News
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Iowa City closing an elementary school, blames underfunding from state
Hills Elementary School will close next school year after nearly 60 years of educating students, and members of the Iowa City School Board cite inadequate state funding as one of the reasons why. “It is the result of chronic and persistent underfunding by the state that has been going on for the past decade,” school…
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Supreme Court hears oral arguments in major abortion access case
Tuesday’s hearing marks the first time the right-wing Court has listened to a case relating to abortion access since their decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
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Gov. Reynolds signs AEA bill ‘that no one really likes’
Story updated after the bill was signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds on Wednesday, March 27.
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VIDEOS: Iowa Senate debates AEA overhaul bill
The Iowa Senate debated an amended Area Education Agency (AEA) bill on March 18, during which many Democratic legislators focused on the thousands of constituent emails, comments, and testimonies against the governor’s initiative to dismantle how the AEA system currently functions. Sen. Bill Dotzler (D-Waterloo) specifically called out Iowa Republicans’ repeated dismissal of public opinion,…
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Former Trump staffer one step closer to leading Iowa schools
McKenzie Snow’s critics note she has never taught inside an American classroom and that her only degree is in political science; however, some prominent education officials in Iowa believe she is qualified to lead the Iowa Department of Education. The Iowa Senate held a subcommittee on Snow’s confirmation as director of the Iowa Department of…
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Birth control is the key to women’s freedom. Here’s why
Birth control of some kind has existed for all of recorded human history, and the ability to change when and how one becomes pregnant has been a cornerstone of women’s rights. “What [birth control] has really done is allowed women to control their destinies, and that their destiny can include being a mother and a…
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Opinion: I was an Iowa legislator. Where’s the substance to today’s bills?
In today’s hyper-partisan, emotion-fueled political environment, where policy proposals are seemingly presented and defended with facile slogans and tribal appeals, how can any citizen differentiate between the truly good and beneficial ones and those that either serve only a few or harm or denigrate others? I would like to advance a modest proposal based upon…
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7 Iowa events for Transgender Day of Visibility 2024
Transgender Iowans need joy these days. Eight separate bills have been considered in the latest session of the Iowa Legislature specifically targeting transgender youth, contributing to Iowa Republicans’ 40 anti-LGBTQ bills in total. Fearmongering legislation—like bills banning people from school bathrooms, or erasing LGBTQ history—has led to further stigmatization of the transgender community. That’s contributed…
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As cancer rates rise, Iowa could make it illegal to sue pesticide manufacturers
As cancer rates rise in Iowa, the Iowa Senate is considering a bill that would prevent people from suing manufacturers of pesticides—a product linked to increased cancer risk—for not providing adequate warning labels on products. SF 2412 would prevent Iowans from being able to sue pesticide manufacturers if the product’s label was approved by the…
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80% of House Republicans support plan to cut Social Security, ban abortion, and restrict IVF
The Republican Study Committee’s proposed budget calls for cutting Social Security and Medicare and banning abortion after 15 weeks nationwide. It would also pose a threat to IVF and slash funding for rental assistance and programs that help build housing, and more.
