“We should all be thankful for the careful attention that this jury paid to the evidence and the law, and their time and commitment over these past several weeks,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said during a news conference on Thursday after former president Donald Trump was convicted on “34 counts of falsifying business records […]
Iowa News
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Judge holds Iowa DOC in contempt for denying incarcerated plaintiffs access to reading material containing nudity amid lawsuit
Remarking that it’s not feasible to jail the Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC) for deliberately violating a court order, a Polk County judge has fined the agency $1,500 for contempt of court. The penalty stems from a lawsuit that 13 prison inmates, then housed at Anamosa State Penitentiary, filed against the DOC in 2018. The […]
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Bill awaiting governor’s signature has ‘enormous loophole’ for meetings
A bill adopted by the Iowa Legislature this year that is meant to more harshly penalize open meetings violations might also enable city councils, school boards and others to deliberate in secret, according to the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB). HF 2539 would increase the penalties for violating a state law that generally requires governmental […]
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Senate sends bill on traffic camera regulation, DOT oversight to governor
A bill regulating — but not banning — traffic camera use by local law enforcement was sent to Gov. Kim Reynolds by the Senate with bipartisan support Monday. House File 2681 passed 46-1 Monday, with Sen. Lynn Evans, R-Aurelia, voting against he measure. The bill gives the Iowa Department of Transportation oversight of how Iowa cities […]
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Feds: A dozen Iowa water suppliers need to fix ‘forever chemical’ contamination
At least 12 community drinking water supplies in Iowa are unacceptably contaminated with enduring chemicals linked to various health ailments, under new restrictions announced Wednesday by federal regulators. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency implemented a new drinking water standard that limits certain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances — commonly known as PFAS or “forever chemicals” — […]
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Unable to find a qualified contractor to run its anti-abortion ‘pregnancy resource centers’ fund, the state administers funds anyway; Republicans pass bill to make it legal retroactively
Starting in 2022, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) began looking for a qualified independent third-party to administer a program that will use millions in tax dollars to fund privately run anti-abortion centers — which call themselves “pregnancy resource centers” — in the state. The More Options for Maternal Support (MOMS) program […]
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Bill restricting consumable hemp products heads to governor’s desk
The Iowa Senate sent Gov. Kim Reynolds a bill Tuesday that tightens Iowa’s laws and regulations on consumable hemp products as the products become more widely available. HF 2605, passed on a 31-18 vote, would put a limit of 4 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per serving in consumable hemp products, as well as a 10 […]
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Rep. Hinson, Rep. Feenstra and AG Bird push U.S. Supreme Court to restrict medication abortions
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday on whether to allow a preliminary injunction suspending the FDA’s 2021 decision easing restrictions on the availability of mifepristone, a prescription medication used in medical abortions. The injunction, issued by a federal judge in Texas in April 2023 and subsequently narrowed by the Fifth Circuit Court of […]
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Iowa Poll finds 50% believe the state is headed in the wrong direction
A majority of Iowans say the state is headed in the wrong direction, according to the results of a new Iowa Poll published by the Des Moines Register. The poll also found an increase in the number of respondents who disapprove of the work being done by Gov. Kim Reynolds, Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. […]
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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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More than half of Iowa’s tested streams and lakes are ‘impaired’
There are at least 721 water body segments in Iowa that do not meet water quality standards for recreation, public water supplies and the protection of aquatic life, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. The DNR has drafted its latest list of “impaired” waters that it is required to submit to the U.S. […]
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Gov. Reynolds’ bill undermining transgender rights with new definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in state law will not pass this year
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ bill that would change how state laws and regulations are made in ways that would undermine the rights of transgender people will not pass during this legislative session. HF 2389 would have needed to be passed by a committee in the Iowa Senate this week, in order to remain viable. But the […]
