Nikoel Hytrek

A cattle farm out in the Walnut Township, just west of the growing Des Moines, was the perfect place to break federal law in the 1800s. Especially with multiple out-buildings, a wooded area, and the power of being the land of a state legislator. The Jordan House, located in now-West Des Moines by Racoon River…

Iowa Senate President Jake Chapman’s extreme anti-teacher rhetoric may be damaging his party’s goals for education policy this legislative session. When talking about education, it’s been clear other leading Iowa Republicans would prefer to speak in terms of “parental choice” when it comes to their main goal of a private school voucher system. They also…

The effort to ban books has expanded beyond the classroom now to public libraries, with a new GOP-backed bill adding librarians to their target for prosecution and civil fines of those they believe give access to materials that are “obscene or harmful to minors.” A collection of 14 Iowa Republican representatives introduced a bill Tuesday…

A Senate education subcommittee discussed a proposed “parents’ bill of rights” Wednesday afternoon, but the conversation around it was quickly sidetracked by wild claims and statements in support of banning various books. Senate Study Bill 3079 was proposed by Education Chair Republican Sen. Amy Sinclair (R-Allerton). Sinclair said the main argument for why this bill…

Reps. Sandy Salmon (R-Janesville) and Brooke Boden (R-Indianola) introduced a bill Wednesday that would require providers to report complications from abortions, make changes to the current abortion reporting requirements, and create a database that documents abortions in Iowa. House File 2210 would require health care providers or medical facilities to file a report to the…

Iowa Democrats unveiled a plan Tuesday to invest $300 million in Iowa’s public schools through the state supplemental aid program, giving the program a 5% increase. “If Governor [Kim] Reynolds has $300 million to put toward another corporate tax cut, then there is room in our budget to invest $300 million in Iowa’s kids,” said…

Some Iowa House Republicans want to amend the Iowa Civil Rights Code to include political beliefs and immunization status as protected classes. If added, those two categories would join race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, and disability, among others. The bill, House File 2141, was introduced Friday and is sponsored by Republican Reps. Eddie…

A bill moving through the Iowa House would double-down on constitutionally protected religious rights. In a Thursday subcommittee meeting, Reps. Skyler Wheeler (R-Orange City), Sandy Salmon (R-Janesville), and Brian Meyer (D-Des Moines) discussed House File 593, a bill that prohibits the state from infringing on a person’s free exercise of religion. The bill’s language is…

Mental health providers willing to practice in Iowa could have part of their student loans paid off. Senate Study Bill 3003 is an attempt to expand mental health care in rural Iowa. The bill would create a program for mental health professionals who agree to practice in an Iowa city that is within a mental…

Competition, choice, and opportunity. Those are the main arguments from Republican lawmakers for the revival of a bill—Senate File 128—which would give Iowa parents and guardians money from the state to enroll their child or children in nonpublic schools. During an education subcommittee meeting Tuesday, the majority of speakers were opposed to the idea of…