Stories

State Rep. Wayne Ford (D-Des Moines) is facing questions about how money was handled by his campaign and by Urban Dreams, the nonprofit organization he heads.

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver will sign legislation on Monday requiring anger management and other training for bar bouncers in Polk County.

Some states have used the standardized test scores of fourth-graders to predict future prison population. Worries abound in Des Moines with just 42 percent of African-American fourth-graders this year reading at grade level — and the results are getting worse as students advance through the Des Moines School District.

New legislation signed Thursday by Gov. Chet Culver will require a “minority impact statement” for any legislation about public offenses and penalties, sentencing, parole and probation procedures.

State and Des Moines leaders met with a founder of World Wide Technology, Inc., an African-American owned business based in St. Louis, Mo., with $2.5 billion in sales last year.

FADE IN:
A Washington, D.C., street corner:
The bus is coming, and a young Wayne Ford and his friends are waiting, ready to rob someone. He’s voted “most likely not to succeed” by his high school classmates in 1969.
Rochester, Minn.:
A football scholarship whisks him from a predominantly black city to the Midwest to attend Rochester Junior College. [...]

Iowa Workforce Development officials this week will learn more about a certificate program that helps ex-offenders in Illinois overcome employment obstacles.

Helping ex-offenders find and keep jobs reduces recidivism rates, advocates said, but many employers balk at hiring people with criminal records.

Reps. Ako Abdul-Samad and Wayne Ford, both Democrats from Des Moines, are co-sponsoring legislation [...]

Stable employment and housing helps lower the risk of ex-offenders returning to prison, said Garland Hunt, chairman of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Hunt and Marc Mauer, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Sentencing Project, met with a joint Judiciary Committee Tuesday at the state Capitol. They also met with members of a task [...]

Ethan appears in court with a supportive family and attorney. He vows to enter a treatment program for his drinking problem and pay restitution. The judge feels confident about Ethan’s chances.

Tyrone goes to court alone. His defense attorney doesn’t appear to know him well and says little on his behalf. Tyrone has a drinking problem, [...]

Iowa nightclubs wouldn’t be able to bar admittance to patrons based on what brand of clothing they wear if a bill proposed by Rep. Wayne Ford (D-Des Moines) becomes law.

“I think it’s a good idea,” said frequent club-goer Billy Gowdy of Des Moines. “They should do something about that. I’ve had that happen to friends [...]