A plurality of Iowans oppose Gov. Kim Reynolds’ effort to change how the state issues birth certificates in order to identify transgender people, according to a new Iowa Poll. In the survey of 804 adults conducted by Selzer & Co. for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom, 49 percent opposed the proposed change, while 44 […]
Paul Brennan
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Infertility is bipartisan’: Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan says Rep. Miller-Meeks’ support of embryo ‘personhood’ puts IVF at risk
“You can’t have that both ways,” Christina Bohannan said during an online news conference on Thursday. Bohannan, the Democratic candidate challenging two-term incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, was referring to the “backtracking” some politicians are doing following a decision by the Alabama Supreme Court declaring that embryos have all the rights […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Democratic Party’s first vote-by-mail caucus ends on (Super) Tuesday, March 5
Only a few days remain for Democrats in Iowa to participate in their party’s 2024 presidential caucus. Ballots for the state’s first vote-by-mail caucus must be postmarked by Tuesday, March 5, to be considered valid. The Iowa Democratic Party will announce the results of the vote that same night. The party began sending out its […]
Posted inCommunity/News
House Republicans pass bill to eliminate regular health and safety inspections of hotels and motels in Iowa
A decade ago, the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing (DIAL) stopped following the requirement in state law that it inspect all hotels and motels in the state at least once every two years. The department didn’t inform the public or lawmakers that it stopped routine inspections in 2014. That fact didn’t come to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Suspicious fire’ damages Iowa’s largest sycamore; Gov. Reynolds’ opposition to CAFO rules threatens waterways
Iowa’s largest sycamore tree, which is located in a state park near Burlington, was severely damaged by a “suspicious fire,” the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said in a news release on Thursday. It’s not known if the tree, estimated to be about 350 years old, will survive. According to the DNR, a visitor […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa House approves bill to prevent tracking of suspicious gun purchases on party-line vote
A bill to stop credit card companies from taking steps to help law enforcement agencies identify suspicious purchases of firearms and ammunition was passed by the Iowa House of Representatives on Tuesday. HF 2464 was approved on a party-line vote with House Democrats voting against it. The bill prohibits credit card companies from using transaction […]
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More than 17,500 mail-in ballots have been requested for the yet-to-be-held Iowa Democratic Caucus
It may feel like Iowa’s presidential caucus season is long over. The national reporters are gone, along with their clichés about and misunderstandings of the state. It may feel like ages since Donald Trump won the least surprising victory since the Harlem Globetrotters’ last game against the Washington Generals. But the state’s Democratic presidential caucus […]
Posted inEastern Iowa Food & Drink
Cedar Rapids Restaurant Week returns with a 10-day week and 19 restaurants
The name may say “week,” but Cedar Rapids Restaurant Week is a 10-day-long celebration of the city’s breakfast, lunch and dinner options. The “Cedar Rapids” part isn’t strictly accurate either, since Cedar Ridge Winery & Distillery in Swisher and the hip-stir in Marion are among the 19 restaurants participating this year. The week expanded to […]
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Hundreds declare ‘we will not go silently’ as supporters of Gov. Reynolds’ HF 2389 complain trans people ‘need to go’; bill advances
It’s funnel week at the Iowa Capitol, so by Friday a bill needs to be approved by a committee in either the House or Senate to be considered for passage this legislative session. It’s supposedly a fixed deadline, but it’s really just an observed custom, because there are existing exceptions for certain bills — such […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Shouldn’t we be working on something more important in education?’: Republicans in House ed committee fast-track Gov. Reynolds’ bill targeting trans Iowans’ ID
Just a few days after Gov. Kim Reynolds introduced a sweeping bill targeting transgender and nonbinary Iowans, that bill is now eligible for a floor vote in the Iowa House. HSB 649, which the governor filed last Thursday, was approved by the House Education Committee on Tuesday on a party-line vote. All of the committee’s […]
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Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission to hold public hearing on landmark status for building that’s home to Pagliai’s Pizza
The Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission will hold a public hearing during its Thursday evening meeting on the possibility of conferring landmark status on the Northside building that’s been home to Pagliai’s Pizza since 1969. The building at 302-316 E Bloomington St, properly known as the Slezak-Holub-Skarda Building, dates back to 1876 and, despite the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
A bill protecting ‘teachers of faith’ from having to respect students’ or parents’ preferred pronouns advances as LGBTQ rights advocates rally
“They are trying to wear us down,” Courtney Reyes of One Iowa Action said about the raft of anti-LGBTQ legislation Republicans have introduced this year in the Iowa Legislature. “We’re not going anywhere.” Reyes, the executive director of the nonprofit that advocates on behalf of LGBTQ Iowans, was speaking at a rally in the Iowa […]
