Update: As expected, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed HF 2296 into law. It was one of 21 bills the governor approved on Thursday, April 16, according to a news release from the governor’s office. The Iowa Senate gave final approval on Tuesday to a bill banning cities and counties from issuing local IDs to residents. HF […]
Janice Weiner
Posted inStatewide
Historians, unions and legislators fight against the clock to save the Centennial Building and its archive
The sign on the door of the State Historical Society of Iowa’s Centennial Building, where the society’s Iowa City research facility has been located since 1956, let visitors on Wednesday know there were only a few days left to access its remarkable archival collections or even the building itself. The Centennial Building has been open […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Today it’s our family. Tomorrow it can be another’: Hundreds rally to demand release of man violently seized by ICE in Iowa City
Hundreds of people crowded around the stage on the Ped Mall late on Friday morning to rally in support of Jorge Elieser González Ochoa, the Iowa City resident violently seized by ICE agents as he was working at the nearby Bread Garden Market on Thursday morning, a little over 24 hours earlier. He requires medical attention, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘I’m looking forward to getting to work’: Catelin Drey sworn in as the newest member of the Iowa Senate, ending the Republican supermajority
Catelin Drey officially became a member of the Iowa Senate on Monday, taking her oath of office at the State Capitol. “There is something very humbling about taking the official oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the state of Iowa at a moment when it feels like that has become increasingly […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Hundreds gather in Iowa City as part of a nationwide ‘Day of Action’ against the Trump administration
For the second time this month, Iowa Avenue between Clinton and Dubuque streets was blocked off as people rallied in downtown Iowa City on Saturday to protest the actions of the Trump administration. “We’re not protesters at all,” Sue Thompson of Indivisible Johnson County said at the beginning of the rally. “We are the protectors.” […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City rallies for immigrants, federal workers, the VA, health benefits, science and LGBTQ rights at Hands Off! protest of Trump administration
People in more than 1,300 cities across the country rallied on Saturday for Hands Off! protests against the sudden, brutal actions of the Trump administration. In Iowa, there were rallies in 17 cities, stretching from Red Oak to Davenport. In Cerro Gordo County, which Trump carried by 12 percentage points in November, more than 250 […]
Posted inCommunity/News
No vote on bill protecting pesticide manufacturers from cancer lawsuits as Iowa House Republicans balk
The Iowa House will not vote on a bill passed by the Senate that would have provided new protections against lawsuits for corporations that produce pesticides, Speaker Pat Grassley said on Thursday. Even though Republicans control 67 of the 100 seats in the House, there was not enough support for the bill to guarantee passage. […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Property tax legislation expected in the 2025 session, legislative leaders say
Iowans should expect to see further property tax law changes brought up in the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers said Tuesday at the Greater Des Moines Partnership legislative leadership breakfast. Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl, House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst and Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, answered questions and talked about their […]
Posted inLetters
Letter from Sen. Janice Weiner: Abortion is on the ballot
Here in Iowa, we don’t have the right to have a
popular referendum on the ballot, as they do in neighboring Missouri and
Nebraska — where abortion is literally on the ballot. But we know what’s at stake in this election.
Posted inLetters
Letter from six Johnson County elected officials: The school board election on Nov. 7 is too important to ignore
How many of you remember a public school teacher who helped shape your life? We do. We’re betting you do, too. And many of those teachers were right here in the Iowa City Community School District. The school board shapes policy for ICCSD, working with teachers, staff and administration, focused on how best to educate […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa City Council now accepting applications to fill its upcoming vacancy
Iowa City is now accepting applications for the upcoming vacancy on the city council that will happen when at-large member Janice Weiner steps down at the beginning of next year. Weiner submitted her resignation after winning election to the Iowa Senate in a landslide victory in this month’s general election. The resignation takes effect on […]
Posted inLetters
Letter from Janice Weiner: An abortion ban spells disaster for Iowa
By Janice Weiner, at-large Iowa City Councilmember and candidate for Iowa Senate District 45 Throw a stone into a pond and the waves move out in concentric circles, eventually reaching shores far away. Imagine Iowa as that pond and an abortion ban as the stone. If the Iowa legislature bans abortion or the courts instate […]
