Iowa

In Iowa, the Cattle Calls. And Republican Candidates Look to Answer.

Published

1 year ago

August 7, 2023

In Iowa, the Cattle Calls. And Republican Candidates Look to Answer.

The Scene

Did you hear? There was a mass gathering of Republican 2024 hopefuls in Iowa on Sunday — near Cedar Rapids, amid the midsummer seas of ripening cornstalks and the darker hues of rows of soybeans.

This was after a Republican Party fund-raising dinner in Des Moines nine days earlier, and just before the Iowa State Fair begins Thursday, where the state’s Republican governor plans one-on-one public “chats” with 12 presidential hopefuls.

Political types call such gatherings, somewhat unkindly, “cattle calls,” as if voters were assessing candidates like so much meat on the hoof.

But the fact is that even as Iowa voters and power brokers — along with the national Republican Party — go through the motions of sizing up a fulsome presidential field, the prize has never looked so far beyond the grasp of all but one person, Donald J. Trump, who dominates as if he were a White House incumbent.

And Iowa has never seemed so beside the point in its role as the first nominating contest that traditionally narrows the field ahead of a long primary season. Should Mr. Trump win the state next year, as he is strongly positioned to do, it may punctuate the race with a full stop, suggesting an abrupt conclusion.

The Assess

“Iowa Picks Presidents” read a sign on the lectern Sunday at the Hawkeye Downs Speedway and Expo Center, on the outskirts of Cedar Rapids. Seven candidates not named Trump appeared, each repeating 10-minute versions of stump speeches they have given throughout the campaign.

But Iowa voters, like much of the rest of the Republican electorate, seem already to have picked Mr. Trump. His near inevitability, despite three criminal indictments, has made the months of pre-caucus rituals in Iowa — beloved by candidates and operatives, the political press and many Iowa voters who relish a quadrennial strut before the national footlights — an exercise that feels increasingly hollow.

Mr. Trump’s dominance of the polls far exceeds his largest leads of 2015 and 2016, when he marched incrementally to the nomination. A New York Times/Siena College Poll last week of likely Republican primary voters gave Mr. Trump a 37-point lead nationally over his closest rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. In Iowa, where the race is a bit narrower, the former president was still ahead by 22 points.

Lyn Madsen, a Republican voter from Janesville, Iowa, who came to hear the candidates on Sunday, said Mr. Trump was her choice for the nomination. She only showed up to hear some of his rivals because she was shopping for a No. 2 on the ticket.

“I don’t think they’re going to be able to dethrone him,’’ she said of the former president. “I’m more thinking, who is going to be able to be with him?”

The first nominating contests are still months away. It is unclear if Mr. Trump’s continuing courtroom appearances in multiple criminal cases next year, overlapping with primary contests, could diminish the confidence that, today, so many Republicans have in his candidacy.

But so far, his legal troubles have made little dent in his support. Even his picking a fight with Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa, a popular Republican, or snubbing gatherings of evangelical voters in the state have not disqualified him, as they would have any other candidate.

In the Times/Siena Poll, 52 percent of Iowa Republicans said they were only considering Mr. Trump. Nearly four in five Republicans (77 percent) said they “strongly” supported their first choice, suggesting there was little opportunity for others to eat into Mr. Trump’s lead.

Mr. DeSantis, who entered the race already a national figure, has stumbled and is now hoping to run an insurgency campaign — promising to visit all 99 Iowa counties, a back-breaking schedule, and a gimmick usually pursued by underfunded long-shots, like Rick Santorum, who used the tactic to pull off an upset win in the Iowa caucuses in 2012.

But hyper-retail campaigning such as Mr. DeSantis is pursuing in Iowa has never looked so out of date. With Mr. Trump sucking up most of the oxygen in the race, dominating news cycle after news cycle, the primary contest has become nationalized.

