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The CDC issued new COVID-19 guidance on Wednesday, modifying its previous announcement regarding mask-wearing. Because of lagging vaccination rates in parts of the country, and the rapid spread of the virus’s Delta variant, the agency said it was now recommending that even fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in public areas with “high” or “substantial” […]
For five years, Sarah Prineas has been getting up before dawn and heading to the Beckwith Boathouse at the University of Iowa to meet other members of Hawkeye Community Rowing for practice. The rowing team practices four to five times a week on the Iowa River.
“It’s always beautiful in the morning,” Prineas said. “The river is calm, and the sun is coming up. On the banks of the river we see deer, all kinds of waterfowl and eagles. It’s really very peaceful and beautiful.” […]
A District Court Judge in Johnson County ruled on Monday that a law mandating a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can have an abortion is unconstitutional, and issued a permanent injunction against the state enforcing it. Gov. Kim Reynolds had signed the measure — requiring a woman to have an appointment with a doctor […]
Charlie Smithson, the secretary of the Iowa Senate, complained to the administrator in charge of the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Agency (IOSHA) about a “hazard alert letter” by agency inspectors criticizing how the Republican leaders who appointed Smithson failed to address COVID-19 concerns in the Iowa State Capitol Building, and suggested the letter might […]
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Thursday to lift the county’s mask mandate. The mandate officially ends on Monday, May 31, following the publication of a public notice in “a newspaper of record.” “Today’s just the culmination of a lot of what is happening,” Supervisor Rod Sullivan said before the board voted […]
The Iowa Legislature has passed a bill that increases penalties for people engaged in protest, increases qualified immunity for police officers and shields drivers who strike protesters from civil lawsuits. SF 342, the so-called “Back the Blue” bill, passed the Republican-led Senate on a party-line vote on Monday, and passed the House on Tuesday with […]
As the rate of COVID-19 vaccination slows across the country, President Joe Biden announced a new partnership between the country’s two largest ride-hailing services and the federal government to make it easier for people to reach sites where they can be vaccinated. The partnership was announced Tuesday as part of a set of new initiatives […]
A bill preempting the authority of local school boards over publicly funded charter schools is going to Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk for her signature. Reynolds named this sort of expansion of charter schools in Iowa as one of her top priorities in her Condition of the State speech at the beginning of this year’s legislative […]
Hy-Vee pharmacies are now offering COVID-19 vaccinations to everyone regardless of whether they have an appointment. The new walk-in vaccination policy was announced in a news release on Wednesday. “For those who prefer to make a vaccine appointment in advance, that option is still available by visiting www.hy-vee.com/covidvaccine, selecting ‘Find Appointments’ and completing the digital […]
The Iowa House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of a bill intended to prohibit so-called “vaccine passports” on Monday. The bill was introduced on Friday, two weeks after Gov. Kim Reynolds called for such legislation. “I strongly oppose vaccine passports and I believe that we must take a stand as a state against them, which […]
People gathered at Greene Square Park in Cedar Rapids on Saturday afternoon to listen to speakers urge white allies to elevate the voices of Black people and other people of color, and discussed what it means to be an effective ally in the movement for racial justice. The “Calling All Allies: A Rally to Unite” […]
A lawsuit challenging Iowa’s ban on allowing Medicaid to pay for gender-affirming procedures deemed necessary by a doctor was filed in Polk County District Court on Thursday by the ACLU of Iowa and the national ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project. The groups filed the lawsuit on behalf of Aiden Vasquez, a transgender resident of southeast […]
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