The sound of honking caused several heads to turn toward nearby Fleur Drive during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Italian-American Cultural Center of Iowa at the historic Butler Mansion in Des Moines. A small crowd of protesters gathered outside of the Thursday event with signs decrying Iowa’s water quality, which incited the honks. The protesters […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa summer food assistance program falls short on convenience, choices, critics say
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ “healthier and cheaper” alternative to federal summer food assistance programs is again facing criticism that it is less convenient and covers fewer food-insecure Iowans than the national program and offers families fewer choices than initially promised. Reynolds’ Healthy Kids Iowa was announced in May after the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa House members agree to special session to override Reynolds’ veto of pipeline bill
The Iowa House of Representatives Tuesday secured the necessary two-thirds majority on a petition calling for a special session to override the governor’s veto of a bill pertaining to eminent domain and carbon sequestration pipelines. Seventy representatives signed the petition in favor of returning to the State Capitol to override the veto on HF 639, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Trump is coming to the Iowa State Fair — but not bringing the ‘Great American State Fair’ he promised in 2023
Donald Trump is coming to the opening day at the Iowa State Fair, CBS News reported on Friday, citing sources in the White House “familiar with the plan.” This year’s fair is scheduled to start on Thursday, Aug. 7 and run through Sunday, Aug. 17. “Mr. Trump’s visit, marked on the White House calendar for […]
Posted inCommunity/News
AG Bird continues case against sheriff over Facebook post on ICE, tells court Winneshiek County must lose its state funding
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is continuing to pursue a lawsuit against Winneshiek County and its sheriff, Dan Marx, for allegedly violating Iowa law by discouraging law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials. In her latest court filings, Bird has criticized Marx, alleging the sheriff has, in essence, asserted that “federal immigration officials should […]
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‘Spitting in the face of landowners’: Iowa House Republicans denounce Reynolds’ veto of eminent domain bill, call for special session to override it
Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have rarely publicly disagreed with Gov. Kim Reynolds during her eight years in office. Even when they didn’t support her position on an issue, they would downplay any differences. That all changed on Wednesday, when Gov. Reynolds vetoed HF 639, a bill that would have added new requirements on projects […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Little Big Screen: ‘Vertigo’ and other streaming movies starring Kims who aren’t Reynolds
In search of a watchable companion to Little Village’s May cover story, which details the many bad kinds of history made by Gov. Kim Reynolds over the past eight years, I went to Reynolds’ IMDb page. Who knows, maybe she got a kickback producer credit on a Mel Gibson movie? Nope, nothing but news shows. […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Des Moines Register responds to Reynolds’ lawsuit by once again requesting documents she refuses to turn over
Last month, Gov. Kim Reynolds took the extraordinary step of filing a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register, asking for an injunction to stop the newspaper from continuing to request copies of four emails written by her staff. The governor asserted the emails were covered by executive privilege, and therefore not subject to being released […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Last-minute amendment to House budget bill targets healthcare for trans Americans; bill would take Medicaid from 86,000 Iowans
The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the tax and spending bill supported by President Trump early on Thursday morning. A last-minute change to the bill, apparently to make it more appealing to rightwing members of Congress threatening to vote no, targets transgender Americans. An amendment to the bill’s ban on Medicaid paying […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Foreseeing ‘irreparable harm,’ federal judge blocks most of Iowa’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law with preliminary injunction
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction late on Thursday, blocking parts of the anti-LGBTQ education bill signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May 2023. SF 496 attracted nationwide attention for its school book ban provision, but it went well beyond that, making changes to state law to effectively erase almost any acknowledgment […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Our liberties she pries: Eight years into a decade in office, Gov. Kim Reynolds has cemented her legacy
A range of emotions could be heard in Gov. Kim Reynolds’ voice as she spoke to reporters at the annual Terrace Hill Easter Egg Hunt on April 12. It was the day after her surprise announcement that she wouldn’t run for reelection in 2026, and Reynolds was clearly feeling sentimental as she reflected on her time […]
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Rob Sand, the last remaining Democrat in statewide office, announces his run for governor
“A lot of politicians yap about making a place redder or bluer,” State Auditor Rob Sand said in an online video Monday morning, “I want Iowa to be better and truer.” Sand posted the video to announce his run for governor. It was widely expected that Sand would run for governor in 2026. Of course, […]
