Iowa
Former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann celebrate Trump inauguration
Watch: Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann speaks at Inauguration Day party
Hear from Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann as he addresses Iowa Republicans during an Inauguration Day celebration on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad believes Iowa will prosper during the second term of President Donald Trump.
The Republican Party of Polk County celebrated Trump’s inauguration by holding a fundraiser at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates.
Trump, the 45th president, was sworn in as the 47th president Monday afternoon in Washington, D.C., after he defeated Kamala Harris in November’s general election.
Branstad and Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann opened the cocktail mixer in Des Moines Monday evening by making remarks.
The fundraiser coincided with other inauguration balls happening in Washington Monday night. Nearby, the Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge lit up in red, white and blue to celebrate the new president’s inauguration.
“Donald Trump carried Iowa three times, and we’re proud of that,” Branstad told the crowd of a few dozen people. “And a lot of sweat, not only for that, but for all these other Republicans who’ve been elected.”
Kaufman told the crowd that Polk County is important for the Iowa Republican Party.
“This is Iowa’s largest county,” Kaufman said. “This is important what goes on here.”
What did Trump say during his inauguration?
In a speech after he was sworn in at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Trump said “America’s decline is over.”
He outlined a series of sweeping executive orders he later signed to curb immigration, boost fossil fuel production and roll back environmental regulations, the first steps in enacting a far-reaching agenda that would reshape the government while testing the limits of presidential authority.
He said he was declaring a national emergency at the southern border with Mexico, dispatching troops there and resuming a policy forcing asylum-seeking migrants to wait in Mexico for their U.S. court hearings — all a prelude to what he described as an unprecedented operation to deport millions of immigrants.
“All illegal entry will be immediately halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” Trump said.
Trump is the first president in more than a century to win a second term after losing the White House and the first felon to occupy the Oval Office.
The Iowa Chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation — a democratic-socialist party — planned a protest of Trump’s policies at the Iowa State Capitol Monday evening. But the protest was postponed until 2 p.m. Saturday because of temperatures around 1 degree at 5 p.m.
Republicans are now the working class party, Branstad said
Branstad, 78, served as the U.S. Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2020 during Trump’s first term. Trump expanded party, Branstad said.
Kaufmann became the Iowa GOP Chair in 2014. Kaufmann also worked to diversify the party, Branstad said.
“It used to be the Democrats were the party of the working people, and we were the party of business,” Branstad said. “Today we’re the party of working people and business, and we’re electing Republicans in a lot of areas that you didn’t used to elect Republicans.”
The Iowa Republican party is in its strongest place in the last 50 years with a Republican as governor, supermajorities in the Iowa House and Senate, Kaufmann said. As a result the party is adding people, he said.
“We’ve grown the amount of Republicans we have in this state,” Kaufmann said. “We’ve kept essentially everyone that was in our base, and Donald Trump has added to our blue-collar roots.”
What other Iowa politicians said about Trump’s inauguration
In a statement Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said Trump’s inauguration gave Iowans the chance to recommit to freedom, justice, equality and opportunities for all people.
“Inauguration days are a celebration of new beginnings and an opportunity to inspire the country and unify the American people,” Hart said in a statement. “We celebrate the peaceful transfer of power that defines our democracy. Our nation is strong and resilient and our people have the desire and the power to come together to chart the course of our future.”
U.S. Rep Zach Nunn, a Republican, said that he hopes to work with Trump to rebuild the country’s economy, secure the U.S.-Mexico border and cut taxes “for middle class families.”
“The American people look to our leaders to deliver results and solve the many crises affecting our country,” Nunn said in a statement. “Together, we will make meaningful progress toward a stronger, more prosperous future for all Americans.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
Philip Joens covers retail and real estate for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184, pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.
Iowa
Penn State earns commitment from Iowa State leading wide receiver via transfer
Penn State landed Iowa State’s pair of quarterbacks earlier Sunday, including starter Rocco Becht, in a splash move. Now, the Cyclones’ leading receiver is coming with them.
Wide receiver Brett Eskildsen committed to Penn State via the transfer portal, becoming the seventh Cyclone to join the Nittany Lions this weekend. He announced the move on social media.
Eskildsen recorded 30 receptions, 526 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore in 2025. He also appeared in all 13 games as a freshman but made just two catches for 17 yards.
The 6-1, 200-pound wideout is from Frisco, Texas, and is a three-star in the 247Sports transfer rankings (No. 118 overall, No. 30 WR). He was a three-star out of high school as well, where he had more than 1,5000 career receiving yards.
Becht’s top man from 2026 is now in place. He’ll also be able to throw to standout Penn State freshman Koby Howard and quick youngster Tyseer Denmark, who have confirmed their returns thus far.
Listen to the Blue-White Breakdown podcast
Iowa
Iowa State picks up commitment from Arkansas State QB Jaylen Raynor
Iowa State football has picked up a commitment from Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Jan. 3.
