Iowa

Iowa House passes bill requiring parental permission for children to use social media

Published

2 years ago

March 6, 2024

Iowa House passes bill requiring parental permission for children to use social media

Iowa House lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday that would require children to have their parents’ permission to open and use social media accounts.

House File 2523 would prohibit those under 18 years old from creating an account on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok before receiving express permission from a parent or guardian. That parent or guardian can revoke permission at any time, and would be provided a password or other means of access to monitor activity on the platform.

Iowa’s attorney general would also be allowed to bring civil lawsuits against any company that violates the parental permission requirements or harms a resident of the state through their platform.

Rep. Charley Thomson, R-Charles City, said the bill filled in the gap between 13-year-olds, the minimum age to use social media under federal rules, and adults — and could act as a safeguard against the manipulation of minors online and further harm that stems from it.

“I’d like this body to be cognizant of the number of deaths that have occurred because of exploitation of social media by bad actors,” said Thomson, the bill’s sponsor.

The measure passed the House with wide bipartisan support on an 88-6 vote.

“I think the intent of this bill is very good,” said Rep. Sami Scheetz, D-Cedar Rapids. “As somebody who grew up during the age of social media, I know firsthand some of the harms that can have on the mental health of children in our state.”

More: Iowa bill would require kids to get a parent’s permission to create social media accounts

Iowa Poll: Most favor parental approval for social media

More than half of Iowans, 55%, say they favor the bill, the new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found, while 42% oppose it. The remaining 3% are not sure.

More: Iowa Poll: Most favor requiring parental approval for kids to have social media accounts

Support among Iowa parents with children under 18 is similar to support from all adults, with 57% of parents in favor and 41% opposed.

The poll results reflect differences across party lines, with 61% of Iowa Republicans in favor of the bill, while 35% oppose it. In contrast, only 39% of Democrats support the bill, while a majority (55%) do not. Among independents, 57% favor the bill, while 42% oppose it.

And support for the bill also varies among age groups, the poll shows. Fifty-nine percent of Iowans ages 45 and older support the legislation, while 52% of Iowans under age 35 oppose it.

Social media measures have encountered resistance in other states

Lawmakers in several other states — including Arkansas, Ohio and Utah — have sought similar restrictions on social media for youth.

But those laws have run into resistance, primarily from a tech trade group that includes Snap, Google, TikTok and Meta, which operates Facebook and Instagram. That group has taken those measures to court and won temporary injunctions in Arkansas and Ohio.

Rep. John Wills, R-Spirit Lake, told the Register in February that he believed Iowa’s law “should survive a challenge” if taken to court.

Virginia Barreda contributed reporting.

Galen Bacharier covers politics for the Register. Reach him at gbacharier@registermedia.com or (573) 219-7440, and follow him on Twitter @galenbacharier.

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Iowa

Check the Powerball numbers. 28,000 Iowa Lottery tickets won prizes.

Published

11 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Check the Powerball numbers. 28,000 Iowa Lottery tickets won prizes.

The Powerball Jackpot keeps getting bigger. No one was the winner on Wednesday, Dec. 17, which means $1.5 billion is now up for grabs.

This is now the fifth-largest jackpot in the game’s history.

How many Iowa Lottery tickets won prizes in latest Powerball drawing?

Iowa Lottery players won 28,677 prizes in Wednesday’s drawing, and this time, no one got close to winning the grand prize. Prizes ranged from $4 to $400.

What were the winning Powerball numbers in Wednesday’s drawing?

The winning numbers in Wednesday’s drawing were 25-33-53-62-66 and Powerball 17. The Power Playmultiplier was 4.

When is the next Powerball drawing?

The next Powerball drawing will be on Saturday, Dec. 20. The game has drawings on Mondays, Wednesday and Saturdays each week.

The Powerball jackpot has been growing since early September, and Saturday’s drawing will mark the 45th in the current jackpot run, a record for most drawings in a single jackpot cycle, according to the news release.

How many Iowa Lottery Powerball tickets were sold?

Iowa Lottery players bought nearly $1.75 million in Powerball tickets for last night’s drawing, including $1.24 million in tickets on Wednesday alone. But the average Powerball purchase in Iowa for Wednesday’s drawing remained around $6, or about three plays per ticket.

Lucia Cheng is a service and trending reporter at the Des Moines Register. Contact her at lcheng@gannett.com or 515-284-8132.

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Iowa

Arizona baseball to hire Iowa’s Sean Kenny as pitching coach

Published

23 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Arizona baseball to hire Iowa’s Sean Kenny as pitching coach

Arizona got caught up in the swirl of college baseball coaches leaving for professional jobs this offseason, losing pitching coach John DeRouin to a coordinator position with the New York Mets organization. But the Wildcats didn’t take long finding a replacement, one with a strong pedigree in the collegiate ranks.

Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball.com is reporting the UA will hire Iowa’s Sean Kenny as pitching coach. Kenny will techincally be Arizona’s fourth pitching coach in five seasons under Chip Hale, though DeRouin only served in that role during the offseason following Kevin Vance’s departure in June to become San Diego State’s head coach.

Kenny, 53, spent the 2025 season at Iowa where his staff ranked 16^th in the country in ERA and 11^th in strikeouts per nine innings. The Hawkeyes went 33-22-1 but missed the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to Iowa, Kenny spent the 2023 season at Iowa and before that was at Georgia from 2018-23. He’s also coached at Michigan, Maryland, Pepperdine and San Diego. The 2026 season will be his 30^th in college baseball.

Arizona, which is coming off a trip to the College World Series, returns weekend starters Owen Kramkowski and Smith Bailey and NCBWA Stopper of the Year Tony Pluta among several other pitchers from the team that went 44-21.

The UA opens the 2026 season on Feb. 13 in Surprise against former Pac-12 foe Stanford, part of a tournament that also includes Oregon State and Michigan. The home opener is Feb. 17 vs. Omaha at Hi Corbett Field.

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Iowa

Watch live as bodies of Iowa National Guard soldiers return to US

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Watch live as bodies of Iowa National Guard soldiers return to US

President Donald Trump, Gov. Kim Reynolds, members of Iowa’s congressional delegation and families are receiving the bodies of fallen Iowa National Guard soldiers Sgt. William Nathaniel “Nate” Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, and Sgt. Edgar Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines and a civilian interpreter, Ayad Mansoor Sakat, of Michigan.

The dignified transfer ceremony is expected to happen this afternoon at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

All three were killed Saturday, Dec. 13, by an attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces in Palmyra, Syria, before being shot dead.

Their caskets will be transferred from the plane to an awaiting vehicle and taken to the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations building at the Dover base “for positive identification by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System and preparation for their final resting place.”

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