(Radio Iowa) — Republican Congressman Steve King is forcefully rejecting critics who’ve accused him of holding the same views as the man who killed 11 Jews at a Pittsburg synagogue. King spoke at a forum today (Thursday) in Des Moines and verbally clashed with a questioner in the crowd.  “Do not associate me with that shooter,” King said emphatically, as the man in the crowd continued to speak. “I knew you were an ambusher when you walked in the room, but there’s no basis for that and you get no question and there’s no answer. You’re done. We don’t play these games here in Iowa.”

King asked one of the event’s hosts to escort the man out of the room. “You crossed the line. It’s not tolerable to accuse me to be associated with a guy who shot 11 people in Pittsburgh,” King said. “I am a person who has stood with Israel from the beginning. The length of that nation is the length of my life and I’ve been with them all along and I will not answer your question and I will not listen to another word from you and this is over is he keeps talking.” King spoke for nearly 47 minutes, outlining his legislative priorities for 2019 and answering half a dozen questions.

Midway through, King was asked about this week’s tweet from the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Ohio Congressman Steve Stivers said the country must “stand up against white supremacy” and he condemned King’s “recent comments, actions and retweets.”

“There’s a question that I don’t favor, but it was offered respectfully. Thank you,” King replied. “First I will say that Stiver’s behavior has befuddled every Republican I’ve talked to and everyone that I know, including our leadership.” King then referred to his written response, which accused Stiver of being an “Establishment Never Trumper” who secretly hopes the House flips over to Democratic control. King suggested the uproar had been caused by a Washington Post story.

“The entire fiasco that you’ve seen here in the state for the last three days or so is all based on the lies on this page right here,” King said, holding a copy of the article aloft. King spent seven minutes reading from the story and providing his response to allegations he “duped” sponsors of a trip to Polish sites associated with the holocaust by taking a side trip for a meeting in Hungary. “Around the table was one person of the Freedom Party, one person who said he was Jewish,” King said, “and the others were I’d say random, successful business people, but there was no meeting there with people who had Nazi ties.”

King said serving in the U.S. House for 16 years “is the joy of his life” and policies like ending birthright citizenship are “on the cusp.”  “A lot of this legislation that I’ve laid down more than 10 years ago is now poised to move forward and become law,” King says. A group of protesters gathered outside criticized the Des Moines Partnership for hosting King today (Thursday). One woman called King a white supremacist.  “When we don’t speak up, when we don’t stand up, we’re part of the problem,” she said.

The Des Moines Partnership has sponsored a public series with state and federal candidates for several years. Earlier this fall, King’s opponent, Democrat J.D. Scholten, spoke to the group.

Officials with the Alliant Energy Foundation say 16 Iowa communities have been award Hometown Safety Grants from the Alliant Energy Foundation. The grants fund specific tools and projects to help first responders do their jobs even better. That includes defibrillators in public buildings, personal protective equipment for police and more. In our area, the Jamaica Fire Department in Guthrie County, received $1,000 for a Communications upgrade. Hometown Safety Grants are awarded for specific, one-time safety-related projects that benefit a wide range of people.

For more information, go to: https://www.alliantenergy.com/foundation. The Alliant Energy Foundation is funded solely by Alliant Energy shareowners

Red Oak Police this (Thursday) morning, arrested a man wanted on a Montgomery County warrant for Violation of Probation. 19-year old Jacob Anthony Anderson, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 10-a.m.  He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,500 cash bond.

(12-p.m. News)

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says another report has been received about the theft of tractor weights. A Creston man told authorities Wednesday afternoon, that sometime over the weekend, someone entered his shop and took eight green weights off of his John Deere tractor. The loss was estimated $1,080. It’s the third time in less than a week weights have been stolen from farm tractors in Union County.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A teacher in an Iowa district that has been criticized for discriminating against minorities says she regrets wearing blackface for a Halloween costume and that she didn’t know it is offensive. The Davenport school district has said its investigating teacher Megan Luloff , who wore the makeup for her costume when she attended an Oct. 19 party unconnected to her job.

