Here First

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is threatening legal action over new federal Title IX rules aimed at protecting students from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Heavy rains across Iowa this spring have led to a spike in nitrate levels in some bodies of water. And a Tennessee-based cleaning contractor will pay nearly $650,000 in fines for employing children to clean meat processing plants – including one in Iowa.

Iowa’s Republican leaders say they’ll fight a federal lawsuit expected to be filed tomorrow against the state’s new law making it a state crime for a person to illegally re-enter the country. A bill that would have allocated funding for addiction treatment from lawsuits against prescription opioid sellers didn’t make it through the legislature this year. And a federal judge says the Des Moines Art Center cannot remove an outdoor artwork it wants to take out over safety concerns.

Hundreds of thousands of Iowans were dis-enrolled from Medicaid once the federal government lifted pandemic restrictions on how states manage the program. Gov. Kim Reynolds warns that state officials will closely watch pro-Palestinian protests at the University of Iowa. And wool isn’t worth much, so sheep producers are testing out new uses for it.

Immigrants and advocates gathered in Des Moines and a few other cities to protest Iowa's immigration enforcement law. A new state flat tax rate of 3.8% is now law. Medical experts say new insurance changes will help diagnose and treat cancer and other diseases. And people impacted by a tornado outbreak in western Iowa are receiving more assistance from near and far.

Waterloo hopes to build affordable housing on the site of an abandoned ammunition plant, but it’s worried about the toxicity of the property. State Auditor Rob Sand says he’s disappointed in a Supreme Court decision related to his office’s withholding of some emails requested by a conservative law firm. And the USDA says working-age rural residents die from natural causes at higher rates than people in urban areas.

A 10 p.m. curfew remains in effect in Minden, as residents and recovery workers clean up and restore power after Friday’s devastating tornado. Iowa’s Supreme Court has told a lower court to hold more proceedings to determine if the state auditor broke Iowa’s public records law. And Iowa Wesleyan University has been selling off assets since closing last month, but it’s unlikely to raise enough to pay a $26 million federal loan.

Volunteer efforts are underway in Minden after a tornado damaged or destroyed 180 homes. Additional tornadoes were confirmed across the state. And over the weekend, House Speaker Mike Johnson was on stage with Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who is facing a competitive race in November.

Iowa’s public universities say they believe they’re complying with new state directives on diversity, equity and inclusion. Authorities in western Iowa say they don’t believe foul play was involved in the death of a trucker who’d been missing for five months before his body was found Wednesday. And, Waterloo plans to create a task force to help address the city’s homelessness problem.

Planting is underway in Iowa, except for the northeast. The wife of a missing western Iowa trucker says his body has been found. A northwest Iowa community college reaches a $3 million settlement with students. And, public university students and staff say they feel free to express their opinions.

The governor's "Thrive Iowa" Program receives $8 million to help link people in need to faith-based and nonprofit groups. A Sioux City Council member and advocate says the legislature failed to improve the lives of the disabled. A senior housing project helps fill a need in Waterloo. And ISU researchers lead a project to help secure the nation's renewable energy grid from cyberattacks.