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 […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds
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 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Our public schools are not failing, elected officials are failing them’: Iowans opposing voucher bill flood legislature with comments
Since Gov. Kim Reynolds used her Condition of the State address to promote plans to divert funding from public schools to tuition vouchers in the form of “education savings accounts” (ESAs) for students attending private schools, the legislators expected to approve her proposed reforms have been inundated with messages from constituents. Under Senate Study Bill […]
Posted inStatewide
In Condition of the State speech, Gov. Reynolds boldly pushes for changes unpopular with most Iowans
During her Condition of the State Speech on Tuesday night, Gov. Kim Reynolds called on the newly expanded Republican majorities in both houses of the Iowa Legislature to ignore critics, including the media and “so-called experts,” and push to eliminate state regulations and agencies she considers unnecessary, increase protection for doctors sued for malpractice and […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Republican leaders poised to eliminate gun regulations as new amendment is officially added to Iowa Constitution
On Friday, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate held a ceremony to mark Public Measure 1 becoming the latest amendment to the state constitution. The new amendment requires courts to use “strict scrutiny,” the most stringent form of judicial review, when considering existing or future regulation regarding guns. It’s a higher level of scrutiny than […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Iowa City students, now living in a state where gun reform is virtually impossible, reflect on psychological toll of mass shootings
Despite bitterly cold winds, more than 50 students from Iowa City schools gathered at the Old Capitol on the Pentacrest at noon on Thursday to protest against gun violence and demand new gun safety laws. The protest was organized by students from South East Junior High School and City High School. Both junior high students […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Managers fired by Tyson for COVID-19 betting pool at Waterloo plant sue company
Six of the seven managers fired from the Tyson’s Food Plant in Waterloo in December 2020 for creating a betting pool to wager on workers getting COVID-19 are suing the company, claiming they earned incentive payments for meeting production goals they never received. The Des Moines Register reported on Tuesday that five fired managers filed […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa will not receive $30 million in federal aid for child care
The state of Iowa is losing $30 million in federal money that would have helped families access basic child care services. The governor’s office says the loss of that money is the result of a deliberate decision to avoid having to commit $3 million in matching state funds toward child care. But a Democratic state […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Election 2022: Johnson County remains a Democratic stronghold, as Republicans sweep to victories statewide
Johnson County remained a bright spot for Iowa Democrats on Tuesday, even as Republicans dominated Election Day statewide. Every Democrat in a statewide race carried the county by a large margin, even as they were defeated by Republicans. The only possible exception to that pattern is the Auditor of State race, which was still too […]
Posted inElection Coverage
Election 2022: Gov. Reynolds wins reelection; Iowa GOP bans KCRG from its victory party
Less than five minutes after the polls closed on Tuesday, the Associated Press declared Gov. Kim Reynolds had won reelection, defeating Democrat Deidre DeJear and Libertarian Rick Stewart. Within minutes, Reynolds herself had declared victory in a tweet. THANK YOU! pic.twitter.com/RzyKil67hT — Kim Reynolds (@KimReynoldsIA) November 9, 2022 As rapid as it was, the AP’s […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Advocates, candidates gather to discuss cannabis legalization — ‘This is a winning issue’
Both the setting of the meeting, a hotel conference room in Des Moines on a Saturday morning, and the average age of attendees, over 50, were standard for Iowa politics. The subject matter, however, wasn’t. “This is probably the first public event since at least the 1970s in Iowa for anybody to have a serious […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Healing is fundamentally a political act’: Future doctors grapple with the encroachment of anti-abortion laws on Iowa health care
Medical students in Iowa watched with growing concern as the Iowa Supreme Court decided in June to no longer recognize the right to abortion as a fundamental right. A week later the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Both of the state’s medical schools, the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medical and Des […]
