Week in Iowa, Jan. 15, 2024: Recap of news from across the state

Trump cruises to huge caucus victory: Former President Donald Trump notched an early and sizable victory in his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination Monday when he won the Iowa caucuses in a landslide. The former president received 51 percent of the votes in the contest, the largest victory ever for a competitive Republican caucus.

Trump won solidly in every county but Johnson, where Nikki Haley beat him by just one vote, proving that he still has a firm grip on the Republican electorate. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second, while former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley notched a close third place. Both claimed the results as a victory and will go on to future contests in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Early caucus call questioned: Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann criticized national media outlets that called Trump's caucus victory Monday night before many Iowans had finished voting. The calls came a little after 7:30, when only a few precincts had reported results. Networks said those early returns, combined with entrance polling, gave them all the information they needed to make the call.

Vivek Ramaswamy, Asa Hutchinson exit: The Republican presidential candidate field thinned out after Monday's caucuses. Vivek Ramaswamy, an Ohio entrepreneur, dropped his presidential bid that evening and endorsed Donald Trump. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who was one of Trump's chief critics in the field, ended his campaign Tuesday.

Reynolds revises AEA pitch: One week after proposing a major overhaul of Iowa's area education agencies that assist students with disabilities, Gov. Kim Reynolds proposed loosening a main restriction in her bill that sparked outcry from teachers, AEA officials and parents.

Reynolds proposed changing the bill to allow AEAs to provide education and media services, if requested by school districts and approved by the Iowa Department of Education. School districts would still receive the money for special education services and could decide whether to provide special education through their local AEA or an outside, private company.

Chuck Grassley released after hospitalization: U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley was briefly hospitalized this past week and received antibiotic infusions for an unspecified infection, his office said. Grassley, 90, was released Thursday and is expected to return to work.

Medical cannabis expansion considered: Iowa lawmakers considered a bill to add raw cannabis flower to the state's medical marijuana program. The program currently allows only cannabis extracts like capsules and oil vaporizers. Proponents say the law would reduce costs dramatically for patients.

They said ...

“Student success is my central focus, and the goal of my bill is to ensure Iowa’s students with disabilities receive the world class education they deserve. Since introducing it, I’ve been able to discuss the details with parents and education stakeholders and meet with legislators about what they’re hearing from schools and families in their districts." -- Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on changes to AEA bill

"We're going to put America first. We're going to make America great again. Again, Iowa, we love you. You just go out and buy larger tractors and more land, don't worry about it." -- Donald Trump after winning Iowa caucuses

Odds and ends

Conversion therapy: Iowa Senate Republicans are considering a bill to prohibit local governments from banning so-called conversion therapy, a method of attempting to convince gay people to become heterosexual that has been widely discredited and is opposed by a bevy of medical and psychiatric organizations.

AG sues TikTok: Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird sued the social media giant TikTok this past week, claiming the app is "misleading parents" by misrepresenting the content available to teens. Bird said the app hosts sexual content, profanity and content about drug use despite its "12+" rating in Apple's App Store.

Water cooler

UI athletic director: Beth Goetz will become the permanent athletic director at the University of Iowa, the school announced Thursday. Goetz has served as interim director since August. Her salary will be $850,000 a year, plus bonuses and deferred compensation. Goetz became interim director after Gary Barta, who had held the role since 2006, announced his retirement.

Open meetings law: Government officials who violate open meetings and records law would face stiffer penalties under a bill introduced by Rep. Garry Mohr, R-Bettendorf. Mohr said the bill was inspired by the difficulty of individuals obtaining records related to the Davenport building that partially collapsed last year.

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