Iowa

Iowa Senate resolution calls to overturn federal same-sex marriage ruling. What to know:

Published

1 month ago

May 8, 2025

Press Room

Iowa Senate resolution calls to overturn federal same-sex marriage ruling. What to know:

An Iowa state senator introduced a resolution urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The resolution is largely symbolic and unlikely to advance given the legislative session’s end.
Similar resolutions have been introduced in other states, while some have proposed bills restricting marriage to one man and one woman.

An Iowa Republican state senator has introduced a largely symbolic measure calling for the U.S. Supreme Court to end the constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, introduced by Sen. Sandy Salmon, R-Janesville, asks the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark federal case that legalized same-sex marriage in 2015.

“Since court rulings are not laws and only legislatures elected by the people may pass laws, Obergefell is an illegitimate overreach,” the resolution states.

Resolutions are a formal expression of a legislative chamber’s opinion but lack the force of a bill.

And with time running out as lawmakers race to pass a budget and adjourn the session in the coming days, it’s unclear whether leadership would bring Salmon’s proposal to a floor vote.

Conservative lawmakers in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota have pushed similar symbolic measures.

Other GOP-led states, including Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, took it a step further and introduced bills to create a “covenant marriage” category that would only be for one man and one woman, NBC News reported in February.

Salmon wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Iowa legalized same-sex marriage before federal ruling

Iowa become one of the first states to legalize same-sex marriage earlier in 2009, when the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in Varnum v. Brien that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the Iowa Constitution.

Salmon’s resolution asks the nation’s high court to return the power to enforce marriage laws to the states. It looks to define marriage as “a union of one man and one woman.”

The measure says Obergefell wrongly treats the U.S. Constitution’s due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment as “a font of substantive rights, a doctrine that strays from the full meaning of the Constitution of the United States and exalts judges at the expense of the people from whom they derive their authority.”

Measure sparks concerns among LGBTQ advocates

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade, the case that enshrined abortion rights for 50 years, stoked concerns among advocates that the court would revisit other rulings, including Obergefell.

Conservative Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, who both dissented in Obergefell, have suggested the ruling should be reconsidered.

Iowa Democrats have criticized Salmon’s move as “anti-freedom.”

Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, D-Hiawatha, Iowa’s first out transgender state lawmaker, sounded the alarm in a post on Facebook and pointed to the court’s surprise decision overturning Roe and legislation Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in February removing gender identity as a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Act.

“As I said on the floor earlier this year they will continue to strip rights and freedoms from their fellow Iowans until none remain,” Wichtendahl wrote. “And they will continue until they are relieved of the burden of Governing.”

Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. Reach her by email at mjpayne@registermedia.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @marissajpayne.

Source link

Click to comment

Iowa

Iowa board approves $12M in tax benefits for JBS

Published

5 hours ago

June 20, 2025

Press Room

Iowa board approves M in tax benefits for JBS

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Governor Kim Reynolds announced the approval of a $12 million investment in tax benefits for a new sausage plant in Perry.

JBS headquarters are planning to invest $135 million for the new facility. The company aims to create 250 jobs in the first three years and expand to 500 in the following years.

JBS provides high-quality, premium, protein products under many popular brands. The $12 million investment was approved by The Iowa Economic Development Authority Board during a High Quality Jobs program meeting.

“This investment by JBS reflects confidence in Iowa’s workforce, our strong agricultural economy, and our commitment to growing vibrant communities. At a time when Perry has faced real challenges, this investment brings renewed hope and opportunity for the hardworking families who call this community home,” said Governor Reynolds.

5,300 Iowans are currently working in the Council Bluffs, Marshalltown and Ottumwa locations.

The Perry location is set to open in 2026, and will serve as the company’s main prepared food center.

Source link

Iowa

Latest Iowa high school softball rankings released

Published

23 hours ago

June 19, 2025

Press Room

Latest Iowa high school softball rankings released

Dubuque Wahlert is the new No. 1 team in Class 3A in the latest Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union softball rankings.

On the heels of an 18-2 start, Dubuque Wahlert replaced two-time defending state champion Williamsburg at the top spot.

The other four classes all remained with the same No. 1 teams this week including Waukee Northwest in 5A, Cedar Rapids Xavier in 4A, Van Meter in 2A and Clarksville in 1A.

Among those added to the rankings this week were Indianola (5A), Center Point-Urbana (3A), Griswold (2A) and Mason City Newman and Riceville in 1A.

IOWA GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC UNION SOFTBALL RANKINGS

(For June 19, 2025)

Class 5A

1. Waukee Northwest; 2. Linn-Mar; 3. Johnston; 4. Ankeny Centennial; 5. West Des Moines Valley; 6. Southeast Polk; 7. Pleasant Valley; 8. Cedar Falls; 9. Iowa City High; 10. Muscatine; 11. Cedar Rapids Prairie; 12. Ames; 13. Waukee; 14. Cedar Rapids Kennedy; 15. Indianola.

Dropped out: Sioux City East.

Class 4A

1. Cedar Rapids Xavier; 2. Norwalk; 3. Dallas Center-Grimes; 4. Carlisle; 5. ADM; 6. Clear Creek-Amana; 7. North Polk; 8. Fort Dodge; 9. Western Dubuque; 10. North Scott; 11. Grinnell; 12. Sergeant Bluff-Luton; 13. Creston; 14. Bondurant-Farrar; 15. Winterset.

Dropped out: None.

Class 3A

1. Dubuque Wahlert; 2. Williamsburg; 3. PCM; 4. West Liberty; 5. Mount Vernon; 6. Estherville-Lincoln Central; 7. Clarinda; 8. Davenport Assumption; 9. Albia; 10. West Delaware; 11. Washington; 12. Missouri Valley; 13. Center Point-Urbana; 14. Central Lee; 15. Chariton.

Dropped out: Sumner-Fredericksburg.

Class 2A

1. Van Meter; 2. Louisa-Muscatine; 3. Durant; 4. West Lyon; 5. Osage; 6. Treynor; 7. Cascade; 8. West Fork; 9. Lisbon; 10. Central Springs; 11. Wilton; 12. Jesup; 13. Hinton; 14. Griswold; 15. East Marshall.

Dropped out: Dike-New Hartford.

Class 1A

1. Clarksville; 2. Wayne; 3. Newell-Fonda; 4. Ankeny Christian; 5. Southeast Warren; 6. Wapsie Valley; 7. St. Edmond; 8. Riverside; 9. Edgewood-Colesburg; 10. North Linn; 11. Akron-Westfield; 12. Kee; 13. Woodbine; 14. Mason City Newman; 15. Riceville.

Dropped out: Collins-Maxwell; Kingsley-Pierson.

Source link

Iowa

DNR recovers body of missing angler in southern Iowa

Published

2 days ago

June 19, 2025

Press Room

DNR recovers body of missing angler in southern Iowa

UNION COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – Officials have recovered the body of 41-year-old Ryan Woosley from Creston who was found Wednesday afternoon in Three Mile Lake in Union County.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said he was reported missing early Wednesday morning and was last known to be night fishing at the lake on Monday, but had not been heard from since.

Officials found his car in a boat ramp parking lot and an overturned boat in the lake.

They believe severe weather on Monday night may have contributed to the incident.

Source link