On Sunday, Mr. Trump’s seven rivals seemed to hope voters simply ignored that the former president was blotting out the sun. The sole reference to his candidacy was a passing mention by former Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas. “I know that this is an uphill battle because there’s one candidate in the race who’s got like 50 percent of the vote,’’ Mr. Hutchinson said, on his 14th visit to Iowa, where he was below 1 percent in The Times/Siena Poll.

He went on to tell a self-deprecating story about introducing himself to a woman in an Iowa cafe, informing her he was running for president of the United States. “Sure,” she said, “and I’m running for vice president of the United States.’’

Source link

Iowa

Rosemount H.S. Marching Band wins at Iowa competition

Published

7 hours ago

October 12, 2024

Press Room

Rosemount H.S. Marching Band wins at Iowa competition

The Rosemount High School Marching Band is celebrating a big victory from a competition earlier this fall. In late September they took home the Class AAA Championship trophy at the Bands of America regional competition in Waukee, Iowa. Members of the band joined the FOX 9 Morning News to talk about the win and share how they are getting ready for another big competition this weekend at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Source link

Iowa

Iowa high school football scores for Week 7

Published

15 hours ago

October 11, 2024

Press Room

Iowa high school football scores for Week 7

(This story was updated to add new information)

It’s Week 7 of the Iowa high school football season. Check out our list of IHSAA scores from Friday night’s action.

Stream Iowa HS football on the NFHS Network

Scores are listed in alphabetical order by winning team

IHSAA scores from Week 7 of Iowa high school football season

Friday’s games:

Ankeny Centennial 45, Des Moines Roosevelt 3
Bedford 77, Lamoni 0
Benton 38, Grinnell 7
Bettendorf 48, Davenport Central 0
Cedar Falls 38, Dubuque Senior 0
Cedar Rapids Kennedy 45, Dubuque Hempstead 14
Cedar Rapids Prairie 56, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 7
Cedar Rapids Xavier 35, Oskaloosa 0
Central City 64, Lone Tree 8
Central Lyon/George-Little Rock 23, Western Christian 7
Clarinda 47, Chariton 7
Columbus 48, Van Buren County 7
Creston 70, Knoxville 0
Crestwood 28, New Hampton 27
Davenport Assumption 34, Washington 6
Decorah 57, Marion 14
Dike-New Hartford 42, Aplington-Parkersburg 0
Don Bosco 62, Turkey Valley 0
Dowling Catholic 49, Urbandale 28
Dyersville Beckman 28, Iowa City Regina 15
East Mills 50, Exira-EHK 44
East Union 64, Murray 36
Easton Valley 61, Midland 21
Edgewood-Colesburg 84, Calamus-Wheatland 31
Emmetsburg 64, Eagle Grove 0
Fremont-Mills 40, CAM 28
Fort Dodge 55, Storm Lake 26
Fort Dodge St. Edmond 43, Colo-Nesco 6
Glenwood 20, Dallas Center-Grimes 17
Glidden-Ralston 48, Coon Rapids-Bayard 6
GMG 52, Meskwaki Settlement 0
Greene County 10, Southeast Valley 7
Harlan 24, Nevada 21
Highland 41, Louisa-Muscatine 6
Hinton 19, OABCIG 13
Humboldt 21, Algona 20
IKM-Manning 13, Southwest Valley 6
Iowa City Liberty 28, Ankeny 20
Jesup 35, Iowa Falls-Alden 6
Johnston 56, Council Bluffs Lincoln 7
Lenox 55, Southeast Warren 8
Lewis Central 28, Winterset 24
Linn-Mar 55, Davenport West 6
Logan-Magnolia 14, Council Bluffs St. Albert 10
Maquoketa Valley 35, North Linn 16
Marshalltown 26, Ames 21
Mediapolis 49, Davis County 20
MMCRU 41, Westwood 18
MOC-Floyd Valley 35, Sioux Center 14
Mount Vernon 56, Fort Madison 7
North Butler 22, Nashua-Plainfield 0
North Fayette Valley won by forfeit over Oelwein
North Iowa 46, Harris-Lake Park 40
North Polk 22, Indianola 21
Okoboji 49, Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 21
Osage 42, Waukon 6
Pekin 57, Wapello 0
Pleasant Valley 42, Muscatine 7
Remsen St. Mary’s 46, Woodbine 30
Riceville 57, Waterloo Christian 0
Ridge View 22, West Sioux 7
Riverside 41, Earlham 6
Roland-Story 28, Des Moines Christian 21
Saint Ansgar 53, West Fork 0
Sergeant Bluff-Luton 21, Carroll 0
Sibley-Ocheyedan 48, HMS 14
Sidney 62, Stanton-Essex 20
Sigourney-Keota 62, Colfax-Mingo 26
South Central Calhoun 41, Panorama 12
South Hardin 34, Hudson 21
Southeast Polk 31, Waukee 28
Spencer 41, Sioux City West 0
Spirit Lake 49, Garner-Hayfield-Ventura 6
Sumner-Fredericksburg 54, Central Springs 12
Treynor 36, Shenandoah 6
Tri-Center 34, Woodbury Central 8
Underwood 41, Missouri Valley 6
Van Meter 54, Centerville 0
Wapsie Valley 46, BCLUW 0
Wayne 30, Central Decatur 6
Webster City 42, Charles City 21
West Hancock 60, Lake Mills 6
West Lyon 50, Sheldon 0
Wilton 39, West Branch 20
Winfield-Mt. Union 68, Mormon Trail 8

