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Also in this week’s Government Notes, the city of Cedar Rapids and Cedar Rapids schools will host an open house to discuss a green schoolyard initiative on Tuesday.

Four years after going to Mexico for a psychedelic, plant-based treatment to alleviate symptoms of brain injury from years of head trauma, the former Iowa All-American football player remains healthy, in good cheer, and ready to help others with mental health issues.

Clean energy advocates say Iowa stands to lose jobs, manufacturing facilities, renewable energy project expansions and face more expensive utility bills if Congress passes the budget reconciliation bill as is.

A 15-year-old Cedar Rapids girl vanished in 2001, leaving police with little or no clues as to whether she ran away or was abducted. The last person to see her was convicted in another cold case murder last year, but police don’t have any evidence that he was involved in the teen’s disappearance.

Fifty-six million dollars in opioid settlement funds will be distributed after Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday signed into law legislation that outlines how the money will be spent, along with 24 other bills.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said work requirements are needed to focus Medicaid on those truly in need. A nonpartisan analysis by the state’s Legislative Services Agency projects 32,000 eligible Iowans could lose coverage under the new law.

Iowa Democrats were stripped of their coveted first-in-the-nation caucuses in 2023. Now, Iowa will no longer have a seat at the table when an influential Democratic National Committee begins revisiting and recommending the order of states to lead off the 2028 presidential nominating process.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ task force on government efficiency has floated the idea of consolidating some of Iowa’s 99 counties, and when asked about the possibility on Friday, Reynolds did not rule it out.