(Washington, D-C) – The office of Iowa Republican U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, from Red Oak, Tuesday, says the Senator has exposed that, almost four years after COVID-19 temporarily closed federal buildings, not a single government agency is occupying even half their office space and called on Biden’s bureaucrats to deck the agency halls with federal workers or sell off unused facilities.

As taxpayers are picking up the cost of vacant offices, Ernst unveiled a naughty list of these no-show federal agencies topped by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Social Security Administration, both of which are using just 7% of their space.

In August, Ernst demanded investigations into 24 federal departments and agencies to determine the impact of telework on the delivery and response times of services. Following her advocacy, the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Inspector General responded to her request and is currently considering an audit to examine whether GSA has appropriately evaluated its physical space needs and utilization. A few months later, the GSA announced it would downsize 3.5 million square feet of federal buildings, which would save taxpayers over $1 billion.

Ernst also increased accountability for federal telework abuse by passing an amendment to hold the Biden administration accountable for the cost to taxpayers and the impact on services from continued remote work by Washington bureaucrats.

DES MOINES, Iowa (December 5, 2023) – Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates (iJAG), Tuesday, announced that a Harlan student visited Washington, D.C. for legislative meetings and a national leadership conference. Zeke Christensen begins his inaugural duties as President-elect for the Iowa State Career Association this past weekend in the nation’s capital.
Christensen and seven other Iowa students kicked off their trip in D.C. on Thursday with a tour of the White House and special meet-and-greets with six Iowa legislators:
● Senator Chuck Grassley
● Senator Joni Ernst and staffers
● Congressman Zach Nunn
● Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa’s 1st District
● Representative Ashley Hinson, Iowa’s 2nd District
● Representative Randy Feenstra, Iowa’s 4th District

iJAG and Representative Randy Feenstra: Zeke Christensen is pictured visiting with Representative Randy Feenstra who oversees Iowa’s 4th Congressional District which includes Harlan and and surrounding counties.

Iowa State Career Association Elects-Capitol Hill: Christensen, pictured left, joined fellow Iowa State Career Association elects and other students part of the iJAG programs across the state for a four-day trip to Washington, D.C.

iJAG and Senator Chuck Grassley: Eight iJAG students, including Christensen, met with six Iowa legislators on Capitol Hill last Thursday to discuss the future of Iowa and the impact of iJAG on youth. Pictured is Senator Grassley with iJAG students and staff.

Zeke Christensen: Elected to serve as one of four officers for the Iowa State Career Association for the 2024 school year.

Following a day at the White House, Christensen attended NSLA for three days of skill-building, advanced leadership training, professional networking and activities related to effective communications. The annual event is exclusive for top student leaders across 39 state affiliates of the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) organization. Approximately 350 of 45,000 JAG students are invited to attend each year. Just last month, Christensen was named as the President-elect for the Iowa SCA whose term will begin in the 2024 school year. He was voted to the position by nearly 1,100 of his peers during Iowa’s Leadership Development Conference (LDC). The Iowa SCA is a four-chair student leadership team led and managed by iJAG, a statewide nonprofit organization who partners with Iowa schools to deliver in-class career development programming. (Photos & info. courtesy Rachael Tiby w/iJAG)

Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates (iJAG) is a statewide nonprofit organization who partners with Iowa schools to deliver in-class career development programming for youth grades 6-12. The organization serves more than 7,200 students in 155 programs across 62 school districts and 44 Iowa counties. Students participate in year-round leadership training, skill-building, civic projects and employer engagement experiences that help them discover, plan and prepare for the future. iJAG graduates 97% of its students as compared to the 91% Iowa graduation rate. Additionally, iJAG students are more likely to experience successful transitions to postsecondary education, full-time work and/or military. Learn more by visiting iJAG.org.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Zach Nunn from Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, Tuesday, passed bipartisan legislation through the House Veterans Affairs to help prevent veteran suicide. The Daniel J. Harvey and Adam Lambert Improving Servicemember Transition to Reduce Veteran Suicide Act is named in memory of two Marines who served together in Afghanistan, Iowa’s Corporal Adam Lambert from Adel and Rhode Island’s Lance Corporal Daniel J. Harvey of Johnston. Both men tragically lost their lives to suicide within a year of leaving the military.  In making the announcement, Representative Nunn said “Adam was a brave servicemember who raised his right hand to serve our country. We are the land of the free and home of the brave because of people like Adam and Daniel. I want to thank the Lamberts for their leadership in the face of tragedy as they fight to help every veteran smoothly transition to civilian life. I look forward to passing this legislation on the House Floor soon.”

