Iowa Legislature

Jie Li, an Iowa State researcher originally from China, shares the harm a state bill targeting H-1B applicants from "foreign adversary" nations could cause. Also, updates after the second major deadline at the Statehouse and a major environmental group signaling cautious support for restarting Iowa's shuttered nuclear power plant.

State lawmakers faced their second major deadline of the legislative session this week to narrow down the bills under consideration at the Iowa Capitol.

The Iowa House advanced proposals Thursday aimed at offering a fixed tuition rate to in-state students, adding more U.S history and government class requirements and reviewing general education courses with DEI content.

On this Newsbuzz edition of River to River, a conversation with Brian Katulis of the Middle East Institute about this week's developments on the United States and Israel's war with Iran which has included the deaths of six U.S. service members, including two Iowans. Also, IPR reporter James Kelley discusses Google’s change of plans for a proposed data center in Linn County, Robin Opsahl of Iowa Capital Dispatch gives an update on this week's activity at the statehouse and Studio One’s Nick Brunner shares this week’s new music picks.

The Iowa House advanced a proposal Thursday that would bar cities and local governments from adopting broader civil rights protections than those outlined in the Iowa Civil Rights Act. House lawmakers changed their standalone bill into an amendment to a Senate bill.

House Republicans passed Gov. Kim Reynolds’ wide-ranging health bill Tuesday that would put food assistance restrictions into law, ban some food dyes from school meals and authorize over-the-counter ivermectin.

Active bills at the Iowa Statehouse involving public libraries and public assistance programs are the focus of this Legislative Monday episode. First, Sam Helmick, shares their perspective on proposals that would impact public libraries as president of the American Library Association. Then, Rep. Heather Matson, D-Ankeny and Rep. Helena Hayes, R-New Sharon, share their differing perspectives on library bills. Then, Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames, and Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton, discuss proposed changes to SNAP and WIC. We also hear from Paige Chickering, vice chair of the Iowa Hunger Coalition.

Gov. Kim Reynolds gave final approval Thursday for a 2% funding increase for Iowa's K-12 schools for the next school year. It sets the state cost per student at $8,148, which amounts to an additional $160 in funding per student compared to the current year.

The Iowa Senate passed several bills Wednesday aimed at strengthening immigration status checks related to voting, getting a driver’s license and hiring school and government employees.

Republicans on the House Government Oversight Committee are calling for an independent audit of the state court system’s misallocation of about $25 million. The judicial branch sent court debt collections to the wrong state fund for years.