Clark Kauffman, Iowa Captial Dispatch

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is continuing to pursue a lawsuit against Winneshiek County and its sheriff, Dan Marx, for allegedly violating Iowa law by discouraging law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials.

In her latest court filings, Bird has criticized Marx, alleging the sheriff has, in essence, asserted that “federal immigration officials should not be trusted.”

Bird has also signaled that even if Marx were to comply with her demand that he disavow his past statements, the state is still obligated to strip Winneshiek County of funding, at least temporarily, based on those previous statements.

The lawsuit, filed in March in Polk County District Court, claims that Iowa law “requires stripping Winneshiek County of state funding until the sheriff follows the procedure to reinstate the funds” by disavowing his previous public statements on immigration enforcement.

The lawsuit stems from a Feb. 4, 2025, Facebook post in which, Marx, a Republican, stated that if his office received “detainer” requests to hold immigrants suspected of lacking legal status, and those requests were not vetted and approved by the courts, they would be rejected by his office.

In his post, Marx distinguished between detainer requests of that kind and what he called “valid” judicial warrants and court orders. He wrote that “the only reason detainers are issued is because the federal agency does not have enough information or has not taken the time to obtain a valid judicial warrant.”

In recent court filings, Bird claims that assertion by Marx is false, but that even if it were true, that’s not a defense since Iowa Code Chapter 27A clearly prohibits Iowa law enforcement officers from discouraging cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

“The court need not go down this rabbit hole,” Bird said, referring to the accuracy of Marx’s statements, adding that Chapter 27A “does not turn on whether the discouragement to cooperate with federal law is true or false… Whether Marx’s post was ‘an opinion’ or a statement of fact is irrelevant to whether he intentionally discouraged enforcement of immigration law.”

Bird: State funds for Winneshiek County must be denied

Before filing the lawsuit, Bird provided Marx with specific language to include in a public statement disavowing his Facebook post, written in the first-person to appear over Marx’s signature. Although Marx’s office deleted the Facebook post, Marx did not publish the statement authored by Bird, who then sued, seeking a court order declaring Winneshiek County to be ineligible to receive any state funds.

Bird is now contesting Marx’s request that the court dismiss the case.

“Marx’s removal of his Facebook post after the attorney general initiated this enforcement action does not moot the case,” Bird argues in a court filing. “Marx has not issued a public retraction of the statement, so his violation is ongoing … Just deleting the offending Facebook post was not, alone, enough to bring Marx back into compliance. Without more explanation of what was wrong with the post, the untrue allegations remain unrebutted and the discouragement caused by the initial post remains ongoing.”

Bird also argues that even if Marx were to fully comply now with her request to disavow his previous statements, Iowa law still requires the state to temporarily strip Winneshiek County of state funding.

The law, Bird has argued to the court, “requires a state-funds denial whenever Chapter 27A is violated — no matter whether the violation persists throughout the litigation … To find otherwise would allow local entities to avoid liability for violating the law by ceasing to violate the law as soon as an enforcement action begins.”

In her court filings, Bird also notes that “the Legislature clearly intended a local entity to face some punishment for a violation because it does not allow a petition for reinstatement (of funds) until ‘no earlier than ninety days after the date of a final judicial determination.’”

In response to the lawsuit, Marx and Winneshiek County have each asked to be removed from the case, prompting the attorney general to characterize the county’s request as “odd” given the amount of money that’s at stake.

“Though millions of dollars of its state funding is on the line, Winneshiek County makes the odd request to be removed from the case,” Bird stated in a June 6 court filing. “Given the financial consequences, the state assumed that the county would want to have a say in this litigation.”

As for Marx’s request that he be dismissed as a party to the case, Bird has told the court “the state does not hold strong views on the issue of which defendant best represents the county’s interest … If Marx wants to put Winneshiek County’s state funding at risk and then not defend his actions in court, so be it.”

A hearing date on all of the motions now before the court has yet to be scheduled. A status conference on the case is scheduled for Friday, June 13.

An Iowa ag company accused of operating a billion-dollar check-kiting scheme is being sued by a lender that says 110,000 piglets are at risk of starvation.

