Latest news with #CedarRapids
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Fed's Goolsbee: Need to Wait and See on Inflation Impact of Tariffs
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee discussed inflation nearing the central bank's 2% target and the potential inflation impact of trade tariffs Tuesday at the Corridor Business Journal Mid-Year Economic Review in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Victim of Thursday night Minneapolis shooting dies in hospital
The victim of a Thursday shooting in Minneapolis' Phillips neighborhood has died. According to the Minneapolis Police Department, a man approached an ambulance crew near Abbott Northwestern Hospital with at least one life-threatening gunshot wound at around 8:20 p.m. Thursday. The man was then taken to Hennepin County Medical Center. The scene of the shooting was identified as the 2700 block of Columbus Avenue. A preliminary investigation found that an altercation inside a vehicle had escalated to shots being fired, injuring the man. The reported gunman then fled the scene while the injured man's wife drove him to the hospital. A Saturday update from MPD stated that the man had died at the hospital one day after the shooting. He has since been identified as 48-year-old Michael Ray Adkins of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. MPD has not reported any arrests in connection with the incident. 'It's incredibly frustrating to see yet another life lost to senseless violence,' MPD Chief Brian O'Hara said in a statement. 'We don't have all the answers yet as to what happened, but I can promise you that our investigators will work tirelessly to bring justice to this victim and his family.' Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcement's latest version of events, and may be subject to change.
Associated Press
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Buttigieg gives a strident anti-Trump message in Iowa, demands Democrats make their agenda clear
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Pete Buttigieg returned to Iowa on Tuesday with some subtle and not-so-subtle messages about what's changed since he ran in the state's 2020 Democratic presidential caucuses. His speech included mentions of his adopted twins, a boy and a girl, and how he explained to his daughter the different nicknames for the American flag. He talked of flying into the Cedar Rapids airport after visiting while transportation secretary to oversee the facility's expansion. And having left the state in 2020 as a youthful, baby-faced candidate not quite 40 years old, Buttigieg on Tuesday was sporting a burgeoning beard. Above all, his speech sounded like he was preparing for a second White House bid. Buttigieg gave a strident critique of President Donald Trump's administration while demanding Democrats make their agenda clear and reach out to people who disagree with them. 'We are being tested on nothing less than whether the United States of America is in fact the freedom-loving people that we believe and know ourselves to be,' Buttigieg told an audience of more than 1,000 in Cedar Rapids, his first public political appearance since leaving the Biden administration in January. It was a return to where Buttigieg emerged as a national political figure six years ago, when the millennial former South Bend mayor rose among a class of better-known Democrats to finish atop the Iowa Democratic Party's 2020 presidential caucuses. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also finished near the top as well in a glitch-plagued contest, and The Associated Press did not call a winner, given remaining concerns about whether the results as reported by the party were fully accurate. 'It feels really good to be back in Iowa,' Buttigieg said at the outset of the town hall-style meeting, with many in the audience sporting slightly worn Buttigieg 2020 campaign caps and T-shirts. 'Anyone can come to Iowa just before an election's coming up. I wanted to make sure I got a chance to talk to the people I got to know five and six years ago, and the people I'm just getting to know.' The combination rally and policy chat toggled between questions about the future of the Democratic Party, both nationally and in Iowa, after three consecutive elections where Donald Trump has carried the once-competitive swing state. A man began by saying, 'I caucused for you six years ago,' to which Buttigieg replied politely, 'Thank you.' The man responded, 'It's a treat to hear someone speak in complete sentences,' prompting an explosion of applause and a standing ovation. 'I do my best,' Buttigieg answered with a quick head nod. As much as an indictment of the first months of the second Trump administration, Buttigieg argued Democrats' reemergence as a leading national party must come with a concise telling of what they support. 'There's this theory that we should just hang back and let them screw up. I disagree,' he said. Buttigieg acknowledged Democrats need to revisit some of their policy principles without naming any. But he pivoted quickly to note, 'We need to be in touch with our first principles, what we would be doing if we were in charge.' Among them, he argued, was to restore a federal right for a woman to receive an abortion, he said, prompting a 30-second standing ovation. Buttigieg, a former intelligence officer in the Navy Reserves who served in Afghanistan, was headlining an event sponsored by the Democratic political organization VoteVets, which is focusing on Trump's cuts to federal agencies and how they affect veterans and military families. A number of other potential 2028 contenders are traveling the country in the early days of the second Trump administration. Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's recent joint rallies have drawn large crowds around the country, including in Republican-led Western states. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker recently called for mass mobilization of Democrats at a speech in New Hampshire, and Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland and Tim Walz of Minnesota plan stops in South Carolina at the end of May.
