UPDATE: After fighting over abortion, budgets, education, taxes and a host of other issues for the better part of 130 days, the Iowa Legislature ended its overtime session on bipartisan high notes late Thursday morning. The Senate adjourned shortly before midnight Wednesday. However, an ideological train wreck in the House Republican caucus over abortion policy [...]

Gov. Terry Branstad today is hailing the members of split-control Legislature for their landmark session achievements. The five-term GOP governor says lawmakers succeeded in approving significant property tax relief, transformational education reform, and meaningful health modernization that focuses on quality outcomes for low-income patients while modernizing of the Medicaid system. The governor noted that the [...]

DES MOINES – Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass was named superintendent of the Eagle County School District on a 5-0 vote Wednesday night. Reached by phone shortly after the vote, Glass said he’ll begin his new job on July 1, pending contract negotiations. Gov. Terry Branstad sought out the now-41-year-old Glass to shape [...]

DES MOINES – State lawmakers will be back this morning to continue their attempt to finalize bipartisan agreements on tax relief, school reform, more health-care coverage for needy Iowans, and an increased state budget plan Wednesday before adjourning what some regarded as a landmark session. Shortly before midnight, the Iowa Senate passed a final adjournment [...]

The leader of the Iowa Senate’s Republican caucus today refuted claims by a former employee of a hostile work environment where she and other female staff members were sexually harassed. “I’ve never tolerated in the past nor will I tolerate in the future harassment of any kind, including sexual harassment,” said Senate GOP Leader Bill [...]

A key legislative leader on education reform is “very optimistic” a conference committee working out differences between lawmakers and the governor will reach consensus today. “We’re making great progress,” House Education Committee Chairman Ron Jorgensen, R-Sioux City, said this morning. “We’re developing the conference committee report. We’ll take a look at it. They’ll take a [...]

The split-control Legislature inched toward adjournment on its 18th day of overtime session Tuesday. House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said progress on the outstanding issues holding up the session’s end was “excellent” and he told reporters “I think that there’s a very real possibility that we are done tomorrow.” Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council [...]

A pair of Eastern Iowa lawmakers are hoping to help the Legislature toward adjournment by offering a bipartisan compromise on two key issues that have generated interest in recent years. Reps. Bobby Kaufman, R-Wilton, and Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville, have offered a compromise on eminent domain legislation and funding for a passenger rail proposal that includes [...]

DES MOINES – Gov. Terry Branstad told fellow Iowa Executive Council members Monday he is still pushing to get the yearly salaries increased for their positions in 2014, but he’s not optimistic given the legislative reception the proposal received last week. Meanwhile, State Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald, a Democrat, said he was disappointed the proposal to [...]

Key legislators and Gov. Terry Branstad expressed optimism Monday that progress was being made to forge a “hybrid” health care compromise that would merge elements of the governor’s “Healthy Iowa” plan with Senate Democrats’ desire to expand Medicaid to cover low-income, uninsured Iowans. “If we’re going to get something resolved, nobody’s going to get their [...]