Here First

Former President Donald Trump has won the Iowa caucuses by a record margin. He defeated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by 30 percentage points. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley finished third. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy was a distant fourth, and announced he was suspending his campaign for president. Iowa Democrats caucused as well, but not to choose a presidential nominee. Turnout was reported low.

Iowans gather in school gymnasiums and auditoriums, churches, and lots of other places tonight for the Iowa caucuses. Republicans will be the first in the nation to indicate a presidential preference. For the first time, Democrats are choosing their candidate by a mail-in card. And the principal of Perry High School has become the latest to die as a result of a Jan. 4 shooting at the school.

Most of Iowa will be under a blizzard warning on Friday, with gusty winds and snow cutting visibility to near zero. This weekend, wind chills will be at least -20. Iowa’s State Board of Education has approved eight new charter schools for Des Moines and Cedar Rapids.

GOP presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley took questions about border crossings, health care, and more in the final debate before Monday’s Iowa caucuses. The debate was held at Drake University. Iowa’s chief justice says the state still has a shortage of attorneys willing to represent people who can’t afford a lawyer. And, the CDC says Iowa’s wastewater is seeing a spike in COVID-19 virus levels.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is asking lawmakers to enact a 3.5% flat income tax rate. It was one priority laid out in her Condition of the State Address last night. She also wants to see an overhaul of the state’s Area Education Agencies that serve kids with disabilities. And, some people in Black Hawk County are concerned about a plan to rezone 20 acres of agricultural land for commercial development.

More snow is on the way for much of Iowa. The National Weather Service says the eastern half of the state will get another 3-10 inches of snow today. Iowa lawmakers have gaveled in their new legislative session in Des Moines. Dozens of students greeted them with a rally calling for stronger gun laws after last week’s deadly shooting at Perry High School.

Iowa is set to receive its biggest snowfall in a couple of years, beginning Monday and lasting through Tuesday afternoon. Iowa’s legislature gavels in for another session this morning. It’s the eighth year in a row Republicans have controlled both chambers and the governor’s office. And President Trump is being criticized for remarks he made in Iowa over the weekend about the Civil War.

Prayer vigils were held in the central Iowa community of Perry following a deadly shooting at the high school that killed one student and injured five others. In Des Moines, one of the teenagers who led a drive-by shooting at a high school was sentenced to 70 years in prison. And agriculture has generally been a positive for U.S. trade, so why have the last few years shown a trade deficit?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is making a campaign swing through Iowa with the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucuses less than two weeks away. Business groups are pushing state lawmakers for a new tax credit program. And a vision for the future of Waterloo includes a goal for free public transportation.

A student-led gun control group is asking Iowa lawmakers to make three changes to state gun laws this year. Near-total abortion bans around the country have led to an increase in birth rates in some states, but with varying degrees. And, there are now far fewer electric vehicles that qualify for a big federal tax credit.