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Thriving crops A conversation: Ag Secretary Bill Northey By Mikaela.Simpson @iowastatedaily.com

Tyler Coffey/Iowa State Daily

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in Des Moines on Thursday. Clinton spoke on early voting, which began this week in the state.

Agriculture is a booming business these days. In his 10 years in office, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey has seen evidence of this. In an interview with Northey on Thursday, he spoke to the Daily about the impact technology has had on the field of agriculture and what that means for the industry moving forward.

Clinton looks for early voters

INDUSTRY GROWTH “T he scale of agriculture in Iowa, my understanding of it anyway, has grown dramatically,” Northey said. Five years ago, farmers were looking for better technologies so they could figure out how to get the most out of their crop. Today, their success has surpassed what they thought they could achieve in five years. This scale has led to Iowa’s surplus of produce by drawing business to small-town farms. The main worry is no longer about coming out with the latest and greatest technology, but more focussed on company consolidation and competitor crops. With this change in production and mindset comes a change in demand. Crops are thriving, but that is changing demand within Iowa’s normal trading conglomerates. China is usually a big importer of Iowa corn, but its demand for the crop has been going down, while Iowa’s production rates continue to skyrocket.

Nominee returns to Iowa following Monday debate

FUEL PRICES AND ECONOMIC IMPACT

By Alex.Connor @iowastatedaily.com

Many people have noticed the lower gas prices within the last year. A major concern for some Iowans is how this is going to affect the economy in the long run. Northey said that because everything has come full circle, this is not, in fact, hurting us. Gasoline prices went down from

DES MOINES — Hundreds of Hillary Clinton supporters gathered outside at Cowles Commons in Des Moines in anticipation of the Democratic candidate campaigning for Iowa voters to “get out and vote.” Thursday marks the first day of early Iowa voting, a 40-day period in which Iowans can vote in person and at satellite voting locations for who they’d like to see take office come January. Several Iowa politicians spoke before Clinton, including Congressional candidate Jim Mowrer and U.S. Senate candidate

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Northey: We’re having ‘serious’ conversations on run for governor By Alex.Hanson @iowastatedaily.com As Terry Branstad serves out his recordsetting reign as governor, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said Thursday that he is having “serious” conversations about a run for the position. Northey made his comments Thursday during a sit-down interview with the Iowa State Daily. “We are having conversations...[it’s] not something that needs to be decided yet,” Northey said “There was a time [where] I would have just said...I was not interested. It was not something I felt that I was ready for or that I could contribute to. “It’s something we’re in serious conversations with folks now,” he said. Northey, a Republican, has been secretary of agriculture in Iowa since 2006. He won a narrow race when first elected in 2006, but has easily been reelected in 2010 and 2014. “When I came to this job, I just wanted to be secretary of agriculture, which was a pretty big deal and seemed like it was more than enough,” he said Thursday. “As you get around it, there are lots of ways to make a postive difference. You’re able to kind of understand what it takes and the kind of people that you need to have around you to be able take something like that on.” Northey said conversations are ongoing, but a final decision has yet to be made. “There’s a lot to putting a campaign together, to understanding what you bring and how to articulate that,” he said. “We’re doing the kinds of things that give us the option of potentially doing it without making that decision about doing it or not.”

Chris Jorgensen/Iowa State Daily

Former student avoids jail in sexual assault By Alex.Connor @iowastatedaily.com A former Iowa State student accused in a 2014 sexual assault pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to two years probation in Story County Court on Thursday. Patrick Whetstone, 21, the defendant in the 2014 sexual assault that occurred on campus, pleaded guilty on charges of assault with intent to commit sexual assault, an aggravated misdemeanor. Judge James McGlynn said he believed the sentence was an appropriate resolution that would

protect the community and allow Whetstone to be rehabilitated, according to the Associated Press. Whetstone’s victim, Melissa Maher, 21, who is also a former Iowa State student and has filed a lawsuit against the university for what she says was the mishandling of her sexual assault, issued a statement to her attacker during the sentencing. “It’s been 914 days since you shattered my college career, put it on hold and touched my soul in a way that haunts me in my sleep,” Maher told Whetstone, reading from a two-page typed statement, according to the AP. “My life has been completely changed because

