Isabella Murray

On Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a bill that would make obtaining weapons in Iowa easier, amid a resurgence in mass shootings around the country. Reynolds signed on Friday afternoon a bill which halts requirements that Iowans need to obtain a permit in order to purchase and carry handguns. The new Iowa gun…

Thursday’s implementation of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan will be the largest expansion of Iowa health care benefits since the ACA was introduced in 2013, said an Iowa Affordable Care Act specialist. Jeremy Smith of Iowa Navigator, a non-profit health insurance marketplace enrollment assistance group, said that Biden’s COVID-19 relief package’s expanded eligibility for…

Iowa’s COVID-19 cases have begun to creep back up, and spring break travel along with an increase in the virus’ variants may be the cause, said Iowa Department of Public Health interim Director Kelli Garcia on Wednesday. “We must still recognize that the virus is circulating in our state, and we’re seeing that in the…

Iowa House Democrats put up a long but unsuccessful fight last week over Republican efforts to establish public funding for privately-run charter schools—a years-long attempt that Democrats have been working hard this session to stop. Democrats spent over five hours into early Thursday morning last week opposing a bill that would make public charter schools…

A bill advanced in the Iowa Senate on Monday that would prohibit cities and counties from regulating natural gas or propane sales triggered a debate on how Republicans value local control this Legislative session. Passed 29-16 along party lines, the bill will bar local governments from overseeing energy choice in their communities. It comes as…

National gun safety advocates and Iowa Democrats on Thursday put pressure on Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds to veto a bill sitting on her desk that would loosen firearm laws amid recent upticks in gun violence. On a phone call organized by national anti-gun violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety, lawmakers, policy experts and law enforcement…

During a press conference on Wednesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds addressed lengthy wait times for vaccines in parts of Iowa. All Iowa residents are set to be eligible to receive the vaccine starting April 5. COVID-19 vaccine supply in the state has been challenging to obtain—Iowans have even taken to social media platforms to help their…

While Iowa Senate lawmakers on Monday afternoon debated and ultimately advanced legislation that would loosen the state’s gun permitting and background check system, 10 people were killed after a gunman opened fire in a Boulder, Colorado grocery store. This latest mass shooting with fatalities including one police officer at a local King Soopers Grocery Store…

Some rural Iowa schools are eliminating mask requirements amid updated CDC guidance which loosens some social distancing requirements, though notably not their mask recommendations. North Butler in Greene County, BCLUW serving Grundy, Marshall, and Hardin Counties, West Hancock in Hancock County and Kingsley-Pierson near Sioux City are community districts confirmed to have lifted mask-wearing requirements…

Two million Iowa adults and 800,000 children are slated to receive $1,400 stimulus checks, new data from the Biden administration finds. The sweeping COVID-19 relief package that President Joe Biden signed last week also includes extended unemployment benefits, increased tax credits and will pump states with funding to aid in reopening. For Iowa, the American…