Angel Ramirez won Tuesday’s special election in Iowa House District 78 in a landslide. The Cedar Rapids Democrat won 2,742 of the 3,470 votes cast in the district, according to the vote count published by the Linn County Auditor’s Office. Bernie Hayes, chair of Linn County Republicans, received 721 votes in the special election. There […]
Rob Hogg
Posted inCommunity/News, Election Coverage, Top Story
Breanna Oxley and Sami Scheetz announce bids for Iowa Senate seat held by Rob Hogg, who will not seek reelection
State Sen. Rob Hogg announced on Monday he will not seek reelection in 2022. Following Hogg’s announcement, two Cedar Rapids residents — teacher Breanna Oxley and community organizer/activist Sami Scheetz — declared their candidacies for Hogg’s seat in Senate District 33. Hogg, who was born in Iowa City and lives in Cedar Rapids, has served […]
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Iowa Legislature passes bill that increases penalties for some protest-related offenses, protects drivers who hit protesters from lawsuits
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 […]
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Iowa Senate Republicans push through bills eliminating gun permits and giving gunmakers new legal protections
The Iowa Senate passed two bills concerning gun sales on Monday. The first removes the requirement for a person to be licensed to buy or carry a gun, and the second provides broad immunity against lawsuits to gun manufacturers and dealers. Both bills passed the Republican-controlled chamber on party-line votes. HF 756 and HF 621 […]
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Gov. Reynolds signs bill requiring all schools to offer 100% in-person instruction regardless of COVID-19 conditions
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill on Friday morning that will require all school districts to provide 100 percent in-person instruction to any student whose parents request it, regardless of its possible impact on the spread of COVID-19 in a school or a community. “It’s time to put local control into the hands of parents, […]
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Unemployment claims in Iowa grow again, as businesses in 77 counties prepare to reopen and workers face important choices
The number of Iowans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits grew slightly during the most recent reporting period, according to new numbers released by Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) on Thursday morning. A total of 28,827 first-time claims were filed in the week ending April 25. That’s 925 more first-time claims than were filed during the […]
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Sen. Rob Hogg leads walking tours to show impact of proposed Cargill rail yard as next rezoning vote looms
Despite the Cedar Rapids City Council unanimously backing Cargill’s plans for a rail yard at its last meeting, Rompot residents aren’t giving up. It’s likely the company will receive permission to build its rail yard, but the rezoning proposal must be voted on two more times before the change happens. The votes are scheduled for the next two
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Deval Patrick, the latest Democrat to launch a presidential campaign, will be in Cedar Rapids on Monday
Deval Patrick, the former two-term governor of Massachusetts and the most recent Democrat to announce a run for president, will visit Cedar Rapids on Monday as part of his first trip to Iowa. Patrick will join state Sen. Rob Hogg, for what the senator is calling “a ‘climate and flood resilience’ walking tour.”
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Seeing red and getting called ‘unhinged’: Iowa politics in 2017
Republican took full control of state government in Iowa in 2017, and moved quickly to enact an intensely ideological agenda, making major changes that reduced women’s access to health care, reduced union bargaining rights, expanded access to guns and decreased support for public education. But it was liberals Gov. Kim Reynolds called “unhinged,” at her first campaign fundraiser. Public statements by Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Joni Ernst called in question how well-hinged Iowa’s two U.S. Senators are. Meanwhile in the Iowa State Senate, Senate Majority Leader Bill tried to convince the public there’s no problem with sexual harassment in the Republican caucus (a jury disagreed). The Democratic state Senate caucus, on the other hand, made news by replacing Cedar Rapids Sen. Rob Hogg as its leader, even though Hogg had held the position for less than a year.
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Cedar Rapids Sen. Rob Hogg voted out as Minority Leader
Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids is out as minority leader in the Iowa State Senate, following a vote by the chamber’s Democratic caucus on Sunday. Hogg had only been minority leader since last November. He was elected to the position after Mike Gronstal, who had led the caucus for 20 years, lost his seat in the 2016 election.
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State Sen. Rob Hogg calls for Congressman Steve King’s resignation over controversial statements
Iowa State Senate Minority Leader Rob Hogg (D-Cedar Rapids) called for the resignation of Iowa Congressman Steve King Monday, March 13. King has been under fire for a Sunday, March 12 tweet in support of far-right Dutch candidate Geert Wilders that critics say was racist.
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Seeing red: Republicans take control of Iowa Legislature, Democrats vow to fight
By Lauren Shotwell and Eleanore Taft With the gaveling in of the 2017 Iowa Legislature, Republicans took control of both chambers. With control of the Iowa House, Senate and the Governor’s Office, Republicans stand poised to take action. “Today is a new day, a day that we embark on a new direction in Iowa,” said […]
