The City of Albia nearly doubled in size Sunday for a rally to show support for the “Welcome Home Soldier” Memorial. A Washington, D.C.-based group has threatened to sue, arguing the memorial’s 21 crosses violate the separation of church and state since the display sits on public land. Jim Keller, founder and president of the “Welcome Home Soldier” board, says the families of veterans paid for each the crosses.

“I always told everybody when you come here, I want to tear your heart out and hand it right back to you,” Keller said. “I think that’s how much I appreciate everybody that fought for our country.” Officials estimated a crowd of two-thousand turned out in Albia for the event. Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds told rally-goers the threatened lawsuit is an attack on religious liberty.

“It is up to us to stand up and say: ‘We will not tolerate this infringement on our rights. We will not allow this memorial to be taken down,'” Reynolds said, to cheers. Reynolds says the “elitists” are counting on Iowans to lose their resolve.  “We must stand together in this fight like each and every one of you are doing here today and, collectively, we must say: ‘Enough is enough,'” Reynolds said. Reynolds says if it’s O-K for crosses to mark the graves of soldiers at cemeteries in Normandy and Arlington, it should be O-K in Monroe County, Iowa.

State Senator Ken Rozenboom, of Oskaloosa, represents the area and he says this is a battle between “political correctness” and the free speech rights of Albia families who had the names of loved ones carved in the crosses. Last year, Americans United for Separation of Church and State raised concerns about a veterans memorial in a Knoxville city park that depicted a soldier kneeling next to a cross. Two members of the Knoxville City Council who voted to move that memorial to private land lost their bids for reelection.

(Radio Iowa)

The four Democrats running for the U.S. Senate in Iowa are raising serious concerns about the Obama Administration’s use of drones to target terrorists overseas. The candidates appeared Sunday afternoon at a forum sponsored by the “Stop The Arms Race” PAC. Patty Judge says it’s important to take out “high value” targets, but she says the Pentagon, not the C-I-A, should be running the U.S. drone program.

It’s a military tool and it needs to be treated as a military tool,” Judge says. Rob Hogg  says he has “deep concerns” because our enemies may use drones to strike us. “If we can do things that keep the men and women in our services out of danger by using them for informational purposes, that’s probably a good thing,” Hogg says, “…but we’ve got to be really, really careful.” Tom Fiegen says there are too many civilian casualties with drone strikes.

“You wonder why there are more terrorists? It’s because we use
drones to kill people who are innocent victims,” Fiegen said, to applause. Bob Krause says there is a “joystick mentality” that goes with the operation, but he’s not calling for abandoning the use of drones. “I don’t know that I’m willing yet to say that we need to stop targeting and pinpointing the leadership of ISIS,” Krause says.

The Democratic candidates also agreed the U.S. should NOT use torture when interrogating terror suspects. Regarding two of President Obama’s foreign policy achievements, all four expressed opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, but they were united in their support of the president’s nuclear agreement with Iran. Patty Judge says it will help maintain peace in the Middle East.

“However, we must also understand and realize that we have got to be very vigilant,” Judge says. “There needs to be careful monitoring.” Rob Hogg says people overlook that the deal had international support from U.S. allies. “Even Ronald Reagan used nuclear arms negotiations with the ‘Evil Empire’ to bring moderation to the Soviet Union,” Hogg said, “so why shouldn’t President Obama be able to do that with Iran?” Bob Krause says it was “nearly criminal” for Senator Chuck Grassley to sign onto a letter Senate Republicans sent the “Supreme Leader” in Iran.

“It will probably never be prosecuted, but it was clearly wrong,” Krause said, “and it played into the hands of the far right wing in Iran.” Tom Fiegen describes himself as a peace activist who supports the deal with Iran. “I believe it represents a triumph of diplomacy over war,” Fiegen says. Donald Trump was a frequent target during the two-hour-long forum, as was Senator Grassley.

The four candidates are competing to win the June 7th Democratic Primary and the chance to face Grassley in the General Election.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A voluntary state program that aims to improve water quality practices at farms around Iowa is entering its fourth year amid growing differences about the best ways to clean up the state’s waterways. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced this month the sign-up period is open for its cost-share program that allows farmers to offset the expense of installing some water quality practices. Some agriculture experts say it’s not enough for long-term benefits.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — In the trucking industry, technology is driving change. Todd Smith, chief operating officer at Decker Truck Line Inc. in Fort Dodge said that by the end of 2017 it will be mandated that all trucks have electronic logs. Paper logs will no longer be accepted. This change in technology has made it a difficult transition for some of the older truckers, who account for a large percentage of drivers. Smith said the average age of the driving force today is an estimated 57 years old.

SOLON, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials are considering banning alcohol at two state beaches because of past problems, but the rule hasn’t been approved yet. The ban would apply initially at Lake Macbride near Solon and Pleasant Creek at Palo. Alcohol would be banned at the beaches but would be allowed in the campgrounds.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Officials in eastern Iowa plan to hold groundbreaking ceremony for new Scott County sheriff’s headquarters. The $4.55 million facility is expected to be completed next spring. The new headquarters will be built in Eldridge, Iowa.