State Government

The legislation also would require Iowa’s 11 largest school districts — among them Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Council Bluffs, Iowa City, and Sioux City — to have at least one private security guard or school resource officer in each district high school.

Zaun, a Republican from Urbandale, has been working for years to ban the use of traffic cameras in Iowa; this year he has combined his legislative proposal with a hands-free device use while driving.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, in her annual Condition of the State address last month, said Iowa needs to increase reading outcomes for elementary students. Last year, state test scores reported 34 percent of third-graders are not proficient in reading and writing skills. Under a proposed bill, Iowa colleges and universities would be required to train teachers in the “science of reading.” But what is it?

Also, in a video posted on YouTube, a union leader told members to prepare for protest activity, including rolling strikes, over legislation introduced in the Iowa Legislature.

A Brown University analysis sifted through 23,000 lobbying records to track groups’ roles in shaping legislation, their success and their relationships to each other.

Landowners and environmentalists staged a die-in Thursday at the Iowa Capitol as part of rally urging lawmakers to pass legislation to address growing concerns about safety and the use of eminent domain for proposed carbon capture pipelines.

State ag officials, Iowa DNR propose revisions to Iowa Code, emphasizing soil health

In her Condition of the State address in January, Reynolds said there is “little coordination” between the differing districts now, causing problems for Iowans seeking treatment for both. “Over 25 percent of adults with serious mental health challenges also suffer from substance use,” she told lawmakers.

The proposed state law come after a similar proposal in Pella was defeated by a public vote in November.

Bill would allow state courts to order undocumented immigrants deported

Also, bill advances to limit ‘obscene performances’

The GOP legislator who introduced the bill said it is needed to close a loophole in the state’s collective bargaining law, while a Democrat called it ‘union-busting’