Ty Rushing

Iowa’s proposed flat tax rate will have a major winner: The Rich. Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposal to create a 4% flat tax rate over four years would benefit higher earners, according to longtime Iowa State University economist Dave Swenson. “You’re going to get a shifting of the tax burden away from the wealthy, towards the…

Gov. Kim Reynolds is using books as the latest excuse to defund public schools. Reynolds used Tuesday’s 2022 Condition of the State address to hitch her wagon to state Sen. Jake Chapman’s crusade against books he finds objectionable being placed in public schools. Presiding over a joint session of the Iowa Legislature, Reynolds echoed talking…

This year was unique because I spent half of it working outside of journalism. I got back in the game full time in July and was able to write some pretty good stuff ranging from ridiculous—honestly, some of my favorite kind of stories—to serious deep dives on political races and narratives surrounding issues in the…

Miranda Bratland is blunt about why Iowa is experiencing a teacher shortage: “It’s a sinking ship.” “I love teaching,” said Bratland, a third-grade teacher in Newton. “I love working with kids. I’m sick of the red tape. We’ve been asked to do the impossible during COVID.” Bratland has taught in Iowa’s public schools since 2004…

Iowa is known for its rich soil, and a group of Mormon researchers hope that same soil holds the secrets to a lost sacred city. The Heartland Research Group thinks it may have found the site of Zarahemla—a notable city in the Book of Mormon—outside of Montrose, a small southeast Iowa town located on the…

The wife of a defeated Boone City Council candidate is accused of assaulting three people—including one of whom she blamed for her husband’s loss—following Monday’s Boone Utility Commission meeting. According to a criminal complaint, Amy Rasmussen, 54, took exception to the way Boone resident April Burch—who is also her cousin—spoke about her husband, Todd Rasmussen,…

Republican State Sen. Jake Chapman has vowed to create legislation to criminally penalize teachers and school staffers with felonies for distributing materials he considers “obscene.” Chapman, who is president of the Iowa Senate, says his definition of obscene is based on Iowa Code Chapter 728. The materials in question: Books penned by authors of color…

When asked what career fields will have a lot of good-paying jobs to fill after the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Craig Levine’s answer was simple: “All.” “Everything, I mean from the person doing the dirt work to clear up the old highway to the person putting in the new highway to…

Iowa labor leaders expect a tremendous boost in construction work and the economy following the signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which will bring about $5 billion in federal money to the state. “This is the greatest single piece of legislation for the American worker in 80 years—since the New Deal,” said Jeff…

School boards handle a variety of issues from approving milk contracts to voting on building projects, but opposition to mask mandates and diversity standards seemed to be the biggest talking points in many Iowa races, and Ankeny and Waukee were no exception. Ankeny’s top three vote-getters in last Tuesday’s school board election were conservatives Joy…