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Every year, thousands of Iowans break out their oars and their paddles so they can take advantage of the state’s many lakes and rivers. And every year, more and more, they find green, streaky water, algae blooms, and swimming advisories. Megan McDowell went paddling...
UnityPoint Health announced Thursday it will require all of its more than 33,000 staff members to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Nov. 1. The hospital system is one of Iowa's largest and its flagship hospital is in Des Moines. They also operate in Wisconsin and...
Gov. Kim Reynolds arrived in Sioux City on Tuesday morning to celebrate the opening of a $22 million multi-family housing development in the community. “What’s great is you can see this complex from the air and it makes a big statement when you’re flying in,” Reynolds...
In light of a potential housing crisis, the Centers for Disease Control announced a limited, extended moratorium on evictions nationwide. The new notice, released Tuesday, covers counties with "substantial" or "high" levels of COVID-19 spread, and it will last until...
Attending the Iowa State Fair is a memorable tradition for most Iowans and visitors. For an immigrant like me, it was an exciting introduction to my new home when I arrived 21 years ago. Everything about the fair during that first visit was mind-blowing; a cultural...
More than 30,000 Iowans think they will be evicted within two months. The federal eviction moratorium, put in place to help renters who have struggled to make rent and utility payments, ends on Saturday. It was originally set to expire on June 30 but was extended one...
Doug Jensen, the Des Moines man who wore a Q-Anon t-shirt while storming the US Capitol Building on Jan. 6, is close to reaching a plea agreement with the federal government, according to an update from his attorney. This news name came out during a status hearing on...
Although the latest federal ruling on DACA does not affect enrolled recipients, many of them are still frustrated by the program’s instability. “Every time this program is challenged, we feel that they are playing with us,” said Juan Antonio Garcia. “I would like for...
Proponents of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act had a message for Iowa’s two Republican US Senators during a Friday rally in downtown Sioux City to support the bill. “If Senator Grassley and Senator Ernst aren’t going to support us, we can replace them,”...
Nicole Riggs, a mom of two in West Des Moines, really hoped her 8-year-old son’s school, Hillside Elementary, would offer virtual classes for this school year. They did last year and Riggs said it worked well. Her son wanted a virtual option too so he could protect...
Henny Ohr has dedicated her life to empowering communities and showing what determination and caring for others can accomplish. She is the director and co-founder of Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center (EMBARC) in Des Moines. EMBARC is a nonprofit...
Six Iowans—including a mother and son—have been charged, so far, with federal crimes for their roles in the Capitol insurrection on Jan 6. Daryl Johnson of St. Ansgar was the latest Iowan charged when he was arrested on June 11. His charges include entering and...
A bill that passed the US House of Representatives on Wednesday aims to track dangerous chemicals impacting water quality. The PFAS Action Act passed 241-183 and US Rep. Cindy Axne was the only Iowan to vote in favor. The Democrat, who represents Iowa's Third...
There were 4,058 abortions performed in Iowa in 2020, a trend that’s increased over the last three years. In 2018, there were 2,849 abortions, followed by 3,566 abortions in 2019, according to state data. The data came from the Iowa Department of Public Health and was...
In preparation of the upcoming Iowa State Fair and in light of the dominant Delta variant, Polk County officials want to make sure more people are protected from COVID-19. To do that, they’ve set up a new incentive. Today, if someone gets their first or second dose of...
While searching for a job over the last few months, Maylene Gonzalez had two strikes against her: she had spent time in prison and she was a single mother. “Being a single mom is another door or obstacle that you have to overcome because they see single parents as a...
Officials hope electric vehicles can drive an economic and environmental spark in Iowa. State officials gathered Thursday to talk about the ways Iowa can change its infrastructure to combat climate change and its devastating consequences. Electric vehicles were the...
While opening my mail a few days ago, I noticed a letter from the White House signed by President Joe Biden explaining the American Rescue Plan that was passed on March 11. This plan is intended to help millions of American families fight public health and economic...
Iowa Gov.Kim Reynolds followed the lead of other Republican governors loyal to the former president when she announced on June 24 she was sending Iowa State Patrol officers to the U.S. Southern Border. “My first responsibility is to the health and safety of Iowans and...
Four out of five Iowans with children will start seeing more money in their bank accounts as the first payments of a new child tax credit go out July 15. To showcase the benefit, U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, Iowa state Sen. Zach Wahls and Iowa state Rep. Jennifer Konfrst,...
The highly transmissible Delta variant is now the dominant strain of COVID-19 in Iowa, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. In the past two weeks, the variant was responsible for more than half of the positive COVID-19 tests that included variants. To...
Six new Iowa infrastructure projects are on track to have funding thanks to Iowa Rep. Cindy Axne. The Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act passed in the House of Representatives yesterday, and with it, over...
In the latest push for more Iowans to get vaccinated for COVID-19, 40 infectious disease physicians in Iowa put out a statement explaining the benefits. Published in the Des Moines Register, the statement makes three key points that address the biggest concerns: the...
If it feels like some of your relatives and neighbors are living in a different reality than you these days because of how they consume information online, it's because they essentially are. We've all witnessed how the struggles of the local news industry have...
At the end of the month, the federal eviction moratorium is ending for renters who fell behind on payments or struggled keeping up during the pandemic. In Iowa, that means thousands of people are suddenly at risk, according to data from the Census Bureau. The...
With vaccination rates stalling and demand plummeting in Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters yesterday she doesn’t plan to offer incentives for getting vaccinated against COVID-19. That means no lottery, no giveaways, no cash payments. Reynolds said pop-up clinics...
Iowa Democrats are eager to set their sights on the future following yet another poor election showing in 2020, one that saw the party again fail to win the top statewide race on the ballot. To get that effort moving, they'll need candidates to take on Gov. Kim...
Continuing a fight they’ve been waging since 2018, Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have fully passed language to deny the right to abortion exists in the Iowa Constitution. The proposed state constitutional amendment passed today in the Senate and last night in...
In March, the Iowa state legislature passed a new election law that made it harder for Iowans to vote by shortening early voting, putting restrictions on absentee ballots and changing the way the voter list is maintained--despite widespread opposition and clear...
As demand for vaccines wanes, Iowa is pushing to scoop up the wary and those who haven’t had an opportunity to get vaccinated before now. In a Wednesday press conference, Gov. Kim Reynolds said the state is working with local health departments to host pop-up clinics...
