(Radio Iowa) — Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper says his first abandoned foray into property development taught him not to give up on “a great idea” — like his current campaign for the White House. “I’m going to keep pushing as long as I feel people are heaing something in me that for them is a solution to this crisis of division,” Hickenlooper says, “all this animosity that this country’s filled with right now.”

Many of Hickenlooper’s national staff and advisers left the campaign after urging the 67-year-old to run for Colorado’s U.S. Senate instead. Hickenlooper says throughout his career, he’s faced critics who say he’s not the right person for the job of running a brew pub, being mayor of Denver or governor of Colorado, but he persevered.

“How do you win if you’re at one percent in the polls nationally? You win Iowa,” HIckenlooper says. “That’s how you win. You go out and you walk back and forth across Iowa and you drive cars across Iowa and you convince people that…you’re the best person for the job and…that you can win Iowa and most people in Iowa they feel that if you win Iowa, you’re going to become the next president.”

Hickenlooper says he may not be the smartest candidate in the race, but no one will work harder. “There’s not slick slogans and you know it’s going to take a while to turn the tide, but I believe I am different than anybody else,” Hickenlooper told reporters, “and I think when people get to know that and hear it, they’ll begin to talk about it to their neighbors.”

Hickenlooper spoke to crowds in Des Moines, Creston and Ottumwa Monday. Hicklooper describes himself as a “pragmatic progressive” and argues he can win in swing states Donald Trump won in 2016.

(Radio Iowa) — A 38-year-old California congressman who was born in northwest Iowa has ended his presidential campaign and will seek re-election to the U.S. House instead.  Eric Swalwell formally launched his candidacy in April. He ended it with an announcement Monday, outside a union hall in Dublin, California.

Swalwell has been a frequent visitor on the Iowa campaign trail since 2017. He often talked about being born in Sac City and living in Algona, where his father was a policeman before the family moved to California. Swalwell was among the 20 presidential candidates who met the fundraising and polling criteria to be invited to last months’ televised debates, but he struggled to raise money and gain attention in the crowded field.

Swalwell did not signal he’ll endorse any of the competitors who remain in th erace, but Swalwell told reporters the party’s nominee must be able to take a punch and throw a punch at Trump on the debate stage — AND unite the country. As Swalwell exits, a California billionaire Tom Steyer is reportedly considering jumping into the race.

Tom Steyer has spent millions on voter turn-out efforts since 2013. More recently, Steyer bought ads calling for President Trump’s impeachment. Steyer held a news conference in Des Moines in January — to announce he was NOT running for president, but multiple media have been reporting he’s reconsidered.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 2:15 a.m. CDT

TIPTON, Iowa (AP) — Video and documents show an Iowa trooper pointed his gun at a motorcyclist and knocked him down for no apparent reason during a traffic stop, then falsely charged the man with eluding law enforcement. Dashboard camera video shows then-Iowa State Patrol officer Robert Smith pulling over motorcyclist Bryce Yakish for speeding on Sept. 25, 2017. What appears to be a routine stop escalates immediately when Smith runs from his car with his gun drawn and strikes Yakish in his helmet’s face shield.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A southwest Iowa man has won his free speech legal battle with a sheriff’s department and two officers who charged him with harassment for writing a social media post that profanely criticized a deputy. Jon Richard Goldsmith will be paid $10,000 by the Adams County Sheriff’s office as settlement of a federal lawsuit he filed in May alleging violations of his rights to free speech, retaliation and false arrest.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — A judge has sentenced an Iowa woman to up to 40 years in prison for charges related to the murder of a woman and the burning of her body. The Des Moines Register reports Judge Thomas Bice on Monday sentenced 28-year-old Mackenzie Knigge, of Clare, to 40 years with the possibility of parole after 24½ years. Knigge pleaded guilty June 6 to charges related to the killing of 26-year-old Jessica Gomez, of Fort Dodge. Her burned body was found in 2017 in a field near Clare.

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (AP) — Authorities continue searching for a missing boater in eastern Iowa. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office called off the search Sunday evening in and along the Cedar River in Palisades-Kepler State Park. The missing man is believed to be 59-year-old Ricky Lee Veenstra of Cedar Rapids.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — A judge has sentenced an Iowa woman to up to 40 years in prison for charges related to the murder of a woman and the burning of her body. The Des Moines Register reports Judge Thomas Bice on Monday sentenced 28-year-old Mackenzie Knigge, of Clare, to 40 years with the possibility of parole after 24½ years.

Knigge pleaded guilty June 6 to charges related to the killing of 26-year-old Jessica Gomez, of Fort Dodge. Her burned body was found in 2017 in a field near Clare. Knigge pleaded guilty to attempted murder, aiding and abetting robbery and abuse of a human corpse.

In March, 26-year-old Phillip A. Williams , of Lafayette, Indiana, pleaded guilty to attempt to commit murder and abuse of a human corpse. He was sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.

Three arrests took place in Glenwood, over the past few days. On Saturday, 20-year old Andre Topete, of Glenwood, was arrested for Possession of Marijuana. He has since posted a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

On Sunday, 37-year old Joel Terry, of Glenwood, was arrested for Operating a vehicle without the ignition interlock. The charge was summarily dismissed, and Terry was released.

Today (Monday), 19-year old Gage Bothwell, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for   Possession of Marijuana, and 23-year old Alvaro Herrera, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. Bonds for both were set at $1,000.

A man from Missouri is dead following a kayaking accident in Page County over the holiday weekend. Sheriff Lyle Palmer says despite efforts to save him, 38-year old Jerrimiah Bryant Smiley, of Maryville, Missouri, died Friday at the Clarinda Regional Health Center.

Authorities received a 9-1-1 call at around 10:30-a.m. Friday, with regard to a man who drowned at the low head dam on the Nodaway River, on the east side of the Clarinda City limits. When emergency personnel arrived the man (Smiley) was out of the water, but CPR was in progress by another adult male that had been kayaking with.

An investigation determined Smiley and 33-year old David Medley, also of Maryville, MO., had been kayaking southbound on the West Nodaway River north of Clarinda, from where they had camped. Smiley and Medley were kayaking from the Villisca, area to Maitland, MO. The trip had been planned to span several days.

The men were sitting on top of their kayaks when they came to the low head dam on the east side of Clarinda. Smiley went over the dam first. He was thrown off his kayak. Medley was immediately behind Smiley and he was also thrown off his kayak. Both Smiley and Medley were wearing life preservers. Smiley got caught in the undertow on the south side of the dam. Medley was swept down river.

Medley saw that Smiley was unable to get out of the undertow and got to the bank. He then ran back to the dam, entered the water and attempted to get Smiley out of the undertow. Smiley had gone under several times at this point. Medley was again was washed downstream by the current. He then went back to try to get Smiley from the undertow. Smiley then went under and Medley was washed downstream.

Medley located a container with his cell phone floating from the kayak that was used to stow all their supplies and called 911. Smiley surfaced downstream from the dam and Medley got him out of the water. Medley then began to perform CPR. It was at this time Emergency personnel arrived on the scene and transported Smiley to the hospital, where efforts to save him were unsuccessful.

The Page County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Clarinda Police Department, the Clarinda Fire Department, and the Clarinda Ambulance service.