IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa clinching a share of the Big Ten regular season title slipped away on Friday night for at least another day.

The Hawkeyes’ three-run lead against the Ducks wasn’t enough. Oregon rallied to win 9-6.

Four runs in the seventh sparked Oregon’s comeback.

Now Saturday afternoon’s game will decide which of the two teams will get at least a share of the conference’s regular season championship.

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Iowa lawmakers have approved a bill mandating that certain Medicaid recipients work to retain benefits, a move expected to affect tens of thousands of constituents who use the health program.

The new legislation makes Iowa one of the latest states to pursue such requirements. Georgia remains the only state with work requirements already in place, but may others have similar legislation pending approval or at various stages of implementation.

Newsweek has contacted Iowa lawmakers and the state’s Department of Health and Human Services for comment via email outside regular working hours.

Why It Matters

Iowa’s new Medicaid work requirement is expected to affect low-income adults who receive health care through the state’s Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

A number of states have recently pushed for Medicaid work requirements. On the federal level, House Republicans have proposed similar requirements as part of its budget.

Generally, critics of work requirements warn they will substantially weaken the Medicaid system, the largest public health insurance program in the country, by forcing millions off the service. Supporters argue that work requirements will foster employment, reduce fraudulent claims and improve personal responsibility.

What To Know

The bill seeks to include work requirements as a condition of eligibility for those on the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan, meaning they use Medicaid under the ACA expansion.

The legislation said, “The goal of including work requirements is to reduce the dependence of low-income Iowans on public assistance programs through efforts that advance economic stability and mobility.”

To be eligible for the program, Iowans 19 to 64 years old would have to work 80 hours a month, although some recipients would be exempt from the ruling.

Those who are “determined to be disabled by the United States social security administration” are exempt. Exemptions also include those identified as “medically frail,” caregivers of a child under the age of 6 and people with “high risk” pregnancies.

As the bill has been deemed of “immediate importance,” the new rules would come into effect upon its enactment.

According to the bill, if federal law or regulations affecting work requirements for the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan are “modified to exclude work requirements as a basis for maintaining eligibility,” the department will discontinue the plan entirely, if it gets approval to do so.

A fiscal note on the bill said that as of April, 183,000 Iowans were enrolled on the state’s Medicaid expansion program. Of those enrollees, the report expected 32,000 individuals to lose coverage beginning in 2026 because of the requirements.

The report also anticipated that the new requirements would decrease the state’s total Medicaid expenditures by about $2.5 million in the financial year 2026 and by about $14.4 million in the financial year 2027.

What People Are Saying

The Iowa State Democrats account on X, formerly Twitter, wrote on Tuesday: “Many Iowans rely on state funding to help cover their healthcare needs. The scale of our maternal healthcare crisis is growing. The Medicaid waiver waitlist for Iowans with disabilities is growing. This Republican budget proposal fails to bring relief to those Iowans in need.”

The Iowa Democrats X account wrote on Tuesday: “Countless Iowans rely on Medicaid to access healthcare coverage. Iowa Republicans in D.C. plan to ignore the concerns of their constituents and rip away their coverage to pay for a $4.5 trillion tax cut for the wealthy.”

Democratic state Senator Sarah Trone Garriott said: “Taking away people’s health care does not help them work. It often keeps people out of the workforce, because then they can’t pay for their medications, they can’t get the care they need. They end up getting sicker. They end up missing more work.”

Republican state Senator Mike Klimesh said: “So at the end of demonstration year five, we will see a savings in the state of Iowa as a result of this program of $50 million. $50 million in savings that we can really reallocate or reappropriate to other areas, perhaps work with our programs. We may be able to develop with further communication between ourselves in the House.”

What Happens Next

The Iowa Senate approved the bill in a 33-13 vote, the Des Moines Register reported. It went back to the House, which passed it in a 56-30 vote on Wednesday.

The legislation now heads to Governor Kim Reynolds, who is expected to sign it.

From a 1.5-ounce ice cream novelty to a 70,000-pound cotton picker, eight items await weighty decisions by Iowans on which will advance in the Coolest Thing Made in Iowa contest.

The contest began May 5 with 69 nominees. Voters will have from Friday, May 16, to May 21 to vote on which of the eight finalists announced Thursday, May 15, will be in the final four.

The decision process won’t be easy for voters as they ponder the “coolness factor” of products ranging from  heavy farm equipment to a chocolate pump and a pastry.

Butter Braid pastries from Country Maid Inc. of West Bend was the only repeat product from the Top Eight contestants a year ago, the initial edition of the annual contest. Sold through fundraisers, the pastries have helped thousands of organizations raise over $320 million for various causes, according to Country Maid.

The contest is sponsored by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry and MidwestOne Bank and culminates in a winner being named at the ABI’s annual conference June 11 in Council Bluffs. Voting is online at coolestthingia.com.

Iowa is one of 20 states holding the contests. A self-propelled hay baler from Vermeer Corp. of Pella took the state’s initial top prize in 2024.

Last year, the competition received 86 nominations representing products made in 53 cities across Iowa. Four rounds of voting took place, with 76,382 total votes cast.

The contest also serves as a chance to promote manufacturing in Iowa, accounting for more than 220,000 jobs and contributing over $43 billion to the state’s economy, according to ABI.

Here are the final eight products:

Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.