Rod Boshart

The leader of the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy has issued a 2022 strategy that hopes to build on Iowa’s positive trends while addressing challenges tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and the availability of more potent substances.

The challenging parties assert the authority to compel vaccinations lies with states, not the federal government.

Let the political musical chairs begin now that the lines have been drawn to demarcate Iowa’s new congressional and legislative districts for the next decade beginning with the 2022 elections.

The significant October surge – aided by five weekends of professional and college football during the month – brought year-to-date wagering to $689.3 million for the current fiscal year that began July 1.

A defiant Gov. Kim Reynolds promised “immediate” legal action to a Biden administration rule requiring larger businesses to have their employees get COVID-19 vaccinations or face regular workplace testing.

She told a radio audience Tuesday she expects to join other states in challenging a Biden administration directive requiring employers with 100 or more employees to mandate that all employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or else undergo weekly testing, once the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issues its emergency temporary standard.

While disagreeing with the Biden administration's plan to mandate vaccines or testing, business organizations in Iowa say Iowa’s new law puts employers at risk of facing federal penalties and could worsen the workplace shortage.

Iowans who lose their jobs for refusing to comply with an employer's COVID-19 vaccination requirement would still be able to collect unemployment benefits under legislation passed Thursday and headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds for her expected signature.

The Des Moines-based energy company is taking the final steps to flip the switch at its first utility-scale solar energy project located in Waterloo, according to MidAmerican officials.

Prison “lifers” Denise Rhode, Gary Bear, Otis Jenkins and Jerry Osborn applied for commutation and cleared the first hurdle when the Iowa Board of Parole unanimously recommended the governor consider reducing their sentences to a period of years, making them potentially eligible for eventual release.

About 65 percent of Guard members have received at least one shot

Iowa’s child care providers continue to tread financially troubled waters after being thrown a much-needed lifeline via federal COVID-19 relief funds.

The latest surge of government aid to expand broadband access in Iowa is much needed, industry experts say, but the goal of universal coverage by 2025 remains formidable with the most challenging under-served or unserved areas of the state yet to enjoy high-speed internet connections.

The governor earlier this week threw the issue of banning workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandates into the special-session mix. But top GOP legislators said Thursday it probably would be considered only “if the right solution is ready” when they return to the Capitol later this month.

“Stay tuned,” the Republican governor told a WHO-AM talk radio host in discussing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to issue an executive order earlier this week prohibiting any entity, including businesses, from imposing COVID-19 vaccination requirements on employees or customers.