2021 Legislative Session

COVID-19 Booster Shots. Another protester found not guilty. And the controversy surrounding an abortion sign funded by a left-wing super PAC.

Iowans are no longer required to get a permit to purchase or carry a handgun after changes to the state's gun laws took effect Thursday.

Iowa’s head football coach Kirk Ferentz says the prospect of student athletes being compensated for their work is a positive one. But he acknowledges there are legal and logistical unknowns around the changes.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law that raises penalties for protest-related offenses, puts qualified immunity language into state law, expands some police protections, and makes it illegal to not stop for an unmarked police car.

An Iowa advocacy group is providing support to teachers who feel targeted by a new law that limits certain teachings and trainings dealing with racism and sexism. The law bans schools and government agencies from promoting certain ideas, including that the U.S. and Iowa are systemically racist or sexist.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a wide-ranging tax bill into law Wednesday that will allow more income tax cuts to kick in, phase out backfill payments to local governments, and shift mental health funding from local property taxes to the state.

Democrat Ras Smith formally launched his campaign for governor Tuesday, a candidacy that’s been called “historic." Smith would be the state’s first Black governor, and is laying out a vision of an Iowa that’s diverse and equitable.

The top administrator in the Republican-controlled Iowa Senate threatened retribution against a GOP appointee who oversees workplace safety after inspectors said they would make public their concerns about COVID-19 hazards at the Capitol, records show.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law Tuesday that puts limits on government agency diversity trainings and school lessons related to racism and sexism.

It’s been a year since Iowans filled the streets of cities across the state to protest George Floyd’s murder by a police officer. They called for changes to prevent police violence and to fix problems like the state’s severely disproportionate incarceration of Black residents. As part of a series on what’s changed in the last year, Iowa Public Radio looked back at how the state legislature has responded to calls for racial justice.