Existing research shows lower rate of children getting, spreading COVID-19
Lyle Muller, PolitiFact Iowa Editor
July 16, 2020
PolitiFact Iowa is a project of The Daily Iowan’s Ethics & Politics Initiative and PolitiFact to help you find the truth in politics. Edited by Caleb McCullough and Rylee Wilson If your time is short: Children do contract the coronavirus but current research shows it is happe...
State Auditor challenges Test Iowa reporting process
Caleb McCullough, Summer Editor
July 14, 2020
Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand released a report Tuesday that found Test Iowa results are being reported through a chain that includes two private companies before arriving to the Iowa Department of Public Health. Sand said the process violates Iowa Code, which requires that labs dealing with rep...
Reynolds signs USG-backed medical amnesty bill
Caleb McCullough, Summer Editor
June 25, 2020
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a medical amnesty bill into law Thursday, closing five years of University of Iowa Student Government advocacy for the measure. House File 684 prevents underage people from facing charges if they seek medical attention for alcohol-related emergencies. Advocates say the ...
Iowa Legislature passes amendment requiring 24-hour wait period for women seeking abortion
Natalie Dunlap, News Reporter
June 17, 2020
Early in the morning on Sunday, Republicans in the Iowa Legislature passed an amendment to House File 594 requiring a 24-hour waiting period between a woman’s initial screening with her doctor and an abortion procedure. The amendment was tacked on to a bill that limits withdrawal of life-sus...
Fewer than 75 percent of medical and dental students at UI are Iowa residents, but most are
Kelsey Harrell, Managing Digital Editor
June 16, 2020
PolitiFact Iowa is a project of The Daily Iowan’s Ethics & Politics Initiative and PolitiFact to help you find the truth in politics. Edited by Lyle Muller and Caleb McCullough If your time is short: Iowa state representative Ann Meyer R-Fort Dodge said a bill requiring 75 ...
Gov. Kim Reynolds signs bipartisan police reform bill
Caleb McCullough, Summer Editor
June 12, 2020
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bipartisan police reform bill Friday that bans most chokeholds, addresses police misconduct, and requires increased training for all law enforcement in Iowa. Surrounded by legislators and Des Moines Black Lives Matter activists on the steps of the Capitol in Des M...
Iowa leads the nation in overall high-school graduation rates, lags behind in minority graduation rates
Katie Ann McCarver, News Editor
May 29, 2020
PolitiFact Iowa is a project of The Daily Iowan’s Ethics & Politics Initiative and PolitiFact to help you find the truth in politics. Edited by Lyle Muller and Sarah Watson If your time is short: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says Iowa has the highest high-school graduation rate in t...
Young people are less at risk of dying from COVID-19, but not immune
Rylee Wilson, Politics Reporter
May 12, 2020
PolitiFact Iowa is a project of The Daily Iowan’s Ethics & Politics Initiative and PolitiFact to help you find the truth in politics. Edited by Lyle Muller and Marissa Payne If your time is short: State Rep. Jeff Shipley wrote that young people have a higher risk of dying fro...
Governor shifting coronavirus strategy to “managing and containing” virus
Caleb McCullough, Assistant Politics Editor
May 7, 2020
Gov. Kim Reynolds said she is shifting her coronavirus response strategy from mitigation to managing and containing the virus as she moves to partially reopen several retail businesses statewide Friday. “Originally it really was about protecting Iowans, there were so many unknowns, and it w...
Governor’s push for reopening creates rift with health experts
Caleb McCullough, Assistant Politics Editor
May 4, 2020
Though public health experts are warning against reopening the state too early, Gov. Kim Reynolds is pushing for a quick return to business across the state, backed by a swath of Republican legislators. Though she said her decisions aren’t political, response to Reynolds’ actions has fallen fairly evenly along party lines. On April 24, nine Rep...
Gov Kim Reynolds on Iowa’s response plan to COVID-19: ‘This isn’t political’
Lauren White, News Reporter
May 4, 2020
Gov. Kim Reynolds rejected the notion that the state’s COVID-19 response has been based on political decisions, despite many Iowa Democrats disagreeing with Reynolds’ decision to not issue a shelter-in-place and to reopen parts of the state. Reynolds said during her daily press conference on...
Iowans strongly encouraged to vote by mail in June primary, in-person voting still an option
Rylee Wilson, Politics Reporter
April 28, 2020
Iowa’s primary elections — where voters will choose candidates for the U.S. Senate, House, and Statehouse races — will proceed as scheduled June 2 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, though voters are highly encouraged to cast their ballots through the mail to prevent the spread of the novel coron...