Gov. Terry Branstad Archives

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

Posted on Mar 1, 2019 by Paul Brennan

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, […]

Gov. Reynolds proposes constitutional amendment to eliminate voting restrictions for ex-convicts

Posted on Jan 15, 2019 by Paul Brennan

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 […]

Gov. Kim Reynolds to visit Hamburg Inn on Thursday

Posted on Oct 23, 2018 by Paul Brennan

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 […]

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

Posted on Jun 13, 2018 by Paul Brennan

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 governor doesn’t believe what she said she believes, and that Reynolds accepts the legality of […]

Nepotism and Iowa politicians back in the news, after Gov. Reynolds gives her father a job

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Paul Brennan

When most adults give an elderly parent a job, it’s usually as a babysitter. Not Gov. Kim Reynolds. This week it was revealed that Reynolds has appointed her 78-year-old father to a state panel that will vet judicial candidates in District 5A to replace retiring Judge Paul Huscher of Waukee. Charles Strawn will serve on […]

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

Posted on Apr 26, 2018 by Paul Brennan

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 records request from the Associated Press that it had no written documents related to the […]

Gov. Reynolds supports bill that cuts reporting requirements on state’s privatized Medicaid program

Posted on Feb 12, 2018 by Paul Brennan

During her regular weekly press conference on Monday, Gov. Kim Reynolds said she is committed to transparency, but also came out in favor of cutting the amount of publicly reported information about how well the state’s controversial privatized Medicaid management program is performing. […]

UPDATED: It’s official: Branstad heads to China

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Lauren Shotwell

Months after his initial nomination, Gov. Terry Branstad is officially closing the door on his tenure as the longest serving governor in the U.S. and will jet off to his new position as ambassador to China. […]

Four Planned Parenthood clinics close in Iowa

Posted on May 19, 2017 by Eleanore Taft

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland announced this week they will close clinics in the Quad Cities, Burlington, Keokuk and Sioux City as a result of funding cuts passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Terry Branstad. […]

With the legislative session closed, activists respond to the Iowa Legislature’s conservative turn

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Little Village

Gov. Terry Branstad heralded this year as “one of the most significant and productive sessions in our history.” And it certainly did produce a large volume of wide-ranging, impactful bills. But for some, those bills represented a sharp lurch to the right and an abrupt end to bipartisan Iowa politics. Among the measures that left Iowa organizations and activists gearing up for a fight are laws impacting women’s access to abortions, reducing union bargaining rights, expanding and protecting access to guns and decreased support for public education.

Some measures, including a 72-hour waiting period for abortions and restrictions on collective bargaining rights for public employees, have already been challenged in court. […]

Harreld issues call to action following proposed budget cuts to Iowa universities

Posted on Jan 20, 2017 by Lauren Shotwell

University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld issued a call to action Thursday following Gov. Terry Branstad’s suggested $34.3 million cut to higher education — the largest cut made as part of an effort to slice $110 million from the budget for the current budget year. “This cut, in the current fiscal year, is not without […]

Donald Trump’s Thank You Tour stops in Des Moines

Posted on Dec 9, 2016 by Kelli Ebensberger

President-elect Donald Trump visited Des Moines yesterday as one of the stops on his Thank You Tour. This tour is traveling to battleground states — including Ohio, Michigan and North Carolina — that favored Trump on Nov. 8 as a means of thanking his supporters. The Iowa Events Center’s Hy-Vee Hall hosted a crowd of […]

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