Iowa

Iowa's top leaders are strongly endorsing Musk and DOGE. Iowans are watching closely

Published

11 months ago

February 7, 2025

Iowa's top leaders are strongly endorsing Musk and DOGE. Iowans are watching closely

URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst has hailed Elon Musk and the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency as a necessary force in Washington, D.C., calling it “a storm that is headed this way that will sweep over this city and forever alter the way it operates.”

The state’s governor, Kim Reynolds, has lined up with DOGE, too, in testimony she gave Tuesday to a U.S. House committee.

Nearly 1,000 miles away, people in a politically mixed suburb of Iowa’s largest metro area are well-informed on the developments of the massive effort to slash spending and defund federal agencies. Unlike their top elected officials, several of them are expressing concerns.

Some question the delivery of government services or whether Musk has the necessary authority. Others back Musk, saying his action is needed given the risk of doing nothing to sharply curb federal spending.

Below are excerpts from interviews conducted Wednesday and Thursday in Urbandale, a northwest suburb of Des Moines.

Nik Nelson, 35, small business owner

Musk’s actions are not just “so overdue,” said Nelson, who added that he thought the federal workforce was bloated.

He said some conservative House Republicans’ proposal to cut spending by $2.5 trillion sounds good, but not in the context of its 10-year time frame.

“Over 10 years? That means nothing,” Nelson said.

“I want great education, clean water, clean air, great health care. But I don’t believe a massive bureaucracy is the way to achieve those things,” he said. “The reason I want Elon and DOGE to succeed is I want them to take a hatchet to all this so the money actually goes to doing good.”

“I’m very supportive of it,” Nelson said.

Becky Olsen, 66, retired instructor and manager at the Iowa Department for the Blind

Olsen, a retired state employee, says she is concerned that a sudden reduction in the federal workforce will disrupt the flow of federal money to state programs that depend on it.

“Complicated would be the nice way of saying it,” Olsen said.

“The state receives a lot of federal funding to support its services, whether you’re talking about education, programs for the aging population, rehabilitation services or public health initiatives,” she said. “What happens when the federal agencies are decimated? Does that funding get out on time? Vulnerable people in Iowa depend on that.”

Ricky Thompson, 71, retired career Army officer

Thompson says it is a “little scary” that Musk has access to sensitive government systems.

“For that matter, it’s not like he is someone who Congress confirms,” Thompson added, referring to Trump’s Cabinet appointees who require Senate confirmation. “So, not only did we not elect him, he’s someone who seems to have free rein and has not been confirmed by those people we do elect.”

Thompson’s was a common refrain among those uneasy about Musk’s position and access.

“He has access to a lot of information and no one can say whether he has passed any background evaluation,” he said. “What checks has he undergone to justify this broad access?”

Christian Taff, 45, DJ

Taff says government is bloated and needs cutting but entrusting such a massive undertaking to Musk suggests, in his mind wrongly, that important government services are equal to business expenditures.

Furthermore, the retired Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and spent years appealing the Department of Veterans Affairs’ denial of his disability claims.

“You have people like myself who require veterans’ benefits because my body and my mind has been degraded, while Veterans Affairs is already way understaffed,” Taff said.

“Ask the people now who are on waiting lists like I was,” he said. “I had to fight tooth and nail for six years to get 100% disability.”

“So, do I feel like trimming needs to be done? Absolutely,” Taff said. “Do I feel that attacking the infrastructure of the social programs that help people and, to that end, help keep what I can do for the economy afloat? No, that’s not the answer.”

Wayne Shaw, 80, mechanical engineer

Shaw said nothing Trump is doing by delegating the role to Musk breaks the Republican candidate’s campaign pledges.

“Someone is finally holding the gun to their head and saying: ‘Nope. It’s done. It’s over,’” Shaw said of Musk’s aggressive efforts to press for millions of federal employees to consider deferred resignation or retirement with eight months of pay.

“I get the uproar,” Shaw said. “But you have this moment now and Trump, by handing this job to Musk, is sticking to his promise.”

Shaw attributes the sudden and sweeping action being attempted by Musk to decades of failure by past presidents and Congresses to act.

