State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott announced on Monday she is running for Congress in Iowa’s 3rd District. The West Des Moines Democrat is the first candidate to launch a run for the seat currently held by two-term incumbent Republican Zach Nunn. “Zach Nunn has failed us,” Trone Garriott said in her announcement video. “As Iowa […]
Iowa State Senate
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‘It’s time to rotate the crops’: Sen. Joe Bolkcom says he won’t seek reelection
Joe Bolkcom, who has represented Iowa City in the state Senate since 1999, announced on Thursday morning he will not run for reelection next year. “It’s time to rotate the crops,” he said in a video posted online. That was a phrase used by Tom Vilsack during the 1998 election that sent Bolkcom to the […]
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Iowa Senate Republicans vote on party line to reject first set of redistricting maps
Republicans in the Iowa Senate rejected the first set of redistricting maps drawn up by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA) on Tuesday. The vote in the Senate broke down along party lines, with all 32 Republicans opposing the maps that reset the boundaries of the districts in the Iowa House and Senate, as well […]
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Democrat Liz Bennett kicks off campaign for state Senate, reflecting on the less-divided Iowa of decades past
“I’m running for state senate to make sure that every single Iowan gets a fair shot in Iowa,” Liz Bennett told the people crowded into a room at The Bohemian in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday night for her campaign kick-off event. The Cedar Rapids Democrat is in her fourth term representing Cedar Rapids in the […]
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State Senate approves multi-million dollar program to promote ‘Iowa work ethic’ among Medicaid recipients
The Republican-led Iowa Senate passed a bill imposing work requirements on Medicaid recipients on a party line vote on Tuesday. SF538 would require Iowans determined to be “able-bodied” to work at least 20 hours a week at a job or as a community volunteer, or to attend school for that amount of time, in order […]
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Sen. Nate Boulton says sexual misconduct complaint against him doesn’t ‘ring true’
Sen. Nate Boulton has told the Iowa State Senate Ethics Committee that the woman who accused him of sexual misconduct may be lying, the Associated Press reported on Monday. A complaint filed last month with the committee by Des Moines attorney Sharon Wegner alleges Boulton repeatedly grabbed her buttocks at an East Village bar on […]
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Nate Boulton says he’s staying in the Iowa State Senate despite accusations of sexual misconduct
In a statement released late Monday afternoon, Democrat Nate Boulton said he plans to remain in the Iowa State Senate, despite the allegation of sexual misconduct that forced him to drop out of the race for governor in May. “The responsibilities I have to my constituents and as a dedicated advocate for working families across […]
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After years of representing the U.S. overseas, Janice Weiner is running to represent Coralville in the Iowa Senate
Janice Weiner believes her long career representing the U.S. as a diplomat gave her the skills needed to deal with the Republicans in the state legislature. “Everywhere I went, I had to get to know people and build relationships across the political spectrum in each country. I had to understand what was important to them, […]
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Iowa Senate aide who recently completed mandatory training on sexual harassment fired for sexual harassment
An Iowa Senate aide was fired last week for sexual harassment. Jake Dagel, a legislative clerk for Republican Senator Waylon Brown of St. Ansgar, recently completed the new, mandatory course on sexual harassment.
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New Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver has an unimpressive record of getting bills passed
On Wednesday, the Republican caucus in the Iowa State Senate elected Senate President Jack Whitver to replace Bill Dix as majority leader.
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Lobbyist involved with Bill Dix identified
The lobbyist seen kissing former Iowa State Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix has been identified as Lindsey McCune, government affairs manager for the Iowa League of Cities.
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Dix out: Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix resigns after video of him kissing a lobbyist surfaces
On Monday afternoon, Iowa State Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix resigned from his Senate seat. The Shell Rock Republican stepped down after the political news site Iowa Starting Line published photos and a video of Dix kissing a female lobbyist in Des Moines bar.
