Politics

Could Iowa finally get on board with the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Compact (MIPRC)? A new legislative bill hints at that possibility. An Iowa House Transportation Committee hearing was held on Tuesday for HSB 132, a bill that would allow the Hawkeye State to join the 23-year-old rail compact that already includes Illinois, Indiana, Kansas,…

Some Iowa Republicans—including Gov. Kim Reynolds—have proposed changes to the state’s sexual education curriculum that could remove instruction about AIDS and/or the human papillomavirus (HPV) and the associated vaccine.  Reynolds’ office has proposed three types of such legislation and Rep. Jeff Shipley (R-Fairfield) introduced a separate bill that only targets the HPV vaccine. In SSB…

Iowa Sen. Sandy Salmon (R-Janesville) is hellbent on removing social-emotional learning (SEL) from the state’s public schools, and she has a small but vocal and politically-motivated group of supporters backing her. Salmon introduced a bill to ban the Iowa Department of Education from promoting SEL and chaired a Senate subcommittee that voted to move the…

Iowa Republican lawmakers promised that passing the private school voucher bill was only the beginning of their plan to reshape education and fight against public school “indoctrination” during an event in Des Moines on Thursday. Moms for Liberty, a Florida-based right-wing organization that has led a nationwide crusade to ban books they don’t approve of,…

Concerns were raised today about a House Republican bill that would create a system to report educators for teaching banned “divisive concepts” from a new law—which can include forms of racism and sexism—in Iowa public schools and that would also levy fines on school districts where it was proven to have taken place. During a…

Opponents of SF83, which has been nicknamed Iowa’s “Don’t Say Trans” bill, spoke passionately about the proposed legislation during an Iowa Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, but the measure still moved forward in a 2-1 vote. The bill would bar the teaching of gender identity from K-8 school curriculum and would allow parents/guardians to take…

Two years ago, Iowa Republicans passed a divisive concepts law—which outlawed the non-existent threat of critical race theory and other topics being taught in public schools—and now they’re looking to add expensive civil penalties to the measure. They also want Iowans’ help in reporting public school educators for any perceived violation. House Education Committee Chair…

Dr. Megan Srinivas, an infectious disease expert who made a mark nationally in 2020, was a busy woman even before she became the representative for Iowa House District 30, which covers southwest Des Moines.  She contracts with various medical facilities and medical research organizations including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health…

Rep. Jerome Amos Jr. was a career man at John Deere in Waterloo, but it was being an active member of the UAW local that inspired him to become involved in politics. During a union training session in Black Lake, Minnesota, a presenter told members in attendance to get involved in local politics. “There’s not…

A bill introduced this week in the Iowa Senate would ban people under age 18 from seeking gender-affirming medical care and make medical practitioners legally and civilly liable for providing related treatment.  Keenan Crow of One Iowa, a statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, said SF 110 is a potential death sentence for trans kids in Iowa.…