(Radio Iowa) – Republicans in the Iowa House have voted to forbid introducing what the bill calls “divisive concepts” like gender or race-based stereotypes in diversity training for staff and students at most publicly-funded institutions in the state. The bill would bar public schools and universities as well as any state or local government agency from having diversity training that suggests the United States or the State of Iowa is fundamentally racist.

Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison was the bill’s floor manager. “I believe that teaching or applying a certain characteristic to a certain group of people based on color is the very definition of racism,” Holt says, “and the way I was raised, that’s unAmerican.” Represenative Henry Stone, a Republican from Forest City, is an Asian American who told his colleagues he’s been called every racial slur you could imagine, but Stone says he does not believe there is systemic racism in the United States or in Iowa.

“I wholeheartedly support this bill because I believe that diversity training should still go on,” Stone said, “but we need to change the way that it’s taught.” Republican Representative Mark Cisneros of Muscatine says he objects to diversity training that promotes victimhood. “We have evidence of the ill effects of it,” Cisneros says. “…Tearing down statutes or attempting to, demanding that white people apologize for their whiteness, yelling at people in public.” All the Democrats present in the House last (Tuesday) night voted against the bill.

Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the bill impedes an open discussion about racism. “I love America and in loving America, we have a right to criticize America…and this bill is not going to deal with the ills of America,” he said. Representative Kirsten Running-Marquardt, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says the bill goes too far in dictating what topics cannot be introduced in diversity discussions. “If the teachers and trainers cannot identify the evil, the root of the problem…how are we going to solve it?” she asked.

Representative Mary Wolfe, a Democrat from Clinton, accused Republicans of trying to cancel reality. “Closing our eyes and trying to pretend that if we don’t say, ‘implicit bias,’ it doesn’t exist,” Wolfe said, “or if we don’t say ‘systemic racism,’ we can pretend we don’t have that.” The House debated the bill for about four hours before passing it at about 7:15 last (Tuesday) night. The proposal now goes to the Senate for consideration.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has passed a bill that calls for faculty and students at the three state universities to be trained each year about free speech rights. Republican Representative Dustin Hite of New Sharon says the bill is in response to three high-profile incidents in which the views of conservative students at Iowa, Iowa State and U-N-I were dismissed or denigrated.

The board that governs the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa has already adopted the provisions of the bill as policy for the three schools. Hite says it’s not the job of the universities to tell students what to think — but to give them the tools to decide for themselves. “The reason free speech is so important in the world of education is that’s when our young folks of this state are developing their own thoughts and ideas,” Hite says.

The bill passed on a 97-to-one vote. Representative Christina Bohannan, a Democrat from Iowa City, is a University of Iowa professor. She says the university’s faculty senate considers free speech central to the educational process. “When it comes to the First Amendment, we have to take the long view,” Bohannan said. “Today, it’s mostly conservatives we hear arguing for free speech, but in the ’50s and ’60s it was the liberals — civil rights activists and Vietnam protesters — that pushed for First Amendment rights.”

Representative Jennifer Konfrst, a Democrat from Windsor Heights, is a Drake University professor. “What I do is force students to think critically, whether they’re conservative or liberal,” Konfrst says, “and this bill allows for that to happen in every classroom across the state.” The bill would apply the same free speech policies at the state’s community colleges that are proposed for the public universities.

The lone “no” on the vote came from Representative Dave Jacoby, a Democrat from Coralville. He says the bill is not needed to protect free speech and doesn’t open new doors for those who want to practice their First Amendment rights.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

CAMANCHE, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa school board has voted to drop the district’s “Indians” nickname and mascot following renewed appeals to do so from Native American tribes and organizations. Television station KWQC reports that the Camanche Community Schools board voted 5-1 Monday night to stop use of the mascot by the end of the school year. The decision comes as teams on all levels across the country are changing or reconsidering mascots considered to be culturally insensitive. Most spoke in favor of keeping the mascot during the meeting’s public forum segment, citing pride in the nickname and some denouncing the move as “cancel culture.” But board member Shane Bark noted there have been calls for 30 years for the district to drop the mascot.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A decommissioned warship that is one of the main attractions at Buffalo’s naval and military park has been taking on water and an emergency fundraising campaign is under way to keep it afloat. The 78-year-old destroyer is named in honor of the five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, who were killed in action during World War II. Crews recently discovered the USS The Sullivans listing and found that 15,000-20,000 gallons of water had poured in through three holes in its hull. The $1 million repair bill comes at a difficult time. Officials say nearly all of the park and museum’s revenue has dried up during the pandemic.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man awaiting trial on an attempted murder charge has been charged with killing another man during a robbery. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Robert Lee Williams Jr., 32, of Waterloo, was charged Tuesday with one count of first-degree murder in the death of 49-year-old Vincent Hemenway. Authorities allege Williams was part of a group of men who approached Hemenway and his friends on Aug. 15 while they were working on a vehicle inside a garage and asked to borrow a lighter. Hemenway volunteered his lighter and then resisted when one of the suspects attempted to walk away with it. At that point, someone opened fire, striking Hemenway.

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) — Police in central Iowa’s Webster City say they’re investigating after a 7-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the foot by his father. Television station KCCI reports that the shooting happened Saturday. Webster City police say the father was pulling a gun out of his waistband when it went off and hit the boy in the foot. Officials say the boy is expected to recover. Police say the Hamilton County prosecutor is reviewing the case and will determine whether any charges are filed.

(Radio Iowa) – The debate over electricity versus natural gas as a heating source has reached the Iowa Capitol. Berkley, California was the first U.S. city to ban natural gas hook-ups to newly-constructed apartment buildings and commercial property in 2019. A bill that’s cleared the Iowa House would prohibit that kind of policy in any city or county in Iowa. Republican Representative Jon Jacobsen of Council Bluffs says it’s about ensuring the free flow of natural gas and propane.

“We know in some municipalities in the United States and even some of the attitudes in a few metro areas in Iowa, we’re concerned that there will be massive restrictions, impediments, regulations and prohibitions,” Jacobsen says. Representative Chris Hall, a Democrat from Sioux City, says he lives in a home that’s heated with natural gas and grew up in a house that’s still heated with propane.

“This bill is aiming at a threat that I don’t believe has reached our borders as a state,” Hall says. “…We don’t have communities that are currently trying to prohibit natural gas or propane hook-ups for the future, frankly because we know that so many Iowans currently use those heating mechanisms.” Sixty percent of Iowa homes are heated with natural gas and Jacobsen says this bill preserves that choice.

“I want to make sure that our children and grandchildren are warm in the winter, not clutching a sibling, dying of exposure,” Jacobsen says, “and sadly we saw this literally happen in Texas of late.” Last month’s winter storm knocked out natural gas production in Texas and natural gas fired power plants shut down for several days.