The Iowa Board of Regents meeting at the University of Iowa’s Levitt Center on Wednesday came to an early and abrupt end as members of UI’s graduate student union staged a protest to demand a living wage. A leader of the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS) called out, “What do we want?” as union […]
Paul Brennan
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Abe Goldstien’s Waukee jazz series showcases international talent on an ‘acoustically perfect’ stage
“Hey, if you’re passionate about it, figure out a way to do it yourself,” said Abe Goldstien, explaining the philosophy that has made his local concert series, Jazz at the Caspe Terrace, a magnet for international jazz talent for 15 years. After all, Goldstien has had a passion for jazz since his boyhood in Rochester, […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
The Planned Parenthood Book Sale will end this year after 62 years in Des Moines
Since 1961, the Planned Parenthood Book Sale in Des Moines has been a major fundraiser supporting the work of Planned Parenthood educators as they provide accurate, fact-based and comprehensive sex education to people across the state. “Proceeds from last year helped Planned Parenthood educators host 461 programs that reached 15,563 teens, adults, parents, and families […]
Posted inCommunity/News
State officials weigh an exception to the Iowa Open Records Act that lets them ignore ‘vexatious requesters’
At its meeting on Thursday, the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB) voted to defer a decision on a proposal to ask the legislature to create a new exception to Iowa’s Open Records Act that would allow government agencies to disregard records requests from a “vexatious requester.” Instead, the board will create a committee to gather […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie, in office since 2003, will not run for reelection
Frank Cownie announced on Wednesday he will not run for another term as mayor of Des Moines in November’s election. The 75-year-old Cownie is in his fifth term as mayor, and is the longest-serving mayor in Des Moines history. “It has been one of the greatest honors and privileges of my life to serve as […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Reynolds jabs Trump (indirectly) in tweet defending her six-week abortion ban bills
It’s a testament to the faith that national political reporters still have in the importance of Iowa in the race for the Republican presidential nomination that a short, passive-aggressive tweet from Gov. Kim Reynolds can generate stories in outlets like the New York Times. “It’s never a ‘terrible thing’ to protect innocent life,” Reynolds tweeted […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Anti-trans former college swimmer is Gov. Reynolds’ special guest for her biggest fundraiser of the year
It’s been six months since Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the most recent bills targeting transgender Iowans into law, and on Monday the governor showed she intends to keep using her status as a leader figure on the transphobic Republican right to raise money. Reynolds announced Riley Gaines will be her special guest at this year’s […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Democrats pick a 2024 caucus date
The Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) will hold its 2024 caucus the same night as the Iowa Republican Party had already chosen for its caucus, party leaders decided on Saturday. The IDP State Central Committee unanimously approved Jan. 15 as the date for the precinct-level meetings. But the committee did not make any decision on what […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Peace Tree — one of Iowa’s oldest breweries, with two locations — is up for sale
Peace Tree Brewing Co., one of the pillars of the Iowa craft beer scene, is up for sale. “Peace Tree is not closing its doors,” owner Megan McKay said in a news release on Thursday. “Normal operations will continue uninterrupted, and plans for 2024 are already in motion with some exciting new beers we think […]
Posted inStatewide
The ‘door of impeachable whatever’ is creaking open in the U.S. House, and Iowa’s Republican representatives are ready
On Tuesday, the first working day for the U.S. House of Representatives after its most recent vacation, Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced he had ordered House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden’s actions. Exactly what actions prompted the inquiry were left unsaid, as nine months of investigations by multiple House committees […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Special election will decide Sheumaker’s replacement, Des Moines City Council votes — and the first candidate has already declared
The Des Moines City Council voted unanimously on Monday to fill its vacant Ward 1 post by means of a special election. The seat has been officially empty since Aug. 31, when Councilmember Indira Sheumaker resigned after six months of unexplained absences from board meetings. There was no discussion before the vote during the council’s […]
Posted inStatewide
Iowa AG Brenna Bird keeps threatening out-of-state companies
Since becoming attorney general in January, Brenna Bird has been joining other Republican state attorneys general in attempting to intimidate companies into enacting policies conservative activists like. At the beginning of February, Bird was one of the Republican attorneys general to sign a letter to Walgreens and CVS that threatened the pharmacy chains with unspecified […]
