Public News Service

In addition to consolidating the power of Iowa's nine Area Education Agencies at the state level, House Bill 2612 creates a new process for agency accreditation. (Adobe Stock)

Thursday, April 18, 2024

IA cuts historical rural school groups

Educators and public school advocates are pushing back on a measure which would consolidate state-funded services that have been an important part of …

Fertilizer was responsible for 20% of a farmer's costs in 2022, according to data from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. (Adobe Stock)

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

FTC chair in Iowa to hear fertilizer antitrust concerns

The chair of the Federal Trade Commission will be in rural Iowa this weekend to hear from farmers and other residents about the proposed sale of Iowa …

Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Iowa lawmakers dismiss private school voucher ethics complaint

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…

A bill to expand the Child Tax Credit to as many as 129,000 Iowa kids awaits action in the U.S. Senate. (Adobe Stock)

Expanded tax credit would benefit 129,000 Iowa kids

An advocacy group is calling on the U.S. Senate to pass a tax bill to expand the Child Tax Credit for more than 100,000 children in Iowa. It is part …

IowaAtwork.com is an interactive map of 3,240 infrastructure projects totaling more than $13 million in federal investments in Iowa. (Progress Iowa)

IA group offers successful messaging as national blueprint

An Iowa advocacy group has won a high-profile award from the Analyst Institute, which measures how well a group's message reaches citizens. …

The Race for Results report groups child well-being indicators into four areas: early childhood, education and early work experiences, family resources and neighborhood context. (Annie E. Casey Foundation Race for Results report)

Report shows Iowa kids of color fare worse than white peers

A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation found while children of color in Iowa fare slightly better than their white peers nationally…

Public policy shapes the health ecosystem and influences the accessibility of comprehensive health care, secure housing, nutritious food, quality education and jobs with livable wages, according to the National Institutes of Health. (Adobe Stock)

Physicians' group says voting benefits health, democracy

Voting is not only good for democracy - it's also good for your health, according to one of the nation's largest medical associations. The American …

U.S. Bureau of Labor data show more than 38% of the disability community ages 16-64 were employed in November 2023, in contrast to 75% of adults without disabilities who were employed. (Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council)

Iowans with disabilities ask lawmakers to protect special-ed funding

The Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council has a wish list for the new legislative session. The group has just released its public-policy agenda…

Los datos de la Oficina de Trabajo de EE.UU. muestran que m�s del 38% de la comunidad de discapacitados de entre 16 y 64 a�os ten�an empleo en noviembre de 2023, en contraste con el 75% de los adultos sin discapacidades que ten�an empleo. (Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council)

Discapacitados de Iowa piden a legisladores proteger financiación de educación especial

El Consejo de Discapacidades del Desarrollo de Iowa tiene una lista de deseos para la nueva sesión legislativa. El grupo acaba de publicar su …

Connecting rural Iowans to the internet has been a critical part of federal investments in the state. (Progress Iowa)

Administration invests $7.8 billion in Iowa infrastructure

Progress Iowa has released new information showing how billions of dollars of federal infrastructure investments have made a crucial difference in the…

Rural advocates are pushing for more protection for independent producers in the next Farm Bill. (Adobe Stock)

Rural groups push for environmental protections in next Farm Bill

Even though the current Farm Bill has been extended for a year, rural advocates are speaking up about protecting independent and family farms when …

Iowa has warmed 0.5 to 1 degree in the last century, and floods are becoming more frequent. In the coming decades, the state will have more extremely hot days, which may harm public health in urban areas and corn harvests in rural areas, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. (Adobe Stock)

State skips climate-change grants, Iowa cities reap $3 million instead

A handful of Iowa's biggest cities has been awarded $3 million to work on solutions to climate change at the local level. The climate pollution …

Access to health care in rural America was a popular topic at the Rural Policy Action Summit in April, according to a report, with concerns raised about the number of rural hospitals closing their doors. (Adobe Stock)

