“Mike Tupper, the first declared Democratic candidate in Iowa House district 52, spoke to Bleeding Heartland’s Laura Belin on January 8, 2026.
Tupper retired in January 2025 after being Marshalltown police chief for more than 13 years. He had a 32-year career in law enforcement, first working in Ottumwa, then becoming the police chief in Nevada (Story County), and then was hired to lead the Marshalltown Police Department.” More
Check out the Bleeding Heartland YouTube channel for more candidate interviews. There is a transcript and thorough summary of the interview there.
This is not exactly news. Most have heard at least some rumors of a possible major breakthrough of biologically breaking down plastics. Among the many aspects of the environmental crises that humanity seems to be careening toward, what to do with plastics is one of the greatest problems of all.
While the current administration is doing all it can to halt and even destroy scientific research it was good to hear that progress was still going on in this area.
Researchers are working on manipulating the digestive systems of wax worms to create a scalable way of disposing of plastic.
Plastics that support modern life are inexpensive, strong, and versatile, but are difficult to dispose of and have a serious impact when released into the environment. Polyethylene, in particular, is the most widely produced plastic in the world, with more than 100 million tons distributed annually. Since it can take decades to decompose—and along the way can harm wildlife and degrade into harmful microplastics—its disposal is an urgent issue for mankind.
In 2017, European researchers discovered a potential solution. The larvae of wax moths, commonly known as wax worms, have the ability to break down polyethylene in their bodies. Wax worms have been considered a pest since ancient times because they parasitize beehives, feeding on beeswax. However, we now know that they also spontaneously feed on polyethylene, which has a chemically similar structure.
“Around 2,000 wax worms can break down an entire polyethylene bag in as little as 24 hours, although we believe that co-supplementation with feeding stimulants like sugars can reduce the number of worms considerably,” said Dr Bryan Cassone, a professor of biology at Brandon University in Canada, in a news release. Cassone and his team have been researching how these insects could be harnessed to help combat plastic pollution. “Understanding the biological mechanisms and consequences on fitness associated with plastic biodegradation is key to using wax worms for large-scale plastic remediation,” he says.
In previous experiments, Cassone and his team found out exactly how wax worms break down polyethylene. To understand their digestive mechanism, Cassone’s team fed polyethylene to wax worms for several days and followed the insects’ metabolic processes and changes in their gut environment. They found that as the wax worms ate the polyethylene, their feces liquefied and contained glycol as a byproduct.
As we hear more and more stories of plastics getting into all aspects of our lives from drinking water to food it is good to know that science is still working on solutions. The environmental situation is one of the most important issues for those under 30. Their concern is whether or not there will be a planet left for them to live on.
Of course we all know there is no “Planet B” for us to move to.
WTF is this guy talking about? Call him Daddy? What a joke! 8 minutes of ‘weaving.’ Americans should be heaving:
Hey, boys and girls – guess who is coming to Iowa Tuesday? Yep, the Felon featured in the above video. Well, maybe he’s coming. Maybe he will get confused and go to Iceland or maybe Ireland or may see his buddy at the Kremlin. Who knows? Remember, however, if he does come to Iowa he likes to be called ‘pedophile protector.’ It is sort of an inside joke with Gramps.
If you go to see him also be sure to give big cheers for his Iowa cult – Grassley, Ernst, Nunn, Miller-Meeks, Hinson and that other guy. Give Reynolds a hand for royally screwing up a once well run state.
Here we go. Remember FIWH is Felon in the White House. After Jack Smith’s testimony there is little doubt.
A) Who is Liam Conejo Ramos?
B) The FIWH is starting a new world club for the bad boy dictators who are his friends. What will this new club be called?
C) But a dictator doesn’t get in just on his bad behavior. There is a fee. How much is that fee?
D) Who does that fee go to?
E) Hey – we can’t ignore the weather, now can we? We knew really bad weather was coming when what Texas senator once again abandoned his state for much warmer areas?
F) The administration is doing some outreach so they don’t like such ogres. What senior administration visited Minnesota Thursday, but only antagonized the situation?
G) The big anticipated Davos World Economic Forum took place last week. What two world leaders were conspicuous by their absence from Davos?