Compeer Financial of Minnesota is suing Sunterra Farms Iowa Inc., Sunwold Farms Inc., and Lariagra Farms South Inc. in U.S. District Court. Compeer alleges that the three defendants operate extensive swine operations in Iowa and South Dakota, and have granted Compeer, their lender, exclusive security over their collective assets.

Compeer is asking the court to appoint a receiver to take control of the defendants’ assets so that Compeer can protect its collateral by continuing to provide for the feeding and care of 110,000 head of swine.

The defendant companies are allegedly operated by the Price family of South Dakota, including Ray, Art and Glen Price, who own and manage 110,000 head of swine in 54 barns located in and around Yankton County, South Dakota. The swine — which are in various stages of growth and are owned by either Sunterra or Lariagra — are among 500,000 hogs managed by Sunterra.

Compeer claims in the lawsuit that because of what it calls “the long-running fraud” perpetrated by the defendant companies, they cannot be trusted to operate their businesses and protect their assets, including the 110,000 head of swine in Yankton County.

According to the lawsuit, the three defendant companies have engaged in check kiting — a fraudulent practice in which a company draws checks from one bank account for deposit in another bank account that it controls, when neither account has sufficient funds to cover the checks. The process takes advantage of the delays in processing checks between banks, allowing one account or another to continually show credits for funds that have yet to be collected.

Compeer’s lawsuit claims that earlier this year, the defendant companies were issuing each other numerous checks, in nearly identical amounts, on a daily basis — with some checks ranging from $800,000 to $990,000, an amount just below the threshold that would trigger scrutiny from regulators.

The transactions had the effect of creating phony positive account balances that caused Compeer to pay the companies interest, the lawsuit claims.

Compeer alleges that on Feb. 12, 2025, the day after it asked Ray Price, the CEO of the defendant companies, about the transactions, it received a batch of checks totaling $9 million drawn one of the defendants’ Canadian bank accounts for deposit into the defendants’ account with Compeer.

Later that day, the lawsuit claims, Ray Price admitted that the checks were intended only to prevent the Compeer account from being overdrawn, and acknowledged that if Compeer attempted to deposit the $9 million it would trigger a corresponding overdraft in the Canadian account. According to the lawsuit, Price admitted that what the companies were doing was “wrong.”

About 24 hours later, the lawsuit claims, Price spoke to Compeer personnel and said the Canadian account was overdrawn by roughly $21 million, adding that he needed Compeer to immediately “send the money back” to the Canadian bank to cover the overdraft. Compeer refused.

In late February, the lawsuit alleges, Compeer learned the Canadian bank had rejected 65 checks totaling $59.9 million previously credited by Compeer to the defendants’ accounts. As a result, the defendants’ $21 million positive cash balance at Compeer was instantly wiped out and replaced with a $36 million debt owed by the defendants to Compeer.

In its lawsuit, Compeer alleges that before the check-kiting scheme collapsed, it involved “billions of dollars” in fraudulent transactions.

Court records show that on March 17, 2025, the Canadian bank asked that a receiver be appointed to look after the defendants’ assets. However, the listed assets in that case didn’t include the 110,000 head of swine in Yankton County, or the 370,000 head owned by third parties and managed by Sunterra.

In court filings, Compeer says that over the past several weeks, it has provided funds necessary for the care and feeding of the Yankton County pigs, but says it is no longer willing to do so “while the parties who perpetrated this fraudulent scheme” remain in control of Sunterra, Sunwold and Lariagra.

“These swine are in imminent danger of starvation if feed is not promptly purchased and delivered to barns housing the pigs,” the lawsuit states, adding that workers hired to provide for the animals’ care may soon walk off the job given the Price family’s inability to make payroll.

If court appoints a receiver, Compeer states in its court filings, it will advance the money necessary to protect its collateral and prevent the animals’ starvation.

The Price family has not yet responded to the lawsuit and Sunserra declined comment. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for fraud and unjust enrichment. The lawsuit was initially filed in South Dakota state court before being transferred to federal court.

by Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch

March 26, 2025

Iowa Attorney General Brenna said Wednesday that a county sheriff broke the law by saying he would not honor requests to detain people for suspected violations of immigration laws if those requests weren’t approved the courts.

In a Feb. 4, 2025, Facebook post, Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx, a Republican, stated that if his office received “detainer” requests to hold suspected illegal immigrants, and those requests were not vetted and approved by the courts, they would be rejected by his office.

