Welcome to week in Iowa.
After Iowa lawmakers rushed to get legislation through the necessary hoops to meet the first deadline of the session last week, both chambers have significantly calmed down.
Both the House and the Senate have advanced primarily non-controversial legislation, including adding THC-infused drinks to the existing state law that prohibits open alcoholic drinks in motor vehicles.
Outside of the Iowa Capitol, the new African American Historical and Cultural Museum opened in Waterloo and federal workers gathered outside of Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ Davenport office to protest cuts to the federal workforce and programs.
Continue reading to get caught up on this week’s Iowa news.
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Iowans gather in front of the Davenport office of Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks to oppose cuts to federal programs and agencies that Iowans depend on, during a protest on Thursday, March 6.
Veterans Affairs, Arsenal unions and supporters rally in Davenport to protest federal cuts
Federal workers and supporters gathered outside of Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ Davenport office March 6 to protest cuts to the federal workforce and programs.
Labor unions in the Quad-Cities and Iowa City organized the rally. The unions estimate about 7,000 federal employees reside in Miller-Meeks’ congressional district and about 20,000 reside statewide.
A bulk of the federal workers in the congressional district, the unions estimate, are employed through the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Rock Island Arsenal.
Union representatives said six people were laid off from the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Medical Center and warned more may be coming.
Quad-City Times reporter Sarah Watson has the full story here.
Reynolds declares ‘Lutheran Services in Iowa Day’ as layoffs, federal interference imperil organization
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds declared Tuesday Lutheran Services in Iowa Day as layoffs and the federal government’s refusal to pay more than $1.5 million in outstanding reimbursements are imperiling the religious organization.
Reynolds made the declaration during Lutheran Day on the Hill at the Iowa Capitol.
“For 160 years, LSI has been providing important services throughout our state, supporting families and communities in need,” Reynolds said about the organization which has programs covering: behavioral health, early childhood, foster care and adoption, disabilities, refugee resettlement and more.
Just last week, The Sioux City Journal reported that LSI was laying off employees at its locations in Sioux City, Waterloo and Des Moines about a month after President Donald Trump issued an order to halt the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. In tandem with the order, the Department of State pushed for every resettlement agency in the country to stop offering services to recent arrivals.
Sioux City Journal reporter Jared McNett has more on Reynolds’ declaration here.
Other political stories you may have missed
Tesfahans Gebreyenas, left, and his wife, Mbrak Tekie and son, Mickey Kesete are shown during an interview conducted through an interpretation service.
Sioux City refugee family starting over, again, after apartment fire
Sioux City East Middle student Mickey Kasete has been through a lot.
Just this past week, the good-humored eighth-grader had to undergo surgery in relation to a cancer diagnosis he has. Despite the health issues, his focus in his free time is on playing soccer and exercising. The soft-spoken fan of Messi and Ronaldo jokes that he can beat his dad without much trouble when the two go out onto the pitch together.
Medical care is one of the reasons his dad, Tesfahans Gebreyenas, and mom, Mbrak Tekie, made the decade-long, 7,500-mile journey from their native Eritrea to Ethiopia to Israel to the United States, finally arriving on April 7, 2024, with little more than the clothes and documents they needed for the trek.
On Feb. 5, the apartment complex the family lived in started on fire. Twenty-two of the 23 apartments in the three-story building were occupied by about 40 residents. No injuries were reported for the occupants but a dog did die and two firefighters received minor steam burns.
Sioux City Journal reporter Jared McNett has more on the Sioux City family’s journey here.
Former KWWL anchor Ron Steele, who retired in February after more than 50 years in broadcast journalism, listens as members of the Iowa House Black Hawk County delegation introduce a resolution honoring his career March 10, 2025.
Iowa House honors KWWL anchor Ron Steele for ‘remarkable service’ to Iowa journalism
Iowa House lawmakers honored recently retired KWWL anchor Ron Steele with a resolution Monday after his more than 50-year career in broadcast journalism in the state.
Steele announced his retirement in February from the Waterloo-based station, which also serves much of northeastern Iowa, including Cedar Falls, Dubuque and Iowa City. His final sign off from the nightly news followed later that month.
“I feel kind of humbled by it all, and I’ve always felt real privilege to report on people’s stories in our area,” Steele told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. “That’s what has meant the most to me to be a reporter.
“Meeting people and learning about their lives is really what it’s all about.”
Read more about the House resolution honoring Steele here.
Waterloo African American museum prepared to open doors Friday
The railroad car that sits on East Fourth Street is a symbol of the African American experience. A symbol of pain, loss and the struggle for equality.
It also symbolizes a journey of hardship, hope and recognition.
After years of sitting stagnant, the boxcar will open to the public Friday in its latest incarnation, the African American Historical and Cultural Museum. A grand opening event will be held starting at 11 a.m. and the museum will remain open until 4 p.m. Moving forward, the facility will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reporter Holly Hudson Hill has more on the new museum here.
Rosalind Wilcox shows off a painting of musician Memphis Minnie in her home in Davenport on Tuesday, March 4.
Davenport artist with vision loss says she will create art until the day she dies
Rosalind Wilcox remembers braiding fabric strands together in the early 1960s. Her mother, Ermer Wilcox, had taught her. Rosalind could still see, then. It was one of her first memories creating art.
Today, Rosalind Wilcox, 67, has built her life among artwork. Her Davenport house is an artist’s palace. Paintings hang behind doors and along every wall. Sculptures, pottery, instruments and handcrafted books line every shelf. Other creations hide in plain sight.
Wilcox is blind. She began to lose vision at 19. By 21, she had become legally blind. Wilcox’s condition, called Stargardt disease, causes retinal degradation and typically affects children and young adults. Like many with Stargardt disease, Wilcox has retained more of her peripheral vision than her central vision.
Quad-City Times reporter Nina Baker has more on Wilcox’s art here.
3 Takeaways from Iowa men’s basketball: What was Brock Harding’s good omen?
A Big Ten Tournament run that looked out of the cards a week ago continued its against-all-odds existence as Iowa beat Ohio State 77-70 on Wednesday.
Granted a less than 35% chance of beating the 10-seed Buckeyes (17-15, 9-11 Big Ten), the Hawkeyes (17-15, 7-13 Big Ten) overcame a slow start to advance to the second round and earn a rematch with Illinois on Thursday.
A good omen set the stage for a heroic game for Brock Harding (from Moline, Illinois), and Ladji Dembele continued his steady improvement as the injury replacement for Owen Freeman.
Continue reading here for sports reporter Ethan Petrik’s takeaways.
Iowa lawmakers listen to testimony Wednesday, March 12, 2025, during a Senate subcommittee hearing on a bill that would eliminate copays and deductibles for supplemental and diagnostic breast exams, the same as for mammograms. (Tom Barton/The Gazette)
Out-of-pocket costs for follow-up imaging tests can average $234 for a diagnostic mammogram, according to Jackie Cale, a lobbyist for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. A breast MRI can cost upward of $1,000.
These costs were brought up during an Iowa Senate subcommittee Wednesday where lawmakers advanced legislation that would eliminate cost-sharing requirements for supplemental breast examinations and diagnostic breast examinations, the same as for mammograms.
Supporters say the measure has the potential to save lives by reducing financial barriers to early cancer detection for Iowans who need a follow-up magnetic resonance imaging — or MRI — in addition to an annual screening for breast cancer.
Insurers contend it would lead to increased health care costs, citing a fiscal analysis estimating a $443,000 to $1.4 million impact on the State of Iowa Plan and the Iowa Board of Regents insurance plan.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette Des Moines Deputy Bureau Chief Tom Barton has the full story here.