H) Both were absent for the same reason. What was that shared reason for absence?
I) Who is Greg Bovino?
J) Cold?? Why, back when I was a kid….. What is the record low temperature in Iowa?
K) A whistle blower in the DHS revealed that ICE wrote and disseminated a SECRET memo that authorized what kind of warrants to break into people’s houses in violation of the 4th amendment in May of 2025?
L) The Iowa legislature is back in session! And to make their mark right off the bat is a bill to sell what two supposed Covid cures over the counter?
M) As a counterpoint to the FIWH in Davos, what North American leader highlighted the “rupture” in the world order?
N) In a late night social media post the FIWH sent a note to what world leader claiming his country’s passing over of the FIWH for the Nobel Peace Prize was the reason for the pursuit of Greenland?
O) The principal Deputy Director of the CDC, Ralph Abrams, sadi last week that an uptick in what disease is the “cost of doing business”?
P) Iowa has had some long streaks below 0. But we have to reach back to the winter of 1910-1911 and the winter of 1963 to see what all time consecutive day streak below 0?
Q) What movie garnered the most Oscar nominations ever when the Academy Award nominations were announced this week?
R) “Life won’t be very, very happy” the FIWH threatened who, if that person refuses to the Federal Reserve Board in May?
S) What state appears to be the next in line for an illegal ICE invasion in the FIWH’s push to civil war?
T) Let’s end on the Iowa legislature pushing for a mandatory 3 hour course on what subjects that used to be taught in high schools for Iowa colleges and universities?
BONUS) The US left what international organization Thursday leaving behind $278 million in unpaid dues?
Trump just spent part of his Davos speech repeatedly calling Greenland “Iceland.”
Where’s Jake Tapper and the rest of the media meltdown crew? Any time Biden misspoke, they treated it like a five-alarm crisis.
Funny how that standard disappears when it’s Trump. – Chris D. Jackson
Tip of the hat to EarlG at democraticunderground.com
Answers:
A) He is the 5year old boy that ICE agents used as bait to lure his father from his (the father’s) house. Both father and son are now reportedly in in a concentration camp in El Paso.
B) The Board of Peace
C) $1 B.
D) No one has said who gets that money. Best guess is that it goes into the FIWH’s pocket
E) Ted Cruz! Went to Cancun last time. This time it is San Diego
F) VP JD Vance
G) Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin
H) There are international warrants for their arrests. If they leave their countries they could be arrested.
I) Bovino is the head of the ICE contingent in Minnesota. He dresses as a cosplay Nazi
J) – 47 F most recently in Elkader on February 3, 1996
K) Administrative warrants signed by an ICE official. This is illegal based on the 4th amendment
L) Ivermectine and hydroxichloroquine – BRILLIANT!
M) Mark Carney of Canada. Canada has also entered into trade relations with many different countries while breaking ties with the US
N) Norway – the government has nothing to do with the Nobel prizes
O) Measles.
P) 17 days
Q) “Sinners”
R) Jerome Powell
S) Maine. I am guessing because Maines governor Janet Mills defied Trump on trans athlete’s in public last February
T) American history and government
BONUS) the WHO – World Health Organization
Well played by the Clinton’s. When held in contempt it will force a discovery forcing the release of the Epstein files. – Mayra
We got this solicitation from the Bohannan campaign Thursday afternoon. It reminded me that there are still major problems in this country besides Trump:
I’m a lawyer, and today I want to talk to you about a case that changed millions of lives: Roe v. Wade.
It began with a young, unmarried woman who was pregnant and wanted a chance at a different future. At the time, abortion was illegal in 44 states, including the one where she lived. Her options were grim. If she had money, she could travel to one of the few states where abortion was legal. If she didn’t, she could be forced to carry the pregnancy to term or risk her life by turning to a back-alley provider.
In 1973, her case reached the Supreme Court. And on this day, the Court ruled in her favor! Roe v. Wade established a constitutional right to abortion grounded in the fundamental rights to privacy and personal liberty.
Today, that protection is gone. Since Roe was overturned, our country has taken a massive step backward.
