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Republican US Senator Joni Ernst stopped in Northwest Iowa today to meet with law enforcement officials. Ernst toured the Le Mars law enforcement center and talked with officers about increasing crime and a lack of resources to deal with it. Ernst said there has been more violence in nearby large cities in Minnesota and Illinois, and it is now spreading to Iowa.
“Communities surrounding Iowa like a spike in crime in Chicago, a spike in crime in Rochester, all of that is bleeding into Iowa. And one thing we don’t think about is that nexus of crime, where maybe some of those networks begin, and how they spread.”
Ernst talked with Le Mars police about the need for more officers, and for more mental health beds. Police officers said it was not unusual for a person in mental distress to wait several hours for a bed, and a law enforcement officer is with them during that wait. Ernst and Le Mars police officers also said they were concerned about continued efforts to defund police departments.
After her stop in Le Mars, Senator Ernst met with 4th District Congressman Randy Feenstra and former Vice President Mike Pence at the Feenstra Family Picnic in Sioux Center.
Iowa’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 4% in June as more resident began looking for work. Iowa Workforce Development reported Friday that the unemployment rate increased from 3.9% in May.
The number of working Iowans increased by 3,800 from May to June but the number of unemployed residents seeking jobs also increased by 2,400. Iowa is tied for the nation’s 12th lowest unemployment rate. Nebraska’s rate of 2.5% was the country’s lowest. The U.S. unemployment rate in June was 5.9%.
