Iowa Republicans took advantage of President Joe Biden’s stage presence during Thursday’s debate to repeat their argument that he is not mentally fit to hold office.

Leading up to the debate Republicans, including U.S. Rep Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa’s 1st District, were claiming that Biden would be on “drugs” to compensate for his “cognitive decline.”

However, Biden had moments where he was hard to hear and difficult to follow, allowing Republicans to return to a common allegation heard throughout both elections: Biden isn’t fit to lead the country.

More: Biden struggles in first joust with Trump: 5 takeaways from the presidential debate

Here are the responses from Iowa public officials following the first presidential debate.

Sen. Joni Ernst says President Joe Biden is ‘feeble-minded’

Joni Ernst, Iowa’s junior U.S. senator, double-downed on former President Donald Trump’s accusations that the country is in shambles under the current administration, and Trump is the only one who can turn things around.

“Americans saw the contrast on stage plain as day: a feeble-minded and weak-kneed man who let our country and the world fall apart, and Donald J. Trump, who will restore strength and leadership to the White House,” Ernst said on social media.

Joe Biden, Donald Trump respond to age concerns, capability in debate

Joe Biden, Donald Trump address capability and age concerns that voters have during the first 2024 presidential debate on June 27, 2024, in Atlanta.

CNN

Ernst also attacked Biden regarding his handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden saw his lowest approval rating — 43%, according to an NPR/PBS poll in 2021 — after 13 servicemembers were killed leaving Afghanistan.

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks highlights Donald Trump’s attacks against Joe Biden

Leading up to the debate, Miller-Meeks was on Fox News claiming that Biden could be on “stimulants” during the debate. She didn’t post about those allegations during the debate, however, she did affirm Trump’s attacks against Biden during the debate.

She called Tump’s criticism that no one in Biden’s administration was fired after the withdrawal from Afghanistan “spot on” and repeated a Trump criticism about not knowing what Biden said.

Rep. Ashley Hinson: Donald ‘Trump dominated’ first presidential debate

U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa’s 2nd District released a statement that said regardless of politics Biden isn’t fit to be Commander-in-Chief and “was extremely concerning and hard to watch.”

“President Trump dominated tonight’s debate – he will secure our border, cut taxes for working families and restore American leadership on the world stage after four years of Biden’s failures,” Hinson said in her statement.

Rep. Randy Feenstra: Donald ‘Trump won’ the first presidential debate

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa’s 4th District said on social media that Trump will defend the border.

“President Trump won the debate going away,” Feenstra wrote in a post calling for Iowans to elect Trump in November. “President Trump will secure the border and stop inflation. Biden’s presidency, and his debate performance, are both massive failures.”

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds: Donald Trump is the best choice

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who endorsed Trump’s opponent Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during the Iowa Caucuses, made multiple posts on social media supporting Trump’s job as president during the debate.

“Under President Trump, we had a successful economy – jobs, higher wages and opportunity,” Reynolds said on X. “Under Biden? Inflation.”

Iowa GOP chairman: ‘Donald Trump was the winner’ of CNN Debate

Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said in a statement after the debate that Trump would clean up the mess that Biden made while in office.

“After tonight, it’s clear that President Donald Trump was the winner of the debate,” Kaufmann said in the statement. “Biden has once again shown the world that he is unfit to serve, a danger to our country, and an embarrassment on that stage.”

Kaufmann also attacked Iowa Democrats for celebrating Biden’s performance.

Iowa Democrats: Donald Trump will take country backward

The Iowa Democratic Party criticized Donald Trump and the “extreme agenda” of “MAGA Republicans” in a statement on social media.

Biden would create “a future that works for all of us,” the post said while highlighting headlines about union strikes, lower health care costs and climate change.

Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17.

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Iowa news anchor Jodi Huisentruit vanished 29 years ago on Thursday, and answers about what may have happened could lie here in Arizona.

Police and family continue to try to solve her disappearance, and there are still plenty of questions about what, if any, involvement the person of interest now living in Phoenix had.

