IOWA LAW - Iowa Starting Line

Guest post: My name is mine, not the government’s

by Guest Post | 12 02, 2023 | COMMUNITY, EDUCATION COMMUNITY, EDUCATION POLITICS

In the fall of 1972, I was a shy ninth-grader entering Mt. St. Ursula in the Bronx. My legal name was Mary Bernadette, but I always went by my middle name, Bernadette. The first day of classes, teachers had us standing in the front of their rooms until our names were...

Book publisher, Iowans suing state over book bans

by Nikoel Hytrek | 11 30, 2023 | EDUCATION POLITICS, POLITICS

A second lawsuit against portions of an education law passed by Iowa Republicans and signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds just dropped this week. Penguin Random House, a major US book publisher, filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging SF 496 for banning some of the publishers’...

Explainer: Why Iowans (likely) will be blocked from voting directly on abortion rights

by Ty Rushing | 11 20, 2023 | POLITICS, REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

More states are enshrining access to abortion care in their state constitutions, and some Iowans are wondering if the same can be done here? The technical answer is “yes,” but the more realistic and simple answer is “no.” While polling shows that 61% of Iowans support...

Iowa Board of Medicine discusses rules for state’s abortion ban

by Nikoel Hytrek | 11 17, 2023 | POLITICS, REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

The Iowa Board of Medicine met Friday to discuss standard rules for abortion in Iowa under the six-week abortion ban passed by Iowa Republicans in a July special session. No rules were adopted at this meeting. On its face, the ban would require physicians to perform...

Iowa campaign board receives multiple threats related to city, school elections

by Ty Rushing | 11 16, 2023 | ELECTION POLITICS, POLITICS

Staff members for the nonpartisan Iowa board that oversees the integrity of political campaigns received numerous threats related to the city and school elections that took place earlier this month. During Thursday’s Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board meeting,...