The Iowa caucuses are less than two weeks away, so a bevy of campaign events will occur in Siouxland by Republican presidential candidates and some of their notable surrogate supporters.
The goal is to lock up support of Republicans who will caucus for the candidates on January 15, and those running include former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramiswamy.
Today on Wednesday, DeSantis spoke in the afternoon in Sioux City at a restaurant, and at 6 p.m. he will speak at in Sioux Center. At nearly the same time, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, a possible vice president running mate for Trump, will speak on behalf of the former president at 7 p.m. in Sioux City.
Trump himself has three planned events in Northwest Iowa through the caucuses, first on Friday, January 5 at 4pm in Sioux Center. He will spend some of the final weekend before the caucuses in Siouxland, with a January 13 event at 6 p.m. at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City, and on January 14 in Cherokee, one of the smaller towns in which Trump will appear. Trump previously spoke at the Orpheum in late October.
Ramiswamy will speak in Sioux City at noon on January 8, at a Stone Bru coffee shop. Several media organizations are reporting that Ramiswamy now has the endorsement of former Northwest Iowa conservative Congressman Steve King.
Trump is the polling leader in Iowa and nationally, as he aims for a rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden in the November election. The Iowa caucuses are the first contest in the process to determine political party nominees by the time of summer national party conventions.
Additionally, Bob Scott has begun his 20th year as mayor in Sioux City, after being sworn in for a four-year term, while Julie Schoenherr began a second term on the Sioux City Council.
Both Scott and Schoenherr were sworn in during a council meeting on Tuesday, which was moved due to the normal Monday timing falling on the holiday of New Year’s Day. Both thanked family members and others for their support in the November 2023 election wins, and vowed to work hard over the next four years to provide a quality city government to Sioux City residents.
Scott first served as Sioux City Mayor in the 1990s, then after a gap of time away, he has been mayor consecutively since January 2012.
In other news, the University of Northern Iowa on Wednesday announced two historic gifts to the college from U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, who is a notable UNI graduate.
UNI in a release announced a gift of the papers and other historical items from the senator's time in the U.S. Senate to the UNI Rod Library, and the gift of an endowed professorship in the Department of Political Science. UNI already has documents from Grassley's time as a member of the Iowa Legislature and the U.S. House, and the senate documents and other items will go to the college when his tenure ends.
Grassley is the longest-serving U.S. senator from Iowa, and the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history. He is 90 years old, and his six-year term runs through 2028.
The UNI release says the new gift will complete the collection of papers from entire career of Grassley in public office, providing researchers, faculty and students a rich source of materials spanning a distinguished career of more than 60 years.
