Iowa
It’s Joe Biden who’s taking care of Iowans in need, but only when Kim Reynolds lets him
Simone Biles got four Olympic medals while staying true to herself
Biles won three gold medals and one silver at the 2024 Olympics. Now that all her competitions are done she looks back at her medals and legacy.
It’s Joe Biden who’s taking care of Iowans in need, but only when Kim Reynolds lets him
Gov. Kim Reynolds and Attorney General Brenna Bird are again taking false credit and covering for poor choices by Republicans in Congress. The money they are using to make up for budget reductions for VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) came from the American Rescue Plan Act, initiated, passed and signed by Congressional Democrats and President Joe Biden.
That credit was only faintly present their self-serving public announcements of using this money to make up the shortfall in Iowa. It’s too bad that Reynolds didn’t see the same “devastating reality” in child hunger that should have prompted her to provide meals for 240,000 food-insecure children in Iowa by accepting $29 million of federal money for that purpose, also made available by the efforts of Biden and congressional Democrats. Or turning down $89 million of assistance for those in need of housing.
Shelter and food. Two of the very basics of life. I’m glad they replaced the money for VOCA. I’m appalled at their incomprehensible inconsistency in aiding all vulnerable citizens of Iowa.
Phillip Thien, Des Moines
Squalor and splendor, side by side
Two headlines, both from the Aug. 5 Register Daily Briefing, gave me pause:
The glaring disparity highlighted by the juxtaposition of these headlines is both mind-blowing and a call to action. It should awaken us all to the unfairness and inequity most Iowans ignore on a daily basis. And, it should remind us of the need for an enlightened and compassionate government that serves all Iowans, not just a privileged few.
Where is Robin Hood when we need him?
Victoria Payseur, Johnston
Our representatives steer far away from the public’s will
Abortion bans are undeniably unpopular.
Consider Kansas, a state very similar to our own: In 2022, the people of Kansas overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional amendment that would have led to the banning of abortions in their state.
Iowa’s elected representatives should have taken the hint. Instead, the governor rushed ahead, convening a special legislative session in July 2023 to ban abortions before many Iowans knew what was happening. Fortunately, the ban remained dormant while the courts debated its legality. Unfortunately, Iowa’s Supreme Court ultimately allowed it to stand. As of July 29, 2024, almost all abortions are now illegal in Iowa.
Our representatives have been reckless with regards to our well-being, knocking our hands further and further from the steering wheel of our own lives. This is evident not just with the abortion ban but also with other laws, pertaining to school vouchers and Area Education Agencies, carbon pipelines, and books.
As we approach the Nov. 5 election, we need to keep in mind what our vote means. More than that: We need to take action. I urge you to volunteer with an organization committed to our civil liberties, such as the ACLU of Iowa, to help get out the vote. Let’s make sure our voices are heard loud and clear.
Pamela Klein, Adel
Greatest Generation made Olympic joy possible
Among the celebration of the performance of our American athletes at the Paris Olympics, I’d like Americans to reflect on the reason that we’re able to participate in these Olympics in France as a free nation.
That is thanks to the troops of the Greatest Generation who fought to liberate France from the Nazi stronghold it was held in since 1940. It was a costly endeavor in terms of young human lives. My aunt’s fiancé was killed in Gen. George Patton’s Third Army in August of 1944 while they were in the process of liberating Paris. A cross in the Normandy cemetery bears his name, the state he came from (Tennessee), his unit, and his date of death.
All this joyous 2024 celebration of the world’s countries coming together and competing in athletics in a spirit of global unity was made possible by the sacrifices of young men eight decades ago who, before being drafted or volunteering for service, may have been athletes themselves (like my father who joined the U.S. Navy and fought the Japanese.) They sacrificed their athletic careers to preserve democracy. I’m grateful that, because of their sacrifices, our current Olympics are NOT being held under a Nazi flag.
Lisa Boyes, Grinnell
Carbon pipelines perpetrate and further abuses
Every time I drive to Ames, I gently smile at the trailer moonlighting as a banner: “STOP EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE,” it reads in blood red. For a state that’s proud to be one of agriculture, Iowa can no longer afford the cost of absurdity. The environmental cost of these pipelines is immense. These pipelines supply CO2 so further oil can be drilled, thereby worsening the climate crisis currently hurting Iowan communities, rural and urban.