A Call for Better Broadband, Jobs, Local Investment for Rural IA

A group of rural policymakers and advocates has released its top priorities to help small towns thrive in Iowa and across the country. The 2023 …

About $2.4 billion in federal funding has been announced for 139 infrastructure projects across Iowa, according to the Biden administration's Investing in America plan. (Adobe Stock)

Website Launched to Help Iowans Track $12 Billion in Federal Money

Progress Iowa has launched a website, allowing people to track federal money spent on critical projects in the state. The group aims to make it …

At the end of the 2021-2022 school year, roughly 31,000 students, or just .06% of the nation's 50 million public-school students, were participating in an ESA program, according to EdChoice. (Adobe Stock)

Private School Tuition Applications Double Expectations

Applications for the state's new private-tuition voucher program are double what lawmakers anticipated. Critics of the plan say it will divert even …

Iowa Wesleyan University was able to continue operating after receiving donations from alumni and a $26 million USDA loan. In 2023, the university's board of trustees voted unanimously in favor of closure after Gov. Kim Reynolds determined that a loan of $12 million would not be feasible. (Old Main Hall at Wesleyan University/Library of Congress)

Feds Call Loan, Rural Iowa University Shutters

By Jon Marcus for The Hechinger Report.Broadcast version by Mark Moran for Iowa News Service reporting for The Hechinger Report-Public News Service Co…

There are around 35 commercial facilities applying Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage to industrial processes, fuel transformation and power generation, with a total annual capture capacity of almost 45 metric tons of carbon dioxide. (Adobe Stock)

IA Lawmakers Table Ethics Complaint Over CO2 Pipeline Bill

Iowa lawmakers have tabled an ethics complaint against a state senator whom critics said blocked a bill to regulate carbon dioxide pipelines in the st…

In January 2019, the United States had a shortage of 7 million affordable homes for low-income renters, resulting in only 37 affordable rental homes for every 100 low-income renter households, according to the Center for American Progress. (Adobe Stock)

Advocates in Iowa Work to Make More Housing Available

Advocates are working to make 42,000 new homes available to Iowans by 2030, which is spearheading efforts to create more affordable living …

Members of the Iowa Council on Developmental Disabilities gather at the State Capitol in support of direct support health care providers. (ICDD/Brooke Lovelace).

Advocates Rally at Capitol for More Provider Pay

With key deadlines approaching at the Iowa statehouse, advocates are calling on lawmakers to provide better wages for direct service professionals…

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation promotes the economic stability of agriculture through a sound system of crop insurance and providing the means for the research and experience helpful in devising and establishing such insurance, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Adobe Stock)

Organic Farmers Want More Time to Plant, Qualify for Crop Insurance

Organic farmers want more time to get their corn crops in the ground and still be able to qualify for crop insurance. Right now, they are held to the …

The Republican Party currently controls the office of governor and both chambers of the Iowa legislature. (Adobe Stock)

IA Lawmakers Vote to Require Supermajority for Tax Hikes

Iowa lawmakers are considering legislation which would require a two-thirds majority vote to increase taxes in the state. Supporters call it a show …

If you're eligible, you can purchase food using benefits that are issued to you monthly. You can use your SNAP benefits to buy a variety of foods for your household, including fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, fish and dairy products, according to USA.gov. (Adobe Stock)

IA on the Brink of Toughening SNAP Eligibility

House lawmakers have approved a bill to make it harder for low income Iowans to qualify for public assistance, and critics said the measure would …

According to a 2022 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report, 3% of drivers fiddle with their cell phones in their car, a dangerous act taking a driver's eyes off the road for five seconds. It is more than enough time to get into a fatal car accident, more than 3,100 of which are caused by distracted driving each year. (Adobe Stock)

IA Senate Advances Hands-Free Cell Phone Bill

The Iowa Senate has advanced a bill to outlaw handling a cellphone while driving. The state already has a distracted driving law, but it allows …

