WASHINGTON — How effectively will the U.S. House health care bill cover children? Turns out, it depends on where they live. The $894 billion health reform bill working its way toward a House vote this week would repeal the Children’s Health Insurance Program, shifting some low-income kids into Medicaid and others into private plans that would both cost more and guarantee fewer benefits.
Pawlenty to address Iowa GOP tonight
11/6/09 11:58 PM
Des Moines Register
McKinley withdraws from governor’s race
11/6/09 11:43 PM
Des Moines Register
Conlin to file paperwork to seek U.S. Senate seat
11/6/09 11:42 PM
Des Moines Register
Woman says Iowans for Tax Relief set her up
11/6/09 10:38 PM
Muscatine Journal
Governor, We’re Waiting…
11/6/09 7:30 PM
The Iowa Republican
Dr. Robert Epstein: Why Hasan Did It: Are Shrinks Really Crazy?
11/6/09 7:01 PM
Huffington Post
Conlin assembling Senate campaign
11/6/09 5:30 PM
Bleeding Heartland
McKinley stops pretending to run for governor
11/6/09 4:52 PM
Bleeding Heartland
McKinley Withdraws from Gubernatorial Campaign
11/6/09 3:07 PM
The Iowa Republican
Priorities
11/6/09 1:14 PM
Talking Points Memo
Patriot Games: GOP Reps Pick Tea Party Rally Over National-Security Votes
11/6/09 12:29 PM
Talking Points Memo
Conlin to file papers for U.S. Senate run
11/6/09 10:55 AM
Quad City Times
Republicans Descend on Iowa
11/6/09 7:56 AM
Political Wire
Another day, another lie from Steve King
11/6/09 7:48 AM
Bleeding Heartland
Reed Sets his Sights on Loebsack in Iowa’s 2nd CD
11/6/09 5:33 AM
The Iowa Republican
The decision by eBay to remove items from its site aimed at raising funds for the alleged murderer of Kansas doctor George Tiller was short-sighted and inconsistent with previous actions, Des Moines anti-abortion activist and organizer of the fundraiser Dave Leach said.
Officials in Muscatine County have taken a 51-year-old Mechanicsville woman into custody on charges that she attempted to extort funds from a conservative anti-tax group. The woman, Mary Kathryn Moravek, has served as a state lobbyist and well as a commissioner on a state board for people with disabilities.
Incumbents were sharply rebuked Tuesday night in elections all over Iowa, matching a national trend that’s giving Republicans a glimmer of hope going into 2010. Iowa’s municipal elections are non-partisan, so it will be hard for either party to claim victory. But after years of Democratic dominance of election night, an evening where most high-profile races saw incumbents roundly rebuked is being celebrated in Republican circles.
Anti-abortion activists from around the country are attempting to raise money for the defense of a man accused of killing Kansas doctor George Tiller in May, and Des Moines resident Dave Leach is organizing the effort.
Two Iowa lawmakers played key roles in the debate and passage of the latest reauthorization of the Ryan White Program, ensuring that thousands of Americans living with HIV/AIDS will continue to receive the support and medical care they need.
Some Des Moines-area Catholics received a little extra information along with their bulletin during services this week: an insert encouraging them to take political action on potential health care reform in Congress.
While the insert is “an example of permissible issue advocacy,” some abortion rights advocates see the action as their own call to arms.
U.S. Rep. Steve King has no plans to run for president, but since he never had intentions to run for Congress, he refuses to rule out the possibility of a 2012 campaign.
The Kiron Republican told Des Moines NBC affiliate WHO-TV that he wants to be a part of the national debate over how to “refurbish [...]
Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rod Roberts of Carroll supports the ouster of three Iowa Supreme Court justices that are up for retention votes in 2010 due to their verdict legalizing same-sex marriage earlier this year.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has sent an additional $80 million in weatherization funding to Iowa, and while the influx of cash has raised worries about waste and abuse, the state argues the money is being put to good use and will help an additional 10,000 households.
“We’ve got such a long waiting list, we know the money will easily be spent,” said William Brand, administrator of Iowa’s Division of Community Action Agencies.
Roughly 25 people observed as six of 22 possible Republican delegates from Iowa House District 33 decided between three potential candidates: Ken Childress, John King and Josh Thurston. After each candidate was provided five minutes to make his case, delegates cast their vote and Thurston was the clear winner.
CEDAR RAPIDS — After hours of debate and voting Wednesday night, Democratic central committee members in Iowa House District 33 chose Kirsten Running-Marquardt as their candidate in a special election scheduled for Nov. 24.
