Morning Consult Poll Reveals Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds as the Most Unpopular Governor in America Today, new polling from Morning Consult found that Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is the most unpopular governor in America, with over 47% of Iowans disapproving of the job Reynolds has done so far. Reynolds’ unpopularity should come as no shock to anyone, given that she spent the last year calling a special session to pass an extreme and dangerous ban on abortion before most women know they are pregnant – and that lacked exceptions for children under 12.  Additionally, Reynolds has launched ..read more

ICYMI: Nearly 350 workers leave Iowa AEAs as Kim Reynolds pushed to overhaul education agencies Republicans’ unpopular AEA law is already proving to be disastrous for Iowa schools, children A bill to overhaul Iowa’s AEAs that Kim Reynolds forced through the legislature earlier this year is already having disastrous consequences on Iowa schools, children and workers. Nearly 350 workers who provide essential services for Iowa schools including crisis response, mental health support and media services have left their jobs with Iowa AEAs. Seven of nine of Iowa’s AEAs say they already expect high ..read more

Kim Reynolds turns down funding to feed hungry kids because it was COVID-funded – and then launches her own, worse, COVID-funded program. Kim Reynolds, after turning down federal funding to feed hungry kids because it was built upon “COVID-era” relief funding, announced a weaker, competitive program — also funded by COVID-relief funds. After turning down $29 million in federal funds to feed hungry kids – which Iowans have already been taxed for – Kim Reynolds has opted instead to establish a competitive grant program, expecting applicants to prove how the hunger of those they serve is more i ..read more

Will Iowa’s House Representatives Fail to Save a Cost-Saving Program Relied Upon by 124,000 Iowans? 124,000  Iowans rely on the Affordable Connectivity Program to access vital services. Will Iowa Republicans once again put politics over people? The monthly internet subsidy relied upon by more than 124,000 Iowans is set to expire at the end of this month unless Congress passes more funding. As a result, the thousands of Iowans who are left without internet access will be at risk of losing access to vital services like health care and work opportunities. The Affordable Connectivity Progra ..read more

REMINDER: Iowa Republicans Celebrated the Overturning of Roe v. Wade As the Iowa Supreme Court hears oral arguments for a case that could let an unpopular six-week abortion ban go into effect in our state, let’s not forget Iowa Republicans took a victory lap on the day Roe v. Wade was overturned. Iowa Republicans have been making extreme positions on abortion, women’s freedom to make their own health care choices, and personal family planning clear for more than two years.  ———- Representatives Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Zach Nunn, and Randy Feenstra Iowans’ Republican Mem ..read more

FACT CHECK: Mariannette Miller-Meeks voted twice to ban IVF; she says otherwise Mariannette Miller-Meeks claims to have “never voted to ban IVF” after voting to ban IVF twice Mariannette Miller-Meeks would like you to believe that she “unequivocally supports IVF treatment” and has “NEVER voted to restrict or ban it.” But Miller-Meeks’ actions speak louder than her words: In 2019, then-State Senator Mariannette Miller-Meeks voted for the same so-called personhood bill that would have jeopardized Iowa women’s access to abortion, birth control, and IVF this year. In 2022, Miller-Meeks ..read more

IDP Announces Two Winners of Marshalltown Regional IDP Awards  The Iowa Democratic Party officially announced the Outstanding Democratic Party Volunteer and the Regional Rising Star Awardees on April 4 at a regional event hosted by the IDP in Marshalltown. Joshua Drewelow of Marshall County was awarded the IDP Rising Star award, and Scott Devries of Jasper County received the Outstanding Democratic Party Volunteer award. In his nomination, IDP members wrote this of Drewelow: “[Joshua] commandingly took over in his first year as Chair…We thank him [for having taken] on the position, and ..read more

Reynolds’ Proposal Forces AEA to Slash Budget by Millions, Lay Off Employees  “I just can’t see with all those cuts [that] there will be no reduction in our staffing.” Green Hills AEA (GHAEA) announced that Governor Reynolds’ anti-AEA legislation has forced them to cut $3 million from their budget by July 1, and an additional $6.5 million by the following year.  In an interview with KMA Land, Dr. Jason Plourde, Chief Administrator at GHAEA, also said that the AEA will need to cut 15-25 employees by July 1st in addition to the 20 resignations that the AEA has received since Februa ..read more

While Miller-Meeks hides from her constituents, Christina Bohannan runs toward them Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks can’t hide from her record on IVF.  Iowa Democrats won’t let voters forget Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks’s record of supporting a ban on IVF.  Representative Miller-Meeks previously went on record in support of the Life At Conception Act, which would have threatened access to IVF by granting embryos constitutional protection from the ‘moment of fertilization.’ Now that these attacks on IVF are in the national spotlight, she’s dodging questions and hi ..read more

Iowa Democrats Condemn AG Brenna Bird’s Halting of Access to Emergency Contraceptives for Sexual Assault Victims ICYMI: “Will Iowa pay for rape victims’ emergency contraceptives? AG’s audit not ready for release.” Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is baselessly halting access to emergency contraceptives for sexual assault victims under the guise of an “audit” that has now taken more than a year and gone nowhere.  A recent investigation by the Des Moines Register revealed that the office of AG Brenna Bird has stalled the release of an audit on victim services, resulting in a ..read more