Iowa
Iowa lawmakers outline priorities for 2024 session
DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Television Iowa Capitol Bureau) – Iowa lawmakers gathered under the gold dome in Des Moines for the first day of the legislative session Monday. Lawmakers spoke about the issues they’d like to tackle this year.
Republicans have committed tens of millions of dollars to pay for private school education. This year, both Republicans and Democrats say they’re working on policy aimed at public schools.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver says that education makes up about half of the state’s budget, and Republicans want to make sure the education system is the best it can be.
“We want to make sure that we have some of the best schools in the country so we’ll continue to work on education. This year, I think you’re going to see a lot of focus on our public schools and what we can do to get better services, get better results and continue to move our education system forward,” Whitver said.
House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst says they’ll be paying attention to the lack of oversight for education savings accounts as well as any changes to the law that banned books in public schools that include sex acts.
“As we look towards this session, we’re obviously going to pay attention to whether or not there will be new legislation to ban books. Republicans doubled down today on how they like banning books and how they’d want to, you know, do more legislation since some things are in the courts,” Konfrst said.
House Speaker Pat Grassley says Republican lawmakers are planning to look into empowering teachers with disciplinary tools.
“This session, we’ll dive into Iowa’s K-12 educational standards to ensure they are setting our students and teachers up for success. We have heard from many teachers who have to deal with so many distractions and behavioral issues in the classroom that they can’t spend enough time teaching,” Grassley said.
Grassley says they want to make sure teachers are being compensated fairly as well.
Flags across the state are at half staff through the rest of the week in remembrance of 11-year-old Amir Joliff, who was killed in the Perry school shooting last week. As the legislature gavels in, both parties in the Iowa House say it’s time to act in making sure students feel safe going to school.
Monday’s session in the Iowa House began with a moment of silence for the victims in Perry.
House Speaker Pat Grassley says this session, Republicans will look at increasing school security.
“It means investing in school security. It means prioritizing school resource officers. It means protecting children’s mental health. It means teaching resilience over victimhood. And it means ridding our classrooms and school libraries of inappropriate content,” Grassley said.
House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst says they’ll be looking at access to mental health care and strengthening gun safety laws.
“Let’s address mental health for kids. We’ve been talking about funding mental health for a long time. But let’s also look at access to firearms and how we can keep people safe. Let’s also look at, you know, activities in the schools and what we could do to support our kids,” Konfrst said.
Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers of the legislature – meaning Republicans can act without any Democratic support. With that, we asked Konfrst if any legislative restrictions on guns stood a chance. She says those measures aren’t likely to pass and are missed opportunity for Republicans to support “common sense solutions”.
Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.
The Iowa Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big with rewards ranging from $1,000 to millions. The most an Iowan has ever won from playing the lottery was $343 million in 2018 off the Powerball.
Don’t miss out on the winnings. Here’s a look at Friday, May 8, 2026, winning numbers for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 8 drawing
37-47-49-51-58, Mega Ball: 16
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick-3 numbers from May 8 drawing
Midday: 0-5-8
Evening: 9-9-2
Check Pick-3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick-4 numbers from May 8 drawing
Midday: 0-2-7-3
Evening: 0-7-0-6
Check Pick-4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 8 drawing
14-16-21-43-51, Bonus: 03
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Iowa Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 3 (Day): 12:20 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 3 (Evening): 10:00 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 4 (Day): 12:20 p.m. CT daily.
- Pick 4 (Evening): 10:00 p.m. CT daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Iowa editor. You can send feedback using this form.
IOWA — Iowa’s new restrictions on SNAP benefits are drawing concern from advocates who say the changes could make it harder for families to buy food and could put future summer assistance for children at risk.
The state’s SNAP waiver took effect January 1, 2026, limiting what items can be purchased based on Iowa’s taxable food list. While that includes widely discussed restrictions on soda and candy, the policy also affects certain prepared foods, creating confusion for shoppers.
“Something as small as whether or not a utensil is included in a food item actually impacts whether or not you can continue to purchase that item using your SNAP benefits,” Paige Chickering, Iowa State Manager for the Save the Children Action Network, said.
Advocates say the rules can be difficult to navigate, especially for people relying on quick meals. Items like prepackaged salads or sandwiches may or may not qualify depending on how they are packaged.
At the same time, new legislation slated for the next session at the statehouse could make those restrictions more permanent by requiring Iowa to continue seeking federal approval for the waiver.
That’s raising additional concerns about the future of Summer EBT, also known as “Sun Bucks,” which provides food assistance to children when school is out.
“This makes that food assistance dependent on a decision made in Washington, D.C. that is just arbitrary and not really dependent on the needs of Iowans and Iowa children,” Chickering said.
The program is expected to help around 220,000 children in Iowa during the summer months. Advocates worry leaving it up to federal approval of the waiver could jeopardize that support if policies change. They also point out that SNAP plays a major role in addressing hunger compared to other resources.
“We know that for every one meal provided by an emergency feeding organization, SNAP provides nine,” Chickering said.
Advocates say they support improving nutrition but argue there are more effective, evidence based ways to do that without limiting food choices.
For now, organizations across Iowa are working to help families understand the new rules, while also pushing lawmakers to reconsider how the policy could impact food access moving forward.
Scoop: Iowa Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek snagged a major endorsement for his Senate bid from former Sen. Tom Harkin.
Harkin, who retired in 2015, was the last Democrat to represent Iowa in the Senate. Turek is locked in a competitive primary with state Sen. Zach Wahls in a race that has divided major factions of the Democratic Party.
“I have a pretty good idea of what it takes to win an election, and then to faithfully represent all Iowans, not just those who voted for you,” Harkin said in his endorsement. “That’s why I’m supporting Josh Turek.”
Harkin served in the Senate for 30 years and is the author of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Turek, who was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, was 11 when the ADA was enacted.
Harkin is a widely sought after endorsement in the Hawkeye State. His decision to wade into the race is notable because Harkin also has a relationship with Wahls.
Wahls called Harkin “one of my closest political mentors,” and said the former senator officiated his wedding in 2021.
Iowa’s Senate primaries are June 2.
-
News12 minutes agoFrontier Airlines plane hits person on runway during takeoff at Denver airport
-
New York2 hours agoMan Dies in Subway Attack; Mamdani Orders Inquiry Into Suspect’s Release From Bellevue
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoPatchy dense fog turns to stronger thunderstorms for Metro Detroit to start the weekend
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoWhere to watch Pittsburgh Pirates vs San Francisco Giants: TV channel, start time, streaming for May 9
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoFC Dallas vs Real Salt Lake Preview: Lineups, Storylines & What to Watch
-
Miami, FL3 hours agoMiami Area Gets First New Manufactured Home Community in Decades
-
Boston, MA3 hours agoWhat we know about wrong-way driver killed in head-on collision with state trooper in Lynnfield – The Boston Globe
-
Denver, CO3 hours agoA Frontier plane hits a pedestrian during takeoff at Denver airport