Republicans in the Iowa Senate have voted to significantly increase the sentence for anyone convicted of intentionally or accidentally causing the termination of a pregnancy against the mother’s wishes. Sen. Jake Chapman, a Republican from Adel, said a life prison sentence is “proper punishment” for such a crime. “It recognizes that is a person in the womb and, as such, should have rights,” Chapman said. The proposal would not apply to abortion, according to Chapman, since the crime of pregnancy termination would have to be committed against a woman’s wishes.

The first of three Hong Kong-based refugee families who helped shelter National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden when he was on the run, has been granted asylum in Canada.

Vanessa Rodel and her daughter, Keana, arrived in Montreal on Tuesday, eager to embrace their new lives as Canadians.

"I feel so great and I feel like I'm free," Rodel told reporters at Toronto Pearson International Airport shortly after landing in the country on Monday night.

IPR has a special treat on Wednesday, March 27th! Former classical music host for KUNI-FM, Peter Hamlin, will be on air from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Peter is a composer who has written works for orchestra, band, choir, chamber ensembles, voice, music theater, and most recently, electronic media. He is also a music professor at Middlebury College in Vermont, teaching theory, electronic music, and composition. He previously taught at St. Olaf College. Peter worked as a radio producer/host at KPBS-FM in San Diego from 1974-1980 and at KUNI-FM in Cedar Falls from 1980-1990.

Iowa senators voted Tuesday to ban traffic cameras in the state for the third year in a row, but the proposal is not very likely to gain enough support in the House of Representatives.

Those who support banning traffic cameras say they violate due process rights and are a money-making scheme for local governments.

Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, the self-described “poster boy” on this topic, said it’s the right thing to do.

A northwest Iowa man who recorded himself on video burning books from the Orange City Public Library has appeared in court. Paul Dorr will face a new judge when his case continues because the one originally assigned feels he has a conflict of interest.

Iowa’s U.S. Senators say the public deserves to see special counsel Robert Mueller’s report. It’s up to U.S. Attorney General William Barr whether to release documents from the investigation into coordination and conspiracy between the associates of President Donald Trump's campaign and the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. 

The Supreme Court appeared sharply divided on the question of whether there's any limit on what the courts can impose on partisan redistricting, also known as gerrymandering, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the newest member of the court, appearing at least somewhat conflicted.

"I took some of your argument in the briefs and the amicus briefs to be that extreme partisan gerrymandering is a real problem for our democracy," Kavanaugh told the lawyers arguing the case, "and I'm not going to dispute that."