Ty Rushing

As funnel week comes to a close in the Iowa Legislature, a number of high-profile bills still have a chance to become law including Gov. Kim Reynolds’ education bill, book-banning bills, and a good number of the 20 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced. Here’s the status of some of those bills: [inline-ad id=0] Alive Gov. Kim Reynolds…

The lead sponsor of two bills that would outlaw gay marriage in Iowa—where it has been legal since 2009—told his Iowa House colleague his bills aren’t actually about banning gay marriage despite the language in the bills doing just that. Starting Line acquired a copy of an email Rep. Brad Sherman (R-Williamsburg) sent from his…

Kimberly Reicks, a well-known Iowa right-wing activist and Gov. Kim Reynolds’ former unofficial education policy advisor, has filed a bizarre lawsuit against the Ankeny School District in the “Kimberly Reicks Court” and seeks $87,035,000 in damages, according to the documents filed in Mahaska County. Ankeny is located in Polk County. Reicks, part of the “Iowa…

A bill circulating through the Iowa Senate would officially eliminate all forms of slavery in Iowa. Although Iowa entered the union as a “free state” in the waning days of American chattel slavery, the Iowa Constitution still allows for the enslavement of people as a punishment for crimes.  Senate Study Bill 1144 proposes an amendment…

A new bill introduced in the Iowa Senate to ban anyone under the age of 18 from attending a drag show may also inadvertently ban kids from seeing some plays and musicals, pro wrestling events, the circus, or other live activities involving costumes and makeup. Introduced by Sen. Sandy Salmon (R-Janesville), SF 348 bars youth…

Iowa Senate Democrats want to prove the saying, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” wrong when it comes to public school students. On Wednesday, 13 of the chamber’s 16 Democratic senators introduced SF 303, which would allow all Iowa public school students to receive free lunch and breakfast at school regardless of their…

Could Iowa finally get on board with the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Compact (MIPRC)? A new legislative bill hints at that possibility. An Iowa House Transportation Committee hearing was held on Tuesday for HSB 132, a bill that would allow the Hawkeye State to join the 23-year-old rail compact that already includes Illinois, Indiana, Kansas,…

Some Iowa Republicans—including Gov. Kim Reynolds—have proposed changes to the state’s sexual education curriculum that could remove instruction about AIDS and/or the human papillomavirus (HPV) and the associated vaccine.  Reynolds’ office has proposed three types of such legislation and Rep. Jeff Shipley (R-Fairfield) introduced a separate bill that only targets the HPV vaccine. In SSB…

Iowa Sen. Sandy Salmon (R-Janesville) is hellbent on removing social-emotional learning (SEL) from the state’s public schools, and she has a small but vocal and politically-motivated group of supporters backing her. Salmon introduced a bill to ban the Iowa Department of Education from promoting SEL and chaired a Senate subcommittee that voted to move the…

Iowa Republican lawmakers promised that passing the private school voucher bill was only the beginning of their plan to reshape education and fight against public school “indoctrination” during an event in Des Moines on Thursday. Moms for Liberty, a Florida-based right-wing organization that has led a nationwide crusade to ban books they don’t approve of,…