Iowa Capital Dispatch
Community journalism for democracy. We're a non-profit news site dedicated to hard-hitting and fair coverage of state government and politics.
- The administrator of an assisted living center, accused of incompetence in an incident that resulted in an elderly resident freezing to death outside the facility, will retain her state license subject to 10 hours of training, Clark Kauffman reports.
- The Iowa House Higher Education Committee approved legislation Wednesday to fund pediatric cancer research, codify core curriculum requirements, freeze first-year tuition and more, Brooklyn Draisey reports via Report for America.
- House Education Committee members questioned Des Moines Public School officials Wednesday about the hiring of former Superintendent Ian Roberts in light of his immigration arrest, Robin Opsahl reports.
- A bill advancing through the Iowa Senate would require fire districts and city councils in the state to consider switching to a soybean-based firefighting foam in an effort to reduce exposure to forever chemicals, Cami Koons reports.
- As Iowa’s black bear population becomes more permanent, lawmakers seek to end the “open season” on the bears by designating them a fur-bearing animal in the state, Cami Koons reports.
- An Iowa woman accused of using two illicit massage parlors to launder $2.6 million in cash has agreed to surrender her state license, Clark Kauffman reports.
- Iowa House Republicans released their plan Wednesday to fill workforce shortages in Iowa by increasing funding and reducing “red tape” in Iowa’s apprenticeship and workforce training programs, Robin Opsahl reports.
- The top two Democrats in Congress on Wednesday outlined their proposal for restrictions on immigration enforcement, including body cameras and a ban on masks, although it's unknown when negotiations would begin, Jennifer Shutt and Ariana Figueroa report.
- A Senate subcommittee advanced a bill Wednesday that would create a severance tax on carbon dioxide that is transported through pipelines in Iowa, Cami Koons reports.
- A bill requiring state universities to join an educational compact created by President Donald Trump and his administration passed through an Iowa House subcommittee Wednesday, Brooklyn Draisey reports via Report for America. iowacapitaldispatch.com/briefs/bill-...
