(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Democratic Party’s chairman says Republicans at the statehouse have put Iowa gun laws on a downward spiral — leading to the plan to have 10 Spirit Lake School staff carry guns on school grounds. Spirit Lake officials announced this week that staff with permits for concealed weapons would be trained to quickly respond to a shooting in Spirit Lake schools, however teachers will not have guns in classrooms. Iowa Democratic Party chairman Ross Wilburn is also a state representative from Ames and he has voted against allowing guns in Iowa schools.

“Eliminating the Iowa permit to carry requirements, allowing guns in schools and also making it easy for domestic abusers and felons to buy handguns — it’s a continued spiral downward,” Wilburn says. “It continues to stoke fear.” Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames is the top Democrat on the Senate Education Committee. “Turning our schools into armed camps is just the absolute wrong way,” Quirmbach says. “The psychological effect on our kids, I think, is devastating.” Deidre DeJear, the Democratic candidate for governor, was in Spirit Lake Wednesday and DeJear says she talked with people who were devastated by the district’s decision.

“There are some common sense measures that we can put into place at a statewide level so that folks aren’t scared that they’re sending their kids to schools with guns in them,” DeJear says. “We see a school trying to be preventative, but in essence it’s challenging for them to be preventative that this current governor is creating.” Last year, Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law that lets Iowans buy and carry handguns without a permit.

DeJear, who has a permit to carry a concealed weapon, says she’d reinstate the permit process. She says that way background checks would be required for private gun sales in Iowa. Spirit Lake school officials say the program to have armed staff on school grounds should serve as a deterrent to anyone contemplating a school shooting. The Iowa Firearms Coalition says Iowa children are worth protecting and the group is urging other Iowa districts to adopt Spirit Lake’s plan.

(Radio Iowa) -Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says the Republican Party must scale back a “bloated government” and recalibrate U.S. foreign policy, but she says the “most pressing” issue for the GOP is its stand against abortion. “Restoring the value of life and the family,” Ernst said this evening. “Maybe more than ever in our nation’s history, we must stand up for the rule of law, but I would contend that it begins with defending and valuing human life.”

Ernst spoke tonight in California, invited by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation to define “what it means to be a Republican” and what principles are paramount for the party in the future. Ernst credited Donald Trump for refocusing the party and, in particular, coming up with his “drain the swamp” mantra. “For far too long in Republican politics we failed to realize the strong undertones in our own electorate,” Ernst said. “…They truly believe that Washington has either left them behind or is out to get them.”

Ernst told the crowd “even the smallest change” in the federal bureaucracy is a challenge and she criticized the Democratic Party for establishing “new entitlement programs” and tax credits for electric vehicles. “You may remember that Iowans elected me…with the commitment to ‘make Washington squeal,’” Ernst said, “but after eight years in Washington, I often feel that I am the only one squealing.”

Ernst urged Republicans to push back on “academics and those in the political class” who she said are focusing on America’s “past sins.” As for the GOP’s approach to foreign policy, Ernst said “chaos reigns” in the world and the U.S. should pursue Reagan’s doctrine of peace through strength. “I believe in America first, always, but never America alone,” Ernst said. “Forging strong partnerships and allied networks are essential to America’s security and prosperity.”

Ernst is among current and former Republican office holders who’ve been invited to speak at the Reagan Presidential Library, in the “Time for Choosing” series. Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney delivered the keynote in July and and Arizona Senator Doug Ducey is scheduled to be the speaker in September.

(Radio Iowa) – State officials say INITIAL data about summer tourism in Iowa indicates the number of travelers is down slightly from last year, but visitors are coming from a greater distance. Jessica O’Riley is the communications manager for Travel Iowa. “Last year we saw a lot of shorter, in-state road trips,” O’Riley says. “The average distance traveled for a trip this year is just 233 miles compared to 140 miles last year. We’re also seeing hotel occupancies higher this year.” Air traffic represents Iowans traveling elsewhere well as out-of-stater’s visiting Iowa.

Passenger traffic at the airport in Des Moines is up 60 percent and passenger numbers at The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids is up 50 percent over last year. O’Riley says the only surrounding state with a higher tourism recovery rate from 2019 — the year before the pandemic — is South Dakota. Tourism in Jasper County in July doubled this year compared to last, due to the Indy Car races at the Iowa Speedway in Newton. However, major Iowa tourism events like the State Fair, the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa and the Field of Dreams game in Dyersville are not included in the initial statewide tourism estimate from the Travel Iowa office.

“These are early summer numbers. There’s still summer left,” O’Riley says. “We’ve got a big holiday coming up here in a couple of weeks with Labor. I just saw a study where 53 million Americans plan to travel Labor Day weekend.” That would be about the same number who traveled last year. O’Riley says for the most part events and establishments that serve tourists have reopened after pandemic-related closures, but there are still staffing issues.

“We have told people since the pandemic started that if they’re going to travel to pack your patience,” O’Riley says. “It may take you a little bit longer at the restaurant. Your check-in may not go as quickly and as long as you plan for those into your itinerary, then you will have a much more enjoyable experience.”

Hotel rates are trending higher in Iowa and elsewhere and some restaurants have raised prices. O’Riley says the initial data state officials have reviewed from summer travel and tourism in Iowa indicates overall spending is four-point-six percent higher than 2019.

(Radio Iowa) – State regulators today (Thursday) approved the sale of the Hard Rock Casino in Sioux City to the company in Kentucky which runs the Kentucky Derby. Racing and Gaming Administrator, Brian Ohorilko says the approval came after the Commission got a report on the Churchill Downs Incorporated background check.

“The commission has been reviewing other documents, financing other paperwork, that was part of this transaction and subsequently approve this transaction,” he says. Churchill Downs announced in February the proposal to purchase the Hard Rock from Peninsula Pacific Entertainment for nearly two-point-five billion dollars. Ohorilko says Virginia regulators have approved the sale because of the involvement of Peninsula, and approval is still needed from New York.

“So when the New York gaming Association ultimately reviews it, and if they were to approve it, then that is when this transaction would become final. And so that’s maybe expected to occur this fall,” according to Ohorilko. Ohorilko says the Racing and Gaming Commission does not expect any big differences in operation when the sale is completed. “There were a number of questions regarding what to expect under new ownership. But Churchill Downs has indicated that they do not expect any changes in business as usual, in terms of the management team that is there,” Ohorilko says.

The Hard Rock name will also stay. “That was something that was part of this deal. And so that’s something that will remain in place, which means that the Hard Rock brand will remain in terms of all of the concerts that go along with that, that’s something that is expected,” he says. Peninsula Pacific Entertainment took over when the Sioux City casino in 2014 when it was moved from a riverboat to the land — and Ohorilko says it has been a success story.

“In terms of what can happen when there is a significant investment, strong amenities, and just that facility has truly become kind of a destination facility. And it does draw from a wider area than what maybe we see at some other facilities,” Ohorilko says. Churchill Downs also owns racetracks and an online wagering company.