The Iowa capitol is currently under lockdown. Sometime before 4 pm this afternoon, State Representative Ako Abdul-Samad's clerk was opening mail in the Iowa House chamber while House members were debating a bill on banning traffic cameras. One envelope... »
The nice thing about a large majority, like the 60 to 40 Republican advantage in the Iowa House, is not needing every vote in your caucus for every bill. Members can oppose the party line when local interests are threatened without derailing the legisl... »
Polk County has long been dominated by safe Democratic Iowa House seats in the city of Des Moines and safe Republican seats in the suburbs. One of the few truly competitive recent Iowa House races in this county took place in 2008, when Republican Chri... »
Senate District 31 Registration: D 16811, R 6981, N 14704, total 38516, D +9830 Incumbent: Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo; holdover seat An excellent Democratic district gets even better with minor line changes. Dotzler moved over to the Senate in 2002 after... »
Iowa legislators will host the State of Iowa’s Black History Month Celebration on Wednesday, February 29, 2012, in the Iowa House Chambers at the State Capitol in Des Moines. A Black History Month proclamation will be read and signed by Governor Terry ... »
State Senator Brian Schoenjahn confirmed today that he is running for re-election in the new Senate district 32. This politically balanced seat is a must-win for Democrats hoping to retain their majority in the upper chamber. With barely a month to go ... »
Although the 60 Republicans and 40 Democrats in the Iowa House haven't changed since last year, I thought it was worth updating this post, because some committee assignments have changed, and House Democrats reshuffled their ranking members somewhat. M... »
Despite relatively good news on revenue coming into the state's general fund, a spokesman for Gov. Terry Branstad says the administration's goals of cutting the cost of government by 15 percent won't change. But Democratic leaders say recent budget dat... »
