Republican legislative leaders said they will use money from the state’s $2 billion general fund surplus and $4 billion in the Taxpayer Relief Fund to cover the difference between how much revenue the state takes in and how much it’s budgeted to spend.
The campaign for Iowa Senate District 1 lasted two months and cost more than $100,000 in total campaign spending and involved tens of thousands of volunteers. And as of last Tuesday, the Democrat stands as the winner, breaking the GOP supermajority in the Iowa Senate and flipping the seat from R to D.
On the eve of a Board of Regents vote to change its academic freedom and class content policies to satisfy legislative concerns about “indoctrination,” the national Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression — or FIRE — reached out with a plea.
With the buzz surrounding plans in Texas and California to carve up state maps in a tit-for-tat redistricting battle, one curious Iowan asked The Gazette: Could the same happen in Iowa?
Iowa schools — particularly those in districts with fewer than 1,000 students — are the “lifeblood” of their communities. But student numbers are declining, and data shows that trend will only intensify in the coming years. Many school leaders are turning to modern facilities, career education and innovation to attract and retain students.
For the first time in two years, the three-person state panel that regulates Iowa’s public utilities held a general, public meeting — and Iowa landowners who are opposed to a hazardous liquid pipeline and have been critical of the panel’s approval of the project did not miss the opportunity.
Iowa state Rep. Lindsay James, a Democrat from Dubuque, launched a campaign to seek her party’s nomination to challenge Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson for Northeast Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District seat.
Cities across Eastern Iowa are contemplating how best to promote transparency and community engagement in policing in light of a new state law outlawing most citizen review boards.
Given changes threatening higher education norms — and the University of Iowa’s “strong financial position today” — the campus on Thursday announced a new strategic initiative focused on increasing revenue and improving operational efficiency.
Republican House Speaker Pat Grassley and other statehouse leaders say they have no interest in pursuing changes to the state-run retirement program for public employees despite a proposal from a state government efficiency panel last week.
Johnson County’s Temporary Redistricting Committee is preparing to submit its precinct plan, the first step in the process of changing how county supervisors are elected after a new state law requiring the change was passed by Republicans earlier this year.
State Rep. Josh Turek, who announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, said the best thing for Iowans is for lawmakers to “move away from this party over country mentality.”
Allowing some cities to become independent of counties, aligning public sector employee compensation and benefits with the private sector, and basing teacher compensation on student outcomes were some of the emerging recommendations discussed by the Iowa DOGE Task Force on Wednesday.
Bayer, the biotech company and manufacturer of Round Up, has substantially increased its spending on lobbying in Iowa since the introduction of a pesticide labeling bill in 2024.
Also, Reynolds announces grant funding to expand child care access
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