My day started at North Hall, where me and two other students, Julia and Sierra, were primed for some university transport, provided by MSW Program Director Stephen Cummings and Assistant Professor Aynsley Scheffert. We depart at 8:20, and Julia, Sierra and I get cracking about our plans for the future. Aynsley was loading us with information on her life trajectory and tips for work after graduating as a social worker, and Stephen gave me the lowdown on his experience teaching overseas.

It was 10:20 when we arrived at the Iowa State Historical Society building, or museum, really. The hanging biplanes and enormous mammoth skeleton made it seem that way. The place is packed with students, some I recognized and most I did not. A desk is set for us to check-in, and as we go through we are set up with nametags. There I find Rigby, a good friend I’ve had a couple classes with.

After a half-hour wait and a good deal of chit-chat, we are all ushered into a big lecture room. The smell could only be described as a used litterbox. Many struggle to hold their laughter, especially me, as a speaker tries to pull up their email, with increasingly less success. It’s kind of sad that in a room full of social workers, no one gets up on stage to help, but it was too funny. At one point the app-store was pulled up… Anyways, Dana Wickwire Cheek takes the stage, the Northeast Branch Chair for NASW Iowa, alongside Peggy Trosper, the Southeast Branch Chair, and Denise Rathman, the Executive Director for both the NASW Iowa and NASW Kansas Chapters. We get a good lecture on proper communication with legislators, which in the way they described it seems more like gambling than fruitful communication.

Here comes Ross Wilburn, a social work alumni of the University of Iowa and House Representative for the Story County District, alongside Johnson County Representative Adam Zabner. They’re here to answer questions, and oh boy are there a lot of them. I question Zabner about the progress of Senate File 2293 regarding the abolishment of the Iowa City Historical Society Building, asking “Where are the court proceedings and decisions at, and when can we expect the day for voting,” and though he gives a very descriptive assessment of the bill and what his future plans are, I don’t actually get a direct answer to my question. Should have been an easy one, considering Zabner is on the board supporting the continued funding of the Iowa City location.

I make it out of the lecture hall with a mild headache, courtesy of the litterbox smell, and grab my lunch. From there we set off to the capitol.

Iowa’s capitol is a great reason to be proud of our state. It’s consistently voted the most beautiful state capitol building in the states, and for good reason. Its massive golden dome is reason enough, but getting inside reveals its true beauty. Giant pillars made of scagliola stretch towards the ceiling, with capitals decorated by golden white oak leaves. Enormous murals depict settlers making their way into the west, religious imagery, native plants, and esoteric symbols, such as the roman god Mercury. Inside the senate chamber are four enormous chandeliers, each highly geometrical yet still so intricate I find them hard to describe. The ceiling is covered in more murals depicting flowers and leaves, with a stained glass window at the center.

By 1:15, we’ve made our way into the Senate chamber to watch the debate. We find
good spots in the gallery, and wait for the debate to begin. Senate files 2263 and 2280 are first up for debate. One senator uses hypothetical scenarios to defend his point, which becomes a theme for this senator. This is evident in the next file, which is refuted by another senator with concrete questioning and reasoning, making a very good case against the bill, but then our first senator stands up and goes on a rampage. He’s smacking his desk and practically screaming. I get so annoyed I decide it better to go explore the capitol.

I find the capitol library, a breathtaking space with books going up four floors flanking the walls. Aynsley finds me there and encourages me to write a message to a senator, but I just want to get up another floor, so I find a spiral staircase and ask two girls taking, suggestive pictures, and ask if I can go up. I’m good to go, so I walk through a gate I don’t notice and make my way around the first floor. I notice that I have to pass through an office to continue, until I find a woman in the second office. She immediately chastizes me and escorts me down, along with the two girls.

I figure it’s a sign to fill out a message, but I’ve forgotten my clipboard with all my notes in the senate gallery. I pull out the fastest speedwalk I can manage and make the confusing there and back. I address mine to the senator with the concrete argument. I wait and wait, but I am not offered the chance to go speak with him, cut short possibly by my previous effort to retrieve the clipboard and more probably by the picture scheduled on the main staircase at 3:00.

Just like that, the day is over. We file back into the van and I have a good nap on the way back, reflecting on how amazed I was at the capitol building, and conversely disappointed with the conduct of the senate chamber.

The post First Person POV of NASW “Legislative Day on the Hill,” February 24, 2026 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Last Tuesday House Study Bill 158 was introduced and defines a drag show as a performance where the “Performer exhibits a gender identity that is different from the performer’s gender assigned at birth through the use of clothing, makeup, accessories, or other gender signifiers.” This is open to include the performance of singing, dancing, reading, and almost anything “Before an audience for entertainment.” 

