Meatpacking workers in southeast Iowa are now—officially—gearing up to organize into labor unions at their respective workplaces.
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Students Protest Iowa Bill To Allow Guns On School Grounds
Valley High School Senior Luke Rowley remembers what it was like going to school the day after the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting in which 19 children and two adults were killed by a gunman. “I remember a sense of dread in the hallways, students at Valley were...
Iowa Senate GOP Passes Child Labor Law Rollback
Iowa Senate Republicans have a solution for the state's ongoing workforce shortage: Child labor. In a 32-17 vote just before 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, the Senate advanced SF 542, which relaxes Iowa’s child labor laws and allows teenagers to work in more hazardous job...
8 Tips to Get a Gorgeous Iowa Yard in Spring
Spring garden guide: What to do right now in your garden, lawn, or backyard in Iowa.
Iowa’s Semi-Pro Basketball Teams and How to Watch in 2023
Without any professional teams in state, what's a basketball fan looking for live games in Iowa supposed to do? Watch one of these incredible local teams, of course! From the G-League on down, get your live basketball fix by checking out a game at one of these Iowa...
Immigrant Moms of Legislators Share What They Love About Iowa
They came to Iowa knowing very little—or nothing—about what to expect. But once they were here, Hala Abumaizer-Scheetz, Kineret Zabner and Dr. Geetha Srinivas found kindness and community that has kept them in Iowa, even with other (less snowy) options out there....
Cedar Rapids’ Rhodes Scholar to Nobel Nominee: Iowa Poet Paul Engle
Did you know Iowa can boast one of its own as a Nobel Prize-nominated poet? April is National Poetry Month, and Iowa has had its fair share of noteworthy poets. But perhaps our most successful is Paul Engle. Paul Engle was a lifelong Iowa poet who cared so much about...
Iowa House Votes To Legalize Guns On School And College Grounds
Iowa House Republicans voted on Wednesday to make it easier to bring guns on the campuses of Iowa schools, community colleges, and universities and to require public schools to implement K-12 gun safety curriculum that was developed by the National Rifle Association...
Iowa Nursing Homes Closures Accelerating; 696 Jobs Lost In Less Than a Year
The Iowa nursing home closings that began in 2022 are accelerating now—and they're hitting small towns and rural communities the hardest. Colonial Manors of Manilla, which closed in July 2021—loss of 34 jobs—was the only Iowa nursing home closure that year reported to...
Attorney ‘Hopeful’ Injunction On Iowa Abortion Law Stays After Court Arguments
The Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday morning about ending the injunction on Iowa’s six-week abortion ban. Peter Im, staff attorney at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, argued for Iowa abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood and the Emma...
What Iowa Has Gotten Out Of Biden’s Infrastructure Law (So Far)
In 2021, President Biden signed the historic $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law, delivering on a key piece of his economic agenda. Since then, billions of dollars have been funneled into all 50 states in order to upgrade highways, transit systems, water systems,...
Iowa Schools Balance Support for Trans Students, Following New Bathroom Law
School districts across the state have scrambled to update students and parents after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill to restrict where transgender children can go to the bathroom on March 23. Several large Iowa districts released statements intended to reassure...
‘Shame On Us,’ Says Iowa Senator As SNAP Restriction Bill Passes
A bill that would add more hoops to jump through for federal public assistance money—legislation that would cost the state millions over the next few years to put in place—passed the Iowa Senate Wednesday. The bill, Senate File 494, passed along party lines, with all...
‘Tough, Tenacious’ Minnette Doderer Fought Tirelessly for Iowa Women
Minnette Doderer was a trailblazing politician who served in the Iowa Legislature for 15 years, working on laws that ultimately improved Iowa women’s legal status. Born in 1923, Doderer was born in Holland, Iowa, and graduated from East High School in Waterloo....
This Union Just Won The Largest-Ever Wage Increase In Iowa
A small eight-person police department in western Iowa just won what's believed to be the largest collectively bargained wage increase in Iowa history. The Carter Lake Peace Officers Association, the union covering the eight police officers of the City of Carter Lake,...
