DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa State Patrol and Division of Criminal Investigation are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the person responsible for entering and damaging the Iowa State Capitol Building in the early morning hours of Sunday, February 2nd.  Authorities say at approximately 2:55 a.m., a young male forcibly gained entry to the State Capitol Building and caused damage. Authorities believe the suspect sustained injuries to his hands and/or arms, which may be significant.

1st Floor North_Profile

1st Floor – North face

Investigators are sharing two images captured on surveillance cameras, and describe the suspect as a white male with dark hair who is approximately six feet tall and weighing between 180 to 210 pounds. The suspect appears to be wearing a green short-sleeved t-shirt, dark pants and light-colored shoes.  Authorities are asking anyone with information about this incident to contact the Division of Criminal Investigation at 515-725-6010.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, the Democratic presidential candidates are hustling across the state. They’re trying to fire up voters and make one last appeal to people still struggling to make a final decision about who to support in the crowded field. Campaigns and voters acknowledged a palpable sense of unpredictability and anxiety as Democrats begin choosing which candidate to send on to a November face-off with President Donald Trump. Four candidates are locked in a fight for victory in Iowa and others are still in position to pull off surprisingly strong finishes.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A small, yet critical battle is going on within the big Democratic presidential field. Several candidates are jockeying to secure the backing of their party’s establishment wing. Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar are fighting for the political and financial support of the party’s leading donors, elected officials and pragmatists who are eager to unify behind a moderate alternative to the leading liberals Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. The first answers will come Monday in the Iowa caucuses. That’s when voters will begin sorting out the fight between progressive candidates and their more moderate rivals.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – For the first time, the Iowa Democratic Party will report three sets of results from its presidential caucuses. And there’s no guarantee that all three will show the same winner. Each set of results represents a different stage of voting in the caucus process. The new rules for Monday’s contest were mandated by the Democratic National Committee in a bid to make the process more transparent. The Associated Press will report all three results but will only declare a winner in Iowa based on the number of state delegates won by each candidate.

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa caucus is just around the corner and candidates are heating up the criticism. Joe Biden didn’t name Bernie Sanders, but he told voters in Waterloo, Iowa, on Saturday that he wondered why some candidates don’t know how much their proposals will cost. The youngest of the Democrats, 38-year-old Pete Buttigieg, says this is no time for taking the risk of meeting a new challenge with a familiar playbook. Meanwhile, the Des Moines Register has decided to pull results of its final poll because of a problem with its survey questioning.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang says he will “shock” the nation with his performance in Monday night’s caucuses. He says one reason will be his support from Republicans, who he claims back him because he’s focused on the same issues as President Donald Trump. Speaking at a rally at a downtown Des Moines hotel Saturday night, Yang told a packed ballroom that he’s laser-focused on solving the same problems that Trump pointed out — but has actual solutions that people will see and feel.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign is showing signs of strength heading into Monday’s Iowa caucuses – and a source of tension at its heart. Sanders’ more strident supporters tend to demand that everyone unite behind the Vermont senator if he’s the Democratic nominee but are less forceful in pledging to back the nominee if it’s not him. Sanders himself is trying to tamp down that divide, insisting Saturday in Iowa that his campaign will support the nominee and that he expects others to do the same. If Sanders achieves unity by compromising on stands he has taken for decades in political office, he could disappoint supporters.

FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — Some former Democratic presidential candidates could still win votes and make an impact on Iowa’s caucuses Monday. The caucuses essentially allow voters to express support for two candidates in two rounds of voting. During the first round, voters can show support for anyone they want, even if that person isn’t running for president. Some Iowa supporters of former candidates Cory Booker and Kamala Harris say they plan to support the senators during the first round of the caucuses, even though Booker and Harris have bowed out of the race. But they also say the gambit is an attempt to blunt Bernie Sanders’ momentum on the second round.

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater has announced his plans to seek re-election. On his social media page, Vandewater said Saturday that his nomination papers will be at all of the Republican caucus locations in Adair County and the Democratic caucus location in Greenfield. He said also, “My nomination papers have been copied onto bright orange paper to stand out from all the rest.”

LINCOLN, Neb (AP) – Roughly one month after the federal government announced a new crackdown to keep e-cigarettes away from children, state lawmakers in Iowa and Nebraska are forging ahead with similar proposals of their own. Both states are considering new laws to raise the minimum age for vaping to 21 years old in addition to other measures to try to restrict the product.

An Iowa Senate Subcommittee advanced the measure earlier this month to raise that state’s legal age from 18 to eliminate the conflict with federal law. In Nebraska, a legislative committee will review its own bill on Tuesday.