Ty Rushing

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a nonprofit daycare center in Decorah is closer to its $7 million goal to build a new facility that will allow it to serve an additional 250 children. The Sunflower Child Development and Discovery Center is able to leverage a $500,000 contribution from the Winneshiek County Board…

A proposed stringent approval system of every piece of material used in all Iowa public school classrooms could cost those schools, at minimum, about $27.4 million a year, according to one state agency. The nonpartisan Iowa Legislative Services Agency (LSA) drafted the estimate based on SF 2369, the Iowa Senate’s version of Iowa House Study…

The Ankeny School School Board approved on Monday evening allocating $131,333 to 122 certified staff members who will not receive a $1,000 bonus via Gov. Kim Reynolds’ teacher retention initiative. According to Ankeny’s latest annual progress report, the district has 863 certified teachers. In her Condition of the State address, Reynolds announced she was giving…

Entrepreneurs of color across the country have a chance to win part of a $40,000 cash prize through a business pitch competition being held in West Des Moines and supported by one of the country’s largest banks. The West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce will accept applications until 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, for business…

There were more than 50 education bills introduced during this year’s Iowa legislative session, including proposals to place surveillance cameras in public school classrooms, ban books, jail teachers, and take funding away from public schools to support private institutions. Republican lawmakers, who have introduced the bulk of these policies, have done so under the guises…

Democratic elected officials and LGBTQ advocates widely criticized Gov. Kim Reynolds for signing a bill that bars trans girls and women from competing in school-sanctioned athletic events designated as being for females, girls, or women. Reynolds, a Republican, signed HF 2416 on Thursday, a day after the bill passed in the Iowa Senate along party…

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds was given a national platform Tuesday and she used a portion of it to elevate the parental rights argument Republicans nationwide are using to remake public schools more to their liking. Reynolds, who is expected to announce her intention to run for a second full term as governor, was chosen by…

Ames resident Jessica Hiatt has endeared herself to TikTok users across the globe by chronicling her battle with Stage IV colon cancer over the past two years. Now, as her recent videos have gone even more viral, well-wishers from across the country are sending her care packages. “It helps me ’cause it was kind of…

Henry Riding—spelled Ridings in some instances—was born into enslavement in Missouri and died as the wealthiest Black man in Sioux City. Born in Lexington, Missouri, in 1839, Riding literally fought for his freedom as a Union soldier during the Civil War. He served in the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment, the first Black unit to…