One of the 10 Iowans pardoned by President Donald Trump says he’s not surprised that he and more than 1,500 other January 6th insurrection defendants were cleared of their crimes.
Kenny Rader, of Sioux City, was sentenced to 90 days in prison, plus three years of probation, after pleading guilty to illegally entering the Capitol.
“You know, I've already served my time and, you know, my case is resolved.
"But to see all the other guys come out last night, you know, I stayed up pretty late watching them walk out of the, you know, walk out in droves, and that's what I was kind of really happy for,” Rader said.
Rader says he plans to take part in a $50 billion class action lawsuit against the Department of Justice.
“I'm not gonna settle for anything other under seven digits, you know. I want to be compensated because I went through some hell,” he said.
Some of the other Iowans pardoned by Trump include Doug Jensen, who was convicted of leading a mob through the Capitol, and Kyle Young, who assaulted a police officer guarding the building.
*Meanwhile, as the Trump second presidency gets rolling in a first week, Siouxland progressives are dismissive at some of the steps, such as immigration. They are also continuing to gather together to plan for a hopeful rebound.
The Siouxland Progressive Women held their monthly meeting on Tuesday, and the Woodbury Democratic Party officers will have a meeting on Wednesday evening.
The people who attended the Siouxland Progressive Women also discussed some legislation that they don’t like in the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature. Democrats in Siouxland didn’t fare well in the November election, but the Woodbury County party members are aiming to have a better 2026 outcome.
Woodbury County Communications Committee member Catelin Drey said Democrats have struggled to ably deliver the message to people locally and nationally on the good policies of the party on the economy and health care.
“The consensus we have drawn is that we need to get small and local, and start listening to those people who are in our immediate communities. So we have instituted some new volunteer practices,” Drey said.
She was critical of Trump’s slew of executive orders over his first two days in office.
“The fever pitch at which we have seen these actions come out is intentional – you know, flood the zone with all of these inflammatory, hateful executive actions,” Drey said.
Many Siouxlanders, including Republican federal officeholders, are supportive of Trump’s initial actions.
*Additionally, how to implement the voter-approved legalization of medical marijuana, how to regulate abortions, and whether to change the rules for debate were among subjects under discussion in the Nebraska Legislature on Tuesday.
On the next-to-last day to introduce new bills in the Nebraska Legislature, State Senator Danielle Conrad said she and other senators were preparing to introduce legislation to implement voters’ decision last year to legalize medical marijuana. Conrad said she has been working with the organizers of last year’s successful initiative campaign.
State Attorney General Mike Hilgers has argued that despite the initiative, marijuana remains illegal because of federal law. He is part of a legal appeal that contends there was fraud in the signature-gathering process to put the initiative on the ballot.
Conrad said even if her legislation doesn’t pass, legalization will still take place: “Ballot measures are self-executing."
*In other news, Sioux City School District officials are dropping a possible plan that would have paid up to a $15,000 retention bonus for certain positions.
Working to stem the loss of teachers in some specialty teaching positions, Sioux City School Board members last week passed a first reading of that proposal on a 5-2 vote.
But a district committee on Tuesday decided to drop the proposal, saying it wasn’t “financially equitable,” as KTIV News first reported.
In addition to $15,000 for teachers, the measure would also have given a $12,000 retention bonus to support staff positions that are also hard to fill. The eligibility would be for long-tenured employees who have been with the district for 25 or more years.
Combined, there are more than 70 hard-to-fill teaching posts and support staff positions.
*Meanwhile, as the Donald Trump second presidency gets rolling in a first week, Siouxland progressives are dismissive at some of the steps, such as immigration. They are also continuing to gather together to plan for a hopeful rebound.
The Siouxland Progressive Women held their monthly meeting on Tuesday, and the Woodbury Democratic Party Central Committee will have a meeting on Wednesday evening.
The people who attended the Siouxland Progressive Women also discussed some legislation that they don’t like in the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature.
Democrats in Siouxland didn’t fare well in the November election, but Woodbury County party members are aiming to have a better 2026 outcome, Woodbury County Communications Committee member Catelin Drey said.
*Additionally, a bill aimed at boosting the number of physicians in Iowa long-term has advanced to the next step.
The bill would guarantee residency interviews for Iowa students applying for specialties in primary care, psychiatry, obstetrics, gynecology and others at the University of Iowa.
Keith Saunders, a lobbyist for the University of Iowa, said while the university supports the intent, the teaching hospitals don’t have the resources to support it.
To be eligible, students would need to be a resident of Iowa or have an undergraduate or medical degree from an Iowa college.