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Iowa’s COVID-19 cases have begun to creep back up, and spring break travel along with an increase in the virus’ variants may be the cause, said Iowa Department of Public Health interim Director Kelli Garcia on Wednesday. “We must still recognize that the virus is circulating in our state, and we’re seeing that in the…

With Iowa’s fully vaccinated population nearing around 37%, vaccine hesitancy is starting to sink in as counties decline full vaccination allocations and metro area appointments fill more slowly. Gov. Kim Reynolds during her weekly press conference on Wednesday said that 43 of the state’s counties have declined some or all of their vaccine allocation for…

National gun safety advocates and Iowa Democrats on Thursday put pressure on Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds to veto a bill sitting on her desk that would loosen firearm laws amid recent upticks in gun violence. On a phone call organized by national anti-gun violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety, lawmakers, policy experts and law enforcement…

On Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a bill that would make obtaining weapons in Iowa easier, amid a resurgence in mass shootings around the country. Reynolds signed on Friday afternoon a bill which halts requirements that Iowans need to obtain a permit in order to purchase and carry handguns. The new Iowa gun…

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 funding for preschools like hers after recent cuts. Teaching during a pandemic over the…

The recent murder of two employees at the Anamosa state penitentiary was caused by “grossly inadequate staffing” and years of disinvestment in the corrections system, AFSCME Council 61 President Danny Homan said on the Capitol steps on Tuesday, despite his repeated attempts to work with Republican leadership on the problems. Corrections officer Robert McFarland and nurse…

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 credits and earned income tax credits, along with local aid, among other provisions, is expected to financially boost…

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 Iowa—currently ranked 46th in the nation per capita in administering shots to residents— is receiving fewer doses…

While Iowa Senate lawmakers on Monday afternoon debated and ultimately advanced legislation that would loosen the state’s gun permitting and background check system, 10 people were killed after a gunman opened fire in a Boulder, Colorado grocery store. This latest mass shooting with fatalities including one police officer at a local King Soopers Grocery Store…

Monday marked the first day all Iowans aged 16 and older can receive a COVID-19 vaccine, joining its neighboring Midwestern states that have this week expanded pools of qualifiers. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden pushed forward the national deadline for all American adults to become eligible. With the final stage of Iowa’s vaccination plan now open,…