Iowa
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The Iowa community is under new, active management. Feel free to share links about Iowa, or start a topic about anything you want Iowa related.
- Iowa dentist accused of performing root canal on prisoner while intoxicated | KGANcbs2iowa.com Iowa dentist accused of performing root canal on prisoner while intoxicated | KGAN
An Iowa dentist is accused of performing a root canal on a state prisoner while intoxicated, according to The Gazette.Paymun Bayati, 58, of Waterloo, had his li
- Perry officials plan to reopen schools after deadly shootingwww.kcci.com Perry officials plan to reopen schools after deadly shooting
Perry Community School District officials announced a new plan Friday to reopen schools after this month's deadly school shooting.
- Iowa governor calls special legislative session with ‘sole purpose’ of restricting abortionthehill.com Iowa governor calls special legislative session with ‘sole purpose’ of restricting abortion
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) has called on the state Legislature to convene for a special legislative session for the “sole purpose” of restricting abortion in the state. Reynolds’s office made the …
I did not see this coming! I thought for sure that Reynolds would look at how abortion restrictions impacted Republicans in other States and realize the only reason Iowa avoided the same setbacks was because abortion wasn't on the ballot.
Republicans don't seem to care about electability anymore. Spooky.
- City of Cedar Rapids to pay $10K to settle lawsuit over Citizen Review Boardwww.kcrg.com City of Cedar Rapids to pay $10K to settle lawsuit over Citizen Review Board
The city of Cedar Rapids agreed to pay $10,000 to settle a lawsuit over the makeup of the Police Department’s Citizen Review Board, Iowa Capital Dispatch reports.
Poor white people, they have it so hard. 🙄
- Pride won’t be denied: Damaging new state laws won’t deter CR Pride from celebrating love and authenticity July 8www.thegazette.com Opinion: Cedar Rapids Pride won’t be denied
Damaging new state laws won’t deter CR Pride from celebrating love and authenticity July 8
- Iowa auditor slams state for delays threatening universitieswww.thegazette.com Iowa auditor slams state for delays threatening universities
To make up for missed deadlines and late data from the state, Iowa Auditor Rob Sand this week had his office for the first time push out “single audit reports” for each of Iowa’s public universities to spare them from threats to federal funding and certifications that require annual financial report...
>“Despite billions of dollars in surplus, the governor and Republican legislative majorities responsible for your tax dollars have for years undervalued their own financial management team that prepares the material that we review for required audits,” he said. “The bottom line is we cannot audit what we have not been provided.”
Fiscal responsibility is when you store all your surpluses under your mattress
- The Reason Fireworks Were Banned For Almost 80 Years In Iowab100quadcities.com The Reason Fireworks Were Banned For Almost 80 Years In Iowa
For almost 80 years, it was illegal in Iowa to buy, sell, or use fireworks privately. The reason fireworks were banned for so long was because of a massive fire caused by fireworks in a small Iowa town.
>It was 92 years ago today that a terrible fire took place in the Iowa town of Spencer. It didn't help that the weather was hot even for an Iowa summer, according to Jeff Stein and the Iowa Almanac. The temperature in Spencer in northwest Iowa topped off at 97°. The lack of recent rain made things dry, as well.
>The story goes that there was a large fireworks display in the front window of Bjornstad's Drugstore at the corner of Fourth and Main, downtown. A little boy took an interest in the display, which was not uncommon. What happened next was quite uncommon.
Let's hope we don't get a rerun...
- Iowa gets $415M to build out high-speed broadbandwww.thegazette.com Iowa gets $415M to build out high-speed broadband
The money is coming from the federal bipartisan infrastructure law, which Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed in 2021. It is part of the national $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.
>Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican, was the only of Iowa’s current congressional delegation to vote for the infrastructure bill. Rep. Cindy Axne, a Democrat who lost re-election in 2022, also voted for it.
Well yeah, everyone knows the internet makes you trans. Not surprising the vast majority of Republicans opposed this. Good on Grassley for going against the grain, I guess.
- Iowa Democrats brace for special session on abortion following Supreme Court ruling - Iowa Capital Dispatchiowacapitaldispatch.com Iowa Democrats brace for special session on abortion following Supreme Court ruling - Iowa Capital Dispatch
As lawmakers prepare to discuss abortion legislation, abortion providers navigate staffing, funding shortages in the face of growing demand.
>The court maintained the injunction in a in a 3-3 split vote that automatically upheld the district court ruling. Konfrst said the court’s verdict was “good news,” but said Democrats know it will be “short lived.”
- In today's culture war, Iowa is 1950s Irelandwww.bleedingheartland.com In today's culture war, Iowa is 1950s Ireland
Chuck Holden sees parallels between the culture war the Irish state waged for decades and policies Iowa Republicans are now enacting.
FTA -
>While not all Catholic, Iowa’s political leadership is comprised of deeply conservative Christians, solicitous of their fundamentalist base. Like Ireland’s leadership decades ago, they are consumed by their own anxieties over sex and sexuality. Here is the painful review of their recent efforts:
> In March 2022, the state enacted a law prohibiting transgender girls from playing on female sports teams in schools.
> In January of this year, Reynolds and her allies in the legislature pushed through a sweeping bill that directs significant amounts of state funds to private (mostly Christian) schools.
