Politics
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Zach Wahls Accuses Iowa Republicans Of ‘Authoritarianism’
Iowa Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls (D-Coralville) accused Iowa Senate Republicans of leaning into “authoritarianism” after they refused to answer questions during a debate on their child labor bill late Monday evening. “This is a really serious breach of tradition in the Iowa Senate and I think it marks a really sad development for the…
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Iowa Senate GOP Passes Child Labor Law Rollback
Iowa Senate Republicans have a solution for the state’s ongoing workforce shortage: Child labor. In a 32-17 vote just before 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, the Senate advanced SF 542, which relaxes Iowa’s child labor laws and allows teenagers to work in more hazardous job conditions, including some that contradict federal law. Sens. Charlie McClintock (R-Alburnett)…
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Clarence Thomas’ ‘Corruption’ Scandal Grows Even Bigger
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose a 2014 real estate deal between himself and Republican mega donor Harlan Crow, according to a new report from ProPublica. The deal involved the sale of three properties owned by Thomas and his relatives in Savannah, Georgia. The report claims that Crow, chairman of the Board of…
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Bill To Cut Food And Medicaid Benefits Goes To Reynolds’ Desk
Despite objections from working-class and low-income Iowans, food banks, and more than 200 Iowa religious leaders, Iowa House Republicans advanced a bill on Thursday to cut food and health-care benefits for thousands of Iowans. After a marathon debate, the Iowa House advanced SF 494 in a 58-41 vote. All 35 Iowa House Democrats voted against…
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What the Latest Abortion Pill Ruling Means for You
UPDATE: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Friday temporarily delayed Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling which sought to suspend the FDA’s approval for the abortion medication mifepristone. Alito’s ruling means mifepristone remains available according to each state’s abortion laws. The full Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether to uphold or overturn Kacsmaryk’s decision on…
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Iowa House Votes To Legalize Guns On School And College Grounds
Iowa House Republicans voted on Wednesday to make it easier to bring guns on the campuses of Iowa schools, community colleges, and universities and to require public schools to implement K-12 gun safety curriculum that was developed by the National Rifle Association (NRA). HF 654 passed 62-37, with only two of 64 Republicans voting against…
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Son Of Iowa GOP Chair Introduces Bill To Block Iowa Dems Caucus Plan
Rep. Bobby Kaufmann (R-Wilton), son of Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann, is attempting to stop Iowa Democrats’ plan for a modified caucus that relies on mailed presidential preference cards. The younger Kaufmann introduced a committee bill on Monday that prevents anyone who is not physically present at the location of a precinct caucus from participating…
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Iowa GOP’s Amended Social Media Ban Bill Is Moving Forward
An Iowa House committee advanced a law on Monday to give parents something they can already control: Oversight of their child’s social media accounts. But the bill might instead lead parents to give up more of their own personal information to large social media companies. “Utah just did a law very similar that allows parental…
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Judge’s Abortion Pill Ruling Could Have Widespread Consequences On Health Care Access
Two judges—one in Texas, and one in Washington—issued competing rulings on the fate of the abortion medication mifepristone on Friday, throwing the future of access to the pill into question. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, ordered a hold on the federal approval of mifepristone, in what multiple publications have said overruled decades…
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Nurse: Bill To Cut SNAP/Medicaid ‘Not Good’ For Iowans’ Health
Despite both of her parents being college graduates, Esther Hurston said her family struggled financially for most of her childhood and those scars stick with her. “As a little girl, I never knew if we were going to have a home to live in, if I was going to have food to eat,” she said.…
