State News
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Linn-Mar cutting 19 teachers, 31 staff, cites ‘underfunding’ from state
One of the largest school districts in Iowa announced it was cutting 50 staff positions, including 19 full-time teachers, beginning next school year. The Linn-Mar Community School District announced Thursday it would be forced to cut $2.5 million from its budget for the 2024-25 school year. This comes on the heels of a $3 million…
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How Iowa’s ‘religious freedom’ law could be used to discriminate
Legalized discrimination on religious grounds could be a major consequence of Iowa’s new “religious freedom” bill when Gov. Kim Reynolds signs it into law. During the Iowa Senate debate on this legislation, Sen. Janice Weiner (D-Iowa City), one of Iowa’s three Jewish legislators, said this legislation would be a “blank check for discrimination.” She is…
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Widow of Iowa correctional officer killed on the job speaks in support of unions
Sara McFarland wants to make sure her husband’s on-the-job death—during the inmate escape attempt at Anamosa State Penitentiary in 2021— wasn’t in vain. Her husband, Robert McFarland, was a correctional officer at Anamosa. He and nurse Lorena Schulte were murdered on March 21, 2021, by two inmates trying to escape from the medium-security facility. “Robert…
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Lies and threats: Iowans share what fake pregnancy resource centers are really like
When Mica Chase, then 19 years old, set foot in an anti-abortion center 14 years ago, all they wanted was a free pregnancy test. But when the test was complete and the Cedar Rapids resident said they didn’t want to be pregnant, staff members started talking about religion. They told Chase abortion is murder. They…
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Iowa Teamsters head says statewide strikes possible to stop union-busting bill
Jesse Case, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 238, said everything—including strikes—are on the table if that’s what it takes to stop a union-busting bill that has worked its way through the Iowa Senate. For about an hour on Wednesday, Teamsters members and their supporters circled the Iowa Capitol in various vehicles including semitrailers, and honked their…
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Iowa Dems blast Republicans’ latest attack on auditor’s office
Iowa Democrats are accusing Republicans in the Iowa Senate of trying to reduce transparency in government after they passed yet another bill on Monday to dilute the power of State Auditor Rob Sand’s office—the only statewide office held by Democrats. “Governor Reynolds and Senate Republicans are making one of the best cases for why our…
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‘Big shoes to fill:’ Johnson hopes to replace Abdul-Samad in Iowa House
Rob Johnson knows no one will truly be able to fill the footsteps left by Ako Abdul-Samad, but he hopes to continue to the longtime Des Moines lawmaker’s legacy as the next representative of Iowa House District 34. “People always say, ‘Those are big shoes to fill with Ako,’ and I always tell people, ‘We’re…
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Rob Sand says GOP bill to let state agencies bypass auditor’s office could lead to corruption
Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand doesn’t want Iowa to be like Illinois when it comes to anti-corruption work, and he doesn’t think anyone else should want that either. At a Thursday press conference, Sand went into detail about his opposition to a proposed bill—Senate File 2311, authored by Republican State Sen. Mike Bousselot of Ankeny—which…
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Iowa Republicans’ answer to school shootings is more guns
Iowa House Republicans’ solution to prevent more students from being shot in Iowa schools in the wake of Perry is to bring more guns into the schools, which includes arming teachers and other staff members. “The scariest place to be in America, I believe, is in a place with ‘gun-free zone’ posted all over the…
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‘We will not go back’ protestors chant outside anti-LGBTQ bill hearing
About every two minutes, the crowd would roar, stomp their feet, raise their voices, ring bells, and chant at the top of their lungs: “Separate but equal, that’s really fucking evil.” “We will not go back.” “Trans rights are human rights.” “No LGB with the T.” Hundreds of Iowans gathered in the Capitol Rotunda on…
