DES MOINES – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird today led 24 states in urging the U.S. Senate to swiftly confirm President Trump’s nominee, Kash Patel, as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”).

Patel is a proven leader who will restore integrity to the FBI. As National Security Advisor to the House Intelligence Committee, Patel uncovered Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse and shined a light on politically motivated abuses relating to President Trump. He also served as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense, worked to take down terrorists in the ISIS caliphate, and helped secure the release of American hostages. Former White House national security advisor Robert O’Brien wrote that Patel could be counted on “to get any job done, no matter how complex or difficult.”

“Confirming Kash Patel as FBI Director is a no-brainer,” said Attorney General Bird. “The FBI has long been a beacon for brave, hardworking men and women—but their leadership has failed them and our country. Kash Patel will rebuild Americans’ faith in FBI leadership. He has an impressive track record of eliminating terrorism and keeping Americans safe. With Kash Patel as FBI Director, our enemies will know that America is back and stronger than ever.”

The States sent the letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and incoming Majority Leader John Thune, calling on the Senate to confirm Kash Patel.

Iowa led the letter and was joined by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Read the full letter here.

DES MOINES — The price of regular unleaded gasoline held steady, averaging $2.70 across Iowa according to AAA.

Crude Oil Summary

• The price of global crude oil rose this week on the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) by $.13 per barrel over last week, currently priced at $70.03.
• Brent crude oil fell by $.13 and is currently priced at $73.39.
• One year ago, WTI crude sold for $70.95 and Brent crude was $75.75.

Motor Fuels

• As of Wednesday, the price of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $2.70 across Iowa according to AAA.
  • Prices remained steady compared to last week’s price and are down 10 cents from a year ago.
  • The national average on Wednesday was $3.02, down 1 cent from last week’s price.
• Retail diesel prices in Iowa fell 3 cents this week with a statewide average of $3.25.
  • One year ago, diesel prices averaged $3.89 in Iowa.
  • The current Iowa diesel price is 26 cents lower than the national average of $3.51.
• Wholesale ethanol held steady and is currently priced at $2.16.
• The current Des Moines Terminal/Rack Prices are $1.81 for U87-E10, $2.01 for Unleaded 87 (clear), $2.10 for ULSD#2, $2.31 for ULSD#1, and $1.79 per gallon for E-70 prices.

Heating Fuels

• Natural gas prices rose 39 cents at the Henry Hub reporting site and are currently priced at $3.38/MMbtu.
• Propane prices averaged $1.55 per gallon in Iowa.
• Home heating oil prices had a statewide average of $2.88 per gallon.

Tips for saving energy on the road or at home are available at energy.gov and fueleconomy.gov.

DES MOINES — Iowans can buy 2025 resident hunting, fishing and other licenses on Dec. 15.  Licenses purchased for 2024 expire on Jan. 10.

The menu of license options includes the popular Outdoor Combo annual resident hunting/fishing/habitat combo license for $55; the Angler’s Special three-year fishing license for $62; and the Hunter’s Special three-year hunting license with habitat included for $101.

Also available is the Bonus Line option for $14 letting resident and nonresident anglers to fish with one more line in addition to the two lines allowed with the regular fishing license.

Upgrade your paper license to a durable hard card with custom art from Iowa artists for only $6.

Download the GoOutdoorsIowa mobile app for iPhone and Android devices to buy and access your license information, no matter where you are. Sync your hunting and fishing licenses on the app to show in the field. You may download multiple customer licenses to offer one secure digital license document location for families, groups, and more.

Licenses are available at 600 locations across the state, and on the DNR website at www.iowadnr.gov/GoOutdoorsIowa.

By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

The southern part of the state took a little longer to finish up the harvest this year compared to the north.

Iowa State Extension field agronomist, Aaron Saeugling covers the southwest corner of the state, and says a wet spring is to blame. “Clearly, a lot of that was delayed planting. We had a pretty good stretch of rain in May, and so I had a lot of corn that was planted the last week of May, in the first two weeks of June, and so that delays harvest.” he says.

He says a delay in southern counties has less of an impact that in the north. “We have a longer window in the fall than northern Iowa in terms of harvest. And so occasionally, if you have later higher moisture corn, they’ll kind of hold off combining,” Saeugling says. “So it’s not unusual for us to combine corn at Thanksgiving, and in northern Iowa, that’s they don’t like to do that, because Mother Nature can come.” Saeugling covers Pottawattamie, Cass, Adair, Mills, Montgomery, Adams, Union, Fremont, Page and Ringgold counties.

He says the late start and later harvest this year didn’t seem to impact harvest results. “You know, ironically, they still pulled some pretty good yields. There were isolated pockets, kind of depending on, you know, when the dry spell came through. I mean, we were, we were in the Drought Monitor at certain parts of the summer,” he says. “So depending if that corn was, you know, silken tasseling at the wrong time, those fields were probably impacted a little more than others, but I have other places that corn yields were exceptionally good.”

Northeast Iowa saw a relatively wet summer, but ISU field agronomist Terry Basol says things dried out to allow for a quick harvest and dry crops. “The moisture was low enough so that there wasn’t as much drying needed. That helped the economics, especially considering the lower commodity prices over the past few years. Every little bit certainly helps the growers,” Basol says.

Basol says dry weather had a secondary impact as lower river levels impacted shipping. “There’s a fair amount of fertilizer that comes up from the Gulf to Iowa, Minnesota, and the other states along the river, so that’s another thing to keep an eye on, as well,” he says. This marks the third fall in a row the southern Mississippi has been below average levels.