Here First

The head of the University of Iowa’s hospital system is leaving. Suresh Gunasekaran will leave his position at the end of February to head the University of California, San Francisco health system. A key Iowa lawmaker is proposing four bills that would increase the number of mental health beds and try to keep more psychiatrists working in the state. Two Democratic state senators have announced they’re staying away from the Iowa Capitol this week because they have COVID-19.

A couple of communities in southwest Iowa are waiting for levee certification so that they can prepare for future floods. High school students in Dubuque have a new resource to help with mental health needs. And, new inductees are announced for Iowa’s Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz has disbanded an alumni advisory committee that was created after a 2020 investigation found evidence of racial bias against Black players in his program. While many researchers have studied what leads young people to leave rural areas, ISU researchers are focusing on what brings them back. Plus, IPR’s Kassidy Arena brings the story on Latinos in small town Iowa flexing their political muscle.

A winter storm is moving through Iowa on Friday and it will make travel conditions hazardous. Governor Kim Reynolds reacted to the U.S. Supreme Court blocking the COVID-19 vaccine-or-test mandate for large companies from taking effect. Plus, IPR’s Grant Gerlock tells us about a bill moving through the Iowa legislature that would require low-income Iowans applying for food assistance or Medicaid to take extra steps to prove their identity.

Iowa health officials are reporting COVID-19 hospitalizations and test positivity rates continue to surge. The Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court said during her Condition of the Judiciary speech on Wednesday that some of the changes made to cope with the pandemic have improved access to the courts overall. Plus, a panel of state representatives has advanced the first pair of bills to come out of the governor’s child care task force.

Governor Kim Reynolds set out her priorities for the year in her condition of the state speech on Tuesday evening where she called for a flat tax and for schools would to share more information about the books teachers are using. Iowa’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities continue to face dire staffing shortages. Plus, another company has announced its intention to build a carbon capture and sequestration pipeline in Iowa.

Iowa lawmakers gathered in Des Moines on Monday for the first day of the 2022 legislative session. Governor Kim Reynolds gives her annual Condition of the State address Tuesday night. Plus, COVID-19 test positivity rates and hospitalizations remain high in Iowa.

Iowa Labor Commissioner Rod Roberts says employers don’t have to follow the federal government’s vaccine-or-test mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees that’s set to take effect on Monday. It’s the first day of the 2022 Iowa legislative session. Plus, the pandemic has made finding homes for children harder for many Iowa foster care organizations.

Several Iowa Democratic candidates running for governor and U.S. Senate this year outlined their plans to address the state’s growing mental health needs at a local forum on Thursday. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club during a virtual court hearing. Plus, IPR Health reporter Natalie Krebs gives an update on the omicron variant of COVID-19 surging in Iowa.

Iowa health officials are reporting large increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations and new infections this week. U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne was in the Des Moines area on Wednesday encouraging local leaders to take advantage of federal infrastructure funding passed last year. Plus, how the federal congressional delegation from Iowa has been careful how they talk about the insurrection at the U.S Capitol since it happened a year ago.