The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) of Iowa took legal action on Wednesday to overturn a 13-year-old court order that prevents 97 of Iowa’s 99 counties from providing official voting materials in any language other than English, regardless of whether a voter is proficient in English. The civil rights organization filed a petition […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds
Posted inCommunity/News
Roughly two out of five COVID-19 deaths in Iowa were preventable, former UI Public Health dean postulates
The Iowa Department of Public Health reported another 117 deaths from COVID-19 in its weekly update on Wednesday, increasing the state’s pandemic death toll to 6,965. The number of deaths from the virus reported by IDPH has increased in every weekly update in October. “It is instructive to compare Iowa and Minnesota, which have nearly […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Experts highlight importance of masks in schools; Gov. Reynolds says she’ll sue to stop any vaccine mandates
In the next issue of Pediatrics, a journal published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, medical experts from Children’s National Hospital in Washington D.C., the George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University write that attempts by the states, including Iowa, to ban the use of masks in schools undermines public health efforts to contain COVID-19 […]
Posted inCOVID-19
John Deere strike: Tom Vilsack meets striking workers, judge issues injunction against picketers and Iowa Republicans weigh in
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited a United Auto Workers (UAW) picket line outside the John Deere plant in Ankeny on Wednesday. The former Iowa governor showed support for the workers as the strike, which began at midnight on Oct. 14, finished its first week. “For too long in this country, we haven’t paid […]
Posted inCommunity/News
COVID-19: Reynolds talks about banning vaccine mandates and suing the Biden administration; IDPH reports 94 more deaths, 8,167 new cases
During a phone interview on a conservative talk radio show on Wednesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds said she’s “continuing to have good conversations with the legislature” about passing a bill banning any kind of COVID-19 vaccine mandate during its upcoming special session. That session, scheduled for Oct. 28, has been called to consider the second set […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Where and how to vote early, and what has changed since Gov. Reynolds signed new voting restrictions into law
Early voting for the Nov. 2 election began on Wednesday, as county auditors started mailing out absentee ballots requested by voters, and opened their offices for in-person early voting. This is the first election since Gov. Kim Reynolds signed new restrictions on voting into law in March. Iowa was one of 19 Republican-controlled states to […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Donald Trump lies, stokes xenophobia and endorses Chuck Grassley in speech at Iowa State Fairgrounds
When Donald Trump finally began speaking at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Saturday night, it took him less than two minutes to get to his central message: “The election was rigged.” He was lying, but about an hour into his speech, the former president did say something true about the 2020 election. “I never conceded. […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa schools will be able to keep mask mandates, as judge issues preliminary injunction
“It is in the public’s interest to allow local public school districts to exercise their discretion to adopt universal masking policies in an effort to inhibit the spread of COVID-19 and protect the children in their schools,” U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pratt wrote in his decision on Friday. Pratt issued a preliminary injunction against […]
Posted inCommunity/News
School mask mandates can stay in place — judge extends his temporary restraining order against Reynolds administration
On Monday, Judge Robert Pratt extended his temporary restraining order (TRO) that prohibits the state from enforcing the ban on school mask mandates Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in May. “Enforcement of [the school mask mandate ban] continues to pose a threat of irreparable harm to the children’s health and rights under the Americans […]
Posted inCommunity/News
New Iowa Poll finds majority approve of Gov. Reynolds’ overall handling of pandemic, but disapprove of her mask and vaccine policies
A majority of Iowans approve of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ overall handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they also disapprove of the governor’s actions on face masks and vaccines. Those seemingly contradictory results are included in the latest Iowa Poll published by the Des Moines Register. According to the survey of 805 Iowans, all 18 and […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Dr. Caitlin Pedati, who has guided Iowa’s COVID-19 response, is leaving her job as IDPH medical director
Dr. Caitlin Pedati, medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health and the state’s epidemiologist, will be leaving her position in “late October,” the department announced in a news release on Wednesday. According to IDPH, “Dr. Pedati plans to pursue new career opportunities.” Pedati has held her current job since June 2018, but didn’t […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds’ attorneys ask judge to let order allowing school mask mandates expire, claim it’s an ‘undue burden’ on the state
On Friday afternoon, attorneys for Gov. Kim Reynolds filed a challenge to the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pratt on Sept. 13. The TRO prohibits the state from enforcing the new law signed by Reynolds in May that forbid schools and school districts from mandating the use of face […]
