Lead Story
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Rushing: Iowa State president said the quiet part out loud
I want to thank Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen for doing us all a favor by finally saying the quiet part out loud: all the pushback on diversity is about protecting whiteness above all. While speaking to the Iowa Board of Regents on Thursday during a discussion on how all three regent universities are…
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Iowa sets aside almost $180 million for year two of voucher program
The Iowa Legislature set aside nearly $180 million for the state’s private school voucher program in the 2024-25 school year. This is an almost $50 million increase over original projections.
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Iowa parents explain how ‘fetal personhood’ would harm IVF
Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt and her husband Andy Schutt, both Des Moines residents, always knew they wanted to have children. When Lyndi was 30, they started trying. But as the months passed without a positive pregnancy test, the couple became frustrated and concerned. “We were under this pretense that, as soon as you roll off birth control, you’d…
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What you need to know about Iowa’s bill to arm school staff
Gov. Kim Reynolds is expected to sign a new law that will allow Iowa schools to arm staff and grant them legal and civil immunity in the event of a shooting. The bill—HF 2586—is part of Iowa Republican lawmakers’ direct response to the Jan. 4 school shooting in Perry and has already passed both Iowa…
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As Iowa City and Linn-Mar prepare for drastic cuts, vouchers draw millions from state
The Iowa City and Linn-Mar school districts face a combined $10 million budget shortfall as the state continues to underfund public schools and funnel millions toward private school tuition. According to data from the Iowa Department of Education, 471 students who reside within the boundaries of the Iowa City School District received money from Gov.…
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Attorney tells Iowa Supreme Court abortion ban should stay blocked
The Iowa Supreme Court Thursday heard arguments concerning the injunction on the near-total abortion ban passed is a special session last summer. Peter Im, staff attorney at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told the justices and reporters in a press conference afterward that allowing the ban to go into effect would be “devastating.” “It bans…
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Abortion supporters rally before Iowa Supreme Court arguments
Abortion saved her life seven years ago and Leah Vanden Bosch is more grateful for it now than ever. Vanden Bosch, who serves as the development and outreach director for the Iowa Abortion Access Fund, said she’s more committed to the work than ever because she’s fully aware of how necessary it is. “This legislation…
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Iowa Senate passes bill to arm school staff, give legal immunity in shootings
Sen. Molly Donahue, a teacher, has more than a few ideas on how to make schools safer without arming teachers or other school staff. She shared them during Wednesday’s Iowa Senate debate on a bill to bring more guns into schools. “We could be investing far more funding in mental health resources to enhance access…
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Kim Reynolds finally decides to help feed some kids, but there’s a big catch
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday that Iowa will start a competitive $900,000 grant program to feed Iowa children over the summer—this comes months after she declined $29 million in federal funds to feed kids via a different summer program. The new Summer Meal Program Expansion Grant will be launched through two existing federal programs and…
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Happy National Beer Day! Here are Starting Line’s favorite Iowa breweries
For those unaware, April 6 is New Beer’s Eve, because it leads up to National Beer Day on April 7. Why April 7? On that day in 1933, the Cullen-Harrison Act went into effect, making it legal for some low-alcohol beer and wine to be sold in the United States. The law was the first…
