Erin Murphy

The Democratic candidates for Congress in Eastern Iowa’s 1st and 2nd Districts were upbeat and confident when talking about their campaigns at a state party fundraiser.

Republicans say the bill will help address a shortage of child care workers; Democrats say it will not help, and could create dangerous scenarios with unsupervised teens monitoring multiple toddlers at day care centers

Sand, an attorney by trade

Also, state lawmakers passed child care staffing ratio changes

Iowa will become just the fourth state with 16 weeks or fewer of state unemployment benefits under legislation that needs only Gov. Kim Reynolds’ signature to become law.

State lawmakers on Tuesday approved with strong, bipartisan support a proposal to require that most Iowa gas stations sell the E15 blend of ethanol in at least one pump.

The Iowa Senate’s tax policy committee Monday approved Gov. Kim Reynolds’ proposal after making some changes, including the addition of another way for small gas stations to receive an exemption from the proposed requirements and financial assistance for potential equipment upgrades.

More than nine out of 10 small business owners say inflation, supply chain issues and worker shortages are having a negative effect on their businesses, according to a national survey published Monday by Goldman Sachs.

Under the new law, cities including Cedar Rapids and Iowa City will no longer be able to restrict firework sales to only certain zoning categories.

The joint effort between Republican governors will include sharing intelligence and criminal investigation information

The transportation secretary said the bridges aren’t Democrat or Republican, even though only 19 Republican U.S. senators voted for the funding along with two Republican U.S. House members

Advocates say the proposal does not go nearly far enough in increasing protections for mobile home owners and renters, and thus does little to address the recent proliferation of out-of-state companies that have bought mobile home lots and parks and increased rent and fees.

The impasse over Reynolds’ private school tuition assistance proposal may be the most significant element of legislators’ attempts to finish their work for the session. It’s something Reynolds has spent multiple years pushing and Senate Republicans have backed. But the resistance where it exists within the House Republican caucus has been firm.

In addition to vouchers, K-12 transparency, unemployment benefits, a proposed ethanol mandate, and the bottle bill remain on lawmakers’ to-do list.

While national Democrats are reshuffling their presidential nominating schedule, which could knock Iowa off its envious perch, national Republicans recommitted to keeping Iowa first.