Iowa

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine backs ‘Iowa Plan’ to snub last-ditch Dem gerrymandering amendment

Published

4 months ago

July 31, 2024

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine backs ‘Iowa Plan’ to snub last-ditch Dem gerrymandering amendment

COLUMBUS, Oh. — Governor Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) is taking a stand against a Democrat-led proposal on the ballot in his state this November that would amend the state’s constitution, supposedly aimed at “ending gerrymandering” in the Buckeye State.

The only problem, DeWine said in a Wednesday press conference, is that it won’t.

The amendment in question would move the ability to draw state voting districts from the current Ohio Redistricting Commission to a new body called the “Citizens Redistricting Commission.”

If passed, the amendment would create the CRC, comprised of a fifteen-person panel chosen through direct citizen votes. The panel would hold five Democrats, five Republicans and five “independents” at all times. The current ORC is seven members including DeWine himself.

“We must stop writing and rewriting our state constitution. We must defeat this ballot measure,” DeWine said Wednesday at a press conference devoted to condemning the measure, which received enough citizen signatures earlier this month to appear on Ohio’s ballot this November.

“They needed signatures so they went out and paid people to go get signatures,” DeWine said. “But there’s no vetting. No vetting for this at all.”

The gov argues it doesn’t matter who draws the maps, but how.

So he’s looking to a Midwestern neighbor as a model of how to draw districts, and throwing his weight behind what he’s calling “The Iowa Plan.”

In Iowa’s unique district drawing system, a nonpartisan agency manages the process without accessing additional info like past voting records or party affiliations when making new maps.

DeWine wants to put this same strategy in place in Ohio to avoid having the new commission prioritize proportionality of voter affiliation above all else in the redistricting process.

At the press conference, DeWine showed slides of a sample map drawn by a third party consultant charged with creating the most proportional map possible.

“[Proportionality] sounds good,” DeWine said, pointing to the sample slides. “But then you have places here where ten different cities and townships are being divided up to make a single district just for the sake of proportionality.”

Republicans hold a supermajority in Ohio’s state legislature, giving DeWine no veto power over the Ohio General Assembly.

This means, as even he admitted during his remarks, DeWine can only provide the general assembly with requests not demands. But, he added that he’s still determined to make his opinion abundantly clear.

“I want to do this the right way,” he said. “There should be hearings and vetting for this plan…I will do all I can to work with the legislature to get this on the ballot; and if they can’t pass it, I’ll do all I can to get it on by initiative. That’s the backup plan.”

Ohio’s Republican Speaker of The House Jason Stephens had kind words for the governor but did not acknowledge his challenge to pass the Iowa Plan onto the ballot by November.

“I look forward to working with the Governor, the Senate, and the entire GOP Caucus to defeat Issue 1 in November. Once Issue 1 is defeated, we will continue to work to ensure all Ohioans voices are heard and represented,” he said.

The Ohio legislature is currently on recess and is not expected back until after the November 5 election. This means DeWine will almost certainly have to call a special session before then if he truly wants to put the Iowa Plan on the ballot, as he says, “the right way.”

DeWine just gave the Republicans in power homework with no due date.

On the other side of the aisle, Democrat Minority Leader Allison Russo said the gov is “scared” of the Democrat-led ballot measure.

“Ohioans deserve leaders who reflect our values and live up to the promise that they’ll always respect the will of the voters. Today was the governor’s manufactured attempt to confuse and misdirect voters from the truth,” she said. “Republicans are desperate because they know their gerrymandered grip on power is coming to an end.”

A strategist for former Governor John Kasich, was asked if they thought the assembly would either get the Iowa Plan on the ballot or if DeWine could manage it without them via a citizen initiative.

They kept their responses brief.

“No. And no,” they told The Post.

From here, DeWine and Republicans will either be able to put their Iowa Plan on the ballot to compete with Issue 1, or they will attempt to “defeat” Issue 1 by swaying public opinion before it reaches the voting booth.

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Iowa

Iowa Should be Relieved the Season is Almost Over

Published

1 hour ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Iowa Should be Relieved the Season is Almost Over

The Iowa Hawkeyes were able to cobble together a 29-13 win over the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday afternoon in spite of entering the game with major distractions.

The chief distraction at hand was the status of Iowa’s quarterback situation, as the Hawkeyes were forced to roll with Jackson Stratton thanks to Cade McNamara and Brendan Sullivan both being sidelined.

McNamara’s status was particularly murky, as the initial consensus was that he would regain his starting job once it was revealed that Sullivan would be out for the season with an ankle injury.

However, confusion over McNamara’s availability made things, as head coach Kirk Ferentz would say, “cloudy,” and he ended up not being medically cleared to play due to a concussion he suffered back on Oct. 26.

Either way, Iowa emerged victorious in spite of Stratton going 10-of-14 for 76 yards. Kaleb Johnson carried the day, as per usual, racking up 164 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries. Kamari Moulton also rattled off 114 yards, with 68 of those yards coming on a touchdown scamper.

But even with the running game operating smoothly (for the most part), you just felt like the Hawkeyes were lacking.

Maryland is not a good football team, so beating the Terrapins is not really a good barometer to determine how well Iowa played.

Because I’ll be honest: if the Hawkeyes faced an even decent ballclub on Saturday, they may very well have lost with all of the opportunities they blew.

Iowa had to settle for five field goals, and Moulton fumbled inside the red zone early in the first quarter. This should have been a much wider margin of victory than 16 points.

