A recent of 2.3 million Iowa voter records showed that thousands of self-identified noncitizens registered have to vote, resulting in potential prosecution.
Read MoreTag: Iowa
Biden and Red States Are on Immigration Collision Course Heading for Supreme Court
The Biden administration is currently waging a legal campaign against Republican-led states, arguing their laws that effectively restrict illegal immigration are unconstitutional.
The Department of Justice has so far filed lawsuits against three different states for enacting laws that largely empower police to enforce immigration rules. However, these state leaders, in the backdrop of an unprecedented border crisis, say they have no choice but to take up the issue themselves because the Biden administration won’t — and other Republican states may soon follow suit.
Read MoreJustice Department Sues Iowa over Immigration Law After Warning
The Justice Department sued the state of Iowa on Thursday, after the state failed to stop a new immigration law that makes it a crime for people to be in the state if they were previously denied admission to the United States.
The lawsuit is the second legal action taken against the state over the new law, which goes into effect in July. The first was a lawsuit from a civil rights group that was filed earlier Thursday. The department warned Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds that it would sue last week if she did not stop the law by May 7.
Read MoreHaley Talking Tough in Iowa, Says U.S. Needs to Back Ukraine and Israel in Wars Brought by Thugs and Terrorists
Asserting the U.S. must do all it can to help Israel “eliminate” the Hamas-driven terrorism that rocked Israel over the weekend, GOP presidential candidate and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is striking an even more hawkish tone for U.S. involvement in two major theaters of war — Europe and the Middle East.
“I would tell Israel that whatever it is you need to, not just get your country back but to eliminate the terrorists, we should do because Hamas is saying, ‘Death to America,” and it is in our best interest to make sure that they are not doing anything that would harm Americans or harm our friends,” Haley told a smallish gathering of some 75 people Monday afternoon at a town hall event in Central Iowa.
Read MoreGOP Presidential Candidates Prepare for Critical Second Debate Without Trump
If Wednesday’s second GOP presidential primary debate proves to be anything like the first, we’re in for a night of political punches and maybe a rhetorical gang fight or two as the candidates look to score points in another Trump-less bout.
Read MoreKinder, Gentler Iowa Cattle Call of GOP Presidential Hopefuls Sees Ramaswamy, DeSantis, Haley Generate Most Buzz
The latest cattle call of GOP presidential contestants — sans former President Donald Trump — mainly maintained Iowa nice, a departure from last month’s first fiery primary debate and a similar Christian conservative event in July hosted by conservative talk show host lightning rod Tucker Carlson.
Read MoreGOP Presidential Candidates Attempt to Seize on Any Momentum They Garnered in First Debate
Every candidate declared victory after Wednesday night’s first Republican presidential debate — even some who didn’t take the stage.
But what’s next for these self-proclaimed winners on the road to the Republican Party nomination?
Read MoreAs Ramaswamy Rises in the Polls, Political Knives Come Out
Political outsider Vivek Ramaswamy is heading back to Iowa this week with a lot of momentum and a big target on his back in the Republican Party presidential nomination chase.
Read MoreDeSantis and Haley Well Received by Evangelical Christians at Iowa Faith and Leadership Summit
In closing the nationally watched Family Leadership Summit late Friday afternoon, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ratcheted up the political rhetoric and sounded more fired up than he’s been at some of his previous campaign trips to Iowa.
Read MoreGOP Presidential Hopeful Ramaswamy Brimming with Youth, Energy and Confidence
He’s young. He’s successful. And he’s extremely confident. Some might say cocky.
Read MoreCasey DeSantis to Campaign for Her Husband and Presidential Hopeful Florida Governor Ron DeSantis This Week in Iowa
Florida’s first lady is scheduled to launch her “Mamas for DeSantis” effort as she campaigns Thursday in Iowa for her husband and Republican presidential hopeful Governor Ron DeSantis.
Casey DeSantis’ stop is part of a busy Fourth of July holiday week for presidential campaigns in the Hawkeye State, with former Vice President Mike Pence and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum returning to Iowa, as well.
Read MoreNearly Half of U.S. States Now Have Measures Limiting Transgender Surgery for Minors, but Lawsuits Abound
At least 20 states have either restricted or banned transgender procedures for minors, with many of them facing lawsuits and temporary blocks by courts as a result, while future litigation is possible in states considering adopting such laws.
The states that have enacted legislation against such procedures are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia – essentially all conservative-leaning.
Read MoreIn Iowa Presidential Campaign Launch, DeSantis Says Republicans Need to Look Forward, Not Backwards
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came to Iowa Tuesday evening, officially kicking off his run for the White House in the kick-off caucus state.