The U.S. Interior Department manages 400 national parks, 560 national wildlife refuges and nearly 250 million acres of other public lands in America. (Adobe Stock)

Bill Could End IA Public Land Acquisition

A bill passed by the Iowa Senate would repeal programs currently in place for maintaining open space and trails, and require state agencies to submit …

Iowa currently has a graduated individual income tax, with rates ranging from 4.40% to 6.00%, according to the Tax Foundation. But that will change under recently passed laws. (Adobe Stock)

IA Senate Panel Votes to Abolish State Income Tax

The Iowa Legislature's powerful Ways and Means Committee has advanced a measure to eliminate the state income tax. The move is the latest in a series …

Spending on conservation programs is expected to range between $6 billion and $6.5 billion in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Adobe Stock)

Most Farmers Still Denied Conservation Grants

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy reports nearly three quarters of farmers across the country who applied for two types of U.S. …

Nearly 7 million students with disabilities in the U.S. make up 14% of national public school enrollment, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. (Adobe Stock)

IA School Vouchers Pose Challenges for Students with Disabilities

Advocates for Iowans with disabilities say a new "school choice" law could allow discrimination against students with disabilities. The bill …

Casi 7 millones de estudiantes con discapacidades en los EE. UU. representan el 14 % de la inscripci�n en las escuelas p�blicas nacionales, seg�n el Centro Nacional de Estad�sticas Educativas. (Adobe Stock)

Cheques escolares plantean desafíos para estudiantes con discapacidades en IA

Defensores de los habitantes con discapacidades de Iowa dicen que una nueva ley de "elección de escuela" podría permitir la discriminaci…

More than 1.2 million Iowans voted in the November 2022 General Election, the second-highest turnout in state history for a midterm, according to the Iowa Secretary of State's office. (Adobe Stock)

Critics: IA Proposal Would 'Politicize' Attorney General's Office

Critics of a proposal in the Iowa Legislature to broaden the Iowa Attorney General's authority say it could inject politics into the historically nonp…

About 400 fatal crashes happen each year as a direct result of texting and driving nationally, according to Sensiblemotive. (Adobe Stock)

Iowa Lawmakers Push for Drivers' Hands-Free Cellphone Use

Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill which would dramatically reduce the use of cellphones in vehicles. Right now, it is illegal in Iowa to send or …

In 2021, the total cost of the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was around $113 billion. The significant increase from the previous year's total of $79 billion was in large part the result of extra pandemic-related benefits. (Adobe Stock)

IA Lawmakers Propose Severe Restrictions for Food Assistance

A Republican-backed bill in the Iowa Legislature seeks to put strict new limits on which foods people could buy at the grocery store using public-assi…

There are about 3.2 million public school teachers in the United States. Some 74.3% are female, while 25.7% are male. (Adobe Stock)<br />

Poll: Voters Reject Tuition Vouchers, Voice Public School Support

A new poll commissioned by the American Federation of Teachers finds most voters strongly oppose private school vouchers, which allow families to …

Half of U.S. parents (52 percent) considered finding a new or different school for at least one of their children within the past year or are currently considering finding a new or different school for at least one of their children. (Adobe Stock)

Iowa Governor Makes "School Choice" a Top Priority

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds has proposed a measure that would allow Iowa parents to send their kids to private schools and make state money …

More than 10 million households headed by someone over 65 spend <a href=

more than one-third of their income on housing. Half of these pay more than 50%, according to a Harvard University study. (Adobe Stock).">

More Affordable Housing for Seniors: An AARP Iowa Priority

As housing prices continue to rise, AARP Iowa is asking cities and towns to change their rules to allow more livable space on a home site. The group …

Developmental disabilities are a group of conditions due to an impairment in physical, learning, language, or behavior areas. About one in six children in the U.S. have one or more developmental disabilities or other developmental delays, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Adobe Stock)

A Call for Greater Accessibility for Iowans with Disabilities

Iowans with disabilities said the state could be doing more to make public places more accessible and inclusive. In the new legislative session…

