Steve Corbin is emeritus professor of marketing at the University of Northern Iowa and a contributing columnist to 246 newspapers and 48 social media platforms in 45 states, who receives no remuneration, funding, or endorsement from any for-profit business, nonprofit organization, political action committee, or political party. 

Maria Farmer reported her sexual assault by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to the New York Police Department and the FBI on August 29, 1996. Ms. Farmer contacted the FBI as advised by the police. On September 3, 1996, the FBI identified the case as “child pornography,” since naked or semi-naked hard copy pictures existed.

Files including Farmer’s 1996 complaint were not required to be made public until late 2025. President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law on November 19. The law required that all files be released by December 19. But under the leadership of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Department of Justice (DOJ) failed to release 100 percent of the files.

When President Donald Trump gave Senator Chuck Grassley his “complete and total endorsement” during an October 2021 rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, he said one undeniably truthful thing about Iowa’s senior senator: “When I’ve needed him for help he was always there. […] He was with us all the way, every time I needed something.”

At the latest Trump rally in Des Moines, Grassley showed once again that the president’s assessment was on the money.

MAGA activists are increasingly unhappy with U.S. Senator Joni Ernst and looking for someone to run against her in Iowa’s 2026 Senate primary.

If conservatives aren’t able to stop Ernst from winning the nomination, they may have a place to park their protest votes in the general election. Libertarian Thomas Laehn again confirmed to Bleeding Heartland he’s seriously considering a Senate bid.

Bernie Scolaro is a retired school counselor, a past president of the Sioux City Education Association, and former Sioux City school board member.

We do not always have all the information when we first make a decision. After further review and consideration, the ability to change your mind is not always easy, maybe even embarrassing. But changing your mind does not mean you lied.