Iowa
Iowa GOP Chair: Political parties should work to lower rhetoric
Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann, who will give the speech this week formally nominating Donald Trump to be elected president, expressed shock and disbelief at Saturday’s apparent assassination attempt of the former president during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
The shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, is being investigated as an attempted assassination of the former president and presumptive Republican nominee, law enforcement officials say. The FBI identified a 20-year-old man as the suspected shooter.
A former fire chief attending the rally with family was killed, as was the gunman. Two other spectators also were critically wounded, according to the Associated Press.
Kaufmann said the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday in Milwaukee, will proceed as a “four-day commercial for Donald Trump.”
He said the news and images from Saturday’s shooting were “surreal” and “hard to believe.”
“Understanding that this has to be dealt with swiftly and condemned strongly,” Kaufmann said. “And it looks like, right now, that’s happening on both” sides of the political spectrum, “which at least, will be able to possibly help to prevent this in the future.”
Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, who endorsed Trump ahead of the January Iowa caucuses, also will speak at the RNC.
Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, in a statement released Saturday, said she also will be in Milwaukee and “will proudly stand with him (Trump) and our party.”
“As President Trump showed when he walked off the stage, we will not cower to such terror,” Reynolds said in her statement. “… America will get through this, together, and President Trump will lead us into the next four years.”
Kaufmann said he has “not changed one semicolon” and will proceed with his speech focusing on the importance of Iowa’s role in the presidential nominating process and keeping Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status on the Republican presidential primary calendar, the need for change in the White House and the promises of a second Trump presidency he said would help cut spending, cut taxes, support law enforcement and enhance border security.
“I don’t want the tone to change,” he said of the RNC in the wake of Saturday’s attack.
“I think it’s important to be honest with you that we proceed really with the same message that we were always going to proceed with,” he said. “ … We cannot allow one person to change the practice of our democracy, and that means whether it’s here in Milwaukee for the Republicans, or, as far as that goes, God forbid, in Chicago with the Democrats. I just think both political parties need to continue with what we were going to do in our time-honored tradition of our conventions.”
Kaufmann spoke to The Gazette by phone after driving into Milwaukee for the RNC.
“There is police everywhere,” he said. “I mean, once you get close to the perimeter, it is everywhere. I passed through two checkpoints. I don’t know if that was planned already. I believe it was.”
He said both political parties should work to lower the political temperature and heated rhetoric in the presidential race, and strongly condemn political violence in the aftermath of the shooting.
Kaufmann, who has repeatedly disparaged President Joe Biden and Democrats as endangering the country and claimed Democrats would try to steal elections in Iowa if given the chance, called for unity and respectful dialogue in the face of political disagreements.
“This is absolutely unacceptable,” he said. “I’ve been to several of those (Trump) rallies, so I can almost place myself in the situation of that pandemonium. And, wow. My heart goes out for him. And I would say that whether it was a Trump rally or a Biden event — or you name it — that there’s no time for anybody to even give a second thought of danger that might face people when they’re going to practice their democracy.”
Former President Trump called Sunday for unity and resilience as shocked leaders from both major political parties recoiled from the shooting that left Trump wounded but “fine.” Iowa politicians were quick to react to the shooting, offering prayers and support for the former president.
Biden, who is running against Trump, was briefed on the attack and spoke to Trump several hours after the shooting, the White House said.
“There’s no place in America for this type of violence,” Biden said late Saturday. “It’s sick. It’s sick.”
Many Republicans, including some vying to be Trump’s running mate, quickly blamed the violence on Biden and his allies, arguing that sustained attacks on Trump as a threat to democracy have created a toxic environment. They pointed in particular to a comment Biden made to donors on July 8, saying “it’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.”
Republican former presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is on Trump’s shortlist for vice president, posted on social media without knowledge of the shooter’s motivations: “This was an assassination attempt aided and abetted by the radical Left and corporate media incessantly calling Trump a threat to democracy, fascists, or worse.”
Georgia Republican Congressman Mike Collins baselessly accused Biden for the apparent assassination attempt against his political rival.
“Joe Biden sent the orders,” U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
There is no evidence that President Biden was involved in the shooting. Biden’s comment to donors on July 8 referred to beating Trump in the election.
“Look, this is a full contact sport that we’re in,” Kaufmann said. “… And I don’t expect that is going to change in the presidential race. But when you move beyond to the next level of name calling, that’s what I think we can do to lower the temperature right now. We got to get through a convention, but I think that’s something that both parties can actually work on together.”
Asked whether we will see a change in tone and rhetoric from Trump — who has described his domestic opponents as “vermin” and said immigration is “poisoning the blood” of the U.S., echoing fascist dictators — Kaufmann said: “Right now, as a grandfather and a father and a husband, my guess is he’s thanking God above that he was saved, not necessarily the tone of his rhetoric.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Comments: (319) 398-8499; tom.barton@thegazette.com
The late boxing great George Foreman lies buried in a cemetery in the northwestern corner of Iowa – a place he has no connection to outside of a lone visit to the region nearly 40 years ago.