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In his post, Marx distinguished between detainer requests of that kind and what he called “valid” judicial warrants and court orders. He wrote that “the only reason detainers are issued is because the federal agency does not have enough information or has not taken the time to obtain a valid judicial warrant.”

In her report, Bird claims that assertion by Marx is false.

Marx also wrote that detainers which had not been vetted by the courts were “violations of our 4th Amendment protection against warrantless search, seizure and arrest, and our 6th Amendment right to due process” — another claim that Bird says is false.

Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican like Bird, had sent the attorney general’s office an official complaint seeking an investigation into the Facebook post.

In the report summarizing her investigation, Bird alleges Marx’s post violated Iowa Code Chapter 27A, which prohibits state law enforcement from discouraging public cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

On Wednesday, Bird said Marx’s Facebook post discourages such cooperation by making “false claims” and by threatening to interfere with enforcing Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers.

According to the report, Marx stated on Feb. 14, 2025, that his office had complied with all 21 of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers that it had received.

Bird said Wednesday her office will close its investigation once the sheriff has issued a statement “clarifying” his Facebook post, and she gave him until 5 p.m. on Wednesday to do so. Bird’s report and a related press release were issued at 4:44 p.m. Wednesday, 16 minutes before the deadline. It’s not clear when Marx was informed of the deadline.

Failure to comply with the directive, Bird said, would result in enforcement action against the sheriff.

“Iowa law makes clear that there are no sanctuary counties,” Bird said in a press release. “Any reports of sanctuary counties or sheriffs will be investigated. Our investigation into Winneshiek County found that the sheriff is violating the law, and we are giving the sheriff a chance to fix the problem. Failure to do so means that his county may lose all state funding.”

In an unusual move, Bird provided Marx with specific language to include in the public statement that is to go out over his signature, adding that his statement must conform “substantially” to the language she dictated:

“People of Winneshiek County,

The Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office fully complies with all state and federal law. We cooperate with ICE, FBI, and others under both state and federal law. Iowa law requires full and complete cooperation with federal immigration authorities. We follow that law.

“We will always comply with ICE detainers and, at least since November 26, 2018, we have done so. This post serves as formal revocation of my earlier February 4, 2025 post. Since we adopted our official policy that we will comply with ICE detainers, we have complied with all 21 ICE detainers that ICE has made with our office. We will continue to comply with every ICE detainer request made in Winneshiek County.

“On Feb. 4, I posted a message on Facebook that implied we would not fully comply with state and federal law. I have deleted that message, which I disavow. It was wrong. It made many incorrect statements regarding my office’s policies on ICE detainers. This message explaining that the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office has always complied with every single ICE detainer made and will continue to comply, as required by both state and federal law, replaces that message.

“My office has a long-time stance on recognizing and complying with ICE detainers. We will continue to do so.

“Respectfully, Sheriff Dan Marx.”

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com.

An Iowa-licensed nurse accused of sexually assaulting multiple patients in Texas has agreed to surrender his license.

On Jan. 16, 2025, the Iowa Board of Nursing agreed to accept Caleb Greer’s voluntary surrender of his nursing license. Board documents indicate Greer was issued a warning and advised that he will not be able to apply for reinstatement for one year.

The Iowa board’s actions follow a November 2024 decision by the Texas Board of Nursing, which accepted Greer’s surrender of his license to practice in that state as an advanced practice registered nurse.

Texas board documents indicate that before and after Greer completed a family nurse practitioner program at Sioux City’s Morningside College in 2019, he worked for several different entities in Iowa, Colorado and Texas — most recently as the owner of Dasein Health in West Lake Hills, Texas.

The Texas board alleged that in July 2019, while treating a female patient identified as “N.M.,” Greer told the woman she was “MILFy,” began to massage her, and then kissed her on the lips and fondled her breasts and genitals.

The board also alleged that in October 2020, Greer was seeing patient “Y.C.” when he “French kissed her, touched her private parts, took off his pants, and placed his penis in (her) hand.” When the patient later telephoned Greer to ask why he had sexually assaulted her, Greer allegedly replied, “Because you’re blocked sexually.”

