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Government Policy and Law

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Iowa prison population drops to 20-year low

Quad-City Times: Iowa’s prison population is below 8,000 for the first time in 20 years as officials try to stem coronavirus outbreaks at several facilities. Iowa’s nine prisons had 7,406 offenders as of Friday morning — …

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Officials: Aluminum tariffs, Canadian countermeasures will hurt Iowa manufacturers

Less than three months after the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement was enacted on July 1, the United States and Canada are squaring off in a renewed tariff war over aluminum exports that Iowa’s export council chairman …

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Terry Branstad, U.S. ambassador to China, is stepping down

Wall Street Journal: Terry Branstad is stepping down as U.S. ambassador to China, ending a more than three-year tenure at the forefront of Washington’s increasingly strained relationship with Beijing. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo thanked Branstad …

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Former Iowa revenue director named to Electronic Tax Administration committee

Courtney Kay-Decker, who was director of the Iowa Department of Revenue from 2011 to 2019, has been selected by the Internal Revenue Service as one of 10 new members of the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory …

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Updated state figures show 5.4% net revenue decline since beginning of pandemic

Iowa’s state tax revenue has declined 5.4% year-over-year during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the newest fiscal update released this week by the Legislative Services Agency. From March 19 through Sept. 8, net state tax revenue declined …

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More than $7 million approved for derecho survivors in Iowa

More than $7.1 million in federal assistance has been approved for Iowans, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced this week. FEMA individually approved more than $3.1 million in individual assistance grants for more than 900 …

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Greater Des Moines Partnership’s virtual DMDC series begins next week

The Greater Des Moines Partnership is holding a series of events beginning next week to replace its annual advocacy trip to Washington, D.C., in May, which was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. According to …

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Workers’ comp claims not clear-cut when it comes to COVID-19

How will Iowa workers’ compensation cases play out in instances where employees have contracted COVID-19 and file a claim for coverage? That question will likely remain hanging in legal limbo for months while civil cases …

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Perdue approves designation of 18 Iowa counties as natural disaster areas

Cedar Rapids Gazette: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue declared 18 Iowa counties natural disaster areas Thursday, making farmers eligible for federal assistance in the wake of the effects of COVID-19 and the Aug. 10 derecho. Perdue …

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Des Moines attorney: CDC’s proposed order won’t halt all evictions

A proposed order issued this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that would temporarily prohibit landlords from evicting tenants unable to pay rent likely won’t halt all evictions, nor will it immediately …

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