Read MoreU.S. Senator Tim Scott Launches Presidential Campaign as Living Example of the Land of Opportunity
U.S. Senator Tim Scott made it official Monday, launching his campaign for president in the North Charleston, SC, hometown that informed his core belief: That the United States of America is “the land of opportunity, not a land of oppression.”
Read MoreDeSantis Softly Jabs at Trump During Iowa Stop, Severe Weather Forces Cancelation of Trump’s Hawkeye State Rally
The clash of the GOP titans didn’t happen after all in the Hawkeye State. Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis were scheduled to make separate campaign stops in Iowa Saturday.
Read MoreIndiana Expands School Choice to Nearly All K-12 Students as Republican-Led States Continue Momentum
Indiana scored the latest school choice victory with nearly all, save for 3.5 percent of families with school-age children, qualifying for the state’s new voucher program, The Wall Street Journal editorial board noted last week.
“The hits keep coming on school choice in Republican-run states,” The Journal editors observed, detailing:
The new law raises the income cap to 400% of the free- and reduced-price lunch income level, which is now about $220,000 for a family of four. The bill also removes the other criteria for eligibility so that any family under the income limit can apply. Tens of thousands of additional students could qualify, and a legislative analysis projects that some 95,000 students might use the program in 2025, up from about 53,000 in 2023.
Read MorePOS Poll Shows DeSantis Faring Better Than Trump Against Biden in the Badger State Despite Many Polls to the Contrary
Public Opinion Strategies is out with yet another poll showing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis faring better against former President Donald Trump, this time in battleground Wisconsin. But just who is paying for the polling that paints a picture of DeSantis’ presidential strength despite Trump’s significant lead in primary polls remains unclear.
Read MoreMethodology and Motive Questions Surround Poll Showing DeSantis Ahead of Trump in Iowa
Two polls showing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis “running more competitively” against former President Donald Trump in first-in-the-nation nominating states Iowa and New Hampshire are missing some key data, raising questions about the validity of the surveys.
Read MoreFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis Wows Iowans at Packed ‘Book Tour’ Event
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may still be mulling over a run for president, but the Republican looked and sounded every bit a contender for the GOP presidential nomination Friday evening in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.
Read MoreSeven Questions for ‘Capitalist and Citizen’ Vivek Ramaswamy as He Jumps Into the Race for President
Vivek Ramaswamy went from “strongly considering” to a headlong plunge into the race for the White House.
Read MoreSimon Conway Guest Host Matt Kittle Talks to Kari Lake About Upcoming Event in Iowa and America First Policies
Live from Des Moines Tuesday morning on The Simon Conway Show with Matt Kittle – broadcast on Des Moines, Iowas, 1040 WHO (4p-7p weekdays) or in the Quad Cities on 1420 WOC (4 p.m.-6p.m. weekdays) – guest host Kittle welcomed former Arizona Governor candidate Kari Lake to the show to promote her upcoming event in Iowa and America First policies.
Read MoreSouth Carolina Moves to Take the Top Spot in Democratic Presidential Politics
The Democratic National Committee has approved a calendar that makes South Carolina the party’s first primary for the 2024 election.
The move follows an endorsement from President Joe Biden, whose win in the state’s 2020 Democratic primary was integral to his securing the Democratic nomination.
Read MoreHalf of the US No Longer Requires a Permit for Concealed Carry
Half of the states in the U.S. no longer require residents to hold a concealed carry permit to carry firearms in public after Alabama, Indiana, Georgia and Ohio passed laws in 2022 removing permit requirements.
On Monday, Alabama began enforcing its permitless carry law, becoming the 25th state to do so, while Indiana, Georgia and Ohio also passed laws this year allowing residents to concealed carry firearms without a permit. Over the last two years 10 states have moved to permitless carry, including Utah, Montana, Iowa, Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas.
Read MoreTennessee, Georgia, and Virginia Among 18 States Banning Social Media App TikTok from State Devices
Following South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem’s lead, nearly half of U.S. states have put restrictions on or banned the use of Chinese-based social media app TikTok.
At least 19 states have banned TikTok on government-issued devices – Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utha, Virginia and West Virginia.
Read MoreMinnesota, Wisconsin, Connecticut Rank in the Top 10 Most Prosperous States as Michigan and Iowa Lag
Minnesota and Wisconsin placed in the top 10 of a recent nationwide prosperity index while Iowa and Michigan trailed behind, at 12th and 29th, respectively.