LGBTQ “Ally” Wells Fargo Quiet As Iowa GOP Passes Homophobic Bills
Halfway through the Iowa Legislative Session, Iowa Republicans—who hold large majorities in the House and Senate—have introduced more than 30 bills that target Iowa's LGBTQ community with a specific focus on trans children. Some of the students who would be affected...
5 Inspiring Facts About Iowa’s Trailblazing First Lady Lou Henry Hoover
Sure, you probably know about Iowa's only US President. But did you know his wife was an amazing humanitarian (and cool as hell)? Credited with being the person who started Girl Scout cookie sales nationwide, Iowa native and First Lady Lou Henry Hoover also traveled...
Bill To Strip LGBTQ Parents’ Rights Set To Become Law In Iowa
As LGBTQ Iowans and supporters watched from the Iowa House gallery on Wednesday, most Republicans in that chamber signed off on a bill that strips parents of transgender and non-binary kids of the right to make healthcare decisions for their own children. The House...
Skyscrapers in Iowa: Here Are Our 10 Tallest Buildings
Iowa doesn't have the tallest buildings in the world (or country, or region), but we do have a few skyscrapers. Most are in Des Moines, Iowa's capital and largest city (but not all). One was even (for a time) the tallest building in the upper Midwest! Here are the top...
Iowans Show Up In Droves To Protest Homophobic Republican Bills
Thousands gathered in front of the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines on Sunday afternoon to push back on the discriminatory, homophobic laws moving through the Iowa Legislature. Speakers spoke out against bills like the gender-affirming care ban, bills forcing schools to out...
6 Iowa-Made Products, From Hot Sauce to Popcorn, Foodies Have to Try
Are you feeling adventurous? How about Iowa adventurous? Here are some Iowa-made products you should try for an authentic Iowa foodie experience. (Already tried them? Tell us what you think in the comments.) Brown Dogs Farm Located outside of Norwalk and established...
20 House Republicans Sign Bill To Ban Nearly All Abortion In Iowa
Iowa House Republicans introduced a sweeping abortion ban on Tuesday that only allows the medical procedure to be performed under rare circumstances. The 53-page bill does a number of things, including: Defines life at fertilization, and uses the term "unborn child"...
The Stories Behind 6 of Iowa’s Coolest Bridges
Ah, bridges: Those important infrastructure pieces that get people across Iowa's many ravines, rivers, and sometimes lakes. While they may need more work (like a lot more), at least you don't have to ford the river in your Subaru. Some Iowa bridges are even worth a...
Trans Iowan To Republican Lawmakers: ‘You Truly Hate Us’
While speaking at an Iowa Senate subcommittee hearing on a proposed "bathroom bill" on Tuesday, Aime Wichtendahl of Hiawatha took aim at all of the anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ bills Iowa Republicans lawmakers have been honed in on this session. "I've come here to voice...
‘What If We Just Fed Kids?’ Asks Iowa Senator Behind Free School Lunch Bill
Iowa Senate Democrats want to prove the saying, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” wrong when it comes to public school students. On Wednesday, 13 of the chamber’s 16 Democratic senators introduced SF 303, which would allow all Iowa public school students to...
5 Iconic Iowa Restaurants To Put On Your Bucket List
Whether you are looking to try out a new restaurant near home or visiting the Hawkeye State, you’ll find some great places to enjoy a good meal. Iowa doesn’t get the attention it deserves for its food, but it has some famous restaurants.
House Bill Would Let Iowa Get On Board With Light Rail Compact
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...
Guest Post: Iowa Grad Student Workers Deserve Real Raises
This month, UE Local 896, The Campaign to Organize Graduate Students (COGS)—the labor union representing nearly 2,000 graduate teaching assistants and research assistants at the University of Iowa (UI)—is beginning contract negotiations with the Iowa Board of Regents...
Accusations Counted Against Iowa Schools In ‘Divisive Concepts’ Reporting Bill
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...
House Republicans Move To Ban Abortion Pills In Iowa
Iowa House Republicans would make it a felony to “manufacture, distribute, prescribe, dispense, sell or transfer” abortion drugs in Iowa. According to House File 146, filed Monday, the bill will not include penalties for the women who take or obtain the pills, and it...