(Radio Iowa) — The beer brewing movement continues to grow in the state. Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division spokesman, Tyler Ackerson, says it shows in yearly sales figures. “Iowa-made beer actually saw a 16-point-three percent increase in total gallons sold — which is a very strong increase,” Ackerson says. “Liquor and wine gallons sold — those also increased by three-point-five percent and point-six-five percent, respectively.”

The gallons sold of non-Iowa brewed beers dropped one-point-one percent. He says the double digit jump in sales of Iowa brewed suds makes sense with the way the industry has expanded. “That kind of coincides with us seeing over 100 breweries and brew pubs that are now open in the state,” Ackerson says.  “Iowans seem to like Iowa-made beer quite a bit.” Ackerson says there haven’t been any big law changes to spark the increase. “There have been some changes for Iowa distilleries to be able to sell at the distillery location. But nothing has really changed for breweries and brew pubs,” according to Ackerson, “I think it’s just that Iowans are demonstrating a preference for Iowa-made beer — so more breweries and brew pubs are opening to meet that demand — and it’s being reflected in the total gallons we see sold.”

Ackerson says the licensing numbers indicate more events that might feature Iowa products. “What we’re seeing is we’ve crossed over 18-thousand licenses and permits being issued and we’re seeing a large increase in temporary licenses. Five day licenses, and those are usually involved in fairs and festivals. So, a lot of these special events are wanting to incorporate alcohol, and that’s being in our licensing numbers,” Ackerson explains.

While the Iowa beers are getting more popular — they still are only a small drop in the keg compared to the other brands sold. There were nearly 71 million gallons of non-native beer sold in the state in the last fiscal year — compared to 795-thousand gallons of Iowa brewed beer. Iowans bought nearly five million gallons of wine produced outside the state — compared to nearly four-point-seven million gallons of in-state wine.

(Radio Iowa) — Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren says Democrats won’t be able to effectively counter Donald Trump’s “drain the swamp” message if their 2020 presidential nominee uses a conventional fundraising model. “Folks in Iowa have a real opportunity this year to say: ‘Where you get your money matters,'” Warren said during an interview with Radio Iowa. “‘And, no, we don’t think billionaires ought to be able to buy their way onto the stage and we don’t think people who have to go suck up to billionaires ought to be able to buy their way onto the stage.'”

Warren spoke with Radio Iowa during a campaign swing through eastern Iowa Saturday, extending her criticism of rival Pete Buttigieg she first made during last Thursday’s televised debate. Warren did not mention Buttigieg by name during Radio Iowa’s interview, but she suggested a candidate’s money-raising abilities shouldn’t be a concern for primary and caucus voters.  “If the 2020 November General Election is just a bunch of Donald Trump television advertising versus a bunch of Democratic television advertising, we have no comparative advantage. Everybody can do the slick TV ads — right? — and claim whatever they want to claim and hit the airwaves. And, frankly, there’s going to be plenty of money to do that once we have a Democratic nominee. That’s not going to be an issue,” Warren said. “What is going to be an issue is: Where do we build an advantage? And that’s a grassroots movement.”

A debate on this topic among partisans on Twitter has included references to an Associated Press account of a Warren fundraiser in 2018. Donors who gave at least a thousand dollars were given a bottle of wine as a souvenir of the evening. Warren was running for re-election to a second term at the time. “I was in a race against a Republican. It was not in the primary,” Warren said. “But it’s also I was new to politics and I had a chance to see what everybody else in this Democratic race has seen that rich people have different priorities than everyone else and they want a chance to be able to push their priorities.”

Warren is not meeting with high-dollar donors in small groups or at large events, a decision she often touts during campaign speeches. Warren told Radio Iowa the 2020 race gives Americans a chance to rewrite campaign finance laws and end the corrosive influence of money on the political system. “This question of how campaigns are funded and who you’re spending your time with is exactly about prosecuting the case against Donald Trump,” Warren aid. “Look, he was just impeached. And what’s really at the heart of both his impeachment and what’s been going on for three years? It’s corruption.”

During Thursday’s debate, Buttigieg suggested the party’s 2020 nominee cannot afford to give Trump a fundraising advantage by voluntarily limiting how they raise campaign contributions.

(Radio Iowa) — Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar started a bus tour of the state Friday, intending to stop in 27 counties by mid-morning today (Monday). “I went all the way from Hollywood Hills to Mount Pleasant,” Klobuchar announced in a video posted on Twitter. Klobuchar has been emphasizing her performance in last Thursday’s candidate debate in L-A. On Saturday, Klobuchar told an audience in southwest Iowa that she wants to debate Trump next fall and compare the trust money Trump inherited with her grandfather’s legacy as an iron ore miner in Minnesota. “He saved money in a coffee can in the basement to send my dad to a two-year community college,” Klobuchar said. “That was my family’s trust.”

Klobuchar’s bus logged about a thousand miles when it reached her last event Sunday night in Cherokee. With stops in towns as small as Diagonal, with a population of 324, Klobuchar says the trip illustrates that her party must go everywhere to seek support. “You meet people where they are, that you don’t abandon the rural parts of our country,” Klobuchar said, “…that you don’t suppose who they’re going to vote for.”

Klobuchar has emphasized a number of her policy positions during her weekend tour, like her call to boost federal spending on infrastructure and her support of importing less expensive prescription drugs from Canada. In Denison, Klobuchar also emphasizes the importance of “winning big” and ensuring Democratic candidates for the U.S. House and Senate win victories in 2020. “What I want to do is keep the House of Representatives strong, but also win back the Senate and send Mitch McConnell packing,” Klobuchar said, to applause.

Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell — the senate’s majority leader — is up for re-election in 2020. Klobuchar admits she’s racing to personally connect with as many Iowa voters as possible before the Senate reconvenes in January. She faces the prospect of sitting for days in the senate chamber — as a juror in President Trump’s impeachment trial.