Iowa
Iowa’s book ban law reaches a federal appeals court
A panel of federal appeals court judges will choose what happens next for Iowa’s education law that bans books with sexual content in school libraries and prohibits instruction related to gender identity and sexual orientation for grades K-6.
In oral arguments held in a St. Paul, Minnesota, courtroom Thursday, an attorney for the State of Iowa asked the judges to lift a preliminary injunction that has blocked enforcement of SF 496 since late December.
That ruling was made in response to two separate legal challenges that argue the law silences LGBTQ students from expressing their identities and restricts students’ free access to information.
Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan told the three-judge panel with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals that the state has the ability to tell schools to remove books that show or describe sexual acts, as defined in criminal code, because “library curation is government speech.”
“The public schools are themselves representative of the state and the values that the state seeks to inculcate in children as part of its pedagogical goal of raising its future citizens,” Wessan said.
Matt Sieren
/
Iowa Public Radio
When District Court Judge Stephen Locher blocked enforcement of the law, he called it a “bulldozer” because so many books could be banned. The Des Moines Register has found nearly 1,000 different titles were removed from school libraries since the law first took effect. Those include titles by authors John Green and Jodi Picoult who are part of the lawsuit involving the publisher Penguin House, as well as well-known books like 1984, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Kite Runner.
Attorney Nathan Maxwell of Lambda Legal, which is part of a lawsuit with the ACLU of Iowa representing LGBTQ students, said the law’s definition of what is age appropriate is simply too broad.
“The problem with this law is it says if it’s not appropriate for a first grader it’s therefore not appropriate for a senior in high school. And so those seniors in high school are losing out on information,” Maxwell told reporters after the appeals court hearing. “There’s something special about a school library, which is where students go specifically to learn. Having access in school libraries is substantively different than being able to buy [a book] anywhere in the world.”
Judge questions scope of challenge
The lower court’s injunction also applies to a ban on instruction related to LGBTQ topics in kindergarten through sixth grade. The state argues both major pieces of the law should be enforced as the legal challenges proceed.
In questions he raised during oral arguments, Judge James Loken appeared to criticize the groups suing the state for bringing a facial challenge — that is, a claim that the law is entirely unconstitutional based on how it was written — instead of challenging how the law has been applied.
“This could easily have gone to a — probably a series, certainly more than one — as-applied challenge, from which, the judicial interpretation of this statute and how school boards should apply it, would become clear to educators in Iowa,” Loken said.
“I question how many it would take,” replied ACLU of Iowa attorney Thomas Story. “I can’t see any because I can’t see a way to read this law without it not making sense or not being constitutional.”
Speaking after the hearing, Story warned against guessing a judge’s position on the case based on the questioning in courtroom.
Christy Hickman, an attorney for the Iowa State Education Association, said the courts need to weigh in on the law because guidance from state education officials is limited and school districts don’t seem to agree on how it is supposed to work.
“If you look at the extreme differences across school districts and the number and types of books that have been removed, it shows you that there is a lot of confusion and ambiguity and interpretation,” Hickman said. “If we had to start all over, and start suing individual school districts, think about the court and school and public resources that go into that. I hope that is not where we end up.”
What happens if the book ban law is enforced
The law includes potential consequences for school districts or teachers who are found to have kept books on library shelves that contain sexual content.
One violation warrants a written warning from the Iowa Department of Education. But after two or more violations, the case would be referred to the Board of Educational Examiners, which certifies teachers and administrators to work in Iowa schools. The BOEE could bring up the case for disciplinary action.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals must decide on the current preliminary injunction before the two cases against the education law continue.
Attorneys involved in the case would not comment on their strategy if the injunction is lifted, but Maxwell said they would continue to stand behind students and others impacted by the law.
“We will continue to fight for the students and families in Iowa to be able to access this information and to be able to speak freely about who they are in school and anywhere,” Maxwell said.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa City police are asking the public’s help identifying persons of interest connected to a vandalism investigation.
Police said a business was vandalized in the alley behind the 200 block of East Washington Street on Sunday at 2:35 a.m.
Investigators would like to speak with the persons of interest pictured. Police ask anyone who recognizes these individuals to contact them.
Anyone with information or security camera footage of the incident should contact the Iowa City Police Department at 319-356-5275. Iowa City Area Crime Stoppers is also offering a reward up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers assesses the Cyclones’ spring
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers assesses the Cyclones’ spring
Spring commencement arrives at Iowa State this weekend, with a whole new generation of Cyclones set to get their diplomas and move on to the next things in their lives.
The options and choices will set their path for, potentially, the years and decades ahead.
Which got me thinking about the choices and circumstances of this school year that came for Iowa State athletics. There were no shortages of inflection points at which, it seems, programs and an entire athletics department pivoted to new directions.
Let’s explore.
What if Iowa State had hired Taylor Mouser as head football coach?
This seems to be the most discussed “Sliding Doors” moment for Iowa State football fans regarding head coach Matt Campbell’s departure to Penn State. And with good reason. It’s the most obvious, could have had the most immediate impact on the program and would have been largely seen as a continuation of the most successful run in school history.
Would promoting the Iowa State offensive coordinator, though, have been the right move?
If you assume a best-case scenario in which some of the star Cyclone players on offense – think Rocco Becht, Ben Brahmer, Carson Hansen, etc. – stay at Iowa State and a bulk of the coaching staff does as well, there are still likely defections that weaken the roster. Nothing like we saw back in December, but, still, there would be holes – and Campbell’s shoes – to fill by a first-time head coach taking over for a legend.
