Government + Politics
Reynolds’ expanded closures include malls, campgrounds, playgrounds, social clubs
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds expanded mandatory closures Monday, shuttering malls, playgrounds, bingo halls and social clubs until at least April 30. The closures are a broadened effort to contain COVID-19. “Today, I am ordering additional businesses and establishments to close through April 30, including malls, social and fraternal clubs, bingo halls, bowling alleys, pool halls, […]
If Iowa is already practicing ‘shelter in place,’ why not call it that?
Gov. Kim Reynolds, as part of her argument against ordering Iowans to “shelter in place” to prevent the spread of COVID-19, suggests that her existing emergency orders have the same effect. “There is still some disconnect in terms of what we have done and what the expectations are, and actually what’s taking place in other […]
New congressional panel to police COVID-19 relief spending
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced plans to form a new committee charged with overseeing the more than $2 trillion the federal government is spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis will consist of lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, Pelosi said, and […]
Trump reluctantly invoked an obscure wartime power. Here’s what it means.
WASHINGTON — As his administration came under fire for its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, President Donald Trump last week invoked an obscure Korean War-era law to force General Motors to manufacture ventilators that could save patients’ lives. But Trump waited weeks to do so, raising questions about how effective his actions would be. “Our […]
Governor extends school and business closings through April 30
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday extended through April 30 the closing of schools and selected businesses, as well as the statewide ban on gatherings of more than 10 people. The governor’s order, made in response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, also extends through April 30 the ban on all non-essential and elective medical and […]
Democratic leaders urge governor to order ‘shelter in place’
Democratic leaders in the Iowa House and Senate sent a letter Thursday to Gov. Kim Reynolds, asking her to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order to slow the spread of COVID-19. Senate Minority Leader Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, and House Minority Leader Todd Prichard, D-Charles City, wrote that current health recommendations from Reynolds “have so far […]
Congress preps for next round of coronavirus relief
WASHINGTON — Congress is gearing up for additional coronavirus response legislation that aims to build on the first three massive relief packages. The next bill could include huge infrastructure projects, and U.S. House Democrats are pushing to include some of their top priorities that were sliced off the sweeping $2 trillion bill during negotiations with Senate […]
Reynolds declines to say whether she’ll share COVID-19 data
Gov. Kim Reynolds declined to say Wednesday whether she will disclose the data and metrics she’s relying to make decisions on how to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Iowa. At her daily press conference, Reynolds was twice asked whether she’d be willing to share the numbers she says she is looking at each day […]
Iowa AG to Trump: Put the brakes on new regulations
WASHINGTON — Iowa attorney general Tom Miller and 20 other attorneys general from across the country are pressing the Trump administration to freeze pending regulations so officials can focus on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The attorneys general sent a letter Tuesday to the White House Office of Management and Budget requesting that the […]
COVID-19 threatens census. At stake: money, political power
WASHINGTON — It’s National Census Day. Organizations across the country are marking the occasion with webinars, virtual rallies, Twitter chats and other digital events throughout the week. April 1 is the date by which all people in U.S. households are to be counted. But the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to make the count even more difficult than usual, […]
Active Iowa voters will receive absentee ballot request forms by mail
Every active registered voter in the state — about 2 million of them — will receive an absentee ballot request form in the mail ahead of the June 2 primary, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced Tuesday. Pate encouraged Iowans to vote by mail in the June 2 primary to reduce the risk of […]
Don’t let the ‘new normal’ leave the public out of public business
The news that the State Capitol was closing to the public due to the coronavirus outbreak was just one in a stream of emails from government agencies over the past two weeks announcing they would be conducting the people’s business while temporarily ending the people’s access to public offices. Social distancing is important right now […]