Plans to institute massive layoffs in two state departments will go forward unless union leadership agrees to reopen their contracts in order to find savings, Gov. Chet Culver said Wednesday.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius teamed with U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) on Tuesday to pitch health care reform as one of the few remaining ways to level the playing field for many Americans who reside in rural areas.
Steve King
U.S. Rep. Steve King is hoping to derail health care reform legislation scheduled to be debated in the U.S. House by trying to harness the Tea Party protests that took place throughout the summer and once again bringing them to the nation’s capital on Saturday.
King announced Friday that “will join his Republican colleagues and Americans from across the nation” at the U.S. Capitol at 1 p.m.
Paul McKinley
Senate Majority Leader Paul McKinley, R-Chariton, followed through on his promise Friday and dropped out of the 2010 campaign for governor.
McKinley said last month that when former Gov. Terry Branstad made his candidacy official, he would withdraw. While Branstad has yet to formally enter the race, he’s hired staff and begun holding campaign events, making McKinley’s departure inevitable.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a congressional leader known for his watchdog approach to federal agencies, believes that an online initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services amounts to state-sponsored propaganda.
“The campaign now on hhs.gov is not purely informational because it expressly has visitors ‘affirm’ their commitment to work with congressional leaders to enact legislation this year,” Grassley said, and added that this “looks like the type of violation the law was written to prohibit.”
The Associated Press broke the news Friday morning that an aide close to Des Moines attorney Roxanne Conlin confirms she will formally announce she will seek the Democratic nomination for Senate next week.
The aide also confirms she will file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission next week.
Four additional Iowa influenza-related H1N1 deaths are being reported today by the Iowa Department of Public Health, and one of the new fatalities is not attributable to risk factors associated with an additional medical condition.
The latest victims are identified as adults in Dubuque, Polk, Mills and Monona counties. To date, there have been 11 confirmed H1N1 deaths in Iowa, including 10 adults and one child.
Christopher Reed formally announced his candidacy to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack of the 2nd Congressional District on Thursday, and in doing so vowed to run a less contentious campaign than he did in 2008 against Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin.
In that campaign, which Reed lost by more than 20 percentage points, the Marion Republican claimed that Harkin’s support for same-sex marriage also meant he supports marriage between “any 2, 3 or multiple people of any and all sexes. Heck, as far as he is concerned, you could marry your horse if it makes you happy.”
The website designed to allow citizens to track how and where funds are being allocated as part of the $830 million I-JOBS infrastructure plan now includes an interactive tool to improve transparency, Gov. Chet Culver announced Thursday.
In June, Culver’s deputy chief of staff, Phil Roeder, told The Iowa Independent that 100 percent transparency was one of the most important aspects to the program’s success. Bill Allison, a senior fellow with the non-profit government transparency watchdog the Sunlight Foundation, said at the time that the key for Iowa is to ensure there is one spot where citizens can go to follow the money, and that money can be tracked easily with searches by ZIP code or county, a goal that appears to be met by the new website.
The 2010 GOP gubernatorial primary is shaping up to be a spirited affair, with candidates already actively campaigning and taking shots at their fellow Republicans more than seven months before Election Day.
But Civic Skinny, the anonymous gossip columnist for Des Moines’ Cityview, says the contest is as much about revenge and staking a claim on 2012 as it is about who gets to challenge incumbent Democratic Gov. Chet Culver.
A 54-year-old physician from Belle Plain, who allegedly engaged in a pattern of sexual misconduct, has entered into a formal agreement with the Iowa Board of Medicine not to treat patients.
Robert A. Bischoff, was charged in September with sexual misconduct, unprofessional conduct and disruptive behavior in the practice of medicine by the state board. The Board believed Bischoff engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a former patient in 2007, and that the patient stole his prescription pad and illegally obtained prescription drugs. The board also alleges that Bischoff made inappropriate sexual advances toward a female co-worker in 2006.
Two Iowa U.S. attorney’s offices are one step closer to being under new leadership.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley is a member with seniority, agreed today by unanimous consent to pass the nominations of Stephanie Rose and Nick Klinefeldt on to the full Senate.
“These individuals are enthusiastic, intelligent attorneys, and I’m pleased to support their nominations,” Grassley wrote in his statement for the committee. “I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for [them].”
According to research completed by sociologists at the University of North Carolina and Northwestern University, even when politically misleading comments are made by public officials — like U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley’s infamous “pulling the plug on grandma” myth — some people choose to believe the mistruths despite compelling information pointing to the contrary.
The study focused on 49 individuals who believed that Saddam Hussein was in part to blame for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Even when presented with evidence that proved their belief to be false, and even when that evidence came directly from conservative sources like President George W. Bush, all but one created justifications for continuing the belief.
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