“My hope is that they hold the entire government hostage for however long it takes and that Trump says I’m not going to sign a bill that doesn’t balance the budget,” Shaw said. “We’re not going to do this anymore.”

Luke Abou, 53, medical lab technician

Abou says the decision to put Musk in a lead role to slash government spending is an inherent conflict, considering his business ties to the federal government.

“It seems aimed at helping a very wealthy person preserve his wealth,” said Abou, who is also a part-time personal care assistant.

Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX holds billions of dollars in contracts with NASA. The federal aerospace agency has awarded more than $4 billion to Musk’s company for two human moon landings, scheduled for later this decade. Also, Musk has been at odds with the Federal Aviation Administration over what he contends is excessive bureaucracy.

“So, you have someone who is not going to jeopardize his own interests, but is adamant about deep cuts that are going to cost a lot of people their jobs,” Abou said. “Even if some spending cuts are justified, his approach is going to make a lot of people poorer.”

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Iowa

Iowa woman accused of pandering for prostitution and harassment after incidents at Casey’s and a daycare

Published

6 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Iowa woman accused of pandering for prostitution and harassment after incidents at Casey’s and a daycare

AURELIA, Iowa (KTIV) – A Northwest Iowa woman is facing charges of harassment and pandering for prostitution after two incidents took place in December 2025.

Forty-seven-year-old Kristal Miller of Odebolt was taken into custody on an arrest warrant and faces three charges: one count of pandering for prostitution and two counts of first-degree harassment, according to court documents.

Kristal Miller(Cherokee County Jail)

The charges stem from two separate incidents that took place on Thursday, Dec. 18. 2025.

According to court documents, at 6:15 a.m., Miller reportedly went to the Casey’s General Store, located at 100 Pearl St. in Aurelia. Documents state Miller approached an employee and customers, requesting money from them.

Authorities state Miller claimed she was wanted by the FBI and told people, if anyone called the police, “she would kill them.”

During this encounter, she also allegedly asked an employee to remove the string from her hooded sweatshirt. Documents state when the employee refused this request, she threatened to strangle them.

That same day at 7 a.m., Miller reportedly approached a female employee outside an Aurelia daycare and asked them for money.

Court documents stated Miller suggested the unnamed employee leave her boyfriend. Miller reportedly told the employee, if she did, then she and Miller would both be paid.

Authorities say when she was told no by the employee, Miller became upset and started yelling at them.

Miller also allegedly threatened to “steal her car” and ”take her away to her guys to start a new life.”

She was booked into the Cherokee County Jail on a cash-only bond of $5,000. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled in Cherokee for Friday, Jan. 9, at 10 a.m.

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Iowa

Iowa law on police appeals ‘constitutionally vacuous,’ prosecutor says

Published

18 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Iowa law on police appeals ‘constitutionally vacuous,’ prosecutor says

The Iowa Supreme Court is reviewing a 2024 law that allows law enforcement officers to appeal their placement on a Brady-Giglio list.
A dispute between Jefferson County’s attorney and sheriff led to the sheriff being placed on the list, which identifies officers with credibility issues.
The county attorney argues the law is unconstitutional because it lets judges interfere with a prosecutor’s duty to disclose evidence to defendants.

A feud between two Jefferson County officials has landed before the Iowa Supreme Court, which must decide if a 2024 addition to Iowa’s Rights of Peace Officers law is unconstitutional.

Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding is asking the state’s high court to overturn what he calls the “constitutionally vacuous” law, which allows officers to petition the courts to be removed from their county’s Brady-Giglio list.

Named for two U.S. Supreme Court decisions, the lists compiled by prosecutors identify law enforcement officers and others whose credibility is in question, and it can provide grounds for questioning their testimony in court.

After a dispute over a case involving a sheriff’s deputy’s use of force, Moulding in 2024 notified Jefferson County Sheriff Bart Richmond he was placing him on the Brady-Giglio list. Richmond petitioned a court to reverse Moulding’s decision, and a district judge did, finding Richmond’s actions in connection with the case, while unprofessional, did not bring his honesty or credibility into question.

In his appeal, Moulding argues that’s not up to the court to decide, and that the law lets judges improperly intrude on prosecutors’ professional judgment and, ultimately, defendants’ rights.

