Iowa
Wait, Xi Jinping has an 85-year-old pen pal in Iowa?
- Despite US-China relations being at some of their worst, Xi Jinping apparently has a pen pal in Iowa.
- Sarah Lande, 85, met Xi when she hosted him during his first visit to the US nearly 40 years ago.
- State media revealed that Xi was still getting letters from Lande in a report on Wednesday.
China’s most powerful man still gets letters from an elderly pen pal in the US Midwest.
The interaction was documented in a Wednesday state media report highlighting Xi Jinping’s thoughts on US-China diplomacy. The focus was on Xi’s words, where he highlighted how both countries have achieved diplomatic victories through the “collective efforts” of their peoples, he said.
But the report also mentions that Xi was responding to a letter sent last week from Sarah Lande. She’s an Iowa resident, 85, who state media described as a “friend of his.”
Lande isn’t just some random American. She and her husband, Roger Lande, are from Muscatine, a small city of 24,000 that Xi visited in 1985.
Three decades before he rose to become China’s top leader, a then-31-year-old Xi visited the state to study agriculture as part of a five-person delegation from Hebei province.
A family in Muscatine hosted Xi in their son’s bedroom, and he befriended the Landes during his trip. Sarah Lande, who, per Chinese state media agency Xinhua, helped coordinate Xi’s visit, appeared to remember him fondly.
“He had a smile that would not stop. He was curious about everything and asked questions about everything,” she said of Xi, according to a Xinhua interview published last year.
Xi visited Iowa once more in 2012, this time during a state visit as China’s vice president. There, he reunited with the Landes at their Victorian home in Muscatine. A year later, he was appointed to China’s top role.
“You were the first group of Americans I came into contact with,” Xi told residents of Muscatine, per state media. “To me, you are America.”
SHAUN TANDON/AFP via Getty Images
Then, in 2023, Xi arrived in San Francisco in November for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. He invited the Landes and several other “old friends” from Iowa to dinner.
“This has been a heck of a journey — we can’t figure it out. We don’t even know why he likes us!” Lande said when she received the invitation.
“But we’re eager to meet with him, too. We’re regular, everyday people,” she said.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
The pair have exchanged letters before. Xi wrote to Lande in 2022, also talking about ties between their nations and praising Iowa.
“The Chinese and American people are both great people, and our friendship is not only a valuable asset but also an important foundation for the development of bilateral relations,” Xi wrote.
The Chinese leader has recently been trying to bank on the nostalgia of his friendly trip to the US all those years ago.
While speaking to President Joe Biden at the APEC summit, Xi was presented with a photo of his younger self posing in front of the Golden Gate Bridge — which he visited in 1985.
“Do you know this young man?” Biden said, according to a China Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s retelling.
“Oh yes, this was 38 years ago,” Xi said.
Beijing’s foreign delegates promoted the snippet, which went viral on Chinese social media.
The US-China relationship, however, hasn’t been as rosy as Xi and Lande’s. The past year has seen both countries enmeshed in several tense military encounters that have soured relations to some of their worst levels in history.
In February, the US shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon after it flew over US territory. Then, in May, there was a close encounter between a US spy plane and a Chinese jet over the South China Sea.
The US has also sought to curb China’s technological developments when it imposed export controls for the semiconductor industry in October.
Representatives for China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
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Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 8 drawing
37-47-49-51-58, Mega Ball: 16
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Midday: 0-5-8
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Midday: 0-2-7-3
Evening: 0-7-0-6
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Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 8 drawing
14-16-21-43-51, Bonus: 03
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Iowa Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 3 (Day): 12:20 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 3 (Evening): 10:00 p.m. CT daily.
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- Pick 4 (Evening): 10:00 p.m. CT daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Iowa editor. You can send feedback using this form.
IOWA — Iowa’s new restrictions on SNAP benefits are drawing concern from advocates who say the changes could make it harder for families to buy food and could put future summer assistance for children at risk.
The state’s SNAP waiver took effect January 1, 2026, limiting what items can be purchased based on Iowa’s taxable food list. While that includes widely discussed restrictions on soda and candy, the policy also affects certain prepared foods, creating confusion for shoppers.
“Something as small as whether or not a utensil is included in a food item actually impacts whether or not you can continue to purchase that item using your SNAP benefits,” Paige Chickering, Iowa State Manager for the Save the Children Action Network, said.
Advocates say the rules can be difficult to navigate, especially for people relying on quick meals. Items like prepackaged salads or sandwiches may or may not qualify depending on how they are packaged.
At the same time, new legislation slated for the next session at the statehouse could make those restrictions more permanent by requiring Iowa to continue seeking federal approval for the waiver.
That’s raising additional concerns about the future of Summer EBT, also known as “Sun Bucks,” which provides food assistance to children when school is out.
“This makes that food assistance dependent on a decision made in Washington, D.C. that is just arbitrary and not really dependent on the needs of Iowans and Iowa children,” Chickering said.
The program is expected to help around 220,000 children in Iowa during the summer months. Advocates worry leaving it up to federal approval of the waiver could jeopardize that support if policies change. They also point out that SNAP plays a major role in addressing hunger compared to other resources.
“We know that for every one meal provided by an emergency feeding organization, SNAP provides nine,” Chickering said.
Advocates say they support improving nutrition but argue there are more effective, evidence based ways to do that without limiting food choices.
For now, organizations across Iowa are working to help families understand the new rules, while also pushing lawmakers to reconsider how the policy could impact food access moving forward.
Scoop: Iowa Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek snagged a major endorsement for his Senate bid from former Sen. Tom Harkin.
Harkin, who retired in 2015, was the last Democrat to represent Iowa in the Senate. Turek is locked in a competitive primary with state Sen. Zach Wahls in a race that has divided major factions of the Democratic Party.
“I have a pretty good idea of what it takes to win an election, and then to faithfully represent all Iowans, not just those who voted for you,” Harkin said in his endorsement. “That’s why I’m supporting Josh Turek.”
Harkin served in the Senate for 30 years and is the author of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Turek, who was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, was 11 when the ADA was enacted.
Harkin is a widely sought after endorsement in the Hawkeye State. His decision to wade into the race is notable because Harkin also has a relationship with Wahls.
Wahls called Harkin “one of my closest political mentors,” and said the former senator officiated his wedding in 2021.
Iowa’s Senate primaries are June 2.
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