districts in developing systems to identify and recognize teachers who significantly accelerate student learning. "I'm proud to have signed historic teacher pay legislation last session," Gov. Reynolds said. "This grant program builds on our momentum by w  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 -- Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, issued the following news release: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), an Iowa corn farmer and member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, joined Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and bipartisan, bicameral colleagues in urging U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to maintain open market access for American corn exports to Colombia. The lawmakers' letter follows recent reports that Colombia may pursue an investiga  more

DES MOINES, Iowa, Nov. 27 -- Gov. Kim Reynolds, R-Iowa, issued the following news release on Nov. 26, 2024: Gov. Kim Reynolds today announced her appointment of Andrew Zimmerman as a district associate judge in Judicial Election District 5B. Zimmerman, of Corning, Iowa, is a magistrate in Judicial Election District 5B and Legal Counsel and Trust Officer at Iowa State Savings Bank. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and law degree from Creighton Un  more

DES MOINES, Iowa, Nov. 27 -- Gov. Kim Reynolds, R-Iowa, issued the following news release on Nov. 26, 2024: Gov. Kim Reynolds today announced her appointment of Kristi Busse as a district associate judge in Judicial District 3A. Busse, of Spencer, Iowa, is an Assistant County Attorney for Clay County. She received her undergraduate degree from Buena Vista University and law degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law. Busse fills a vacancy created following the district judge ap  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 -- Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following news release: Family-owned farms are a critical part of America's food supply and form the fabric of rural communities. The 2017 Trump tax cuts gave family farms, ranches, and small business owners relief by doubling the Death Tax exemption and indexing it for inflation each year. If this provision is allowed to expire at the end of 2025, more grieving families will fall und  more

DES MOINES, Iowa, Nov. 27 -- Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Naig issued the following news on Nov. 26, 2024: * * * Projects and initiatives are aimed at strengthening Iowa's food supply chains * * * Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced today that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is investing more than $5.2 million in 24 Iowa projects and other supply chain improvement initiatives through the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Resilient Food Sy  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 -- Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, issued the following news release: Today, U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) led a bipartisan, bicameral letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expressing concern about reports that the Colombian Government may consider a misguided investigation into U.S. corn subsidies. Such an investigation could lead to unjustified actions that would deliberately undermine American farmers' co  more