Iowa

Iowa's ban on abortions after 6 weeks will go into effect next week

Published

2 years ago

July 23, 2024

Iowa's ban on abortions after 6 weeks will go into effect next week

An Iowa law banning most abortions in the state will take effect Monday, roughly one year after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed it.

The law prohibits physicians from administering an abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected — around six weeks into pregnancy, before most women even know they’re pregnant. It briefly took effect in July 2023, but a lower court temporarily blocked the ban just days later in response to a legal challenge brought by abortion providers and the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Iowa Supreme Court reversed that ruling last month, declaring the policy constitutional and clearing the way for it to go into effect.

A district court judge for Polk County said the law can be fully enforced starting July 29 at 8 a.m. CT, to allow time for medical providers to receive notice of the change.

The ACLU of Iowa tried earlier this month to petition the Iowa Supreme Court to rehear the case, but the court denied that request Monday.

Iowa’s new abortion law includes exceptions for rape, incest, fetal abnormalities that are “incompatible with life” and medical emergencies that endanger the life of a pregnant woman.

Previously, Iowa allowed abortions up to 20 weeks, meaning the vast majority of those seeking to terminate a pregnancy were able to do so. The new law puts Iowa among three other states that similarly ban abortion after around six weeks: Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Fourteen states have full abortion bans, and 22 (including Iowa) have some kind of abortion restriction.

Just two abortion clinics in Iowa offer in-person care: the Emma Goldman Clinic and a Planned Parenthood facility in Ames. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland — which represents its Iowa clinics — and the Emma Goldman Clinic were both plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the law.

Both organizations have said they’ll continue to provide abortions within the limits of state law, but most Iowa residents seeking abortions will have to go to other states. The closest options for Iowans would most likely be Illinois, Minnesota or Nebraska, though Nebraska restricts abortions after 12 weeks.

Ruth Richardson, president of Planned Parenthood North Central States, said the organization has been expanding abortion access in the region in anticipation of Iowa’s policy change. For example, she said, the clinic in Mankato, Minnesota, added medication abortion services; the St. Paul, Minnesota, clinic opened up more appointments; and the Omaha, Nebraska, location is extending its physical footprint to triple the number of patients it can accommodate.

“We are standing by ready to help patients receive access to care, even if that means traveling out of state,” Richardson said in a call with reporters last week.

The Emma Goldman Clinic said in a statement last month that it would also help those who can’t get abortions in Iowa seek care in other states.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, in Des Moines on July 14, 2023, signs into law a bill that will ban most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy.Scott Olson / Getty Images file

According to an analysis from the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion access, the number of people who crossed state lines to obtain abortions has roughly doubled since 2020. The analysis largely attributes the trend to restrictions enacted after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Republican lawmakers in Iowa attempted in 2018 to enact legislation restricting abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, but a lower court permanently blocked that law in 2019, and the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s ruling last year.

In a statement last month about the new law, Reynolds, a Republican, said Iowa voters had “spoken clearly through their elected representatives” and that the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision had “upheld the will of the people.”

Around 63% of respondents in a national Pew Research Center poll earlier this year said they thought abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Aria Bendix

Aria Bendix is the breaking health reporter for NBC News Digital.

Fallon Gallagher contributed.

Source link

Iowa

Man sentenced for killing 4 people appeals his sentence to the Iowa Supreme Court

Published

10 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Man sentenced for killing 4 people appeals his sentence to the Iowa Supreme Court

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Luke Truesdell’s attorney has filed as of Sunday to appeal his sentence to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Truesdell was sentenced last week to three consecutive life sentences plus 50 years for the deaths of four people killed in rural Linn County.

A jury convicted Luke Truesdell, 36, in November on the first-degree murder of Brent Brown, 34; his girlfriend, Keonna Ryan, 26, of Cedar Rapids; and Amanda Parker, 33, of Vinton. They also found him guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Romondus Cooper, 44, of Cedar Rapids.

His attorneys previously argued multiple reasons for a retrial that could potentially be brought up again.

They said that one juror was overheard talking about news on the case.

They also said the prosecutors inflamed the jury, rather than focusing on the facts.

His lawyers said there is no direct evidence that Truesdell committed the murders.

Truesdell’s defense also pointed to Truesdell’s father, Larry Tuesdell, who was found covered in blood at the scene but never fully investigated. Authorities have not been able to locate Larry.

The state disagreed, citing overwhelming evidence including DNA on the murder weapon, eyewitness testimony and video of Truesdell entering the garage where the four people were found dead.

