Republican Congressman Steve King says President Trump’s recent remarks about the North American Free Trade Agreement may be a negotiating tactic. Trump said this past Tuesday that he doubts negotiations with Mexico and Canada will succeed and he will “probably” terminate NAFTA.

“I think the president’s got a negotiating maneuver here when he said he may just cancel it,” King says. “But, in the end, I think that may just be a piece of leverage that gets us a little better deal.” During the 2016 campaign, Trump routinely called NAFTA the worst trade deal in American history. This past Tuesday, Trump said he didn’t think the U.S. can strike a deal with Canada and Mexico “because we have been so badly taken advantage of.” King says it’s remarkable the two countries agreed to re-negotiate terms of the deal.

“I thought that Mexico and Canada would say: ‘We have a treaty. Let’s keep it. We don’t want to talk,'” King says. “I was surprised they would agree to begin those negotiations, but they did and that tells you something about the power of the United States not only in this continent, but in the hemisphere and in the world.” Officials from Canada and Mexico met with U.S. officials in Washington, D.C. last week. The next round of negotiations are scheduled to start in September 1st in Mexico City. King says the “door is open” to a “reasonable renegotiation” of NAFTA.

“My counsel to the president is: ‘If you can help agriculture, help agriculture. Don’t hurt it. If you can help our manufacturing, help us. Don’t hurt us,'” King says. “But on balance, NAFTA has been good for the state of Iowa. It’s been good for agriculture. It’s been good for our manufacturing industries that we have here and much of the manufacturing industry in the country.” But King says some segments of the economy have been hit by the trade deal, particularly in southern states. NAFTA has been in place since 1994.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is having trouble hiring enough registered nurses at state prisons, so it’s turning to workers with fewer credentials to fill the gap. The Iowa Department of Corrections says a shortage of registered nurses at some clinics within its nine prisons has led the agency to seek more licensed practical nurses. Known as LPNs, they need less health care education and can be paid less. They can do similar tasks as registered nurses, but they carry restrictions in their interactions with patients and require more oversight.

Kathy Weiss, administrator of nursing for corrections, says it’s difficult to compete with nearby hospital jobs that offer better benefits. Some unions representing Iowa nurses argue the staffing shortage will only worsen as the effects of recent changes to the state’s collective bargaining law begin to set in, though state officials say it’s too early to know its impact on hiring.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 5:20 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs is paying an Iowa veteran $550,000 to settle his allegation that he suffered life-shortening heart damage because of a three-year delay in treatment. John Porter, of Greenfield, sued last year in federal court after he says VA staff overlooked a 2011 test result showing his heart was failing. The 68-year-old Porter told the Des Moines Register on Friday he was glad he lived long enough to see the case settled.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Law enforcement officials are warning motorists to use caution on rural roads in northeastern Iowa following a series of sex assaults on women. The Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that several women have reported being assaulted on rural roads in Black Hawk, Linn and Tama Counties. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office says the latest case is a woman who reported being attacked early Friday morning by a man who flagged her down on a rural road near Bertram.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A U.S. Marine Corps official has confirmed the motorcycle crash death of a 22-year-old Marine from Iowa in California. Marine First Sgt. Sodergren tells the Des Moines Register that Cpl. Andrew West died last Sunday when the motorcycle he was driving veered across the center line of a highway and hit a car in Riverside, California. West, of Van Horne, was in training at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton at the time of his death.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former Council Bluffs, Iowa, assistant city attorney has been indicted on drug charges in Nebraska. The Omaha World-Herald reports that 44-year-old Don Bauermeister, of Omaha, was charged by a federal grand jury with possessing with intent to distribute about 13 pounds of marijuana. Bauermeister had been city employee since February 2003, but resigned in mid-June. At the time, Council Bluffs City Attorney Dick Wade said Bauermeister gave no reason for his resignation.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs has paid an Iowa veteran $550,000 to settle his allegation that he suffered life-shortening heart damage because of a three-year delay in treatment. John Porter, of Greenfield, sued last year in federal court after he says VA staff overlooked a 2011 test result showing his heart was failing. The 68-year-old Porter told the Des Moines Register on Friday he was glad he lived long enough to see the case settled.

