Democrat Lanon Baccam won a landslide victory in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, and the Republican incumbents in the 1st and 4th Districts who faced challengers on Tuesday both won. Incumbents typically win primary elections in Iowa, but a Republican supervisor in Polk County and a Democratic supervisor in Johnson County were defeated in their primary […]
Royceann Porter
Posted inCommunity/News
Students across Iowa walk out of class to protest anti-LGBTQ bills: ‘We want to keep our friends alive’
Students at schools across Iowa walked out of class on Wednesday to protest against more than two dozen anti-LGBTQ bills Republican members of the Iowa Legislature have introduced this year. The bills include sweeping so-called “education reform” bills. One would prohibit teachers and schools from mentioning any gender-related issues to younger students, force all Iowa […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Royceann Porter appointed chair of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors
Supervisor Royceann Porter was appointed chairperson of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors for 2022 in a vote that took less than a minute at the board’s organizational meeting Monday. But the unanimous selection of Porter by her fellow supervisors was not a routine vote, as the county made clear in a news release issued […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Shawn Harmsen launches his campaign for the District B seat on the Iowa City Council
“This is our neighborhood park,” Shawn Harmsen told the crowd gathered in Mercer Park Wednesday. He and his family had celebrated birthdays in the park, he’d coached Little League baseball there, and now Harmsen was at Mercer to kickoff his campaign for the open District B seat on the Iowa City Council. The event in […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Johnson County Board of Supervisors approves a mask mandate
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously at its meeting on Thursday to approve a Board of Health ordinance requiring the use of face coverings in public spaces to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. With certain limited exceptions, the ordinance requires anyone inside a building open to the public to wear a face […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Watch: Mayor Bruce Teague and Supervisor Royceann Porter discuss Juneteenth, Black Lives Matter and the Black Voices Project
During the Thursday edition of Iowa City’s online program Community Connection, Mayor Bruce Teague and Johnson County Supervisor Royceann Porter discussed Saturday’s Juneteenth Celebration on the Pentacrest, as well as the recent protests in the city and the country. Although other Juneteenth celebrations have had to be canceled due to COVID-19, the Iowa Freedom Riders, […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Protest organizers in Iowa City name themselves the Iowa Freedom Riders, present a list of 13 demands
Over the last week, the protests against racism and police violence in Iowa City that start at the Pentacrest and move through town have attracted the most public attention, and with good reason. Those marches have led to stand-offs with law enforcement officers, including one on Wednesday night during which an Iowa State Patrol officer […]
Posted inCOVID-19
‘When is enough enough?’ Hundreds gather in Iowa City to remember George Floyd and other victims of racism and police violence
It was obvious before you reached the Pentacrest on Saturday that the protest rally scheduled for noon was going to be different. Clinton Street was blocked off from Washington to Jefferson, and a traffic barrier at Dubuque Street kept cars off Iowa Avenue. The streets weren’t blocked for a march, but to allow the hundreds […]
Posted inCommunity/News
League of Women Voters will hold a virtual forum for Johnson County Board of Supervisors candidates on Monday night
On Monday night, the Johnson County League of Women Voters is holding the first of three virtual forums for county candidates who will be on the ballot in the June 2 primary. This first forum will feature candidates for the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. Three seats are on the ballot this year, and the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Royceann Porter’s journey, from overcoming ‘culture shock’ in rural Iowa to making Johnson County history
Four days before the Iowa Caucus, Johnson County Supervisor Royceann Porter got a phone call from Pete Buttigieg. “This was the first time I’d heard from him in the whole 14 months of the campaign,” Porter said. “He said, ‘Do you think I could persuade you to come over to my team?’”
Posted inCommunity/News
Watch: Royceann Porter previews the 2020 Community Soul Food Dinner
Royceann Porter is up to her elbows in elbow noodles, black-eyed peas, smoked meats and more ahead of the Black Voices Project’s annual Soul Food Dinner this Friday. The Johnson County Supervisor encourages anyone and everyone to come out for a free meal and fellowship.
Posted inCommunity/News
Sen. Cory Booker visits the Center for Workers Justice, joined by Rosario Dawson, local leaders
Sen. Cory Booker repeatedly talked about love and its political importance during a campaign stop at the Center for Workers Justice of Eastern Iowa (CWJ) on Saturday morning. “Love is not sentimentality, it’s not kumbaya,” Booker explained. “Love says that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Love says that we welcome the stranger.”
