The Iowa State Fair opened its 11-day run on Thursday with limited COVID-19 precautions, even though new data from the Iowa Department of Public Health showed new cases of the virus are continuing to increase rapidly and the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patient took a dramatic jump. In its weekly update issued on Wednesday, IDPH […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds
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Free speech v. industrial farms: Iowa’s ag gag laws go to federal court
The state government’s various attempts over the last nine years to shield industrial animal farms with an ag gag law were spotlighted in court Tuesday. The injunction preventing the first ag gag law, signed into law by Gov. Terry Branstad in 2012, from going into effect was partially upheld by a federal appeal court, while […]
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Coralville and North Liberty will require face masks in city buildings
Coralville and North Liberty are joining Iowa City and Cedar Rapids in requiring everyone entering city-owned buildings to wear face masks, regardless of their vaccination status. The requirements will take effect Wednesday, the two cities announced in written statements on Tuesday. Because of the rapid spread of the highly infectious Delta variant, the CDC updated […]
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Sit-in planned at Iowa Capitol to push Gov. Reynolds to allow school COVID-19 mandates
A sit-in at the Iowa State Capitol is scheduled for Wednesday to protest Gov. Reynolds’ refusal to allow school districts to require face masks or have the Iowa Department of Public Health monitor COVID-19 in schools. The “Safe at School” sit-in is being sponsored by Safe at School and the Disability Caucus of the Iowa […]
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Iowa City is requiring face masks in city buildings again, as COVID-19 rates rise in Johnson County
Face masks will be required in all city-owned buildings in Iowa City starting on Friday, regardless of visitors’ vaccination status. “The decision to require that masks be worn in City facilities was made for the health and safety of visitors to public facilities and for the staff who serve them,” the city said in a […]
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Iowa Department of Public Health sued for failing to produce public records related to Test Iowa
The Iowa Department Public Health is being sued for not complying with the state’s Open Records Act by failing to produce documents on Test Iowa requested by a Utah attorney. In her lawsuit filed in Polk County District Court on Thursday, Attorney Suzette Rasmussen of Draper, Utah, asked the court to compel IDPH to produce […]
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Gov. Kim Reynolds asks the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade
Kim Reynolds, acting in her official capacity as governor of Iowa, has requested the United States Supreme Court, asking the justices to overturn half a century of legal precedence and rule that the U.S. Constitution does not protect the right to choose an abortion. Reynolds was one of 11 Republican governors who signed an amicus […]
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Gov. Reynolds scorns CDC guidance as ‘not grounded in reality,’ blames immigrants for rising COVID infections
The CDC issued new COVID-19 guidance on Wednesday, modifying its previous announcement regarding mask-wearing. Because of lagging vaccination rates in parts of the country, and the rapid spread of the virus’s Delta variant, the agency said it was now recommending that even fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in public areas with “high” or “substantial” […]
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Gov. Reynolds promises Iowa will ‘act as a counterweight’ to the Biden administration at rightwing Christian summit
Gov. Kim Reynolds began her speech at the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines on Friday by explaining she had a cold. The cold affected her voice, but did nothing to diminish the enthusiasm she showed at the annual meeting of the right-wing Christian lobbying group the Family Leader (inexplicably stylized as THE FAMiLY LEADER), […]
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Iowa Supreme Court rules state can cut off funding to Planned Parenthood sex ed classes
The state of Iowa can ban Planned Parenthood of the Heartland (PPH) from receiving government funds to provide sex education programs, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in a decision handed down on Wednesday. The justices voted 6-1 to overturn a lower court that found the funding ban was unconstitutional. Republican leaders of the Iowa Legislature […]
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Judge strikes down Iowa’s latest attempt to impose an abortion waiting period
A District Court Judge in Johnson County ruled on Monday that a law mandating a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can have an abortion is unconstitutional, and issued a permanent injunction against the state enforcing it. Gov. Kim Reynolds had signed the measure — requiring a woman to have an appointment with a doctor […]
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State Rep. Ras Smith is running for governor
Rep. Ras Smith announced on Tuesday he is running for Iowa governor in 2022. “Iowans deserve a governor who will embrace the challenges of today as opportunities to lead tomorrow,” the Waterloo Democrat said in social media posts announcing his candidacy. “A governor that, when the days get long, will have your back. We deserve […]
