Justice
Marsy’s Law supporters rally for constitutional amendment
Liz Ford drove from Sioux City to Des Moines to tell the story of her late husband, Troy, and advocate for a constitutional amendment to protect the rights of crime victims. In 2015, Ford and her husband stopped to check on a man in a truck who appeared to be in medical distress. When the […]
Do crime victims’ rights belong in Iowa’s constitution? The answer isn’t so simple
When someone says we need stronger rights for crime victims, it sounds like a no-brainer. It’s hard to find anyone who would say they lack sympathy for people who have been harmed by criminals. But when it comes to whether to include a statement of victims’ rights in the state constitution, as legislation now being […]
Five Iowa dog breeders were issued formal warnings in 2021
Five Iowa dog breeders were issued formal warnings for regulatory violations last year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The warnings typically carry no fines, penalties or licensing restrictions, but serve as an indication that a business is at risk of being penalized if additional regulatory violations are found in the future. One of the […]
Court: Waterloo landlord discriminated against tenant with service dog
The Iowa Court of Appeals has ruled that a Waterloo landlord discriminated against a disabled tenant based on her need for a service animal. The case involves Vincent Kobliska, who owns several apartment buildings in in Waterloo. Court records indicate Kobliska specializes in “high-efficiency sleeping rooms” – a form of high-density housing in which individual […]
State sued over ‘useless, onerous’ licensing requirements for threaders
A Texas company has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the state of Iowa for requiring that hair-threading professionals undergo 600 hours of “useless” training to become licensed. Arsah Enterprise Inc., which does business in Iowa as The Perfect Brow Bar, operates a threading salon at Jordan Creek Mall in West Des Moines. The company […]
City-owned utilities fight new rules on late fees and rate-increase notices
An association of city-owned utilities is suing the Iowa Utilities Board over new rules that ban certain late fees and require them to give customers advance notice of rate increases. The Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, which represents 751 water, gas, electric and telecommunications utilities, is seeking judicial review of new rules approved by the […]
Former ISU professor alleges gender discrimination in pay
A retired Iowa State University professor is suing the school for gender discrimination related to pay. Silvia R. Cianzio, a former professor in the Agronomy Department at ISU, claims in a newly filed lawsuit that for years she was paid less than her male colleagues at the school. The lawsuit, filed in Polk County District […]
Supreme Court blocks Biden workplace vaccine rule, allows health care workers mandate
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a blow to the Biden administration’s fight against the pandemic, blocking a federal mandate that workers be vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19 — though the court allowed a separate rule requiring vaccinations for some health care workers. The two rulings represented a split victory for Republican attorneys general from Ohio, Missouri, […]
Condition of the Judiciary 2022: Chief justice highlights COVID changes, juvenile justice system
Chief Justice Susan Christensen focused her annual Condition of the Judiciary address on the COVID-19 pandemic – how the courts adapted, and what changes would stay in place for the foreseeable future. It was a marked difference from Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Condition of the State address, where the pandemic was mentioned only in passing. “COVID […]
Supreme Court appears wary of Biden vaccine-or-test employer mandate
The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared unconvinced Friday of the Biden administration’s authority to impose a vaccine-or-test mandate on private businesses, casting doubt on a key piece of the White House COVID-19 response. The justices seemed potentially more comfortable with another Biden administration rule to fight the virus that requires certain health care workers […]
Nonprofits battle for disability dollars, alleging theft, slander and espionage
A long-simmering legal fight over the revenue tied to services for disabled Iowans has been settled out of court amid allegations of theft, slander and corporate espionage. The litigation sheds new light on the fierce competition for taxpayer dollars that can exist among nonprofit agencies set up to serve Iowans in need. It involves two […]
Two accidental shootings by police, two very different approaches to justice
Minnesota and its government officials delivered an important lesson recently on how to provide justice — and their lesson should be taken to heart by their neighbors in Iowa. The contrast is jarring between the way government handled the deaths of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minn., and Autumn Steele in Burlington, Iowa. One was […]