(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s 43rd governor will take the oath of office for another term later this (Friday) morning. Republican Kim Reynolds — the first woman to serve as Iowa’s governor — has been the state’s chief executive since mid-2017. Terry Branstad chose Reynolds as his running mate in 2010 and she took over the governorship when Branstad resigned. Reynolds won a full, four-year term in 2018 and she was reelected this past November.

Today’s Inauguration Ceremony starts at 9 a.m. in Des Moines. The governor will host an open house at the governor’s mansion at noon and a reception at the statehouse starting at 2 this (Friday) afternoon. Tonight’s Inaugural Ball in downtown Des Moines is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand held a reception in his statehouse office, Thursday, to officially mark the start of his second term.  “When I started this job four years ago, I had a pretty simple idea of what it was that I wanted to do,” Sand said. “Number one: I wanted to match the passion that I had seen from auditor office employees in my time as assistant attorney general.” Sand spent seven years as the lead state prosecutor on public corruption cases. Sand says in the past four years, the audits and special investigations his office conducted have uncovered a record amount of misspent tax dollars.

“Those dollars must be respected if we are going to maintain trust for the mission of self-governance under our constitution,” Sand said. Sand, who finished ahead of Republican Todd Halbur by fewer than three-thousand votes, was the only Democrat to win a statewide race in November. Sand acknowledged three Republicans in yesterday’s (Thursday’s) audience — State Treasurer Roby Smith, Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig and Attorney General Brena Bird.

“Just because we don’t agree on everything doesn’t mean we don’t come at this interested in serving all the people in the state Iowa and I’m looking forward to working with all of you, so thank you all for being here very much,” Sand said. Sand’s current term started January 1st. He publicly recited his oath of office at the start of Thursday’s event. Naig and Secretary of State Paul Pate will hold similar ceremonies in the statehouse rotunda this (Friday) afternoon.

(Radio Iowa) – Hundreds gathered in person and online for the first subcommittee hearing on the governor’s latest “school choice” plan.

Governor Reynolds is proposing state-funded Educational Savings Accounts for low income parents who enroll their children in a private school over the next two years, but in the third year the parents of every Iowa private school student would be eligible for thousands of dollars in state money to cover private school expenses. Arlene McClintock says private school was out of reach when she was growing up and being bullied at school. She’s leading a group called Hispanics Aligned for Choice in Education Reform.

“One of the things that parents want to be able to provide for their kids is a safe learning environment,” she said. “That’s something that I wish that I had had growing up and it’s something that I want to provide for my children.”

The governor’s office estimates when fully implemented, the parents of about 40,000 private school students would be getting at least $341 million in state money annually to cover tuition and other private school expenses. Justin Hollinrake told the senate subcommittee sending that much state money to support private schools like likely weaken schools where his relatives live in rural Iowa.

“Ten years from now, is public school even going to be an option?” he asked. “Will schools even be open? Will private school be the only option?”

The newly-formed House Education Reform Committee will hold a public hearing on the bill on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

(Reporting by Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio)

(Hamburg, Iowa, January 11, 2023) – Golden Hills RC&D, Friends of Waubonsie State Park, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources have announced the opening of the latest round of an innovative artist in residence program at Waubonsie State Park. This is the fourth season that the park will host artists for the program, which was the first of its kind in the state. Artists will receive living and studio space in the park, with time to focus on their work and seek inspiration from the southern Loess Hills.

This program is modeled after similar artist residencies at national parks and state parks outside of Iowa, and was the first of its kind at an Iowa state park. Following Waubonsie State Park’s Artist in Residence program’s successful inaugural year, the Iowa DNR launched their “20 Artists, 20 Parks”, a similar program with faculty and graduate students from the Iowa State University. This year, the Waubonsie State Park Artist in Residence program will award up to two residencies, ranging from 2 to 4 weeks long during the month of March. Artists may work in a variety of media.

The program was designed to allow artists a respite from their typical distractions so that they could intensively focus on their work in the quiet seclusion of Waubonsie State Park, while finding inspiration in the beauty of their natural surroundings. In exchange for the facility use during the residency, artists are required to deliver at least one public program and to donate one piece of art to the park at the conclusion of their stay.

Applications are being accepted now through February 3rd. Artists will be selected through a competitive application process and notified by February 10th. The program is open to artists of multiple disciplines and from any location. For more details about the timeline and how to apply, visit www.goldenhillsrcd.org/artist-in-residence.

Waubonsie State Park is a 2,000-acre preserve in the scenic and unique Loess Hills landform. The park offers many miles of hiking, equestrian, and bike trails through woodlands, prairies, and oak savanna. Waubonsie is located on the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway™ near Hamburg, IA, about an hour’s drive from Omaha and Lincoln, NE; two hours from Kansas City, and two and a half hours from Des Moines.

Golden Hills RC&D is a non-profit whose mission is to collaboratively develop and lead community, conservation, and cultural initiatives to improve our quality of life in rural western Iowa. Golden Hills supports southwest Iowa in the program areas of Land Stewardship, Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, Water Resources, Local Foods, Arts & Culture, and Community Partnerships.

(Radio Iowa) – The wife of a Woodbury County Supervisor has been arrested and charged with more than 50 counts of voter fraud. Jeremy Taylor of Sioux City lost a Republican primary for Iowa’s fourth district congressional seat in June of 2020. In November of 2020, Taylor won back a seat on the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors. He’d resigned from the board in early 2020 after the county auditor ruled Taylor did not live at the address listed on his voter registration.

Now, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, 49-year-old Kim Taylor of Sioux City is accused of submitting or having others submit dozens of voter registration and absentee ballot request forms in the 2020 Republican Primary and 2020 General Election. She’s also accused of submitting absentee ballots that contained false information in both of the elections when her husband’s name was on the ballot.

Court documents indicate Kim Taylor signed forms without voters permission and told others that they could sign on behalf of relatives. She’s charged with 23 counts of fraudulent voting and 26 counts of providing false information when voting or registering to vote. She’s also charged with three counts of voter registration fraud.

In the spring of 2020, Taylor lost to Randy Feenstra in the G-O-P Primary for Iowa’s 4th district congressional seat.