Democrat Eddie Mauro announced on Monday he is running for the U.S. Senate. The Des Moines businessman has long been active in progressive politics, and in 2018 he made an unsuccessfully bid for the Democratic nomination for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District.
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ACLU sues to overturn new Iowa ban on funding for Planned Parenthood sex education programs
The ACLU of Iowa filed a lawsuit in state court on Wednesday seeking to overturn sections of the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) budget bill that were designed to prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving government grants to provide sex education programs.
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State Rep. Ashley Hinson announces a 2020 challenge to U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer
State Rep. Ashley Hinson announced on Tuesday she is running for Congress in Iowa’s 1st District. The Marion Republican is the first challenger to Rep. Abby Finkenauer, the Democrat who defeated incumbent Rod Blum in 2018.
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Rita Hart announces she’s running for Congress
Rita Hart, the former state senator who was the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in 2016, announced she is running for Congress on Tuesday morning. She made her announcement in a video posted on Twitter, which shows her on the Clinton County farm. “I understand the issues that rural Iowans face, because this is where […]
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Kimberly Graham announces 2020 challenge to Sen. Joni Ernst
Democrat Kimberly Graham has announced she is running for the U.S. Senate, becoming the first candidate challenging incumbent Sen. Joni Ernst. This is the first time the Indianola attorney has run for public office. “I’m running because it’s time for us to be represented in the Senate by a working person who knows what it’s […]
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Gov. Kim Reynolds signs bill that cuts off Medicaid funds for gender confirmation procedures
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill on Friday that contained a provision overturning a March ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court striking down the state’s ban on the use of Medicaid funds to pay for sex reassignment procedures deemed medically necessary by doctors. The justices ruled unanimously that the ban violated the Iowa Civil Rights Act
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Dark money group spent $1.25 million on TV ads supporting bill imposing new fee on solar panels
A dark money group spent $1.25 million on TV ads in just six weeks to support bills in the Iowa legislature that would let utility companies impose new fees on homeowners and businesses that install solar panels. That group, the REAL Coalition of Iowa, was incorporated on Jan. 23, apparently to support the bills.
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ACLU of Iowa challenges ‘ag gag’ law it says puts ‘the PR interests of one industry above the constitutional rights of its critics’
In March, just two months after a federal judge struck down Iowa’s “ag gag” law as unconstitutional, the Iowa legislature passed a new, almost identical version of the law. “So we’re doing another bill pretty similar to the last one which is going to end up … costing taxpayers more money [to defend in court],” Democratic Rep. Sharon Stockman from Mason City said during the Iowa House floor debate on Agricultural Facility Trespass Act.
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Following Mueller report release, Grassley calls for investigation of ‘Trump’s political opponents,’ Ernst says ‘we all know’ Trump ‘has a brash demeanor’
Twenty years ago, Sen. Chuck Grassley was very clear how a president should behave: “The American people have a right to expect their president to be completely truthful.” The contrast between Grassley’s 1999 stance and his official statement on the Mueller report has been attracting attention
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President Trump said wind turbines cause cancer, Gov. Reynolds said it’s ‘not my place’ to disagree with Trump
During a televised speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee, President Donald Trump made the bizarre and unfounded claim that sounds made by wind turbines cause cancer. Multiple news organizations asked the White House what evidence on which the president was relying, but the Trump administration has so far not responded. TRUMP during NRCC speech: […]
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New report shows big increase in arrests of students at Iowa schools, as well as racial disparities
Iowa saw one of the biggest increases in students arrested at school of any state between the 2013-14 and 2015-16 school years, according to a new report from the ACLU. While arrests of students at schools increased 3 percent nationwide during that period, Iowa saw an increase of 105 percent, going from 601 arrests in […]
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Poll: Midwesterners favor marijuana legalization more strongly than other Americans
People in the Midwest favor legalizing marijuana more strongly than people in any other part of the country, according to a new national opinion survey. The General Social Survey (GSS), conducted biennially by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, has been tracking public opinion on marijuana since 1973.