The challenge in this case is there’s little to no forensic evidence and no eyewitnesses.

The beloved 27-year-old Jodi Huisentruit was a staple on Iowa television. Huisentruit was well-known in the Mason City community and even more admired by her family, especially by her niece Kristen Nathe.

“I had a very special relationship with her. She was also my godmother. I spent a lot of time with her, and that loss was very significant to me and still to this day,” said Nathe.

Nathe was 11 years old on June 27, 1995, and remembers the day well.

Huisentruit never made it to work that day. First, she was believed to have overslept her alarm, but then her news team realized something was wrong.

Police believe she was abducted while getting to her car that morning.

Longtime investigative journalist Caroline Lowe said there were only 30 seconds between Huisentruit leaving her apartment and getting to her car, so they believe she was targeted.

“There’s no way somebody driving by would have had time to get in, it was so fast. Somebody, we believe, was waiting for her, whether it was a stalker or somebody she knew. We don’t know,” said Lowe.

A man named John Vansice showed up at the crime scene. The nearly 50-year-old was good friends with Huisentruit and often went boating with her and her friends.

He claimed he was the last to see Huisentruit when she came over to watch a birthday video at his house the night before.

“They’ve interviewed me twice, but they haven’t made any indication that I’m a suspect,” Vansice said to a reporter at the time.

He became a person of interest and has remained so, but Lowe said Huisentruit didn’t leave any warning signs about Vansice.

“From Jodi’s journal she did a number of social things with him. She had a great time at a birthday party he hosted. There’s no indication in the journal they’re anything but good friends,” said Lowe.

Lowe is part of the “Find Jodi” team and website committed to Huisentruit’s case.

Their team uncovered court documents showing that Mason City Police executed a search warrant for GPS data on two cars linked to Vansice in March 2017.

The information is sealed.

On this 29th anniversary, True Crime Arizona went to Vansice’s Phoenix home to try and talk to him, but despite a TV blaring the news inside, no one answered.

Huisentruit’s niece said at this point, she has a personal message for Vansice.

“What I personally would ask is that if he has more information regarding Jodi or the situation, that he comes forward and shares that information, especially if he considered himself to be such a close friend of Jodi. Um, help us. Help us to solve this case,” said Nathe.

Vansice has maintained his innocence and has never been charged in the case.

The “Find Jodi” team honored her life Thursday morning and has kept billboards up in Iowa.

If you have any information on Jodi’s disappearance, you can reach out to the Find Jodi web page.

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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa City received $3,752,000 from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development as a part of the department’s pathways to removing obstacles housing program, or PRO Housing.

Iowa City is part of a small group of cities around the country to receive funding from the department of housing and urban development.

“Our housing supply has not kept up with the rising demand. As a result, we have a laser focus on this council to ensure that people can get the housing they need at the prices they can afford,” said Bruce Teague, Iowa City Mayor.

The HUD’s assistant secretary for administration presented the award. She said the grant’s money could have nationwide impact.

”We anticipate that this first round of pro funding will result in tens of thousands of new homes for the American people. Including right here in Iowa City,” said de León Bhargava.

More than 175 cities applied for the grant, and Iowa City is one of just 21 cities receiving it. According to Iowa City’s PRO Housing profile, the city is expected to grow by an additional 10-thousand residents and needs 46-hundred new housing units to meet demand. The profile also said 22% of homeowners and 61% of renters in Iowa city are housing cost burdened.

While Iowa City doesn’t expect the grant money to fully solve it’s housing problems, Mayor Bruce Teague said the funds will provide a new baseline to move forward.

”So we’re gonna be setting a template through this process for us to produce more affordable housing.”

Christine Hayes is the director of development at Shelter House in Iowa City. She says having the grant money will make the biggest impact for people who are right on the margin of affordable housing.

”Ultimately every time you bring a person out of homelessness or into stable housing, that is life changing,” Hayes said.

The Biden-Harris administration will also release a second round of 100 million dollars in PRO Housing funding later this summer. Iowa City is still eligible to apply for the second round of funding.

Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.