Thursday’s games:

Le Mars 44, Fort Dodge 37
Pella 42, D.M. Hoover 10
S.C North 37, D.M. East 0

Source link

Iowa

Kirk Ferentz’s Reputation On The Line In Iowa vs Washington

Published

23 hours ago

October 11, 2024

Press Room

Kirk Ferentz’s Reputation On The Line In Iowa vs Washington

The Iowa Hawkeyes are coming off of a 35-7 thumping at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and while a loss to Ohio State was expected, it was how Iowa lost that has Hawkeyes fans livid.

Iowa’s offense was absolutely lifeless, Cade McNamara looked lost and head coach Kirk Ferentz did not seem to have any answers.

Not only that, but Ferentz doubled down on McNamara remaining the starter after the game, saying that the quarterback actually showed improvement.

That’s why Ferentz’s reputation may actually be on the line when the Hawkeyes face the Washington Huskies this Saturday.

Iowa is just 3-2 on the season, as it also lost to the Iowa State Cyclones back in Week 2. A loss to Washington would drop the Hawkeyes to .500, and it would add more fuel to the “fire Ferentz” discussion that has been smoldering.

The Huskies are a new addition to the Big Ten and just beat the Michigan Wolverines, and while Michigan has not been as good as expected, Washington is no joke.

However, make no mistake: Iowa needs to beat these guys.

Here is the thing: barring a catastrophic remainder of the 2024 campaign at Iowa City, the Hawkeyes aren’t canning Ferentz. The man is under contract through 2029 on a hefty salary. It isn’t happening.

But Ferentz’s reputation is a different story.

The 69-year-old has been at the helm for Iowa since 1999 and is highly respected by the fans, but patience is running thin.

Last year, the Hawkeyes played three ranked opponents and lost by a total score of 92-0. They also just got destroyed by Ohio State. The Iowa fan base is tired with being second-best, and at this point, that is all Ferentz has offered them.

Sure, Iowa does not have the cachet or prestige of schools like Ohio State, Michigan or Alabama. It typically won’t land the very best recruits as a result. But the Hawkeyes’ inability to even put together respectable offenses over the years does reflect poorly on Ferentz, who is the longest-tenured coach in the country.

And Iowa fans are sick of it.

The Hawkeyes absolutely need to beat the Huskies this Saturday. Iowa should be better than Washington, and at some point, the Hawkeyes are going to have to display that they can consistently beat good teams.

Is all of the Ferentz criticism deserved? No, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that all of it is completely unfounded.

Ferentz can provide some nice pushback to all of the naysayers with a Week 7 win over Washington. Or, he can give fans more reason to complain with a loss.

Source link