Mary Hartnett

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The Democratic Candidates are cutting a swath through Iowa in the last few days before the Feb. 3rd presidential caucuses.   

Tomorrow, former Vice President Joe Biden will hold an event at Western Iowa Tech Community College.  He will appear at the Rocklin Center at 1:15 p.m.  A previous appearance by Biden earlier this month was canceled because of bad weather.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar will be in town Thursday.  

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The Democratic Candidates for president are making a last-minute push across the state of Iowa less than a week before the first-in-the-nation caucuses.

A few more challengers have announced plans to visit Sioux City.  Tomorrow, former Vice President Joe Biden will hold an event at Western Iowa Tech Community College.  He will appear at the Rocklin Center at 1:15 p.m.  A previous appearance by Biden earlier this month was canceled because of bad weather.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar will be in town Thursday.  

This week on The Exchange, Western Iowa Tech Community College is accused of human trafficking in connection with a group of exchange students from South America.  WIT President Terry Murrell strongly refutes those allegations and pledges to help students finish their programs of study.

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The statewide winter storm today has been upgraded to a blizzard warning in northwest Iowa, while more snow accumulation has been forecast across the state.

Blizzard warning criteria from the NWS are wind gusts of 35 mph or greater and one-quarter of mile visibility or less that lasts up to three hours.  

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A winter weather system moving across the country is dropping snow, sleet and freezing rain on eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa. Most schools in the region canceled classes and activities for today ahead of the storm system. Residents in Nebraska awoke to a blanket of snow and wind chills well below zero. The snow hit Iowa later in the morning. 

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for much of eastern Nebraska into central parts of the state that will remain in effect until early Saturday morning. 

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A winter storm dropping several inches of snow and sleet and also bringing in high winds lead to cancellations of classes, activities, and services across Iowa today.  Half of the flights from the Des Moines International Airport, where more than 4 inches of snow fell by midday Friday, were canceled or delayed. More cancellations were likely as the National Weather Service issued winter weather and storm advisories for most of the state. The northwestern corner of Iowa, including Sioux City and Storm Lake, is under a blizzard warning through Saturday. 

The Kee Live Music Festival gets underway Friday in Cherokee, the University of Okoboji Winter Games cranks up Thursday, and there are two new exhibits at the Clay County Heritage Center. In the metro area, MLK Day is Monday and the NAACP is putting on a big event at The First Congregational Church. Find out more on our first Cultural Continuum of the year.

The U.S. Senate ratified the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement today, cementing a major new trade deal that’s been years in the making.

Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says this is a vital pact with our neighbors to the north and south and promises a tremendous boost for the Iowa economy. Iowa is the nation’s number-one pork producer, and in 2018, Canada and Mexico bought more than 40-percent of all U.S. pork exports. Iowa is also the country’s number-one egg producer and the USMCA will raise U.S. exports of poultry and eggs to Canada alone by $207 million dollars.

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 A resolution that declares there is no right to an abortion was introduced today by Iowa Republican legislative leaders. It’s a move in the first week of the session guaranteed to prompt heated debate.

The proposed constitutional amendment is a response to a 2018 Iowa Supreme Court ruling striking down a law requiring a 72-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion. In that ruling, the court said the state constitution guarantees women the freedom to make their own health decisions, including whether to have an abortion.

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The Senate has overwhelmingly approved a revised North American trade pact in a rare bipartisan vote today that hands President Trump a victory on a key campaign promise. It has happened just as lawmakers are preparing his impeachment trial.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, passed by a vote of 89-10. The trade pact, signed by the president in November 2018, received a similar bipartisan vote in the House last month.

The USMCA is meant to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, negotiated in the 1990s.