Furthermore, eminent domain strips landowners of their property rights, forcing them to surrender their hard-earned farmland without just compensation. For our farmers, land is not just an asset but a vital part of their way of life. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have stood up to blatant corporate interests. As the famous protest chant goes, “We will remember, in November.”
Aravind Balaji, Grimes
Tim Walz is out of touch, and here’s the proof
If you add up all the shoreline of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes, it’s plain that Tim Walz is the biggest coastal liberal of all time! Math don’t lie.
John Zeller, Des Moines
More work for teens means worse performance at school
I would like to add some relevant research information to the child labor controversy appearing recently in the Register. During my University of Iowa graduate school course work for becoming a high school counselor in Iowa, I studied scholarly research on adolescent vocational development.
This research showed a clear correlation between the number of hours a teenager worked at a part-time job and academic performance at school. At about 20 hours per week, part-time jobs for younger students begin to negatively impact school achievement. The controversy erupted when the Iowa Legislature recently enacted a law that allows younger children to work four hours a day on school days and 28 hours a week. Federal law allows working three hours per day, 18 hours per week
Based on this research, I am troubled that the Iowa Legislature, and especially the bill sponsors, thought it wise to allow Iowa youth ages 14 and 15 to work so much when school is in session — in clear violation of the legally superior federal child labor laws as well as well-founded child development and educational achievement research.
Let’s continue to keep school achievement the priority for Iowa’s younger teens.
Drew Cannon, Des Moines
Following a years-long legal saga, the Iowa Supreme Court recently upheld a decision to evict Short’s Burger and Shine from its South Clinton Street building.
The May 22 decision, delivered by Chief Justice Susan Christensen, agreed with the Johnson County District Court’s decision to evict the downtown burger restaurant after finding that it did not notify the building’s owner — a trust operated by Midwest One Bank — of its intent to extend the lease.
The decision concludes one part of the Short’s legal saga. The now-closed restaurant is also in litigation for a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit Short’s owner, Kevin Perez filed in 2024 against Midwest One Bank, the trust of late building owner Haywood Belle, Belle’s widow, a bank employee, and the City of Iowa City
Iowa City’s Short’s Burgers and Shine closed in 2024
Short’s closed in early 2024 after the court determined Perez hadn’t renewed the business’s lease on time.
Short’s opened at 18 S. Clinton Street in 2008 with the goal of honoring the legacy and story of former building owner H.D. Short, who shined shoes for 50 years, beginning in 1920. The original ownership group included Perez, Dan Ouverson, and former Hawkeye and NFL player Nate Kaeding, who now runs the Gold Cap Hospitality ownership group.
Eviction proceedings started when Short’s temporarily closed in April 2022 “to fix poor building conditions” without notifying Midwest One Bank, the executor of Belle’s trust.
The closure breached a part of the lease agreement that said the restaurant would default on its lease if it “failed to engage” in normal business for more than 15 consecutive business days, the court found. The renovations also violated a provision that forbade structural changes or improvements without prior written approval.
Midwest One Bank sent notice on May 10, 2022, that Short’s would default on its lease if it did not reopen for regular business and cease renovations within 10 days, according to court documents. Shorts responded, claiming it could not reopen for business until renovations were complete because the gas could not be turned back on until repairs were finished.
Midwest One Bank “terminated” the lease and started eviction proceedings in May 2022. Shorts was allowed to continue operating and occupying the building while the case was litigated.
Midwest One Bank filed two eviction claims and delivered notice that Short’s needed to vacate the building by the end of the lease on April 30. Short’s did not vacate, and Midwest One Bank pursued a third eviction claim, accusing the owners of failing to provide notice of renewal.
Short’s argued that because they continued renovations, disputed eviction, and secured insurance, it was evidence of their intent to renew.
The restaurant owners also argued that pending eviction proceedings prevented them from renewal. The court argued that Short’s simply did not declare intent to renew for “whatever reason.”
“Mere forgetfulness does not entitle a party to equitable relief,” the decision reads.
