Ty Rushing

Entrepreneurs of color across the country have a chance to win part of a $40,000 cash prize through a business pitch competition being held in West Des Moines and supported by one of the country’s largest banks. The West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce will accept applications until 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, for business…

There were more than 50 education bills introduced during this year’s Iowa legislative session, including proposals to place surveillance cameras in public school classrooms, ban books, jail teachers, and take funding away from public schools to support private institutions. Republican lawmakers, who have introduced the bulk of these policies, have done so under the guises…

Democratic elected officials and LGBTQ advocates widely criticized Gov. Kim Reynolds for signing a bill that bars trans girls and women from competing in school-sanctioned athletic events designated as being for females, girls, or women. Reynolds, a Republican, signed HF 2416 on Thursday, a day after the bill passed in the Iowa Senate along party…

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds was given a national platform Tuesday and she used a portion of it to elevate the parental rights argument Republicans nationwide are using to remake public schools more to their liking. Reynolds, who is expected to announce her intention to run for a second full term as governor, was chosen by…

Ames resident Jessica Hiatt has endeared herself to TikTok users across the globe by chronicling her battle with Stage IV colon cancer over the past two years. Now, as her recent videos have gone even more viral, well-wishers from across the country are sending her care packages. “It helps me ’cause it was kind of…

Henry Riding—spelled Ridings in some instances—was born into enslavement in Missouri and died as the wealthiest Black man in Sioux City. Born in Lexington, Missouri, in 1839, Riding literally fought for his freedom as a Union soldier during the Civil War. He served in the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment, the first Black unit to…

Add Johnston to the growing list of Iowa school boards that have passed resolutions opposing school vouchers and similar legislation that redirects public funds to private schools. The Johnston Community School District School Board approved its resolution in a 4-2 vote Monday. The opposing votes came from board members Clint Evans and Derek Tidball while…

Rep. Jeff Shipley made at least 10 references to transgender Iowans having a mental illness and he diagnosed them with gender dysmorphia at least 11 times during Monday’s Iowa House floor debate to ban transgender girls and women from playing women’s school sports. Shipley has no well-known professional experience in the mental health field other…

A rural Iowa school superintendent shared some insight on how educators are feeling about being in the political crosshairs during an Iowa House Education Subcommittee hearing on Thursday. “We’re working like dogs to have additional requirements so that everybody has access to what they already have access to,” said Russ Adams, superintendent of the Orange…