News
Iowa law excluding Planned Parenthood from sex ed funding is deemed unconstitutional
An Iowa law that excluded Planned Parenthood of the Heartland from state sex education funding has been ruled unconstitutional by a district judge. In 2019, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a measure requiring the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Iowa Department of Human Services to exclude organizations from their teen pregnancy prevention […]
Grassley pushes bill to help families of first responders with COVID-19
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is co-sponsoring legislation to help provide disability benefits for the families of first responders who contract COVID-19. Grassley says the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program, first enacted in 1976, currently requires evidence linking deaths from infectious diseases to work-related exposure. “To erase shadows of doubt about whether first responders […]
Camp Dodge summer events canceled due to COVID-19
The Iowa National Guard has canceled its summer concert series in Johnston and other Camp Dodge events due to the pandemic and preparations to deploy several units later this year. “It’s difficult to make these decisions but it is the right thing to do,” said Maj. Gen. Ben Corell, adjutant general. The Iowa Gold Star […]
Another 403 Iowans test positive for COVID-19
An additional 403 Iowans tested positive for COVID-19 in results reported Friday by the Iowa Department of Public Health. That brings the state’s total to 11,457 who have tested positive to date. A total of 3,809 Iowans were tested on Thursday and 13.8% of those tests were positive. A total of 243 Iowans with COVID-19 […]
Iowa National Guard mobilizes 730 soldiers for overseas missions
The Iowa National Guard plans to deploy 730 soldiers to Kosovo and a 20-nation bloc running from the Middle East to Afghanistan later this year. The 400 soldiers headed to Kosovo to support NATO later this year represent the largest Iowa deployment in the mission since the first units mobilized in 2004. Units from Sioux […]
Former public information board member arrested for the fourth time
Former Iowa Public Information Board member Renee Twedt was arrested this week and charged with burglary and theft for allegedly stealing $5,000 worth of property from her estranged husband. Twedt, 51, of Story City, served on the nine-person board through April when her four-year term expired. She was an active member of the board at […]
Ernst: Give states more flexibility with CARES money
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said Thursday that states should have more flexibility to share the federal dollars already appropriated for COVID-19 relief with local municipalities and counties. Asked during a phone call with reporters whether Congress should appropriate more money for local governments, she said: “What we have already done through the CARES package, […]
Can lessons from the Great Recession help states avoid budget disasters?
As they face massive budget shortfalls due to the COVID-19 pandemic, states are looking for federal money to help stave off the kind of drastic cuts they enacted during the last economic downturn. State budget officers and economists generally agree that cuts to state spending worsened the Great Recession in the years following 2008. Layoffs, […]
Reynolds: Iowa is ‘leading’ the nation in its response to COVID-19
Fresh from Wednesday’s White House meeting with President Trump, Gov. Kim Reynolds said Iowa is “leading by example” by reopening businesses around the state even as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb. Without providing her usual daily update on infections and deaths — Reynolds said the way that data is reported is now […]
Iowa unemployment claims continue to climb
The number of continuing claims for Iowa unemployment benefits continued to climb last week, Iowa Workforce Development reported. Continuing claims for the week ending May 2 totaled 181,358, up from 170,990 the week before. The state added 24,693 initial unemployment claims last week, a bit lower than 28,827 the previous week. The COVID-19 pandemic has […]
Economists: Iowa’s early COVID losses hit $1.6B
Two Nebraska economists estimate that Iowa had lost $1.6 billion by April 11 due to COVID-related shutdowns and disruptions. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss and collegue Scott Strain of Goss & Associates modeled the losses from March 21 to April 11 on behalf of Tax Education Foundation Iowa. The group calls itself a “pro-taxpayer” policy […]
Hungry and homeless: Are we steps away from another housing crisis?
A broad-based and evolving effort to feed and house the homeless in Greater Des Moines has drawn significant support as community groups scramble to retool programs to protect clients, staff and volunteers in a pandemic. “These leaders know when the moral condition of your community is revealed, you have to act,” said Melissa O’Neil, chief […]