Capitol Notebook: New program connects food banks with Iowa-grown food

A new state effort designed to connect Iowa food banks with another program that highlights food grown in Iowa launched this week, according to the state agriculture department.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced the launch of the Choose Iowa Food Purchasing Program Food Bank Pilot. Created during this year’s legislative session, the program devotes $225,000 to assist Iowa food banks in providing Iowa-grown food to Iowa food banks in food insecure communities.

The food banks will match the state’s investments under the program. Dairy products, meat, poultry, eggs, honey and produce are eligible.

Six food banks — Food Bank of Iowa, HACAP, River Bend Food Bank, Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Food Bank of Siouxland and Food Bank for the Heartland — and the Des Moines Area Religious Council are participating.

“Food insecurity is a real and pressing issue in communities big and small, urban and rural,” Naig said in a statement.

“As the state’s signature brand for Iowa grown, Iowa raised, and Iowa made food, beverages and ag products, Choose Iowa is all about connecting consumers to great Iowa products produced by Iowa farmers and small businesses,” Naig said. “And now thanks to the support from the Iowa Legislature and Gov. (Kim) Reynolds this past session, Choose Iowa will also help connect farmers with food banks to combat food insecurity within our communities.”

A list of Choose Iowa members can be found on the program’s website, chooseiowa.com. Farmers that wish to join the Choose Iowa program should contact the Iowa Department of Agriculture at chooseiowa@iowaagriculture.gov.

Reynolds suspends Sioux County schools requirements

Gov. Kim Reynolds has issued a disaster proclamation suspending specific state requirements for Sioux County schools in response to severe storms and flooding.

The proclamation suspends state regulations related to the construction and installation of emergency classroom facilities prior to the start of the school year.

The proclamation, which is in effect for 30 days in the county, temporarily suspends Iowa Code provisions prohibiting a governmental entity from entering into a design-build contract for the construction of a public improvement. It also suspends restrictions on the total estimated costs of a project or asset over its lifetime, and public notice requirements for any public improvement contract in excess of the competitive bid threshold in Iowa Code.

Iowa AG supports Trump’s appeal of $350M fine

Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird this week joined a coalition of 15 GOP-led states supporting former President Donald Trump in his appeal of more than $350 million in court fines ordered in a New York civil fraud case against him.

New York State Court Judge Arthur Engoron in February ordered Trump to pay $355 million, plus interest, in a civil trial finding his company conspired to deceive banks and insurers by inflating his wealth on financial statements. The judge also barred Trump from serving as an executive at any New York company, including the Trump Organization.

Iowa joined the South Carolina-led brief, along with Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia.

The attorneys general argue the fine is unwarranted, unprecedented and disproportionate to the allegations made against Trump, violating the Eighth Amendment’s “excessive fines clause” and Trump’s due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.

“We must uphold the Constitution that protects the rights of not just President Trump, but every American, and reverse the unjust fine that is being imposed on him,” Bird said in a statement.

The state’s chief legal officer last month threw her support behind Trump at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Bird endorsed Trump ahead of the 2024 caucuses, in which he won a first-place finish on the road to the party's nomination for president.

Bird also attended Trump’s hush-money trial in New York, characterizing the case as politically motivated.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau

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