Republican Zach Lahn has been spending a lot of time in Kansas, where he has a home, over the last seven months as he campaigns for governor as the “Iowa First” candidate, the Des Moines Register reported on Thursday. “I’m in Iowa the majority of the time, a tremendous amount of time,” Lahn told the […]
Paul Brennan
Posted inElection Coverage
Early voting has begun in the June 2 primary. Here’s where and when to cast a ballot
Early voting in the June 2 primary election started on Wednesday. County auditors’ offices have started mailing out absentee ballots requested by voters and are opening their doors for early in-person voting. Early in-person voting will run through Monday, June 1, the day before the primary election, and all mail-in absentee ballots must be received […]
Posted inStatewide
State will pay $125,000 to settle lawsuit filed by employee fired for social media post about Charlie Kirk
The state of Iowa will pay $125,000 to settle a lawsuit by an attorney in the State Public Defender’s Office who was fired because of a social media post following the killing of rightwing activist and media figure Charlie Kirk. The payment was approved last week by the State Appeals Board as part of a […]
Posted inCommunity/News
New poll shows AG Brenna Bird just 2 points ahead of Democratic challenger Nate Willems
On Wednesday, the Democratic Attorney Generals Association (DAGA) endorsed Nate Willems, the Democrat challenging incumbent Republican Iowa AG Brenna Bird in this year’s election. The endorsement isn’t a surprise since Willems is the only Democrat in the AG’s race. But what was more noteworthy were the results of a new poll that DAGA published along […]
Posted inCommunity/News
A ‘skyscraper of risk factors’ are giving Iowans cancer
For the third year in a row, Iowa has the second-highest rate of new cancers in the country, according to the annual report from the Iowa Cancer Register (ICR) published in March. It’s also one of only three states where the rate of new cancers is rising, according to data from the National Cancer Institute. […]
Posted inCommunity/News
In Des Moines, JD Vance calls Iran war a ‘little blip in the Middle East,’ Zach Nunn compares pain at the pump to sacrifice of Gold Star families
“My friends, this is not a normal election,” Vice President JD Vance said near the end of his speech at a campaign rally in Des Moines Tuesday. “This is not a normal political environment.” Vance then demonstrated a major reason why this is not a normal political environment. Republicans who follow the lead of Donald […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Locals, elected officials protest effort to deport a Bolivian asylum-seeker with no criminal record to the Congo
“What has José done except ask for freedom from brutality?” Rev. Marc Schlegel-Preheim of First Mennonite Church of Iowa City asked at a protest in front of the Linn County Courthouse in Cedar Rapids on Thursday. About 100 people were gathered on the steps of the courthouse to support José Yugar-Cruz, a 37-year-old asylum-seeker from […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Republican candidates for governor talk cancer, water quality, school vouchers and Rob Sand at Iowa PBS forum
Who wasn’t there was almost as important as who was at the Iowa PBS forum of Republican candidates for governor on Tuesday night. Frontrunner Randy Feenstra skipped it, as he has skipped other forums where his fellow Republicans running for the nomination appear, but he still loomed over the three Republicans who did show up […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Community members gather for a vigil in response to Sunday’s Ped Mall shooting
Laments are “a legitimate prayer,” Rev. Nora Boerner told the people gathered at Trinity Episcopal Church in Iowa City on Monday evening. “Anger is a legitimate prayer. Frustration, pain, anything that you are feeling and anything you believe, you can offer to God, Higher Being, Source, whatever that may be.”
Posted inCommunity/News
Rob Sand wants to legalize marijuana, regulate it like alcohol
Even before he launched his campaign for governor almost a year ago, Rob Sand has spoken out in favor of Iowa legalizing marijuana. On Monday, the Democratic candidate released details of his proposal to legalize and regulate adult use of cannabis in the state. “Establishing an adult-use cannabis industry in Iowa would also create thousands […]
Posted inCommunity/News
State government ‘inadvertently posted’ confidential info about almost 7,000 Medicaid recipients
Confidential information about almost 7,000 Medicaid recipients in the state was exposed in a data breach caused by a mistake at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). According to a HHS news release on Monday, a file containing confidential information on 6,717 Iowans receiving Medicaid was “inadvertently posted to the Department’s website […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Exactly what asylum law is meant to stop’: ICE again seizes Bolivian man ordered released in January, plans to deport him to Africa
Three months after a federal judge ordered ICE to release José Yugar-Cruz from Muscatine County Jail, ICE has detained the 36-year-old asylum seeker from Bolivia again. ICE has not accused Yugar-Cruz, who has no criminal record, of violating the terms of his release or any other infractions. ICE plans to deport him to the Democratic […]
