In April 2024, the Iowa Legislature proposed Senate file 2435, which became effective in July of that year. The legislation prohibits the state’s public universities from directing any funds toward DEI-related offices or programs. House Study Bill 57 deals with similar DEI-related subjects, but targets the college accreditation system, while House Study Bill 53 removes defined DEI and critical race theory course material from mandatory course work. HSB 55 and 59 are designed to enforce those laws by requiring publication of all course syllabi and establishing that all finances, vendor contracts, and relevant professor information must now be made publicly available. 

On President Donald Trump’s first day in office, his cabinet directed all federal agencies to terminate any “equity-related” grants and require federal contractors to certify that they do not promote “wokeness” or DEI. Less than two weeks later, Reynolds issued a similar letter to Iowa’s state universities, calling on them to cut all DEI positions and related contracts.

Among other effects, the federal directives and governor’s order resulted in the closure of the University of Iowa’s famous International Writing Program. The Department of State declared that IWP’s grants “no longer effectuate agency priorities” nor align with “agency priorities and national interest.” The UI noted that “More than 90% of funds associated with the IWP’s federal grants are spent domestically, which would have resulted in slightly less than $1 million going back into the U.S. economy over the next year.”

These cuts and paranoid cleansing of “woke” education reached a peak in March, when the UI stated that they plan to close the Division of Access, Opportunity, and Diversity, along with many of the University’s living-learning centers and veteran/minority councils, following direction from the Iowa Board of Regents.

Also in March, the Iowa House of Representatives passed House Bill 401, which bans state universities’ general education courses from discussing “identity politics” or suggesting that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, or privilege are present in the United States or Iowa.  

The bill also mandated that general education curricula at the state’s universities include a “Western Heritage” program requirement, in which students must complete a certain amount of semester credits in course work related to the western canon to graduate. Many worry that curriculum requirements being set by the Legislature, rather than by the Board of Regents, will lead to distorted learning, particularly in history and the humanities. Citing the Legislature’s directives, the Board of Regents already has cut two UI degree programs. 

Rep. Steven Holt (R-Denison), said the bill was vital to “further enforce the principles of Western civilization and American exceptionalism.” He went on to say, “I think we left it up to the so-called experts for many years, and in my opinion, they mucked it up.”

On the same day that House File 401 passed, lawmakers also moved to approve House File 437, which establishes a “Center for Intellectual Freedom” at the UI, and voted along party lines to end caps on in-state tuition and mandatory fees. In addition, they approved a bill that would deny Iowa Tuition Grants to students who attend Iowa private colleges that have DEI programs. 

The Center for Intellectual Freedom is set up to provide courses on American history and programming on civil discourse, and is estimated to cost around $1.5 million per year. The University’s total cost from cutting its 12 employees operating its Division of Access, Opportunity, and Diversity and other DEI offices totaled just $868,219 in savings.

The day after those bills passed, Trump signed an order directing that “the Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education.” Reynolds was in attendance for the order’s signing.

Republicans and right-wing think tanks like the Manhattan Institute have suggested transferring the Department of Education’s responsibilities of civil rights enforcement in public schools to the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

However, considering the gutting of Education Department and DOJ staff earlier this year and the recent memo from the General Services Administration effectively stating that segregation is no longer an illegal practice for government contractors, it’s unlikely that any federal entity will properly enforce law and protect students. Givng civil rights-enforcement responsibilities to the DOJ is another tool for the Trump Administration to remove the Education Department’s long-held independence and centralize Trump’s authority. As of May 1, more than 250 DOJ attorneys have chosen to walk off the job instead of comply with the executive branch’s directives.

Research is also under attack. A court injunction has temporarily halted the National Institutes of Health’s cuts to Iowa research funding, which would amount to over $33 million and potentially terminate over 20,000 positions. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley posted on X in support of the research cuts.

---

---

With civil protections removed, institutions kneecapped, further control over education returning to the state, and Reynolds’s capture of the judicial appointment system, little stands in the way of the Iowa GOP as they expand their regulatory sights on public libraries and the private sector, threatening penalties and budget cuts for promoting critical race theory or having associations with advocacy organizations.

Along with cuts to staff and budgets, the state has become more involved in policing language and tightening restrictions on faculty and staff speech. In February the Regents made revisions to Iowa’s freedom of expression policy with more clearly defined and punitive measures for digital content it finds objectionable, and moved to scrub all UI websites of references to diversity, equity, and other “divisive” ideologies. 

In February Trump ordered federal employees to report hidden DEI coworkers or face “adverse consequences.” House Study Bill 50 will implement annual reviews by the Board of Regents of state universities’ academic programs, which critics fear are designed to enforce compliance with these new anti-DEI policies.

The chilling effect of these moves has been successful, as associating your job or personal opinions with DEI-related topics could lead to the termination of your position, office, or research grants. Many faculty have chosen to quietly avoid being targeted rather than loudly speaking up and risking the attention of Trump or the Iowa Legislature.

Asking to remain anonymous, a history teacher who works in special education in Iowa public schools observed that these cuts will predominantly be felt by children with special needs and in poor communities with already under-equipped staff and services. “Maybe they can divide people on DEI and stuff, but I hope nobody, if they knew what they were doing, would want those with disabilities to have less.” 