Raynor has one season of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot, 202-pounder from Kernersville, North Carolina, passed for 3,361 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. He was intercepted 11 times.
Raynor also rushed for 423 yards and seven touchdowns.
He passed for 8,694 yards and 52 touchdowns in three seasons at Arkansas State.
“The (Iowa State) coaching staff is known for winning,” Raynor told Thamel. “The head coach is a known winner and done it on multiple levels.”
Raynor will join Arkansas State offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf in Ames. Heckendorf was named Cyclones quarterbacks coach this week.
Raynor completed 19 of 33 passes for 222 yards in a 24-16 loss to Iowa State on Sept. 13, 2025.
Iowa
Seven Iowa High School Wrestlers Off To Dominant Starts This Season – FloWrestling
The first month of the Iowa high school wrestling season has been filled with scintillating individual performances. Here’s a look at seven standouts who have been racking up bonus points in December.
Drew Anderson (Riverside)
The Class 1A state runner-up last year at 132 is up to 144 this season and he’s 14-0 with 11 technical falls, a pair of pins and a forfeit win. Anderson, a junior in his second season at the school, already owns the Riverside school record for technical falls with 28. Anderson is on pace to more than double the previous Riverside tech record of 23.
Urijah Courter (West Marshall)
Courter won the 2A title last season at 113 after placing third as a freshman at 106. He’s up to 120 this season. Courter is 14-0 this season with 10 pins and two technical falls. His ledger also includes a 6-5 win against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s Simon Bettis in a rematch of last season’s state title bout.
Cooper Hinz (Jesup)
Entering the holiday break, Michigan commit and two-time state medalist Cooper Hinz is 22-0 with 21 wins via pin, technical fall or forfeit. His other victory was a 4-1 overtime decision against returning state placewinner Cain Rodgers of North Fayette Valley. More impressively, all of Hinz’s pins and technical falls have all come in the first period.
Lincoln Jipp (Bettendorf)
Jipp placed fifth at 138, third at 165 and second at 175 in Class 3A during his first three seasons. Now he’s up to 215 — 77 pounds more than where he started his career as a freshman. The North Carolina recruit pinned his way through the prestigious Dan Gable Donnybrook. He’s 16-0 with 10 pins, four technical falls and a forfeit.
Mason Koehler (Glenwood)
The returning 2A champ at 215 is 20-0 with 18 pins and a major decision. His only two matches that went the distance came at the Council Bluffs Classic, where he defeated Nebraska standout Ryan Boehle of Grand Island 14-4 and Minnesota hammer Joe Kruse of Totino-Grace 9-2. The rest of Koehler’s matches this season ended in first-period pins. He has already registered a six-second pin and another in nine seconds this season.
Jaxon Miller (Carlisle)
Miller is a three-time state medalist, a two-time finalist and returning state champ in Class 3A. He placed fourth as a freshman at 145 before making trips to the finals at 157 and 165. He’s 16-0 this season with 13 first-period pins, two technical falls and a forfeit.
Keaton Moeller (Starmont)
Moeller placed third in 1A as a freshman at 145 before winning a state title at 150 as a sophomore. He missed all of last season after suffering a torn ACL in football. Now he’s back as a senior at 190 and Moeller hasn’t missed a beat. He’s 13-0 with five pins, six technical falls and a pair of forfeits. He has yet to wrestle a full period this season.
Iowa High School Premium Rankings
Check out the Iowa High School Wrestling Premium Rankings, which are generated by using an athlete’s complete match history to predict a wrestler’s performance against others in their weight class by considering factors such as win-loss records, the quality of their victories (pins, technical falls, major decisions), the strength of their opponents and overall historical performance patterns. The data is updated every Monday, sourced from the Trackwrestling season results. Since each team is responsible for maintaining their season results, any data discrepancies for a wrestler should be addressed by contacting their coach to manage the information within the season. This includes the weight class assigned. Wrestlers are eligible to be ranked after competing in five matches at a single weight.
-
Entertainment1 week agoHow the Grinch went from a Yuletide bit player to a Christmas A-lister
-
World7 days agoHamas builds new terror regime in Gaza, recruiting teens amid problematic election
-
Indianapolis, IN1 week agoIndianapolis Colts playoffs: Updated elimination scenario, AFC standings, playoff picture for Week 17
-
Southeast1 week agoTwo attorneys vanish during Florida fishing trip as ‘heartbroken’ wife pleads for help finding them
-
Business1 week agoGoogle is at last letting users swap out embarrassing Gmail addresses without losing their data
-
World1 week agoBest of 2025: Top five defining moments in the European Parliament
-
World1 week agoSnoop Dogg, Lainey Wilson, Huntr/x and Andrea Bocelli Deliver Christmas-Themed Halftime Show for Netflix’s NFL Lions-Vikings Telecast
-
News1 week agoDOJ says it may need a ‘few more weeks’ to finish releasing Epstein files