Gazette Daily News Briefing, December 20
This is Stephen Schmidt from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for December 20, 2023.
According to the National Weather Service it will be a pleasant, sunny day in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, with a high of 46 degrees.
Koch Industries will pay $3.6 billion to buy the Iowa Fertilizer Co., one of the world’s largest modern fertilizer companies, amid surging profits for the industry.
OCI Global, the parent company for the plant located in Wever in southeast Iowa, announced the sale Monday to Koch Ag & Energy Solutions, saying the transaction will reduce debt for OCI, make money for shareholders, and allow future investment for the multinational firm. The sale is pending U.S. antitrust approval.
The Iowa Fertilizer Co. combines nitrogen from the air with hydrogen from natural gas at high pressure and temperature to produce ammonia, which binds the nitrogen to make fertilizer. When the plant opened, owners said they planned to produce up to 2 million metric tons of fertilizer a year.
Koch Industries, based in Wichita, Kan., is one of the largest privately-owned companies in the world. It was founded by Fred Koch, father of brothers Charles and David Koch. The Koch brothers are also very active in political circles, funding many conservative candidates and organizations, including the Americans for Prosperity– a super PAC that has an influential presence in Iowa.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds told a Bettendorf audience this week that former President Donald Trump is "misleading Iowans" with his campaign's recent ads highlighting her past praise.
Reynolds this fall endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the GOP presidential nomination — and has faced Trump’s ire for it.
Earlier this month, Trump's campaign launched a six-figure ad buy in Iowa that touts Reynolds' past support for Trump. The TV spot features a montage of Reynolds applauding Trump and his administration's policies at previous rallies.
In a Monday campaign event for DeSantis, Reynolds said Trump was "misleading Iowans" and that she has "absolutely endorsed Ron" and is proud of her endorsement.
"He thought he was entitled to my endorsement and nobody is entitled to anything," Reynolds said. "You have to step up. You have to earn it, you have to make your case."
According to reporting from the Associated Press, the Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot.
Colorado’s highest court overturned a ruling from a district court judge. That judge’s ruling stated that Trump was part of inciting an insurrection for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, but it was unclear if the insurrection clause applies to the presidency.
Trump’s legal team has already said they will appeal the ruling to the United States Supreme Court in hopes he can be reinstated on the ballot.
If Trump is the Republican nominee, he would likely have an uphill battle winning in Colorado anyway. The main danger for his campaign would be if other states used Colorado’s decision as precedent to remove him from ballots in their states.
