The state of Iowa will pay $125,000 to settle a lawsuit by an attorney in the State Public Defender’s Office who was fired because of a social media post following the killing of rightwing activist and media figure Charlie Kirk. The payment was approved last week by the State Appeals Board as part of a […]
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Judge: City’s arrest of critic is ‘quintessential viewpoint discrimination’
Declaring that a citizen was “targeted because he criticized the police department and city leadership,” a federal judge has ruled that the City of Newton violated the rights of a critic by twice having the man arrested at city council meetings. The decision means that Noah Petersen’s lawsuit against the city for violating his constitutional […]
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Iowa’s last adult movie theater attracted loners and swingers alike in Waterloo
When my friends and I turned 18 in the early aughts, we decided we were tired of our parents’ basements. We found our new hang on the north side of Cedar Rapids. Sure, Adult Shop North was the place where people in town picked up their lubricants, toys and triple-X movies, but it also had […]
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Public defender sues state, claiming she was fired for comments about Charlie Kirk
The State of Iowa is being sued by an attorney who claims she was fired from the Office of the State Public Defender for online comments made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder in September. Maria Ruhtenberg, an attorney for the State Public Defender, is suing the State of Iowa and State Public Defender […]
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Appeals court sides with Trump, letting him move his Iowa Poll lawsuit back to state court
In a split decision on Friday, a three-member panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Donald Trump, overturning a lower court ruling and clearing the way for Trump to move his lawsuit over the final Iowa Poll of the 2024 election back to state court. Last December, then-President-elect Trump filed a lawsuit […]
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Judge rules in favor of Iowa teacher facing dismissal for Charlie Kirk-related posts
A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Creston Community School District from moving forward with plans to fire a teacher for her comments regarding the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Last month, Melisa Crook, a high school English teacher from Creston, was informed that she was facing termination for a social […]
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As state and federal officials target speech they disapprove of, free speech proponents will rally in Iowa City Wednesday
Freedom of speech, and the importance of protecting it from powerful opponents, has become an urgent topic of discussion since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. His administration has, among other actions, aggressively targeted international students expressing opinions or engaging in protest it dislikes for deportation, pressured universities to change curricula to […]
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Iowa public universities to investigate employee social media posts about Charlie Kirk death
After hours of closed discussion, the Iowa Board of Regents directed state universities Wednesday to investigate social media posts allegedly made by university employees relating to rightwing influencer Charlie Kirk and his death. The board began its first meeting of the fall semester with a closed session, added to the agenda after multiple Iowa State […]
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Le Mars school district bars religious groups from holding events on school grounds
A northwest Iowa school district has agreed to prohibit religious organizations from holding events at schools after receiving a complaint about a Christian group holding National Day of Prayer celebrations on school grounds. The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a nonprofit organization advocating for the separation of church and state and for nonreligious people, sent […]
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AG Bird drops her lawsuit against Winneshiek County over sheriff’s Facebook post
On Friday, Attorney General Brenna Bird dropped her lawsuit over a February Facebook post by Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx. Bird had been seeking to strip Winneshiek County of all state funds, unless Marx publicly disowned his Facebook post and declared his support for ICE enforcement actions, using language provided by the AG’s office. Bird […]
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Federal judge rejects Trump’s attempt to move his Iowa Poll lawsuit to state court
A federal judge has rejected President Trump’s attempt to withdraw his lawsuit against pollster J. Ann Selzer, the Des Moines Register and others over the final Iowa Poll before the 2024 election. Trump’s attorneys filed a Notice of Voluntary Withdrawal in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa on Monday, asking Judge […]
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In surprise move, Trump refiles lawsuit over Iowa Poll in state court as new anti-SLAPP law goes into effect
In a surprise move on Monday, attorneys for President Trump filed a motion in federal district court seeking to drop his lawsuit against pollster J. Ann Selzer, the Des Moines Register and others over the final Iowa Poll of the 2024 election. Trump filed his lawsuit in December against Selzer, her polling firm Selzer & […]
