Donald Trump has an overwhelming lead over every other GOP candidate for president in the latest Iowa Poll, just as he has in every other poll conducted this year. According to the new poll results, which the Des Moines Register published over the course of this week, Iowa Republicans aren’t concerned that the 91 felony […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds
Posted inCommunity/News
‘More than 1,000 books’ removed from Iowa schools, as districts work to comply with new state book ban; Scholastic apologizes for book fair ‘bigot button’
The impact of the book banning provisions in SF 496, which Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in May, is becoming clearer as the Des Moines Register continues to update its database of books pulled from classrooms and school libraries. “More than 1,000 books have already been removed from 39 public school districts,” the Register […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City Community School District releases list of 68 books it’s removed (so far) to comply with the new state law
On Monday, the Iowa City Community School District released the “current list” of books it has removed from schools in its “ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with Iowa law Senate File 496.” Gov. Kim Reynolds signed SF 496 into law in May, after it was pushed through the Iowa Legislature with only Republican votes. Among […]
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Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird endorses Donald Trump for president
On the same day a judge in one of Donald Trump’s ongoing federal criminal trials imposed a limited gag order to stop the former president from making further statements attacking prosecutors and court personnel, or attempting to intimidate witnesses, Iowa’s top law enforcement officer endorsed Trump for president. “I am proud to announce my endorsement […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Dept. of Education doesn’t know how much the new school choice program will cost this year, but it’ll exceed estimates by millions
A total of 18,893 applications for Gov. Reynolds’ new school-voucher-style education savings account (ESA) program were approved this year, the Iowa Department of Education disclosed on Thursday. That’s far more than the enrollment estimate provided to lawmakers by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA) when the bill creating the program to divert public school funds […]
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Regents walk out as UI grad student workers protest for ‘a real raise’; Reynolds announces $1.8 billion state budget surplus
The Iowa Board of Regents meeting at the University of Iowa’s Levitt Center on Wednesday came to an early and abrupt end as members of UI’s graduate student union staged a protest to demand a living wage. A leader of the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS) called out, “What do we want?” as union […]
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Reynolds jabs Trump (indirectly) in tweet defending her six-week abortion ban bills
It’s a testament to the faith that national political reporters still have in the importance of Iowa in the race for the Republican presidential nomination that a short, passive-aggressive tweet from Gov. Kim Reynolds can generate stories in outlets like the New York Times. “It’s never a ‘terrible thing’ to protect innocent life,” Reynolds tweeted […]
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Anti-trans former college swimmer is Gov. Reynolds’ special guest for her biggest fundraiser of the year
It’s been six months since Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the most recent bills targeting transgender Iowans into law, and on Monday the governor showed she intends to keep using her status as a leader figure on the transphobic Republican right to raise money. Reynolds announced Riley Gaines will be her special guest at this year’s […]
Posted inStatewide
Gov. Reynolds is sending state troops to the Texas border (again), spending federal COVID relief funds
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced on Wednesday that she is deploying 109 members of the Iowa National Guard to Texas, along with officers of the Iowa State Patrol, to assist Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s state-level border control program, Operation Lone Star. “The deployment will last until Sept. 1, 2023, with the mission of deterring illegal border […]
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Iowa’s broad new law for schools prohibiting books with sex lands nearly 400 titles on Urbandale’s ban list, including sexless LGBTQ children’s books
The impact of a bill Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law on May 26, which has provisions banning certain books from schools and certain topics from being mentioned in K-6 classes, is beginning to be felt around the state. SF 496 requires schools to remove all books with “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex […]
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The new state laws affecting LGBTQ students this fall
In many important ways, the bills passed by Republican lawmakers and signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds this year that targeted transgender students echoed the law enacted last year banning transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ or women’s sports at schools or colleges in Iowa. Like the sports ban, the new laws […]
Posted inStatewide
The state can’t find a contractor to get Reynolds’ ‘pregnancy resource centers’ funding program off the ground
The new draconian ban on abortions that Gov. Reynolds signed into law on July 14, and which was stopped by a temporary injunction issued by a state court judge three days later, isn’t the only part of the governor’s anti-abortion agenda that’s currently on hold. The Des Moines Register reported on Thursday that more than […]
