It was expected that Gov. Kim Reynolds’ bill to divert public school funds to private schools would pass the subcommittee level in the Iowa House on a party-line vote, with both Republicans endorsing it and the one Democrat opposing it. But what wasn’t expected was the first speaker in support of HSB 672 during Tuesday’s […]
Iowa House Republican Caucus
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Surrounded by children, Gov. Reynolds signs bill banning transgender girls from playing girls sports in all Iowa schools
“Our state has an impressive legacy of advancing women’s equality,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said on Thursday, just before she signed into law a bill banning transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports in Iowa schools, colleges and universities. HF 2416 restricts participation on all school or college girls sports teams and in all […]
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Iowa House Republicans approve ban on transgender girls in girls’ sports, extending the ban to colleges and universities
The Iowa House approved a bill to ban transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports at schools on Monday night, after amending it to extend the ban to community colleges and public and private universities. HF 2416 only received support from Republicans when it was passed by a subcommittee and the House Education Committee, but […]
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Iowa discovers thousands of previously unreported COVID cases, as Republicans push through bill to nix vaccination incentives
The state changed how it provides information about COVID-19 cases and deaths to the public this week, as the Reynolds administration officially stopped treating the pandemic as a public health emergency at the stroke of midnight on Wednesday. Instead of the weekly COVID-19 update the Iowa Department of Public Health used to post to coronavirus.iowa.gov […]
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Republican majority on House Education Committee unanimously approves ban on transgender girls in girls’ sports
A bill banning transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports at school passed the Iowa House Education Committee on a party-line vote Monday, with all the committee’s Republicans voting in favor of it and all of its Democrats opposed. HF 2309 would restrict participation on all girls’ sports teams and in all athletic events for […]
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‘State-sanctioned bullying’: Iowa House Republicans advance bill to ban transgender students from playing girls sports
It was a forgone conclusion that a bill seeking to ban transgender girls from participating in girls sports at all Iowa schools would be approved by a subcommittee of the Iowa House Education Committee on Thursday, because the two Republicans on the three-person subcommittee are the bill’s co-sponsors. Rep. Skyler Wheeler and Rep. Henry Stone […]
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COVID-19: Gov. Reynolds says ‘We need to move on,’ IDPH reports another 172 deaths
“It’s time to end it and move on,” Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters at the Iowa State Capitol on Wednesday when asked about her decision to stop classifying COVID-19 as a public health emergency next week. “And we need to treat it [COVID-19] like we do other viruses. So, the Department of Public Health will […]
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Only 19% of the state’s 5-11 year-olds fully vaccinated against COVID; Iowa Republicans advance bill to ban vaccine requirement in schools and childcare centers
The number of new cases of COVID-19 in the Iowa Department of Health’s weekly update declined for the second week in a row, possibly indicating the surge driven by the spread of the Omicron variant in the state is now receding. According to IDPH, there were 22,730 newly confirmed cases of the virus over the […]
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Iowa House Republicans push through an amendment to add anti-abortion language to the Iowa Constitution
Shortly after 9 on Wednesday night, the Republican-controlled Iowa House of Representatives passed a constitutional amendment to eliminate the existing protection for abortion rights in Iowa. The vote was 55-44, with three Republicans — Jane Bloomingdale of Northwood, Lee Hein of Monticello and David Maxwell of Gibson — joining all the chamber’s Democrats in opposing […]
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Iowa House Republicans reject COVID-19 precautions; Iowa ranks last among states in reporting test results
On Tuesday, the Republican majority on the rules committee of the Iowa House of Representatives rejected proposals from Democrats that would have required face masks to be worn in the Iowa Capitol Building and made it possible for lawmakers and members of the public to participate remotely during this year’s legislative session. Democrats proposed two […]
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‘No silver bullet’ to prevent school violence, according to Iowa House Republican newsletter
The Iowa House Republicans official online weekly news update addressed violence in schools in a strange and tasteless way last week, concluding “Clearly there is no so-called ‘silver bullet’ for the school bullying and violence situations.”
