Iowa

What the 2024 candidate appearances looked like at the Iowa State Fair

Published

1 year ago

August 14, 2023

Press Room

What the 2024 candidate appearances looked like at the Iowa State Fair

Trump reasserted his dominance in the GOP race. DeSantis toured the fairgrounds with his family and was interrupted by protesters. Ramaswamy did a rendition of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” And they drew varying crowd sizes.

August 14, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

A crowd listens as Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks in the Political Soapbox during the Iowa State Fair on Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

DES MOINES — A host of presidential candidates barnstormed the Iowa State Fair in recent days, grilling pork, taking selfies, visiting the famous butter cow and making stops to see Mean Gene, a 3,060 pound super bull, and drawing crowds of varying sizes. The candidates’ visits underscored the importance of the Hawkeye State, which will host the GOP’s first-in-the-nation caucuses in January.

Former president Donald Trump reasserted his dominance in the GOP race and trolled Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running a distant second. DeSantis toured the fairgrounds with his family and was interrupted by protesters. Longer-shot candidates tries to leave an impression, including entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who did his own rendition of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.”

Here’s what some of the candidate appearances looked like:

Trump, arriving at the fair with an entourage of Florida lawmakers, did not spend as much time on the fairgrounds as his rivals. He arrived at the pork tent midday Saturday and was gone before 2 p.m. He and his surrogates posed for selfies and passed out Make America Great Again hats, in front of a crowd that swelled to fill the width of the fair’s grand concourse. The Florida representatives flipped pork burgers and chops, while Trump campaign manager Susie Wiles snapped photos.

Unlike DeSantis, who Wiles once worked for and who appeared at the tent around an hour before, Trump did not partake in the actual grilling tradition. As Trump’s plane flew over while DeSantis made his appearance, attendees turned around to face it and began to chant his name.

After visiting the pork tent, Trump then proceeded to the Steer N’ Stein bar where he spent much of his speech introducing the members of Congress who traveled with him and hyped him up. “In 2024, we’re going to three-peat and we’re going to make this man the 47th president of the United States,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) told a cheering crowd.

Trump’s presence alone, while brief, monopolized the fair’s main street fair. As attendees gawked from above on the Sky Glider, hundreds of people swarmed the pork tent and lined up to see his remarks, in which he repeated false claims about the 2020 election and did not bring up DeSantis.

DeSantis has put his family front-and-center on the campaign trail, and the state fair was no exception. He and his wife, Casey DeSantis — also his most influential political adviser — walked the grounds with their three kids in tow: Six-year-old Madison, five-year-old Mason and three-year-old Mamie.

They coaxed one daughter to go down a tall slide (she declined). They rode the Ferris wheel with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). They perched the kids on their shoulders to see above the crush of cameras and aides that followed them everywhere. Voters noticed: “My husband said, ‘He’s the one carrying the little kid on shoulders,’ and I love that,” said fair attendee Marie Todd, who came away thinking DeSantis was a good dad.

Apparently liberal protesters created real problems this weekend for DeSantis at the state fair — using the same tactics that scuttled a DeSantis campaign stop one day earlier in Menlo, Iowa. As he took the stage with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds for a Q&A, they began blowing loud whistles and clanging a cowbell that made it hard to focus on DeSantis’s message for about 10 minutes (cellphones and cameras swiveled toward the action). The chaos ended when law enforcement physically pulled the protesters away through a cheering crowd.

The DeSantis team sees benefits to clashes with protesters, believing many GOP voters want a combative candidate. Beyond that, the governor was also dealing with barbs at the fair from team Trump. Among the digs was a banner the Trump campaign paid for that flew over the fair and read: “Be Likable, Ron!”

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a long-shot hopeful, was the first candidate to take the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox stage, drawing nearly as many reporters as fairgoers for his remarks.

He was introduced by his wife, Kathryn, who wore a large cowboy hat and spoke about her struggle with addiction and recovery. Burgum later spoke about his wife’s family’s work in the John Deere business, befitting of their later stop by a tent at the fair with John Deere equipment on display.

Burgum made an unusual choice in fairground food, trying rattlesnake nachos with venom sauce. He later joked to The Washington Post that “it was wild caught, free range, non-GMO, organic rattlesnake.”

Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley wore a shirt reading “Underestimate me, that’ll be fun” to the fairgrounds on Saturday, and brought along her college-aged son, Nalin. She kicked off the day by participating in the chat with Reynolds, and later appeared at the Soapbox, where she took a large number of questions and questioned the premise of an attendee’s suggestion that she did not support same-sex marriage.

Later in the afternoon, Haley and Ernst played games in Thrill Ville. Nalin defeated both at a basketball game, and Ernst scored a win in Skee-Ball. Haley redeemed herself at a water balloon shooting game, winning the round and picking a red bear as a prize. The trio then walked to the pork tent, where Haley flipped pork chops and burgers.

Former vice president Mike Pence spent two days at the fair, participating in many of the traditional trappings, including the Soapbox, an interview with Reynolds, and stops to flip pork burgers, pay respect to the butter cow and take a photo with Mean Gene. It was emblematic of the old-school campaign Pence is running, as he tests the appetite for traditional conservatism in today’s GOP.