The Texas board also alleged that in 2022 and 2023, while running the Dasein Health clinic, Greer massaged the thighs of a female patient, “E.H,” and then kissed her and fondled her while admitting that his “carnal desire took over” and he had “lost control.” The board alleges that in subsequent emails sent to the woman, Greer stated, “I realize that I did not have your consent and that, yes, what I did was assault.”

According to the Texas board, Greer was arrested in January 2024 on a charge of felony sexual assault related to his conduct with E.H. He later underwent a sexual offender psychological evaluation that allegedly concluded he posed an “imminent and immediate risk of harm to the public.”

The criminal case is still pending, according to board records.

In addition to disciplinary charges of violating patient boundaries, the Texas board also charged Greer with multiple instances of improperly administering medications and improperly performing ketamine therapy on patients. Board documents indicate Greer denied all of the allegations, describing them as a “gross exaggeration” of what had actually transpired.

He subsequently agreed to surrender his Texas nursing license.

A second Iowa dentist is facing licensing sanctions related to a January 2024 dental procedure that resulted in the death of a 50-year-old patient.

Last fall, the Iowa Dental Board formally informed dentist Robert Wolf of Swisher that it intended to deny his application for a permit to use moderate sedation on patients. Wolf recently appealed that notice, and a hearing is now scheduled for April 25.

In its recently disclosed notice to Wolf, the board stated on Jan. 26, 2024, Wolf participated in dental surgery on patient “J.D.,” after which the patient died. The board alleges Wolf “participated in this surgery “with an individual who was not licensed to practice dentistry” and that he did so without having the required permit to use sedation.

The board also says its investigation into the case indicates Wolf “was the only dentist in the operating room on more than one occasion while an advanced registered nurse administered and monitored the anesthesia to J.D.”

Wolf, the board argued, “facilitated the practice of an unlicensed dentist and supervised the administration of anesthesia without having the proper credentials.” The available board documents do not identify the “unlicensed dentist.”

Two weeks after the patient died, the board claims, Wolf applied for a sedation permit.

Aside from the notice of intent to deny the permit application, the board has imposed no other public sanctions against Wolf.

Wolf is the second Iowa dentist to face disciplinary action as a result of the Jan. 26, 2024, procedure. Last fall, nine months after the patient died, the board issued an emergency order restricting the practice of Dr. Jonathan Karch of the Dental Studio of Iowa in Johnston. The board alleges Karch participated in the procedure and that an investigation by an unspecified party revealed Karch “did not stay in the operatory for the duration of the procedure.”

State regulations require that when a patient is under sedation and anesthetic services are being provided, the dentist must remain in the room during the procedure, according to the board.

In issuing the emergency order restricting Karch’s ability to practice, the board said it “recognizes (Karch) as an imminent threat to public safety” and that he “should not be permitted to participate in procedures involving sedation until further order.” Karch’s license to practice dentistry has remained otherwise unrestricted.

The Karch case remains unresolved. A hearing on the matter was scheduled for Oct. 11, 2024, but a final decision in the matter has yet to be published by the board.

Lawsuit over death alleges negligence

Separate from the licensing board actions, a civil lawsuit has been filed against Karch, Wolf and others involved in the surgery, all of whom have denied any wrongdoing.

The lawsuit, filed in Polk County District Court by the family of Joseph Daniels, alleges that on Jan. 24, 2024, Daniels consulted with Karch and inquired about receiving dental implants. According to the lawsuit, Daniels was 50 years old at the time, had smoked 1 ½ packs of cigarettes per day, and had a history of hypertension and hyperlipidemia.

At the time of the consultation, Daniels’ blood pressure was allegedly noted as being “of great concern” to Karch. The lawsuit alleges that at a cost of $50,000, Daniels was to receive the dental implants from Karch two days after the consultation, subject to a pre-procedure clearance by Daniels’ primary care physician.

On Jan. 25, Daniels was allegedly evaluated and cleared for surgery by Dr. Anish P. Keshwani at UnityPoint Clinic Family Medicine of East Des Moines — although, the lawsuit claims, UnityPoint medical records indicate Daniels’ “uncontrolled” hypertension and hyperlipidemia would require “corrective actions before surgery,” such as the administration of prescribed drugs.

