As expected.

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Thanks to @hawkfan46 for asking.

Here's a look at where Iowa stands on available scholarships:

The entire "Freedom" caucus needs the boot:

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s job is in serious jeopardy as two far-right members are now threatening to oust him after the embattled Republican leader proposed a complex plan intended to fund key foreign allies during wartime.

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Johnson (La.) introduced a four-part proposal Monday night to decouple aid for Israel, which faced a barrage of missiles and drone threats from Iran over the weekend, and help for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, along with two other measures. But his angry right flank — which has for weeks threatened to wrest Johnson’s gavel — escalated its attacks Tuesday morning, also vowing to sink a key procedural measure needed to consider his plan.

During a weekly Republican meeting Tuesday morning, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) upped the ante when he stood up and called on Johnson to resign after announcing that he signed on to Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s plan to depose him, known as a motion to vacate.


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That means that if Democrats choose not to rescue Johnson, Republicans would need just a simple majority to oust their second speaker in six months, causing the House to descend further into chaos during an election year when their slender grasp on the majority is at stake.
Massie said he had warned the speaker in a private conversation “weeks ago” that if the motion to oust him is called to the floor, and Democrats do not help bail him out, Republicans would be successful in removing him as speaker because “we’re steering everything toward what [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer wants.”
“The motion is going to get called, okay? Does anybody doubt that? The motion will get called, and then he’s going to lose more votes than Kevin McCarthy,” Massie said, referencing the previous GOP speaker who lost the gavel when eight Republicans joined all Democrats to oust him in October.



“I am not resigning,” Johnson said defiantly at a news conference Tuesday, calling the threat “absurd” as Republicans are “trying to do their job.”
“We need steady leadership. We need steady hands on the wheel,” he said. “Look, I regard myself as a wartime speaker.”

Johnson for months has delayed making a decision on the Senate-passed $95 billion national security supplemental that provides military support for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. He has tried to thread a delicate needle by providing funding for Ukraine, an issue that has divided his conference, and attempting to appease some on his right flank.
But his effort has fallen largely flat. The speaker is far short of the Republican votes needed to pass the procedural vote, known as a rule, to consider the legislation. Some Republicans are angry that after months of saying that border security is the number one priority, the Johnson plan doesn’t include any border security measures. Johnson, however, indicated that his proposal could change. Republicans had a chance to consider a tough bipartisan border security bill earlier this year but rejected it.



That means the speaker faces a double-barreled threat jeopardizing both his job and the key foreign aid bills. On both issues, Johnson can lose only two Republicans. That majority will be even slimmer — one vote — after Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) has resigned by the end of business Friday.
The effort to remove Johnson, if Greene moves forward with it, would surely further divide an already fractured conference that has proven extraordinarily difficult to manage. House Republicans have already ousted one speaker in the last year and struggled to pass legislation.
“The last thing this country needs is to throw a speaker out, although I disagree with what he’s doing … I wouldn’t put the country through that,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, said.

Greene can trigger her motion to vacate at any time. It would have to be voted on within 48 hours.


If Greene has more than two Republican votes to topple Johnson, Democrats will be critical to saving the speaker’s job. They helped to tank McCarthy’s speakership when they voted in unison alongside eight Republicans to oust him.
Democrats have signaled they will help pass the rule to consider the foreign aid measures, but only if those measures are identical to the Senate-approved package. They’ve expressed similar sentiments about saving Johnson’s job if he moves a robust foreign aid bill.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told his Democratic caucus Tuesday morning that Democrats would not support “a penny less” than what’s currently in the Senate bill for humanitarian relief. Democrats have been told the bill will include $9 billion in humanitarian aid, which is the same amount as the Senate bill, but they’re waiting to see the text before communicating a path forward. Republican aides confirm that humanitarian aid is expected to be in the bill.
“We’ve been very clear, Leader Jeffries has been clear that all options should remain on the table. The important point is the substance of the legislation. The substance matters,” Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said.

The staff obviously has some work to do to get the number of scholarships down, though the situation isn't as bad as it once was. They're now at 89 scholarships.

Assuming they make some more wiggle room to make some additions in the portal, what two positions would you prioritize?

I just opened a piece of mail from last night, and it included a my free trial membership card to Amac. All I have to do is extend my membership by 5/10 and I am 100% all in the Association of Mature American Citizens. In case you are like me and have no idea what Amec is, it touts itself as a national seniors group that shares trump's conservative views. It is "your conservative answer to the liberal AARP" and the mission is "to stop the 'woke' left-wing policies and groups that have been hurting seniors - - and America - - for far too long." So many options. I could get a free key-chain for fast response and an $11 1-year membership, a pocketknife with a 3-year membership ($32), and two pocketknives (yes, you read that right) with a 5-year membership ($48). Of course, to get trump's book "Our Journey Together" I would simply need to do the $500 lifetime membership. And don't forget the bimonthly subscription to AMAC Magazine. It also shows how favorably it compares to AARP because apparently they lobby every day in DC for a leftist, big government agenda while Amac does not. Likewise they say AARP does NOT fight for freedom, limited government, and solutions that will protect social security where Amac is in the trenches on those. Please give me some space on this momentous decision. Thank you.

should have been BIG coach of the year. McGuff brought in two highly ranked transfers, didn't win the BIG tourney or get to the championship game. Bucks beat Iowa at their place in OT. Decision made way too early.

