Iowa poll workers will be allowed to challenge a voter at the polls on the basis of their citizenship status under new legislation signed into law Monday by Gov. Kim Reynolds. The new laws also make changes to election recount procedures in the state, ban ranked choice voting and make it harder for third-party groups such as Libertarians to qualify as a major political party in the state.
Also in the Capitol Notebook, a new warden has been named for Iowa State Penitentiary.
A widely anticipated list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” no longer appears on the Department of Homeland Security's website after receiving widespread criticism for including localities that have actively supported the Trump administration's immigration policies.
Iowa Rep. J.D. Scholten said he decided to make his candidacy official after U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst drew national criticism for a comment she made at a town hall in Parkersburg last week. “... I've been thinking about it for a while, but that's when I just said: This is unacceptable and you've gotta jump in," Scholten said of his decision.
The state’s five-year plan for transportation infrastructure features billions of dollars in planned investments in Iowa road, bridge, aviation and railway infrastructure, construction and repair projects.
Also in Government Notes, the Hawkeye Area Labor Council announced it is endorsing the Cedar Rapids school bond that will go to voters in November.
In the video posted on her Instagram, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst speaks directly to the camera while apparently walking through a cemetery. She says, “I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth.”
The Gazette explores which issues went unresolved by state lawmakers this year that they likely will face again next year.
Michele Smith aids the Iowa’s never-ending quest to ensure bacteria are efficiently munching on contaminants in wastewater, in an effort to protect the environment.
Iowa City’s Burlington Street Bridge is crossed by nearly 19,000 vehicles each day. But it is deteriorating. A 2021 report described the structure as being in “poor” condition and “structurally deficient.” City leaders are working with the University of Iowa and Iowa DOT to plan for replacement of the structure, work that could begin by 2028 or 2029.
Politics reporters across the state talk through this week in Iowa Politics, including recent town halls and the big, beautiful bill.
Health care organizations want Gov. Kim Reynolds to sign a recently-passed PBM bill into law, saying it will protect pharmacies; business groups want her to veto it, saying it will raise health care costs.
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