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Yesterday, members of the House Education Committee continued the life of HSB 87 which provides some definition changes for sex education in Iowa classrooms, both private and public. By a vote of 17 to six, the committee agreed all sex education in Iowa should be both ‘age-appropriate’ and ‘science-based.’ Democrats serving in the statehouse have [...]

There’s an important story breaking today at the Washington Post, which explains how agencies who disagree with the Bush administration’s plans are treated come budget time. When is $4 million really $2.8 million? One answer is “When you’re a woman,” as the Labor Department has repeatedly found that women earn about 75 cents for every [...]

Love her or hate her, few will argue with Lt. Gov. Patty Judge’s tenacity. Someone, however, should have warned Iowa’s new Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey that Judge doesn’t limit herself by title. On Saturday, Iowa was hit by a major winter event which caused widespread power outages throughout many counties. Governor Chet Culver, on [...]

It seems Sen. Mary Lundby (R-Marion) has forgotten the Golden Rule, Kharma or whatever you wish to call it when your own actions boomerang round to hit you in the buttocks. In a recent newsletter, Lundby laments the introduction of an amendment to the teacher pay bill: “…important elements in the legislative process revolving around [...]

Mark Langgin at Bleeding Heartland was, we believe, the first in the Iowa blogosphere to report on the absence of some GOP Iowa House members from a public hearing they called. Mark’s report was then followed by Geraldine at Iowa Progress. So, while it isn’t ‘our’ story, it still deserves a few lines here since [...]

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport has filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court announcing its intentions to sell a bishop’s house, a single-family home and a 25-acre farm. The motion is part of the group’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing as protection against claims of sexual abuse by its priests. According to reports this morning, [...]

A public hearing on the bill easing state restrictions on stem cell research has been scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. on Wednesday in the Iowa House chamber. The bill, which is being erroneously painted as lifting Iowa’s ban on human cloning, allows medical researchers to create embryonic stem cells through cloning. Rep. Lisa Heddens [...]

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver will be appointing Lt. Gov. Patty Judge to be his top advisor on homeland security. As a part of that appointment, she will lead a team of top advisors including Iowa National Guard Gen. Ron Dardis, Dept. of Public Safety Commissioner Gene Meyer and Division of Homeland Security Administrator David Miller. [...]

Rep. Carmine Boal (R-Ankeny) recently wrote an op-ed piece for the Des Moines Register in which she attempted to spank the Iowa Democratic majority over HF 149, the anti-harassment and anti-bullying legislation. She fell quite short of her mark, however, when statements made in her piece are placed against the documents to which she refers. [...]

Iowa State Rep. Sandy Greiner (R-Keota) told the Washington County Pork Producers that she will not seek re-election when her term expires in 2008. Why? According to Greiner, “the chips are down” and “our voices are not going to be heard.” In other words, Greiner only likes to play when she can be the leader. [...]