On Jan. 26, the implant procedure began at 7:15 a.m. and was completed at 3:15 p.m., with patient care allegedly turned over to certified registered nurse anesthetist Nicky Newhoff, who was tasked with waking Daniels and initiating the recovery process.

The lawsuit alleges that at 3:30 p.m., a dental assistant notified Karch and Wolf they were needed in the surgical suite through a message that stated, “Joe is not doing well — please come immediately.”

According to EMS medical records, paramedics were dispatched to Dental Studio of Iowa at 3:35 p.m. with a report of an “unconscious person.” According to the lawsuit, the paramedics arrived at 3:40 p.m. and found Daniels in a dental exam chair “pale, cyanotic, cool and unresponsive.”

Within 25 minutes of their arrival and the administration of drugs, the paramedics had intubated Daniels, and by 4:27 they had initiated chest compressions, the lawsuit claims. Daniels was then taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center, where he died at 5:51 p.m.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified actual and punitive damages for negligence. In addition to Karch, Wolf, Keshwani and Newhoff, the defendants in the lawsuit include Dental Studio of Iowa, UnityPoint Clinic, Coral West Dental and Heartland Anesthesia.

In their response to the lawsuit, lawyers for the defendants argue that Daniels caused his own death which they say stemmed from pre-existing conditions.

A trial date has yet to be scheduled in the case.

A Cedar Rapids nursing home where a registered nurse was reportedly stealing and then consuming residents’ painkillers while on duty is facing $1,000 in fines.

The Gardens of Cedar Rapids has been cited for a recordkeeping violation and resident abuse due to the facility’s failure to investigate and report an employee’s theft of residents’ painkilling medications.

According to state inspectors’ reports, video surveillance footage at the home shows that shortly after midnight on Sept. 19, 2024, a registered nurse took two boxes from the home’s medication cart and placed them in a bag. Around 7:30 p.m., the nurse carried a pink cup into the medication room while removing two boxes from her pocket.

She then went to a sink and placed some water into the cup, then removed a bottle from one of the boxes and dispensed drops of fluid into the cup. The video shows the nurse seated at the nurses’ station a few minutes later drinking from the cup, inspectors allege.

Two and a half hours later, just after 10 p.m., inspectors allege, the surveillance video shows the same nurse in the corner of the medication room with something in her right hand. She took a pink cup from the room, opened a small bottle, looked around, and then used a dropper to dispense drops of liquid into the cup. A minute later, the video allegedly captures her drinking from the cup.

At 11 p.m., the video captures the nurse standing at the medication cart, appearing to stagger, hanging onto a door, and swaying back and forth while another nurse cleans the medication room, the inspectors’ reports allege.

Worker: Nurse ‘popped pills all over the place’

A certified nurse’s aide later told inspectors that on the night in question she had been asked to help the registered nurse get to a place she could lie down and rest. The aide told inspectors that the nurse’s eyes were glassy, her speech was slurred, and she staggered as she walked. According to the inspectors’ written report, the aide likened the nurse to “a streetwalker that was going to fall over with their wobbly legs.” The nurse was taken to a conference room to sleep until 2 a.m. before leaving the building and going to her car where she apparently fell asleep or passed out.

A licensed practical nurse who worked that night told inspectors she had seen the registered nurse in the medication room with an opened bottle of Ativan or morphine that she had spilled, according to the inspectors’ report. The report states that the LPN reported the registered nurse seemed disoriented and had “popped pills all over the place, they were flying.”

The home’s restorative nurse told inspectors that when she arrived for work the morning of Sept. 20, she saw the registered nurse slumped over in the front seat of her car, asleep or passed out.

A week before that incident, a worker at the home had informed the director of nursing that the home’s inventory of narcotics for certain residents was “significantly lower” than what the registered nurse was claiming, and that the nurse appeared to be glassy eyed and falling asleep at work.

Inspectors later spoke to the director of nursing, who reported that she’d had no concerns with the nurses at the facility. She acknowledged that a staffer had texted her about morphine that was missing and unaccounted for but told inspectors she forgot to investigate the matter.

The home’s pharmacy later concluded that in addition to the morphine that was missing, there were oxycodone tablets were missing with no explanation as to where they went.