Fairgoers stopped him throughout the day to take selfies. “He was the vice president of the United States, do you want to go talk to him?,” one woman said to a young child, as Pence passed by. “Hey, it’s Mike Pence!” said another fairgoer. Other fair attendees went up to Pence to wish him luck. Another yelled “beat Trump.”

As he toured the fairgrounds, Pence received some heckles from Trump supporters but also words of thanks for his decision to certify the 2020 election results on Jan. 6, despite pressure from Trump and his allies not to do so.

During each candidate’s Fair-Side Chat, Reynolds asked them what their favorite walk-off song was, which was then used to play them offstage at the end of the event. Ramaswamy, a millennial, said his pick was Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” describing it as “young and scrappy” and leading Reynolds to joke, “I am really starting to understand my age.”

After the Q&A concluded, Ramaswamy signed a woman’s hat, then noticed the song playing over the speakers. He began fist pumping, then signed a book and took a selfie before beginning to rap along to the song, while Reynolds looked on in confusion.

Embodying his college alter ego “Da Vek,” Ramaswamy sang along, “Better go capture this moment and hope it don’t pass him.”

Later in the day, Ramaswamy and his wife and children toured the fairgrounds. As he participated in a radio interview, two teenagers outside held a large sign at the window reading “EAT A CORNDOG, YOU COWARD.” Ramaswamy is a vegetarian.

Source link

Iowa

What channel is Iowa State vs. West Virginia game tonight (10/12/24)? FREE LIVE STREAM, Time, TV, Channel for college football, Week 7

Published

2 hours ago

October 12, 2024

Press Room

What channel is Iowa State vs. West Virginia game tonight (10/12/24)? FREE LIVE STREAM, Time, TV, Channel for college football, Week 7

The No. 11 Iowa State Cyclones, led by quarterback Rocco Becht, face the West Virginia Mountaineers, led by quarterback Garrett Greene on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 (10/12/24) at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, W. Va.

How to watch: Fans can watch the game for free via a trial of DirecTV Stream or fuboTV. You can also watch via a subscription to Sling TV.

Here’s what you need to know:

What: NCAA Football, Week 7

Who: Iowa State vs. West Virginia

When: Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024

Where: Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium

Time: 8 p.m. ET

TV: FOX

Live stream: fuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial)

***

Here are the best streaming options for college football this season:

Fubo TV (free trial): fuboTV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC, NBC and CBS.

DirecTV Stream (free trial): DirecTV Stream carries ESPN, FOX, NBC and CBS.

Sling TV ($25 off the first month)– Sling TV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC and NBC.

ESPN+($9.99 a month): ESPN+ carries college football games each weekend for only $9.99 a month. These games are exclusive to the platform.

Peacock TV ($5.99 a month): Peacock will simulstream all of NBC Sports’ college football games airing on the NBC broadcast network this season, including Big Ten Saturday Night. Peacock will also stream Notre Dame home games. Certain games will be streamed exclusively on Peacock this year as well.

Paramount+ (free trial): Paramount Plus will live stream college football games airing on CBS this year.

***

Here’s a preview capsule via the Associated Press:

No. 11 Iowa State (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) at West Virginia (3-2, 2-0), Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (Fox)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Iowa State by 3.

Series record: West Virginia leads 6-5.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Iowa State is off to its best start since 1980, and a win would make them 6-0 for the first time since 1938. The Cyclones are looking to extend their road winning streak to seven games. West Virginia is going after its third straight win after a 1-2 start. Iowa State and West Virginia are 2-0 in conference play. One of them will forge a first-place tie with idle Texas Tech.

KEY MATCHUP

Iowa State’s defense vs. West Virginia QB Garrett Greene. Of the dual-threat quarterbacks the Cyclones have faced so far, Greene could be the best. He had runs of 39, 15 and 10 yards against Oklahoma State last week and is averaging 5.4 yards per carry and 59 yards per game. Run defense hasn’t been a strength for the Cyclones, who hope to force Greene to try to beat them through the air. Iowa State has the Big 12’s top defense, allowing just 10 points and 272 yards per game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Iowa State: LB Kooper Ebel has led or co-led the team in tackles in three straight games. He made just three tackles in eight games as a freshman last year. He added 15 pounds to get up to 240 on his 6-foot-4 frame and has made at least six stops in all five games. Last week he had eight tackles and a quarterback hurry against Baylor.

West Virginia: RB Jahiem White. The sophomore ran for a season-high 158 yards in the lopsided win at Oklahoma State and the Mountaineers compiled 389 on the ground. White hopes to be back on track after being limited to 94 yards combined against No. 4 Penn State, No. 22 Pittsburgh and Kansas.

FACTS & FIGURES

Anthony Becht, a tight end for the Mountaineers from 1996 to 1999, will be honored during the game for his induction into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. His son, Rocco, is Iowa State’s quarterback. … The Cyclones have won 12 straight when scoring at least 30 points. They’ve scored at least 30 in the last five meetings with WVU. … ISU had nine plays of 20 or more yards against Baylor last week, tied for the most by a Power Four team against a conference opponent this season. … The Cyclones’ defense gets better as the game progresses. They’re allowing an average of 4.0 points and 112 yards in the second halves. … West Virginia will wear all-black uniforms in honor of the state’s coal mining industry.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

Source link

Iowa

Rosemount H.S. Marching Band wins at Iowa competition

Published

10 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