Foreman died March 21, 2025, at the age of 76 in Houston and was buried in Logan Park Cemetery at Sioux City, Iowa, a month later, city officials confirmed. Foreman’s family returned Thursday to his burial site, holding a news conference with Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott to reveal Foreman’s burial place, marked by a large monument that bears an image of him as a teen following his Olympic gold medal boxing win.
The family explained in a statement released by Sioux City officials that he had visited the Iowa city in 1988, and often recalled the sense of peace he experienced there.
After traveling to the city on April 17 last year to bury Foreman, his family said they immediately understood the region’s appeal.
“Our father lived a life of purpose, faith and gratitude,” the family said in a statement released by Sioux City officials. “To see him laid to rest in a place that brought him peace means everything to us.”
Scott joined the family at Foreman’s monument that lies just a few miles north of the Missouri River in an upper Midwest city of nearly 87,000 people. The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).
“Their story is a reminder of how one place can stay with someone for a lifetime,” Scott said.
A native Texan, Foreman rose to fame when he made the 1968 U.S. Olympic boxing team, winning gold in Mexico City. He became the heavyweight champion of the world in 1973 by defeating the great Joe Frazier, only to lose the title a year later to Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”
A full 20 years later in 1994, Foreman became the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship at 45, defeating Michael Moorer in an epic upset.
Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 career record.
He then moved on to the next chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor, becoming known to a new generation as the face of the George Foreman Grill. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and brought him more wealth than boxing.
A biographical movie based on Foreman’s life was released in 2023.
Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) — About 50 Iowans braved the threat of severe storms to hear from Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn at his town hall in Dubuque Friday night.
Lahn, a farmer and businessman, said his campaign is about solving the long-term systemic issues facing Iowans.
One priority is addressing what Lahn calls a cancer crisis in Iowa, as the state has the second-highest cancer rate in the country. Solving the crisis means ensuring Iowans have access to clean, nitrate-free drinking water, working with farmers to reduce agricultural runoff.
“Iowans are just ready for something that they should be able to count on, like clean drinking water,” Lahn said. “We have ways to clean up the drinking water in Iowa that isn’t on the backs of farmers, but is working alongside with them because they’re drinking the water too, and they want to do what’s right.”
Lahn also wants to stop Iowa’s “brain drain,” as more of Iowa’s college graduates left the state for opportunities elsewhere.
“Don’t leave! Give me some time! I’m going to fight to keep you here,” Lahn said. “I was one of these kids. I thought I had to leave the state to find something better. We have to prioritize Iowa’s incentive dollars to make sure they’re going to grow Iowa businesses that are going to be here for the long haul, so our kids have places to work.”
Running a distinct campaign feels challenging this election, as Lahn is one of five GOP candidates who want to be Iowa’s next governor, facing U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, former Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen, state Rep. Eddie Andrews and former state Rep. Brad Sherman.
Iowa Auditor Rob Sand is the only Democrat running for the state’s top office.
Lahn said he stands out by promising Iowa will be for Iowans, pledging to ban the use of eminent domain for private gain and tax out-of-state landowners and data centers at higher rates to lower property taxes.
“It always goes back to follow the money, so when it comes to not being a weak-kneed Republican today, I believe the paramount piece of that is answering only to the citizens of Iowa, not to special interests to pad their bottom line, but what’s best for the people of Iowa,” Lahn said.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Iowa State announced Thursday the addition of women’s wrestling as its 18th varsity sport, with the program scheduled to begin competition during the 2027-28 academic year. The team is the first varsity sport added at the university since soccer in 1996. Iowa State will be the 12th school in the state of Iowa to have an NCAA women’s wrestling program.
The Cyclones will be only the second Power Four institution to feature a varsity women’s wrestling program, joining the University of Iowa.
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The university appointed Alli St. John, a two-time World Wrestling Championships silver medalist, as the program’s first head coach. St. John, who has spent the last three years with the Cyclone Regional Training Center, was a two-time women’s college national champion at King University.
“I am incredibly honored and grateful for the opportunity to be the first head coach of women’s wrestling at Iowa State University,” St. John said. “This is a historic moment not only for Iowa State University, but for the sport of wrestling, too. Iowa State has a rich wrestling tradition, and I’m excited to expand that legacy on the women’s side as we work to build a premier program in Ames that produces not only NCAA champions, but World and Olympic champions as well.”
The program will support a roster of 30 student-athletes with 10 scholarship equivalents, matching the scholarship limit of the men’s team. Official competitions will be held in Hilton Coliseum, with practice facilities in Beyer Hall.
The university also announced a major restructuring of its wrestling leadership, naming long-time men’s head coach Kevin Dresser as the Director of Wrestling. In this new capacity, Dresser will oversee both programs, assisting with fundraising and mentoring the coaching staff, which includes newly promoted men’s head coach Brent Metcalf.
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“The addition of women’s wrestling is an exciting opportunity for Iowa State Athletics,” Dresser said. “The fact that it is one of the fastest growing sports at the high school level coupled with the overall love of wrestling in the state of Iowa makes this a very good decision. I can envision the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk dual already and the excitement it will bring to the sport. I am excited to roll up my sleeves and help start another wrestling program.”
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