Content warning: Homophobic and ableist slurs. On March 3, state representative Jeff Shipley posted a photo from the Iowa House floor holding up a box of ivermectin. Specifically, the Republican from Fairfield was holding a box of apple-flavored IverCare paste. The label showed a horse silhouette and a feeding syringe. “OTC ivermectin now being debated […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds
Posted inCommunity/News
Republicans defend ‘freedom milk,’ the Big Lie as Iowa Legislature passes final bills of the session
Iowa legislators held a marathon session Saturday and Sunday to finish up the 2026 session, ending with a property tax deal and measures on warrant resolution clinics and abortion medication, as well as a budget compromise. The Iowa House began its final session at 8:31 a.m. Saturday, and gaveled out at 6:11 p.m. Sunday. In […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Republican candidates for governor talk cancer, water quality, school vouchers and Rob Sand at Iowa PBS forum
Who wasn’t there was almost as important as who was at the Iowa PBS forum of Republican candidates for governor on Tuesday night. Frontrunner Randy Feenstra skipped it, as he has skipped other forums where his fellow Republicans running for the nomination appear, but he still loomed over the three Republicans who did show up […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Senate sends ‘MAHA bill’ with SNAP restrictions, over-the-counter ivermectin to governor’s desk
The Iowa Senate sent Gov. Kim Reynolds’ “Make America Healthy Again” legislation to her desk Monday, a package that includes SNAP restrictions, over-the-counter ivermectin and several school health and nutrition policies. HF 2676, passed 30-16, seeks to make permanent the state’s currently implemented waivers restricting the purchase of unhealthy foods through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Republicans killed another legal marijuana bill this year. After nearly a decade of attempts, 2027 could turn over a new leaf.
Some bills die quietly in the Iowa Legislature. HF 2206 did this year. It attracted minimal attention among lawmakers when it was introduced on Jan. 29, even though the bill had 15 House members as sponsors. It drew even less attention outside the Capitol Building, despite the fact it would have done something polling suggests most Iowans want: legalize the recreational use of marijuana.
Posted inElection Coverage
Voters can now request an absentee ballot for the June 2 primary; three counties face new districted supervisor elections as a result of GOP law
Registered voters in Iowa can now request absentee ballots for the June 2 primary election from their county auditor’s office. The first day auditors can mail the ballots to voters who have requested them will be May 13, the same day early in-person voting begins. Printable absentee ballot request forms are available on the Iowa […]
Posted inCommunity/News
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 […]
Posted inStatewide
‘Chipping away at the rights of Iowans’: House passes bill to eliminate local civil rights protections for trans people
On Thursday, the Iowa House approved a bill that prohibits local governments from having any civil rights ordinances that provide greater protections for rights than state law does. Eliminating the power of local governments to protect the rights of transgender and nonbinary people is one of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ stated priorities for her final legislative session as governor.
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa House Republicans advance bills to eliminate local civil rights protections, allow parents to force LGBTQ kids into ‘conversion therapy’
Republican members of two Iowa House Judiciary subcommittees advanced two bills on Monday that continue the anti-LGBTQ agenda Gov. Kim Reynolds and legislative Republicans have enshrined in state law since 2022. As the hearings were underway, supporters of transgender rights and advocates for LGBTQ Iowans protested in the rotunda and halls of the State Capitol. […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa House passes bill to restrict use of eminent domain for Summit’s CO2 pipeline
Companies would no longer be able to use eminent domain to appropriate privately owned land for carbon pipeline projects under a bill approved by the Iowa House on Wednesday. HF 2104 passed with bipartisan support, 64-28. Ten of the House’s 33 Democrats joined 54 of the chamber’s 67 Republicans in voting for the bill. “I […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Reynolds poses plans to ‘change how local government works’ in Condition of the State speech preluded by protests
“As I’ve declared every time I’ve been at this podium, the condition of our state is strong,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said the Condition of the State Address on Tuesday night. This is the last legislative session in which Reynolds, who announced in April she was not running for reelection, will have the power to sign […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa GOP leaders stress unity, throw digs at Rob Sand as 2026 legislative session opens
As the state Legislature is set to tackle some potentially contentious issues in the 2026 legislative session, Iowa Republican leaders emphasized “unity” as they gathered for the GOP legislative breakfast Monday before gaveling in. There have been multiple leadership changes leading into the session that could shift dynamics in the Legislature. Iowa Senate Majority Leader […]
