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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 […]

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‘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 […]

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In latest move to restrict powers of local governments, Iowa Legislature passes bill aimed at Johnson County ID program (Updated)

Update: As expected, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed HF 2296 into law. It was one of 21 bills the governor approved on Thursday, April 16, according to a news release from the governor’s office. The Iowa Senate gave final approval on Tuesday to a bill banning cities and counties from issuing local IDs to residents. HF […]

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Iowa can now fully enforce its ‘don’t say gay’ and school book ban law, after appeals court vacates injunctions

Iowa can now enforce all parts of SF 496 — commonly known as the “don’t say gay” bill because of its provisions prohibiting references to LGBTQ topics in K-6 schools, requiring written parental permission to use a student’s preferred pronouns or name if it is does not match the gender listed in school records, and […]

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UI professor and Iowa City local for 25 years sues Trump administration for canceling his, his wife’s citizenship oaths

“Twenty-six years ago, I touched down at Eastern Iowa Airport,” Dr. Sunday Goshit told the people gathered on the Ped Mall Friday morning. Goshit, an adjunct assistant professor of International Studies at the University of Iowa and an instructor of Intercultural Competence at Kirkwood Community College, recalled how he arrived in Iowa “with a suitcase […]

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Iowa Republicans killed another legal marijuana bill this year. After nearly a decade of attempts, 2027 could turn over a new leaf.

Some bills die quietly in the Iowa Legislature. HF 2206 did this year. It attracted minimal attention among lawmakers when it was introduced on Jan. 29, even though the bill had 15 House members as sponsors. It drew even less attention outside the Capitol Building, despite the fact it would have done something polling suggests most Iowans want: legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

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A stolen Pride flag was restored and a proclamation challenged this Trans Day of Visibility in Johnson County

Speaking to the crowd gathered at College Green Park in downtown Iowa City for the Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) rally on Tuesday, Katie Freeman began by talking about the sounds — shouts, chants, angry and despairing screams — they heard in protests inside the Iowa State Capitol last year as Republican lawmakers voted to […]

Posted inElection Coverage

Voters can now request an absentee ballot for the June 2 primary; three counties face new districted supervisor elections as a result of GOP law

Registered voters in Iowa can now request absentee ballots for the June 2 primary election from their county auditor’s office. The first day auditors can mail the ballots to voters who have requested them will be May 13, the same day early in-person voting begins. Printable absentee ballot request forms are available on the Iowa […]

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Iowans in 61 cities turn out for No Kings the third, protesting fresh Trump horrors at now-routine rallies

There were more than 3,300 “No Kings” rallies across the country on Saturday, including 61 in Iowa. The rallies protesting President Trump and his policies took place across the state, in both Iowa’s largest cities and smaller communities like Onawa and Tipton. National organizers estimated the overall participation across the country at 8 million. It is […]

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‘It’s clear we need to change’: Report identifies four environmental factors raising cancer risk in Iowa

“Cancer is not an abstract problem in Iowa,” oncologist Richard Deming told the people gathered in the Harkin Institute’s auditorium. “It’s not rare, it’s not declining and it’s not evenly distributed. Cancer affects everybody, but it doesn’t affect everybody equally.” Eighty percent of the 25 counties with highest cancer rates in Iowa are rural, according […]

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