The calculation, as I see it, has to be – does the Year 1 continuity and relative stability gained by hiring Mouser provide for better long-term results than hiring Jimmy Rogers, who has the benefit of head-coaching experience?
It certainly would have made the fan base feel better back in December, but would it have positioned Iowa State to have better results in 2027 and beyond?
The roster almost certainly would have been “better” in 2026 if Iowa State retained Mouser, but would that have created a more solid foundation for the future or just delayed decay?
This “What If” becomes a lot less intricate and interesting if Rogers just wins a ton this fall and going forward.
What if Penn State had been able to hire Kalani Sitake as its football coach?
I think this is the most interesting question on the list.
By reports, Penn State was on the verge of hiring Sitake from BYU when the Cougars’ boosters – led by the Crumbl Cookie fortune – banded together to put together a financial package to keep Sitake in Provo.
What if they hadn’t, though?
Sitake goes to Penn State, and Dec. 5, 2025, is an uneventful day in Iowa State history rather than one of its most feverish.
But … what happens a few weeks later when Sherrone Moore is fired at Michigan?
Rather than plucking 66-year-old Kyle Whittingham from Utah/forced retirement, do the Wolverines try to make a Michigan Man out of an Ohioan? Does Campbell inherit the seat of Bo Schembechler?
And, for the sake of this thought exercise, if Campbell did move to Ann Arbor, does the timing of that decision change athletics director Jamie Pollard’s options and calculus about Iowa State’s opening? Is Jimmy Rogers still available? Or would he have taken a different opening or opted not to leave Pullman at that later date? Is Mouser the answer in this scenario?
Or is the Buckeye State distaste for the state Up North too much and Campbell returns for Year 11 at Iowa State?
Addy Brown on what went wrong in Iowa State’s loss to Syracuse
Iowa State’s Addy Brown talks about her team’s struggles in a loss to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament.
What if Addy Brown doesn’t get hurt?
Iowa State women’s basketball was 14-0 on Jan. 4 when it played Baylor in Waco, and the season felt sure to realize the potential that was clear before it started with one of coach Bill Fennelly’s best rosters.
The Cyclones, though, returned home with their first loss and with Addy Brown sidelined with a back injury.
Four more losses in a row followed, and when Brown returned to the floor after six weeks, the Cyclones’ season was floundering.
They salvaged an NCAA Tournament bid, but a first-round exit gave way to a roster collapse with nine players – including Brown and superstar Audi Crooks – leaving via the transfer portal, putting Fennelly’s tenure and future under fire.
If Brown doesn’t get hurt – or just isn’t out as long – does that change the trajectory of the season? The offseason? And what the eventual end of Fennelly’s Iowa State career looks like?
What if Joshua Jefferson doesn’t roll his ankle?
The most recent “What If” I think is also the most straightforward.
If Jefferson’s ankle doesn’t roll in the early minutes of Iowa State’s first-round NCAA Tournament blowout win over Tennessee State, I think the Cyclones get a long second weekend in Chicago, but the Final Four drought probably remains intact.
Jefferson’s rebounding and offensive impact are, I think, enough to give the Cyclones the edge against Tennessee, but Michigan, the Cyclones’ would-be Elite Eight opponent, was just a juggernaut.
I’m not sure even a full-strength Iowa State team would have had more than a puncher’s chance. The Wolverines were just one of the best college basketball teams we’ve seen over the last few decades.
Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.
One of the top Iowa high school football prospects in the state has made his college decision official.
Iowa City Regina High School senior-to-be Tate Wallace has announced he has verbally committed to the University of Minnesota in the Big Ten Conference. Wallace picked the Golden Gophers and head coach PJ Fleck over a finalists Notre Dame, Nebraska, Arizona, Arizona State and Wisconsin.
Wallace narrowed down his list of schools to six at the end of April before making his final decision.
Iowa City Regina Football Standout Tate Wallace Ranked As No. 2 Overall Prospect In Iowa High School Football
The 6-foot-2, 226-pound linebacker is considered the No. 2 overall prospect in the state of Iowa for high school football, and is the No. 21 linebacker in the Class of 2027, according to 247Sports.
In the 247Sports Composite rankings, Wallace is No. 2 in Iowa high school football, No. 29 at linebacker and No. 359 for the Class of 2027.
Along With Minnesota, Tate Wallace Currently Holds Offers From Schools Such As Arizona, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Iowa State
Wallace currently holds 16 total offers including from the previously mentioned Minnesota, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Arizona, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Kansas State, Purdue, Tennessee, West Virginia, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), Toledo, UNLV, North Dakota and North Dakota State.
As a junior, Wallace registered almost 50 tackles on defense, with 29 of them being counted as solo stops. He had 18 tackles for loss, 8.5 quarterback sacks and forced two fumbles, as Iowa City Regina advanced to the state championship game of the Iowa High School Athletic Association State Football Championships.
Future Minnesota Golden Gopher Has Been Key Two-Way Starter For Regals
Wallace also hauled in 40 passes for 611 yards with 10 receiving touchdowns on offense for the Regals. As a two-way player for Iowa City Regina during his sophomore season, Wallace had 27.5 tackles, including 16 solo stops, four tackles for loss and a quarterback sack, adding 51 receptions for 752 yards and eight touchdowns.
Back in March, Wallace announced seven spring visits to Notre Dame, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona, Kansas State and Arizona State. He also visited Tennessee this past fall, taking in an SEC contest with the Volunteers.
Along with his success on the football field, Wallace helped lead the Regals to the Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Basketball Tournament this past winter. He earned High School on SI all-state honors in the process.
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