Iowa
Bill removing gender-balance requirement for Iowa boards and commissions clears Senate – Iowa Capital Dispatch
Legislation removing Iowa’s gender balance requirement for state boards and commissions advanced through the Iowa Senate Tuesday.
Republican female lawmakers — Sens. Annette Sweeney, Chris Cournoyer, Carrie Koelker and Dawn Driscoll — spoke in support of Senate File 2096 during floor debate. If the bill becomes law, the state would no longer require that state panels include an equal number of men and women.
While some Democrats argued that the measure is necessary to combat gender discrimination and ensure women have equal access to government and leadership roles, Cournoyer said she found it “sad” that some lawmakers believed repealing the requirement would lead to a reduction in women serving or being picked for these government bodies.
Cournoyer, R-LeClaire, said that the rule was “insulting,” recounting stories she has heard of women being asked to serve on certain boards solely because of their gender. She said boards and commissions should be comprised of the most qualified people of the communities they represent, which will include qualified and able women.
“Did I have to work harder to prove myself? Yes,” Cournoyer said. “Did I have hurdles to overcome? Yes. But all of those challenges made me better and stronger and more prepared for opportunities and challenges that I faced throughout my lifetime, just like many other women. Women who have worked hard to earn their success should not have that success diminished by those that depend on a system that allows them to fall upward.”
Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, argued the requirement is still necessary. Boulton brought up a U.S. District Court ruling — which has been appealed — that found Iowa’s gender balance requirement for the judicial nominating commission was unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. He said looking at the composition of judicial nominating commissions in Iowa showed the need for a mandate: Before the requirement was first established in 1987, no woman had been elected to serve on the state commission.
Nationwide, studies have found that men still comprise the majority of state judicial nominating commissions, Boulton said.
“This is a current situation where we look around the country, and absent a gender balance requirement, it’s imbalanced,” Boulton said.
During a subcommittee meeting on the legislation earlier in February, Karen Kedrowski, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women spoke in favor of the requirement — and said women still do not have equal representation on boards and commissions despite the law.
Since the gender balance requirement was extended to cities and counties in 2012, the percentage of Iowa municipalities with gender-balanced boards rose from 13% to 61%, and rose from 12% to 62% for counties, according to the center’s data. Boards and commissions are exempt from the requirement if they unable to find a qualified candidate to meet the gender-balance rule after a three-month search under current law.
Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, joined Republicans in supporting the measure. He said women, with higher rates of graduation and secondary education, will be more likely to serve as qualified applicants on panels in the state and the gender-balance requirement would be a “ceiling” for their participation.
“I think we should do away with that ceiling,” Quirmbach said. “I think we should let both men and women compete on the basis of their qualifications and their achievements and their willingness to work hard. I have no doubt that if we move in that direction, if we let women move forward as far as their talents and energy will take them, that 50% is going to be far exceeded in the not too distant future.”
Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, pushed back on claims that the requirement was no longer necessary, or that women were being chosen as “tokens” instead of as qualified applicants to serve on boards and commissions. She also said while significant strides have been made in women’s inclusion into government and leadership roles, that does not mean there’s no need for laws ensuring women’s representation.
“Simply because progress has been made does not mean it’s not going to roll back, or it can’t roll back,” she said.
The measure passed 32-15, and heads to the House for consideration.
The Iowa chapter of the Land Improvement Contractors of America (LICA) officially opened a new facility on its 80-acre demonstration farm in Marshall County Thursday.
Iowa LICA President Scott Bohle said having classroom and meeting space will make it easier to educate the next generation of professional contractors, along with government employees, lawmakers and students, to help conserve soil and water in the state.
Bohle said the building “gives people a place to gather, collaborate and continue the important work that defines our association.”
Just outside the new space are wetlands, terraces, sediment control basins, bioreactors and other features, which members have built since LICA purchased the farm near Melbourne in 2000.
“We call it the one-stop shop, where you can see anything being put to practice by our landowners,” said Kelby Kiefer, executive director of Iowa LICA.
Together, these “edge-of-field” practices remove 50% of phosphates and almost 100% of the nitrates from the runoff of a 1,000-plus acre watershed, according to the association.
Adding more wetlands, saturated buffers and bioreactors across the state are a key part of Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy. It aims to cut nitrogen and phosphorus losses from farm fields by 41% and 29%, respectively.
The strategy is part of a broader effort to reduce nutrient pollution in the state’s waterways and the Gulf of Mexico by 45% compared to the 1980-96 baseline period. It does not include a target date.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said the state has accelerated edge-of-field practices in recent years, in part through the Batch and Build model. The approach bundles projects in a targeted watershed to reduce costs and save time for farmers and contractors.
Nearly 150 nitrate reducing wetlands and around 500 saturated buffers, bioreactors and multi-purpose oxbows had been built in the state as of 2024. Thousands more will be needed to meet the state’s nutrient reduction targets.
“[Clean water is] something we need to be focused on, and we can be proud of the work that’s happened, but we know that we need to do more,” Naig said. “Buildings like this help.”
Naig said scaling up conservation infrastructure across the state will require more skilled contractors. He described them as the “critical link” between concepts and “getting things on the ground.”
“It’s from that point where you say, ‘We have a design that’s ready to go, a willing landowner,’ but somebody needs to make it happen,” Naig said. “The land improvement contractor sits in that very important spot.”
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Mark Roering returned to Iowa City Regina 30 years after serving as an assistant coach, and in just two seasons, he has transformed the Regals into one of Class 2A’s most dangerous teams.
“I was a senior in college. I just had finished playing baseball myself and was doing high school in the summers. Had one of those magical seasons here losing in the state finals,” Roering said. “I was just ready for something new.”
Prior to being hired at Iowa City Regina in 2024, Roering coached nine seasons at Dowling Catholic, where he helped the Maroons reach the state tournament six times. Regina was below .500 in three of the four seasons before his arrival. His first season at the helm, Regina went 22-6.
“I think the biggest difference is practice. Everybody is so much more locked in. Really that just comes from him. He gets on us everyday, he has to make the drive and hour and a half every day so we want to give that back to him for all the time and effort he’s put into us,” junior Trey Streb said.
Streb also described Roering as a very emotional coach who cares deeply about the team and winning.
The Regals’ bats have become a significant threat. Regina ranks fifth in the state and second in Class 2A with a .379 batting average and has the fourth fewest strikeouts among state teams.
“It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced and it’s been super competitive and it’s nice to be with people who want to win and will do whatever it takes to win,” senior Emmett Burke said.
The team already sits at 20 wins with eight regular season games remaining.
Roering said the transformation comes when players start believing they can win in any situation.
“Winning is contagious just like losing is contagious,” Roering said. “Kids they start believing and it gets really dangerous you know that they can win no matter what situation they’re in.”
The turnaround has positioned the Regals to make a postseason run. With only one senior on the roster, the team could remain a threat next season.
“No matter what, we’re going to fight and we’re not going to roll over. We’re going to do what we need to do to win,” Burke said.
“We’re big competitors. We don’t accept defeat and I think that’s one of my favorite parts about this team,” Streb added.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) -Water and wastewater utility rates in Iowa City will increase starting July 1, following a city council decision on May 19.
The water utility rate will increase by 3%, while the wastewater rate will increase by 5%.
The increases are part of a funding model to help recover the costs of providing water and wastewater services to Iowa City residents.
The new rates will take effect in tandem with Iowa City’s 2027 fiscal year and apply to customers served by the Iowa City Water Division and the Iowa City Wastewater Division.
The city said the rate adjustment supports its continued provision of safe and reliable water service.
To learn more about the city’s utilities, visit their website.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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