Week in Iowa: Recap of news from across the state

U.S. Senate candidates debate: U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley touted the value of his long Senate tenure and bipartisan accomplishments in a debate Thursday, while Democratic challenger Mike Franken said his career has been marked by inaction and partisanship.

The two argued over abortion, inflation and health care in the hourlong debate on Iowa PBS.

Inmates denied claims for vaccine overdose: Dozens of incarcerated Iowans who received six times the recommended COVID-19 dose were denied damage claims by a state board. The inmates were seeking $1 million each from the state, alleging they experienced various symptoms from the vaccine overdose. The state said it is not responsible for damages relating to COVID-19 administration because of a federal law that grants immunity to some entities in COVID-19 vaccine administration.

Two nurses who administered the vaccines were fired in 2021. One was required to pay $500 by the state Board of Nursing.

State receives $6 million for education safety: Iowa’s Department of Education will receive $6 million from a federal law aiming to make schools safer.

The grant is part of $1 billion from the bipartisan gun violence bill signed by President Joe Biden this summer. School districts can apply for funding from state education agencies. The money can go to adding counselors, social workers or psychologists; offering mental health support with a community organization; training staff on trauma support; or creating calming spaces for staff and students.

George W. Bush honored at Hoover museum: Former President George W. Bush was in Iowa on Friday to receive a humanitarian award and headline a fundraiser for the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum at the DoubleTree in Cedar Rapids. The event was not open to the media.

According to a description of the event from the museum, the ceremony recognized the work the former president and his wife Laura Bush did on AIDS relief and health care initiatives for women.

The event also featured an armchair discussion between Bush and Margaret Hoover, the great-granddaughter of Herbert Hoover and host of the PBS series “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover.”

Overdose-reversing drug available for schools: The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services is expanding availability of naloxone, a drug used to reverse opioid overdoses, to Iowa schools. The state has made naloxone available to businesses and organizations in the past, but this is the first time the medication has been available to schools.

The Des Moines Public School Board voted to begin stocking buildings with naloxone after the announcement. Iowa HHS recently received a $9 million federal grant to address opioid prevention and treatment.

They said ...

“I’ve got the vivaciousness and the intellect, the ideas and a life full of experiences living across the world, across the globe.” — Democratic former Navy Adm. Mike Franken on his bid for U.S. Senate.

“If I’m reelected to the United States Senate, I will be No. 1 in the United States Senate. Iowa will be No. 1 on my agenda, whether you’re Republican, Democrat or independent, and my opponent would be No. 100.” — Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley on his Senate seniority.

Odds and ends

State settles in UIHC death: The state will pay a North Liberty couple nearly $4 million after their almost 2-year-old son died in 2018 from an undiagnosed strep infection after visiting University of Iowa clinics. The settlement will be split between a group representing University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics physicians and the state.

Grassley boasts bipartisan endorsement: U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced the endorsement of an unlikely supporter: a former Democratic senator from Montana who worked alongside Grassley for 30 years, Max Baucus. The pair traded places as chair of the Senate Finance Committee for a decade, and Baucus said they became friends and worked to find bipartisan solutions.

Water cooler

COVID cases continue falling: Iowa COVID-19 cases continued their downward trend last week, with the state reporting 1,853 new cases in the week ending Wednesday. Patients hospitalized with the virus went up in the same week, from 179 to 196.

National Republicans join Nunn: Republican Iowa Sen. Zach Nunn, who’s seeking election to Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, is picking up support from national Republicans this month in campaign events. Nunn was joined by Newt Gingrich, former U.S. House Speaker, this past week in Des Moines. Later this month he will campaign with Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state and a potential Republican contender for president in 2024.