Nikoel Hytrek

December continues to set COVID records for 2021 in Iowa. Hospitalizations are up, the average age of a hospitalized person with COVID is down, and the number of cases is steadily at a high number, according to state data. Unsurprisingly, the majority of COVID patients in hospitals—82.7%—are unvaccinated. As of Tuesday, 823 patients in the…

In the Johnston Community School District, the conversation about diverse books keeps going. At Monday evening’s school board meeting, the board voted 4-3 to support the recommendation that the challenged book, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexei,” remain part of the curriculum, provided parents are given the option to choose…

In recent years, some Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have set their sights on legalizing discrimination against LGBTQ Iowans by removing parts of the Iowa Civil Rights Act. LGBTQ advocates and Republican officials themselves have hinted these efforts may go even further in the 2022 legislative session. Nine GOP lawmakers generated national headlines last year…

In many ways, Iowa is a pioneer in renewables with wind turbines generating 60% of the state’s electricity last year and the state leading the nation in biofuel production. Electric vehicles could be another step Iowa could take in the renewables sector and leaders at multiple levels have said they want to explore it. “A…

At a regularly scheduled meeting of the Ankeny School Board, students showed up to voice their support for literature that represents diverse identities and viewpoints that have come under fire from conservative activists in recent months. The predominant topic was diverse literature and several students signed up to speak on it. The majority were in…

Six years after the effort began, Iowa has cleared its backlog of sexual assault kits. The backlog was at 4,275 kits when the Iowa Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) began in 2015 after being financed through two grants from the US Bureau of Justice Assistance that provided $3 million to the effort. Some kits were…

In recent days, Iowa Republican Reps. Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks have had to defend themselves against fellow conservatives who have criticized their support for a bill to improve the national immunization database. Critiques have come from conservative circles and actors such as Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Breitbart, and the politicians’ own voters over…

Puppy mills have been in the news for months as one Wayne County operator was fined, surrendered more than 500 dogs, had his business shut down, and his license suspended. Maple Hill Puppies was owned by Daniel Gingerich who was a licensed breeder through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). In response, Rep. Cindy Axne…

Earlier this month, Republican State Sen. Brad Zaun said he also supports charging teachers with felonies for having “obscene” books on school bookshelves and removing those books from schools. At an initial reconsideration committee meeting on Nov. 10 for Johnston Community School District, Zaun said he would work hard to create legislation to charge teachers…