Grassley now third in line for the presidency

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Grassley now third in line for the presidency

Today, the Senate unanimously named Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who was first elected to serve Iowans in the U.S. Senate in 1980, to be Senate president pro tempore, a position that has historically been bestowed upon the most senior member of the majority party in the upper chamber of Congress. Upon his swearing in, Grassley became third in the line of presidential succession following the vice president and the speaker of the House of Representatives.

Grassley has represented Iowa in the U.S. Senate for 38 years and succeeds Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah as Senate president pro tempore. The only other Iowan to hold the office was Sen. Albert B. Cummins, who assumed office in 1919, 100 years before Grassley assumed the role. Cummins served as Senate president pro tempore in the 66th, 67th, 68th and 69th Congresses.

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Sac City native Swalwell may run for president

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Sac City native Swalwell may run for president

A 38-year-old Sac City native who has risen to prominence as a forceful cable television presence is eyeing a presidential bid.

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, already has appeared several times in Iowa at events for other Democrats. Just before Christmas, he was one of four keynote speakers at the Progress Iowa Holiday Party in downtown Des Moines, a feasting and vetting ground for potential left-leaning candidates for the White House.

A leading liberal light, Swalwall was born in Sac City — which sits in the district represented by one of the most conservative members of Congress, Steve King. In fact, King, a Republican, won Sac County with 60 percent of the vote in his 2018 re-election bid.

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Iowa tied for lowest unemployment rate in nation

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(DES MOINES) – Iowa is now tied with Hawaii for having the lowest unemployment rate in the nation. Iowa’s November unemployment rate remained at 2.4 percent while Hawaii increased to 2.4 percent. The last time Iowa had the lowest unemployment rate in the nation was March 2000 when the state tied with South Dakota and Virginia at 2.4 percent.

“This is exciting news to receive as we start to celebrate the holiday season,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said. “More Iowans than ever are working, and that is a reflection of the great job opportunities available in our state. These new unemployment numbers are proof that the hard work we are doing to grow our economy and our skilled workforce – efforts like Future Ready Iowa, Home Base Iowa and Registered Apprenticeship – are paying off.”

According to this month’s unemployment information released by Iowa Workforce Development, November saw an additional 1,900 Iowans enter the workforce, bringing the total number of employed Iowans to 1,648,900 – the most in state history. The number of unemployed Iowans decreased by 600 to 40,600 in November. The current estimate is 8,600 lower than November 2017.