Articles Tagged: Governor

Iowa Sen. Mike Klimesh, of Spillville, is the new legislative agenda-setting leader of the Iowa Senate, as selected by his Republican colleagues Wednesday

Kelly Garcia was the agency’s director through the COVID-19 pandemic, its consolidation into the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, and a redesign of the state’s mental and behavioral health care system.

Iowa Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Rob Sand blasted Gov. Kim Reynolds’ efficiency task force as partisan, vowed to veto changes to Iowa’s public pension system, and pushed for more oversight of private school vouchers at a Cedar Rapids town hall.

New public employees would be given the opportunity to opt out of the state retirement program, and teachers would receive financial bonuses for student achievement under recommendations being put forward by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ citizen-run task force on government efficiency.

Iowa’s recidivism rate hit a 10-year low in the state’s most recent figures, but criminal justice experts say recidivism rates are limited in their portrayal of a criminal justice or state correctional system.

Steen, a former state agency head, laid out top policy positions Monday during a meeting of the Warren County Republicans

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is leading an eight-day trade mission to India, returning with a delegation of Iowa officials and business leaders to strengthen relationships she says are already showing results from her initial visit last year.

At a town hall Thursday, Democratic State Auditor Rob Sand was pressed to define how he would protect transgender Iowans’ rights — drawing the sharpest exchanges of the evening and setting the tone for a wide-ranging discussion on water quality, education, school vouchers, mental health and child care.

Iowa will now have open-seat elections for governor and the U.S. Senate for the first time in nearly six decades, and half of the state’s federal delegation likely will feature new representation after the 2026 elections.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has granted 55 pardons since taking office, more than double her predecessor and mentor, former Gov. Terry Branstad; commuted sentences have been exceptionally rare under both governors.

Also in today’s Capitol Notebook, the Iowa Department of Education announced $8 million in a new round of grant funding to recognize and reward teacher excellence.

Democratic gubernatorial candidates Rob Sand and Julie Stauch both say they would propose significant changes to the state program that provides taxpayer-funded scholarships for K-12 private school tuition.

Former Iowa Department of Administrative Services director and Republican Adam Steen said his goal to live in preparation of higher levels of leadership so that the “lord would be exalted” is what drove him to announce a run for governor.

Also in the notebook, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird’s office is supporting legal coalitions addressing Instagram users’ privacy and safety, and a ‘designer Xanax’

More than 2,000 fairgoers participated in the nonscientific straw poll conducted by the Iowa Secretary of State’s office