I would just like to say, how dare Kim Reynolds steal our money thinking she has the right to do with it whatever she wants.  She refused $29 million in federal funds that rightfully belongs to Iowans. Iowa taxpayers. Iowa kids. What a despicable, irresponsible act. Who is looking out for Iowa when our own governor would do this to our state? _______ And now from our inbox:  A word from Iowa’s only statewide elected Democrat, state auditor Rob Sand. A few months back, Governor Reynolds declined $29 million in federal funds to feed Iowa school kids during the summer. And yeah, it’s as ..read more

Another session where the victories were the terrible bills that didn’t become law. Follow Iowa House Democrats on Facebook Sign up for the Blue Alert emails: https://actionnetwork.org/…/sign-up-for-the-blue ..read more

Summit Sued for Terminating Purchase Agreement with Pipe Maker On Monday, April 15, pipe maker Welspun Tubular LLC filed a lawsuit against Summit Carbon Solutions and SCS Transport for terminating a Purchase Agreement for 4,142,185 feet of pipe for $182.5 million. Take action: Summit is asking for a permit in Iowa. Submit an objection to the Iowa Utilities Board. Watch the short video. Scan the QR code in the video to go straight to the objections page. Tell IUB to deny the permit. Follow Iowa Sierra Club on Facebook ..read more

She who can’t be bothered to answer questions from reporters. Blog for Iowa would like to take a moment to wish a happy Earth Day to our loyal readers! Paul Deaton posted over the weekend about how we’re doing meeting our goals to save the planet. Paul has excellent credentials as a climate activist. If you missed it, I hope you check out his article here. If you are looking for Earth Day events around Iowa, click the link for what looks like a pretty complete listing. Kim Reynolds’ Press Release Friday night news dump brought this.  Kim Reynolds is apparently licking her chops to sell ..read more

Earthrise. Dec. 24, 1968 by NASA/Bill Anders – Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=306267 We hear in public forums that “climate is always changing,” or that “climate change is part of a natural cycle.” This is a form of misinformation intended to deflect from the existential fact Earth should be cooling according to natural cycles and it is doing the opposite. Action to mitigate the causes of planetary warming is necessary and urgent. Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe explains some scientific facts about natural cycles and misinformation about them in this short vi ..read more

Photo by Matt Barnard on Pexels.com In an effort to present a contrast with Joe Biden, Republicans insist upon elevating immigration as a top tier 2024 campaign issue. My issue with this is they lie, dissemble, and obstruct. Are there are many “contacts” at the border. Yes. Is there a problem with illegal importation of the narcotic fentanyl? Yes. Are there 15 million undocumented persons inside the U.S. border right now? Probably yes. Why don’t politicians do something about this? Republicans decided that instead of legislating our country out of a potential problem, they would rather use imm ..read more

Image of Earth 7-6-15 from DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) Earth Day is Monday, so how are we doing? Is the news media helping us create a better environment? Bill McKibben follows issues centered around the climate crisis better than almost anyone. Here’s the stark truth from his substack, The Crucial Years: At the most fundamental level, new figures last week showed that atmospheric levels of the three main greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide—reached new all-time highs last year. Here’s how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the figu ..read more

Prairie Dog From the Spring 2024 edition of The Prairie Progressive, Iowa’s oldest progressive newsletter. The PP is  funded entirely by reader subscription, available in hard copy for $15/yr.  Send check to PP, Box 1945, Iowa City 52244. Click here for archived issues We’ve all heard of “Iowa nice.” Agree with it or not, it describes a state where folks are— well, folks. Amiable, helpful, willing to visit and ready to lend a hand as need arises. People have long been proud of this little phrase, but the state may soon have to retire it. Iowa nice has morphed into Iowa nutty. And I ..read more

She who can’t be bothered to answer questions from reporters. Happy Thursday loyal readers! Monday April 22 is Earth Day 2024.  Paul Deaton will have a post here Saturday about how we’re doing meeting our goals to save the planet. Paul has excellent credentials as a climate activist. I hope you check out his article. If you are looking for Earth Day events around Iowa, click the link for what looks like a pretty complete list. Will the current nightmarish Republican controlled legislative session ever end? Here’s what R’s are up to now: From the Iowa Capital Dispatch “The Iowa House vot ..read more

The conversation on Thom Hartmann’s program yesterday also pertains to Iowa which is saturated in right wing radio including WHO radio, a 50,000 watt station that reaches every corner of our state and beyond plus multiple hours of daily right wing talk on local commercial radio stations all around the state. Click on the link for a list of stations in Iowa and the number of hours of daily right wing programming.  https://blogforiowa.com/2017/02/10/right-wing-media-and-the-power-of-fear/ “..by stoking rural Whites’ anger rather than addressing the hard problems they face, conservative poli ..read more