Newsletter August 12, 2020
Greetings to you all, Hopefully you’re all doing okay, especially with the recent weather that we experienced on Monday. I’m sure thankful that we didn’t have the weather that the others in the state [...]
August 2020
May 2019
Lawmakers did what? 6 under-the-radar actions in the final days of the 2019 Iowa legislative session
The 2019 session of the Iowa Legislature was marked by a flurry of last-minute action on much-watched issues. Lawmakers gave Iowa governors new power to help select justices on the Iowa Supreme Court, required [...]
March 2019
Iowa Poll: Sizable majorities view opioid use and mental health services as a crisis or big problem
Tony Leys, Des Moines Register Published 5:58 p.m. CT March 2, 2019 Opioid use and mental health concerns lead a list of Iowans’ worries, a new Iowa Poll finds. The Iowa Poll, sponsored by [...]
Iowa Poll: Majority of Iowans think fireworks don’t deserve Legislature’s time, taxes do
Iowa Poll: Majority of Iowans think fireworks don’t deserve Legislature’s time, taxes do Shelby Fleig, Des Moines Register Published 6:00 p.m. CT March 3, 2019 More than 70 percent of Iowans think the ongoing [...]
February 2019
Republican judge plan gets a dark money boost
Todd Dorman at The Gazette- Legislative Republicans pushing hard to change the way Iowa selects its judges claim to want “fairness,” “balance” and “accountability.” But the fact they’re getting an assist from the Washington, [...]
January 2019
UI, ISU ask lawmakers for millions for financial aid, even as they plan to increase tuition
Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register Published 6:08 p.m. CT Jan. 29, 2019 Iowa's two largest public universities are planning to raise tuition but told lawmakers Tuesday they will need more state money to keep [...]
Iowans hope to cash in big on hemp, but need lawmakers help to make it happen
Donnelle Eller, Des Moines Register Published 1:00 p.m. CT Jan. 2, 2019 Angie Rieck-Hinz's phone and email have been blowing up. Dozens of Iowan farmers and entrepreneurs want to know when they can begin [...]
October 2018
Following historically high suicide rates, Iowa schools become mental health gatekeepers
Shelby Fleig, Des Moines Register Published 12:58 p.m. CT Oct. 29, 2018 In class writings, Cameron Carico said he wanted to "meet God." The teen, who had an upbeat personality, wrote that he often [...]
State Family Planning Services declines as $2.5M goes unspent
State family planning services decline 73 percent in fiscal year as $2.5M goes unspent By Tony Leys and Barbara Rodriguez, Des Moines Iowa's new family planning program is providing fewer services like contraception one year [...]
April 2018
Medical marijuana expansion seems unlikely this year in Iowa
Medical marijuana expansion seems unlikely in Iowa this year Tony Leys and Brianne Pfannenstiel, The Des Moines Register Published 5:33 p.m. CT April 3, 2018 Iowa’s sole legal producer of medical marijuana says legislators [...]