Gov. Terry Branstad illegally discriminated against the former Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Christopher Godfrey when he slashed Godfrey’s salary in 2011 in an attempt to force Godfrey to resign, a Polk County jury decided on Monday. The jury agreed with Godfrey that Branstad had singled him out because Godfrey is gay, and awarded him $1.5 million in damages.
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We all make mistakes. Gov. Reynolds made a mistake when she vetoed legislation that would make essential improvements to Iowa’s medical cannabis program. She got bad advice and didn’t listen to the Iowans most directly involved. These are our friends and neighbors who suffer every day with such debilitating, life-threatening conditions […]
A state district court judge issued a temporary injunction on Wednesday, blocking new regulations designed to prevent Planned Parenthood of the Heartland (PPH) from receiving government grants to provide sex education programs. PPH currently uses that grant money to provide sex education programs in 31 schools and 12 community-based, youth-service organizations across Iowa. PPH has […]
On Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds vetoed a bill that would have allowed people diagnosed with “severe or chronic pain” to participate in the Iowa Medical Cannabidiol (mCBD) Program and would have raised the cap on the active ingredient in the cannabidiol currently available to patients in the program. […]
The ACLU of Iowa filed a lawsuit in state court on Wednesday seeking to overturn sections of the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) budget bill that were designed to prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving government grants to provide sex education programs. […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill on Friday that contained a provision overturning a March ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court striking down the state’s ban on the use of Medicaid funds to pay for sex reassignment procedures deemed medically necessary by doctors. The justices ruled unanimously that the ban violated the Iowa Civil Rights Act […]
In March, just two months after a federal judge struck down Iowa’s “ag gag” law as unconstitutional, the Iowa legislature passed a new, almost identical version of the law. “So we’re doing another bill pretty similar to the last one which is going to end up … costing taxpayers more money [to defend in court],” Democratic Rep. Sharon Stockman from Mason City said during the Iowa House floor debate on Agricultural Facility Trespass Act. […]
During a televised speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee, President Donald Trump made the bizarre and unfounded claim that sounds made by wind turbines cause cancer. Multiple news organizations asked the White House what evidence on which the president was relying, but the Trump administration has so far not responded. TRUMP during NRCC speech: […]
Two months after a federal judge struck down Iowa’s “ag gag” law as unconstitutional, the Iowa legislature passed a new, similar law on Tuesday. The Agricultural Facility Trespass Act makes it a crime for a person to use “deception” to gain access to an agriculture production facility, or apply for a job at one, “with […]
Update: On March 27, the Poweshiek County District Court granted Cristhian Bahena Rivera’s request for a change of venue. His trial for the murder of Mollie Tibbetts has been moved to Woodbury County. Bahena Rivera’s attorneys had asked the case be moved to a community “where a minority population is substantially represented.” Latinos make up […]
Shortly before last November’s election, state government officials bypassed normal procedures and quickly agreed to a multi-million dollar settlement of sexual harassment claims against a longtime friend and political ally of Gov. Kim Reynolds, the Associated Press’ Ryan J. Foley reported on Thursday. Foley obtained correspondence between Iowa Solicitor General Jeff Thompson and Paige Fielder, […]
Iowans are evenly split on legalizing recreational marijuana, according to a new poll published by the Des Moines Register. The Iowa Poll found 48 percent of respondents favored legalization, 48 percent opposed it and 4 percent were unsure. This is a significant change from the results of the last Iowa Poll on the topic. In […]
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