SPM News

051619 504 Iowa’s Attorney General has endorsed Montana Gov. Steve Bullock in the 2020 Democratic presidential race. It makes him the first 2020 candidate to receive the endorsement of a statewide elected official in Iowa. Attorney General Tom Miller was one of the first Iowa elected officials to endorse Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential caucuses, and he is a longtime friend of the Montana governor's People who post pornographic images of others without their permission or use the

051619 432 Iowa is joining four other states in suing a drug company and its former president over actions related to the marketing of the drug OxyContin. Attorney General Tom Miller announced today that Iowa had filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and Richard Sackler, the company's former president and chairman. The suit claims Purdue engaged in unfair, deceptive and unlawful practices in how it marketed OxyContin, helping to cause a national opioid crisis. The company denied the allegations.

051619 404 A monthly survey of rural bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states shows they're rapidly losing confidence in the region's farm economy. The Rural Mainstreet survey for May, released Thursday, shows the survey's overall index dropping from 50 in April to 48.5 this month. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, blames trade tensions and tariffs,

051519 532 Tyson Foods claims a federal meat inspector lied about inspecting thousands of hogs at its Storm Lake, Iowa, plant. The Sioux City Journal reports that action forced the company to destroy 8,000 carcasses and resulting in $2.4 million in losses and expenses. Tyson Foods and Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. claim that meat inspector Yolanda Thompson, who is employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service, signed certificates indicating she inspected slaughtered

051519 504 China is hardly buying any U.S. soybeans thanks to the ongoing trade dispute. But as China grapples with a major disease outbreak, there’s a possible silver lining for farmers here. African swine fever has led to the deaths of at least a million hogs in China, a country that eats a lot of pork. To meet that demand, China may need to import more U-S pork. The U-S has the capacity to raise more pigs, and those animals would eat some of the soybeans that China isn’t currently buying. But

051519 432 Current and past attorneys general from both major political parties from several states are asking Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to veto a measure that would force Iowa's attorney general to seek permission to file out-of-state lawsuits. They think the move designed by Republicans to keep Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller from joining lawsuits against the Donald Trump administration violates basic checks and balances. Iowa would be the only state with such limits on an attorney general

05.15.19 404 African swine fever has killed at least a million hogs in China … and the disease has spread to Vietnam, Cambodia and other Asian countries. U.S. hog farmers dread the prospect of the disease coming here, but the outbreak may offer them a slight reprieve from the ongoing trade war. As China struggles to meet domestic demand for pork, it may buy more from the U-S. And raising more pigs in the U.S. means feeding them some of the soybeans that China hasn’t been buying. But central Iowa

Current and past attorneys general from both major political parties from several states are asking Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to veto a measure that would force Iowa's attorney general to seek permission to file out-of-state lawsuits. They think the move designed by Republicans to keep Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller from joining lawsuits against the Donald Trump administration violates basic checks and balances. Iowa would be the only state with such limits on an attorney general. Reynolds

051419 504 Iowa’s senior senator says he’s disappointed with the escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Republican Chuck Grassley stands by the president’s efforts pressuring China to align its trade practices with global expectations on intellectual property and other issues. But he says increasing tariffs on soybeans and other agricultural products hits farmers hard. 0514grassleytrade1 Farmers are hurting the last few years and the main reason is oversupply and overproduction

051419 432 As China and the United States increased tariffs on each other’s goods in the latest round of an ongoing trade war, farmers are seeing a major market for pork and soybean exports dwindle. That’s prompted the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the President to propose a 15-billion-dollar bail-out. Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley says he supports the idea. 0514grassleytrade2 I haven’t seen any specific plans yet, but I think farmers are more interested in the certainty that would