Here in Iowa, women face a six-week abortion ban, before most people barely miss a period. Some are able to travel out of state, but many cannot. Those who can’t are left navigating a collapsing reproductive healthcare system thanks to politicians like Mariannatte Miller-Meeks.
Our anti-abortion laws have placed OB-GYNs under constant legal surveillance, turning routine pregnancy care into a legal minefield. The result is devastating: Iowa is facing a shortage of OB-GYNs, especially in rural communities, at the very moment families need care the most.
And instead of addressing this crisis, Mariannette Miller-Meeks has doubled down. She voted for the “Big, Ugly Bill,” ensuring deep cuts to Medicaid that disproportionately harm rural Iowa. She has stood behind her party’s agenda to control women’s bodies, even going so far as to co-sponsor a national abortion ban.
It is time to once again protect abortion in Iowa. It is time to place abortion back between a woman and her doctor, not politicians and judges.
I was talking to some family members the other day. Seems like at some point these days the conversation turns to some aspect of how truly gawd-awful, hateful, unlawful and anti-democratic the current administration is. Since we are older, the talk sometimes goes down that familiar canard of “when I was a kid ….”
When we go there I usually bring up the music that we grew up with. It seemed like the more turmoil there was, the better the music got. Very singable songs that were loaded with powerful messages seemed to pop up every week. I often wonder why these turbulent times – by comparison the turbulence is at or near the all time high – haven’t produced a similar outpouring of protest songs.
For one thing, while it may seem longer, this round of anti-democracy and suffering is barely a year old. It takes some time for our souls to be awakened. The other factor is that I and many others are listening to much different outlets than we did 6 decades ago. Also, outlets these days are much more fragmented and diverse, so it is hard for a song to catch on.
With that preamble, I would like to present a young man who I stumbled onto on a discussion forum. Jesse Welles is that young man and he seems to capture the spirit of protest against these turbulent times in a way that feels timeless.
With that being said here are a few Jesse Welles songs. The first is called “Join ICE.” It runs about 3:30. Listen closely to the words:
For a second selection here is United Health (1:30)
Finally here is a short one (2:08) that was recorded before Trump overthrew the sitting government:
Go to youtube.com for more of Jesse Welles. I think you will find him very enjoyable. And he may just have a tune you can carry in your head.
This week was the one-year anniversary of the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump. In my view, he and his sycophants can not be forgiven for the pain and suffering caused in 12 months.
Long before he was president I knew of an association between him and Jeffrey Epstein, convicted human trafficker, child sex offender, and serial rapist. I didn’t know the extent of Trump’s involvement, just that the two of them associated freely. Apparently more specific evidence of his transgressions and potential crimes are available within the Department of Justice which refuses to release the Epstein files even though the Congress passed a law requiring them to do so more than 30 days ago. Trump is unforgiven for his stonewalling.
In dismantling USAID, the U.S. government is directly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths among people who relied on the largess of the world’s richest country. According to Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, hundreds of thousands of people have died for want of USAID. Trump is unforgiven for his inhumanity.
On July 4, 2025, Trump signed H.R. 1, a budget reconciliation bill that did untold harm to families across the country. Among other things, it cut $793 billion from Medicaid and $268 billion from the Affordable Care Act, resulting in over 10 million people becoming uninsured; and $200 billion from SNAP putting 5 million people at risk of losing their food assistance. Trump is unforgiven for his cruelty.
Also in H.R. 1, Trump increased the budget for immigration enforcement by $170 billion and unleashed an undisciplined and violent DHS on several states. The violence, including against U.S. citizens, is difficult to fathom. At least one death caused by DHS has been ruled a homicide. Wednesday, his immigration thugs invaded the State of Maine. Trump is unforgiven for his violence.
In the U.S. Army we called poor operations a goat screw, and certainly the attempted implementation of DOGE by Elon Musk was that. He cut funding in places like our local public library only to have the courts rule his actions were illegal. This back and forth left librarians in a quandary about how to maintain service during the tumult. The same holds true for other institutions cut by DOGE. Trump is unforgiven for his chaos.