Wisconsin placed third and Minnesota placed eighth in the American Dream Prosperity Index that the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream produced with Legatum Institute. The index measures prosperity through three domains: Inclusive Societies, Open Economies and Empowered People. The domains contain 11 pillars of prosperity that are built on 49 actionable policy areas and more than 200 indicators.
Read MoreFlorida Set to Receive Part of a Nearly $400 Million Settlement from Google over Location-Tracking Probe
Google agreed to a $391.5 million settlement with 40 states after an investigation found that the tech giant participated in questionable location-tracking practices, state attorneys general announced Monday.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong called it a “historic win for consumers.”
Read MoreAmerica First Attorneys Demand Rural Iowa School Stops ‘Indoctrinating’ Students with Critical Race Theory
A school district in Baxter, Iowa, is reportedly teaching a “Social Justice in Literature” course in violation of state law, and attorneys with America First Policy Institute’s Constitutional Litigation Partnership are demanding the district stop.
Read MoreDemocrat Running for Grassley’s Iowa GOP Senate Seat Removed from Primary for Lacking Signatures
An Iowa judge ruled has ruled that Democratic candidate and former Rep. Abby Finkenauer cannot run in her party’s June 7 primary to unseat seven-term incumbent GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley.
Polk County district Judge Scott Beattie said late on Sunday that Finkenauer lacked the valid signatures she needed on her nominating petition. The judge said Finkenauer failed to submit a petition with enough signatures after two Republicans challenged her signature collection.
Read MoreIowa Is Second State in 2022 to Ban Men from Women’s Sports
On Mar. 3, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed House Bill 2416, which bars men from competing against women in sports at “all school levels.”
“The bill also requires that only female students, based on their sex, may participate in any team, sport, or athletic event designated as being for females, women, or girls,” the new legislation reads.
“This is a victory for girls’ sports in Iowa,” Reynolds said on Mar. 3, surrounded by a room of female athletes as the bill was officially enacted. “No amount of talent, training or effort can make up for the natural physical advantages males have over females. It’s simply a reality of human biology.”
Read MoreIowa Launches Statewide Business Alliance to End Human Trafficking
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced Thursday the creation of a statewide alliance of businesses to end human trafficking.
The Iowa Businesses Against Trafficking coalition is open to businesses and nonprofits that are promoting both awareness of human trafficking and the Iowa Safe at Home confidentiality program for survivors of human trafficking and other violent crimes, a news release from Pate’s office said. The office is administering the coalition and the Iowa Safe at Home program and inviting all businesses to join the mission, Pate said in the release.
Read MoreAwaiting Supreme Court Decision, Iowa OSHA Blocks Vaccine Mandate for Businesses
Iowans are waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for businesses with at least 100 employees. In the meantime, they’re moving ahead with actions of their own.
Iowa Department of Education Communications Director Heather Doe told The Center Square in an emailed statement that since Iowa is a state-plan state, the Iowa Division of Labor typically enforces workplace safety in Iowa instead of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The state is required to notify OSHA whether it will adopt a given Emergency Temporary Standard or provide notice it will not adopt it because its standards are as effective as the new federal standard. Iowa needed to respond to the standard by Jan. 7.
Iowa Labor Commissioner Rod Roberts did so, saying that the Hawkeye State will not adopt or enforce the mandate.
Read MoreIowa Attorney General Sues Sioux City, Seeking Permanent Injunction, Civil Penalties Regarding Wastewater
The state of Iowa on Friday sued the city of Sioux City regarding discharge of wastewater.
In the lawsuit, the state asks the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County to make the city pay up to $5,000 per day of violations of state wastewater treatment regulations (Iowa Code section 455B.186(1), 567 Iowa Admin. Code 64.3(1)) and the city’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. It seeks a permanent injunction preventing Sioux City from further violations of these state laws and the treatment permit requirements.
The state said that for periods between March 15, 2012, and June 8, 2015, Sioux City’s treatment facility would only properly disinfect water discharges on days it collected and submitted samples for E. coli contamination to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the lawsuit said.
Read MoreIowa Capitol Reporters Lose Access to Senate Press Bench
Iowa Senate leaders have decided press will no longer have seating at the press bench at the front of the Senate chamber floor.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, most state legislatures allowed access to the chamber floors, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures April 2019 state-by-state report on media access and credentialing.
“Media access to the people who make laws is a critical component of representative government,” the Iowa Capitol Press Association said in a statement Friday. “Primarily for this reason, the Iowa Capitol Press Association is extremely disappointed in the Iowa Senate’s decision to move reporters out of the press work stations on the chamber floor and into the upstairs gallery.”
