2021

National gun safety advocates and Iowa Democrats on Thursday put pressure on Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds to veto a bill sitting on her desk that would loosen firearm laws amid recent upticks in gun violence. On a phone call organized by national anti-gun violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety, lawmakers, policy experts and law enforcement…

During a press conference on Wednesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds addressed lengthy wait times for vaccines in parts of Iowa. All Iowa residents are set to be eligible to receive the vaccine starting April 5. COVID-19 vaccine supply in the state has been challenging to obtain—Iowans have even taken to social media platforms to help their…

While Iowa Senate lawmakers on Monday afternoon debated and ultimately advanced legislation that would loosen the state’s gun permitting and background check system, 10 people were killed after a gunman opened fire in a Boulder, Colorado grocery store. This latest mass shooting with fatalities including one police officer at a local King Soopers Grocery Store…

Some rural Iowa schools are eliminating mask requirements amid updated CDC guidance which loosens some social distancing requirements, though notably not their mask recommendations. North Butler in Greene County, BCLUW serving Grundy, Marshall, and Hardin Counties, West Hancock in Hancock County and Kingsley-Pierson near Sioux City are community districts confirmed to have lifted mask-wearing requirements…

The Biden Administration and the new Democratic Congress has begun the arduous task of dismantling numerous policies and executive orders that proved damaging to underrepresented communities in our nation. Iowa, on the other hand, controlled by Republicans, has remained loyal to former president Trump’s insufferable legacy. One of the worst bills they’ve offered up this…

Two million Iowa adults and 800,000 children are slated to receive $1,400 stimulus checks, new data from the Biden administration finds. The sweeping COVID-19 relief package that President Joe Biden signed last week also includes extended unemployment benefits, increased tax credits and will pump states with funding to aid in reopening. For Iowa, the American…

“I know you’re watching.” That’s how Iowa Republican Sen. Jake Chapman addressed Silicon Valley tech executives, his gaze deadpan to the center of the Senate live-stream lens. It was during his closing remarks Wednesday afternoon on a bill he authored that curbs tax cuts for big technology companies in the state if they “censor” speech.…

Iowa House Republicans on Tuesday likened concepts like implicit bias and systemic racism to an updated version of Marxism, or class warfare, saying the teaching of the ideas contradicts Iowa’s hope to not “see skin color.” Before the House advanced along party lines on Tuesday a bill which bars Iowa’s regent universities and K-12 schools…

Iowa Starting Line is entering another expansion phase as we build out our newsroom in 2021 and focus on developing a broader readership audience in Iowa. In particular, we plan on expanding our social media reach and producing stories that better reach Iowans where they’re already at online. We are hiring for several positions. See…

When Iowa state officials announced this month that the vaccination criteria would expand to individuals under age 65 with obesity, severe obesity (BMI 30) and smokers, many in social media began to play judge and jury. This has stirred harsh commentary, even among traditionally liberal and progressive individuals. The vaccination criteria for this new round…