According to the Alzheimer's Association, 6.5 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's in 2022. Around 73% are age 75 or older. (Adobe Stock)

Alzheimer's Treatments on Near Horizon for Iowans

National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month is drawing to a close at the same time the hope of progress on understanding and treating the disease is …

Social justice issues date back to efforts aimed at promoting equity during the Industrial Revolution. (Adobe Stock)

Poll: Iowans Voice Strong Support for Progressive Ideals

Despite a heavily conservative shift in voter turnout at the ballot box in Iowa, results of a new post-midterm poll showed Iowans strongly support …

More than 85% of Iowa's land is farmland. (Stock/Adobe Stock)

Iowa Farmers' Priorities Released for 2023 Farm Bill

Rural advocacy groups in Iowa have released their priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill, which is already being discussed in Washington, D.C. The Center …

In Johnson County, Iowa, 13% of adults describe themselves as being in

IA County Studies Why Residents Don't Get the Healthcare They Need

Johnson County, Iowa, is on a fact-finding mission - to determine what its residents need most for a good community health program. The county is …

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, as dry as this September was in Iowa, it was only the 19th-driest September in the last 128 years. (Adobe Stock)

IA Farmers Opt for Federal Assistance to Weather Drought

New data from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows all of Iowa's 99 counties are abnormally dry, with a handful experiencing extreme drought conditions…

The U.S. Postal Service has more than 650,000 employees nationwide. (Adobe Stock)

Postal Union Leaders Look Ahead to Holiday Crunch

The U.S. Postal Service is hiring 28,000 seasonal employees for the holidays. Union leaders in Iowa say they're mindful of the need for strong …

Agriculture experts say improving soil health on farmland is one of several components to reducing emissions from conventional farming. (Adobe Stock)

IA Gets Big Chunk of 'Climate-Smart' Farming Pie

Agriculture researchers say if the U.S. wants more farmers to adopt climate-friendly practices, they will need to be offered some proven incentives…

Roughly 50% of small-business owners in the United States offer health insurance, but some worry about being able to keep it if costs continue to rise. (Adobe Stock)

IA Small Businesses Get a Lifeline with ACA Credit Extension

Average Affordable Care Act premiums in Iowa would have been 72% higher this year without temporary subsidies from the federal government, and small-…

Estimates from Deloitte Consulting suggested expanding free school meals over the summer permanently would boost graduation numbers in the United States by more than 80,000. (Adobe Stock)

Universal School Meals End June 30, Putting More Pressure on Families

At the end of June, waivers allowing the federal government to provide free school meals to all children will expire. As the programs return to pre-…

In some parts of the country, cities have had to suspend garbage service because of staffing shortages. (Adobe Stock)

Staffing Issues Spread to Iowa's Local Governments

Local governments in Iowa say they're not immune to hiring challenges seen in the private sector, which is prompting municipalities to rethink how …

Supporters of Iowa's Watershed Management Authorities say they empower local leaders to make the best decisions for their communities when it comes to flood mitigation and conservation. (Adobe Stock)

Without State Help, IA Loses Local Flood-Prevention Staff

Iowa is in danger of losing momentum for local coordination of flood prevention projects. That's the prediction of groups with ties to Watershed …

Iowa currently has 27 Watershed Management Authorities. These local coalitions map out solutions to flooding and other water issues. (Adobe Stock)

Filling IA's Empty Resources Fund Could Aid Local Flood Work

A little-known Iowa program continues to pave the way for local coordination for flood-prevention strategies, and backers of the initiative are …

Republican leaders in Iowa have phased in tax cuts in recent years, and are again making it one of their key priorities for the current session. (Adobe Stock)

Economic Relief or Budget Pain? IA Tax-Cut Plans Debated

Iowa's legislative session is nearly a month old and the state income tax remains a focal point. Republicans want tax cuts by establishing a flat tax …

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IA: Budget Policy & Priorities