Government & Politics

Among the new initiatives in next year’s budget are increased salaries for judges, funding for a new state Division of Special Education, and funding to increase accessibility at Iowa’s state parks.

Iowa legislative leaders and Gov. Kim Reynolds discuss the legislative session, which concluded early Saturday morning after a 20-hour work day.

Casino backers’ long-held dreams to build a gambling facility in Cedar Rapids stayed alive early Saturday after the Iowa Senate did not take up a five-year extension of a moratorium advanced by House lawmakers that would have blocked new casino licenses.

A $7 million rehabilitation project is now complete on a once-blighted building in Wellington Heights that Cedar Rapids transformed into 25 new affordable rental units, adding sorely needed housing stock for low-income residents.

The proposal will reduce Iowans’ state income tax burden — and limit future state revenue growth — by $1 billion over the first two years.

Several Iowa city and school boards have recently received public criticism, and some have been penalized, for holding private meetings on matters that should have been discussed publicly.

Residents of Cedar Rapids and small businesses will soon be asked to pitch in to “Grow the Love” and get the city’s $37 million fundraising effort across the finish line to replenish the tree canopy lost in the 2020 derecho.

Any funds that would otherwise have been directed to DEI offices at the end of fiscal 2025 would be directed to the Iowa Workforce Grant and Incentive Program under the bill.