Promising “at least three major town halls and dozens of public stops,” Republican David Paustch announced on Friday he’s launching a tour of all 20 counties in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District. The 71-year-old Pautsch, best known as the host of the annual Quad Cities Prayer Breakfast, is running for the House seat currently held by […]
Paul Brennan
Posted inCommunity/News
Last-minute amendment to House budget bill targets healthcare for trans Americans; bill would take Medicaid from 86,000 Iowans
The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the tax and spending bill supported by President Trump early on Thursday morning. A last-minute change to the bill, apparently to make it more appealing to rightwing members of Congress threatening to vote no, targets transgender Americans. An amendment to the bill’s ban on Medicaid paying […]
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‘I want clean water. I want clean air’: Democrat Nathan Sage brings Senate campaign to Iowa City
“At the end of the day, we’re all pissed off and we’re tired of what’s going on and we need a change,” Nathan Sage told the packed room at Big Grove Brewery and Taproom in Iowa City on Monday night. A steady drizzle of rain that grew into a booming thunderstorm didn’t discourage people from […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Foreseeing ‘irreparable harm,’ federal judge blocks most of Iowa’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law with preliminary injunction
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction late on Thursday, blocking parts of the anti-LGBTQ education bill signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May 2023. SF 496 attracted nationwide attention for its school book ban provision, but it went well beyond that, making changes to state law to effectively erase almost any acknowledgment […]
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‘Relatively minor’ and decreasing: Supervisors receive report on the status of Johnson County’s main groundwater source
The title of the report presented to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors during its work session on Wednesday was very technical: “Simulation of Groundwater Flow in the Silurian Aquifer, Eastern Iowa (2020–2045).” That was appropriate given the complex nature of its subject matter. But the report’s ultimate message about the groundwater supply much of […]
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Our liberties she pries: Eight years into a decade in office, Gov. Kim Reynolds has cemented her legacy
A range of emotions could be heard in Gov. Kim Reynolds’ voice as she spoke to reporters at the annual Terrace Hill Easter Egg Hunt on April 12. It was the day after her surprise announcement that she wouldn’t run for reelection in 2026, and Reynolds was clearly feeling sentimental as she reflected on her time […]
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Rob Sand, the last remaining Democrat in statewide office, announces his run for governor
“A lot of politicians yap about making a place redder or bluer,” State Auditor Rob Sand said in an online video Monday morning, “I want Iowa to be better and truer.” Sand posted the video to announce his run for governor. It was widely expected that Sand would run for governor in 2026. Of course, […]
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‘Nothing more than thought policing’: Winneshiek sheriff asks court to dismiss AG Bird’s lawsuit over his Facebook post
In a motion filed in Polk County District Court on Wednesday, attorneys for Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx called the effort to cut off all state funds to Winneshiek County by Gov. Kim Reynolds and Attorney General Brenna Bird in response to a Facebook post by Marx “nothing more than thought policing.” Marx asked the […]
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As the semester wraps on Friday, locals will ‘Stand Up for Science’ on the UI Pentacrest
Friday is the final day for classes this semester at the University of Iowa, but the fight of faculty members and students, along with supportive members of the broader community, to protect science from sudden, arbitrary funding cuts and other hostile actions by the Trump administration continues. As part of the fight, Stand Up for […]
Posted inStatewide
‘The arts are being systematically attacked’: Iowa arts orgs lose federal funding as Trump administration terminates NEA grants
After making massive cuts at the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and rescinding grants awarded by those agencies, the Trump administration brought its sweeping and arbitrary DOGE-style cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) last week. The NEA sent out emails on Friday to […]
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Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott is running for Congress in Iowa’s 3rd District: ‘Zach Nunn has failed us’
State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott announced on Monday she is running for Congress in Iowa’s 3rd District. The West Des Moines Democrat is the first candidate to launch a run for the seat currently held by two-term incumbent Republican Zach Nunn. “Zach Nunn has failed us,” Trone Garriott said in her announcement video. “As Iowa […]
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‘We are not illegal humans’: Hundreds march in Iowa City in support of immigrants
Hundreds gathered in College Green Park in Iowa City on Thursday evening for the Aquí Estamos March for Immigrant Dignity and Justice. The march, which ended with a rally on the Ped Mall, was a chance for community members to show their support of immigrants and their opposition to Trump administration policies and ICE actions, […]
