Politics
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Veterans Have Until Aug. 9 to Apply for Backdated PACT Act Disability Payments
It’s been nearly a year since President Joe Biden signed the PACT Act into law, expanding access to health care and disability compensation for veterans who were exposed to toxins such as burn pits and Agent Orange during their service. There is no hard deadline to apply for benefits and care under the PACT Act—also…
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Biden Cracks Down on ‘Junk’ Health Insurance Plans That ‘Exploit’ Americans
The Biden administration announced a new set of initiatives on Friday aimed at reducing health care costs for Americans by cracking down on what the president has called “junk” health insurance plans. These short-term plans—which were expanded by the Trump administration in 2018—have been marketed as a more affordable alternative to Affordable Care Act plans.…
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Trump Attacks Kim Reynolds On Truth Social
Just a few weeks ago, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a public statement in support of Donald Trump after his federal indictment, but now the two Republicans seem to be on the outs after Trump publicly confirmed a rift Monday. On his Truth Social media platform, the former president “truthed” about Reynolds’ public neutrality during the…
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In Iowa, Trump Uses Dan Gable To Make Anti-Trans Jokes
Former President and 2024 GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, who is under indictment federally and in the state of New York on unrelated charges, used a Friday event in Council Bluffs to attack transgender people and tied one of those attacks to Iowa wrestling legend Dan Gable. Trump brought up Gable, an Olympic gold medalist from…
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Price Tag For Reynolds’ Voucher Program Could Hit $221 Million
Iowa taxpayers could be on the hook for as much as $221.6 million in K-12 private school costs in the 2023-24 school year, according to the latest numbers from Gov. Kim Reynolds’ office. This estimate is based on if all 29,025 K-12 students who applied for Reynolds’ new private school voucher program—called Students First Education…
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Native Activist Condemns Racist Muscatine Parade Entry
An organizer with the Great Plains Action Society, an Indigenous-led social justice nonprofit, called an incident at Muscatine’s Fourth of July parade a “wildly distasteful act” and said it perpetuated “great harm” to Natives. During the parade, Megan Burton, who appears to be a white woman, was riding a horse while pulling a rope that…
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Biden Administration Announces $3.1 Billion in Funding to Tackle Homelessness, With Focus on Veterans
The Biden administration on Thursday announced $3.1 billion in federal funding to support efforts to quickly rehouse Americans experiencing homelessness, including veterans. The funding, which will be made available through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Continuum of Care program, is just the latest step in the White House’s efforts to…
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Warren County Special Election Approved After Tense Meeting
There will be a special election in Warren County for the county auditor seat. “I say we have an election,” said interim county auditor David Whipple, whose appointment was the reason for Friday’s public hearing. Residents showed up in droves to the Warren County Administration Building in Indianola to find out how a challenge to…
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Supreme Court Takes Student Debt Relief Away From 43 Million Americans
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down President Biden’s student loan cancellation plan, a major blow to tens of millions of working- and middle-class Americans who stood to benefit from the program. In a 6-3 decision in Biden v. Nebraska, the Court’s right-wing justices ruled in favor of six states with Republican attorneys general—Nebraska,…
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Biden Administration Gives Cedar Falls Street Project $10M Boost
Cedar Falls City Administrator Ron Gaines celebrated the news that his community will receive $10 million in federal funding to help with a complete overhaul of its Main Street. “This grant is a tremendous achievement for Cedar Falls and we are extremely excited,” said Gaines, who was hired to run the northeast Iowa city’s day-to-day…