Iowa environmental groups — inspired by a successful campaign in Minnesota — are asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to step in and protect drinking water in northeast Iowa from agricultural runoff.



The petition was announced Tuesday, hours after the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission unanimously approved largely status quo rules governing animal feeding operations.


“The Environmental Protection Commission has once again proven who they really serve — not the Iowa public, but big ag polluters,” said Alicia Vasto, water program manager for the Iowa Environmental Council, one of the 13 groups that filed the petition with the EPA Tuesday.




The petition asks the EPA to use its emergency authority to intervene in Iowa to “address groundwater contamination that presents an imminent and substantial endangerment to the health of residents in northeastern Iowa.”


“The well-documented nitrate contamination of drinking water in the karst region necessitates prompt and decisive EPA emergency action,” the petition states. “Elevated levels of nitrate in drinking water are known to increase the risk of a wide range of very serious health problems …”


A 2018 review of 30 academic studies showed a link between ingesting nitrate from drinking water and adult diseases, including colorectal cancer. Other University of Iowa studies show nitrate consumption may cause bladder and ovarian cancer in older women, The Gazette reported last month.


Nitrate is found at potentially harmful levels in 1-in-20 Iowa public drinking water systems and in more than 12,000 private wells in Iowa.





The petition focuses on Iowa’s Driftless region, where porous karst terrain makes streams and groundwater particularly vulnerable to fertilizer or manure runoff.


Just across the state border to the north, the EPA in November told the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to develop a plan for addressing nitrate levels in drinking water sources in southeastern Minnesota. This EPA demand came six months after environmental groups in Minnesota filed a petition comparable to what Iowa groups filed Tuesday.


“We’ve seen similar increases in nitrate in drinking water sources just like in Minnesota,” said Michael Schmidt, an attorney for Iowa Environmental Council. “We would expect the EPA to do at least as much in Iowa.”


Other groups included on the petition are: Allamakee County Protectors — Education Campaign, Center for Food Safety, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Environmental Working Group, Food & Water Watch, Iowa Alliance for Responsible Agriculture, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, Izaak Walton League of America — Iowa Division, Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, Socially Responsible Agriculture Project, Iowa Coldwater Conservancy, and Trout Unlimited — Iowa Driftless Chapter 717.

Iowans ask for tougher rules on CAFOs​

Before approving revisions to Chapter 65 of Iowa’s Administrative Rules, the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission on Tuesday held a public hearing at which 11 people asked for tougher regulations on how developers build feeding operations and dispose of manure.


“Iowa has over 10,000 factory farms that contribute to over 750 impaired waterways,” said Tom Mohan, of Cedar Rapids. “We believe clean water is a human right.”


Rich Gradoville, of Johnston, said he recently was diagnosed with bladder cancer and his urologist mentioned the possibility of agricultural pollution in drinking water as a factor.


“Since our body deals with all our drinking water through our bladder, that makes sense to me,” Gradoville said. “I’d like to see you strengthen these regulations as much as possible.”


Three people representing agricultural groups spoke in favor of the rules.


“The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association supports the rules you have before you,” said Eldon McAfee, an attorney with the Brick Gentry law firm and a former dairy farmer. He said the rules protect soil and water without infringing on farmers’ rights.


Commission Chair Harold Hommes asked DNR staff whether it was possible to change the proposed rules at Tuesday’s meeting. Staff said any major changes would start the rules review process over again.

Karst protections stripped from an early rules draft​

The DNR’s first version of the Chapter 65 revision last fall included additional requirements for feeding operations in the karst terrain of northeast Iowa.


The version released in September said new CAFOs proposed to be built between 5 and 15 feet from karst would have been required to have a 5-foot continuous layer of low-permeability soil, nonsoluble bedrock or a 2-foot synthetic clay liner.


However, revisions sent to the EPC in November removed those additional separation requirements after the Governor’s Office told the DNR the proposed revision violated an executive order from Gov. Kim Reynolds that barred more restrictive rules.


One change that remained in the final version says the DNR will adopt a 100-year flood plain map so developers will know where feeding operations can’t be built.

Spring game is coming up this weekend -- three things to watch, Portal updates for Iowa MBB and WBB, Caitlin goes, No. 1 and Kate gets drafted, and more.

PODCAST:

Joe Biden's administration is facing two separate lawsuits from Republicans over plans to reduce student loan debt across the country.

The president's major plans to reduce and cancel federal student loan debts has irked Republicans, and two groups of GOP-led states are now taking legal action against both him and the Education Department.

Combined, 18 states have joined one of two lawsuits challenging the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan launched by the president in 2023.

Newsweek has contacted the Education Department for comment via email.

SAVE has since cancelled the federal student loan debts of 150,000 borrowers nationwide. More than seven million debt holders have enrolled in the program so far, according to the White House.

