IOWA (IRN) – Former President Donald Trump is seeing his support erode as campaigning begins to heat up ahead of Iowa’s 2024 presidential caucuses, a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows. Trump, who launched a third White House bid late last year, has seen his favorability numbers in the first-in-the-nation caucus state steadily decline among Republicans since they peaked in September 2021. And the percentage of Iowa Republicans who say they would “definitely” vote for him if he were the nominee in 2024 has plummeted by more than 20 percentage points since June 2021.

PERRY, IA (IRN) – Two teenagers are dead and another is hurt after a crash near Perry Thursday. The three teenagers were from Jamaica, Iowa, and were in a car traveling east on Iowa Highway 141 when the vehicle crossed the center line and hit a truck traveling west. The sheriff’s office believes the crash was related to the snow-covered roads in the area. The crash victims have been identified as three siblings. Daisy and Walter Fuentes Gavidia died in the crash. Their sister, Edlyn is in the intensive care unit.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – State Auditor Rob Sand is calling out Iowa GOP lawmakers over a proposed bill he said would undermine his office’s ability to provide independent audits and allow entities to keep documents hidden that could reveal corruption and fraud. Sand says the bill would put Iowa at risk of losing hundreds of millions in federal funding because it conflicts with auditing standards. Sand says the bill is “pro-corruption.”

MARION, IA (IRN) – Two Linn-Mar school buses collided Thursday afternoon. There are reports of three students with minor injuries, as well as a bus driver injured in the incident.

NEVADA, IA (IRN) – Former UN ambassador and candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, Nikki Haley, held a town hall event in Nevada, Iowa yesterday. Haley advocated for ‘school choice’ policies nationwide, praising Gov. Kim Reynolds for Iowa’s new school choice law. Haley said she wants to bring more unity to the country, focusing on patriotism.