Gov. Kim Reynolds’ use of executive privilege to withhold documents from the public and the media led to two lawsuits being filed in Polk County District Court on Friday. In one, Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers (IAF) is suing the governor’s office over its withholding documents related to the decision to prevent the Iowa Satanic Temple […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds
Posted inStatewide
Bill trying to stop Iowa universities from losing accreditation because of new state laws awaits governor’s signature
The Iowa Senate has sent a bill to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk that would bar penalization from accreditors to universities for following state law, despite concerns from some lawmakers that it would not prevent universities from potentially losing accreditation. HF 295 would bar higher education accrediting bodies from taking negative action against state universities that […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Kim Reynolds will not run for reelection
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced on Friday morning that she will not run for reelection next year. “Today I want to share a personal decision with you, one that was not made lightly, but comes with a full heart and a deep sense of gratitude,” the governor said in a video posted on social media. “After […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City rallies for immigrants, federal workers, the VA, health benefits, science and LGBTQ rights at Hands Off! protest of Trump administration
People in more than 1,300 cities across the country rallied on Saturday for Hands Off! protests against the sudden, brutal actions of the Trump administration. In Iowa, there were rallies in 17 cities, stretching from Red Oak to Davenport. In Cerro Gordo County, which Trump carried by 12 percentage points in November, more than 250 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Lawsuit challenges Reynolds’ authority in rulemaking process
A group of Iowans is suing the State of Iowa, alleging Gov. Kim Reynolds has no authority to require agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources to adopt regulations that are less burdensome on industry. The lawsuit was filed recently in Polk County District Court by Steve Veysey, a fly fisherman and clean water […]
Posted inCommunity/News
AG Bird sues Winneshiek County over sheriff’s Facebook post, asks court to withhold all their state funding
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed a petition in Polk County District Court on Thursday, asking a judge to declare Winneshiek County in violation of Chapter 27A of Iowa Code, making it ineligible to receive any state funds. That section of Iowa Code requires every “local entity” in the state to cooperate with federal immigration […]
Posted inCommunity/News
AG Bird threatens to cut off state funds for Winneshiek County after Gov. Reynolds complains about a Facebook post by the sheriff
Update: On Thursday afternoon, Attorney General Brenna Bird announced she had filed the threatened lawsuit against in Winneshiek County and Sheriff Marx. In a report released Wednesday afternoon, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office said AG Brenna Bird will ask a district court to cut off all state funds for Winneshiek County over a Feb. 4 Facebook […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Federal judge issues new injunction halting Iowa’s school book ban
The book ban signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds in 2023 has once again been blocked by a federal judge. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Locher issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the state from enforcing the law requiring schools to remove all books with “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act,” […]
Posted inCommunity/News
GOP bill to eliminate rights of trans Iowans passes subcommittee and committee in less than a day
Hundreds gathered in the hallways and rotunda of the State Capitol to protest the attempt to strip transgender Iowans of civil rights and stop the state government from recognizing the existence of their identities via a bill Republicans are fast-tracking through the Iowa House. “Trans rights are human rights” and “Say no, fight back,” they […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Pointless, unnecessary and unbelievably cruel’: Rep. Steve Holt proposes bill eliminating civil rights protections for trans people
Iowa would make history by gutting protections enshrined in its Civil Rights Act for almost two decades to make discrimination against transgender Iowans legal, if a bill introduced in the Iowa House on Thursday becomes law. HSB 242 would also alter definitions used in state law to eliminate acknowledging the existence of transgender people as […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Reynolds threatens to cut off state funding to Winneshiek County after sheriff says he won’t comply with ‘unconstitutional’ requests from ICE
On Wednesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds threatened Winneshiek County with the possible loss of all state funding after the county’s sheriff publicly restated his “long-time stance on not recognizing detainers” issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In a post on Tuesday on the department’s Facebook page, Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx explained he and his […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Locals form spontaneous march protesting Trump and Reynolds policies during ‘A Day Without Immigrants’
Businesses closed across the country on Monday as people participated in a Day Without Immigrants to protest the hostile actions and rhetoric from the Trump administration targeting immigrants and their communities. In Iowa, a group of Latino activists organized a Day Without Latinos as a way to support all immigrants on the day of protest. “In […]
