Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein rallied with about 150 people on the Iowa capitol grounds Sunday afternoon. “We have more than two choices in this election,” Stein said. “It’s time for us to stand up and stand proud.” Stein asked the Iowans to go to New York — to protest next week’s presidential debate that will feature the two major party presidential candidates.

“Think about joining us, to stand up and put our bodies on the line in this election where are deciding whether or not we will have a world to be here in the future,” Stein said. Stein was the Green Party’s presidential nominee in 2012. She and her running mate got arrested four years ago when they tried to enter the site of a debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Stein’s going to attempt the same thing next week, but she’s aiming to get “hundreds” of supporters to join her in risking arrest.

“Think about reserving the date, getting a bus, coming out and making this the beginning of the day that we take back the promise of our democracy,” Stein said Sunday. Stein joined pipeline protesters in North Dakota last week. Stein will return there at some point to face misdemeanor charges for spray painting construction equipment. Yesterday (Sunday), Stein spoke for about 30 minutes to the crowd in Des Moines and did not directly mention the 15th anniversary of 9/11. But she did say the U.S. had “planted the seeds of al Qaeda.”

“We created this great idea of international jihad in order to stop the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, so Osama bin Laden was one of the many people who actually got trained by us…It’s all been downhill from there,” Stein said. “…ISIS came from the chaos of Iraq and of Libya…We got this stuff going. We have the power to shut it down with a peace offensive.” Yesterday’s (Sunday’s) event was organized by Chris Laursen, of Ottumwa. He was one of the Bernie Sanders delegates at the Democratic National Convention. Laursen told the crowd Sanders had sounded the wake-up call for the movement.

“But to endorse Hillary Clinton…to actively campaign for Hillary Clinton is not being a revolution,” Laursen said, getting affirmations from the crowd. “It’s revolting. We do have somebody carrying on that spirit and that is in Dr. Jill Stein and that is exactly why I came to the Green Party.” Jesica Butler of Hawarden supported Sanders and was also an Iowa Democratic Party delegate at the national convention in July.

“I’m leaving the Democratic Party, but I really think the Democratic Party left us and think that the Democratic Party is beyond repair,” Butler said. Launie Sorem, of Boone was a delegate to the Iowa Democratic Party’s state conventions in 2004 and 2008, but she’s a Stein supporter now. “Those who are unconscious — wake up before it’s too late because we’re responsible for our children’s future,” she says. Nate Rauh, of Des Moines, was a Sanders supporter in the 2016 Iowa Caucuses. He attended Stein’s rally Sunday, but “strategically” is worried about voting for a third-party candidate.

“Just because Iowa’s a swing, I don’t know if I really kind of want it to swing Republican,” Rauh says. Stein made a pointed pitch to the Sanders supporters in the crowd. Stein called Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump “war mongers” and “corporate predators.”  “The lesser evil and the greater evil are in a race to the bottom,” Stein said, to cheers and applause. Stein has gotten about three percent support in a couple of recent polls in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa)

Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields is the new Miss America. Shields topped a field of 52 contestants to win the crown and the title of Miss America 2017 Sunday night in Atlantic City. She succeeds the outgoing Miss America Betty Cantrell.

The pageant from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall included contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Miss Iowa Kelly Koch, from Waukee, made to the final 15 selection, but failed to advance closer to the crown.

The pageant began in Atlantic City in 1921 as a way to extend the summer tourist season beyond Labor Day weekend.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press…

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say 20-year-old man pulled from Iowa River was a student at the University of Northern Iowa. The Johnson County Sheriff’s office says Nathan Twedt’s body was pulled from the river in Iowa City on Saturday evening. Investigators are still trying to determine the circumstances of his death.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Iowa has transferred 800 sex offenders to Newton Correctional Facility, which will provide treatment for them. Prison officials say it will help to house sex offenders in a more-secure facility. Previously, the offenders were housed in a dormitory-style prison that made it hard to respond to problems with inmates.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Dubuque agrees to $54,500 settlement with worker who injured shoulder after falling off a tractor. Worker needed shoulder replacement surgery after the injury in 2012.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — For Thad Lents of Marshalltown, Pepsi is more than a refreshing soft drink – it’s a lifestyle, a passion and his livelihood. From his days working at Econofoods store as a teenager, to climbing the corporate ladder at the Pepsi Company, Lents has stockpiled a collection of Pepsi memorabilia in excess of 5,000 pieces.

One person was arrested following a traffic stop early this (Sunday) morning, in Red Oak. Red Oak Police say 28-year old Jack Edward O’Brien, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 4:30-a.m., for OWI/1st offense. O’Brien was brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center, and held on a $1,000 cash bond.