Category: Iowa

Highly Lethal Bird Flu Spreads to Iowa Backyard Poultry Flock

CHICAGO—Iowa reported a highly lethal form of bird flu in a backyard poultry flock on Wednesday, expanding a U.S. outbreak of the disease to the top egg-producing state. The flock in Pottawattamie County, which was not being raised for commercial production, will be culled to prevent the spread of the disease, Iowa said. Over the…


Proposed Bill Would Allow Ivermectin Use for Critically Sick Patients: Iowa Lawmakers

Lawmakers in Iowa’s state Legislature have advanced a bill that would allow the use of ivermectin for critically sick COVID-19 patients. Ivermectin has been used for decades to treat parasitic worms in humans, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, some patients and doctors have attested that the drug is effective in relieving symptoms. The Iowa bill…


‘Heavily Armed’ California Man Arrested In Iowa Had ‘Hit List’ Including Biden, Fauci: Officials

Authorities in Iowa arrested a California man who was allegedly carrying a rifle and a “hit list” that included President Joe Biden and White House COVID-19 advisor Anthony Fauci. Kuachua Brillion Xiong, from Merced, California, was taken into custody after he allegedly told police that he was on his way to the White House “to kill…


University of Iowa Pays $2 Million to Settle Discrimination Lawsuits With Christian Student Groups

University of Iowa will pay nearly $2 million to settle discrimination lawsuits with two Christian student groups that have been de-registered because of their faith-based practices. The Iowa State Appeal Board on Monday unanimously approved a court-ordered settlement paid to Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that represented both student groups…


University of Iowa to Pay $2 Million to Settle Discrimination Lawsuits With Christian Student Groups

The University of Iowa will pay nearly $2 million to settle discrimination lawsuits with two Christian student groups that have been deregistered because of their faith-based practices. The Iowa State Appeal Board on Dec. 6 unanimously approved a court-ordered settlement to Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Washington-based law firm that represented both student groups…


Iowa Teens Plead Not Guilty in High School Teacher’s Death

FAIRFIELD, Iowa—Two southeastern Iowa teenagers pleaded not guilty Monday to killing their high school Spanish teacher, whose body was found earlier this month in a park where she took daily walks. Willard Noble Chaiden Miller and Jeremy Everett Goodale, both 16, are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the killing Nohema…


Iowa Bill Will Allow Unemployment Benefits to Workers Fired Over Refusing COVID-19 Vaccine

Iowa lawmakers passed a bill Thursday that will allow workers to receive unemployment benefits if they lose their job due to refusing to comply with COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The bill, HSB 281, seeks to protect workers who are denied medical or religious exemptions to vaccine mandates. The law is limited to an employee “discharged from…


Pay-to-Move Programs Revitalize Small Towns

Small cities and rural areas have discovered they can trade dollars for citizens to revitalize their economies. Dozens of American towns facing population loss now offer up to $15,000 to those who move there and stay for one year. Most offer around $10,000. In a world where many people work remotely, this inducement—plus lower taxes,…


Iowa Farm Services Firm: Systems Offline Due to Cybersecurity Incident

CHICAGO—Iowa-based farm services provider NEW Cooperative Inc. said on Monday its systems were offline to contain a cybersecurity incident, just as the U.S. farm belt gears up for harvest. The cooperative operates grain storage elevators in the top U.S. corn-producing state, buys crops from farmers, sells fertilizer and other chemicals needed to grow crops, and…


Iowa Schools Can Mandate Masks After Federal Judge Issues Temporary Order, Governor to Appeal

Schools in Iowa can again mandate masks after a federal judge on Monday issued a temporary restraining order to block the state from enforcing a law banning school mask mandates. Gov. Kim Reynolds is set to appeal the decision. U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt in an opinion (pdf) wrote that Iowa’s law “substantially increases” disabled…