CARY DARRAH IS THE NEW CHAIR OF THE IOWA CHAMBER ALLIANCE. DARRAH IS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF GROW CEDAR VALLEY, A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT NON-PROFIT WORKING IN BLACK HAWK COUNTY AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. THE IOWA CHAMBER ALLIANCE IS A LOBBYING GROUP WHICH REPRESENTS 17 LARGE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE FROM AROUND THE STATE AND PROMOTES DEVELOPMENT-FRIENDLY POLICIES IN DES MOINES. DARRAH WILL CONTINUE TO LEAD GROW CEDAR VALLEY WHILE CHAIRING THE IOWA CHAMBER ALLIANCE.
IOWA SENATOR CHUCK GRASSLEY WEIGHED IN ON THE POSSIBILITY OF NEW COVID-19 RELATED STIMULUS AHEAD OF THE NOVEMBER ELECTION. CONGRESS IS SIZING UP LEGISLATION WHICH WOULD INCLUDE AN EXTENSION OF THE PAYROLL PROTECTION PROGRAM AND 500 BILLION DOLLARS IN TARGETED AID. GRASSLEY WAS A GUEST ON FOX’S “OUTNUMBERED OVERTIME WITH HARRIS FAULKNER”. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS AND CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS OPENED THE WEEK WITH NEGOTIATIONS WORKING TOWARD A COVID DEAL.
MONDAY SNOWFALL SLOWED HARVEST IN SOME PARTS OF THE STATE, BUT FARMERS HAVE MADE REMARKABLE PROGRESS THIS FALL. THE LATEST USDA CROP REPORT OUT YESTERDAY SHOWED 90 PERCENT OF SOYBEANS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT IN. CORN IS NEARLY TWO-THIRDS HARVESTED. FARMERS IN SOUTHERN IOWA HAVE THE MOST WORK LEFT TO DO. HARVEST PROGRESS REMAINS ABOUT TWO WEEKS AHEAD OF AVERAGE.
THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE IS CONSIDERING WHETHER TO SUBPOENA MAJOR TECH CEOS LIKE FACEBOOK’S MARK ZUCKERBERG AND TWITTER’S JACK DORSEY ABOUT HOW THEIR PLATFORMS HANDLE POLITICAL CONTENT. IOWA SENATOR CHUCK GRASSLEY IS A MEMBER OF THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE. GRASSLEY MADE THOSE COMMENTS DURING FOX’S OUTNUMBERED OVERTIME WITH HARRIS FAULKNER.
IOWA GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS RESTORED FELON VOTING RIGHTS EARLIER THIS YEAR. THERE HAVE STILL BEEN SOME SNAGS FOR THOSE ATTEMPTING TO REGISTER ONLINE. THE PROBLEMS AREN’T ONLY RELATED TO TECHNOLOGY, ACCORDING TO LINN COUNTY AUDITOR JOEL MILLER, WHO SPOKE WITH OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT TV-9. ONE OF THE CONDITIONS OF GOVERNOR REYNOLDS’ ORDER RESTORING VOTING RIGHTS REQUIRED ALL ELEMENTS OF A FELONY SENTENCE TO BE COMPLETED.
A NEW KIND OF BIKE COULD BE SPEEDING AROUND TRAILS IN THE CEDAR VALLEY SOON. MOTORIZED ELECTRIC BICYCLES WERE PART OF MONDAY’S CEDAR FALLS CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSION. IN THE COMING WEEKS, THE COUNCIL IS LIKELY TO CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE ALLOWING THAT EQUIPMENT ON TRAILS. THERE ARE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF E-BIKES, SEPARATED BY SPEED AND OTHER FACTORS.
OFFICIALLY, THREE TO FOUR INCHES OF SNOW WAS COMMON IN CENTAL IOWA AND PARTS OF THE CORRIDOR YESTERDAY. ISOLATED REPORTS CAME IN TWICE THAT HIGH. IT WAS NOT WHAT ANYONE WITH STRUCTURAL DAMAGE FROM AUGUST’S DERECHO WANTED TO SEE. DAVID ERICKSON OF PPC ROOFING IN CEDAR RAPIDS TALKED WITH OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS AT TV-9 ABOUT THE TEMPORARY REPAIRS MADE TO MANY ROOFS. ERICKSON SAYS CONTINUED WORK WILL BE WEATHER-DEPENDENT AND THAT CONTRACTORS ARE HAVING TROUBLE GETTING SOME MATERIALS.
SOCIAL MEDIA HAS PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN AT LEAST THE LAST FOUR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. THE EFFECTS OF PLATFORMS LIKE FACEBOOK AND TWITTER HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY CONTROVERSIAL AS THOSE COMPANIES ASSESS WHETHER OR HOW TO USE EDITORIAL CONTROLS. THAT HAS GOTTEN THE ATTENTION OF CONGRESS, INCLUDING IOWA SENATOR CHUCK GRASSLEY. THAT AUDIO IS FROM FOX’S OUTNUMBERED OVERTIME WITH HARRIS FAULKNER. GRASSLEY WAS SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT NEW YORK POST REPORTING ON HUNTER BIDEN’S CONNECTIONS WITH A UKRAINIAN ENERGY COMPANY.
A FOOTBALL LAWSUIT IS LIKELY TO GO FORWARD. THE LAWYER REPRESENTING EIGHT FORMER IOWA HAWKEYES SAYS HE WILL FILE THE THREATENED ACTION. THIS MONTH, THE PLAYERS ASKED FOR A 20 MILLION DOLLAR DISCRIMINATION SETTLEMENT. THE HAWKEYE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT REJECTED THAT OFFER OVER THE WEEKEND.