“The practical real application of (the 2024 law) is to create a Kafkaesque scenario where a criminal defendant could face the prospect of criminal charges involving a State witness who is so lacking in credibility that the State’s attorney has qualms about even calling him to testify, but is prevented from disclosure,” Moulding wrote. “Such a situation is unconscionable, and underlines the constitutional vacuousness of the statute itself.”

The court has not yet scheduled arguments for the case, which could have impacts far beyond Jefferson County. Attorney Charles Gribble, representing Richmond, said this is just one of three Iowa Brady-Giglio appeals he personally is involved in.

What is a Brady-Giglio list?

Under the Fifth Amendment, criminal defendants are entitled to due process of law. In Brady v. Maryland in 1963 and in subsequent cases the U.S. Supreme Court held that due process requires a prosecutor to disclose any known exculpatory evidence to the defense. That includes anything giving rise to doubts about the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses, including law enforcement officers.

In 2022, Iowa formalized that process by mandating prosecuting agencies maintain a Brady-Giglio list of officers whose credibility can be questioned due to past dishonesty or other misconduct. The law requires agencies to notify officers when they are being put on a list and allows them to seek reconsideration.

Being placed on a list can damage or destroy an officer’s career, as prosecutors generally will decline to call them as witnesses or to bring charges that would depend on their testimony.

2024 law gives courts a role in Brady-Giglio lists

Iowa’s 2024 law went beyond requiring officers be notified of their placement on a Brady-Giglio list by giving them the right to appeal to a district court if their prosecuting agency refuses to take them off a list. The law requires judges to confidentially review evidence and allows them to affirm, modify or reverse an officer’s Brady-Giglio listing “as justice may require.”

In less than two years, courts have reversed local prosecutors on several Brady-Giglio placements, including a messy Henry County dispute in which prosecutors accused a sheriff’s deputy of making misleading statements on a search warrant application.

What happened in Jefferson County?

The lawsuit before the Iowa Supreme Court involves an April 2024 traffic stop by a Jefferson County deputy. As laid out in a subsequent memo by Moulding, video recordings show the deputy handling the driver roughly and, when the man complains, telling him “I can do whatever I want” and, “You’re not going to tell me what I can and can’t do. … You’re going to learn what respect is, young man.”

After learning about the incident, Moulding wrote, he repeatedly emailed Richmond, asking if the deputy’s actions had violated any county policies. Richmond did not respond. Concerned about possible litigation against the county, Moulding then asked another county to conduct an investigation. While the details are disputed, Moulding accuses Richmond of stonewalling both his office and the outside investigators and instructing his subordinates also not to cooperate.

“A county sheriff ordering deputies not to cooperate with an inquiry into a deputy’s use of force represents a fundamental lapse in judgment and raised serious concerns regarding the Sheriff’s honesty, candor and ethics as a law enforcement official,” Moulding wrote.

He scheduled a meeting that Richmond did not attend and then placed him on the county’s Brady-Giglio list. In an emailed statement, Moulding called the entire matter “unfortunate.”

“Frankly, I am shocked that instead of attempting to address this matter with my office cooperatively, the Sheriff instead decided to stonewall an investigation, stonewall the Brady-Giglio investigation, and then take this matter to court instead of sitting down and addressing the matter like an adult and an elected official,” he said.

In a letter, Moulding warned Richmond that he would no longer be called as a law enforcement witness and advised him to limit his involvement with criminal investigations, as “your engagement in such activities could likely negatively impact the outcomes in court.”

Judge disagrees with sheriff’s placement on list

After Moulding denied Richmond’s request for reconsideration, Richmond filed suit. In February 2025, Judge Jeffrey Farrell ruled Richmond should be removed from the list.

Farrell’s order criticized both parties, finding that Moulding had failed to comply with some procedural elements of the law but that Richmond could have avoided the whole situation with “basic and professional” responses to Moulding’s emails. Nonetheless, he found Richmond’s actions did not demonstrate dishonesty or deceit that would justify placement on a Brady list.

“This is not a case in which an officer lied to a court, was convicted of a crime, manufactured or destroyed evidence, or committed some other act that would serve as the basis for impeachment in any criminal case,” Farrell wrote. “Game-playing the county attorney is not the standard of professionalism that Iowans expect of our elected county sheriffs,” he added, but does not constitute grounds for a Brady-Giglio listing.

