“I know you’re watching.” That's how Iowa Republican Sen. Jake Chapman addressed Silicon Valley tech executives, his gaze deadpan to the center of the Senate live-stream lens. It was during his closing remarks Wednesday afternoon on a bill he authored that curbs tax...

Iowa House Republicans on Tuesday likened concepts like implicit bias and systemic racism to an updated version of Marxism, or class warfare, saying the teaching of the ideas contradicts Iowa’s hope to not “see skin color.” Before the House advanced along party lines...

A flustered, Des Moines-based Grace Preschool Director Kelly Donnelly said she just got all her young students down for a nap before she began pleading with senators on a Tuesday Zoom subcommittee meeting to reconsider legislation that might provide no additional...

After last summer’s derecho storm brought wind gusts over 100 mph, devastating much of central and eastern Iowa’s crops, infrastructure and foliage, GOP lawmakers are continuing to move a bill forward which would raise property taxes on privately-owned forests in the...

The Democratic National Committee is taking aim at Iowa’s Senate Republicans on Monday, unveiling a new Des Moines billboard highlighting Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley’s no votes on the sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package. Displayed on 14th Street...

In the new $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act signed on Thursday by President Joe Biden are far-reaching, rapid-impact economic benefits for Iowans. The bill, which includes extended unemployment benefits, direct payment stimulus checks, increased child tax...

Iowa Democratic leaders on Thursday criticized a “leadership vacuum” in the Republican-run state as desperate residents search for COVID-19 vaccinations and relief with little to no government help. During their weekly press conference on Thursday, Senate Democratic...

About 30% of COVID-19 positive Iowans rejected state attempts to contact trace during a virus surge last fall, new data shows. KCRG-obtained findings through a public records request from the state reveals that 24,166 Iowans either refused or ignored contact tracers’...

A bill that would stop five Iowa school districts from pointing to voluntary diversity plans as a reason to deny student transfers advanced Thursday through another legislative subcommittee. Under current law, Des Moines, Davenport, Postville, Waterloo and West...

A top Democratic elections lawyer filed a lawsuit Tuesday morning against Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and Attorney General Tom Miller, challenging the voter suppression bill signed into law Monday afternoon. The rapid response case, filed by voting rights...

It’s been about six weeks since state Rep. Amy Nielsen tested positive for COVID-19, which she thinks she contracted at the Capitol, and she is still experiencing lingering symptoms. The North Liberty Democrat on January 30 became the first lawmaker to contract the...

An Iowa Republican likened an abortion “pandemic” to COVID-19 as a bill that would create an abortion state information dashboard passed on Thursday through a legislative subcommittee. “COVID-19 has had a huge impact on a lot of Iowans, and unfortunately we’ve lost a...

“If you decide you want to censor Iowans, then you forgo your special tax breaks. And they are rich tax breaks in this state,” warned Iowa Republican Sen. Jake Chapman during debate on a bill which would halt financial incentives for big tech companies that “censor”...

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds received a newly-released, one-dose, Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday during a live press conference—a bittersweet action to some Iowans who appreciate her attempt to dispel vaccine misinformation amid the state’s...

After a summer filled with public activism on racial justice issues following George Floyd’s murder, an Iowa Senate subcommittee on Tuesday advanced a wide-ranging law enforcement protections bill meant to clamp down on future protests. “I think we all know that over...

A “small step” on marijuana reform advanced on Tuesday in the Iowa legislature. A GOP-sponsored Senate bill that would lower legal penalties for first-offense Iowans who possess less than five grams of marijuana passed through a Senate Judiciary subcommittee with...

In one of the first floor speeches as an Iowa state senator, Sarah Trone Garriott breathlessly described the realities of COVID-19 she had seen in her own community. “Over the course of the past year I spoke with thousands of constituents of every political...

Iowa Republicans are willing to take a hit on the state’s economic development in order to welcome former President Donald Trump with lenient first amendment privileges during a time when few places are offering to be his safe haven. Big tech companies like Facebook,...

If the Iowa GOP seeks to run government like a business, passing a voter suppression bill reflects a poor business model, Democrats said tonight during floor debate in the Iowa House. In his opening statement before the House passed a contentious elections bill,...

At the close of a three-hour-long debate highlighting clashes in the Iowa Capitol over former President Donald Trump’s debunked claims of widespread election fraud in the 2020 race, the state Senate passed a controversial elections bill along party lines. The GOP...

“Do we really have to do this now, during a pandemic?” That was a question repeatedly asked during a roundtable with Iowa union members Tuesday morning, following an earlier, contentious debate in the Iowa House Labor Committee which advanced a bill that cuts...

Despite sweeping public resistance, Iowa is set to move forward as one of the almost three dozen states where Republicans are pushing to restrict voting access after November’s general election. A total of 964 Iowans signed up on Monday night to speak against a...

Frustrated Iowa residents are crowdsourcing locations and availability for COVID-19 vacccine doses on social media and through personal networks in lieu of state assistance. With state preparation for distributing the vaccine lacking, the lucky Iowans who have gotten...

As Iowa continues to fall behind national rates of COVID-19 vaccines administration, Republicans on Tuesday advanced a bill through a Senate subcommittee that would further protect non-vaccinated residents and prohibit vaccine mandates set by employers or health care...

When Republicans retained full control of Iowa government in the 2020 elections, Democrats knew full well they would face another challenging legislative session. But GOP legislators have pushed the boundaries of hot-button Iowa partisan issues during the first month...

Iowa is behind most neighboring Midwestern states in administering federally delivered COVID-19 vaccines, while Republican lawmakers say the state isn’t “getting its fair share of COVID vaccines.” Gov. Kim Reynolds at a press conference on Thursday said that...

Another fast-tracked education bill that will short Iowa’s public schools is vindictive amid ongoing COVID-19 challenges, Democrats say. Introduced by Senate Republicans less than a week ago, the education plan that suggests a 2.2% funding increase — well below...