The suicide rate triples for veterans in the first 12 months following their separation from the military.  According to the 2021 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs report, the veteran suicide rate in Iowa is double the national suicide average. Often, veterans are unaware of the support offered to them through Department of Veteran Affairs.  Adam Lambert’s parents, Dean and Jill Adams, said they are “grateful to Rep. Nunn for continuing to fight for Adam’s legacy,” adding “This is great progress in the fight to save veteran lives.”

The bipartisan legislation—co-led by Representatives Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02), Don Davis (NC-01), and Jen Kiggans (VA-02)— reforms the existing Transition Assistance Program (TAP) to provide transitioning veterans with tools to better their mental health, resolve service-related mental health issues, and get the help they need. Specifically, the bill:

• Adds provisions to TAP to combat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, substance abuse, loneliness, and other mental health related conditions.
• Strengthens the existing Solid Start Program to increase education for veterans about mental health programs that are available to them.

The legislation will now be considered by the House of Representatives. The full text of the bill can be read here.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC via KCRG) – Sean Hannity hosted a town hall with former president Donald Trump at the RiverCenter in Davenport Tuesday afternoon. Reports say hundreds, if not a thousand, of potential voters lined up outside the Davenport RiverCenter hours before a recorded town hall that started at 4 p.m. but aired at 8 p.m. on the Fox News Channel. Several potential voters, waiting in line, said Florida governor Ron DeSantis would be their second choice if Trump were not the nominee. However, for now, Donald Trump remains number one.

Not everyone near the RiverCenter Tuesday was there to show their support for the former president. Some attendees who proclaimed support for the former president say there are areas they believe he can improve in. The press was not allowed inside the town hall, so it is unclear what Hannity and Trump discussed with potential voters during the event. After the event, the former president stopped at Front Street Brewery in downtown Davenport. The next Republican debate will be held tonight (Wednesday night), but Donald Trump is not expected to participate.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis will head to two Iowa cities this Thursday. DeSantis will head to Union Station Sports Bar and Grill in Cedar Rapids in the afternoon before traveling west to Lincoln’s Pub in Council Bluffs. Details follow, below.

Thursday, December 7, 2023 @ 12:00 p.m. CST

Cedar Rapids Meet and Greet with Special Guest Gov. Ron DeSantis.

• VENUE – Union Station Sports Bar & Grill (1724 16th Ave SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404)
• DOORS OPEN – 11:30 a.m. CST
• EVENT BEGINS – 12:00 p.m. CST

Thursday, December 7, 2023 @ 5:30 p.m. CST

Council Bluffs Meet and Greet with Special Guest Gov. Ron DeSantis

• VENUE – Lincoln’s Pub (157 W Broadway, Council Bluffs, IA 51503)
• DOORS OPEN – 5:00 p.m. CST
• EVENT BEGINS – 5:30 p.m. CST

Anyone interested in reserving tickets can find them at the link here.

(Washington, D-C/KCCI) – Iowa U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson is proposing a bill that would require agents at the southern border to start fingerprinting migrant children younger than 14. Currently, border patrol agents aren’t allowed to fingerprint kids under the age of 14. Hinson, a Republican, represents Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.

If passed, she says her bill can help immigration officials keep track of non-citizen children and protect them from getting caught in the trafficking system.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor resigned Tuesday from his position as vice-chair of the county Board of Supervisors while remaining as a county supervisor. Jeremy Taylor’s resignation was approved unanimously. Supervisor Mark Nelson was voted unanimously as the vice-chair for the rest of the 2023 session.

Calls for Jeremy Taylor to resign came after his wife, Kim Taylor, was found guilty on Nov. 21 of more than 50 counts of federal election fraud charges. The fraud charges stem from when Jeremy Taylor was a candidate for U.S. Representative of Iowa’s 4th District in June 2020 and again during the 2020 general election when he successfully ran for Woodbury County Supervisor, the seat he now holds. A trial brief in Kim Taylor’s case identified Jeremy Taylor as an “unindicted co-conspirator.”

In the Nov. 28 Supervisor meeting, County Auditor Patrick Gill asked supervisors to approve a request of the Iowa Attorney General to investigate Jeremy Taylor’s actions. However, on Tuesday night, the board decided to not take any action on that resolution.

Police in Red Oak (IA) report the arrest at around 5:45-p.m. Tuesday, of 26-year-old Dillion Cole Baldwin, from Red Oak. Baldwin was taken into custody in the 200 block of W. 5th Street on a charge of Theft in the 3rd Degree, an Aggravated Misdemeanor. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 cash bond, as of the latest report.