(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds will sign a bill that outlines how workers may claim a religious or medical exemption from a private employer’s Covid vaccination mandate, without a doctor or cleric signing off on the document. The bill that passed the House and Senate yesterday with bipartisan support also says workers are eligible for unemployment if they’re fired for failing to get vaccinated, including those whose exemption claims are denied. Senator Jason Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig, said it’s “a partial answer” to looming federal vaccination mandates.

“I don’t want to have to do this. Nobody does,” he said. “We’re reacting to authoritarianism.” Representative Henry Stone, a Republican from Forest City, said there are fast-approaching deadlines for Iowans faced with taking a vaccination “they don’t agree with” or getting fired. “We needed to take this action now,” Stone said. “January will be too late for Iowans. That’s why we have to act today.”

Democrats who voted for the bill said they did so to ensure Iowans who lose their jobs get unemployment. But Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, voted for the bill, but he accused Republicans of trying to “buy off” Iowans who don’t want to get a Covid shot. “All this bill says if you lose your job — which you’re going to, because you’re not dealing with the mandate,” Bisignano said, “you’re going to give them their measly weekly unemployment check.”

Business groups say the bill puts Iowa employers “in the terrible position” of trying to figure out if they must follow state or federal regulations when it comes to Covid vaccinations among employees. Representative Steve Hanson, a Democrat from Sioux City, said Republicans had months to craft a bill, but would up with one that leaves too many questions unanswered. “Rather sloppy legislation,” he said. “…It’s very loosey goosey.”

Opponents of vaccine mandates who rallied at the Capitol today called the bill unacceptable. Representative Jeff Shipley, a Republican from Fairfield, said while there is “more work to do on” the issue, the bill is a good first step. “There are people in Illinois, in New York and in every other Democratic cesspool in the United States that would love to have these legal protections,” Shipley said.

Governor Reynolds said in a statement that she’s “committed to doing more” on the topic. Last week the governor said she may join a lawsuit challenging federal Covid vaccine mandates.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa legislature has overwhelmingly approved the second plan for reconfiguring the boundaries for Iowa’s congressional and legislative districts.  Redistricting happens once a decade, after population changes are identified in the Census. Senate Republicans rejected the first redistricting plan October 5th, but Republicans say the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency developed a second plan that had more compact districts and districts that were closer to equal in population. The plan passed the Senate on a 48-to-one vote.

Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver of Ankeny says he started making calls last night to recruit candidates to run in open senate seats. “Now that the map has passed, we’re really six to eight months behind in the typical cycle,” Whitver says, “and both sides, both parties are going to have to work really hard to get caught up and find recruits.” Senator Pam Jochum of Dubuque, a Democrat, says redistricting has an immense impact. “It influences who wins elections, who is at the table when laws are considered,” she says, “and what laws actually pass.”

Redistricting Plan 2

Early Thursday evening, the plan passed the House on a 93-to-two vote. House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Height says Democrats were ready to approve the maps, sight unseen, because they were drawn by a non-partisan agency and without consideration for where incumbents live. “I’ve spent a lot of time learning about redistricting processes in other states. I’ve learned that the cliche of Iowa’s redistricting process being the ‘gold standard’ is well earned,” Konfrst says. “The way we do it here is right.”

Representative Bobby Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, blasted other Democrats who accused the G-O-P of intending to draft a redistricting plan to favor Republican candidates. “I have seen countless Tweets and Facebook posts and delusions,” Kaufmann said. “…I want to make it crystal clear: Republicans were never going to gerrymander.” Neither the House nor the Senate spent long debating the plan and Governor Kim Reynolds has indicated she’ll quickly sign it into law.

The legislators who opposed the bill were Senator Ken Rozenboom, a Republican from Oskaloosa, who lives in the same senate district as Republican Senator Dickey of Packwood. Representatives Jon Jacobsen, a Republican from Council Bluffs, and Tom Jeneary, a Republican from Le Mars, voted no in the House. All three live in districts with another Republican incumbent, setting up the possibility of G-O-P Primaries in 2022.

(Radio Iowa) – Advocates say they’re concerned Iowa’s new election laws put up more barriers for voters with disabilities. Catherine Johnson, executive director of Disability Rights Iowa, says Republican state lawmakers shortened the early voting period, moved up the deadlines for requesting and returning an absentee ballot, and changed the rules for who can help a voter return a ballot.

“All of those have a big impact on the disability community and their ability to vote,” Johnson says. “It begins to chill the desire of the disability community to go to the polling place to continue to vote.” Johnson says the wide-ranging changes made by legislators to Iowa’s election laws could be especially problematic to people with disabilities, particularly the changes in voting periods.