This proposal not only directly attacks the lives of queer individuals, but opens the door for the censoring of arts. Venues and artists worry that entertainment like theater, film, along with religious or traditional dress may make them open to liability and persecution from the state. With the wording of this law, it effectively limits trans people from performing in any public matter.

Any parent who knowingly brings a minor to a drag performance can be charged with a Class D felony and charged up to $50,000 for each violation. The owner or manager of an establishment who knowingly allows minors to attend drag shows could also be charged with a Class D felony, and businesses could be fined $10,000 under the bill.

Lawmakers like Representative Helena Hayes, a Republican from New Sharon, have commented that the bill addresses the concerns of their respective constituencies and that it “Will not be the way it is right now,” as it makes its way through the legislature. They both supported the bill’s existing definition and voted to have it be moved to a general house vote.

Representative Elinor Levin, a Democrat from Iowa City, told the Des Moines Register, “This bill creates a penalty that is so disproportionate as to be almost laughable,” and is “Out of whack,” considering the existing laws in Iowa classify bringing children to events with obscene material is only a misdemeanor.

Protesters gathered at the capitol outside the subcommittee to make themselves heard and demonstrate the violence they felt, and the hypocrisy of the legislature proposals.

This bill is being proposed in tandem with Iowa City’s Free Week, a week long private-public cooperation that provides entertainment and public art for free largely in the city’s downtown district. This included drag shows at local LGBTQ bar and venue Studio 13.

In a public statement, an executive of the venue said, “It’s important to voice your opposition to this bill. Though our venues only allow those over 19 or 21 it would eliminate all ages drag performances, drag at Pride, drag brunches in many locations, drag story time and more, and is a clear violation of free speech. Not to mention the chilling effect this would have on the transgender community. Drag is art and has been a part of society for thousands of years. Stand up to the hate coming from the capital and let your representatives know how you feel. We need to push back against extremism where the main goal is to distract voters from the rich and powerful stealing from us all by keeping us fighting each other.”

Despite the environment of fear and -20 degree windchill, locals came out to Studio 13 on Wednesday of Free Week for a night of karaoke, comedy, and drag to voice their support for the scene in their community.

This is as people have grown concerned over the relationship between the state and cities, who often have conflicting goals. The city officials ignore or work around federal and state orders because they don’t fit the wants or need of the constituents, while others fear possible funding cuts or retribution from a particularly punitive Republican controlled government.

On Monday February 24th, an Iowa house sub committee voted to advance House Study Bill 242. The Senate responded with Senate File 418 that contains similar language and aims to remove mentions of queer people in schools.

The bill would be the first time a state has removed civil rights protections for a population of its citizens, and functionally abolishes any protections for transgender and nonbinary people. This allows for trans Iowans to be denied housing, jobs, services, credit, or education based on their gender identity.

In the Iowa State Capitol Building during the subcommittee hearing, hundreds of protesters from across the state came to voice their opposition to the bill. They filled the rotunda and hallway both in physical presence and in noise, chanting their anger and grief, trying to disrupt the hearing. 

State troopers eventually tried to force protesters out of the hallway. This is despite no restrictions on the protest being set in place beforehand, which is a violation of First Amendment protections. State troopers used violent force, pushing people to the ground, and crushing protesters against each other as they tried to move them. Two protesters were arrested. 

The bill is another in a string of anti-LGBT legislation since 2020, and would be the biggest victory for Iowa’s Christian right and Kim Reynolds’ policy goals which includes the systematic removal of the queer community from public life including restricting their access to medicine, public spaces, and athletics.

Christian lobbyist groups like PELLA PAC, The Family Leader, and Inspired Life were present during the sub committees vote and have been drafting and pushing for the removal of gender identity as a legally recognized class since at least last year’s legislative session when they supported House Bill 2082 which had similar language. PELLA PAC states their goals include cleansing America of “Propaganda promoted by Marxist and atheist bureaucracies.” The civil rights protection they removed has stood in the way of other discriminatory policies the house majority is attempting to pass.

The bill makes specific reference to MAGA talking points and is framed under the guise of “protecting woman.” The bill claims that “equal” accommodations do not mean “same” or “identical” and that, “Separate accommodations are not inherently unequal,” upending legal precedent established in the 1950s by Brown v. Board of Education.

The present bill is moving to the House floor for a vote. It also has passed through the Senate subcommittee. Governor Kim Reynolds could sign it into law as early as Thursday afternoon. 

The post Iowa’s First of Its Kind Anti-Trans Legislation appeared first on KRUI Radio.