Hundreds gathered in the hallways and rotunda of the State Capitol to protest the attempt to strip transgender Iowans of civil rights and stop the state government from recognizing the existence of their identities via a bill Republicans are fast-tracking through the Iowa House. “Trans rights are human rights” and “Say no, fight back,” they […]
Community/News
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‘Now is not the time for despair’: Bernie Sanders calls on Americans to ‘fight back’ against Trump authoritarianism in Iowa City
Half an hour before the doors opened at the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City on Saturday, the line of people hoping to get a seat at Sen. Bernie Sanders’ speech stretched a block-and-a-half down Washington Street, before turning the corner and continuing down Clinton Street for another block. Despite freezing cold temperatures and the […]
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‘Pointless, unnecessary and unbelievably cruel’: Rep. Steve Holt proposes bill eliminating civil rights protections for trans people
Iowa would make history by gutting protections enshrined in its Civil Rights Act for almost two decades to make discrimination against transgender Iowans legal, if a bill introduced in the Iowa House on Thursday becomes law. HSB 242 would also alter definitions used in state law to eliminate acknowledging the existence of transgender people as […]
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Iowa House subcommittee advances bill restricting political party changes before caucuses, primaries
A House proposal would require Iowa voters to be registered with a political party one month in advance of that party’s caucuses or primary elections in order to participate. HF 353 would require voters who want to participate in a party caucus or primary to be a registered member of the party at least 30 […]
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Iowa House Republicans advance bill making it a crime to allow minors to ‘view a drag show’
Over 100 protesters gathered in the hallways of the Iowa State Capitol on Tuesday, chanting, “Trans rights are human rights” and “Hey hey, ho ho transphobia has got to go,” as lawmakers on an Iowa House subcommittee considered the latest bill targeting transgender Iowans. According to the explanatory section of HSB 158, the bill is […]
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Brad Sherman — anti-abortion pastor and promoter of vaccine and election conspiracy theories — is running for governor
Brad Sherman announced on Monday he is running for governor. A former head of the Iowa County Republican Party who served one term in the Iowa House of Representatives, Sherman is the first declared candidate in the 2026 governor’s race. “This is not merely a campaign; this is a movement to revitalize the heart and […]
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Iowa’s abortion law is dangerously vague, Iowa health providers, advocates and Democrats warn
University of Iowa student Aubrey Stark remembers coming home from elementary school to see her usually lively pregnant mother, Mandy Stark, ill and bedridden. “She was in so much pain,” Stark said. “[Her condition] was not safe for her at all.” Mandy Stark was suffering from a molar pregnancy, defined by the National Cancer Institute […]
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How to use a pencil to unlock more pleasure
I had a surprisingly sensual and pleasurable experience with a pencil once. I’ve worked with somatic sex educators for a number of years as a way to reclaim a more embodied and empowered relationship to pleasure. Reading Audre Lorde’s work in college helped me understand that the erotic isn’t just the stuff people do to […]
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Phill the water buffalo, survivor of a daring escape and gunshot wound, dies after sudden illness
Phill, the water buffalo, who made national headlines and won the hearts of Iowans last summer when he escaped from the person who bought him to slaughter for meat last summer, has died. Iowa Farm Sanctuary (IFS) posted on social media on Thursday that they had rushed Phill to Iowa State University’s Large Animal Hospital […]
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Iowa House Republicans advance bill to extend ban on LGBTQ topics in elementary schools to middle and high schools
The ban on classroom discussions or lessons acknowledging the identity of anyone except straight, cisgendered individuals, imposed by Gov. Reynolds on K-6 Iowa schools in 2023, would be extended to cover all school instruction through the end of high school under a bill advanced by an Iowa House subcommittee on Wednesday. “This bill prohibits school […]
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Bernie Sanders is bringing his ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour to Iowa City
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is heading back to Iowa this month as part of a new tour criticizing the Trump administration and associates like Elon Musk. Sanders, who won second place in the Iowa Caucuses as a Democratic presidential candidate in 2016 and 2020, announced Wednesday the launch of his “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go […]
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Ron Steele is leaving KWWL after more than 50 years on eastern Iowa airwaves
After more than 50 years on the air, Ron Steele is leaving KWWL. The state’s longest-serving news anchor announced his coming departure at the end of the 10 p.m. news broadcast on Tuesday. “I have come to an agreement with, and have accepted an offer from, KWWL, which will end my career here at KWWL […]
