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Government Policy and Law

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Vilsack confirmed for a second stint as U.S. agriculture secretary

Washington Post: The Senate voted 92-7 today to approve President Joe Biden’s nomination of Tom Vilsack as agriculture secretary. Vilsack had been expected to have a smooth path to confirmation after the Senate Agriculture Committee voted …

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Business leaders tout tax credit benefits following Common Good report

Iowa companies received nearly $70 million in state Research Activities Tax Credits in 2020, according to a report from the Iowa Department of Revenue. That’s an increase of 43% since 2010.

Common Good, a nonprofit, …

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Davenport’s lone Black alderman to step down, calling council ‘tone-deaf’ on race

Quad-City Times: With 10 months left in his first term, Davenport’s lone Black alderman announced his resignation, saying his colleagues are “tone-deaf” when it comes to addressing racial inequality and discrimination in the city. Alderman Patrick …

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Johnston vying for state funding program with $123.7 million redevelopment project

A 212,400-square-foot athletic facility would be the centerpiece of a recreational complex planned in Johnston, west of Merle Hay Road. Architectural rendering provided by city of Johnston

The city of Johnston has joined the growing list …

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Unemployment back pay faces further delays for some

Des Moines Register: Some Iowans will not immediately get all of the unemployment benefits owed to them when long-delayed federal jobless funds begin reaching recipients next week, Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend said Tuesday. After …

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Democrats pushing ahead on Iowa recount reform

Cedar Rapids Gazette: State Democratic lawmakers plan to push forward a bipartisan proposal to reform Iowa’s election recount process in the wake of issues that arose in Iowa’s historically close U.S. House race, which still is …

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Compromise seen as solution in debate over state’s ‘bottle bill’

A move to make changes to the state’s beverage container redemption law, commonly called the “bottle bill,” may be coming to a head with the introduction of several bills in this year’s Legislature.

The bills …

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What to keep an eye on this week in the Iowa Legislature

Here are six bills to watch this week at the Statehouse:
1. House File 283: Would make it a crime to use synthetic urine or another person’s urine to defraud a drug or alcohol test.
2. House File …

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Iowa receives nearly $1.8M from DOL to combat fraud in pandemic unemployment claims

The U.S. Department of Labor on Friday announced it has awarded $49 million in grants to support 28 states and territories to assist with fighting fraud in two federal pandemic relief programs. The agency made the awards, …

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Iowa Republicans want to overrule cities’ Section 8 bans

Des Moines Register: Landlords could reject tenants who use the federal Section 8 program to help with housing costs, under measures Republicans in the Iowa Legislature are pushing for the second time this year. If approved, …