On Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office sent out a news release announcing Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg was resigning “to focus more on his family.” “It comes as no surprise that he would choose to step down to prioritize his personal life,” Reynolds said in the release. The governor’s opinion aside, Gregg’s resignation came as a […]
Gov. Terry Branstad
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Bill eliminating regular health and safety inspections of hotels and motels in Iowa passes
The Iowa Senate gave final approval on Tuesday to a bill that addresses the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing’s (DIAL) decade-long failure to follow state law and inspect hotels and motels once every two years by eliminating the law requiring those inspections. HF 2426 repeals the biennial hotel inspection requirement, and instead requires […]
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House Republicans pass bill to eliminate regular health and safety inspections of hotels and motels in Iowa
A decade ago, the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing (DIAL) stopped following the requirement in state law that it inspect all hotels and motels in the state at least once every two years. The department didn’t inform the public or lawmakers that it stopped routine inspections in 2014. That fact didn’t come to […]
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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 restrictions on voting into law in March. Iowa was one of 19 Republican-controlled states to […]
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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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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 reported on Thursday. Foley obtained correspondence between Iowa Solicitor General Jeff Thompson and Paige Fielder, […]
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Gov. Reynolds proposes constitutional amendment to eliminate voting restrictions for ex-convicts
Gov. Kim Reynolds said in her Condition of the State address on Tuesday that she’s ready to take action to advance her priorities. Reynolds told the assembled legislators, “the future I see isn’t around the corner, or after the next election. The future is now.” Except, it seems, for the one policy area where Reynolds […]
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Gov. Kim Reynolds to visit Hamburg Inn on Thursday
Gov. Kim Reynolds is coming to Iowa City on Thursday for a public event at Hamburg Inn No. 2 on Linn Street. The governor will holding her KIM (Keep Iowa Moving) rally at noon, as part of a swing through eastern Iowa, starting that morning in Cedar Falls and ending in Keokuk. Although this is […]