Prosecutor appeals, argues law is unconstitutional

In his appeal, Moulding does not address Farrell’s factual findings, instead asking the court only to decide whether the law is constitutional.

“The most glaring constitutional defect in (the 2024 law) is that it impedes a criminal Defendant’s substantive and procedural due processes of law, and right to a fair trial,” the appeal says. “These fundamental rights constitute the bedrock raisons d’être for the entire body of Brady-Giglio jurisprudence in the first place.”

Iowa appears to be the only state with a law allowing officers to sue to be removed from a Brad-Giglio list, but Moulding cites a recent federal lawsuit where a judge rejected a South Dakota officer’s attempt to get removed from a list, finding the request “in essence, asks this Court to require a State’s Attorney to violate the constitution.” He further argues that the law violates the constitutional separation of powers and is “so poorly drafted as to be unenforceable and void for vagueness.”

Sheriff’s attorney says single lapse of judgment is not grounds for listing

Gribble, Richmond’s attorney, argued in his Supreme Court brief that the law is constitutional and that the sheriff’s actions fall well short of Brady-Giglio standards.

“Under (the 2024 law), placement on the Brady-Giglio list results not from a single lapse of judgment but rather from repeated, sustained, intentional and egregious acts over a period of time,” he wrote. “Thus, while a singular act of bad judgement may undermine a police officer’s credibility in a particular case, placement on the Brady-Giglio list places a permanent and unreviewable scarlet letter on the officer that he/she is unlikely to be able to ever overcome.”

He also suggests that a court order removing an officer from a list “does not in any way alter the prosecuting attorney’s duty to provide exculpatory evidence in all cases.” In an interview, he argued there should be a legal distinction between prosecutors disclosing concerns about an officer’s conduct in the case in which it occurred, and doing so in every future case involving them.

“To me, that’s what Brady-Giglio is for, not for occasional or first-time wrongs, even if established of a police officer, but those that have a history of that sort of thing,” he said.

The Supreme Court has not yet set a date for arguments in the case.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.

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Iowa

Univ. of Iowa students practice life-saving skills through realistic medical simulations

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Univ. of Iowa students practice life-saving skills through realistic medical simulations

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Some students at the University of Iowa are getting hands-on medical experience before the spring semester officially begins — and they’re doing it inside a mobile simulation lab.

Wednesday, Simulation in Motion-Iowa (SIM-IA) brought its high-tech training truck to the university’s main hospital campus during what’s known as “transitions week,” just days before physician assistant students head out on clinical rotations.

Instead of practicing on classmates, students worked through simulated emergency scenarios using lifelike mannequins designed to closely mimic real patients. The mannequins can breathe, blink, sweat, and even go into cardiac arrest — giving students a realistic first taste of what they’ll soon face in hospitals and clinics.

“So they have pulses like you and I, they have lung sounds, breath tones, so they get to practice their patient assessments — their head-to-toes, what they think is wrong with that patient, determine what treatments they’re going to offer and do,” said Lisa Lenz, a Simulation in Motion-Iowa instructor.

Lenz controls the mannequins’ movements and symptoms behind the scenes, adjusting each scenario based on how students respond in real time.

“We can kind of assess and watch and make sure they’re doing the skills that we would expect them to do, we then get to change and flow through our scenario,” Lenz said. “So we start out with a healthy patient, maybe something like chest pains and continue through states of either progression or decline.”

Faculty members say the goal is to help students bridge the gap between classroom learning and real patient care — especially with clinical rotations beginning soon.

“This is now putting book work to the clinical practice,” said Jeremy Nelson, a clinical assistant professor in the university’s Department of PA Studies and Services. “We’re getting them ready to go out to various scenarios.”

Nelson says repetition is key, especially since some medical emergencies are rare while others are unpredictable.

“They may see them 10 times on rotation, they may see them once,” Nelson said. “This gives them that ‘first touch’ so when they do see it they have a better chance of learning more and being engaged and practicing.”

The spring semester at the University of Iowa officially begins January 20 for those students. Faculty say experiences like this help boost confidence and reduce anxiety before students ever step into a real emergency situation.

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