State Government

Bolkcom, who served on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors, before being elected to the Iowa Senate in 1998, will not run for re-election in 2022. In the Legislature, he worked on anti-poverty and environmental issues.

Reynolds said the state will make available $10 million in grants for expanding current child care facilities or building new ones, and distribute $200 million in federal grants to child care facilities that suffered economically during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

The state on Monday agreed to pay from its general fund nearly $400,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by University of Iowa female athletes contending Title IX violations in the UI’s announced plans last year to cut women’s swimming and diving as part of its COVID-19 response.

Iowa OSHA has fined Agri Star Meat and Poultry plant in Postville more than $28,000 for violations found after a February explosion that injured two employees.

With policy changes to unemployment benefits yet to result in a boost to workforce numbers in Iowa, businesses continue to search for ways to fill jobs and to keep employees they already have -- many now raising wages, offering bonuses and adding perks.

On Iowa Politics is a weekly news and analysis podcast that aims to re-create the kinds of conversations that happen when you get political reporters from across Iowa together after the day's deadlines have been met.

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.

Plan didn’t address all of Republicans’ concerns, but both parties agree it meets the requirements of Iowa law and state constitution.

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 Iowa Legislature will convene Thursday for its second special session in a month to consider another plan for redrawing boundaries for the state’s legislative and congressional districts.

Lawmakers will consider a second round of proposed maps for the state’s decennial redistricting process.