> In March, the GOP trifecta banned gender-affirming care for minors and mandated that Iowans of any age use school bathrooms or other facilities matching their "biological sex," their gender assigned at birth.
> The same month, Republican lawmakers attacked diversity and inclusion initiatives at Iowa's state universities in response to the right-wing perception that universities are dangerous, “woke” outposts in a conservative land. An appropriations bill approved later imposed a hiring freeze for such programs at universities.
> In May, Reynolds signed a law prohibiting any instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity from grades K-6, and banning school library or classroom materials that contain "descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act."
It's also worth noting that the time period in Ireland that the article discussed was also the period when the Irish Republican Army was most active. If they're right and we can look at history to predict where Iowa is going...
- Sen. Chuck Grassley opposes congressional changes to US Supreme Court ethics codewww.desmoinesregister.com Sen. Chuck Grassley opposes congressional changes to US Supreme Court ethics code
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley is not in favor of Congress pursuing additional ethics rules for the Supreme Court, preferring the judiciary police itself.
Iowa's senior senator said he isn't in favor of Congress pursuing additional ethics rules for the U.S. Supreme Court and pushed back on a report that Justice Sam Alito had traveled with a wealthy donor whose business later came before the court.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a former chair of the Senate judiciary committee, told reporters he believed lawmakers shouldn't enforce further regulations on the court until its new internal guidelines can be evaluated.
"I am not in favor of legislation until we know that what the Supreme Court has done on their own is enough," Grassley said.
In March, the court quietly revised its ethics code to require a more complete disclosure of trips and gifts received by the justices, though some still remain exempt from reporting.
The changes came amid increased scrutiny on the court's relationship with wealthy donors and friends — with the nonprofit news outlet ProPublica reporting about vacations and gifts received by Justice Clarence Thomas and now Alito.
Grassley questioned whether Congress should enforce such changes on the court.
"I don't even know whether it's appropriate for us to pass legislation in this area," he said. "It probably is. But the extent to which we accept the judicial branch as a separate branch of government, the extent to which it would be appropriate to do that, that's kind of immaterial at this point."
The court "knew there's a problem, they've rewritten the rules and that's it," Grassley added. And he brushed aside the latest reporting on Alito, arguing his "travel was before his friend had business before the courts."
"So the inference that he's influenced by who he might have a relationship with can't apply in this place because it was before there was any business before the Supreme Court."
Alito did not recuse himself from a series of cases involving his fellow vacationer Paul Singer, ProPublica reported. In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Alito disputed the report, arguing he had "no obligation to recuse" in any of the cases.
Several ethics law experts who spoke to ProPublica said it appeared that Alito had violated a post-Watergate federal law requiring disclosure by public officials of private jet flights, as well as his stay at a commercial lodge.
- Trees planted to replace derecho damages trees struggling in dry weatherwww.kcrg.com Trees planted to replace derecho damages trees struggling in dry weather
Cedar Rapids residents are noticing several trees that were planted in the right-of-way to replace derecho damaged trees are struggling amid dry weather.
"Trees planted in the wake of climate disaster struggling to adapt to climate change"
Vibes
- Cases dismissed, in limbo after Iowa Supreme Court ends constitutional damage claimswww.desmoinesregister.com Cases dismissed, in limbo after Iowa Supreme Court ends constitutional damage claims
Numerous lawsuits against state and local officials are dismissed or revised after a May Supreme Court decision ending Iowa constitutional claims.
Just in case you though the Iowa Supreme Court was good.
- Looking for little know places of beauty around the DSM metro.
I have a photography drone and I have done most of the obvious places, so now I am looking for some that are less obvious. Pl
- Six-week abortion ban blocked by Iowa Supreme Courtwww.nbcnews.com Six-week abortion ban blocked by Iowa Supreme Court
The state Supreme Court deadlocked 3-3, meaning the governor's attempt to reinstate a stricter ban failed. Abortion remains legal up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
It's so interesting watching Republicans overreach on abortion over and over, despite the fact that they don't even have electoral support for it. Ideological commitment might explain it, but I can't help be draw this back to materialistic explanations.
Abortion slows population growth, which weighs on the labor market and necessitates immigration for essential workers. Abortion liberates women, allowing them to control their own bodies and lives. Abortion especially liberates the poor, allowing them to control their own family planning and not have children they can't afford. All of these things weigh on the economy, which needs an endless supply of desperate workers for profitability.
Republicans have so many reasons to oppose abortion that ideology and electability is almost irrelevant.
- Welcome to the Iowa Lemmy Community
Welcome to the Iowa Lemmy community! We extend a warm and hearty welcome to all new users who have joined our online platform dedicated to celebrating the unique charms and vibrant culture of the great state of Iowa. Whether you're a lifelong resident, a transplanted Iowan, or simply someone with a keen interest in all things Iowa, you've come to the right place. Our community is designed to be a gathering point for sharing stories, discussing local events, asking questions, and connecting with fellow Iowans who share your love for this beautiful state. From the sprawling fields and breathtaking landscapes to the lively cities and close-knit communities, Iowa has much to offer, and we're here to celebrate it all. So, settle in, introduce yourself, and get ready to engage in enlightening conversations, share your insights, and forge lasting connections with fellow members of the Iowa Lemmy community. We're excited to have you on board as we embark on this journey together!