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Looking ahead to 2025

Local Columns

Q: What’s new on your plate in the U.S. Senate in the 119th Congress? A: Voters in the 2024 elections delivered a fresh mandate to Washington, D.C., returning President Trump to the White House and putting Republicans in control of both houses of Congress. That means the U.S. Senate will be led by a Republican Majority in the 119th Congress, where Sen. John Thune of South Dakota will serve as Majority Leader and I will resume chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee. At the committee’s helm, I’ll work to uphold the independence of the federal judiciary, a vital lever of ...

The Christmas spirit of giving should continue throughout the year

Editorial

Every year around the holidays, the generosity of people who live in and around Fort Dodge blossoms. The familiar red kettles of The Salvation Army get filled with change by people going in and out of stores. Donations flow for initiatives like Bikes for Tykes. Those are some of the best-known helping campaigns in the Fort Dodge area that ramp up at Christmas time, and we know there are a lot of others out there as well. The holiday season is now over. Several charitable programs have gone dormant until next Christmas. But the need is still there. Hunger, sickness, poverty and ...

Recapping a year of results

Local Columns

2024 was a busy and successful year representing our families, farmers, businesses, and rural communities in Congress. I made over 320 stops on my biannual 36 County Tour, launched the second iteration of my Feenstra Agriculture Tour, held several town halls with Iowans, and advocated for our shared values on Capitol Hill. It is truly the honor of a lifetime to be entrusted by the good people of the Fourth District to serve our communities every day and be a strong voice for our families in our nation’s capital. It is a responsibility that I take very seriously. Now, let’s ...

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2025.

Editorial

Soon, we will welcome in a new year. Tomorrow, no doubt many readers will stay home, joining the ranks of those sitting on the couch, counting down the final moments of 2024 while participating vicariously in the festivities broadcast from Times Square in New York City. Others will celebrate the passing of another year by making merry until the wee hours of the new year. And yet others will let the new year come in just as they let each new day, week or month arrive — snugly tucked into bed getting some sleep. There is no right or wrong way to mark the arrival of another year. ...

We don’t want California’s EV mandates to spread nationwide

Local Columns

On Wednesday, Dec. 18, President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency delivered yet another blow to the American auto industry and affordability for our families. The EPA announced that it granted California permission to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars in the state. In doing so, the EPA put radical Green New Deal policy agenda items over the economic interests of American consumers. The permissions from the EPA come in the form of two waivers. The first waiver allows the state of California to mandate that 35 percent of new sales of cars and pickup trucks be zero-emission ...

Happy birthday, Iowa! Let freedom ring

Local Columns

In addition to Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s Day, Iowans have another reason to celebrate during the last week of the year. On Dec. 28, 1846, President James K. Polk signed a bill admitting Iowa into the Union. This year, Iowa will celebrate its 178th birthday. Let’s take a look back at when Iowa became the 29th state. Iowa has always been a free state. On March 3, 1845, Congress passed legislation to allow for the admission of the Territories of Florida and Iowa into the Union. The carefully crafted bill kept intact the political arrangement at the time to keep the number ...