The Trump Administration said the arrest of students and financial cuts at Columbia University and deportation of Professor Badar Khan Suri for speech critical of the Administration will be first “of many to come” as the Administration cracks down on demonstrations against the war in Gaza. The federal District Court of the Southern District of Iowa has placed a restraining order against Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s department for its revoking of five UI international students’ visas.

Republicans have successfully captured key state judicial and legislative procedures and used them to strangle the institutions and legal precedents that stand to curtail their agenda and limit their power. All public and private schools in the state have signed letters of compliance with the erasure of DEI practices to protect federal and state funding. With Democrats confused and their current share of Congress too small to fight these bills, it’s unlikely anyone can stand up to Reynolds’s and Trump’s attack on education.

The post Anti-wokeness and Iowa’s dismantling of education 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.

Many have identified an alarming trend in the local and state government: authoritarianism in Iowa. What many thought to be relegated to distant, dystopian countries has found its way here. This has been after numerous laws and legislation have been passed that target minority groups, including transgender people, and punish people for their dissent. 

Lawyer, and Iowa City city council member Laura Bergus, along with V Fixmer-Oraiz, a Johnson County supervisor, both wrote on this direction that the Iowa government has been taken in an op-ed published in the Little Village magazine. There, they talked about Iowa’s Back the Blue Laws, and how they gave police officers more immunity, while limiting the power of protesters. The laws made it criminal to engage in common protest activities like blocking the street. 

These laws came into effect when seven protesters were charged at Chloe Cole’s speech in the Iowa Memorial Union in October of 2023. All seven identified as trans. This targeting of trans people both in the legislator and on the streets, along with the laws designed to quell dissent has shown the Iowa government’s more restrictive and authoritarian actions. 

In this interview, Laura Bergus elaborates on the authoritarian practices of the Iowa government. She points out the signs of authoritarianism in other places and correlates them to what is happening in the state. She also details the goals of recent legislation, why trans people are being targeted, and some steps to be taken to push back against this trend. 

The post Interview: Laura Bergus on Authoritarianism in Iowa appeared first on KRUI Radio.

On February 8th, the Iowa Department of Public Health announced a contract with Microsoft for an online vaccine scheduling system. A little over a week later, on February 17th, Governor Reynolds announced the contract’s cancellation.

Reynolds said of the Microsoft system, “…it would not be possible, in a timely manner, without significant disruption to [Iowa’s] current systems.” Reynolds spoke of plans to improve current systems rather than implement a new one. “We did not want to slow down the progress that we’re making,” said the governor.

As of today, Iowa has no centralized registration system. The Department of Public Health advises Iowans to contact local health providers and to regularly check pharmacy websites for openings.

Local tools

Several Iowans created new tools to make vaccine registration easier in the absence of statewide action. Todd Brady created Vaccine Hunter, a website that finds and publishes any available appointments at pharmacies across the state.

Another Iowan, Brian Finley, took to social media with his appointment-searching technology. His Twitter account, Iowa Vaccine Alerts (@IAVaccineAlerts) automatically posts when new appointments are available. The automated tweets contain various pharmacy locations; from there, it is up to the user to schedule an appointment on the pharmacy’s website.

The account currently has over 30,000 followers. Finley encourages users to turn on tweet notifications, because appointments usually fill up in a matter of minutes.

Additionally, Connor Uhlman created Iowa Vaccine Notifications, a website that allows users to sign up for text messages. The site checks for open Hy-Vee pharmacy appointments in the user’s area. When interviewed by the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Uhlman said he hoped his website could assist typically underserved populations.

Finley told the Iowa City Press-Citizen that he decided to help Uhlman by altering his own notification system. Finley’s system now checks for appointments every 3 to 4 minutes while Uhlman’s website checks every 60 seconds, aiding more vulnerable users.

By the numbers

It seems that these local efforts have indeed helped vaccine distribution. As of April 16th, Iowa has administered over 2 million doses, according to the state’s COVID-19 informational website. A total of 851,762 Iowans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while an additional 389,124 Iowans await a second dose.

Demographic data on the state’s website shows that over 80% of vaccine recipients were white. The 60-69 age range continues to be the most vaccinated, making up nearly 23% of administered doses. 56.53% of recipients were female, while the other 43.47% were male.

Compared to the rest of the nation, Iowa is doing pretty well with vaccine distribution. According to CDC data, 27.2% of the state is fully vaccinated, ranking Iowa at 16th in the nation. Maine currently ranks 1st, with 31.5% of the state’s population fully vaccinated, and Georgia ranks last with 17.9%.

Concerns

The numbers look good for Iowa, but not everyone is actively looking for the vaccine. An Iowa Poll from the Des Moines Register shows that 27% of Iowa adults don’t plan on getting vaccinated.

Another concern is the recent halt on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Out of over 7 million recipients, six women developed a rare blood clot within 1-3 weeks after their vaccinations. The FDA instructed pharmacies across the U.S. to stop administering doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in order to further investigate whether or not it is linked to the blood clots.

The delay is unfortunate; Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine was easier to distribute because it only required one dose. With a substantial portion of the U.S. already hesitant about receiving the vaccine, the Johnson & Johnson news may perpetuate certain fears. Public officials continue to stress that there is no evidence of any significant issue with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, encouraging all citizens to get their vaccines as soon as possible.

The post Vaccines in Iowa: How are we doing? appeared first on KRUI Radio.