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Iowa driver’s licenses, ID cards would have to display citizenship status under House bill

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Iowa driver’s licenses, ID cards would have to display citizenship status under House bill


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Iowa driver’s licenses and nonoperator ID cards would be required to state whether the holder is a U.S. citizen under a bill being considered in the Iowa House.

A three-member subcommittee voted 2-1 Wednesday to advance House Study Bill 37, sending it to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.

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Under the bill, the information displayed on a driver’s license or nonoperator ID would have to specify someone’s “status as a citizen of the United States or status as a noncitizen authorized to be in the United States.”

The person’s citizenship status would be displayed on the back of the driver’s license or ID card.

Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull, said the bill was drafted with the intention of making sure only citizens can vote in elections in Iowa.

“We have every right as a state to ensure that only citizens are voting in our elections and we think that at this time this might be the right path,” he said. “We’ll have discussions and see if there’s a different path.”

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Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, said driver’s licenses are used for more than voting and she’s concerned that putting a specific marker on the license could create an opening for discrimination.

“We’ve already heard that folks are using their driver’s license when they are renting cars, when they are purchasing things in a store, and the potential for discrimination when you have a unique identifier is significant,” she said.

It is a felony for a noncitizen to vote in Iowa under state and federal law. Iowa voters in November also amended the state’s constitution to include language saying that “only a citizen of the United States” can vote.

Weeks before the 2024 election, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said he was instructing county auditors to challenge the ballots of 2,176 Iowans who he identified as potential noncitizens based on self-reported Department of Transportation data when Iowans applied for a license or other ID.

A statewide review from the Des Moines Register found that nearly 600 people on Pate’s list tried to vote in the election.

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Of those, 506 proved they were citizens and successfully cast a ballot, while 74 had their absentee ballots rejected primarily because they did not provide proof of citizenship.

What did the public say about the bill requiring citizenship information on driver’s licenses?

Some speakers at Wednesday’s subcommittee meeting said they believe the bill would help make Iowa’s elections secure, while others said it singles out immigrants for discrimination.

Lori Stiles, a poll worker from Johnston and volunteer with the election transparency group Iowa Canvassing Volunteers, said the legislation “would help with securing our elections.”

“This designation or some such on a driver’s license would definitely help to identify people who are U.S. citizens,” she said. “Because only U.S. citizens should be voting in U.S. elections.”

Storm O’Brink, a North Liberty resident who works in social services, said the bill singles out immigrant families who are already afraid, “regardless of what their legal status is.”

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“I am hopeful that you will hear me today about this,” O’Brink said. “There are people terrified and you can’t just do another thing to single them out in our state.”

Monty Montero-Elliott of Iowa City, whose father was a longtime green card holder from Spain, said the bill “puts a lot of people, frankly, in danger of scrutiny.”

“I think that this is a pointless thing to put on an ID card,” Montero-Elliott said. “I don’t see what it has to do with things that you use your ID for like getting a hotel reservation or renting a car or being able to buy alcohol or anything that you have to show an age ID for.”

Connie Ryan, executive director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, said the bill doesn’t fix the problem that the information about someone’s citizenship status could be out of date.

“I worry about people who aren’t yet citizens but are going through the process and they have to put that on their driver’s license and then we’re using those lists for voting,” she said. “And so there’s nothing that indicates when those lists are updated and whether or not they’re accurate.”

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The bill does not require Iowans to update their driver’s license or ID if their citizenship status changes.

“That’s certainly something were going to have to walk through and talk through,” Wheeler said. “I would assume, if you’re naturalized obviously you’re going to make sure you have that updated.”

Republicans indicate driver’s license bill could see changes

Rep. Craig Williams, R-Manning, who sat on the subcommittee, said he doesn’t see the bill as discriminatory.

“I think this has some work to be done,” he said. “I’m not opposed to it and I would vote to push it forward.”

Wheeler said he’s open to hearing feedback if people have suggestions to improve the bill. He said House Republicans will continue having conversations about which direction they want the legislation to go.

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“This is kind of in the, obviously, the very early stages, and people will come with different ideas,” he said. “Maybe they don’t think it’s the best idea, and they’ll look a different way. Maybe they think it’s a great idea. We have yet to have that conversation on a grand scale.”

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.





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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds bans Chinese-owned DeepSeek, RedNote on state devices

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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds bans Chinese-owned DeepSeek, RedNote on state devices


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Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday she is banning the Chinese-owned artificial intelligence DeepSeek and social media apps such as RedNote from state devices and prohibiting state agencies from subscribing or having an account.

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Iowa is the fourth state to have recently banned the Chinese AI model and social media apps from state devices following directives from governors in Texas, New York and Virginia. Reynolds’ directive bans DeepSeek and the apps Lemon8, RedNote, Webull, Tiger Brokers and Moomoo from state devices.

The directive says the Chinese-based AI company and the apps pose a state security risk. It is not immediately clear how many agencies use the apps and DeepSeek on state-owned devices.

Reynolds’ directive also says RedNote’s company has ties to the Chinese Communist Party, and because RedNote and DeepSeek’s headquarters are in China, they are compelled to “support, assist and cooperate” with the government’s intelligence services.

