Week in Iowa, Nov. 13, 2023: Recap of news from across the state

State board advances book banning rules: The state Board of Education approved proposed rules governing the implementation of a recent law that bans certain books from Iowa school libraries and enacts other rules intended to increase transparency at public schools. The law required that school libraries include only "age-appropriate" materials and banned any book that includes a "depiction or description of a sex act."

The proposed rules do not provide a list of books that should be removed, but they do note that a reference or mention of a sex act is not grounds to remove a book. Clarifying the ban on teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation in certain grades, the board also confirmed a "neutral" mention of LGBTQ characters is allowed in school books.

Iowa representatives call for Santos to resign: Three of Iowa's U.S. House members joined the growing chorus of lawmakers calling on GOP Rep. George Santos of New York to resign following a House Ethics Committee investigation. The committee found evidence Santos had committed a litany of financial crimes related to his 2022 campaign, including soliciting fraudulent donations and stealing from his campaign account.

Congress passes farm bill extension: Iowa's congressional delegation applauded the passage of a stopgap bill to keep critical agricultural programs funded through the end of next year as lawmakers continue to negotiate the upcoming farm bill. The farm bill authorizes a broad array of agricultural programs such as crop insurance and research, and must be reauthorized every five years.

DeSantis expands Iowa campaign: Amid polling showing former President Donald Trump with a dominant lead in the Republican Iowa caucus race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dispatched three top staffers, along with more than 20 others, to Iowa this past week as his campaign retains its heightened focus on the first-in-the-nation caucus state.

DeSantis' campaign also released an ad that features his endorsement from Gov. Kim Reynolds. Reynolds' endorsement will be key to DeSantis' strategy to win over Iowa Republican voters ahead of the caucuses. She was slated to join the Florida governor for an office opening Saturday in Des Moines.

Discord over regents DEI rules: A member of Iowa's Board of Regents, which governs the three public universities, dissented as the group passed new policies around diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the universities. Regent Nancy Dunkel said the rules were a political interference into the universities' operations and they were not carefully thought through.

Unemployment rises slightly in October: Iowa's unemployment rate ticked up by 0.1 percent in October, to 3.2 percent. The number is a reflection of national trends as federal regulators try to cool down the economy and slow down inflation. The national unemployment rate last month was 3.9 percent.

They said ...

“We are micromanaging their decisions and imposing new political intrusions. Professors and leaders in our schools encourage critical thinking, discussion and questioning to improve learning." -- Iowa Board of Regents member Nancy Dunkel on diversity, equity and inclusion rules.

“The American people deserve honesty and transparency from their elected representatives. George Santos has clearly not lived up to those ideals. This Ethics Committee investigation proves he is unfit to serve and should resign from office. If he does not, I will vote to remove him.” -- U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn on ethics investigation into George Santos.

Odds and ends

2024 watch: U.S. Sen. Tim Scott dropped his bid for the presidency last week, leaving only a handful of Republican candidates in the race for the GOP nomination. Former President Donald Trump remains the clear frontrunner as challengers Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley begin to air millions of dollars of ads in Iowa ahead of the January caucuses.

Miller-Meeks challenger: U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks will face a primary challenger in 2024 after Davenport faith leader David Pautsch announced his candidacy. The Republican criticized Miller-Meeks' support for marriage equality and her opposition to electing Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as House speaker. A Republican, Miller-Meeks was first elected to the House in 2020.

Water cooler

AG condemns Trump gag order: Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a group of state attorneys general in a court brief calling for a gag order on former President Donald Trump to be overturned. The order, imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, has been appealed by Trump's lawyers.

Fairfield murderer sentenced: A teen who was convicted of the 2021 murder of his Spanish teacher in Fairfield was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Jeremy Goodale and classmate Willard Miller were convicted of killing Nohema Graber, 66.