Week in Iowa, Aug. 12, 2024: Recap of news from across the state

Reynolds plans expansion of summer meal program: Iowa has requested to use federal funding from the summer EBT program to instead expand a state summer meal program. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the decision Thursday, saying the plan would feed more children for a lower cost and expand on the meal site program that ran this summer.

More than 3,500 Iowans had signed a petition to Reynolds asking her to have the state participate in the summer EBT program. The federal program gives $40 per month per child to low-income families during the summer. The deadline to submit the state plan to the U.S Department of Agriculture was Thursday.

Congressional candidates speak at state fair: Several congressional candidates appeared at the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair this past week. Candidates who appeared included Libertarian Nicholas Gluba, along with Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver, and Democrats Christina Bohannan and Sarah Corkery. Both Democrats spoke about abortion, criticizing their Republican opponents’ support for limiting abortion rights.

Iowa AG says office ready for November election: Speaking to a conservative group in suburban Des Moines, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said her office is ready to prosecute any violations of state election laws this November. This will be the first election under a new law that gives the Iowa Attorney General’s Office exclusive jurisdiction to prosecute those offenses. Iowa does a “good job” in terms of election integrity, Bird said, but her office will investigate any instances where that does not seem to have happened.

Libertarian candidates face ballot challenges: Three Libertarian candidates for Congress could be removed from the ballot under challenges filed by Iowa Republicans. The State Objection Panel will hear challenges to Nicholas Gluba in the 1st District, Marco Battaglia in the 3rd District and Charles Aldrich in the 4th District, on allegations the party did not hold county conventions as required. The state Libertarian Party says it did hold conventions, on the same night as its caucuses Jan. 15.

Rules for school employees to carry guns: The Iowa Department of Public Safety is working on administrative rules for permits for school employees to carry a gun on campus. None of the state’s 11 largest school districts are considering allowing staff to be armed. Other districts around the state that are considering the move said earlier this month they are waiting to hear from their insurance carrier.

They said ...

“I think we have to be 100 percent focused on the election, and I’m 100 percent focused on my job as (Iowa) attorney general. I want to do a good job, and we’ve been working hard at that. So that’s where my focus is.” -- Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird on a potential position in a future Trump administration

“So many people just said that they keep us in their prayers, and there is nothing more I want to hear because this is what we need in this moment, you know, more prayers and more weapons.” -- Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova at the Iowa State Fair

Odds and ends

Grandparents charged: Two southwest Iowa grandparents have been charged with neglect or abandonment of a dependent person and child endangerment after a 4-year-old was locked in a cage last month. Sheriff’s deputies found the child in Hamburg and said the child had escaped from a cage created from a crib, baby gate and zip ties. The child’s parents face the same charges as the grandparents.

Summit pipeline battle: State regulators have effectively denied several requests to reconsider their approval of a massive carbon dioxide pipeline project. That means that after three years of the Iowa Utilities Commission primarily overseeing the disputes about Summit Carbon Solutions’ permit, the next likely arbiter will be a judge.

Water cooler

Medicaid wheelchairs: A new administrative policy by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services allows Medicaid recipients to get wheelchairs fixed without a prescription. The state House had unanimously passed a measure pushed by Rep. Josh Turek, D-Council Bluffs, but the bill did not advance in the Senate.

FAFSA money: The Iowa Department of Education will use $276,000 in federal funds to help students complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The rollout of the new FAFSA form has seen significant delays and problems, which the U.S. Department of Education is trying to address with these additional funds.