Iowa
Challenger bashes Iowa Congressman’s Social Security plan, but offers no alternatives
![Challenger bashes Iowa Congressman’s Social Security plan, but offers no alternatives](https://gray-kcrg-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/3BF2SYNQPBCVTM5YJXCQTKHW7U.png?auth=3822e93373c36ef07afe3578c6aec831d5f6c2c72a4e551ee30030d129d34473&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Television Iowa Capitol Bureau) – An Iowa candidate for Congress is alleging the incumbent congressman will do things to hurt the Social Security system, but he’s not offering any of his own solutions.
Social Security reserves will run out in 11 years if Congress doesn’t act. That means recipients would only get 83% of their full benefits. 50% of seniors get half of their monthly income from Social Security. One in four seniors rely on Social Security for 90% of their monthly income.
Democratic congressional candidate Lanon Baccam, who is running against incumbent republican Zach Nunn in Iowa’s 3rd congressional district, held a press call Wednesday with the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare and the Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans. Baccam told reporters Nunn would raise the retirement age and cut benefits.
Baccam was asked repeatedly what his solution is.
“I’m not going to cut benefits here. Where Zach Nunn is, he is trying to shutter these offices. That’s going to limit the program delivery. He’s trying to raise the retirement age. That’s going to hurt folks who work for a living. These are clear distinctions here for what he’s trying to do with his position on Social Security versus mine. There’s no question I’m focusing in on and paying attention to Americans and Iowans who work for a living on this campaign and we need a champion for them in Congress and I will be that person,” Baccam said.
My colleague Dave Price and I both followed up and Baccam was unable to provide specific solutions.
“Hi, it’s Dave Price. So, are you keeping the status quo then? Are you not suggesting any changes?”
“There’s no question. We cannot cut this program. I will oppose any cuts to this program especially for our seniors who have paid into these programs for many years. They’re entitled to these benefits. They should be able to retire with dignity. I will not cut any of these programs that have been proposed by Zach Nunn and his groups,” Baccam said.
“This is Conner Hendricks. Do you actually have any proposed solutions though to this? You know, you say you’re not going to cut and you say that Nunn’s a threat but do you have specific solutions for this?”
“The first thing here is we need to protect it. Zach Nunn currently is prepared to cut Social Security, to raise the retirement age, to reduce the amount of offices or hours of operation like limiting the ability for Social Security to be able to deliver on their program. We at the very minimum have to make sure that we protect this program and Zach Nunn is threatening even that and so I think that’s critically important here for folks to understand and appreciate that Zach Nunn is not going to maintain even the status quo here. He is trying to cut this program. He will do it if given the chance.”
Congressman Nunn’s office tells us that no, he does not favor raising the retirement age. He also says he’s never voted to close or reduce hours Social Security offices.
“When the government created Social Security and Medicare, it made a promise to retirees. I am 100% committed to protecting that promise and strongly oppose any cuts to these programs. Any suggestion to the contrary is simply false. I am actively leading bipartisan solutions to protect these critical programs from out-of-touch politicians in D.C.,” Nunn said.
We also asked Nunn what solutions for Social Security he’d support. His office says he’d support reforms that root out waste, fraud, and abuse by bureaucrats.
—
Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Television-owned stations in Iowa. Email him at conner.hendricks@gray.tv; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV or on X/Twitter @ConnerReports.
Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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Iowa
Area District Judge Appointed to Serve on Iowa Court of Appeals – Storm Lake Radio
![Area District Judge Appointed to Serve on Iowa Court of Appeals – Storm Lake Radio](https://stormlakeradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Gavel-2.jpg)
Governor Reynolds on Friday announced that an area district judge was been appointed as a judge on the Iowa Court of Appeals.
John Sandy of Spirit Lake currently serves as District Judge in District 3A which includes Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, and Ida counties. Sandy received both his undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of St. Thomas.
Sandy fills an Iowa Court of Appeals vacancy created following the retirement of Judge Thomas Bower.
Iowa
Give these new Iowa City art exhibits a spin on the Ped Mall — literally.
