Iowa can now enforce all parts of SF 496 — commonly known as the “don’t say gay” bill because of its provisions prohibiting references to LGBTQ topics in K-6 schools, requiring written parental permission to use a student’s preferred pronouns or name if it is does not match the gender listed in school records, and […]
Civil Rights
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ICE accused of maliciously staging a ‘sham’ hearing for Iowa detainee denied bond
The attorney for an immigration detainee held in the Polk County Jail says federal officials maliciously staged a “sham” court hearing orchestrated to keep his client behind bars. The case involves Suraj Vasal, who four years ago came to the United States from India seeking asylum and was then released on his own recognizance. Court […]
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Gov. Kim Reynolds kicks off her ‘Legacy Tour’ just days after signing bill undermining the rights of trans Iowans
The “Governor Kim Reynolds Legacy Tour” kicks off in Cedar Rapids on Thursday at the Hotel at Kirkwood Center. The 90-minute event starts at 6 p.m. “Hors D’oeuvres will be served,” according to the Iowa Republican Party’s ticket page for the event. “Do not miss your chance to show Governor Reynolds our appreciation for her […]
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Conversion therapy, affirmative action bills pass Iowa House
The Iowa House passed two measures Wednesday that Democrats and opponents said would harm marginalized populations, including transgender Iowans, throughout the state. HF 2557 creates exemptions to the definitions of “child abuse” and “child endangerment” in Iowa Code for a parent’s response to a child whose gender identity does not align with their sex assigned […]
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Ames City Council votes to protect rights of trans residents — one day after legislators advance bill to ban such ordinances
This week, after Republicans on an Iowa House subcommittee advanced a bill to eliminate the power of local governments to offer broader civil rights protections than the state does, Ames became the latest city in the state to amend its municipal code to protect the rights of transgender and nonbinary residents. HSB 664 was drafted […]
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‘The American people must have more than a choice between evils’: Iowan Henry A. Wallace, FDR’s vice president, was an ag innovator and fierce antifascist
“The Cornfield Prophet” Henry A . Wallace, known for his pioneering work in agriculture, was a progressive statesman who championed the “Century of the Common Man.” A heartbeat away from the presidency for four years as FDR’s vice president, his supporters viewed him as the torchbearer for the New Deal, while opponents dismissed him as […]
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‘Good Trouble Lives On’ in more than 20 Iowa cities on Thursday for a national day of action (Updated)
On Thursday, July 17, people will gather across the nation at more than 1,600 events for the fifth annual Good Trouble Lives On National Day of Action. The events will protest actions by the Trump administration while celebrating the legacy of John Lewis, a hero of the Civil Rights Movement who went on to serve in Congress […]
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Sharply divided Iowa Supreme Court dismisses wrongful imprisonment claim
A sharply divided Iowa Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court decision dismissing a former prisoner’s claim for damages due to wrongful imprisonment. In strongly worded dissenting opinions, two of the Iowa justices called the majority’s decision in the case on Friday “frightening” and “profoundly wrong,” warning that it could remove any disincentive for state […]
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Iowa House Higher Education Committee approve bill to force private colleges to eliminate DEI programs
Under HSB 60, private universities would be prohibited from starting, maintaining or funding DEI offices unless required by accreditors or by law, with the risk of losing their eligibility to accept Iowa Tuition Grant dollars from students if they are found noncompliant. The Iowa Tuition Grant program provides scholarships to students who attend a private university […]
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How the Clark family of Muscatine helped desegregate schools in Iowa — and nationwide
There’s fascinating history to be found in Muscatine. Before adopting the name Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens briefly wrote for the Muscatine Journal while his brother was the paper’s editor. Long before Field of Dreams, it saw some of America’s earliest minor-league baseball teams take the field. Neither Twain nor those teams left much of a […]
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Along with banning books and targeting LGBTQ students, SF 496 also cut requirement for schools to provide information on HIV/AIDS and HPV
It’s World AIDS Day. Since 1988, the first day of December has been recognized as a day on which to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and remember those who died because of the disease. Around the same time World AIDS Day was first commemorated, Iowa began requiring public schools to provide age-appropriate information about HIV/AIDS to […]
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‘I am not shameful’: Iowa Safe Schools, seven students sue the state over anti-LGBTQ law SF 496
On Tuesday, the ACLU of Iowa and Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a nationwide civil rights organization dedicated to defending and advocating for LGBTQ people, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Des Moines challenging SF 496, the education bill signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May. “This is a federal civil […]
