Abortion remains legal in Iowa up to the 20th week of pregnancy as Gov. Kim Reynolds’ latest effort to outlaw almost all abortions in Iowa failed on Friday. The Iowa Supreme Court split 3-3 on her unprecedented petition to have the court dissolve the 2019 permanent injunction on the six-week abortion ban the governor signed […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds
Posted inCommunity/News
A bill to restrict HIV/AIDS and HPV education in Iowa schools harkens back to the darkest days of the Reagan era
Thirty-six years after the Reagan administration began a long-delayed public education campaign about HIV/AIDS, Gov. Kim Reynolds and Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have decided that education about HIV/AIDS is no longer needed in public schools. One of the provisions of SF 496 — a bill introduced by the governor’s office that makes major changes […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds’ ESA program, fast-tracked through the Iowa Legislature, goes into effect May 31
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office announced on Thursday morning that the new “Students First Education Savings Accounts” program will begin accepting applications on May 31. In the same statement, the governor’s office unveiled the administrative rules for the voucher-style program and other information. Passing a law to create a program to divert money from public to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa food banks in ‘dire situation,’ anticipate more strain if governor signs restrictions on SNAP benefits
Food banks across the state continue to struggle to meet the needs of their communities as food insecurity rises in Iowa. On Tuesday morning, CommUnity Crisis Services in Iowa City sent out a news release to let the public know the strain its food bank is under. The food bank, which expanded in 2020 and […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Senate Republicans vote to restrict powers of the State Auditor, the only Democrat in statewide elected office
This story originally appeared in LV Daily, Little Village’s Monday-Friday email newsletter. Sign up to have it delivered for free to your inbox. Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand calls SF 478, passed by the Senate on Wednesday, “the greatest pro-corruption bill and the worst perversion of checks and balances in Iowa’s history.” It’s a bill […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Legislature OKs Reynolds’ remaining education restrictions
A bill containing Gov. Kim Reynolds’ remaining education policy priorities passed the Iowa Senate with just support from Republicans on Wednesday. The governor’s top priorities this year include: requiring written permission from parents before a teacher or school can do anything to acknowledge a transgender or nonbinary student’s identity; preventing teachers from acknowledging LGBTQ people […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa Supreme Court rejects Gov. Reynolds’ attempt to have open records lawsuit thrown out
On Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court rejected Gov. Kim Reynolds’ attempt to have a lawsuit alleging violations of the state’s Open Record Act dismissed. The justices rejected the governor’s argument that the law’s requirement to respond to requests in a timely manner cannot be enforced when a governor ignores it. The court also found that […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Set to close after 181 years, Iowa Wesleyan University is ‘disappointed in the lack of state support’; Gov. Reynolds rebuffs blame
Iowa Wesleyan University announced on Monday it will permanently close at the end of the current semester. In a statement posted on its website, the 181-year-old private university in Mount Pleasant cited financial problems, including a decline in donor support and Gov. Kim Reynolds’ refusal to provide assistance using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa governor says ‘it’s not easy for me either’ as she signs laws considered life-threatening by trans care providers
After not making any public comment on the bill to ban prescribed gender-affirming medical care for transgender Iowans under 18 passed by the Republican majorities in the Iowa Legislature, Gov. Kim Reynolds confirmed on Tuesday she will sign the bill. Responding to questions from reporters, the governor compared the medical care to health- and safety-threatening […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Students across Iowa walk out of class to protest anti-LGBTQ bills: ‘We want to keep our friends alive’
Students at schools across Iowa walked out of class on Wednesday to protest against more than two dozen anti-LGBTQ bills Republican members of the Iowa Legislature have introduced this year. The bills include sweeping so-called “education reform” bills. One would prohibit teachers and schools from mentioning any gender-related issues to younger students, force all Iowa […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds boasts about her anti-LGBTQ school policies, calls for new law restricting students’ access to books conservatives don’t like
Speaking at a gathering of conservative activists on Thursday, Gov. Kim Reynolds expressed her opposition to schools offering support to transgender students and called for a new law to restrict student access to books some conservative parents find objectionable. The governor characterized these proposals as part of her agenda of “parental rights,” a term she […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds: Admin costs, accountability standards for ESA plan unknown until after it’s approved, ‘parental rights bill’ will only affect public schools (Updated)
Update: Despite the lack of details regarding how the governor’s program would be administered, the Iowa Senate approved the education savings account bill shortly before 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The House approved the bill earlier on Monday night. In the Senate, three Republicans joined all the Democrats in voting against the bill. Nine Republicans in […]
