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Former Vice President Joe Biden is campaigning in Iowa today in his bid to take on President Trump in the 2020 election. Some other Democrats criticized Biden over the weekend for missing an event in Cedar Rapids attended by 19 candidates.
At his first campaign stop in Ottumwa, Biden said he didn’t want to miss his daughter’s birthday and granddaughter’s graduation.
"Well, I got a different value set. It’s family, family, family. And I make no apologies for not showing up and speaking for five minutes since I got almost eight months to come and talk to you all.”
Biden says he’ll be in the state a lot before the Iowa caucuses early next year.
President Trump is also in Iowa today (Tuesday) for a Republican Party fundraiser. Biden says he hopes Trump’s visit is “clarifying” because he says the president’s tariff policies are “crushing” Iowa farmers.
A study shows Iowa leads the nation in the amount of human and animal waste it produces. Christopher Jones is a scientist at the University of Iowa. Jones' study shows the state of 3.2 million people and the total livestock population of nearly 110 million produces as much manure as a human population of 168 million.
His study says pigs are responsible for driving the state to the top of the rankings. Iowa is home to at least 23 million pigs.