Her attorney said in a letter Wednesday that Luloff had never heard the term blackface, didn’t know its history or “how hurtful it is to all African-Americans.” The letter also says Luloff regrets her actions. A district spokeswoman Thursday would confirm only that Luloff remains employed. The district is under state supervision because a disproportionate number of minority students have been identified for special education and subjected to discipline.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — A bishop is vowing to relocate a priest who’s living in an Iowa retirement home close to a Roman Catholic school despite his history of sexually abusing boys. The announcement follows an Associated Press story exposing the church’s three-decade cover-up of abuse by the Rev. Jerome Coyle. Coyle admitted in 1986 that he sexually abused approximately 50 boys over 20 years while serving at several Iowa parishes.

The Diocese of Sioux City didn’t tell police or the public, instead transferring Coyle to a treatment center in New Mexico and stripping him of his parish assignments. In June, the diocese moved Coyle to the Marian Home in Fort Dodge, across the street from Saint Edmonds Catholic School. School administrators weren’t informed. Bishop R. Walker Nickless says Coyle won’t stay there.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest at around 7-p.m. Wednesday, of 21-year old Chance Ryan Beres, of Malvern. Beres was taken into custody on a Poweshiek County warrant for three-counts of Arson in the 2nd Degree and Arson in the 3rd Degree. His bond was set at $32,000.

According to reports, Beres pled guilty on October 1st to second-degree arson for setting a fire that destroyed a building in rural Poweshiek County in May. He was granted a deferred judgment. Following his arrest on that charge, authorities alleged Beres was responsible for numerous fires in the county. The Des Moines Register reported at the time that Beres was an EMT with Midwest Ambulance in Grinnell and was a probationary member of the Montezuma Volunteer Fire Department and EMS.

Separately, 57-year old Steven Craig Needham, of Pacific Junction, was arrested Wednesday afternoon, for Simple Assault. His bond was set at $300.

TRAER, Iowa (AP) — Officials say the remains of an Iowa sailor killed in the Pearl Harbor attack are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency says the remains of 22-year-old William Kvidera, of Traer, will be buried Nov. 16. He was a carpenter’s mate 3rd class assigned to the USS Oklahoma. The battleship capsized on Dec. 7, 1941, after being struck by Japanese torpedoes. His remains were among those not identified after their recovery. They were interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

The agency says the remains were removed from the cemetery in April 2015 and identified through DNA and dental analysis and other evidence. He was listed as accounted for on July 3.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Kim Reynolds says presidential adviser and daughter Ivanka Trump is coming to Iowa on Friday to support the Republican governor in the final days of the campaign. Reynolds is running against Democrat Fred Hubbell in a tight race for governor. Hubbell appeared on stage with former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday. Last month, Reynolds stood with President Donald Trump at an event in Council Bluffs, and Reynolds hosted White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for a fundraising event.

Friday’s invitation-only round-table event with Ivanka Trump will be held at a West Des Moines restaurant and will focus on what Reynolds calls pro-growth policies. The event will not be open to the public.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Crews have been spending months slowly deconstructing a former power plant in Dubuque but their efforts only recently became noticeable after taking down a pair of towering stacks.
The Telegraph Herald reports that Alliant Energy’s Dubuque Generating Station stopped creating power more than a year ago. The facility primarily used coal until it transitioned to natural gas in 2011. Jill Stevens is Alliant’s manager of environmental and decommissioning services. She says the building will be deconstructed “carefully and meticulously.” Crews recently began focusing on the building’s exterior.

Alliant spokesman Mike Wagner says the decommissioning symbolizes the company’s shift toward a cleaner-energy future. He says the deconstruction work will be complete by March. Wagner says the company is unsure what they’ll do with the site.