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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 […]

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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 […]

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State Auditor: ‘Bad data’ from Iowa DHS make it impossible to assess state’s Medicaid home health program

A new report from the Office of the State Auditor was supposed to summarize the results of an 18-month-long attempt to audit the Medicaid program administered by the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) that provides health services to patients in their homes. But that proved to be impossible, because repeated attempts to get accurate information […]

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Judge orders Iowa to pay an additional $3.1 million because Gov. Terry Branstad violated state’s LGBTQ discrimination law

The amount of money the state of Iowa will have to foot because Gov. Terry Branstad violated the state’s anti-LGBTQ discrimination law grew by more than $3 million on Friday. In July, a Polk County jury found that Gov. Terry Branstad broke the law in 2011, when he tried to force Iowa Worker’s Compensation Commissioner Christopher Godfrey, who is openly gay, to resign […]

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Gov. Reynolds: It would be ‘irresponsible not to’ appeal jury verdict that Terry Branstad violated state’s LGBTQ discrimination law

Less than a week after a judge ruled a jury’s verdict, finding that former Iowa governor Terry Branstad had illegally discriminated against a gay state employee, was based on substantial evidence, current governor Kim Reynolds said it would be “irresponsible” not to appeal the verdict. […]

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Jury finds Gov. Terry Branstad violated the state’s LGBTQ discrimination laws, awards former employee $1.5 million

Gov. Terry Branstad illegally discriminated against the former Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Christopher Godfrey when he slashed Godfrey’s salary in 2011 in an attempt to force Godfrey to resign, a Polk County jury decided on Monday. The jury agreed with Godfrey that Branstad had singled him out because Godfrey is gay, and awarded him $1.5 million in damages.

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State bypassed standard procedures to settle sexual harassment case just days before last November’s election

Shortly before last November’s election, state government officials bypassed normal procedures and quickly agreed to a multi-million dollar settlement of sexual harassment claims against a longtime friend and political ally of Gov. Kim Reynolds, the Associated Press’ Ryan J. Foley […]

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Gov. Reynolds says Iowans ‘should probably’ get to vote on same-sex marriage, but her office says she doesn’t mean it

On Tuesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds said “from the very beginning” her position on same-sex marriage has been “it probably should go to a vote of the people and they should weigh in.” Later that afternoon, the governor’s spokesperson said the […]

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‘It’s not safe for women to be around him’: Letter that led to firing of Iowa Finance Authority director released

On Thursday afternoon, Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office reversed its previous stated position, and released the letter that led the governor to fire Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Director Dave Jamison last month. The governor’s office had originally responded to an open […]

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