One of the blessings I feel in my life is the heroism of the Greatest Generation in World War II. More than 50 million civilians died during the war, along with more than 20 million military personnel. Out of that conflict the world came together, forming the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Since then, Trump has been tearing those institutions apart, despite the many benefits. Trump is unforgiven for being a war monger.
Is there any positive side to this? The only one I can see is I know who I am, and this isn’t it. It is motivation to make change in our government which could then take action to change society for the better for everyone. It’s past time to get to work.
It seems to me the corporate media is doing a lousy job of explaining immigration law to the masses. Actually, they’re not doing a lousy job of it because they don’t seem to be making any attempt whatsoever. They seem to think their job stops at telling us what Trump’s new ICE hires are doing and leaving the legality or illegality of it all for the courts and the protesters to sort out. Trump, who sees the rule of law as an impediment to his personal wealth acquisition, could care less, or so it seems.
The public is going to have to educate ourselves on immigration law. I started looking for information at the Brennan Center for Justice and found the following.
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law is a independent, nonpartisan law and policy organization that works to reform, revitalize, and defend our country’s systems of democracy and justice.
Most immigrants facing deportation are entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge, but their legal rights differ from those in criminal cases.
Margy O’Herron
“Immigrants also have due process rights. Under the Fifth Amendment, “No person shall.. be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” More than a century ago, the Supreme Court concluded in the 1896 case of Wong Wing v. United States that “person” in the Fifth Amendment includes “all persons within the territorial jurisdiction, without regard to any differences of race, of color, or of nationality” and that “even aliens shall not be . . . deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” The foundational principle that immigrants have Fifth Amendment due process rights has been reaffirmed many times, including in 1993, when Justice Antonin Scalia reiterated in Flores v. Reno that the Fifth Amendment entitles immigrants to due process of law in deportation proceedings.”
“A unanimous Supreme Court recently affirmed once more that immigrants in the country have a right to due process under the Fifth Amendment. The Court split on other issues in the case, but all nine justices agreed that even under the overbroad and controversial authority of the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime authority that the president has invoked to detain and remove certain Venezuelan nationals, detainees have the right to judicial review of questions of interpretation and constitutionality, as well as whether or not they fit within the category of people designated as alien enemies. All nine justices also agreed that, before the government removes them, immigrants detained under the Alien Enemies Act are entitled to notice within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek relief in a federal court with jurisdiction over the location in which they are detained. The Court did not, however, define what constitutes a “reasonable time,” and lower courts continue to grapple with that question.”
“The exact contours of immigrants’ due process rights in immigration proceedings have been extensively litigated over many decades in most if not all federal circuits. Issues include how much time an immigrant in removal proceedings must be given to find an attorney, the standard that attorneys must meet to provide effective representation, whether an immigration judge provided an immigrant a full and fair hearing, and the quality of language translation.”
“Beyond the Constitution, the statute requires DHS to notify immigrants of the reason it seeks to remove them and gives immigrants in removal proceedings the right to examine evidence against them, present evidence on their own behalf, and cross-examine the government’s witnesses. The immigration judge’s decision must be based only on the evidence introduced at the immigration hearing, and the government must keep a complete record of the testimony and evidence.”
From the January 2026 edition ofThe Prairie Progressive, Iowa’s oldest progressive newsletter. The PP is funded entirely by reader subscription, available in hard copy for $15/yr. Send check to PP, Box 1945, Iowa City 52244. Click here for archived issues
by Mike Owen
There’s a lot of talk these days about affordability. It’s important for household budgets, and it’s equally important for the state budget.
Want to restore Iowa’s commitment to PK-12 education, to state universities and community colleges? Want to enforce safety in workplaces and environmental quality? Hoping for stronger initiatives in mental health and health care access? Want to make sure nutrition assistance reaches all eligible Iowans?
As things stand in Iowa, we cannot afford it.
It’s a choice our state’s leaders have made not just for today, but for years to come. Sustainability of these traditional responsibilities is simply not the focus of Governor Kim Reynolds and the Republican leadership of the Legislature.
Lots of numbers show it. For starters, keep three numbers in mind:
• $9.4 billion. That’s the current state budget.
• $1.3 billion. That’s how short we fall of making the budget with current revenues.
