Isabella Murray
Latest from Isabella Murray
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Senate GOP Passes Tech Censorship Bill, Reject Effort To Ban Insurrection Speak
“I know you’re watching.” That’s how Iowa Republican Sen. Jake Chapman addressed Silicon Valley tech executives, his gaze deadpan to the center of the Senate live-stream lens. It was during his closing remarks Wednesday afternoon on a bill he authored that curbs tax cuts for big technology companies in the state if they “censor” speech.…
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Iowa House GOP: Teaching About Systemic Racism Is Marxist
Iowa House Republicans on Tuesday likened concepts like implicit bias and systemic racism to an updated version of Marxism, or class warfare, saying the teaching of the ideas contradicts Iowa’s hope to not “see skin color.” Before the House advanced along party lines on Tuesday a bill which bars Iowa’s regent universities and K-12 schools…
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Iowa Preschool Director Shares Challenges Of Teaching During COVID
A flustered, Des Moines-based Grace Preschool Director Kelly Donnelly said she just got all her young students down for a nap before she began pleading with senators on a Tuesday Zoom subcommittee meeting to reconsider legislation that might provide no additional funding for preschools like hers after recent cuts. Teaching during a pandemic over the…
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Derecho-Hit Tree Managers Angered By GOP Bill Raising Taxes
After last summer’s derecho storm brought wind gusts over 100 mph, devastating much of central and eastern Iowa’s crops, infrastructure and foliage, GOP lawmakers are continuing to move a bill forward which would raise property taxes on privately-owned forests in the state. Ninety-three Iowans who participated Monday on a Zoom subcommittee meeting were overwhelmingly opposed…
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Dems Target Ernst, Grassley COVID Relief Opposition With New Billboard
The Democratic National Committee is taking aim at Iowa’s Senate Republicans on Monday, unveiling a new Des Moines billboard highlighting Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley’s no votes on the sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package. Displayed on 14th Street near the State Capitol, the advertisement notes that the American Rescue Plan will send eligible…
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Miller-Meeks Heading To The U.S.-Mexico Border
Amid an ongoing examination of Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meek’s six-vote victory over Democrat Rita Hart, the 2nd District representative is expected to join House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Monday at the U.S. southern border. Axios reported that McCarthy will travel to Texas with “roughly a dozen Republican members to assess the growing crisis at the…
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Here’s What Iowans Can Get Out Of Biden’s COVID Relief Law
In the new $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act signed on Thursday by President Joe Biden are far-reaching, rapid-impact economic benefits for Iowans. The bill, which includes extended unemployment benefits, direct payment stimulus checks, increased child tax credits and earned income tax credits, along with local aid, among other provisions, is expected to financially boost…
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Iowa Dems: Getting Vaccine Shouldn’t Be Like “Hunger Games”
Iowa Democratic leaders on Thursday criticized a “leadership vacuum” in the Republican-run state as desperate residents search for COVID-19 vaccinations and relief with little to no government help. During their weekly press conference on Thursday, Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls, House Democratic Leader Todd Prichard, and House Democratic Whip Jennifer Konfrst addressed Republican Gov. Kim…
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Local Teachers Union Reminds Hinson They Are Back In School
The Iowa State Education Association on Thursday called out Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson for making a political statement far from the realities of her district. The teachers union took to social media in response to a photo circulating of Iowa’s 1st District congresswoman wearing a mask demanding, “OPEN SCHOOLS NOW! Follow the science, not the…
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Thousands Of Iowans Rejected COVID Contact Tracers’ Calls, KCRG Finds
About 30% of COVID-19 positive Iowans rejected state attempts to contact trace during a virus surge last fall, new data shows. KCRG-obtained findings through a public records request from the state reveals that 24,166 Iowans either refused or ignored contact tracers’ attempts to perform case investigations in November while 52,876 completed interviews. Contact tracers attempted…
