Here First

A Latino civil rights group backed by Democratic attorneys has launched a legal challenge of Iowa’s new voting laws. The announcement comes a day after Governor Kim Reynolds signed sweeping election changes into law. The trial of a Des Moines Register reporter who was arrested during a Black Lives Matter protest last summer continued Tuesday in Des Moines. IPR’s Grant Gerlock details the testimony that was given by reporter Andrea Sahouri and others who took the stand. Plus, Republican lawmakers in the statehouse spent nearly two hours questioning and berating Ames school officials about their “Black Lives Matter at School” curriculum.

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law that gives Iowans less time to vote. It also makes Iowa’s mail-in voting window one of the shortest in the country. A bill that would have created a pathway to parole for Iowans sentenced to life in prison is now considered dead. Plus, a journalist for the Des Moines Register who was arrested while covering a protest for racial justice outside a mall in Des Moines last summer is on trial this week. IPR’s Grant Gerlock has more from the first day.

Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law that gives Iowans less time to vote. It also makes Iowa’s mail-in voting window one of the shortest in the country. A bill that would have created a pathway to parole for Iowans sentenced to life in prison is now considered dead. Plus, a journalist for the Des Moines Register who was arrested while covering a protest for racial justice outside a mall in Des Moines last summer is on trial this week. IPR’s Grant Gerlock has more from the first day.

A Des Moines journalist faces trial Monday after she was arrested last summer while covering social justice protests following the death of George Floyd. IPR’s Clay Masters talks about the unprecedented trial with the program director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. It was March 8, 2020 that the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Iowa. 5,558 Iowans are known to have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began one year ago. Plus, a check-in with IPR State Government reporter Katarina Sostaric about where things stand after the first legislative deadline of the 2021 session.

A Des Moines journalist faces trial Monday after she was arrested last summer while covering social justice protests following the death of George Floyd. IPR’s Clay Masters talks about the unprecedented trial with the program director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. It was March 8, 2020 that the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Iowa. 5,558 Iowans are known to have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began one year ago. Plus, a check-in with IPR State Government reporter Katarina Sostaric about where things stand after the first legislative deadline of the 2021 session.

Health officials in the state say Iowans with chronic medical conditions that put them at risk of getting seriously ill with COVID-19 may become eligible for vaccinations next week. It’s been almost a year since the first COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Iowa. Living with the pandemic has been incredibly challenging for many, but especially for a small town doctor in Grinnell who we hear from. Plus, more people have turned to gardening during the pandemic and seed companies are struggling to keep up with the increased demand. Harvest Public Media’s Dana Cronin explains a potential seed shortage.

Health officials in the state say Iowans with chronic medical conditions that put them at risk of getting seriously ill with COVID-19 may become eligible for vaccinations next week. It’s been almost a year since the first COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Iowa. Living with the pandemic has been incredibly challenging for many, but especially for a small town doctor in Grinnell who we hear from. Plus, more people have turned to gardening during the pandemic and seed companies are struggling to keep up with the increased demand. Harvest Public Media’s Dana Cronin explains a potential seed shortage.

Iowa lawmakers consider creating independent charter schools, Gov. Reynolds and her husband have gotten their COVID-19 vaccines, and the University of Iowa is still accepting public comment on proposals to reimagine campus policing and safety, but only until Friday.

Iowa lawmakers consider creating independent charter schools, Gov. Reynolds and her husband have gotten their COVID-19 vaccines, and the University of Iowa is still accepting public comment on proposals to reimagine campus policing and safety, but only until Friday.

Food processing workers at Tyson plants in Waterloo and Perry will get their COVID-19 vaccines later today. Lawmakers in Des Moines are advancing Gov. Reynold’s school choice priorities. And police in Ankeny says it was a live pipe bomb that closed a rental facility where voting was underway for a school district special election yesterday. The location was evacuated for two hours. Officials say they don’t know yet how long the device had been there.