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“We are having another May 1st rally this year," Jose Alvarado told me a few months ago, about the event in support of immigration reform. During my conversation with Jose, I had a flashback from fifteen years ago, when I participated in “A Day Without Immigrants”...
Iowa Senate Republicans on Wednesday night finally passed a highly controversial bill that establishes public funding for privately-run charter schools. After voting down 13 Democratic-introduced amendments, each killed along party lines, the majority party advanced...
Iowa House Republicans last week passed a so-called "Back the Blue" bill, which provides more protections to law enforcement and punishes protesters in direct response to last summer's protests of nationwide racial inequity. Democratic Rep. Christina Bohannan of Iowa...
The moment was finally here! I was eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and I was ecstatic. The opportunity to feel some safety against the virus and gain some sort of normalcy was within reach. It has been more than a year since the pandemic started and we...
“It’s our duty and responsibility to protect the integrity of every election,” said Gov. Kim Reynolds after signing a bill restricting various forms of voting in Iowa earlier this year. The bill shortens the early voting period to 20 days from 29 days, limits drop box...
Friday’s close of the Iowa Legislature’s second “funnel” deadline left much of Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ agenda for the 2021 session in play. The end of last week’s cutoff meant all policy had to pass the Iowa House or Senate and through a full committee in the...
A year ago, as the pandemic started, we all watched how another story began to unfold; the former president kept referring to the coronavirus as the “kung flu” and the “China virus.” Ever since then, the racist acts and harassment against the Asian American and...
During a press conference on Wednesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds addressed lengthy wait times for vaccines in parts of Iowa. All Iowa residents are set to be eligible to receive the vaccine starting April 5. COVID-19 vaccine supply in the state has been challenging to...
The Biden Administration and the new Democratic Congress has begun the arduous task of dismantling numerous policies and executive orders that proved damaging to underrepresented communities in our nation. Iowa, on the other hand, controlled by Republicans, has...
“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...
The months of February and March this year mark a grim reminder of how the coronavirus pandemic began to change our lives forever one year ago. We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, yet the scars of loss, depression, anxiety and pain remain. A...
President Joe Biden's competent handling of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout is earning him high marks in a state that supported his opponent in the 2020 election. A new Des Moines Reigster/Mediacom Iowa Poll released today showed that 57% of Iowans approve of the job...
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...
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...
The trial this week of Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri was a disgrace. It never should have happened, but it could occur again as long as John Sarcone remains the Polk County Attorney. The prosecution of a reporter for simply doing her job during a Black...
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”...
Des Moines City Councilman Josh Mandelbaum will be running for reelection this fall. The environmental attorney announced this morning he'll seek another term on the council for his Ward 3 seat, which covers the southwest quadrant of Des Moines. In kicking off his...
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...
While Iowa's COVID-19 vaccine rollout started slow and has run into problems caused by poor planning, the state is seeing real results from the quickly researched and produced vaccines. The most noticeable difference between now and the worst days of the pandemic come...
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...
“If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.” Those were the words of Carter G. Woodson, a prominent African American historian, author and...
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,...
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...
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...
Iowa’s governor is relentless in her disregard for science and the lives of Iowans. Once again, she puts profit before the health and life of the very people she is supposed to care for and represent. She insists that encouraging folks to do the right thing will do...
