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 […]
Community/News
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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 […]
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Iowa Board of Regents hears student leaders’ concerns about proposed tuition increases
Frustration. Defeat. Uncertainty about whether they will be able to complete their goals. These are some of the feelings University of Iowa Student Body President Thomas Knudsen said fellow UI students have expressed to him as they watch tuition and fees rise along with many other expenses. Knudsen, a junior at the UI, shared stories […]
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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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Judge cites lack of confidence in Homeland Security, issues injunction protecting four UI students in lawsuit
Stating that she has “little confidence” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will comply with its own regulations, a federal judge on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction protecting four University of Iowa students and graduates from deportation. The three international students and one international-student graduate are suing Homeland Security for revoking their status as students […]
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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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Senate passes bill restricting eminent domain for carbon pipelines
Iowa senators voted 27-22 late Monday to pass a bill to limit the ability of carbon sequestration pipelines to use eminent domain, sending it to the governor’s desk after a drawn-out debate. The decision follows four years of urging from Iowans and House lawmakers for eminent domain reform in response to the proposed Summit Carbon […]
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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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Iowa Supreme Court rejects LULAC’s lawsuit over English-only voting materials
The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed a district court decision that cleared the way for election officials to distribute voter materials in languages other than English. Without directly addressing the merits of Iowa’s law restricting the dissemination of government records in languages other than English, the court found that the League of United Latin American […]
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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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‘They said they’re going to break our spirits’: Summer campers toiled in the Iowa heat, endured abuse from church leaders at Shiloh
Titus Walker lived in Hawaii, but he flew to rural Iowa for summer camp. Growing up in an insular church community in the 1980s, it was a blast to hang out with kids his age, even if the Young Adult School of Prophets (YASP) wasn’t much of a vacation. “They would take us out into the fields below Shiloh,” the church’s township south of Kalona, Walker recalled. “At the time it was just plagued with these thorny-ass rose bushes. And we would remove rose bushes all day long.”