Read MoreReason Foundation Report Recommends Iowa Reduce Regulations in Telehealth Policy
Iowa should make a few public policy changes to improve telehealth services, which have become more common during the COVID-19 pandemic, policy analysts said in a report Reason Foundation released Wednesday.
Cicero Institute and Pioneer Institute Senior Fellow Josh Archambault and Reason Foundation Policy Analyst Vittorio Nastasi co-authored the state-by-state report, “Rating the States on Telehealth Best Practices: A Toolkit for a Pro-Patient and Provider Landscape.”
Read MoreIowa Utilities Board Approves Black Hills Energy Increases
Black Hills Energy’s base rate for natural gas will increase Jan. 1, the Iowa Utilities Board ruled this week.
Non-gas costs on residential customers’ bills will rise from $0.13625 per Therm to $0.13905 per Therm. The typical monthly increase in base rates for residential customers will be $1.45, the IUB said in a news release Dec. 28.
Read MoreIowa Farmers Prepare for California’s Prop 12
Hogs born Jan. 1, 2022, or later are subject to California’s Prop 12.
Some Iowa agricultural leaders have criticized the law, which prohibits the sale of pork from hogs that are the offspring of sows that were raised in pens with less than 24 square feet of usable floorspace per pig.
California accounts for about 15% of the U.S. pork market, the National Pork Producers Council said in a September news release. The NPPC is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to determine Prop 12’s constitutionality.
Read MoreNearly One Third of Iowa Voters ‘Doubtful’ Their Vote Will Be Counted Properly in 2022
Nearly one-third (32%) of Iowa adults said they are “mostly doubtful or “very doubtful” that, “across the country,” votes in the 2022 general election will be counted as voters intended in a November Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll.
The remainder were very confident (26%), mostly confident (37%) or not sure (6%) votes would be counted properly. Selzer & Co. conducted the poll of 810 randomly selected Iowan adults between Nov. 7 and Nov. 10.
Read MoreCommentary: The Data Mining of America’s Kids Should Be a National Scandal
As U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland sat down for his first hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, denying a conflict of interest in his decision to investigate parents for “domestic terrorism,” there is a mother in the quiet suburb of Annandale, N.J., who found his answers lacking. And she has questions she wants asked at Garland’s hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee this Wednesday.
On a recent Saturday night, Caroline Licwinko, a mother of three, a law school student and the coach to her daughter’s cheerleading squad, sat in front of her laptop and tapped three words into an internet search engine: “Panorama. Survey. Results.”
Read MoreIowa State University Student Turns Himself In after Allegedly Assaulting Pro-Life Classmate as a ‘Form of Protest’
The Iowa State University Police’s event report detailing a leftist’s documented attack on a Young America’s Foundation student member confirms that on September 3, the “suspect vandalized the [pro-life] sign and part of the sign hit the victim in the shoulder.”
Campus Reformed obtained the report via a public records request following YAF’s report on the incident earlier this month, which ended with the suspect turning himself into police after “trying to break it before disposing of it into a waste bin.”
Read MoreStates Banning Mask Mandates Could Face Civil Rights Probes, on Biden’s Directive
President Biden is ratcheting up opposition to Republican governors blocking COVID mask mandates in schools, putting in charge the Education Department, which is raising the possibility of using its civil rights arm to oppose such policies.
Biden on Wednesday ordered Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to “assess all available tools” that can be used against states that fail to protect students amid surging coronavirus cases.
Read MoreFour States to Slash COVID-19 Unemployment Aid Saturday
Four states will be cutting pandemic unemployment increases three months early, ending the supplemental $300 in federal aid.
Alaska, Iowa, Missouri, and Mississippi will end pandemic-related unemployment relief on June 12. An additional 21 Republican-led states will slash federal aid before it expires on Sept. 6, according to Business Insider.
Conservatives continue to advocate an end to the increased benefits, saying they are no longer needed now that the pandemic is contained and speculating that the high payouts are discouraging would-be workers from returning.
Read More13 States Sue Biden Administration, Demand Ability to Cut Taxes
Thirteen states sued President Joe Biden’s administration over an American Rescue Plan provision prohibiting states from cutting taxes after accepting coronavirus relief funds.
The 13-state coalition argued that the provision included in the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package preventing states from cutting taxes if they accept relief from the federal government is unconstitutional. The coalition, led by Republican West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday evening in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
“Never before has the federal government attempted such a complete takeover of state finances,” Morrisey said in a Wednesday statement. “We cannot stand for such overreach.”
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