Here First

Iowa lawmakers are discussing having the state pick up more of the tab for training law enforcement officers in hopes of attracting more applicants. The University of Iowa is ending a program that works with victims of sexual violence. And thousands of people gathered in communities across southern Illinois and Missouri yesterday to catch the total eclipse of the sun.

Iowa fans are disappointed at yesterday’s Hawkeye loss in the NCAA women’s basketball championship game – and star Caitlin Clark now awaits next week’s WNBA draft. Pork prices are stabilizing after one of the worst years on record. And Iowa won’t be in the path of today’s total solar eclipse, but a partial eclipse will be visible early this afternoon.

A bill headed to the governor authorizes the state to send funding to anti-abortion pregnancy centers without hiring a third-party administrator as initially required by law. The job of a park ranger in Iowa state parks is changing. And the Iowa Hawkeyes prepare for a Final Four matchup with UConn.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law that ends the requirement for gender equality on boards and commissions. A plan to expand coverage for postpartum assistance has passed in the Iowa House. A new ID system for unemployment benefits is in use, and Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark has received a repeat award.

The Iowa House has passed a bill aimed at improving reading scores of Iowa students. Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a bill she says will prevent state and local governments from infringing on religious freedom. And business experts say they don’t expect the Baltimore bridge collapse to hurt Midwestern manufacturers very much.

Iowans who were sexually abused by Boy Scout troop leaders decades ago could get less money from a national settlement than victims in other states, unless Iowa changes a state law this month. The wife of a Woodbury County supervisor has been sentenced to four months in prison for election fraud. And the University of Iowa women are headed back to basketball’s Final Four.

A new report finds some Iowans are having a more difficult time getting contraceptives in the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. The longest-serving member of the Des Moines School Board has died. And lots of Midwestern communities in the path of next week’s total eclipse are hoping for an economic boost from visitors.

A bipartisan bill passed the Iowa House would allow a court to decide whether eminent domain can be used for projects like Summit Carbon Solutions’ CO2 pipeline. Lawmakers want to know more about payments to former city employees in Davenport. And Iowa State ends its March Madness run in the Sweet 16.

Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a bill giving the state more oversight of Iowa’s nine Area Education Agencies. The state auditor says he’s concerned about the amount of time the attorney general’s office is taking to review its pause on paying rape victims’ emergency contraceptive reimbursements. And Waterloo is considering moving a rail yard that runs through one of the city’s predominantly Black neighborhoods.

The Iowa Senate has sent legislation to Gov. Kim Reynolds overhauling the state’s Area Education Agencies. The House has approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would require a two-thirds vote by lawmakers to raise some taxes. And, Davenport has ordered a downtown apartment building vacated over structural concerns.