Yes, the defense held serve, but, again, it’s Maryland we’re talking about here.

The 2024 season has been a cluster of inconsistency for the Hawkeyes. They entered the season full of promise, but it has not materialized like they hoped.

It has reached a point where it has almost feels like Iowa needs to put this thing out of its misery. The Hawkeyes have no quarterback. They have no weapons in the passing game. Their defense isn’t quite as stingy as it was last season.

Iowa is 7-4, but it has been unable to put together a stretch of consistently sound football all year long. Fans are frustrated, and just getting a run-of-the-mill bowl game is not going to satisfy them.

Things need to change at Iowa City, because what the Hawkeyes are doing now isn’t working. The offense needs an overhaul. No more skirting the issue under center and with wide receivers.

The problem is this isn’t the NFL. You can’t just sign a bunch of free agents, make trades and draft players overnight. It’s going to involve a stark change in recruiting, and Iowa is somehow going to have to land a couple of big names via the transfer portal.

I don’t want to rain on the parade. The Hawkeyes won, and that’s great. Be proud of the kids for playing their guts out in the face of all of the adversity.

But man, it has certainly been a pedestrian season.

Iowa will close things out against Nebraska next week.

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Iowa

Iowa women’s wrestling adds Isabella Marie Gonzalez, No. 1 overall recruit in 2025 class

Published

10 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Iowa women’s wrestling adds Isabella Marie Gonzalez, No. 1 overall recruit in 2025 class

The rich continue to get richer.

The Iowa women’s wrestling program added to an already loaded roster late Friday night with the commitment of Isabella Marie Gonzalez. She is the No. 3 pound-for-pound recruit in girls high school wrestling regardless of age and the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2025.

Gonzalez, who is ranked No. 1 nationally at 120 pounds at the high school level by USAWrestling, has the makings of a star. She was the U17 World Team representative (finishing fifth) for the United States at 53 kilograms this summer. She was also a U17 Pan-American Games champion in 2023, fitting the mold of what coach Clarissa Chun looks for in international success.

From the state of California, she is a two-time state champion, a multi-time Fargo medalist and a Super 32 champion.

“I am excited to announce my official commitment to the University of Iowa,” Gonzalez wrote in an Instagram post. “Thank you to everyone who has continued to support me through my journey. Go Hawkeyes!”

This is the first commit of the 2025 class for the Hawkeyes, who brought in seven freshmen and 11 total new faces in 2024. Given the proposed roster limits of 30 coming next season, the number of newcomers isn’t likely to match or exceed the 2024 number.

Regardless, this is a high-profile addition for the Hawkeyes in a weight that needed some additional talent. The lone question is whether that will be at 117 or 124 pounds for the Hawkeyes. Her addition to depth behind Brianna Gonzalez at 117 or potentially competing for a spot right away at 124 pounds will be a welcome addition either way.

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.

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Iowa

What channel is Iowa vs. Maryland football on today? Time, TV for Hawkeyes’ Week 13 game

Published

18 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

What channel is Iowa vs. Maryland football on today? Time, TV for Hawkeyes’ Week 13 game

Hoping to end a chaotic buildup with a strong performance, Iowa football plays its final road game of the regular season Saturday at Maryland. Big Ten Network will televise the 11 a.m. CT contest.

The Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten Conference) have had all kinds of drama at quarterback this week despite coming off a bye week. Brendan Sullivan is out this week with an ankle injury, while Cade McNamara (concussion) has been medically cleared but isn’t ready to start. That means walk-on Jackson Stratton, who made a second-half cameo last time out at UCLA, will likely be Iowa’s starting quarterback Saturday. Who will be his backup remains undetermined.

On the other side, Maryland (4-6, 1-6) is trying to claw its way to a bowl game after dropping five of its last six. Its most recent stumble came last week in a 31-17 home loss to Rutgers.

Here’s how to watch the Iowa vs. Maryland game today, including time, TV schedule and streaming information:

Watch Iowa vs. Maryland football live on FUBO (free trial)

What channel is Iowa vs. Maryland on today?

TV channel: BTN

Livestream: Fubo (free trial) and Fox Sports Live

Iowa vs. Maryland will broadcast nationally on BTN in Week 13 of the 2024 college football season. Guy Haberman and Yogi Roth will call the game from the booth at SECU Stadium, with Rhett Lewis reporting from the sidelines. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

Iowa vs. Maryland time today

Date: Saturday, November 23

Start time: 11 a.m. (CT)

The Iowa vs. Maryland game starts at 11 a.m. CT from SECU Stadium in College Park, Maryland.

Iowa vs. Maryland predictions, picks, odds

Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, Nov. 22

Moneyline: Iowa -200, Maryland +165

Spread: Iowa -4.5

O/U: 44.5

Iowa football schedule 2024

Aug. 31: vs. Illinois State, (W, 40-0)
Sept. 7: vs. Iowa State, (L, 20-19)
Sept. 14: vs. Troy, (W, 38-21)
Sept. 21: at Minnesota, (W, 31-14)
Oct. 5: at Ohio State (L, 35-7)
Oct. 12: vs. Washington (W, 40-16)
Oct. 19: at Michigan State, (L, 32-20)
Oct. 26: vs. Northwestern, (W, 40-14)
Nov. 2: vs. Wisconsin, (W, 42-10)
Nov. 8: at UCLA, (L, 20-17)
Nov. 23: at Maryland, 11 a.m.
Nov. 29: vs. Nebraska, 6:30 p.m.
Record: 6-4

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Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.

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