Iowa
Iowa bill would require schools, child care facilities to disclose vaccine exemption info to families
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Iowa’s K-12 schools and child care facilities would have to disclose information that parents and guardians can exempt their child from vaccines in a set of proposed companion House and Senate bills that passed Wednesday through their respective subcommittees.
Nearly half a dozen Iowa mothers who oppose vaccines packed into Iowa House and Senate subcommittees Wednesday to share personal testimonies advocating for the passage of companion bills Senate File 6 and House File 34.
“That’s all it’s about, is information,” said Lindsay Maher, an Iowa mom who supports vaccine exemptions. “So we need to do a better job of making that information transparent for parents.”
The companion bills would require Iowa’s K-12 schools and child care facilities to include information about vaccine exemptions in any public communication to parents or guardians following recommendations by the Department of Public Health and Human Services.
Families can opt out of school vaccines if immunizing their student “conflicts with a genuine and sincere religious belief,” according to Iowa law. Iowa law says that that belief must be religious, but families don’t have to specify a religion or obtain a religious waiver.
A medical exemption signed by a physician who deems a vaccine would be harmful to a child is also an option for families in Iowa.
Elementary and secondary schools and child care facilities would have to publish vaccine exemption information on their websites and in registration documents. The legislation also requires the Iowa Board of Education to adopt a rule to require all K-12 school districts and schools to provide information regarding the exemptions to a parent or guardian.
Iowa community colleges and Iowa Board of Regents universities would also have to adopt a policy to require them to include any communication to students related to immunization exemptions.
Rep. Samantha Fett, R-Carlisle, who co-sponsored the House bill, told the Register the bill is an example of informed consent.
“It’s important that parents have the options in front of them if they’re required to make a choice, especially in the school district that says you have to have these vaccinations, you can simply say you also have the exemption, and then it’s the parent’s choice, it’s the family’s choice,” Fett said.
Maher said excluding information about vaccine exemptions is a medical coercion strategy.
“Schools are not supposed to be practicing medicine, and they aren’t, they’re gathering records, but, in this case, we’re using them to coerce parents into making the medical decisions without informed consent. Please pass this bill,” Maher said.
Rep. Tracy Ehlert, D-Cedar Rapids, who is on the House Health and Human Services subcommittee, said she is undecided about the bill because of a few lingering questions about the logistics of the legislation.
“Although I did choose to vaccinate my own children, I really appreciate the transparency and the informative piece of this bill that I can get behind,” Ehlert said. “I am just concerned about the unfunded mandates and I also was wondering if anyone can answer how it will be funded for child care.”
Sen. Molly Donahue, D-Cedar Rapids, who is on the Senate Health and Human Services subcommittee, also didn’t sign off on the bill because the legislation would be a blanket policy rather than allowing child care facilities and schools to deal with concerns about vaccine exemptions on a case-by-case basis.
“I don’t like legislating for everybody because not everybody is a bad actor,” Donahue said.
Fett said Ehlert and Donahue need to understand that parents just want vaccine exemption information accessible to the public.
“It’s not about taking a side on vaccinations or not vaccinations, but it’s understanding that there’s choices, that those choices are laid out in law, and we just want parents to know what those are and they can make the best decisions,” Fett said.
Sabine Martin covers politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at sabine.martin@gannett.com or by phone at (515) 284-8132. Follow her on X at @sabinefmartin.
Five people were shot and injured at an Iowa City pedestrian mall near the University of Iowa campus overnight, police said Sunday. Students from the university were among the injured, according to school officials.
The Iowa City Police Department responded to a report of a large fight in the 100 Block of East College Street at 1:46 a.m. early Sunday, the department said in a news release. Arriving officers heard gunfire.
Multiple victims were hospitalized, police said. Police confirmed to CBS News that one person was in critical condition, while the other four victims are stable.
University of Iowa President Barb Wilson said in a statement that three students were among those shot. None of the victims has been publicly identified.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing. Police said they are seeking information about five “persons of interest associated with this shooting.” The university also shared the request for information.
The pedestrian mall was closed for several hours and reopened Sunday afternoon.
Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for April 13-18. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.
Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:
Taylor Roose, Pella boys track and field
Roose competed in three events at the Norwalk Invitational, winning all three in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and long jump.
Daxon Kiesau, Urbandale boys track and field
Kiesau swept the throwing events at the Norwalk Invitational, taking first place in the shot put and the discus.
Alex Burger, Southeast Valley boys track and field
Competing at home, Burger dominated, earning four gold medals. He won the 400-meter hurdles and the long jump while running on the winning 4×200-meter relay and shuttle hurdle relay.
Kolby Hodnefield, Clear Lake boys track and field
Hodenfield, a defending state champion, broke the meet, venue and school record in the 200 and the 400 at the Clear Lake Invitational. He added victories as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Both relays also set meet records.
Easton Moon, North Polk boys tennis
Moon has started off his senior season on the courts unbeaten, winning all four matches while dropping just one game in 44 played.
Ava Lohrbach, Gilbert girls golf
One of the top golfers in the state, Lohrbach has had a hot start, firing a 35 in her nine-hole debut and a 72 for her 18-hole opener.
Nathan Manske, Algona boys golf
An elite quarterback and basketball player, Manske is showing his golfing skills this spring, coming out with a state-low 30 in a nine-hole event.
Ella Hein, Tipton girls track and field
Hein set school records in the 400-meter run and long jump at the Tiger/Tigerette Relays while also locking in the Blue Standard and qualifying for the Drake Relays. She won the long jump (18-6) and was second in the 400.
Maeve Bowen-Burt, Iowa City High girls track and field
The sophomore helped the Little Hawks land three Drake Relays events on the last night of qualifying, advancing in the 400 hurdles, along with the sprint medley and 4×400 relays.
About Our Athlete of the Week Voting
High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.
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The late boxing great George Foreman lies buried in a cemetery in the northwestern corner of Iowa – a place he has no connection to outside of a lone visit to the region nearly 40 years ago.
Foreman died March 21, 2025, at the age of 76 in Houston and was buried in Logan Park Cemetery at Sioux City, Iowa, a month later, city officials confirmed. Foreman’s family returned Thursday to his burial site, holding a news conference with Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott to reveal Foreman’s burial place, marked by a large monument that bears an image of him as a teen following his Olympic gold medal boxing win.
The family explained in a statement released by Sioux City officials that he had visited the Iowa city in 1988, and often recalled the sense of peace he experienced there.
After traveling to the city on April 17 last year to bury Foreman, his family said they immediately understood the region’s appeal.
“Our father lived a life of purpose, faith and gratitude,” the family said in a statement released by Sioux City officials. “To see him laid to rest in a place that brought him peace means everything to us.”
Scott joined the family at Foreman’s monument that lies just a few miles north of the Missouri River in an upper Midwest city of nearly 87,000 people. The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).
“Their story is a reminder of how one place can stay with someone for a lifetime,” Scott said.
A native Texan, Foreman rose to fame when he made the 1968 U.S. Olympic boxing team, winning gold in Mexico City. He became the heavyweight champion of the world in 1973 by defeating the great Joe Frazier, only to lose the title a year later to Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”
A full 20 years later in 1994, Foreman became the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship at 45, defeating Michael Moorer in an epic upset.
Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 career record.
He then moved on to the next chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor, becoming known to a new generation as the face of the George Foreman Grill. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and brought him more wealth than boxing.
A biographical movie based on Foreman’s life was released in 2023.
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