All three of the residents whose medications were stolen had been diagnosed with dementia, and one of the three had lung cancer, according to state records.

In 2023, the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing had proposed, but then held in suspension, $25,250 in state fines against The Gardens of Cedar Rapids for failing to meet professional standards, inadequate quality of care, failure to treat pressure sores, medication and treatment errors and hazards in the environment. With the state fines held in suspension, the federal government later imposed $19,383 in civil penalties against the home.

In March 2024, the home was fined $500 by the state for failing to conduct adequate background checks on workers.

Election officials in Iowa and at least four other states were the target Monday of what appears to be a coordinated series of threats or acts of intimidation involving suspicious parcels.

State officials evacuated the Lucas State Office Building in Des Moines on Monday after a suspicious parcel was discovered at the Secretary of State’s Office.

The incident was similar to situations that occurred Monday in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming and possibly other states. In each instance, the suspicious parcels appear to have been directed to the secretaries of state – typically, the offices that oversee elections at the state level.

At about 11 a.m. Monday, the Iowa State Patrol was summoned to the Lucas State Office Building in the 300 block of East 12th Street near the Capitol Building complex. The call referenced a suspicious parcel in the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office.

According to state officials, the building was evacuated and the Des Moines Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Team was contacted. The team tested the parcel and determined it did not pose a threat to the public.

Subsequently, all offices in the building were reopened and normal business operations resumed. The matter remains under investigation.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate issued a written statement that indicated a suspicious package had been “received” in his office, but he didn’t say whether it arrived through the mail or was delivered some other way.

In Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Monday, the Herschler Building East was evacuated after a letter containing a white powder was found in the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office.

In Lincoln, Nebraska, the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office reported a suspicious envelope at its Elections Division headquarters on Monday. A substance inside the envelope was tested and determined to be nonhazardous.

In Topeka, Kansas, election officials said they were on alert Monday after learning that Nebraska’s election office had received a suspicious package that carried a return address that referenced “traitors.” A short time later, the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office received a suspicious package that triggered an evacuation of that office.

In Oklahoma, the State Election Board received a suspicious envelope in the mail that contained a multipage document and a white powder substance later identified as “wheat cereal” or flour, the board reported. The highway patrol responded and secured the envelope and the office until the hazardous materials team arrived.

Statement for our State Election Board: On Monday morning, the State Election Board received a suspicious envelope in the mail containing a multi-page document and a white, powder substance. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) responded – securing both the envelope and the State Election Board office until the Haz-mat Team could arrive. Testing by the Haz-mat Team identified the substance as “wheat cereal” (flour).

In November 2023, suspicious letters — including some containing fentanyl — were sent to elections offices in at least five states, delaying the counting of ballots in some races. The letters were mailed to elections offices in Georgia, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and X.

The Republican presidential frontrunner warned Iowans Tuesday that “the American dream is dead” and “the world is in flames,” as he raised the specter of a global nuclear conflict that will result in complete “obliteration.”

Former President Donald Trump, who has a commanding leading in the polls just five weeks before the Iowa caucuses, also doubled down on his recent controversial public comments suggesting that the “blood of our nation” is being destroyed by immigrants.

He did not mention Tuesday’s decision by the Colorado Supreme Court to block him from the ballot in that state under a Civil War-era “insurrection clause,” based on his actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Speaking in Waterloo to a crowd of supporters that included Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, Trump said that while the threat of World War III — he didn’t specify the combatants or the cause of the conflict – is imminent, he alone has the power to pull the world back from the brink of destruction.

“I’m the only candidate, and I think you know this, that can make this very important promise,” he said. “I think the world is in more danger than it’s ever been because of the power of weaponry, and I will be the only one that can say this with great surety: I will prevent World War III. World War III, we’re very close. I don’t know if you feel it. I don’t know, madam attorney general, if you feel it, but we’re very close to World War III when you see these discussions taking place.”

Throughout his hour-long speech, Trump credited himself for rebuilding the military to “tippy top” condition, saving the ethanol industry in Iowa, and restoring the ability of people to wish each other “Merry Christmas.” He also reiterated his disproven claim that the 2020 election was “rigged.”

In the process, he described America as a country that has “gone to hell” and as “a nation in decline,” which he blamed on the policies of Democrats and the Biden administration.