New installation brings tradition back to Ped Mall after a year off
IOWA CITY — An interactive art exhibit in downtown Iowa City is putting a new spin on foot traffic to areas impacted by construction.
As the location’s third interactive art exhibit, the spinning tops known as Los Trompos may not be figuratively revolutionary for the Iowa City Downtown District. But each piece, based on the age old toy, will spin you in circles to your heart’s content.
Los Trompos, after being on the Iowa City Downtown District’s list “for a long time,” follows installations of Mi Casa, Your Casa in 2022 and The Loop in 2021. After a year off from the imported art from Montreal art production company Creos, this year’s installation invites visitors to relax, hang out and play on the Ped Mall.
“These are much like (the last art exhibit), which were really visible, vibrant and allowed multiple people to use them. That’s what we were looking for with Los Trompos,” said Betsy Potter, executive director of the Iowa City Downtown District (ICDD). “We know it brings a positive piece to a public space and drives foot traffic.”
What: Los Trompos interactive art exhibit Where: The Pedestrian Mall, 210 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City
When: To Aug. 5, 2024
If you go
Los Trompos, which means “spinning tops” in Spanish, is set up through five larger-than-life, three-dimensional pieces crafted from fabric woven in a traditional Mexican style. With vibrant colors and shapes, the sculptures opened on June 21 function as rotating platforms.
Each 8-foot-wide module, large enough to hold several people, comes to life when visitors spin tops from their bases, activating a sense of interaction and teamwork.
The concept by Latin American artists Hector Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena draws inspiration from traditional toys with colorful expression and craftsmanship by Mexican artisans. Inspired by history, art, music, architecture and books, the pair have more than 25 years of experience and an extensive list of projects across North and South America.
“We are inspired by ordinary objects that surround us. We are influenced by our context and our everyday activities which allow us to visit and share with different cultures and different individuals,” the artists said in a statement. “We firmly believe that these are the goals of design: to weave and generate interactions, human connections and emotions, to relate to users, and to enhance and translate our inheritance and skills into new expressions.”
It was first commissioned several years ago by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and has traveled the country ever since. Its six-week stint in Iowa City, ending Aug. 5, is Los Trompos’ second time visiting the Midwest, after Chicago.
With a greater appeal to children, a lot of thought went into the whimsical design of Los Trompos that, essentially, functions like a piece of playground equipment.
And with a short presence this summer, it will help tide businesses and restaurants that rely on foot traffic over to the fall, when the Dubuque Streetscape project started in March will be completed.
“It was a deliberate choice to support foot traffic,” Potter said. “Part of why we’re bringing back (interactive art) this year is because of the impacts of construction.”
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
Iowa
Iowa prom king, 17, drowns in lake weeks after graduating
![Iowa prom king, 17, drowns in lake weeks after graduating](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/newspress-collage-5aze6uck5-1719633738333.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1719619402&w=1024)
A recent high school grad and prom king tragically drowned in an Iowa lake Wednesday.
Ayden Beeson vanished beneath the surface of Rathburn Lake in Centerville more than an hour before rescue teams found his body, officials said.
The 17-year-old swimmer “went under the water and had not resurfaced,” according to the Appanoose County Sheriff’s Office.
The boy’s body was found at 7:33 p.m. in 15 to 20 feet of water. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
While police did not identify the teen, Centerville Community Schools confirmed it was Beeson, who was crowned prom king before graduating from Centerville High School in May.
Despite achieving quintessential high school popularity, the football and tennis player was well known in the community as a “genuinely kind person who treated every student and staff member with respect.”
“On top of being a great athlete his best quality was him just being him,” Beeson’s tennis coach Tyler Baze wrote on Facebook.
“Ayden was the kid every teacher and coach loves, he was such a kind and compassionate kid and gave you everything he had in the classroom and field/court! I’m am thankful for getting the opportunity to know such a person.
Centerville High School reopened its doors this week to offer counseling to grieving friends and dozens gathered at the football field where the teenager once played for a prayer vigil.
The school district also shared an emblem to its social media channels reading “Be like Beeson #20,” in reference to his jersey number.
The circumstances surrounding his drowning are still under investigation.
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