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Buttigieg holds veterans-focused town hall event in Iowa amid 2028 speculation
Former U.S. secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg speaks during a VoteVets Town Hall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Tuesday. Former U.S. transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg made a campaign-like appearance at a town hall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Tuesday, where he blasted the Trump administration, alluded to his past presidential run, and took questions on what Democrats should do to rebuild their brand. 'We've never been a perfect democracy, but democracy is the most important thing about our country, and our country is the most important democracy in the world,' Buttigieg said. 'We've got to lean into that.' Buttigieg, a former intelligence officer in the Navy Reserves who deployed to Afghanistan, visited Iowa for a veterans-focused town hall hosted by VoteVets, a group that aims to elect progressives who've served. The event marked Buttigieg's first public in-person event since finishing his Cabinet job with the Biden administration in January. At the town hall, the former transportation secretary ripped into U.S. President Donald Trump, criticizing him over the tariff war, his consideration of accepting a plane from Qatar as a gift, and his Cabinet's use of Signal to discuss military operations. He also leaned into the importance of American democracy and Democrats' efforts to push back on actions by the administration they say encroach on it. But Buttigieg's appearance in the former early primary state also brought to mind his 2020 presidential run and questions about a possible 2028 campaign. That speculation was fueled by his decision this year to pass on running in Michigan's open gubernatorial and Senate races. Buttigieg leaned into the presidential buzz early. He referenced his 2020 campaign – and his narrow win in the Iowa caucuses – soon after he took the stage. 'Anyone can come to Iowa just before an election is coming up,' he said. 'I wanted to make sure I had a chance to talk with the people I got to know five or six years ago and people I'm seeing for the very first time.' Speaking with reporters after the event, Buttigieg also addressed the more recent past – speaking to the 2024 election and his time as transportation secretary under U.S. President Joe Biden. Asked if the Democratic Party would have been better off if Biden hadn't run for reelection, he answered 'Maybe.' 'Right now, with the benefit of hindsight, I think most people would agree that that's the case,' he said. 'We're also not in a position to wallow in hindsight.' Buttigieg defended his former boss, however, when asked by a reporter if he noticed any signs of cognitive decline in Biden during his time in the Cabinet. 'Every time I needed something from him, from the West Wing, I got it,' he said, pointing to their time working together to address the collapse of the Baltimore bridge. Looking forward, Buttigieg weighed in during the town hall on the future of the Democratic Party as it seeks to rally around a cohesive strategy for the 2026 and 2028 elections. One audience member asked how Democrats convince Americans to trust in the party and associate it with veterans, working people and patriotism. Buttigieg said in response that Democrats need to change their message and be less abstract. 'Democrats do not have the best brand around here, and a lot of places,' he said. 'There's a lot of reasons for that, some fair, some unfair. I think the most important thing is that we connect everything we believe, everything we say, everything we do, to everyday life.' Buttigieg said that Democrats need to break out of information silos by appearing in conservative spaces – he referenced his own appearances on Fox News and podcasts as examples. 'We've got to understand each other, and I felt I got to understand the country better,' he said. 'We need to seek that out in neighborhoods, in faith communities, in rooms like this, and it's one of the things I'm determined to do in the months and years ahead.' Another audience member asked Buttigieg how the party can reach young white men ages 18-25 who think that Trump is funny or interesting. 'At risk of sounding obvious, step one is talk to them,' he said. Arit John, CNN
CBS News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Buttigieg suggests Biden's 2024 run was "maybe" a mistake
Cedar Rapids, Iowa — Pete Buttigieg, who served as transportation secretary under former President Joe Biden, appeared to acknowledge Tuesday that he believed Biden should not have run for a second White House term. When asked by reporters if the Democratic party would have been better off without Biden as the nominee, Buttigieg responded, "Maybe, you know, right now, with the benefit of hindsight, I think most people would agree that is the case." Buttigieg, who won the 2020 Democratic Iowa caucus, made the remarks following a town hall in the Hawkeye state hosted by a progressive veterans PAC. Buttigieg served as Biden's transportation secretary from 2021 until he left office in January. Buttigieg addressed whether he saw signs that Biden was experiencing any kind of cognitive decline. Speculation about Biden's situation ramped up following his poor debate performance against President Trump in June, and the ensuing fallout ultimately led to Biden dropping out of the race. "Every time I needed something from him from the West Wing I got it," Buttigieg said of Biden. "And the time I worked closest with him in his last year was around the Baltimore bridge collapse. And I want to tell you is that the same president the world saw addressing that, was the president that I was involved with." This visit to Iowa comes amid a flurry of speculation that Buttigieg is considering a second presidential run in 2028. Buttigieg recently passed on a 2026 run for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, and has made a number of media appearances in recent weeks. "Anyone can come to Iowa just before an election's coming up," Buttigieg joked with the audience shortly after taking the stage at the VoteVets event. "I wanted to make sure I had a chance to talk with the people I got to know five or six years ago, and people I'm seeing for the very first time." Buttigieg played coy on whether he was assessing a potential presidential run, telling reporters that, "Right now, I'm not running for anything. Part of what's exciting about an opportunity like this is to be campaigning for values and for ideas rather than a specific elected office." When asked by an audience member what can be done to combat some of the Trump administration's proposed cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Buttigieg encouraged them not to "back down." "There's this sense of inevitability, invincibility, right, that the president's trying to create," he said. "But it's not true. Don't back down. They'll back down when he screws up badly enough, not as often as I'd like, but they change their mind all the time. They changed their mind on tariffs." Buttigieg's remarks echoed similar comments he's made in media appearances in recent weeks, especially in speaking about the future of the Democratic party, which he has encouraged to "meet people where they are." Buttigieg said it is "politically and substantively wrong" for the party to suggest returning to a status quo when Democrats were last in power. "I am not here to say we gotta make things back the way they were in 2023," Buttigieg said. "The hard truth is, if our government, our politics, our society and our economy were working, we wouldn't be here. Pro-authoritarian populist movements, they don't just come out of nowhere." Buttigieg refused to weigh in on whether Iowa should be the Democrat's first primary contest in 2028. In 2023, the Democratic National Committee, with the support of Biden, controversially changed the calendar to make South Carolina the first state in Democratic primary schedule. Prior to that, the Iowa caucuses had led off the process since 1972. "People like me are makers, not takers, on the rules like that," Buttigieg said. "What I will say is Iowa showed me what can happen through a process where you have to be in backyards, doing a few town halls a day. It made it possible for me to emerge as a candidate, and it certainly made me better, not just as a candidate but as a public servant."
