Lawmakers plan for return to session amid budget uncertainties
Julia Shanahan and Caleb McCullough
April 7, 2020
The top legislative priority when Iowa lawmakers reconvene in Des Moines will be to pass a budget for next year. The current fiscal year ends June 30, but emergency legislation passed in March extends this year’s budget through the end of August. Lawmakers have been working remotely for three wee...
Reynolds orders further closure of businesses
Caleb McCullough, Assistant Politics Editor
April 6, 2020
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the closure of more businesses and public gathering places in an acceleration of Iowa’s response to the coronavirus, including malls, bowling alleys, pool halls, arcades, amusement parks, libraries, museums, zoos, skate parks, playgrounds, tobacco and vape stores, and ca...
FEMA to send Iowa over $44 million for reimbursement of COVID-19 response expenses
Josie Fischels, Arts & Culture Editor
April 4, 2020
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will send more than $44 million to Iowa in order to reimburse COVID-19 response costs, according to a press release. The release stated that the funds, obligated under the Presidential Major Disaster Declar...
Iowa grad Matthew McDermott appointed to Iowa Supreme Court
Kayli Reese, Cops & Courts Editor
April 3, 2020
Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed Matthew McDermott, who received his undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa in 2000, to the Iowa Supreme Court on Friday. McDermott, of West Des Moines, is filling the vacancy on the court that arose from Justice David Wiggins' retirement, according to a pre...
Parents help kids learn from home as school closures are extended
Kelsey Harrell, News Reporter
April 2, 2020
Sharon DeGraw pulled her children — a fourth grader at Regina Elementary School and a seventh grader at Southeast Junior High School — out of school a few days before spring break began March 16. She wanted to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus and anticipated schools closing. “It’s the f...
Gov. Kim Reynolds extends school closures, suspensions of nonessential businesses until April 30
Julia Shanahan, Politics Editor
April 2, 2020
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced in a Thursday press conference that she will extend K-12 school closures until April 30, giving school districts the option to implement either voluntary or required continuous learning. “I am not ordering schools to close for the remainder of the school year,” Re...
Essential abortions to remain legal in Iowa through COVID-19 pandemic
Rylee Wilson, Politics Reporter
April 1, 2020
Abortion services deemed essential will continue in Iowa through April 16, according to an order issued Wednesday in Johnson County District Court. On March 26, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a declaration suspending all nonessential or elective surgical procedures that require the use of personal prote...
Campaigns continue virtually through the COVID-19 pandemic
Rylee Wilson, Politics Reporter
April 1, 2020
Christina Bohannan was in the midst of knocking doors for her campaign for Iowa’s 85th House District when schools and businesses began to close in response to the COVID-19 outbreak around March 17. “I had my list and I was going up and down knocking doors on different streets,” Bohannan...
Iowa governor says medical institute’s COVID-19 projection based on faulty assumptions
Caleb McCullough, Assistant Politics Editor
April 1, 2020
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds questioned the accuracy of COVID-19 projections from the Institute for Health Metrics in a press conference Wednesday, saying the forecast doesn’t take into account mitigation measures already taken in Iowa. The institute, based at the University of Washington, has projectio...
Iowa Democrats urge Reynolds to issue stay-at-home order
Caleb McCullough, Assistant Politics Editor
March 31, 2020
Two Democratic members of Iowa’s congressional delegation are urging Gov. Kim Reynolds to issue a stay-at-home order, citing rising deaths and cases of COVID-19 in the state. Reynolds has taken several measures to shut down public establishments, including restaurants, bars, salons, tattoo shops, and...
Gov. Kim Reynolds assures protective measures in long-term care facilities, says there is progress in testing accessibility
Julia Shanahan, Politics Editor
March 31, 2020
In a Tuesday press conference, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds assured Iowans that federal and state institutions have implemented health screening protocols in long-term care facilities, adding that hospitals and public health officials are able to test more people for COVID-19 each day. Long-term care ...
Iowa service industries reel as unemployment claims spike
Caleb McCullough, Assistant Politics Editor
March 29, 2020
Iowa may be one of the less densely-populated states in the U.S., but consequences from state efforts to contain and mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus has taken a toll on some of the state’s largest industries. Iowa, along with the rest of the country, saw a massive increase in ne...