A lawsuit brought by publishers and authors including John Green and Jodi Picoult has led to a portion of a law banning Iowa school libraries and classrooms from carrying books depicting sex acts being halted.

On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the measure, writing that it had been applied unconstitutionally in many schools and that books of “undeniable political, artistic, literary, and/or scientific value” had been caught up in it, including Ulysses by James Joyce, Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, Beloved by Toni Morrison and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

This is the second time that US district judge Stephen Locher, a Joe Biden appointee, has blocked the ban. The law, Senate File 496, was first approved by Iowa’s Republican-led legislature and governor Kim Reynolds in 2023, however, Locher placed an injunction on it in December 2023 after authors and publishers sued the state.

The preliminary injunction was reversed by the US Eighth Circuit appeals court last August, leading publishers and authors to file a second complaint, arguing that the ban violates free speech and “goes far beyond prohibiting books that are obscene as to minors because it prohibits books with even a brief description of a sex act for students of all ages without any evaluation of the book as a whole”.

In his decision, Locher wrote that the ban has resulted in “forced removal of books from school libraries that are not pornographic or obscene”, and that unconstitutional applications of the law “far exceed” constitutional applications.

The ultimate fate of the ban still hangs in the balance, as Iowa officials could appeal this week’s ruling.

In response to Locher’s decision, Iowa attorney general Brenna Bird, a Republican, said that parents “shouldn’t have to worry about what materials their kids have access to when they’re not around.”

“This common sense law makes certain that the books kids have access to in school classrooms and libraries are age-appropriate,” she added. “I’m going to keep on fighting to uphold our law that protects schoolchildren and parental rights.”

The Iowa law is among several book banning measures enacted across the US in recent years. Publisher-led lawsuits have also been brought in Florida and Idaho.

Other books unconstitutionally caught up in the law, wrote Locher, include Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Song of Solomon and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, and Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird released a statement Tuesday following the announcement that a federal judge blocked part of an Iowa book ban law.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher blocked part of the law that bans school libraries and classrooms from carrying books depicting sex acts.

“As a mom, I know how important it is to keep schools a safe place for kids to learn and grow,” says Attorney General Bird. “Parents shouldn’t have to worry about what materials their kids have access to when they’re not around. This common sense law makes certain that the books kids have access to in school classrooms and libraries are age-appropriate. I’m going to keep on fighting to uphold our law that protects schoolchildren and parental rights.”

Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have landed a new coach in Ben McCollum, beginning a new era in Iowa City. McCollum certainly has his work cut out for him given all of the departures Iowa has had recently, but perhaps he could bring in some big additions via the transfer portal?

Black Heart Gold Pants has speculated on a few potential Drake Bulldogs players that could potentially make their way to the Hawkeyes, as McCollum coached Drake to a 31-5 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance this past season.

The top name that surfaced was guard Bennett Stirtz, who just led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring.

“His abilities on full display in the tournament should help to ease concerns over McCollum’s ability to recruit,” Black Heart Gold Pants wrote. “Stirtz very clearly belongs, even getting some NBA buzz on Thursday, but was overlooked by D1 coaches out of high school.”

Stirtz averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals over 39.4 minutes per game on 49.8/39.5/79.4 shooting splits this past season.

He has spent his entire collegiate tenure with McCollum, as he began his career at Northwest Missouri State, but transferred after his sophomore campaign after McCollum made the jump to Drake.

It’s only natural to wonder if the 6-foot-4 sharpshooter will follow McCollum once again, especially now that McCollum is at a Big Ten program.

Iowa has lost a massive chunk of its roster to the transfer portal after the firing of Fran McCaffery, so now, it’s up to McCollum to repair the damage. Perhaps he could convince Stirtz to come on board.

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