Politics
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White House Announces New Plan To Lower Child Care Costs, Support Child Care Providers
Many American families could soon get some much-needed help with the unaffordable cost of child care, thanks to a new proposal from the Biden administration. On Tuesday, the White House proposed new actions that would lower the cost of child care and strengthen the Child Care and Development Fund, which helps low-income families access care. …
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GOP Rep. Says Don’t Have Sex To Abortion Ban Opponents
Rep. Brad Sherman has a simple solution for people who want control over their own bodies: Don’t have sex! @iowastartingline Rep. Brad Sherman (R-Williamsburg) suggests people who want access to abortion care should just not have sex. “Everyone is free not to have sex. Maybe they shouldn’t have sex; it’s that simple. I will stand…
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Iowa GOP Passes New Abortion Ban During Special Session
In a one-day special session called just weeks after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled against their previous attempt to ban abortion, Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate rushed through yet another law to restrict reproductive freedoms. The newly-passed bill, expected to be quickly signed into law, will essentially ban abortion in Iowa at 6…
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Decorah Woman Shares Abortion Story To Sway GOP Lawmakers
Melanie Tietz and her husband were thrilled when they found out she was pregnant with their second child. The Decorah couple had their first child, a healthy baby boy, within two years of getting married and were ready to expand their family. “Due to my age, we were offered prenatal testing. The initial test came…
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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…