Porter’s lawsuit says no VA doctors told Porter of the findings of the 2011 test that showed his heart was failing. Only three years later did doctors at an Arizona VA hospital, where he had gone for shortness of breath, find the 2011 test results and inform Porter.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A U.S. Marine Corps official has confirmed the motorcycle crash death of a 22-year-old Marine from Iowa in California. Marine First Sgt. Michael Sodergren tells the Des Moines Register that Cpl. Andrew West died last Sunday when the motorcycle he was driving veered across the center line of a highway and hit a car in Riverside, California.

West, of Van Horne, was in training at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton at the time of his death. He was off base on personal time when the crash happened. West graduated from Marion High School in Iowa in 2014. He joined the Marines on Nov. 26, 2013. His body was to be flown back to Iowa this weekend.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – After nearly two years of construction, the first hogs have been slaughtered at a giant Sioux City pork plant that is eventually expected to employ 2,000 people and process 21,000 hogs a day. Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott told the Sioux City Journal that Seaboard Triumph Foods processed about 100 hogs Wednesday as crews test equipment ahead of a Sept. 5 opening.

The company plans to start a single shift with up to 900 production workers in the 925,000-square foot plant. Initially, the plant will have a capacity of slaughtering 10,500 hogs daily. The $300 million plant was announced in May 2015.

Seaboard Triumph plans to hire a second shift by next summer, bringing total employment to about 2,000 workers who could slaughter about 6 million hogs annually.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A former Council Bluffs, Iowa, assistant city attorney has been indicted on drug charges in Nebraska. The Omaha World-Herald reports that 44-year-old Don Bauermeister, of Omaha, was charged by a federal grand jury with possessing with intent to distribute about 13 pounds of marijuana.

Bauermeister had been city employee since February 2003, but resigned in mid-June. At the time, Council Bluffs City Attorney Dick Wade said Bauermeister gave no reason for his resignation. The indictment was handed down Thursday. The allegation covers a period from November 2016 to Jan. 9, 2017.

If convicted, Bauermeister faces up to five years in prison.

OAKLAND, Iowa (AP) — A southwestern Iowa man has been sentenced to 14 years behind bars on for sexually abusing a child. The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports that 54-year-old Christopher Donaldson, of Oakland, pleaded guilty on Aug. 8 to third-degree sexual abuse and several traffic violations. He was sentenced Thursday in Pottawattamie County District Court 10 years for the abuse count and four years for the other counts.

Upon his release, Donaldson must undergo 10 years of supervision and register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Officials with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday) said on their social media page that they have been “Notified from a resident that they received a telephone call from someone reportedly with the ‘Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office’ telling them that there was a warrant for their arrest for not showing up for jury duty.” The caller is said to be a “Lieutenant Vansberry.” During the telephone calls some names of actual Court House employees and actual Deputies are being mentioned. The number the scammer is calling from is 712-209-6266, but this number can be spoofed or changed depending on who is calling.

This is a SCAM! No member of the Sheriff’s Office is making these phone calls. This is yet another scam attempt by someone with far too much time on their hands. Why do they do this? Because sometimes people unknowingly fall for these scams.

Scammers will usually bait the unsuspecting recipients of the call into thinking there may actually be a warrant for their arrest. The scammer will then ‘work’ with the person to ‘clear’ up the issue if they pay some sort of fine. The caller will also request that the caller provide a cell number, if they were reached on their home phone, so that the caller can stay in constant contact with the victim. The main reason they want to stay on the line is so that they can walk the person through the process of purchasing a gift card or payment. This also helps the scammer verify that the victim does not speak with anyone else who may warn the victim that this is a scam.

Don’t fall for this SCAM!

Red Oak Police report a two-vehicle accident occurred this morning (Friday) at the intersection of Broadway and Cherry Streets. At 9:06am a 2007 Freightliner Semi driven by 53-year-old Gregory Henderson of Omaha was heading north on Broadway Street and could not stop heading into the intersection with Cherry Street for the red light due to wet road conditions.  The semi struck a 2009 Chevy HHR driven by 76-year-old Gregg Peters of Elliott on the driver rear side and caused the HHR to spin 180 degrees.

No injuries were reported at the scene. Due to the wet conditions Henderson was written a warning for Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device.  The semi sustained $1,000 damage and the HHR $7,500 damage.

The accident blocked the intersection for a short time period while police responded.