Reynolds banned Tiktok, which the Chinese-based company ByteDance owns, from state devices in 2022.

“Both RedNote and Lemon8 collect significant amount(s) of user data, including location, browsing activity, and device-specific information like IP addresses,” the directive states.

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The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law to ban TikTok in January, but President Donald Trump’s administration delayed the shutdown for 75 days before it went permanently dark.

U.S. social media users saw RedNote and ByteDance’s Lemon8 as popular alternatives to TikTok after the app faced a shutdown. DeepSeek has also recently grown in popularity as a rival to OpenAI and Meta.

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. 



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Iowa City partners with local school district for $3M remodel of Mercer Park athletic fields

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Iowa City partners with local school district for M remodel of Mercer Park athletic fields


Iowa City and the local school district are partnering on a multi-million dollar project that will move the softball program at the district’s oldest high school to a city park.

City High’s softball program will start playing its home games at Mercer Park next year as part of an agreement between the city and the Iowa City Community School District. The softball program back will join its baseball counterpart at the park about a mile-and-a-half south of its campus.

City High baseball has used Mercer Park as its home base since 2020.

The city-owned park at 1317 Dover Street sits on 30 acres of land just southeast of Southeast Middle School off of S. 1st Avenue. City staff said the district and the city have a “long history of partnership” on athletic facilities.

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The park, acquired by the city in 1966, is also home to the Mercer Park Aquatic Center.

Project will provide facelift to baseball, softball facilities

The 25-year Mercer Park agreement will initiate several athletic facility renovations and other park improvements at a total cost of $3.3 million.

The City of Iowa City will contribute just over $700,000 for upgrades to the park’s common areas, including the concessions building, walking paths within the park and central gathering space. ICCSD will be responsible for the lion’s share of the costs, much of which will be dedicated to the athletic facilities.

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The agreement will allow the Iowa City CSD to “exclusively use” Fields 1 and 4 at Mercer Park. The city will maintain Fields 2 and 3 for community use and plans to give preference to local youth sports organizations.

The city will not charge a rental fee for ICCSD’s use of their two fields, though the district will pay the city $5,000 per year. Those funds will be exclusively reserved for future capital projects at Mercer Park.

The city said it will lease out the two city-owned fields to the district if needed.

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The Iowa City Community School District is expected to hold a public hearing regarding the planned improvements during its next board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

Contractor bids are scheduled to open on March 11.

Mercer Park’s pickleball, tennis courts were renovated in 2024

Iowa City facilitated the renovation of Mercer Park and City Park’s existing tennis and pickleball courts in late 2023.

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Nine pickleball and two tennis courts were mapped out as part of the project. The courts sit just west of the baseball and softball fields.

The project included a complete revamp of the foundation for the courts which reopened in June.

The City High softball team is expected to make its move to Mercer Park in 2026.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.



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Is Rising Iowa Hawkeyes Star the Next Kaleb Johnson?

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Is Rising Iowa Hawkeyes Star the Next Kaleb Johnson?


The Iowa Hawkeyes are losing a critical piece of their offense this spring, as star running back Kaleb Johnson is entering the NFL Draft.

Johnson was thoroughly dominant for Iowa in 2024, racking up 1,537 rushing yards and setting the school’s single-season record with 21 rushing touchdowns.

So, just how will the Hawkeyes replace that production?

Well, Iowa has a couple of interesting halfbacks on its roster heading into next season, and one in particular seems to have emerged as the favorite to fill Johnson’s shoes: Kamari Moulton.

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Moulton actually went into 2024 with the expectation that he would be largely sharing the backfield with Johnson, but it didn’t take the latter long to leave Moulton in his wake.

However, Moulton showed obvious signs of potential this past year, like on Nov. 23 against Maryland when he carried the ball 12 times for 114 yards and a touchdown. And in the Music City Bowl, when he totaled 96 yards and score on 14 attempts.

On the season overall, the 20-year-old registered 473 yards while reaching the end zone three times on 5.6 yards per tote as Iowa’s No. 2 running back.

Expect those numbers to see a rather significant uptick in 2025 now that Johnson is gone and Moulton seems set to take on the role of lead back.

Now, the one concern for Moulton is his inexperience as a pass-catcher, as he logged just one catch for 12 yards this past year. He also didn’t post a single reception as a freshman in 2023.

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Perhaps more playing time is the easy solution for Moulton, but it would definitely be nice to see him become more of threat in the aerial attack right off the bat next season.

Regardless, the Hawkeyes may very well have their answer to Johnson’s departure waiting in the wings. We’ll see if Moulton can deliver.

READ MORE: Iowa Hawkeyes Receive Shocking Prediction for 2026 QB

READ MORE: Analyst Exposes Biggest Question for Iowa Hawkeyes’ New QB

READ MORE: 5 Teams Named Top Fits for Iowa Hawkeyes Star in NFL Draft

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READ MORE: Iowa Hawkeyes Standout Receives Deflating NFL Comparison

READ MORE: Iowa Superstar Continues to Earn Tantalizing NFL Comparison



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