Source link

Iowa

2026 Iowa high school boys basketball state tournament brackets, schedule

Published

22 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

2026 Iowa high school boys basketball state tournament brackets, schedule

The Iowa high school boys state basketball tournament is just around the corner and the full field has now been set.

By March 13, four teams will be crowned state champions and there are plenty of worthy squads vying for the title. On Tuesday, the final brackets were released and we now have a clear picture of the eight teams in each class hoping to take home the trophy.

Here’s a look at the first-round pairings and the full state tournament schedule for next week’s IHSAA action.

Class 4A Iowa boys state basketball tournament schedule

State quarterfinals, Monday, March 9

No. 4 Dowling Catholic vs No. 5 Dubuque Senior, 5:30 p.m.
No. 1 Cedar Falls vs No. 8 Urbandale, 7:15 p.m.

Tuesday, March 10

No. 3 Waukee Northwest vs. No. 6 Johnston, 10:30 a.m.
No. 2 Waukee vs No. 7 Cedar Rapids Prairie, 12:15 p.m.

State semifinals, Thursday, March 12

TBD vs. TBD, 10:30 a.m.
TBD vs. TBD, 12:15 a.m.

State championship game, Friday, March 13

Class 3A Iowa boys state basketball tournament schedule

State quarterfinals: Monday, March 9

No. 1 Ballard vs. No. 8 Gilbert, 10:30 a.m.
No. 4 Pella vs. No. 5 Carroll, 12:15 p.m.
No. 2 ADM vs. No. 7 Xavier, 2 p.m.
No. 3 Storm Lake vs. No. 6 Solon, 3:45 p.m.

State semifinals, Wednesday, March 11

TBD vs. TBD, 5:30 p.m.
TBD vs. TBD, 7:15 p.m.

State championship game, Friday, March 13

Class 2A Iowa boys state basketball tournament schedule

State quarterfinals: Wednesday, March 11

No. 1 Kuemper Catholic vs. No. 8 Union Community, 10:30 a.m
No. 4 Treynor vs. No. 5 Grundy Center, 12:15 p.m
No. 2 Unity Christian vs. No. 7 Western Christian, 2 p.m.
No. 3 Regina Catholic vs. No. 6 Aplington-Parkersburg, 3:45 p.m.

State semifinals, Thursday, March 12

TBD vs. TBD, 5:30 p.m.
TBD vs TBD, 7:15 p.m.

State title game, Friday, March 13

Class 1A Iowa boys state basketball tournament schedule

State quarterfinals: Tuesday, March 10

No. 1 St. Edmond vs. No. 8 Woodbine, 2 p.m.
No. 4 Notre Dame vs. No. 5 Bellevue, 3:45 p.m.
No. 2 MMCRU vs. No. 7 Boyden-Hull, 5:30 p.m.
No. 3 Bishop Garrigan vs. No. 6 Marquette Catholic, 7:15 p.m.

State semifinals, Thursday, March 12

TBD vs TBD, 2 p.m.
TBD vs TBD, 3:45 p.m.

State title game, Friday, March 13

Source link

Iowa

Iowa State announces gymnastics program will be discontinued

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Iowa State announces gymnastics program will be discontinued

Iowa State University announced March 3 that it is cutting its women’s gymnastics program, weeks after abruptly canceling the remainder of the season due to what athletics director Jamie Pollard said were “unreconcilable differences” in the program.

Cyclone gymnasts were informed of the decision to cut the program by ISU associate athletics director Shamaree Brown in a meeting on Tuesday morning, two people with direct knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports Network.

Iowa State gymnastics head coach Ashley Miles Greig and her three assistant coaches were told that their contracts would not be renewed, the university’s news release stated. Miles Greig’s contract was set to expire after the season on June 30, 2026.

Cyclones gymnasts will have the option to remain at Iowa State to finish their degrees, or to transfer to another NCAA school to compete in gymnastics. If they stay at Iowa State, ISU will honor their scholarships. Iowa State’s release said its compliance department would work with the NCAA on waivers to help gymnasts receive an additional year of competition.

Tuesday’s announcement ended weeks of speculation about the program’s future that began when Iowa State canceled its gymnastics season on Feb. 8. In a statement at the time, Brown said the decision was because the Cyclones did not have enough athletes available to compete. In a letter to the gymnastics team and alumni on Feb. 17, Pollard wrote that the cancellation resulted from “a series of complex internal conflicts between individual teammates, coaching staff members, and parents,” language that Iowa State repeated in Tuesday’s release.