“Seventy-four percent of voters with a disability do vote early, either early at the polling place or by absentee mail ballot,” Johnson says, “and so you can see when you restrict the time of that shorter and shorter and shorter, the ability to participate for a person with a disability becomes more narrow.” Bill Kallestad, with the Iowa Developmental Disabilities Council, agrees with Johnson.

Kallestad says voting laws should be more flexible and simple so more people can participate. Iowans who want help voting can contact their county auditor to ask about curbside voting, Election Day voter assistance, and the new rules for having someone else return a voter’s absentee ballot.

(Reporting by Katarina Sostaric, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – A plan to let employees in private Iowa businesses claim they are medically vulnerable or have a religious objection to Covid vaccine mandates has cleared a House committee this (Thursday) afternoon. The bill also makes employees fired for failing to get a Covid shot eligible for unemployment. Business groups are opposed to the bill and the most vocal critics of vaccine mandates are as well. Lindsay Maher is a leader in a group called Informed Choice Iowa.

“We, the people, were blindsided with last minute legislation that is ineffective and designed to look good, but fail,” she said. “The public hasn’t even had 24 hours notice to examine the language and consider the impacts of the bill.” J.D. Davis, an Iowa Association of Business and Industry vice president, says the bill puts Iowa businesses in the predicament of trying to figure out if they must follow state or federal regulations when it comes to Covid vaccinations.

“It’s a terrible position to put businesses in and it doesn’t the solve the problem that you’re attempting to solve,” Davis said. Republican Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton says there’s a ton of merit to the criticism, but this bill is a compromise that might get enough votes to pass. “I think what’s before us is what can become law,” Kaufmann says. Some Democrats on the House State Government Committee objected to letting individuals claim medical exemptions from Covid shot for themselves, rather than have a medical professional sign off on the statement, as is required when school-aged children are exempted from vaccinations.

Representative Henry Stone, a Republican from Forest City, is guiding the bill through House debate.  “We respect people’s medical privacy and civil rights and we don’t feel it’s the state government’s job to step on those rights,” Stone says. Two women who gave public testimony to lawmakers today (Thursday) said they face being fired or put on administrative tomorrow (Friday) because their employer has a Covid vaccination mandate.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Senate has overwhelmingly approved the second plan for redrawing the boundaries for Iowa’s congressional and legislative districts and a vote in the House is expected later this (Thursday) afternoon. The vote was 48-to-one. Senator Roby Smith, a Republican from Davenport, lashed out at Democrats who’ve accused the G-O-P of planning to abandon the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency’s maps and drawing districts to favor Republicans.

“Instead of undermining the ‘gold standard’ process by spreading a false narrative of gerrymandering like some in this chamber have done, Iowa Senate Republicans upheld our role and responsibility,” Smith said. Senate Republicans rejected the first set of maps on October 5th. Smith says the second redistricting plan has better population distribution and the proposed districts are more compact. Senator Pam Jochum, a Democrat from Dubuque, says the plan meets all of the constitutional and legal requirements.

“Voters should pick their elected represents,” Jochum says, “not the other way around.” And Jochum says the plan meets that goal. Jochum and Smith were the only senators to speak during debate. Republican Senator Ken Rozenboom, of Oskaloosa, was the only senator to vote against the plan. A Republican-led House committee has already given the second set of district maps the green light on a 22-to-one vote.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – A new art and civic center, a historic railroad depot, and a rural sculpture park were among six projects awarded a total of $950,000 in grants, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs announced Oct. 22nd, during a statewide conference on building creative communities. The awards were made through the department’s Iowa Great Places program, which recognizes communities that have developed clear visions for the future that make the most of authentic local art, culture and history. Funding for the program comes from the Iowa Legislature through the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund.

Among the projects receiving an award, were those in Carroll and Sac Counties:

City of Lake View (Sac County)
Lake View Community Center
$250,000
The City of Lake View (pop. 1,113) will build a new community center to replace a beloved historic ballroom that closed almost 20 years ago. Community leaders envision a venue for social and business functions, as well as a flourishing cultural hub through a partnership with the Lake View Arts Council.

City of Manning (Carroll County)
Art is Refreshing
$50,000
The City of Manning will honor the community’s history and agricultural heritage by creating a new sculpture and interactive art installation at Trestle Park. Plans for new murals are also in the works.

The grants were announced during the department’s annual Iowa Creative Places Exchange, held virtually on Oct. 22. Representatives from nearly 40 communities who are designated Iowa Great Places and Iowa Cultural & Entertainment Districts participated in the virtual event, which was organized by the Iowa Arts Council.

Other recipients include the Cities of Charles City, Clive, Marshalltown, and West Union.