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Newscast 1.21.2025: Peltier sentence from Pine Ridge shootout commuted; Iowa lawmaker wants to buy 9 Minnesota counties; Herbert Hoover Museum in Iowa getting $20M improvements

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 12: Activists participate in a protest to urge U.S. President Joe Biden to grant Native American activist Leonard Peltier clemency outside of the White House on September 12, 2023 in Washington, DC. Activists, who cite anti-Indigenous bias surrounding Peltier’s trial, want the President to give leniency to Peltier who is serving two life sentences for the murder of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1975. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
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Getty Images North America
Activists participate in a protest to urge U.S. President Joe Biden to grant Native American activist Leonard Peltier clemency outside of the White House on September 12, 2023 in Washington, DC.

After nearly 50 years in federal prison, Leonard Peltier is free to go home.

On Monday as one of his last actions, outgoing President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of the Native American activist for his role in a 1970s shootout with FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Peltier, who is 80 and in failing health, will serve the remainder of his sentence on home confinement.

Peltier is seen by some as one of America’s longest serving political prisoners. He’s been a symbol for human rights as well as Native American criminal justice rights.

In July, the U.S. Parole Commission denied Peltier parole. Then-FBI director Christopher Wray said Peltier fatally shot the two agents and has never accepted responsibility for the incident.

Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said Biden made a good choice, “given the serious human rights concerns about the fairness of his trial.”

Among those unhappy with the commutation is Republican U.S. Senator John Thune of South Dakota, who said Biden’s action was irresponsible, since “Peltier brutally murdered two FBI agents.

In a statement, Peltier said he is glad to be going home.

“I want to show the world I’m a good person with a good heart. I want to help the people, just like my grandmother taught me,” Peltier said.

*Additionally, Iowa state legislator Mike Bousselot has pitched an eye-opening proposal, as he plans to introduce a bill for the state to purchase the southernmost tier of counties of Minnesota.

Bousselot is an attorney who serves a district in Polk County, and is Chairman of the Iowa Senate Commerce Committee. He said taking over those nine southern Minnesota counties would grow Iowa, as those are places that have good agricultural lands that would benefit Iowa.

As for what those Minnesota residents would get, Bousselot said they would be living in a better managed state with lower taxes. He said the people living there are more politically attuned to the conservative values of Iowa than a state with a Democratic governor.

The proposal doesn’t have a simple resolution, as the U.S. Constitution says states can’t take over areas of other states. A change in the border would require congressional action.

*In other news, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in Iowa is closed for renovations through the summer of 2026.

The Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch is both an archive of historical records of the Hoover presidency and a research center. It’s one of fifteen presidential libraries operated by the National Archives and Records Administration.

As part of the $20 million in upgrades, the library will reopen in 2026 with upgraded exhibits, an expanded lobby and gift shop, and a new facade. Library Director Thomas Schwartz said improving the museum’s storytelling is a main focus of the renovations.

*Additionally, the largest meatpacking company in the nation will pay $4 million dollars to help prevent illegal child labor, as part of a settlement last week with the U.S. Department of Labor.

That action stems from a 2022 investigation that found JBS USA, among other meatpacking companies, used a third-party sanitation company that employed 13-17 year-olds in dangerous conditions, including at Midwest facilities.

As part of the settlement, JBS must hire a child labor compliance specialist and create ways to anonymously report possible violations.

Nick Grandgenett is a lawyer with Nebraska Appleseed, an advocacy group focusing on child welfare.

Grandgenett says this is a good start, but it should go further.

“I think the way in which that industry becomes healthier and gets better is if some of these agreements kind of take a more holistic approach that tackle not just the child labor aspect, but also the underlying safety issues. So, it’s dangerous for children but it’s dangerous for anyone who happens to be there,” Grandgenett said.

It’s not clear what non-profits will receive the 4-million dollars, but several midwestern towns will be prioritized, including Ottumwa, Iowa and Grand Island, Nebraska.

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