you wanted to have your fifteen minutes of fun.” While it is typically against the Daily’s policy to not identify the victims of sexual assault, Maher’s attorney Andrew Zbaracki said that Maher has consented to the use of her name. “Don’t you ever mess with another woman. Don’t you ever touch another girl. No means no,” Maher told Whetstone. The assault against Maher took place in March 2014 at a Frederiksen Court apartment on the Iowa State campus. She reported the incident to ISU Police the day after, however, Whetstone was not charged for the crime until Janu-

ary 2015. According to court documents, Whetstone “should have known she was too intoxicated to consent.” Whetstone was orginially charged for third degree sexual abuse, a class C felony punishable up to 10 years in prison. The documents further state that Whetstone was “sound of mind” at the time he committed the crime and did an act “intended to cause pain or injury” that could result in physical contact that is insulting or offensive to his victim, along with placing his victim in

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Courtesy of the Story County Jail

Patrick Whetstone, above, a former Iowa State student, was sentenced to twoyears probation after pleading guilty in a 2014 sexual assault case.

Officers add to discussion over racial unrest By Danielle.Gehr @iowastatedaily.com The United States has a growing climate of mistrust when it comes to police. This stigma leaves many at a loss when it comes to finding a solution. The ISU Police Department is trying to get closer to solving these issues by starting a conversation. This was put into action Thursday night at Lebaron Hall in an open forum with the ISU Police multicultural liaison officers. “I think what we’re doing is going to serve a purpose to you and also the ISU and Ames community,” said officer Dwight Hinson. Last fall, after a rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump that caused racial unrest on the Iowa State campus, ISU Police put together an initiative in order

to bridge the gap between police and Iowa State students. The initiative is made up of three officers — Natasha Greene, Nick Grossman and Dwight Hinson. Each one of them made sure to create a safe, open environment where students and staff who attended could speak their mind. The CSOs made a decision to wear their uniforms instead of the more casual option, polos, because students often see them in uniform. Before starting the unstructured, unscripted conversation, the officers listed the ground rules. This included being conscious of body language when speaking and being considerate of others’ differing opinions, stating that the goal is not to agree. “Don’t hold anything against us and don’t hold anything back,” Hinson said.

After a moment of silence for those who have died this year and an opportunity for the room to discuss among themselves their views on police cruelty, Hinson started by posing the question, “What are your feelings when you hear the word police?” This was one of the only questions that the police posed, and the rest of the discussion was mainly dictated by those who attended. Some attendees who spoke posed questions while others brought up personal experiences. It was a discussion that became tearful on the attendees’ side, often involved criticism for the officers, but was never met with anger; students and staff voiced their opinions freely. ISU Police have made steps to become more aware of implicit bias such as taking part in IS-

CORE, which was an event held at Iowa State in order to make it a more inclusive environment. Despite this, many students were still concerned that the ISU Police do not have ongoing training on specifically dealing with these issues. “At the academy, honestly, [implicit bias] wasn’t talked about,” Greene said. “I’m a little bit of a loud mouth so I might of brought it up a few times and we had some conversations, but that’s not at our state level yet.” Interim Assistant Vice President and Chief of Police Aaron Delashmutt also was there to offer his input into the discussion. “We appreciate your feedback, that’s exactly what we need,” he said. “There are bad people in every facet of life and we’re just trying to show — and I know that we need to prove we’re trying to show — that not all police were

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bad.” Over the course of the twohour forum, attendees brought up several different issues that were discussed in depth, including racial profiling, diversity within the department and police training. Gun use was a major topic that was brought up numerous times throughout the night. The main purpose of the forum was to start the conversation, and over time, earn the trust of the student body and avoid the racial unrest prevalent at schools like Missouri. The multicultural liaison team plans to hold more forums similar to the one held Thursday night. Questions that students may have for the officers can be asked through their email, Community@ iastate.edu. They are open to any questions and want to keep the conversation going.

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