• $328 million. That’s how much state money we’re diverting to private school systems through Reynolds’ voucher program.
Those numbers are for this year, but they matter far beyond. They set the scene for the new legislative session, the new budget, and what is to come if our state continues on the path charted by the Republican governing trifecta now in its tenth year. This path makes traditional Iowa priorities unsustainable—or, one might say, unaffordable.
We can afford a $9.4 billion budget this year only because legislators can patch the hole in it—for now.
They deliberately created and banked surpluses by cutting or holding down investments below inflation in education and other services, at the same time revenues held strong. Federal support in pandemic recovery offered a temporary boost to the Iowa economy and revenues, and lawmakers used it as a smokescreen.
They cut taxes—big time. Their own fiscal analysts told them the tax cuts they passed in 2022 and 2024 would be a $2 billion hit to revenues by this budget year.
But they were crafty, as this year shows. Faced with a $1.3 billion gap between falling revenues and ongoing spending, they bridged it with banked surplus money. That obscures the real fiscal picture because the surpluses are one-time money while the tax cuts are permanent, and the surpluses are quickly vanishing. Projected at $2.2 billion just a year ago, the FY 2027 surplus is now projected at about a quarter of that—$546 million.
What they avoid is what’s next. What drops when the surpluses are gone? Is it the 2% per-pupil funding growth we’ve averaged for the last 15 years, when educators have sought 4% or 5% to meet needs? Will it be Medicaid services we decide we can no longer afford? Will it be SNAP benefits the federal government is forcing states to take on while at the same time cutting back their administrative support? Will we ever adequately regulate, monitor, and enforce standards for water quality? Who will pay increased prison costs as lawmakers debate tougher sentencing?
The simple truth is that with tax cuts, revenues fall, and that’s a permanent cycle unless reversed, which Iowa’s current leaders are not willing to do. In fact, some aim to assure it with constitutional amendments that may reach the ballot next fall.
Our leaders in both parties need to be upfront with their constituents now about the problem and the solutions, which—yes—involve restoring and restructuring a progressive income-tax rate structure for individuals and corporations, curtailing corporate tax loopholes, and decoupling from several Trump-era federal tax changes that target benefits to the wealthy.
If the political willingness were there, we could afford first-rate education that offers opportunity for our young people and attracts forward-thinking businesses to our state. We could afford clean water and good health care.
We could afford to do this right. The question really is, can we afford not to?
—Mike Owen of West Branch recently retired as deputy director of Common Good Iowa. He remains engaged in analysis of Iowa’s fiscal picture, and of the Chicago Cubs’ fortunes, for which he is more optimistic.
Insufferable Wenches of Iowa (IWOI) is conducting interviews with Iowa Democratic legislative candidates, available on their YouTube channel. It’s a great way to get to know our candidates. IWOI has over a dozen candidate interviews up at the time of this posting.
We’ll be sharing one candidate interview every Monday here on BFIA to help get the word out about these fantastic Democrats. I hope BFIA followers will also share this post or go to the Wenches’ YouTube channel and share from there. While you are there, hit the like and subscribe button. This simple action helps the algorithm reach more folks on the internet. Don’t be a lurker!
Laura Belin is also interviewing state and federal candidates. Videos are available on the Bleeding Heartland YouTube channel. Check them out. I’ve shared a couple of them here.
This week we’re highlighting Blake Clyde, who is running for HD33. The seat is currently held by Ruth Anne Gaines who is retiring after the current session. HD 33 covers Des Moines east of the river, East Village to Union Park and north to Highland Park.
A few issue highlights:
Public education and housing are top priorities
Voucher program needs to end; we need to fully fund public schools
Willingness to advocate forcefully is important
All of us have to do it together; that’s the only way it’s going to get done.
Governor Kim Keynolds: (515) 281-5211 U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 Iowa Members of Congress - Rep. Randy Feenstra (R) - Rep. Ashley Hinson (R) - Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) - Rep. Zach Nunn (R) Iowa US Senators - Senator Joni Ernst (R) - Senator Charles Grassley (R)
/ miketupperforiowahouse 
From the January 2026 edition of 
Blog For Iowa 