Liam Halawith covers Johnson County local government and public safety for the Press-Citizen. Reach him by email at lhalawith@registermedia.com. Follow him on X at @liam_halawith.
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – An Iowa nursing home worker fired after being accused of repeatedly neglecting residents’ needs is entitled to unemployment benefits, a judge has ruled.
State records indicate certified nurse aide Abigail Kromah worked for Pine Acres Rehabilitation and Care Center in West Des Moines from May 2024 through December 2025, when she was fired. She subsequently applied for unemployment benefits, which led to a recent hearing before an administrative law judge.
The hearing records indicate Kromah testified that when she was fired on Dec. 19, 2025, the employer informed her that the discharge was due to “numerous resident complaints” regarding the care she had been providing.
According to the judge’s findings in the case, Kromah had received multiple disciplinary warnings related to resident care. In August 2024, she allegedly received verbal and written warnings for failing to answer residents’ call-lights in a timely manner, failing to properly assist residents with their personal care, and for complaining about the residents in common areas of the workplace.
Her employer testified Kromah was also given warnings for refusing work instructions from the nursing staff, and for telling a resident who needed to be toileted to go the bathroom in their briefs.
In August 2025, it was alleged that Kromah failed to check on a resident throughout the entire night. During that shift, a nurse had neglected to unclamp a feeding tube, which caused the tube to leak. When another nurse checked on the resident at 5 a.m., the resident was “drenched in feeding solution from head to toe,” according to the judge’s findings.
‘I can’t live this way… She’s horrible.’
Days later, the home alleged, a resident of the facility entered the hallway in his wheelchair at about 6 a.m., loudly complaining, “I can’t do this anymore,” and, “I can’t live this way.” The man allegedly refused to go back to his room, explaining that Kromah was there and “she’s horrible.”
The man reportedly stated had had switched on his call-light to have his urinal emptied, but Kromah never came to assist him, which meant the urinal overflowed and spilled on him. When Kromah eventually came to the room, the man allegedly said, she changed him into dry clothing but did not clean him.
The home alleged Kromah was given additional warnings in October 2025 for reportedly failing to answer residents’ call lights and failing to complete her rounds every two hours. One resident of the home had allegedly became so frustrated by the lack of response to his call-light that he contacted the police on one occasion, according to the judge’s findings.
State inspection reports indicate Pine Acres Rehabilitation and Care Center was cited for insufficient staff in January 2026, with one resident complaining the issue with call-lights had been a longstanding problem. According to the inspectors, the man said that on one occasion, he couldn’t get help to clear his airway and was afraid he was going to die unless he managed to clear it himself, which he did.
In ruling that Kromah was entitled to jobless benefits, Administrative Law Judge Michael Lunn noted that while she had clearly been warned about deficiencies in resident care, she appeared to have been fired for a separate issue — attendance — for which she had received no such warnings.
A discharge for misconduct cannot be based on past acts such as the resident-care issues, Lunn ruled, but must instead be based on a current act. With no current act of disqualifying misconduct, Lunn stated, Kromah was entitled to collect unemployment benefits.
Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to locate Kromah to seek comment for this article.
Copyright 2026 IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH. All rights reserved.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – With some schools already on summer break, programs are helping make sure Iowa kids don’t go hungry.
The state’s Seamless Summer Option program provides free meals to children and teens 18 and younger during summer break.
Those meals are served at schools, parks and community centers. Children are served on first come, first served basis.
You can find a full list of those on the USDA’s Summer Meal Finder.
This year, the state has returned to the federal SUN Bucks program.
Eligible families can get up to $120 per child. That is then divided up to $40 a month to help pay for healthy food purchases.
The Des Moines Area Religious Council told KCRG after the state announced its return to the program that area businesses, as well as those in need, would benefit.
“Those dollars are going to go back into local grocery stores. It’s an investment in our community. When we look at feeding programs like SNAP, we know that it has that multiplier effect every time a dollar is spent, you’re getting more out of it,” said Blake Wiladsen, the council’s communication manager.
The state will regulate the program similarly to the state’s SNAP program. Things like candy, soda, vitamins, minerals, pre-made foods, and juice made with less than 50% fruit or vegetables cannot be purchased with Iowa SUN Bucks.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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