Which states have sued Biden and why?

In 1993, Congress granted the Education Department the power to create repayment plans for federal loan borrowers. Now, both lawsuits claim Biden and the Education Department do not have the authority to bring about new plans as they do not have the backing of Congress.

The first lawsuit was filed by Kansas attorney general Kris Kobach in March. It claims Biden and the Education Department are transforming loans "into outright grants from the federal government — without any appropriation from Congress."

This suit is backed by Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas and Utah. The Education Department has declined to comment directly on the case, but said that the "Biden-Harris Administration won't stop fighting to provide support and relief to borrowers across the country—no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us," according to a statement seen by The Associated Press.

The second lawsuit has been filed by Missouri attorney general Andrew Bailey in conjunction with Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma. It makes a similar case to the first lawsuit, but also argues that Missouri-based student loan contractor MOHELA stands to face an "imminent loss of revenue" thanks to Biden's plans.

"Yet again, the President is unilaterally trying to impose an extraordinarily expensive and controversial policy that he could not get through Congress," reads the second lawsuit filed last week.

"This latest attempt to sidestep the Constitution is only the most recent instance in a long but troubling pattern of the President relying on innocuous language from decades-old statutes to impose drastic, costly policy changes on the American people without their consent."
"As Attorney General, I will protect the Constitution, which involves fighting back against the crooked Biden bailout," said Bailey. "There is no such thing as cancelling a debt, there is only shifting who will bear its weight. As a combat veteran, I paid for my education in blood, sweat, and tears, so this unconstitutional redistribution of wealth is personal for me.


"It's a slap in the face to every working American who made a different choice, and my office will use every legal tool at our disposal to halt any attempt by the Biden Administration to saddle Missourians with other people's debt."

Missouri was a central player in the suit that brought down Biden's previous student debt forgiveness plans, separate to the SAVE plan, which were thwarted by the Supreme Court in June 2023.

Biden's latest debt relief plans are adapted from this. He said in February: "In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision on my Administration's original student debt relief plan, we are continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible, as quickly as possible,"

Iowa will host several recruits between Thursday and Saturday this week, including 2025 QB commit Jimmy Sullivan, 2027 in-state target Luke Brewer and four-star Florida running back Antwan Raymond.

STORY:

Hope the marxists on this board are happy.........

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It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

You kill’em young……and kill’em often! What the he’ll is going in there?
You guys act like you have a Democratic mayor/council or something!

I think Caitlin's, and the other stars already in the league, drafted alongside CC, or yet to come (Paige)...the WNBA will see continued improved ratings, and attendance, which will force/allow teams to pay players salaries somewhat commensurate to what NIL can pay.

In the meanwhile, the college women's game will continue to retain its stars all 4 (Covid years have to end some year!) years - and the fans reap the benefits!

Bill Belichick, who parted ways with the New England Patriots last week after coaching them to six Super Bowl triumphs over 24 seasons, interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons for their coaching vacancy.
The Falcons announced the interview Monday without providing further details. It is the first known interview for Belichick, 71, since he left the Patriots on Thursday through what he and team owner Robert Kraft called mutual agreement.


It also is the most concrete sign that Belichick intends to continue coaching. He did not say that explicitly during a news conference alongside Kraft last week in which he did not take questions. But Kraft hinted that Belichick would keep coaching, saying that he wished Belichick continued success except when he faces the Patriots.

Kraft said he would not attempt to receive draft-pick compensation from any other NFL team interested in hiring Belichick, whose contract with the Patriots reportedly was to run through next season, in what would have amounted to a trade. Belichick had earned the right to leave the organization without being encumbered in that way, Kraft said.



The Falcons are searching for a replacement for Arthur Smith, who was fired following a third straight 7-10 season. Some people within the league have expressed the belief that Falcons owner Arthur Blank will make a strong push to hire Belichick.
Belichick has 333 career coaching victories, including postseason games. That puts him 14 shy of Don Shula’s record.
Bill Belichick’s next job? Here are the potential destinations.
Belichick also could be a candidate for the Dallas Cowboys if their owner, Jerry Jones, fires Mike McCarthy following Sunday’s loss at home to the Green Bay Packers in the opening round of the NFC playoffs. McCarthy has coached the Cowboys to three straight 12-victory regular seasons but has a postseason record of 1-3 with the team. Jones called Sunday’s defeat the most painful playoff loss of his Cowboys ownership tenure. He deflected questions about McCarthy’s job status, saying that he hadn’t given any thought to coaching issues.



Mike Vrabel, a former NFL coach of the year surprisingly fired last week by the Tennessee Titans, also could be a candidate for the Cowboys if Jones dismisses McCarthy.

The Falcons are among seven NFL teams searching for new coaches along with the Las Vegas Raiders, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders, Titans and Seattle Seahawks.

It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.

Go Hawks!

What's this kids problem??

We're being slaughtered in the streets by ILLEGALS....literally slaughtered,

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Anyone hear this noise and does it hold any truth? I would absolutely except him with open arms - not sure how valid this is.

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