In a video released by the school, Pollard said Iowa State would take the next several months to decide which women’s sport would replace gymnastics so that the athletics department remains compliant with Title IX, a federal law that requires NCAA schools to provide proportional participation opportunities to men and women.

“I also want to say, this is not a financial decision. This is a student-athlete experience decision,” Pollard said in the video. “Adding another women’s sport will probably cost equal or more than what we’re already spending on the gymnastics program. This is about student-athlete experience.”

Pollard said that Iowa State conducted reviews of its gymnastics program in 2018 and 2023 stemming from unspecified issues. The 2023 review, conducted by an external law firm, led Iowa State to part ways with then-head coach Jay Ronayne. Miles Greig was hired in April 2023.

On Tuesday, Iowa State denied USA TODAY Sports Network’s public-records request for the findings of the university’s 2018 and 2023 gymnastics probes. In an email denying the request, Ann Lelis, a member of Iowa State’s office of general counsel, cited portions of state open records law that prevent the disclosure of personal information of students or public employees. Lelis also said the requested records were not subject to disclosure because they contained confidential attorney privileged documents.

In the video, Pollard said he asked his senior leadership team “to meet with those individuals in our department that work really closely with our gymnastics program and make a recommendation to me about what we should do going forward.”

The leadership team recommended to Pollard that the school discontinue the gymnastics program, Pollard said, and use those resources for a different women’s sport. Pollard accepted the recommendation from his staff, and he spoke with university leaders. “We are all on the same page,” he said. “This is the right decision for our athletics program and for our student-athletes.”

Cyclone gymnast Samantha Schneider, a redshirt freshman, wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday that she was heartbroken by the decision and criticized Iowa State’s administration for deflecting blame onto the gymnasts.

“Terrible that this is the result of the lack of support from Iowa State’s Athletic Administration,” Schneider wrote. “For the last 5 months, we have come forward as a team regarding (certain) situations and environment concerns and nothing has been done to protect us as athletes on this team. The gymnasts should NOT be blamed or be sharing any part of the responsibility for this decision being made.”

A former member of this season’s coaching staff also mourned the decision in a text message to USA TODAY Sports Network on Tuesday. The person requested anonymity for fear of repercussions.

“At the end of the day this is unfair to the athletes and the alumni that have built this program and have continued to ask for better,” the coach wrote. “It appears that the department was looking for an easy way out or an easy solution, not realizing they would hurt a lot of people in the process. My only hope is that the athletes can come back stronger than ever.”

Miles Greig could not be immediately reached for comment when contacted Tuesday morning by USA TODAY Sports Network.

The Iowa State gymnastics team participated in four competitions this season before the athletics department shut down the remainder of the season on Feb. 8. Nick Joos, Iowa State’s senior associate athletic director for communications, told USA TODAY Sports Network at the time that the cancellation was due to a “combination of injuries and other health issues.”

During what ended up as Iowa State’s final meet against Denver on Feb. 1, several Cyclone gymnasts fell off the uneven bars. The Cyclones forfeited their next meet on Feb. 6 against West Virginia, with Miles Greig saying in a statement, “At this time, we do not have enough student-athletes available to safely field a team against West Virginia, and regrettably must cancel this competition.”

Two days after that, Brown met with gymnasts on Feb. 8 at Iowa State’s on-campus practice gym and informed them that their season would not continue.

Iowa State’s annual financial report submitted to the NCAA for fiscal year 2025 showed the gymnastics program generated $287,392 in total operating revenues with $1.69 million in expenses, a gap of about $1.4 million. Iowa State allotted 14 scholarships to gymnastics. Football and men’s basketball are the only Iowa State sports in which revenue exceeds spending.

Cyclone gymnastics recruits who had committed to the program for the 2026-27 season can commit to a different school or attend Iowa State and have their scholarship agreements honored.

Former Iowa State gymnast Shea Mattingly, whose last name was Anderson when she graduated in 2012, said she had been in contact with other former members of the team after Tuesday’s announcement.

“We’re all frustrated. We’re all angry,” Mattingly said. “That (Pollard) video made us all really mad, honestly. … It places all the blame on these student-athletes whereas the administration’s accountability in this, they hired these coaches that maybe it seems like they couldn’t handle the program.”

Mattingly said she and other alums aren’t giving up hope on the future of the program.

“I think we’re still going to fight,” she said. “So we’re going to send emails. We’re going to call. We’re going to do all we can, even though it seems his mind has been made up.”

Source link