Articles written by David Pitt
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Courts stymie abortion bans in Iowa, other GOP-led states
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa Supreme Court decision is holding back the state's solidly Republican Legislature and governor from banning abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Iowa is among GOP-controlled states that would be ex...
Iowa man convicted of lottery rigging scheme granted parole
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man serving a 25-year prison sentence for rigging computers to win lottery jackpots for himself, friends and family will be released from an Iowa prison on parole after serving nearly five years, but he could be forced to r...
At Midwest state fairs no masks required, vaccines are free
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Nestled between corn dog stands, animal barns and booths touting hot tubs and John Deere tractors, a Hy-Vee pharmacist and several nurses have been administering COVID-19 vaccines at the Iowa State Fair to anyone eligible t...
Rural population losses add to farm and ranch labor shortage
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Rural America lost more population in the latest census, highlighting an already severe worker shortage in the nation's farming and ranching regions and drawing calls from those industries for immigration reform to help ease the p...
Ohio State University soil professor gets World Food Prize
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A soil scientist whose research led to improved food production and a better understanding of how atmospheric carbon can be held in the soil to help combat climate change was named this year's recipient of the World Food P...
US food prices see historic jump and are likely to stay high
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As if trips to the grocery store weren't nerve-wracking enough, U.S. shoppers lately have seen the costs of meat, eggs and even potatoes soar as the coronavirus has disrupted processing plants and distribution networks. O...
Slaughterhouses reopen but farmers still euthanizing pigs
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Meatpacking plants that had to briefly close due to coronavirus outbreaks have been back up and running for weeks, but production backlogs are forcing farmers to euthanize thousands of hogs that can't be processed, drawing c...
Pence says lack of religious services has been 'burden'
URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence spoke Friday to a group of faith leaders in Iowa about the importance of resuming religious services, saying the cancellations in the name of slowing the spread of the coronavirus have "been a b...
Healthy pigs being killed as meatpacking backlog hits farms
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — After spending two decades raising pigs to send to slaughterhouses, Dean Meyer now faces the mentally draining, physically difficult task of killing them even before they leave his northwest Iowa farm. Meyer said he and other...
Former staff claims Iowa center exploited disabled patients
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Two doctors and other former employees of an Iowa care center for people with intellectual disabilities have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against a state agency and several officials, alleging a conspiracy to s...
Midwest flooding costs increasing, with $1.6B damage in Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Friday that recent flooding in the state has caused an estimated $1.6 billion in damage, pushing the total costs from the devastating Midwest flooding to at least $3 billion. The ongoing flooding a...
Flooded Iowa communities surviving with trucked-in water
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As some communities along the Missouri River start to shift their focus to flood recovery after a late-winter storm, residents in two Iowa cities are stuck in crisis mode after their treatment plants shut down and left them i...
US farmers store record soybean crop as China dispute weighs
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — American farmers still working to get out their remaining soybeans after a weather-plagued harvest season are struggling to figure out what to do with a record crop now their traditionally dominant export market is largely c...
Organic dairy farmers vow to compete in changing industry
FAIRFIELD, Iowa (AP) — Small family operated dairy farms with cows freely grazing on verdant pastures are going out of business as large confined animal operations with thousands of animals lined up in assembly-line fashion are expanding into the org...
Farmers prefer Trump do trade deals than hand them cash
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Many farmers remain critical of President Donald Trump's tariffs and the damage done to commodity prices and markets but were appreciative Tuesday that he offered to provide some cash to help offset their losses. The U.S. D...
Iowa tornadoes hit unexpectedly, causing damage and injuries
MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — Thousands of people were without power Friday after a flurry of unexpected tornadoes swept through central Iowa, injuring at least 17 people and flattening buildings in three cities. The storms even surprised weather f...
Iowa abortion suit won't have easy path to US Supreme Court
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Supporters of the nation's strictest abortion law are hoping a lawsuit filed against the Iowa measure will bring the issue back before the U.S. Supreme Court, but constitutional experts say that's unlikely because of a l...
Iowa producers say ethanol limits would be 'war' on rural US
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa ethanol and biodiesel producers warned President Donald Trump on Friday that imposing restrictions on biofuels production "would be viewed as a declaration of war on rural America." The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, a...
Iowa man wins lawsuit over calling his hometown stinky
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man threatened by city officials with legal action for saying on a website that his hometown smelled like "rancid dog food" won a free-speech lawsuit Thursday when a federal judge prohibited the city from further t...
Trump draws ire of farmers targeted in Chinese trade dispute
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — From hog producers in Iowa to apple growers in Washington state and winemakers in California, farmers expressed deep disappointment Friday over being put in the middle of a potential trade war with China by the president m...
US government proposes new rules for hog slaughter
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Federal government regulators proposed changes Friday in the way most hogs slaughtered for meat in the United States are processed in a series of new rules that officials say improve industry practices but critics say could i...
Judge rejects 'Bachelor' star's fatal accident law challenge
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa farmer-turned-reality television star is fighting to avoid prison after driving his pickup into the back of a tractor and killing a neighbor. Chris Soules, who became known as "Prince Farming" during his 2015 a...
USDA petitioned to include poultry in humane slaughter law
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As Americans prepare to consume some 45 million turkeys on Thanksgiving, an animal rights group asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday to require more humane treatment for turkeys, chicken and other poultry as t...
Senators press Pruitt for concessions on biofuels mandate
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency is looking to make peace on biofuels standards with a group of senators from corn-growing states who could upend President Donald Trump's nominees for key regulatory posts. EPA A...
US agency withdraws rule aimed at protecting animal farmers
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Trump administration's decision to kill a rule designed to protect the rights of farmers who raise chickens, cows and hogs for the United States' largest meat processors has infuriated farmer advocates, including a Republi...
