News
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1,276 people to lose jobs when Tyson plant in Perry closes in June
1,276. That’s how many people in and around the central Iowa town of Perry will lose their jobs by the end of June, after Tyson announced Monday it would permanently close its longtime pork processing plant there. That’s a HUGE number of workers (and the largest employer in Perry): It’s more than 12% of Tyson’s…
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How ‘fetal personhood’ laws can limit family-planning options like IVF
Enshrining the idea of life beginning at fertilization, before implantation, would threaten Iowan’s abilities to access certain kinds of contraceptives and to in vitro fertilization (IVF). It would also be a serious blow to reproductive freedom. Sally Frank, a law professor at Drake University, explained how the logic works. “If fertilization is the moment of…
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Biden attacks GOP abortion bans, vows to restore Roe during State of the Union
“Many of you in this chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom,” Biden said to Republicans. “My God, what freedoms will you take away next?”
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VIDEOS: Iowa Democratic representatives debate anti-abortion curriculum bill
Democrats may be in the minority in Iowa, but that doesn’t mean they’re sitting silently on a bill that would mandate Iowa’s public schools adopt an anti-abortion curriculum. Rep. Molly Buck (D-Ankeny) noted the concerns with the group behind the anti-abortion curriculum Iowa schools would have to implement. @iowastartingline Rep. Molly Buck (D-Ankeny) notes the…
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Biden campaign blasts Iowa bill that could limit IVF access and ties it to Trump
The Biden-Harris campaign said in vitro fertilization (IVF) services could be jeopardized in Iowa under a new bill that was supported by nearly every Republican member of the Iowa House. “IVF is at risk across the country and there’s one man to blame: Donald Trump. Donald Trump proudly brags he was able to ‘kill’ Roe…
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While Republican legislature obsesses over culture war, Iowa Dems pitch pocketbook policies
All Sami Scheetz wanted to do was feed kids. The Democratic representative from Cedar Rapids introduced HF 575 last session, which would allow 23,000 Iowa students enrolled in the federal reduced breakfast and lunch program to receive free meals at school. The state would use a small portion of its billion-dollar-plus surplus to pay the…
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Biden takes aim at high costs during State of the Union speech
Biden called on Congress to pass a mortgage relief credit that would give first-time homebuyers an annual tax credit of up to $5,000 a year for two years. He also endorsed legislation to build and renovate roughly 2 million homes and vowed to crack down on “big landlords who break antitrust laws by price-fixing and…
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Iowa House lawmakers send bill increasing teacher pay to Senate
The Iowa House passed a measure increasing teacher and school staff pay Thursday as the fate of top education policies lawmakers are pursuing this session remain uncertain. House File 2611 passed 92-1 Thursday, with only Rep. Mark Cisneros, R-Muscatine, voting against the measure. The bill would raise teachers’ starting salary to $47,500 in year one…
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When getting a raise means losing health care: Disabled Iowans fighting back
By all rights, Sioux City resident Erica Carter should be a success story. Despite a spinal cord injury 13 years ago—which left her unable to get out of bed without help—Carter was able to complete both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting. Today, she is the finance manager at a public school and is…
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Iowa AG pressures YouTube to use anti-abortion talking points
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is mad at YouTube for its practice of adding context to videos about topics that are prone to misinformation. In a letter she sent out Monday, which has been joined by 15 other state AGs, Bird pushes lies about the safety of abortion medication and claims YouTube is targeting anti-abortion…
