Author
‘We are hanging by a thread,’ superintendent says as Iowa’s COVID-19 infections spike
In Cedar Rapids, preschool students are donning face masks every day and rubbing on hand sanitizer frequently. At school buildings, posters and other notices remind students to stay six feet apart. Instead of hugs, teachers and kids are practicing “air hugs” and “air high fives.” Still, a burdensome number of teachers and staff absences are […]
Iowan tapped for Biden-Harris transition team
A University of Iowa dean and professor was selected to help President-elect Joe Biden’s administration smoothly operate once they enter office. Kevin Washburn, a dean and professor at the law school, will serve as the lead of the U.S. Department of the Interior review team, according to Biden’s transition website. The review team will help […]
Reynolds issues mask mandate for some social gatherings
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued new health requirements on Tuesday requiring children and adults to wear masks at social or recreational gatherings with 25 people inside or 100 people outside. The new measures, which go into effect at midnight Tuesday, require masks at any “social, community, recreation, leisure or sporting event.” The order expires Nov. […]
Iowa House speaker: Lawmakers will inquire about governor’s use of federal COVID relief funds
Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, said Monday that Republican leaders will speak with the governor’s office about how federal COVID-19 relief money was spent. The U.S. Department of Treasury and the state auditor said Reynolds’ office misused $21 million to pay for new accounting software. The auditor also said $448,449 the governor spent […]
Here are free COVID-19 test sites in Des Moines if you can’t get a Test Iowa appointment
A surge in COVID-19 infections is stressing the Des Moines area’s testing capacity as Iowa ranks third in the nation for the average rate of positive cases. As of Monday morning, appointments for Test Iowa, the state’s free COVID-19 test program, were all booked until Thursday at the Des Moines location at 4475 NE 3rd […]
Ankeny paralegal pleads guilty to fraud after sharing photos from drug-trafficking case
An Ankeny woman who was employed as a contractor paralegal for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa pleaded guilty to fraud after she shared photos of criminal files that subsequently ended up on Facebook, according to a Justice Department news release. Danielle Taff, 37, worked on civil forfeiture cases and admitted […]
Economic recovery remains priority for Republican legislative leaders
Iowa Senate Republicans re-elected Jack Whitver as the chamber’s majority leader and selected Sen. Jake Chapman, R-Adel, as president of the chamber for the upcoming General Assembly. During a press conference at the Capitol on Friday, Whitver said Republican victories Tuesday night were indicative of Iowans’ approval of Gov. Kim Reynolds and the conservative trifecta […]
Did COVID-19 campaign changes hurt Iowa Democrats?
Even in a year where a pandemic has shaken up typical campaigning, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst still completed one Iowa tradition: A 99-county tour, also known as “the full Grassley.” Though she was criticized on social media for holding town halls when the Centers for Disease Control is recommending limiting them, the cross-county tour may […]
Iowa religious leaders call for all votes to be counted
More than a dozen of Iowa’s religious and community leaders came together the day after the election to urge politicians and election officials to count every vote, in light of the razor-thin margins in the presidential race. President Donald Trump prematurely declared victory early Wednesday morning as key battleground states try to finish tallying millions […]
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst wins re-election campaign
Republican Joni Ernst won her re-election to the U.S. Senate, claiming victory in one of the tightest and heavily-funded races in the country. Ernst won with a strong margin, defeating Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield. The big-money battle between Ernst and Greenfield is the second most expensive U.S. Senate race in U.S. history, according to Advertising […]
Randy Feenstra wins Iowa’s 4th District, retaining Republican stronghold
Republican challenger Randy Feenstra was headed to victory in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District seat, maintaining northwest Iowa as a reliably red foothold in the state. He was handily defeating Democratic challenger J.D. Scholten, with a lead of 28 percentage points in unofficial results at the time the Associated Press projected Feenstra the winner. Feenstra, who […]
Des Moines’ suburbs are changing. So are the women voting in them.
When 17 high school students died in a mass school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, Bailey Caskey, then a student at the University of Northern Iowa, lay on her dormitory floor. Then, she “lost it,” Caskey said. The news of another school shooting weighed heavily on the young adult. But she said she felt […]