“With your vote in this election, together we’re going to save America and we’re going to bring our country back from hell,” he said. “As long as Joe Biden is in the White House, the American dream is dead. There is no American dream. But all of that will change the minute the polls close on Election Night in 2024. It’s gonna all change.”

He said that “by Christmas next year” – which would predate his taking office, should he win the general election – “the economy will be roaring back, energy prices will be plummeting and the hordes of people charging across our border will have totally ended and the invasion will have stopped.”

The crowd seemed most appreciative of Trump’s comments on illegal immigration, which lately have drawn criticism, even from GOP leaders, who say his rhetoric echoes that of Adolf Hitler in the German dictator’s manifesto, “Mein Kampf.” In his book, Hitler characterized immigration and the mixing of races as “blood poisoning,” which is the same phrase Trump used recently in a New Hampshire speech.

“We have no idea who any of them are,” Trump said of the immigrants entering the United States. “They come from Africa. They come from Asia. They come from South America. But not just South America. All over the world. They dump them on the border, and they pour into our country … They are ruining our country. And it’s true: They are destroying the blood of our country. They’re destroying our country. They don’t like it when I said that — and I never read ‘Mein Kampf.’ They said, ‘Oh, Hitler said that’ – in a much different way.”

He said immigrants now entering the United States “could be very unhealthy, they could bring in disease that’s gonna catch on in our country, but they do bring in crime… We’re gonna have to get them out. We’re gonna have to get mass numbers of these – especially the criminals. They’re coming from jails, prisons. They’re coming from mental institutions. They say, ‘Please don’t say the words insane asylum.’ But I have to say it: They’re emptying out the insane asylums from all over the world. Why wouldn’t they? I would do it, if I were running Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico. They’re emptying out their prisons into our country.”

The Waterloo crowd cheered loudly when Trump vowed to “indemnify all police officers and law enforcement officials throughout the United States” in order to protect them when they take “strong action” in response to reports of crime.

“They’re under threat of losing their pension, their house and their family, and losing everything if they touch these people,” he said, in an apparent reference to police altercations with lawbreakers. “Our police know everything, and they can solve these crime problems very quickly — but they’re not allowed to do it… So, what I am going to do is give indemnifications to any police officer that gets in trouble for pursuing a criminal.”

Trump has expanded his lead over his rivals for the GOP nomination, and now is the first choice of 51% of likely caucusgoers, according to the latest NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll. Trump’s lead in Iowa is the largest ever recorded at this stage of a campaign, and appears to be fueled in part by evangelical voters.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.

State records indicate David Bernal last worked for the city on June 16, 2023, when he was fired. He had worked for the Fire Department for more than 30 years. The records indicate that in 2021, while serving as a captain, Bernal was demoted from that position to the position of fire engineer due to a series of actions the city found to be in violation of the policies dealing with ethics, violence prevention and business conduct.

At the time, Bernal was given a “last chance warning” as part of his discipline. The warning stated in part that “it is important for you to understand that any further violation of the City of Des Moines workplace policies, including of any type of retaliation towards any members of the fire department, or the City of Des Moines, will subject you to immediate termination.”

Bernal subsequently regained his position as captain and was working in that capacity on June 2, 2023, when he read a Facebook post of a medic who worked at the same fire station. The post included photos of the medic, who had recently traded shifts with another medic, with a group of children.

Bernal allegedly posted a response to the Facebook pictures with the comment, “Next time pick someone less fascinated with gay porn to trade with.”

Bernal was subsequently fired by the city. At a hearing where he sought to collect unemployment benefits, Bernal testified that his Facebook comment represented banter that he and his “brothers” at the fire station engaged, and said the comment was not meant to be disparaging toward any party, including gays.

In September, an administrative law judge rejected that claim, saying the evidence indicated it was “intended to be insulting,” adding that it portrayed the fire department in an unfavorable light. Bernal was denied benefits, and appealed that decision to the Iowa Employment Appeal Board.

The board recently upheld the judge’s decision, writing that there was little question that Bernal “was on notice” that comments of the kind he made were forbidden.

“It hardly seems necessary to observe that any person in authority commenting on the sexual conduct of a subordinate is inappropriate,” the board said in its decision. “Even more so for a fire captain on work time.”

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