State Government

An earlier proposal was supported by renewable fuels groups, but opposed by retailers and consumer choice advocates.

In Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature, environmental groups look for niche issues that could get bipartisan support. These include soil health, digesters and state parks funding.

The state has awarded $14.8 million to 4,608 residential projects and more than $26.7 million to 2,666 business installations. The average residential credit has grown from $1,850 in 2012 to $3,215 in 2021. The average business credits have increased from $7,997 to $9,990.

The race for Iowa attorney general in 2022 will be about “who is the best lawyer to stand up and advocate for Iowans, who will work hard for them and defend the issues that they care about,” according to Brenna Bird.

Iowa Senate leader said his preference is to limit the discussion to just COVID-19 vaccine requirements, but acknowledged other lawmakers may want to broaden that discussion to other vaccines.

Vacant buildings aren’t cheap to keep up, lawmakers found learned. An impetus for legislation in 2019 was learning the state was spending about $65,000 a year for upkeep at the former penitentiary at Fort Madison.

Senate Republicans in the Iowa Legislature are formulating a “moon shot” tax-cut plan that would eventually eliminate the state’s personal income tax. But skeptics hungry for mission details worry the trick in engineering such an endeavor would be pulling off a successful landing that doesn’t crash and burn.

On this week’s edition of the On Iowa Politics Podcast, reporters discuss their top Iowa politics predictions for 2022.

The Gazette did a Q&A with prison officials after a seven-month security review by an outside consultant. The public got to see a four-page summary of the 134-page report.

As president of a national attorneys general group, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller wants "a better and quicker early warning system for consumers on the basic fundamental frauds,” such as Social Security and IRS fraud and utility shutoffs.

Complaints to the Iowa Ombudsman about unemployment claims tripled in fiscal 2021, with a large share coming from Iowans awarded jobless benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic and then later told they had to repay the money.

Approaching her 28th and final year in the Iowa House, Mary Mascher promises to “continue to be as passionate about those issues that are important to me ... as I’ve been in the past.”