2021
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Democrats Call For Investigation Info From Statehouse COVID Cases
Iowa Democratic leadership said there has been little action to mitigate COVID-19 and contact trace at the Iowa Capitol despite mounting positive cases, including two this week associated with the House and Senate. Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls on a Thursday press call said that Iowa Republicans have “refused to protect [Capitol staff, lawmakers and…
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GOP Senator: Don’t ‘Jump To Conclusions’ In Penitentiary Deaths, Funding Levels
The Iowa Senate on Wednesday advanced justice system funding that Democrats say is too low in light of the recent murder of two employees at the Anamosa state penitentiary. Passed through the Senate Appropriations Committee 11-8 with Democrats opposed, the bill appropriates an increase of $6.3 million for the Department of Corrections. Democrats and union leaders have…
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House Dems Warn About Backroom GOP Budget Deals
Iowa House Democrats say they’re concerned with little communication between House and Senate Republicans, a lack of public input and early adjournment in the chambers during the weeks leading up to Iowa’s $8 billion budget allocation. On Tuesday during an Iowa House Democrats Facebook Live event, House Democratic Leader Rep. Todd Prichard and Sioux City…
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Anti-Abortion Amendment Will Make Future Ban Possible
Iowa’s proposed anti-abortion constitutional amendment, which is likely to advance during the 2021 legislative session, will lay the groundwork for a possible future abortion ban, said the state’s Planned Parenthood lobbyist. Slated for another vote in the Iowa House, the proposed amendment to the state’s constitution passed through the Senate last week on a party-line…
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Iowa Sees Increase In COVID-19 Among Children
Nearly every day since late January, when Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a bill that required Iowa School districts to offer 100% in-person learning options amid concerns of COVID-19, Cedar Rapids Sen. Rob Hogg has been updating his social media accounts with pediatric case counts. The numbers have been increasing lately. “Since January 29,…
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Mistrust Of Vaccine In Communities Of Color Must Be Addressed
The moment was finally here! I was eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and I was ecstatic. The opportunity to feel some safety against the virus and gain some sort of normalcy was within reach. It has been more than a year since the pandemic started and we all have witnessed the loss of life,…
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Reynolds’ Immigration Comments ‘Callous,’ Miss The Point, Advocates Say
America’s immigration surges are also an Iowa problem, say immigration experts, despite Gov. Kim Reynolds’s recent admittal that she declined federal requests to accept migrant children in Iowa, noting their settlement in the U.S. is President Joe Biden’s “problem.” The Republican governor told WHO radio on Thursday that Iowa was asked to house some of…
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Iowa’s Attacks On Voting Rights Makes The State Unwelcoming
“It’s our duty and responsibility to protect the integrity of every election,” said Gov. Kim Reynolds after signing a bill restricting various forms of voting in Iowa earlier this year. The bill shortens the early voting period to 20 days from 29 days, limits drop box locations, restricts election officials from mailing absentee request forms…
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Where Iowa’s Neighbors Are At With Vaccine Eligibility
Monday marked the first day all Iowans aged 16 and older can receive a COVID-19 vaccine, joining its neighboring Midwestern states that have this week expanded pools of qualifiers. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden pushed forward the national deadline for all American adults to become eligible. With the final stage of Iowa’s vaccination plan now open,…
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Anamosa Murders Were ‘Preventable’ And ‘Predictable,’ Unions And Dems Say
The recent murder of two employees at the Anamosa state penitentiary was caused by “grossly inadequate staffing” and years of disinvestment in the corrections system, AFSCME Council 61 President Danny Homan said on the Capitol steps on Tuesday, despite his repeated attempts to work with Republican leadership on the problems. Corrections officer Robert McFarland and nurse…
