It’s another busy two days in the metro on Friday and Saturday with 7 presidential candidates in town. Chris Christie, John Kasich, Martin O’Malley, Bernie Sanders, Carly Fiorina, and now Hillary Clinton will all host events and town hall meetings through the weekend. Only two of Clinton’s events, however, is open to the public and press.
Meanwhile on Capitol Hill… Congressman David Young is keeping an eye on the Department of Veterans Affairs. Young tells the Torch he has a hand in the new VA Accountability Act…which gets people out of the department who aren’t doing their jobs. Young says the legislation is motivated by what happened in at the VA in Phoenix, Arizona.
Senator Joni Ernst is also keeping busy in Washington this week…she announced that she’s leading a bipartisan group of 49 senators in writing to the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate Planned Parenthood after a recent video with an employee went viral.
The University of Iowa has a new dorm…the first one to open in nearly 50 years. The 10-story, $53 million dorm will see more than 500 students in its rooms…it’s part of outgoing President Sally Mason’s pledge to see the school’s enrollment increase in the next four years.
Lovers of Zombie Burger who live near Urbandale and Clive won’t have to travel into downtown anymore to get their fix of unique burgers. The restaurant opened its second location in Jordan Creek Mall today. The original Zombie Burger opened in the East Village in 2011.
A record number of families and individuals were served through the Des Moines Area Religious Council Food Pantry Network last month. DMARC reports its pantries served more than 56-hundred families and 14-hundred individuals in June…an increase of more than 20 percent from this time last year.
Iowa families looking for some extra money to help get their student through college will get a major boost this year…thanks to a new program called the Iowa Tuition Grant. The maximum grant amount has been bumped up to 53-hundred dollars. The grant is given to the student, not the college…and must be matched by the school.
Governor Branstad and Ag Secretary Vilasck are speaking at a national bird flu conference next week in Des Moines. Speeches next Tuesday will talk about the nation’s response to the bird flu epidemic in Iowa, as well as other affected states. The two-day conference isn’t open to the public…only qualified stakeholders.
A new event is taking the place of the Harkin Steak Fry…and former Senator Tom Harkin will be there. Progress Iowa says it will host a gathering called “The Corn Feed” in Des Moines on August 30th. Harkin will be joined by Democratic presidential candidate Lincoln Chafee and Congressman Dave Loebsack.
The Des Moines Area Religious Council Food Pantry Network dished out a record number of meals to those in need last month. DMARC served more than 56-hundred families and almost more than 14-hundred individuals at its facilities in June….translating to a 20 percent increase from the same time last year.
