It’s the Friday news roundup: Aug. 2, 2024.

🐈 I genuinely don’t get why folks like vice presidential nominee JD Vance think childless cat ladies don’t care about our country’s future. As if people need to birth a child to want a better world for future generations?

To me, it sounds like the argument that you can’t have morals without adhering to a religion. “If you don’t think you can go to Hell,” the argument goes, “what stops you from being evil?”

 

IDK; not wanting to BE evil, I guess?

 

Just like you don’t need religion to adopt values of kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and charity, you don’t need to be a parent to want a better future for your neighbors’ kids, for other Iowans, and even for people you will never meet.

 

Of course, this assumes the religious and parents among us always value these things, and clearly that’s not the case!

 

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If you value eating at some excellent Des Moines-area restaurants, good news: Our reader survey results are now out!

 

🍽️ For the all-around foodies: Here are readers’ top 3 new restaurants in Des Moines.

 

🍖 For the sauce lovers: The four best barbecue joints in the metro.

 

🍕 The best slice: The five best pizza places in our capital city.

 

🍦 And a love letter to Black Cat, named Des Moines’ best ice cream.

 

Do these rankings infuriate you? Email me and tell me.

 

Bonus: Do you like garlic bread, Iowa’s LGBTQ+ community, and helping your neighbors recover from devastating flooding? Check this out next week in Sioux City.

What to know about Iowa’s new 6-week abortion ban

As of Monday, Iowa now bans abortion at six weeks gestation, before most people know they’re pregnant, and with few exceptions (that they’re making doctors police).

 

Thousands of Iowans will now have to drive out of state or work with out-of-state providers to get the procedure done. And 61% of Iowans disagree with lawmakers taking away their freedom to decide when to have a child.

 

What’s all this talk about “post-birth abortion?” Isabel Soisson breaks down what it all actually means here.

 

If you need an abortion—let’s call it “gardening”—here’s how to get help, even despite our draconian new law, from Starting Line’s Avery Staker.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris—the presumptive Democratic nominee for president—want to reform the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) by ending lifetime appointments in favor of 18-year term limits, as well as an enforceable ethics code for justices.

 

Our question: What do you think of term limits and an ethics code for SCOTUS? And would you be in favor of other reforms?

Iowa is now the 22nd state to pass an abortion ban since the overturn of Roe v Wade.

 

But in a new video, VP Kamala Harris said she’ll restore reproductive freedom to states like ours if elected.

 

Question of the Week:
What was your first job, and should Iowa raise the minimum wage?

• “My first job was as a high school student intern at a local law office. If I remember correctly, the starting pay was $1.85 per hour. It was a great job! My employers treated me well and taught me a lot about ethics and taking care of clients. And 40 YEARS later, I became an attorney! Yes, I think our minimum wage should be raised.” ~Karen V., Stuart

• “During the summer months between semesters at St. Ambrose College back in the early ‘60s, I worked the graveyard shift at the Farmall tractor assembly plant (either in Rock Island or Moline, Illinois). I made enough during those months (it was a union plant) to afford books and tuition for the coming year. Since I lived at home in Davenport, my food and boarding costs were absorbed by my parents and not me. … I have always supported a “living wage,” part of my Catholic heritage, which would always be higher than any “minimum wage” since it was payment sufficient to allow a person to live above the poverty level with dignity.” ~Greg C.

• “When I was still in high school, I made 75 cents an hour. The summer after I graduated, I made $1.25/hour. My most recent part time jobs began paying $12/hour after the COVID pandemic. About a year ago, I got a dollar raise at one of them. Haven’t worked any full-time jobs for a while, so don’t have a good idea of what the going wage would be for me.” ~Clare S.

Summer Olympics:

• “I am excited for the equestrian events and the gymnastics!!” ~Veronica B.

• “Marion native Kelsey Labs Quinn is coaching runners at this year’s games, including Kenyan marathon runner Helen Obiri and American miler Yared Nuguse. Kelsey ran herself at University of Iowa and has been coaching at the collegiate and professional level since completing her masters in kinesiology at ISU. … If you want to dig deeper into Iowa connections to the Olympics, Amy Blades of Cedar Rapids coached figure skating at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.” ~Lori L.

Kids throw food away, so don’t give them food:

• “I work in the schools. … The students throw away enough food every day to feed an army. … The food stamps should cover what a poor family needs. As if that is not enough, they can go to the food pantry once a month and also go to the food pantry every day to get a daily amount. But if you want your taxes raised even higher than they are now to pay for things not needed, have at it.” ~Paul B.

Speaking of taxes, Iowa’s annual tax-free weekend (not including Sunday!) is this weekend. Clothing, footwear, and more under $100 will be exempt from sales tax today and tomorrow. Learn more here.

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